3 Types of Teachers

An interesting approach to finding the balance with technology...

3 Types of Teachers

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What Makes A Good Teacher

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What Makes A Good Teacher

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Memory game

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Christmas in London...

So I made it to the UK and get to spend Christmas in London after living here for six months now. I am very fortunate. I did not ever imagine I would get to live and work in Africa, the USA and the UK in my lifetime. Who knows where I will end up and how much I will learn from the next experience? To be a true teacher, I have to be willing to be a true learner. Every day I am learning from life. And now I am learning from an old city that has been the mentor of millions, the mother of many and a great influence in the world. London, I have come, I am seeing and I will conquer. I miss the USA though, and for me it will always be the place I call home. The USA was really the place that made my dreams come true. So in honor of that, I begin the countdown till I return home...

Moving

Moving to UK tomorrow, what a crazy transition period this has been...

visitor map

Create your own visitor map!

iwb

IWBs in the Secondary: Where is the Interaction?

From: jasondenys, 1 month ago

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A look at the use of IWBs in the secondary. Are they inherently interactive as the name suggests? What are they good for?


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Teaching Online

I finally made the effort to teach online! My nephew needed some help with his GCSE mathematics, but he is in London and I am in Georgia! So, using Skype and a paper flipchart stuck up on my living room wall, I proceeded to help him and a friend with their calculus questions. They loved it, and in fact, other students (he is at a boarding school) gathered around while we were working.

I then went searching for a wonderful tool I used a few weeks ago - WizIQ. I't allows you to teach live online using your webcam and a virtual whiteboard. I tried it and it seems quite easy and useful. I'll post some more details later, but in the meantime, check it out at http://www.wiziq.com

Digital Schoolhouse Conference - Forsyth County

The best thing about the conference was meeting such wonderful people! Yes, I do love technology, but I always come away from conferences like this one thinking about the interactions I had with other educators. I attended three sessions where I enjoyed sharing and learning with other teachers that were in the room, but most of all, I was excited to be able to present my "Technological Tsunami" ideas to a group of discerning and interested colleagues. It was wonderful to watch the thoughtful expressions on their faces as they journeyed with me through the future paths beginning to appear on the landscape of educational technology. One of the participants, a personal friend and an inspiring teacher, reminded me how important our role as human beings would continue to be as we learn to adapt to technology that isn't always reliable. I have always believed that education is more about people than anything else, and I now realize that it will still take skilled people like us to guide, support and encourage young learners as they wade through the waves of technological floods that are rising daily around them. They still need teachers to sit beside them and act as their global tour guides in a world that is fast becoming a virtual ride into the unfamiliar, unpredictable future. I salute the thousands of educators who continue to strive for what's best for their students in a world that has often left teachers behind. We may not have the money, the respect or the power, but we do have the ability to shape the future - everyone's future!

Helpdesk many years ago...

Rate My Teacher

How are you doing? Get some idea at www.ratemyteacher.com

The World is Changing

Voices 2.0

You might have heard of Web 2.0 but now the 2nd generation of webworld is starting to speak out. Heard of Student 2.0? Read this interesting commentary from the silent majority...

Twenty-first century education won’t be defined by any new technology. It won’t be defined by 1:1 laptop programs or tech-intensive projects. Twenty-first century education will, however, be defined by a fundamental shift in what we are teaching—a shift towards learner-centered education and creating creative thinkers. Today’s world is no longer content with students who can simply apply the knowledge they learned in school: our generation will be asked to think and operate in ways that traditional education has not, and can not, prepare us for.

Education has long tried to produce students who can think (and at times, think critically) and it has, for the most part, succeeded. As we move into a world where outsourcing, automation, and the ability to produce a product, physical or intellectual, at the cheapest cost, become the cornerstones of our rapidly evolving global economy, the ability to think critically is no longer enough. The need to know the capital of Florida died when my phone learned the answer. Rather, the students of tomorrow need to be able to think creatively: they will need to learn on their own, adapt to new challenges and innovate on-the-fly. As the realm of intellectual accessibility expands at amazing rates (due to greater global collaboration and access to information), students of tomorrow will need to be their own guides as they explore the body of information that is at their fingertips. My generation will be required to learn information quickly, use that information to solve new and novel problems, and then present those solutions in creative and effective ways. The effective students of tomorrow’s world will be independent learners, strong problem solvers and effective designers.

If we accept the above to be true, I would argue that there are two types of education that will prepare students for the world of tomorrow: experiential learning and project-based learning.

Experiential learning can be best seen in extracurriculars and in some schools, senior projects. These experiences give students the opportunity to face first-hand the challenges that arise when applying the theoretical knowledge provided by traditional classroom learning to real-world challenges. Light designing for MICDS Theatre has taught me how to take my technical knowledge of lighting and apply it to a creative and artistic end. As issues arise, I must problem-solve within the constraints provided by my technical knowledge and my creative vision—I must think creatively.

Project-based learning is the in-class complement of experiential learning. The concept behind project-based learning is simple: give students the basic tools, then ask them to go above and beyond on their own projects, exploring the information in their own way, and on their own terms. The effect can be awe-inspiring. Our students are diving deeper into subject matter than ever before, and doing so on their own terms in ways that they enjoy. Whether it is through producing a movie on burlesque dance or deriving Kepler’s laws using calculus, students are not only learning, but they are learning how to learn.

Traditional-rote learning has its place too, as a jumping-off point for our intellectual endeavors. We are, however, crippling our students if we don’t give them the tools necessary to be life-long learners.

And how about joining the voices of teachers who realize their own worth? Have you seen Mr. Mali's great rendition of his poem "What do teachers really make?" It's brilliant and inspiring, watch it.

Please help students in Africa get pencils and other supplies

If you are a teacher, parent, student, or simply a caring friend, please click on the picture below and go to our fund raiser page where you can pledge a small amount of money towards helping school kids in South Africa. I will be traveling home in a few months time to visit schools and to donate all kinds of useful supplies collected by the students I teach here in the USA. Last year we collected over 8000 pencils and some other wonderful supplies, especially for kids who are desperate to learn in rural parts of Southern Africa. The students here call it ACCESS - American Children's Collection of Educational School Supplies. We really need your help!

A great Website Creation Tool

I have tried many different design packages and software for creating an interesting website for my students. This one is by far the most visually appealing and colorful. It's also easy to use and extremely flexible for all kinds of things you might want to add to the page. Try it out here and have a look at the one I created by click on the picture below.

Best Schools on the Planet

When I graduated from University, I remember making a vow that I would always teach in independent or private schools. I kept that vow until a few years ago when I was selected by the Visiting International Faculty to participate in their cultural exchange program here in the USA. It has always been an honor to participate as an ambassador for my country in a program where only about 7% of applicants are chosen. It has also resulted in professional and personal growth that I had never imagined possible. That said, I am sitting at a recruitment fair in Atlanta having had several interviews with some of the finest private schools in the United States. To say the least, it has reminded how wonderful these institutions of educational progress have always been, and always will continue to be in our rapidly changing world. I am not saying that public schools are not able to be exemplary institutions of learning, but I am pointing out that alternative schools appear to evolve more adequately when it comes to meeting the demands of the dynamic society we see around us every day.

Podcasts

Ever wondered what a PODCAST is? If you already know what it is, could you explain it as well as this guy?


Try these interesting podcasts, you're sure to find something you like...
Education Podcast Directory

Protopage - I'm hooked!

I have already started using Protopage to engage my students in doing some review work in class. What's even more exciting is their response to my idea to let them create their own Protopage projects! They love it! We have finally found something that they are able to create using technology, with true freedom and interest in their work. Check out my first attempt - it is alive with all kinds of interesting widgets that include podcasts, videos, links, photos, math questions, mind maps and other fantastic goodies. You've got to try it! Watch this space for exciting news about what the students have created over the next few weeks.
Here's an example of one that a student made:

Excellent Mind Map creator

www.bubbl.us

Useful tools for your Classroom Computers

Are your classroom computers just sitting there most of the time? Here are some useful FREE tools that can be used by students on an ad hoc basis. I highly recommend them and I've tried each one of them with great success!

1. To create a superb mind map that you can save or e-mail visit www.bubbl.us
2. ZOHO Online office suite www.zoho.com
3. Splashup is a powerful editing tool and photo manager www.splashup.com
4. Photo editing made fun www.picnik.com

High Leverage Instructional Strategies

Teachers across the USA will be familiar with the ideas found in this book. Click here to find out more about the book. You can read more about the high leverage instructional strategies below.

What do you think? It seems to be helpful to keep these strategies in mind while planning or preparing for engaging lessons. Please leave comments on this blog about your own experience or insight.

The essential instructional strategies are:

1. Identifying similarities and differences
2. Summarizing and note taking
3. Reinforcing effort and providing recognition
4. Homework and practice
5. Nonlinguistic representations
6. Cooperative learning
7. Setting goals and providing feedback
8. Generating and testing hypotheses
9. Activating prior knowledge

Las Cruces Public Schools

designed this great document about the instructional strategies:

Here's a video about using technology in conjunction with the book and the strategies.

My Presentation - A work in progress

SURFING THE TECHNOLOGICAL TSUNAMI by Steve Williams 12-12-2007

Like it or not, technology is bursting through the doors of every classroom. Some teachers are flooded with wired tools while others are eagerly awaiting the arrival of modern magical devices.

Whether you're drowning, sinking or swimming, it's time to start surfing the wave of technology that is coming. The future is going to be very different for us teachers. We will be expected to use technology in ways that require adaptability, creativity and innovation.

I first presented this digital collage of technological awakenings at the Visiting International Faculty Conference in Atlanta on January 25th, 2008. It had a greater impact than I had expected. Many of the teachers that attended told me afterwards that they had no idea that this was such a significant issue. I made the assumption that most of them knew what a blog was, or a wiki, a podcast or RSS feed. Some of them were not familiar with interactive whiteboards, or were desperate to learn about using one. This blog is a response to that event and an attempt to share what I find in order to help educators think about how they can get started or keep up to date with what we will be facing in the classroom of the future.

I look forward to many responses, comments and ideas being shared on this blog and I am excited about reaching the minds of millions of teachers who can feel the ground shaking with the coming of a great change in the way we learn and teach on this planet.

I will be presenting an upgraded version of the presentation at the Forsyth County Digital Schoolhouse event on March 1st, 2008. Watch future posts for some more information and a copy of the presentation for you to download.

In the meantime, have a look at this video I created for the Promethean national video contest about using their interactive whiteboards and student response devices in my classroom. It made the top 20 in the USA!



You can also download my award-winning Promethean flipchart on the Promethean website here. You'll need to register, but don't worry, it's free! if you don't have ActivStudio software, download the viewer here.

Welcome!

Welcome to my official blog. Today is a very special day for the beginning of Stevovostuff!