Social Bookmarking and Skype

I've used Diigo for a little while now and really like it.  With all the websites that I stumble upon and want to remember, my bookmarks list was starting to get a little too long to really be useful.  I like using the tags to organize my bookmarks and make them more user-friendly.  However, I've never used to social part of Diigo.  I can see where it would be useful- my co-workers and I often trade links regarding lessons, online tools, or just something interesting to share with the students.  I've often found myself re-sending links that had been accidentally lost or requesting links be sent again.

By sharing bookmarks with co-workers, we could eliminate that little annoyance.  But more importantly, we could share resources without having to decide whether or not something is worth sharing.  A co-worker may find value in something I would not have chosen to send.  Also, other teachers could look at my bookmarks when they need it, not just when I feel like sending them.  I could also connect with teachers outside of my district to bring in new ideas and practices.

Skype is a tool that I've never used before, but have often wanted to.  I think that Skyping with an author would be an experience that students would remember for a long time.  The problem is, I can't think of an effective lesson.  Talking to the author about his or her inspiration for the book and the process of writing a novel would be memorable, but does it fit my learning goals?  My students talk a lot about theme in novels and short stories, so they could discuss that with the author.  But that somehow feels like calling an astrophysicist to do simple algebra.  If I can come up with something good (or if someone left a comment with a genius idea), though, it's go time.  For now, though, I like the idea someone mentioned during class about connecting with another class and Skyping to present projects or discuss the reading.

Introduction

While I begin my Masters program in Instructional Technology at Cardinal Stritch, in order to figure out what I want from the program, I have to think about why I teach in the first place.  Of course, I care about kids, I have a personal passion for learning, and I want to inspire others.  But my inspiration for exploring technology in my classroom came from an unlikely source:

Milwaukee Brewers pitcher Manny Parra.

Manny has loads of natural talent.  He had lots of success at lower levels, but something went wrong.  For some reason, he just stopped performing up to his capabilities.  For a while, people said he was just struggling with the transition.  As his struggles continued, they questioned his focus.  They thought that maybe he just wasn't motivated to succeed.  They said his attitude was causing him to waste his talents.  As a middle-school teacher, this sounded familiar.  Replace poise on the mound with behavior in the classroom, training with homework habits, and the fastball with reading ability, and you've got a generic script for any number of parent-teacher conferences.  

Manny was frustrating.  I knew he could do it, and I didn't think he was a bad guy.  He was trying!  Then I read this article.  This was my introduction to the world of sabermetrics- the advanced study of baseball statistics.  I'll save you the read and summarize by saying that the author of this article broke down the mystery that is Manny Parra with every imaginable statistic.  He looked at Manny's performance and dissected every possible part of the game to figure out what was going wrong.  Then I thought about my students who had been labelled with a "bad attitude" or "lack of motivation".  How was I analyzing their performance?  What was I doing to solve that mystery?  I decided I had to start applying a sabermetric approach to education.

That touched off an obsession with measuring everything I could.  I broke every assignment into little pieces.  Where was it worked on?  What skills were used?  How was the student behaving that day?  What day of the week was it?  What trends was I seeing?  Was I seeing them from everyone?

It was beautiful, except for one major problem- I teach Language Arts.  My last math class was an algebra class my freshman year of college.  My only experience with statistics outside of MLB box scores was looking at one WKCE or MAP number and saying either "Oh, good," or "Uh-oh."  Microsoft Excel to the rescue!

Fast forward a few years, I've had a great time finding tools to find effective solutions to problems large and small.  And to bring this post back to the original point, that's why I enrolled in an Instructional Technology course.  I want to learn about better tools and better methods to solve problems in the classroom.  And I want my students to do the same.  I don't want to simply assign Power Point presentations, then say, "Look!  They used computers!  They're ready for the future!"  I want them to realize what is out there, and actively seek the best solution to their problems.  

And if they learn that batting average is overrated, that's just gravy.