The Caffeinated Carbivore

There has been a great deal of speculation of the years about how the Internet is effecting the next generation of students: does it shorten their attention spans? Do they expect different lesson plans ? While technlogy in the classroom offers new formats for education, not all students are more tech-savvy than their older counterparts , nor do they always prefer to use technology (this is a stereotype of their generation that teachers should avoid). The implications of technology may extend past new technique or preference, however. Recent studies presented by the BBC found a correlation between a persons' Facebook friends count and the size of the "social", "memory", and "emotional" areas of their brain. The social impacts of social media may not be suprising. Dr. Ryota Kanai of University College, London, states, "We have found some interesting brain regions that seem to link to the number of friends we have - both 'real' and 'vir...

Abstract words are often difficult for students to define. Words like "love" change with time, your experiences, and your context. Many reserachers and educators wonder at the impact the recent anniversary of September 11th and the bleak outlook for the American economy has on current students image of America and patriotism itself. Depending on how you execute this lesson, this activitiy offers a unique opportunity for students to learn and excersise multiple skills: -Defining abstract words: Understanding that a word can have multiple meanings (both to themselves and others) and learning how to negotiate words' multiplicity. -Creativity: Understanding that words do not appear just in letters, but also images. Learning how images impact the viewer . -Basic letter writing skills (no, they are not a foregon art): Learning how to write a saluatation, introduction, and conclusion (this is also helpful when learning to write a self-narrative and basic paragraph). -Civic Engag...

Everyone loves a good story. In fact, we love good characters so much that they often re-appear. The step parent was evil in Cinderella, and that hasn't changed much in the new blockbuster Step Father . The media has always been a vehicle to tell a large story to a large audience. Now with the dawn of the digital age, we too can become story tellers. We share our personal narratives with our Tweets and add our voice to movements on Facebook and newstories on CNN. But who's story is NOT being told? Those without access to technology, either because of their membership in a lower economic group or a higher age group. Aka, those without the skills or the money cannot be cultural storytellers. This was not the case in Egypt, however. While the inernet was shut down, only outsiders could tell the Egyptians' story. BBC and American news networks innitially told the tale of the Egyptians without adding individual narratives. Instead, blanket statements about the protestes (not as ...

A few studies have begun to research the positive affects of students using social media. For example... From Mashable: Four sections (70 students) were given assignments and discussions that incorporated Twitter, such as tweeting about their experiences on a job shadow day or commenting on class readings. Three sections (55 students) did the same assignments and had access to the same information, but didn’t use Twitter. In addition to showing more than twice the improvement in engagement than the control group, the students who used Twitter also achieved on average a .5 point increase in their overall GPA for the semester. My original thoughts: Awesome-Positive correlation (as social media use goes up, grades go up). After a more critical glance, I noticed that the sample size was a bit small. Further, the study does not explicitly describe the terms it was trying to study, which minimizes the possibility that someone could accurately replicate the study. As if to answer t...

What place do politicians have on Twitter? The primary one (pun intended haha). We've heard a lot of complaints about the costs of campaigns, specifically where the politicians are getting their money from. A politician likes social media for two reasons: 1. It's cheap 2. With the help of your Facebook fan list, Facebook offers a highly targeted ad to a highly targeted audience. Recent research shows that Facebook users may become resentful of the presence of big business on Facebook. The degree to which a politician is considered a big business or a representative thereof has yet to be seen. However, the study did find that young users in particular were open to brands which they felt represented themselves. The takeaway? A politician's ad on Facebook is more likely to be accepted by young users if they seem to be "one of the in crowd"...aka youthful, earthy, and not corporately oriented. A great example of politics, via social media is Comedy Central...

As teachers, we are constantly seeking ways to make our lesson plans palatable. We can do this in a few ways. 1. Relate the lessons back to the students' lives . This way they (a) see more reason to pay attention (b) can use the lesson later, leading to greater retention (c) have increased respect for the teacher (increased immediacy: "hey, my teacher understands me!") 2. Take the lesson outside the classroom by (a) taking field trips to stimulate class bonding and imagination (b) connecting the class or lesson with current world wide events As 10.10.10 approaches, lesson plans can gain a valuable boost from reflecting on the status of education worldwide. CALL TO ACTION: Education is critical for beating global poverty. Oxfam is working hard to get basic education for all who need it, and you can help! On 10/10/10, Oxfam asks you to reflect on the issues education in your own life and identify why these are your and EVERYONE'S fundamental rights. Guidelines 1...

The "No Child Left Behind" issue has a lot of teachers raving. I too feel that standardized testing leads to trouble, both for teachers and students. A VERY brief list: Teachers: 1. Teaching to the Test restricts creative lesson plans 2. Standardized teacher reviews neglect teachers' connection with students (arguably more influential on student mental health than getting A's) in favor of ability to cram facts into students' heads ( teaching vs educating ). Students: 1. Loss of connection with teacher 2. Those in low income areas seem to be getting the short end of the stick...again. -students in low income schools rarely see change. If teachers truly want to make an argument against Standardized Testing (aka breaking from the status quo of "intelligence" marks) then we're going to need a few good arguments. Most of all, we have to watch our fallacies. Suggesting that the testing structure or disciplinary schools leads underachievers to jail...

Arachnophobia: The fear of spiders Omphalophobia: The fear of Belly Buttons ...and the list goes on . Our culture creates and appropriates words to fit the current situation. We even re-name certain events or individuals as our culture sees fit. For example, a cel phone gets you in touch with your friends outside of class, but in class teachers call it a " mobile educational device " (if used for lessons, that is). Recently, American culture has developed a hypersensitivity to Islamic culture. In recent news, we've heard about unrest in Florida and the possibility of burning the Koran . What doesn't hit the daily news is that we are making assumptions about Islamic women in the workplace (yes, even us teachers!) The following is a scene from the film Arranged during an ice breaking session where Nasirah was asked by the headmistress to tell a little about herself Perhaps this is a reaction to our age-old Crusading history, or the more recent historical event of 9...

I talk a lot about where I hope to see #EdTech end up...but what about where it started? As any good history student knows, you gotta study the past to understand why you're at the present moment. This slide show by Mr. Farber's Room explains: A Brief History of Educational Technology View more presentations from randommind . Another important note about technology and teaching is re-appropriation. I love social media and see an excellent source of educational value (lesson plans, teaching tools for students at home, etc) in Twitter and Blogs . Twitter and blogs already exist, so encourage their use in education. Once we have a few solid lesson plans , then maybe even cel phones (though I'm not convinced they can be "mobile education tools" just yet). Another great example is Skype. I used Skype to maintain a long distance relationship while studying in Greece. Why not use it for distance learning, or even linking to another class for intercultural stud...

Despite my recent blog entry about Cyber Bullying , there is still so much more to say about the topic. As we educate our students on the benefits of social media, we should also alert them to the dangers. There are various approaches to cel phones in schools . As Wes points out , labeling is an important part of image. If the phone is to be used for education, it is called a "mobile learning device" to emphasize its educational importance. However, students, parents, and teachers should be aware of the technology's dark side. As exemplified in the case of the cel phone's educational name, "mobile learning device", parents should be aware of the differences between "bullies" and "Cyber bullies". The many phases of bullying. 1.Olden days: Size: large, often older or taller than the average kid. Skills: Cruel nicknames, stealing lunch money, extreme snowball accuracy. 2. New Wave Size: varied Skills: everything nice, note encoding 3. Cyb...

I first started using a PLN, or Personal Learning network, this summer. I began a google bookmark list to compile great suggestions or online gadgets that I could use in my classroom. I've even joined the movement to re-appropriate social media for education, turning my Twitter account into a space for sharing and discussing educational technology, aka #edtech. Social media has come a long way these past few years. "Media culture" was once theorized to make national boundaries permeable; now it reinforces them . The need for educational technology is clear: our students are entering a more technologically advanced society which demands their interaction. More pressing still is the learning styles students adopt from their new media teachers, such as multitasking and visual presentation methods. We need to teach them to use these tools, but more importantly, the skills needed to read and discern their meanings. The media has a plethora of persuasive methods at ...

We're educators, not just teachers. We want students to learn how to, well, learn! We won't always be there to remind them of the state capitals, but we can teach them good memorization tips that will help them in the future. A great way to give constant access to knowledge is by building a class blog. This is an environmentally friendly, "I lost it" proof way of preserving class discussions and links for future use. A lot of us are teachers because we like learning. So get educated! Create your own PLN. That means two way communication-comment on others' blogs or tweet your heart out! Our teaching community is passionate about, well, teaching! The Edublogger is a great place to teach yourself how to use new gadgets. My google list is always growing because of the insight other teachers have shared. Create one yourself-organize your knowledge then share it! Create a feasible goal with your students in mind. How will tech benefit them? Which is mo...

It seems that our society likes black and white photography-good guy vs bad guy, right vs wrong... is there ever a bad guy with good intentions? With our dualistic media as a teacher, it doesn't surprise me that we've tried to categorize students into lefties and righties-writers and mathematicians. There are three big problems with this dichotomy: 1. Categorizing students as mathematicians may limit their writing ability, and vise versa (self-fulfilling prophecy. 2. According to gender stereotypes, masculine individuals perform better in math-this may limit the performance of gifted feminine individuals in the subject, and force them into writing, where they are in fact less talented 3. There are many more categories-more comes into play than just left and right (we should consider this in politics, too), and 4. Concentrating on your "Gifted" side limits your overall thought processing. First things first-as with many preconceptions, our students enter our classroom...

We've received our rosters-we're learning their faces. But who are these new students? If asked, many of them might not be able to say. In a digital age, we have many mailable identities. On Twitter I'm OceanEyes729 and I tweet and follow those who write about technology for teachers. My Twitter identity is made up of my tweets and those I follow. On Facebook, I'm a fan of a lot of things-Despicable Me, etc. So according to the internet I'm a techie teacher who likes children's movies. But wait. I can get on my Facebook and fan a lot of things that don't really describe me. This way, I can create a false identity. For incoming college students, Facebook is a great way to make new friends. Find people who like the same artists as you! But does that mean that they'll make good friends in real life? I show this clip to my students on identity day-who are your friends, and does the concept of friendship change on the internet? Another pa...

That's right. The Queen of England has a YouTube channel. Still trying to convince your students' parents that YouTube and Twitter are useful in the classroom? Brittany Spears has the largest Twitter following to date. Ashton Kutcher beat CNN to the million mark. We all know that the media influences our culture, and vise versa. Our culture has never been static, but with the dawn of the media age it's become increasingly mashed up and user-run. In a world where creative ownership is increasingly fuzzy and a great deal of humor comes from cross-media references, a good teacher must teach students how to use many mediums correctly and to their greatest advantage. Enter social media lesson plans. For example: Our current President's use of multiple mediums buttressed his campaign. We clearly need to teach our students how to use social media properly-it's influencing the world around them. More importantly-they can provide a piece of that influe...

Make history come to life! Present historical characters in your classroom-give them their own quotes, or even YOUR voice. Younger students really enjoy Voki-making their own characters or seeing history speak to them. For older students, I create current characters (they don't respond as well to robots) to introduce history lessons:

If your voice is gone after a day of teaching, you're talking too much. Our students are vivacious and lively-why not let them lead the discussion? Students who speak up in class are 1. More likely to retain knowledge 2. Spark conversation and ideas in others 3. Learn how to interact with others 4. Build social skills So how exactly do you spark an organic student discussion? Try a Socratic Circle! Here's our old buddy Socrates himself to introduce us: The Question: A Socratic Seminar opens with a question (posed by the leader). An opening question shouldn't have an obvious right answer-we want discussion! A good opening question helps participants think back to a text as they speculate, evaluate, define, and clarify all the issues involved. Move the group forward by asking more questions-playing devil's advocate. The Leader: The leader plays a dual role as leader and participant-keeping the discussion focused on the text, asking follow-up questions, helping p...

I always face resistance when telling my college freshmen that Wikipedia is not an acceptable source for their speeches. I open our plagiarism class by opening a Wikipedia page which states "Stephanie Bushman is...". Surprise! I've updated a page...and the information is incorrect. The problem with Wikipedia is that anyone can update it from anywhere at any time. The people writing there are not always experts, and this makes Wikipedia an invalid source. I say this with a grain of salt, however. The widespread internet access has spread our knowledge base from those who can publish to those who can type. If the media is supposed to serve as a watch dog, then we now have millions of eyes on constant alert, who are more than happy to tweet their hearts out. But what about our knowledge base's future? A lot can be learned via comparison CFV 426 - Avatar/Pocahontas Mashup FINAL VERSION from Randy Szuch on Vimeo . Ultimately, I tell my students to play by the rul...

Music is a powerful tool of communication -it can alter your mood, and even make your brain work faster , and serve as a mental gymnasium ! We've talked about the power of using technology , pictures , and movies as learning tools in our classrooms. But what about music? Music can serve as an excellent educational tool, even if your class isn't musically inclined (talent or lesson plan-wise). Music from other countries serves to teach multiculturalism. In math classes, rhythm can teach counting and even fractions. Tech Ed classes can learn about the construction of musical instruments, social studies classes can learn about the history of musical movements, poly sci classes can study music as a means for social change...the list goes on. Check out the BBC's collection of multicultural music. This site gives free access to teachers in the classroom or students at home-a great tool to use in your class blog or in general class discussion. For more on music in educati...

Ever since the radio entered our home, story book characters seem to bleed through the mediums. Harry Potter is on tape, on screen, and even in a theme park. In Universal studios, the Cat in the Hat walks around and hugs children. Even the movies are more interactive - This summer is a particular treat-Disney star Selena Gomez stars in the release of Ramona and Beezus opening in theatres July 23rd. This offers a plethora of opportunities for parents of young readers. First, have your child read (or read with them) the story Beezus and Ramona . Another option is to rent the book on tape from the library. Talk with your children about how their lives relate to Beezus or Ramona. Then, take them to the movie site so that they can explore with Selena or watch the trailer. Then, get your popcorn and go to the movies! After the movie has ended, ask your children how the book was different from the film.