Teaching, technology and toast

I took some time this past weekend to do a little reading – something that’s  hard to find the time to do these days.  I read for pleasure, of course, but also for the two classes I am taking this semester.

I’ve purchased a new gadget this year to facilitate some of this reading.  I bought  a tablet, so I can download, read and study whenever or wherever I want.  I’ve found it to be just about the greatest thing since sliced bread (pun intended for those of you with a Macbook).

I think we’re all looking for some way to get the information we need easier and  faster.  As an educator, where do you find your lesson plans?  Are they in hard copy in your office or at your desk?  Would it be easier if lesson plans were in a small, lightweight and portable format that you can take anywhere, and access at the tap of your finger?

Virtual Economics 4.0 fills that bill.  VE 4.0 was developed by the national Council for Economic Education and provides a virtual library of K-12 lesson plans searchable by economic concept, grade band, subject, or state or national standard.  Training on VE 4.0 will be offered to Illinois teachers through January 31, 2012.

However, K-12 teachers in the DeKalb, Sycamore and Genoa-Kingston districts can obtain this easy-to-use resource by attending Super Saturday on December 3. This free workshop provides training on VE 4.0, with participants receiving a free copy.  Additional sessions include the newly revised Financial Fitness for Life curriculum and The Stock Market Game™. Both resources help teach math, business and economics while focusing on the importance of long-term investing. Combine these resources with VE 4.0, and participating teachers will have lesson plans to incorporate the teaching of economics into any curriculum area and grade level.  Click here for information on Super Saturday.

So much for keeping up on the use of technology to help you teach economics!  Now if someone could just come up with a better toaster!

Written by Jodi Long

“Mom, I’m not playing; I’m building important communication skills that I’ll need in the future!”

I was at my local hardware store the other day picking up a few things when I found myself in an interesting conversation about ‘kids these days’. Honestly, I did not think I was old enough to have a ‘kids-these-days’ conversation but apparently I am. Anyway, we were quite an interesting, multi-generational, little group, standing among the hand tools talking about technology, video games, online gaming, and how kids use these things to interact with each other. We all agreed that it is pretty amazing how technology has made it easier to connect with people all over the world, from any place at anytime. The youngest of our group said that she often plays puzzle games against people from as far away as China. My own kids go into online worlds (Kid friendly ones, of course!) to play and solve problems with kids from all over and have a blast doing it! They can’t get enough. I was getting excited about the conversation until eldest of our group commented that much of what kids do during gaming is not useful. In fact, she suggested that being immersed in an online world prevents them from learning important social skills and that talking in short text messages does not allow them to talk about anything in depth. In short, these activities are really hurting the way kids, and some adults, learn how to interact with people. Imagine my surprise when the younger one agreed with her. Wait. I thought she was a digital native and understood this stuff! Both of them felt that the only useful games were the ones labeled ’educational’ and all other online games and activities have nothing very useful to offer except a little entertainment. Really? I had to think about this.

On the drive home, I mulled over the conversation. Is technology ruining how we talk to and interact with each other? Are kids not developing the social and communication skills they need to be successful in life? When I arrived home, I walked into my kitchen to find my husband on a conference call. As he spoke with vendors in Asia, he was creating a document online with his team, who were all making updates simultaneously from remote locations. At the same time, he was having a secondary, text-based conversation using his smart phone to coordinate all of his team’s efforts. To summarize, he was working with people across the globe in real time, having a conversation through texting, as well as coordinating a team of people collaborating via the internet. Sound familiar? Wasn’t that just what we said our kids are doing while they play their ‘non-educational’, anti-social games? So, maybe they are developing the social and communication skills they need to be successful in life!

New technology is not ruining the way we communicate; it is simply changing the way we communicate. We need to help today’s students use technology to develop these communication skills in order to prepare them for college and beyond. Incorporating technologies like collaborative online games, social networking, and texting in the P20 classroom are just a few ways we can accomplish this. There are many great resources on the web that give examples of how this technology can be used in a classroom to help kids learn. So they have a little fun while they’re at it, is that so bad? They need to see the connection between the fun things many of them do all the time and useful, dare I say essential, skills they need in order to be successful in the 21st Century.

For more information on 21st Century Learning, go to the Partnership for 21st Century Skills website. http://www.p21.org/index.php

The 21st Century Learner

What does it mean to be a 21^st century learner? I could tell you, but in the spirit of 21^st century learning, you can watch for yourself.

If you have not seen these two videos you need to watch them. They give a very clear picture of P20 students today.

A Vision of [College] Students Today 

A Vision of K-12 Students Today

As an educator, are you prepared to teach these students? What do we need to do to reach these students and help them prepare for their future?

Tutoring Internship Course Wins the Traveling Trophy

OK, we don’t have an engagement trophy yet, but if we did, NIU’s new tutoring internship course would win for this month. ILAS 300 is the brainchild of Judy Cox-Henderson, Clinical Placement Coordinator for CLAS, and Stacey Bjorkman, psychologist at DeKalb High School. The course will connect 25 NIU students preparing for teaching careers to DHS students who are struggling with their courses. NIU students will conduct tutoring sessions before and after school and at lunch time in areas such as humanities, writing, Spanish, math, history, and sciences.

An outgrowth of the DHS-NIU partnership, where Judy and Stacey serve on the Design Team for the new high school program, this project offers an excellent example of engagement.

Mutual Benefits

Due to budget cutbacks, DHS lost its funding to pay tutors. The new tutoring internship course will provide more than 70 hours of tutoring a week. NIU students interested in high school teaching need more opportunities for hands-on experience in high school settings and more training in individualizing instruction. They will each tutor for three hours per week and will attend seminars that cover literacy strategies, communication skills, uses of data to design instruction, and analysis of student learning needs. More simply – DHS students get academic help they need, and NIU students get instructional practice that they need.

Sharing Knowledge

DHS teachers will share assignments and information about individual students through pre-tutoring interviews. After tutoring, NIU students will submit reports on each DHS student’s learning needs, effective teaching strategies, and progress. These reports will be presented to teachers in departmental meetings, and all partners will reflect on how to continue to improve both teaching and tutoring.

Meeting Community Needs

The DeKalb community will benefit from higher achievement at DHS.

The P-20 Story

What does “P-20” mean? What does “Engagement” mean? We hear those questions frequently and answer them like this:

• P-20 refers to education and training at all levels from pre-school through graduate studies in schools, community colleges, workplaces, and other community settings.

• Engagement means mutually beneficial relationships between the university and partners in communities across the region. Engaged partners learn from each other, discover new knowledge, and enjoy benefits that include meeting community needs, increased economic vitality, and improved quality of life across the region.

The Center for P-20 Engagement acts as a connector of resources, expertise, research and services providing better education and training opportunities to the citizens of this region. We help empower communities by delivering solutions to the educational needs of our region. We also support NIU faculty and staff working on P-20 projects and developing partnerships.

As the Executive Director of the Center for P-20 Engagement, I provide leadership for this portal to NIU’s P-20 knowledge, expertise and resources for educational organizations, business and industry and community agencies.