This year I got a set of Sentio Response clickers for my classroom. When the Sentio's (to be referred to as the clickers from now on) were first brought out and available I thought that they were gimmicky and a symptom of bright new shiny object syndrome. After going to Boston and Allan November's Building Learning Communities conference I really got to thinking about them. I had a conversation with Donna Desroches (one of our division consultants), and we agreed that they were not worth the $2400 price tag. The cellphone option of Poll Everywhere was also not possible because of my school's cellphone policy. So I did what I do. I found a cheaper way. That cheaper way was to buy a used set off of eBay for about $500. Two of the 32 were DOA but the rest worked fine (a third just decided that it did not like the number 9).
Let me start with the conversation I had with Donna. Her fear was that the clickers were not being used effectively in other classrooms. They were sometimes just a tool for trying to buy student engagement in review sessions at the end of a unit. I agree that that would be almost a complete waste of money.
When I went to Boston, Dr. Eric Mazur was demoing his own version of the clickers. I liked some of his methods and he is the one who got me thinking about using them. To put it simply he would ask a question. If the majority got the answer correct he would move on. If most were wrong then he would reteach. The magic happened when there was a variety of answers. He would have the students pair up with somebody with a different answer. They were to convince each other that they were right. He said that the students almost always came back with a much higher percentage correct. They were teaching each other.
I have been using the clickers quite heavily in my Workplace and Apprenticeship Math 10 class. They are quite useful for formative assessment. I actually over plan my lessons. Before I start the actual lesson I ask one or two quick review questions to see if they have the background skills. The software gives me a quick chart describing what percentage knows it. If it is too low then I have to take some time to review the skills. A couple of clicks and I can see it. If the students get it then I skip the review section and go on to the lesson. I have not had much luck using Dr. Mazur's method in this class. This class has some definite gaps in ability and they are very reluctant mathematicians. I have next to no luck getting the students to formally discuss the math questions. I still believe in his method, it just isn't working for this class.
The clickers are have a couple of effects in my classroom. Nobody gets left out or missed. Every student signs in with their own ID number and I can quickly see who has not answered a question. I can even go back and see what each student has answered for the question. It is harder for a student to hide in the corner unnoticed. Unfortunately it does slow down the pace of the class. Everybody has to wait for those few students who might have simply let the class move on past them. On the other hand I have a higher percentage of students engaged (if I don't lose them from going too slow). Every few minutes there is a clicker question that brings them back in. They know that I know when they are not following. The students are not engaged because of the bright new shiny object, they are engaged because I am doing an activity that forces them to keep coming back and contributing to the lesson.
There is another function that allows them to click a button and have their name flash up on the screen showing that they have a question. I have not used it yet but it also has some potential.
So do the clickers help me teach? Yes. The best teaching tool is a good question. The clickers just help facilitate that question.
Is there a place for them in every classroom? No. I don't use them with every class or every period. I only use them when they fit. In my WA 10 math class they get used most classes. I have never used them in Math A30. Different classes, different students, different needs. In a smaller class it is better to walk around and look at each individual students work. In a large class clickers are quicker. I miss less.
Showing posts with label BLC. Show all posts
Showing posts with label BLC. Show all posts
Friday, October 28, 2011
Friday, August 5, 2011
Building Learning Communities
Some quick reflections.
I loved my pre-session. It was in depth time to work with one of the Ewan McIntosh (one of the keynotes). It wasn't just a 60 minutes session but a full morning. McIntosh and his scottish accent is worth my time and money. More presenters should have an accent. It adds credibility because they must come from a distance (which makes them experts right?).
This year had good keynotes. One exception is that Stephen Wolfram is not Conrad Wolfram. Confusing - I know. Stephen is probably the smarter brother but Conrad presents better. (You really should watch Conrad's math TED talk.) This was the keynote that I was most looking forward to but any disappointment is really my fault for not reading close enough. However - I still got something out of his keynote. Stephen's creations Mathematica and Wolfram/Alpha are awesome. They had better change the way I teach
Dr. Eric Mazur started things off well with a talk about how the lecture is dead. (Yes a lecture about how the lecture is dead). His response system and smart grouping program would be great for my classroom. I liked his techniques and how his system automatically paired up people with differing answers. Without knowing which answer was right the students are to discuss and are given a chance to change their answers. Students are learning from each other with guidance from the teacher. I loved his quote "technology should be at the service of pedagogy."
Marco Torres ended up pinch hitting for another presenter that had to cancel at the last minute. I could not for the life of me tell that he put it together on very short notice. I wrote about him last time I went to BLC in 2009. He was no less awesome. Marco talked about the analog restrictions to students in this digital world. I laughed, I cried (well not really), and I LEARNED. Good job Marco.
Ewan McIntosh's keynote made me think. He looks at education from a different perspective. I like it. His message is that we don't need problem solvers - we need people who go out and find their own problems to solve. We need to build students who are motivated by the problems the they find.
Our final keynote was Rob Evans. He is a clinical and organizational psychologist. He talked about the psychology of change. There is grief involved in change because you are letting go of something that you believed in. If there is no resistance to change then people really did not care about what they were doing before. It was a very entertaining (and enlightening) talk that came without any visual aids. He pulled it off well.
When I went to BLC in 2009 the keynotes were from different professions and specialties. There was more talk about creativity in their talks. This time the presenters were all educators. It was a more focused group of keynotes. Not better or worse - just different.
The Building Learning Communities conference was a great opportunity for me. Lets see how much I can improve my teaching with what I learned.
More to come as I find time.
I loved my pre-session. It was in depth time to work with one of the Ewan McIntosh (one of the keynotes). It wasn't just a 60 minutes session but a full morning. McIntosh and his scottish accent is worth my time and money. More presenters should have an accent. It adds credibility because they must come from a distance (which makes them experts right?).
This year had good keynotes. One exception is that Stephen Wolfram is not Conrad Wolfram. Confusing - I know. Stephen is probably the smarter brother but Conrad presents better. (You really should watch Conrad's math TED talk.) This was the keynote that I was most looking forward to but any disappointment is really my fault for not reading close enough. However - I still got something out of his keynote. Stephen's creations Mathematica and Wolfram/Alpha are awesome. They had better change the way I teach
Dr. Eric Mazur started things off well with a talk about how the lecture is dead. (Yes a lecture about how the lecture is dead). His response system and smart grouping program would be great for my classroom. I liked his techniques and how his system automatically paired up people with differing answers. Without knowing which answer was right the students are to discuss and are given a chance to change their answers. Students are learning from each other with guidance from the teacher. I loved his quote "technology should be at the service of pedagogy."
Marco Torres ended up pinch hitting for another presenter that had to cancel at the last minute. I could not for the life of me tell that he put it together on very short notice. I wrote about him last time I went to BLC in 2009. He was no less awesome. Marco talked about the analog restrictions to students in this digital world. I laughed, I cried (well not really), and I LEARNED. Good job Marco.
Ewan McIntosh's keynote made me think. He looks at education from a different perspective. I like it. His message is that we don't need problem solvers - we need people who go out and find their own problems to solve. We need to build students who are motivated by the problems the they find.
Our final keynote was Rob Evans. He is a clinical and organizational psychologist. He talked about the psychology of change. There is grief involved in change because you are letting go of something that you believed in. If there is no resistance to change then people really did not care about what they were doing before. It was a very entertaining (and enlightening) talk that came without any visual aids. He pulled it off well.
When I went to BLC in 2009 the keynotes were from different professions and specialties. There was more talk about creativity in their talks. This time the presenters were all educators. It was a more focused group of keynotes. Not better or worse - just different.
The Building Learning Communities conference was a great opportunity for me. Lets see how much I can improve my teaching with what I learned.
More to come as I find time.
Monday, August 3, 2009
Lights, Camera, Documentary?
Ok before you go on watch this video.
No - I mean it. Watch the video.
(Sorry I did not embed it but there were no embed codes).
Ok - done? Pretty good huh? This is the kind of thing that Marco Torres and his students are putting out. I was impressed. A group of ex-students of his put together a company named Alas Media they also put on some really good sessions (and where a big part of Marco's sessions as well.)
Marco taught film making through documentaries. Documentaries are a rapidly increasing genre in the film industry. Keep in mind that these are not the boring old documentaries that we all have seen (and probably shown) in class - these are interesting, modern, and hip. The best part about documentaries is that you don't need actors.
The good people at Alas Media talked about what they liked best about Marco's methods. He started them off close to home. They talked about themselves, and then their community. Their assignments were stories that had personal connections. The assignments worked in the order of:
- Us
- Our family
- Our community
- The world
Marco made some good points about teaching film. Don't teach the tech. When it comes to a new skill teach one student - then have that student teach the rest. That frees up the teacher to focus on important things like composition and storyline.
Ok - now some of the meat and potatoes of what I learned.
The four P's of film making.
- Plan
- Produce
- Present
- Pheedback
Apparently 75% of the work lies in the planning section. If you just shoot and hope to get something then you just have a jumble of cool shots but no cohesive story. Remember - unless you are making the movie Twister then it is ALL about the story. (Also - anything that takes away from the story - like unnecessary animation - has no place in the video).
Remember the Rule of Thirds.
How to Make a Simple Documentary Film
A Roll
Start with the A roll. The A roll is the interview itself. It is the camera on the subject. Marco described the A roll as talking heads - not much action - just talking. One of the key's to this part is to get good quality audio. Use a secondary recorder if your camera doesn't do the best job of recording.
B Roll
The B roll is the other shots that get mixed into the video. They provide the context for the interview. B roll shots are not different shots of the subject talking - they are everything else. The key is variety. Get lots of different shots - closeups, objects, even just the person staring off into the distace (especially if they are remembering a past story).
Cutaway
In this step you start putting things together. Your A roll is the backbone of the piece. Start there. Then start splicing in parts of your B roll. Leave in the audio from the A roll but show shots from the B roll. Go back and forth from the subject to the context.
Audio
The key to a good interview is being able to hear what is being said. This is why I suggested a secondary recorder. Then you have two audio tracks to choose from. Check out some of Marco's how to videos to find out how to sync up audio. (You did remember to start with a clap didn't you?)
As you can see I walked away from these two sessions with a lot of information. This is only part of it and already this post is way too long. I guess I will have to end it with some links to more information.
Friday, July 31, 2009
BLC 09 (Building Learning Communities)
My first impressions. (Done in a make and take here at the conference). I will post more when I have time. It has been very busy.
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