Grading Online Work

All week I've been grading papers, some on paper, some submitted electronically.
Grading compositions online is so different from grading handwritten ones.
There are advantages:

a) Not having to fit my comments in whatever tiny spaces are left in the margins or on the back of the page (where I always wonder if they'll notice them). I have unlimited room in the comments on the side of a Google Docs page.


b) Copy and paste is GREAT. I can paste their line directly into my comments when talking about it, and I can keep pasting those most common comments I give to the students over & over again for the most common mistakes in their writing.

c) It is clear and easy to read.


There are disadvantages:

a) I still have not worked out WHERE I type my corrections. Do I make the change in the work itself and highlight it, or do just highlight it? If I only highlight, should I use different colors to differentiate between grammatical gaffes, word choice errors, and punctuation or spelling mistakes?

b) I can't be as sure that students read the comments without doing a little extra work on my end. I can check to see if students opened the document after they shared it with me and I graded it, and I can check to see if they made revisions, but both of these involve remembering to go back to the document. With pen and paper assignments, students just hand in a new paper. With electronic documents, my students will have to notify me in some way when they want me to go back and view a revised essay.

This is still a work in progress, but all in all, grading online compositions from my students has been a success. I am saving a little time, a LOT of paper, and getting more students to turn in their work by allowing them to share them via Google Docs. Online grading may have its challenges, but it has been a success so far.

NFL Picks ~ Week Two

Hello and welcome to a special Thursday edition of Tuesdays. As I've done every week for over a decade, I will be picking every NFL game against the spread this season. Note: I do this purely for fun. I am not a gambler, and I don't recommend anyone follow my picks with any substantial sums of money, unless you are indifferent about holding on to said money.

I had one of my all-time worst weeks last week, going 4-12 against the spread. Then I realized I did not do the very thing I pledged to do, which is make the opposite pick from the majority of the country. This week, with very few exceptions, I am picking the teams that the majority of the country bet against. This is the "Vegas knows more than we do" approach. Let's see how this goes...

Chicago getting 5 from Green Bay
LOSS
Green Bay 23 - Chiacgo 10

Kansas City getting 3 from Buffalo
LOSS
Buffalo 35 - Kansas City 17

Cleveland getting 6.5 from Cincinnati
LOSS
Cincinnati 34 - Cleveland 27

Indianapolis getting 1.5 from Minnesota
WIN
Indianapolis 23 - Minnesota 20

Miami getting 2.5 from Oakland
WIN
Miami 35 - Oakland 13

Arizona getting 13.5 from New England
WIN
Arizona 20 - New England 18

Tampa Bay getting 7 from NY Giants
PUSH
NY Giants 41 - Tampa Bay 34

Philadelphia giving 2 to Baltimore
LOSS
Philadelphia 24 - Baltimore 23

Carolina getting 2.5 from New Orleans
WIN
Carolina 35 - New Orleans 27

Jacksonville getting 7 from Houston
LOSS
Houston 27 - Jacksonville 7

Seattle getting 3 from Dallas
WIN
Seattle 27 - Dallas 7

St. Louis getting 3 from Washington
WIN
St. Louis 31 - Washington 28

NY Jets getting 5 from At Pittsburgh
LOSS
Pittsburgh 27 - NY Jets 10

Tennessee getting 6 from San Diego
LOSS
San Diego 38 - Tennessee 10

Detroit getting 6.5 from San Francisco
LOSS
San Francisco 27 - Detroit 19

Atlanta giving 3 to Denver
WIN
Atlanta 27 - Denver 21

WEEK TWO RECORD: 7-8-1

2012 - 2013 Record: 11-20-1
2011 - 2012 Record: 129-126-11
2010 - 2011 Record: 130-130-7
2009 - 2010 Record: 138-125-4
2008 - 2009 Record: 139-120-8

Flexibility

Flexibility is a huge part of the life of an educator.

When students don't finish an assignment on time, we have a choice. We could extend the due date, knowing that it would increase the likelihood of student completion, which will increase learning. We could also give a zero, knowing that the lesson here is about self-regulation, responsibility, and time management. However, the effect a zero has on a grade is staggering, and probably far more detrimental than any lesson it could teach. For this reason, I give students target dates for completion of many projects, or for mastery of essential content, but allow students who learn at a different time later on to still earn credit for their hard work.

There is a constant balance between over-planning, or perhaps the unwillingness to revise our plans, and the reality of what gets done in the classroom, creating the need for constant revision of our plans.

In the same way, flexibility needs to be granted to teachers from administrators. To be told that benchmark testing must take place in your classroom for two days in a five-day window two weeks away is not enough notice for teachers who have carefully planned out their lessons for the month. A video about educational practices, or a podcast for activity advisors, that must be watched by Friday, should probably have been sent out a month prior. A survey about professional development, a log of PLC work, or an invitation to a pull-out in-service day that will require sub plans, should not be sprung on teachers without plenty of advance notice.

These and countless other demands placed on teachers from all sides have a negative effect on morale and adversely effect the quality of work that will be completed. Having worked as a teacher and talked with teachers, I have seen people shut down when given an unrealistic completion date, and have found myself looking for the quickest and easiest way to complete a task assigned to me or my group if we weren't given enough time to do it well and make it count.

Having also worked closely with administration for several years, I completely understand how and why this happens. The administrator's life is also a series of target completion dates. State and national requirements come down the tube, and these have to be processed, planned and reviewed. Administrators with the best intentions attend committee meetings and planning meetings, and set up the target dates that are handed down to the teachers. For many of these directives, teachers must then pass the dates on to students.

By the time an edict works its way down the chain of command, there is often not enough advance notice to complete a task as well as it was originally intended. Teachers make accommodations for students, groups accomplish what they can, and if a target is not met, a suggestion is run back up the chain of command. By the time it reaches the top, if the leaders have not already moved on to a new initiative, the committee will need to revisit the plan and the cycle starts again.

So many last-minute scrambles could be avoided if administrators were able to pass along their goals to teachers with more advance notice. How many steps of this process could be avoided if teachers and students were present when the first proposal of a plan is on the table? Of course, that would take pull-out sub coverage and advance notice for that... it's like the chicken and the egg.

What can we do?

Flexibility is huge. We need to be flexible with our students, but just flexible enough to allow for all the work to be completed and done well, while still teaching the valuable lessons of self-regulation and time management that due dates create.

Administrators need to be flexible with us. A little more advance notice will lead to the creation of a much better product, and a little flexibility will go a long way toward keeping everyone's unified focus on the real goal: educating our students.

NFL Picks ~ Week One

Hello and welcome to a special Thursday edition of Tuesdays. As I've done every week for over a decade, I will be picking every NFL game against the spread this season. Note: I do this purely for fun. I am not a gambler, and I don't recommend anyone follow my picks with any substantial sums of money, unless you are indifferent about holding on to said money. In my younger years, I used to correctly pick 140-150 games each year, but the last five year's picks show a marked decline (Hmmm... I wonder if becoming a parent five years ago had a negative impact on my trivial knowledge, what do you think? One need look only as far as my video game skills, now entirely nonexistent, to see the answer). That said, I feel a comeback coming on, using a new strategy:

I am going to look at what the nation is picking and, as frequently as possible, pick the opposite. That, and always picking the Eagles to win and cover, and Dallas to lose. Like I said, this is just for fun, so enjoy this week’s picks…

NY Giants giving 4 to Dallas
LOSS
Dallas 24 - NY Giants 17 

Indianapolis getting 10 from Chicago

LOSS
Chicago 41 - Indianapolis 21

Philadelphia giving 9 to Cleveland
LOSS
Philadelphia 17 - Cleveland 16

Buffalo getting 3 from NY Jets
LOSS
NY Jets 48 - Buffalo 28

New Orleans giving 7 to Washington
LOSS
Washington 40 - New Orleans 32

New England giving 5.5 to Tennessee
WIN
New England 34 - Tennessee 13

Minnesota giving 3.5 to Jacksonville
LOSS
Minnesota 26 - Jacksonville 23

Miami getting 12 from Houston
LOSS
Houston 30 - Miami 10
 

Detroit  giving 7.5 to St. Louis
LOSS
Detroit 27 - St. Louis 23

Atlanta giving 3 to Kansas City    
WIN
Atlanta 40 - Kansas City 24

San Francisco getting 5 from Green Bay
WIN
San Francisco 30 - Green Bay 22

Carolina giving 2.5 to Tampa Bay 
LOSS
Tampa Bay 16 - Carolina 10

Seattle giving 2.5 to Arizona
LOSS
Arizona 20 - Seattle 16

Pittsburgh getting 1.5 from Denver
LOSS
Denver 31 - Pittsburgh 19

Baltimore giving 6 to Cincinnati
WIN
Baltimore 44 - Cincinnati 13

Oakland giving 1 to San Diego
LOSS
San Diego 22 - Oakland 14

WEEK ONE RECORD: 4-12-0

2012 - 2013 Record: 4-12-0
2011 - 2012 Record: 129-126-11
2010 - 2011 Record: 130-130-7
2009 - 2010 Record: 138-125-4
2008 - 2009 Record: 139-120-8

Back to School

Today is Tuesday. It is the day after Labor Day. It was my first day teaching my own classroom in five years.
That's right; after five years on special assignment as a technology integrator, today I have gone forward to the classroom!

Today, this focus of this blog shifts from that of a technology coach to that of an English teacher.

While I will continue to reflect on technology, literature, music, and life, this blog will mostly focus on events of the English and Creative Writing classrooms, and my students will find my thoughts on upcoming projects and even a few hints toward extra credit ideas.

Let the games begin.

Welcome back to school, everyone!

What Worked!

This year was extremely busy, which really is a testament to the work we did last year to visit every school and get our name out there. I also am sure that the Tech Tip of the Week videos we sent out every Friday int he Fall had a LOT to do with how busy we were. Each week, after we'd hit send, we'd get 20-40 responses and requests for us to come to people's classrooms and work on the tech.

We were, at times, way too busy to keep up with the requests, but that is what we wanted! We really approached the position int he way we would market a small business... only we wouldn't make more money by how much business we'd generate, we'd just get busier.

The thinking was that the more excellent work we did, the more likely our district would be to keep the position and expand it to more coaches.

Unfortunately, no matter how much we accomplished, that was not going to happen in next year's budget.

However, we can look back on the last two years and find a LOT to not only make us proud, but to serve as a model for future technology integration coaching endeavors in our district, which really MUST return when the budget conditions improve!

Here are some of THIS YEAR'S accomplishments and highlights:        

·         Facilitated 25 Flex Sessions & multiple in-service / professional development workshops and training sessions. Highlights included planning, organizing, and helping facilitate eight teacher-led workshop sessions for the Engagement In-service Day in April.

·         Logged 465 unique individual teachers who participated in PD / Training / Flex sessions

·         Logged 480 instances of 1:1 tech integration work for 2011-201. Some highlights include:

a)    DVD video of 21 Oak Park 2^nd graders making Presidential Speeches

b)    End of Year “Move Up Day” video for Gwyn-Nor assembly

c)    Walton Farm’s Wildcast News – 6 episodes this year

d)    2^nd graders at Montgomery making Animoto videos and Toon Doo projects

e)    12^th grade science dissection Skyped to 6^th grade class at Oak Park

f)     Pennfield special ed rubrics turned into Google templates for shared use

g)    Facilitated follow-up sessions for iPad users at Gwennyd Sguare and NPHS

h)    co-presented Smart Board training to 74 teachers, mostly new users, this fall

i)     helped 17 teachers use CPS clickers this year

j)     helped 5 teachers get started with Kid Blog

k)    helped 15 teachers use Edmodo with their classes

l)     helped 31 teachers with Google Applications such as Docs and Forms

m)  did follow-up training on Schoolwires with 34 teachers

n)    helped 16 teachers improve their use of Outlook email, distribution lists, etc.

o)    did follow-up training on Wikispaces with 44 teachers

p)    helped NPHS Assistant Principal collect & manage data from Senior Survey

q)    helped NPHS Assistant Principal record audio for 4 AP exams

r)     designed and facilitated Geo-caching station for Walton Farm’s Science Day

                       

·         Maintained an informative and effective District Web Page for Academic Integration in 2011-2012.

·         Collected all of our work, notes and projects on NP Tech Tools Wiki.

·         Posted this blog weekly, with 62 posts this year!

·         Created weekly tech tip video podcasts, with 53 entries over two years.

All things considered, this position was a HUGE success. I know that not only because I have personally worked with more than 900 of the district's roughly 1000 teachers over the past few years, but because of how many of them have approached me this month and told me, "I don't know what we'll do without you next year!"

I know what you'll all do. You'll figure it out. You'll find and rely on your tech savvy students for their expertise. You'll search effectively for training manuals and videos. You will ask your colleagues for assistance. You will (I hope!) continue to check out the resources we've posted on NP Tech Tools. You'll use the skills of our Tech Assistants and library staff.

While I firmly believe in the coaching model, and see great value in having teachers with scheduled time (part or full) to research educational technology, help their peers integrate, plan PD sessions, and train their colleagues, the end goal has always been to train our staff to get by without us! The goal, as we've often joked in our office, was to make our positions obsolete. That didn't quite happen yet, of course. I've been working on projects for teachers every minute of the workday (and most of my evenings at home) for the last month of the school year, so it's safe to say there was still a lot of use for coaches. But the position will not be here next year, and for now, you'll have to figure it out on your own.

So do it. Integrate 21st Century Skills. Create project- and problem-based learning opportunities for your students. Never stop learning. 

I know you will do phenomenally well!  :)

What Didn't Work

There are only two Tuesdays left before the school year ends, and I finish my tenure as an Academic Integration Coach. That means I have only two more posts as a tech coach before shifting this blog over to that of a techie-English-teacher (slash-sports-fan-slash-rock-n-roller).

I figured I would use the last two entries to look back, first at what has not worked well, and finally at what has been successful in our district's experimentation with technology integration.

As I've mentioned in this blog, I have been ready for a change for several months. I am happy to be returning to the classroom next year, and excited to be putting into practice what I've learned over the past five years. As a high school CFF Coach, then a Learning Coordinator for K-12 Technology Integration, and finally as a K-12 Academic Integration Coach, I have had five years of non-stop professional development. I have learned so much from attending conferences, and especially from my colleagues across the state, who share their questions and ideas every day on the CFF Coaches' list-serve. It was very difficult, however, to put to practice what I've learned without any students of my own.

When I originally left the classroom with the CFF grant in 2007, I asked to be the half-time coach, which would have enabled me to continue teaching for half of the day and act as coach during the rest. I believed then, as I do now, that the best coaching (and administration, management, etc.) comes from people who are actually doing what they teach. Unfortunately for me, the half position needed to go to the math department, and I became full-time CFF coach with Tommy as the half. While I was able to work intensely for five years, and I am very grateful for the way things have gone, this brings me to the first thing that does not work in technology integration:

1) Tech Coaches should teach  -- teachers are more inspired by colleagues who are doing what they are teaching in professional development sessions than they are by colleagues who have done it in the past. Having coaches teaching for half of the day would enable...

2) MORE Tech Coaches -- We need more. ONE part-time coach PER BUILDING would be ideal. Just free up a small portion of someone's day by giving him or her one less class to teach. That would save on the travel costs of sending one person to 18 buildings, as I did for the past few years. More importantly, it would allow teachers and coaches to work together regularly and build a good rapport. Sadly, our district went the other way, starting with two coaches for the high school, moving toward one for elementary and one for secondary, then going to two and a half for K-12, then to two for K-12, then one for K-12, and now, in next year's budget, it looks like none.

3) Regular Communication with Faculty -- I can see the statistics on this one clearly. We sent a Tech Tip of the Week podcast to everyone in the district for half of the year. In the first half of the year, we answered 372 help requests for individual 1:1 tech integration assistance. Since January, when we stopped sending out our weekly tip, we have only answered 162. Every time we sent a message to our entire district, we would recieve dozens and dozens of replies, usually asking for us to come work. It was a great strategy. I recommend our district use this strategy in the future for technology integration. Once we stopped sending a link to the tech tip every week to everyone, our requests for help dropped off. We "fell off the radar" for the average teacher.  As I travel around the district now, teachers constantly ask why we don't make our amazing tech tips anymore. I keep saying, "We do! We post them on our website every week, just as we did all year last year. We only sent them out in the fall to raise awareness of our position and what we do, but we figured by now everyone knew where to find them, so we stopped flooding your inbox with them each week. " Well, raising awareness only works when it is continued. For any future iterations of technology coaching to be successful, these messages should continue. Administration should make it a priority to support regular communication from technology coaches to help busy teachers have an easy avenue to learn about and learn how to use new ed tech.

4) Interactive Whiteboards -- One complaint I have heard regularly from teachers this year is that we did not do enough training on SMART Boards, or Promethean Boards, the two IWBs we use in our district. I think my personal pedagogy got in the way of this one when I became the only tech coach left. I am a firm believer that a school district's funds are wasted on IWBs. To me, they seem a flashy public display that looks good to taxpayers, but is not a necessary expense. We don't need to train teachers in how to make notebooks and flip books! All we need is a way to project a computer so every student can see it, and connect that computer to the web-based applications that house the students' research, collaborative projects, original work, etc. Well, my belief is based on my own teaching style, but I think we missed the mark with the general teaching population. Perhaps a little more training on the basic operations of these boards would have been a big benefit to many teachers... and who knows? Perhaps they would have eventually seen the light and moved away from their Notebooks and Flipcharts down the road as part of a natural progression toward better integration. Looking back, we could have offered more IWB trainings. Whether they actually need it or not, our teachers are SAYING they need it, and I would have liked to give them more.

5) Believing one-size-fits-all -- It doesn't. Trying to cram a few select websites, no matter how good they are, into district-wide training sessions is bad. While this works for Internet safety, or daily operations like Office applications and our email, we don't need everyone in the district getting the same training on a private label wiki, or a teacher web-page, or our own private Google Docs, etc. I think we might be heading down the wrong path by only supporting and training a limited number of programs. Instead, having more coaches to assist teachers, we should do much more response-to-need training, and assist teachers in safely and effectively using whatever program meets their curricular needs and personal comfort levels with its use.

Sadly, it will not be next year that we are able to make these improvements. Tech coaching seems to be going away, for now. I am sure it will be revisited in the near future. I hope we are able to bring back technology (and all other!) coaches in a future budget. Teachers learn so much better from our peers, and the best way to maintain an excellent staff is to provide meaningful and excellent professional development in response to the needs of the individual staff members. I look forward to a day when our district will once again embrace this model, and hope we will improve upon some of these areas I mentioned.

Next week, on to a much brighter topic. I will reflect on so much that went right in technology integration over the past five years. See you next Tuesday. :)