EdTech: Code Cademy

I will be the first to admit I have neglected this blog...

It has been nearly three months since I have posted a new topic on EDTech 4 Professional Development. I am sorry - the end of the year is busy as a teacher- and well...I was more focused on my other blog; as well as starting to learn HTML code.

So here I am today to introduce Code Cademy. 

I will start by indicating that I have not used the "Premium" content - as I believe it is far too expensive at $19/month. 

However, if you (as a teacher) or your student are looking to learn HTML code to better understand the internet, Code Cademy is the place to start. 

Code Cademy makes learning not only HTML, but CSS, Java, Ruby and many other programming codes easy -even if you have never coded before. I personally have not explored anything outside the HTML and CSS courses as of yet but I can tell you I have pages worth of notes  and lessons that I can revisit when I forget what I did. 

Code Cademy has set up each course into numerous lessons; broken down and made as simple as any steps you would find in a For Dummies book. (No lack of respect for the For Dummies series, as I have several of their books, including Dreamweaver CS4, HTML5 and CSS3, just to name a few). 

Each lesson provides directions and an explanation of the feature you are learning about; and will include references to previous lessons as you go along. 

In the image above - the area in white titled "Supporting Content 1" is the description/explanation of the skill being learned for this particular lesson. directly below this is the "instructions" which provide you with a specific task for this part of the lesson. 

In the center of your screen you have your plain text - coding area; line numbers, and code colors are included in this (even the free version). On the top right you have a preview screen so you can see what changes you are making have an effect on the webpage itself if it were live online. 

At the bottom of the page there is the blue submit button where it will either move you onto the next lesson (if you are correct) or provide a hint if there is an error in your code. 

I have found the free version of Code Cademy to be absolutely amazing, and even more surprisingly addictive. I expected the free version to cut me off during my course and ask me to upgrade to finish the course - this was not the case. I was able to complete 95% of the HTML & CSS course in the free version. The only parts of the course I did not have access too were the course quizzes and the major course projects. 

While I have no intention of ever leaving the teaching profession to enter web design - I want to be able to manipulate my course webpages, blogs, and other online resources I use as I see fit for my classroom - and therefore I knew I needed to start learning HTML and CSS. Next up will most likely be Java - but that will only be once I am comfortable with HTML - and I will definitely turn to Code Cademy to learn Java as well. 

So, if you are a teacher who wants to learn HTML or more advanced coding - or your intro to computer science students want to learn HTML - visit Code Cademy today. 

EdTech: Google Hangout in the Classroom

While many of us use Google Apps for Education (GAFE) it seems many have skimmed over the usefulness of Google Hangout - I know I sure have.

My wife brought Google Hangout to my attention after Prime Minister Trudeau used Google Hangout to talk to High School students across the country after being sworn in as Prime Minister in November of 2015.

Prime Minister Trudeau, a former teacher himself, even used Periscope to stream the ceremony live to classrooms accords the country.  Trudeau and his team are not amateurs when it comes to digital media.

So after seeing the Prime Minister use this free google service I had to check it out.

So what is Google Hangout? 

Hangouts allows users to have voice and video conversations from your computer. The plugin is free and installs in seconds. You can call anyone with an email account, a microphone, and/or webcam (the webcam is needed if you want a visual). 

	Talk face-to-face from your computer Make free video calls with up to 10 people.
	Connect from any device Start and join video calls from your computer, smartphone or tablet. Learn more
	Start a video call in Gmail Instantly go from an email conversation to a group video call.

Hangouts even allows you to make phone calls to anyone in Canada and the US; the majority of the time for free - and international calls can be connected for extreamly low rates (rates varies; so I will not get into details here) 

Hangouts has a downloadable app for Android, iOS and Google Chrome so you don't always have to open the URL. 

So when will you as a Teacher use Google Hangouts? 

• Guest Speakers: Hangout can allow you to connect with Guest Speakers around the world - no need to bring someone in to the city; and worry about cost coverage. Chris Hadfield has used similar services to talk to students across the country, and around the world. Just imagine; with Google Hangout, your guest speaker list can grow exponentially. 
• Conference with Students while Sick or on Vacation: Many students and parents ask teachers for work while they are on ill or on vacation. In most cases teachers often send work home for ill students and don't bother sending work on vacation (it's not going to get done); but with Hangouts you can actually speak with a student face to face; to make sure they understand the lessons that occur while they are away. 
• Why phone home when you can Hangout Home? The best part about Parent-Teacher interviews is reading body language and actually getting to know the other people. Hangout allows you to do this without actually meeting face to face. For struggling students, this could be a huge help; being able to speak to parents and the student together. 
• Broadcast and Archive conversations; hangouts lets you record and save a session. You can use it live for your current class; and replay it for future classes. (This requires the Hangout's on Air add on) 
• Virtual Book Clubs: Most classroom learning takes place with peers within the four walls of your classroom. Hangout can allow your students to connect with other students studying the same texts. (This does take a fair amount of planning) 
• External/Expert Audiences for Student Presentations. A guest speaker is one thing, but what about inviting guest audiences to student presentations. Research has show that students perform better when creating work for an authentic audience (Sorry teachers - we tend not to count) Invite industry experts/leaders to be guest audience members to student presentations; and allow them to interact and ask  your students questions based on their presentations. 

Teachers need to Consider Student's Lack of Critical Literacy/Writing Skills

It would seem that I am on a literacy bend right now.

Perhaps this is because the OSSLT is now a month away, and every school has their after-school literacy programs up and running (a separate problem that these are really only utilised before the test - but that could be another article all together); or perhaps it is just because the growing poor results that are seen on a daily basis.

As a follow up to my post yesterday about whether or not digital literacy skills were beginning to affect traditional literacy skills; literacy rates (at least in Ontario) are static, stuck at 82%...

So today, during my lunch break I did some more reading about critical writing and literacy skills. This was prompted largely thanks to a great back and forth conversations with Keith Donaldson (@klgdonaldson) on Twitter;

I think many profs seeing new undergrads having more difficulty with reading and analyzing even article-length texts https://t.co/ViBbGQ9Qp4

— Keith Donaldson (@klgdonaldson) February 25, 2016

.@Avro_ArrowRL201 If they even try to analyze... Regurgitation without interpretation or contextualization is more and more common it seems.

— Keith Donaldson (@klgdonaldson) February 26, 2016 

It would seem that I am not alone in this assessment. Don't get me wrong, students are basically literate in the sense that they can read and write; but they cannot interpret, contextualise, or even analyse what they read. Which makes sense, as the current acceptable form of assessment of learning is largely regurgitation. Including in large part the OSSLT; as students are prepared to previous versions of the test.

If they [students] are unable to think about what they are reading; then it is no wonder that they are not able to write about it either. So if you are a teacher that continuously gets poor reading response journals back - this is most likely the reason why.

I currently teach workplace and college level English; and the increasing student population that does not read anything outside of their English classroom has become unacceptable. It is largely to the point where students complain when they are asked to read the instructions to the latest video game...

English is just like other subjects, in the sense that you need to use it to practise. Practise is the only way to get better. It would seem that largely the students who participate in sports understand this reference better than others. However, this could be another result of the lower critical literacy results.

Almost every student today has access to MSWord, OpenOffice, or GoogleDocs, yet their writing is still filled with grammatical and spelling errors. Even when they are provided the tools that can help them write - they still struggle. Perhaps this is because they are only writing for you - their teacher.

In my upcoming Blogger Tutorial for teachers, I explain what I believe is the most important aspect of blogging in the classroom - students writing for an authentic audience on a classroom blog.

We as teachers need to spend some of our professional development time looking at how we can return to producing student who are critical readers and writers; not just students who can read and write.

Thoughts? Let me know; even if you think I am way off base.

Is Technology and Digital Literacy Affecting Traditional Literacy?

I should probably preface this post with the notion that I am currently completing an additional qualification in information and integration communications technologies... yet I have come to wonder whether or not a massive push by Education systems to teach digital literacy skills is starting to affect traditional literacy skills. An important question, especially as we are now a month away from the 2016 OSSLT.

I am raising this question after reading The Toronto Star's article, "Young grads need to brush up on 3 Rs, employers say"

I currently teach several levels of English, ESL, Workplace and College level. I have also taught University level in the past; as recently as last summer - and I am continuing to see a decline in student literacy rates. Most students have trouble navigating electronic resources, and hardly consider ever consulting physical resources (*Books or a Library). They sit online and only look for information that they tend to agree with. Students are spending an unprecedented 10+ hours per day connected to media. This should be seen as problem.

Internet access among Canadian students has reached an unprecedented level; 99%.

Nearly all Canadian Students have a basic understanding of how to use the Internet. However, only 61% of students use more than 1 search engine (outside of Google); and the same 61% of students restart a search if they are not happy with initial results. Only 35% know of and use advanced search tools.

 Only 50% of student scan a pages results before deciding on a link. These numbers indicate digital literacy concerns; by themselves; let alone when we ask a student to read and analyse a physical text or write anything formal.

When being graded on their work, 89% of student will verify online content. However, only 71% of students will verify information when it is for a family member or friend. This drops to 66% when research is for personal interest.

Only 60% of students will verify information found on a blogs, social media, or news sources. An alarming 80% of students will seek teacher support for assessing the reliability of sources! This clearly indicates that digital literacy strategies are not working as well as we believe.

 Horrifyingly, only 51% of students actually want to know if information they find is true or accurate.

Where are students learning their skills?

• 45% of students responded to learn their online skills from teachers, while 47% learned their online skills from their Parents.The remaining 8% were either unsure, or believed they taught themselves. These numbers indicate, that Parents and Teachers have a shared responsibility in helping students become Digitally Literate. They need to know how to Question what they are reading online, and how to deeply analyze what they are seeing. 

So as we as teachers push must of our focus to digital literacy, are we neglecting traditional literacy? 

In 2015, of the 25 971 students who wrote the Ontario Secondary School Literacy Test (OSSLT) and who had not met the reading standard in Grade 6, fewer than half (48% or 12 383) were successful. Of the 27 361 students who wrote the OSSLT and who had not met the writing standard in Grade 6, 14 904 (54%) were successful.

Most of the first-time eligible students who were unsuccessful on this year’s OSSLT also had not met the provincial standard in one or both of reading and writing in Grade 6.

Reading 

Of the 19 777 students who were unsuccessful on the 2015 OSSLT and who had written the junior-division assessment in 2011, 69% (13 588) also had not met the provincial reading standard in Grade 6.

Writing 

Of the 19 777 students who were unsuccessful on the 2015 OSSLT and who had written the junior-division assessment in 2011, 63% (12 457) also had not met the provincial writing standard in Grade 6.

Furthermore, of the 17 875 students (17%) who had not met the standard in reading in Grade 3 and had also not met it in Grade 6, 60% (7233) not were successful on the OSSLT. This number slighly decreases when compared to the writing standard (54%).

Are we doing enough? 

These numbers would indicate no. Although the government seems to skim over these results. Saying, of the 127 867 first-time eligible students who wrote the test, 105 309 (82%) were successful and 22 558 (18%) were unsuccessful.

An 18% failure rate on the Literacy test in the 21st century is horrible, yet somehow it is acceptable. The 2015 rates are about the same as the past 5 years. Therefore, our students are not getting more literate.

Test Results for the OSSLT: 2011-2015

2011	83% Success Rate
2012	82% Success Rate
2013	82% Success Rate
2014	83% Success Rate
2015	82% Success Rate

I believe a re-think is necissary for both teaching digital literacy and traditional literacy skills.

Thoughts?

Resources: 

 “Experts orAmateurs? Gauging YoungCanadians Digital Literacy Skills” created by Media Smarts study, Young Canadians in a Wired World (2014)

"Highlights of the Provincial Results: OSSLT 2015" Education Quality and Accountability Office (2015)

EdTech: GAFE Sample Letter Home

Does your school board already use Google Apps For Education (GAFE)?

If so, you probably already have some form of letter you send home to parents explaining how and what GAFE's are and how they will be used in your classroom.

If your board is new to GAFE's, here is a sample letter home:

Dear Parents and Students,

As part of your learning here at ______________, you will be introduced to Google Apps for Education (GAFE); primarily your very own email account. Your new email address will appear as firstname.lastname@______student.com (Your School board acronym is usually placed here)

How is this different from your own personal email or GMail? It comes with access to a multitude of applications that you either won’t have previously heard about, or never used before signing up for your new course.

GAFE also has a number of important distinctions when compared to free email services, beit either outlook or GMail. GAFE is far more secure than your personal free account. GAFE is used at almost all grade levels within the board, and therefore needs to be safe and secure for all of our student users. Two major important distinctions: GAFE does not allow for any adverting within its accounts; and it does not mine your personal data. Both occur regularly within your personal free account.

GAFE will allow you to work in the cloud with all of its apps, from the most basic Google Docs, to more complex ones like Hangout. It will allow you to collaborate with your peers without having to actually meet face to face when your schedules do not align. GAFE also grants its users additional storage and space on both your GAFE GMail and Drive. What is a Google Drive? It is an online hard drive that keeps track of all your work. The dog will never even get close to eating your English homework again!

Have you been worried about not owing a word processing software, and don’t necessarily trust the free download equivalents? That is no problem with GAFE. There is nothing to install or download (unless you want to work offline). Working in Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides is as easy as using any MS-Office suite; with the added benefit that your work will save every few seconds so you will rarely-if ever lose your work again. Almost all GAFE’s will allow you to export your work into a compatible file format to use should you ever get a word processing suite.

It is important to note, that you will continue to have access to your GAFE account as long as you are a registered student with the ______.

If you have any questions or concerns, please feel free to contact me. Please keep an eye on the school newsletter, as we will be planing a GAFE Information Session to show students and parents how to use applications and Google Calendar as an agenda in the coming weeks.

EdTech: Blogging for PD

As I posted yesterday, I will publish a Blogger Tutorial for teachers shortly.

Part of that tutorial will include a section dedicated to blogging for Professional Development.

Here is a small excerpt from my coming tutorial. (This was developed from adapting Teach.com’s Teach100 “10 Reasons to Blog as Professional Development”)

10 Reasons to Blog as Professional Development

1. Blogging Helps you Think and Write more clearly.

Just like how students benefit from writing for an authentic audience, so will you. When you realize you are writing for other educators, or interested parties, you will write with more of a purpose than just providing feedback on 90 essays a semester.

2.  Blogging connects you with other thought leaders.

By blogging, you will be connecting with other like-minded individuals; who you can argue with, and collaborate with. It will also provide you with an opportunity to get advice from teacher who perhaps have more experience than you.

3. Blogging will keep you accountable in meeting your learning and development goals.

Just like using an agenda helps you plan and meet deadlines - so can blogging. Even if you only have a few readers, they are still your readers. They are waiting for your publish your next post. Therefore, blogging will keep you going. It also provides a chance to get feedback from your readers about your learning and development.

4. Blogging will help you reflect.

Blogging, like journaling, or keeping a diary is a great way to collect and meditate on your teaching practice and experience. It can be extremely enlightening to look back on your posts and see how you have grown.

5. Blogging creates a landing page for your most important notes/thoughts.

No matter what you are blogging about, beit curriculum ideas, resources, or recaps; having a blog and being part of a digital community is a great way to keep track of what you have learned and already know. It also provides others a resource to look towards for advice on similar experiences.

6. Blogging can help you teach with Intention.

Blogging in and of itself is a declaration of who you are as a person and as a teacher. In making this declaration you will be publically (or privately, depending on your blog settings) saying you are determined to be the best you can be.

7. Blogging can give you an important and necessary motivation boost.

If positive reinforcement wasn’t so important, many of us wouldn’t be hooked on Facebook or Twitter. Blogging about your passions and teaching practices can be a great way to get support from your fellow teachers and education professionals; which will drive you to do better.

8. Blogging keeps you in the loop.

Blogging will help keep you current on the latest best practices in teaching, educational technologies, education reform, and much more.

9. Blogging may shape a new interest.

Who knows, your blog might be the stepping stone you needed to try something new. It could also help solidify you as an expert in what you are posting about.

10.  Blogging is a source of feedback.

Beit positive or negative, teachers require feedback. Blogging is a great way to get global feedback on your lesson plans, teaching practices, field trip ideas, and much more. This feedback often leads back to number seven.

Blogger For Teachers: A Tutorial

Blogger For Teachers: A Tutorial

View Tutorial

Have something you want to contribute, let me know!

EdTech Resource: Capacity Building Series

EdTech Resource: Capacity Building Series

Alright...I will be honest. This resources is less EdTech than numerous PDF publications by the Ministry of Education of Ontario. Why is it here then? Because it is a great resource for teacher who are looking to become better educators, and built the capacity of their classroom and their school community as a whole. 

As an educator, and currently registered Ontario Certified Teacher, I made a pledge to continue my learning throughout my life. This life-long learner's pledge is something every teacher makes - because if we, the teacher do not continue to learn, we cannot adequately teach tomorrows youth. 

The Capacity Building Series clearly outlines different Professional Learning Committee (PLC) learning, findings and suggestions for what you can be doing in your school community. 

This ongoing publication, since 2007, continues to grow. So check back often to see what new updates are currently available.

Is your school located in a region that has a higher percentage of teenage parents? Are you looking for ways to continue to support them and keep them on track in their learning? If so, take a look at the most recent, September 2015 Special Edition - Supporting Teenage and Single Parent Learners to Complete High School. The series has a massive span of topics; from overreaching general ideas to specifics like the September Special Edition listed above. 

What about figuring out the technicalities of Inquiry and Collaborative based learning - the Capacity Building Series is a magnificent resource for learning about new and inquisitive ways to teach and ensure your students are understanding your teaching. 

Think you have far too much on your plate to read yet another teaching publication? Think again! The vast majority of the articles published by the series are only a few pages in length, and make for short reading to help in your PD. 

The series covers far too many topics for me to go into detail in this single post ( I could actually probably manage a separate blog for the Capacity Building Series) - Take a look, and see for yourself. 

EdTech Resource: Teacher Tap

This is another new resource I stumbled across for this blog. Welcome to Teacher Tap 

At first glance this webpage does not seem like all that much, and in 2016 - it looks like it out of date...well it kind of is...

Teacher Tap was last copyright in 2007 (Nearly 10 years now) But here is why I think it is still might be worth a look, especially if you are new to the teaching profession, or are just starting to dabble into online teaching, and your students either know more than you; or are having trouble answering student questions. 

The landing page does have a warning statement that they are in the process of updating the resources, so there is a mixture of newer and older resources. 

Teacher Trap is free , professional development resource that helps educators and librarians address common questions about the use of technology in teaching and learning by providing easy access to practical, online resources and activities.

As an English teacher, I was excited for the Literature and Literacy page; however, the links for Informational Inquiry are all dead...(the cons of an older resource). Otherwise, the page breaks down some of the digital basics for students, such as copyright information, and plagiarism, and how to safety and accurately surf the internet. 

While these may seem like basic digital literacy skills, many students till lack these skills, and only learn of their lack of digital literacy once they reach Post-Secondary and cannot find valid internet sources. 

That is the section on Information Skills and Digital Ethics would work perfectly or Digital Literacy lessons starting at a Grade 9 level.  

The Page of Technology Tools actually gives a basic breakdown of the majority of software students will encounter in school and at home. Basics like how to navigate a PDF file, to how to use email, and filters to your advantage. 

Overall - if you are already a Technology Teacher, Teacher Tap is not for you. It will be well below your level of understanding and the lesson levels are probably below the ones you already have developed. If you are a new teacher and looking for a kick-start to your own lesson portfolio, Teacher Tap may be able to give you a hand. 

EdTech Resource: ReadWriteThink

To visit this resource, please click: ReadWriteThink 

Mission Statement: "Here at ReadWriteThink, our mission is to provide educators, parents, and after school professionals with access to the highest quality practices in reading and language arts instruction by offering the very best in free materials."

This is the first time I have come across ReadWriteThink. So if you have any feedback on this resource that you would like to add - please let me know. 

ReadWriteThink has partnered with the International Literacy Association, the National Council of Teachers of English, and The Verizon Foundation to help improve the literacy rates across the United States. 

Why is this helpful to Canadians you ask? Well it might not be in every case; but it is still a resource for helping improve literacy rates at your school. ReadWriteThink also has some of the highest standards for online lesson plans that I have seen. 

ReadWriteThink says that, "every lesson plan on ReadWriteThink has been aligned not only to the IRA/NCTE Standards for the English Language Arts but to individual state standards as well."  

If you want to read more about their Standards of Alignment, please see their webpage for details. 

ReadWriteThink has divided their webpage into four key sections, 

1. Classroom Resources 
2. Professional Development Resources
3. Videos
4. Parent and After School Resources 

I think the Professional Development and Parent Resources are some of the most important to teachers and parents alike. There are so many webpages out there that offer lesson plans, but very few that offer a good set of tools for Professional Development. 

The PD section offers a library suggestions, however the majority of its recommendations are just there as recommendations, they are not online publications, and you have to go elsewhere to purchase the book. The PD section also offers different strategy guides, and online meeting and events (again in the US - so for those of us North of the boarder, it doesn't help.) 

What I find most interesting about the PD section is it's exclusive online PD. While there are currently no planned online webinars, they do offer webinars on demand, as well as links to other online programs and courses. 

EdTech Resource: Education World

EdTech Resource: Education World 

This one is new to me. So I played around their webpage for a while to get the feeling for it - and it looks like  great place for Educational Content.

If you or a colleague use Education World - Please feel free to comment on how useful you find it. I would be glad to post a guest author's views of this resource.

Here is what Education World says about itself:

Education World is a complete online resource that teachers, administrators and school staff can visit each day to find high-quality and in-depth original content. We update the site daily, offering:

• Carefully curated news briefs on topics that matter to educators;
• Lesson plans, printables, worksheets and thousands of other classroom-ready resources;
• EdTech tips and ideas as well as reviews of apps, websites and tech products; and
• A huge library of professional development articles and columns.

- See more at: http://www.educationworld.com/help/about.shtml#sthash.gBdtJX7z.dpuf

This webpage does to require users to maintain an account, which is nice change of pace. No need to remember a username and password. 

While Education World offers information on lesson plans; where it is different is on how it connects Educators. 

On its main page, Education World has links to News, Blogs, Teachers, Lessons, and Tech. It even offers advice to Substitute Teachers. This is an added bonus. I am only a few years out of Substitute Work, still working on LTOs until I become Permanent, but additional Substitute Teaching lesson plans and ideas are great to have on hand; especially when the teacher instructions don't fill the entire period. 

As this blog is dedicated to Professional Development, I especially like the "PD Tips" that Education World has to offer. It has everything from: Strategies that work, Classroom Management, Student Motivation, and Bulletin Board Ideas. 

Education World seems to be a great resource for any teacher to have saved in their "Favorites" tool bar.