Lesson Plan - My Three Artifacts

Creating Videos to Keep in Touch with Students While Away

So this is nothing revolutionary (pun intended, please read on) but I have used video a couple of times this year to touch base with my students while out of the classroom a couple of times and it has really helped.  Early in the school year I was out of state for a couple of days as my wife and I attended a funeral and last week I was at Mount Vernon for a couple of days attending the 2014 Mount Vernon Missouri Teachers Workshop.  

I have a great sub who consistently covers my classes while I am away so I feel fortunate to have someone who knows the content (retired 8th grade American history teacher) and is great with the students but I also want to help keep them updated on the assignment, give a little extra instruction while I am gone, etc.

I have two examples below of videos that I used while gone last week.  

The first is an example of the video that I posted and shared as a sort of "introduction, here is what I would like you to accomplish today" video.  I try to keep these short, informational and have a little fun so that students will them interesting.  A laundry list of things to do while I am gone is not exciting.  I have used props or put on sunglasses in the past to make them more fun. This first video was for last Friday when I was attending the Mount Vernon workshop.

The second video is one that I created on Thursday night at Mount Vernon, posted on my classroom site and then had the students watch in class on Friday.  We arrived at Mount Vernon on Wednesday afternoon and attended a couple of lectures and did some guided tours of the outer buildings at Mount Vernon so I decided to share a little about "rustication" - the type of wooden siding that is on the exterior of many buildings at Mount Vernon.  

I used my own pictures taken just a couple of hours before and used ScreenCast-O-Matic and my MacBook Air to record a quick video.  It was one take, I didn't worry about stumbling over my words a couple of times and I knew it was not going to be nominated for an Oscar.  The purpose of the video was to touch base with my students, tell them about what I was learning while away from class and sharing a story.  The sub showed it to my class on Friday and said that the students did respond when I asked the question and they were engaged.

Again, nothing about these two videos were revolutionary - you record a video, post it to YouTube and share it - but it did create a connection and helped the students understand that I was thinking of them and wanted them to stay on point for the sub.

Tech Teardown Thursday - Getting Geeky in Technology Class

NOTE : This blog post describes taking apart some electronic devices in class.  I shared with my students, and should note here, that tearing into a computer power supply could have risks as explained in this story.

Groups working on different objects in Teardown Tech Thursday

Taking apart a TV on Tech Teardown Thursday

This week in my 8th grade technology class we tried something that I thought about doing last year but never accomplished.  The vibe this year is all about taking some chances and learning from your attempts.  Yesterday we did "Tech Teardown Thursday" in which we took apart several electronics to see what is inside.

Our technology class is a combination of learning how to use Google Apps, editing video and audio, using MakeyMakey kits, coding, etc.  The more I have researched and studied the maker movement has emphasized that students should know a little more about the nuts and bolts of computers and electronics.  They are not all going to go home and built their own computer but there is a sense of wonder when they see the circuit board inside a TV.

Tech Teardown Thursday - working on a speaker

I didn't want students to just tear into a TV or a radio without a purpose so I created a sheet for the students to complete as they did the teardown.  First recording what the object is, when it was made, etc.  As the take apart the object they are writing down observations about what they see and what questions they have about the things they are discovering. The lab sheet concludes with thoughts on what questions they still have and what they learned during the teardown.

Earlier in the week I had bought several sets of screwdrivers from the Dollar Store (but now know that I also need to bring some pliers and probably some needle-nose pliers as well).  I needed to get some electronics to be torn down and had one old CD player/radio at home that didn't work anymore but wanted to get at least 4 items so that students could break up into groups and work on an object in a small group.  I visited Savers, a local thrift store, and asked if there was any way I could get some electronics that people had donated but didn't work.  They cheerfully said I could come in every couple of weeks and they would save some items for me to pick up and use in class.  If it doesn't work they just throw it away so they seemed happy to help out knowing someone would get good out of it.

Tech Teardown Thursday - taking apart a CD player / radio

The objects we had this first week were a CD/radio, a small TV, a car stereo and a speaker.  The students loved opening them up and seeing what was inside.  They didn't know what most of it was but they were intrigued to find out more later.  Some good topics started in various groups - Why is there a really strong magnet at the center of the speaker? Interest in the how the tuner used gears to move inside the radio.  How the LCD screen on the car stereo is connected to the microchip? There was a lot of interest and the next day one of the students said he went home and took apart an old X-Box because he wanted to see inside after our activity in class.

We have a glass display case in the hallway by our classroom and this year we will be displaying the parts and components of the things we teardown in tech class.  It will help generate an interest among students walking by in the hall and share what we find.

Working with a car stereo on Tech Teardown Thursday

I would like to do this activity in class every couple of weeks and see if we can identify and understand more of the components later in the semester. Lessons learned include having students slow down and observe more as they work on the teardown.  They want to just rip into it.  Also, remind them to be very careful as they use the screwdrivers and work with sharp pieces of metal inside these objects.

If you have experience in doing teardown activities please add a comment to this blog post.  I would love to learn from others doing similar things in their class. Thanks.

Classroom Walkthrough 2014

My friend William Chamberlain this week recorded a video walkthrough of his classroom and shared it on his blog.  It was great to see how he set up his classroom and he challenged other teachers to create and share a video tour of their own classroom.

There has been a lot of discussion recently about space and how to create classroom environments which encourage student learning.  Last year I did a blog post that eventually led to my shift from individual student desks to tables. This year our building will be 1:1 and I have made some slight modifications to my room in order to help facilitate that new opportunity.  

Here is the video walkthrough I took today of my own classroom.  Please let me know if you have any questions or comments via the comments with this post.

President Obama Taking the Oath of Office

A quick picture of my classroom today during the oath by President Obama. My class was absolutely silent for the oath and the speech - not common in an 8th grade class.

Podcast #134 - How I Use Note Packets in My 8th Grade American History Class

Hello. I've been trying to keep up with my e-mail from listeners and people who check out my classroom web page but I've been getting behind as of late. Today I thought I would try to answer one of my most frequently asked questions - How do you use your note packets in class with your students? I have been using something that I call "note packets" as one method of delivering my content to my students. These packets, and the notes we use with them, are available for download and I receive e-mail often from teachers using them in their own classroom. In this podcast I try to answer the most frequently asked questions about the note packets.

Link to download my unit note packets and the unit notes in PowerPoint form

Direct link to Podcast #134 - How I Use Note Packets in My 8th Grade American History Class - MP3 Audio File - 12:30 minutes

First Day of the New School Year

The pencils are sharpened, the white boards are - well, white - and the junior high students will be lost and romaing the halls looking for their classes. It must be the first day of school! Tomorrow - August 16th - will be the first day of classes for us in the Liberty Public School District. Here are a couple pictures of my room as it awaits eager students. Hope everyone out there has a great start to the 2007/2008 school year.

Interview with Steve Hargadon on Podcasting and Web 2.0 in the Classroom

Hello. It's been a while since my last podcast - lots of things happening as we finish out the school year (a student told me last week we had 28 days left in the year). I'm also trying to paint and remodel our basement which also serves as my office and "recording studio".

I was interviewed last week by Steve Hargadon of Granite Bay, California (some of you may also know Steve as a contgributor to the Infinite Thinking Machine blog) for a podcast series he is doing entitled "Classroom 2.0". I had a great time visiting about the use of podcasting in education and he currently has the interview posted to his blog. Here is a direct link to the blog post and podcast interview with Steve.

Thanks Steve and I look forward to future episodes on how other teachers are using Web 2.0 in their classrooms.