Oceanside High School/El Camino High School visits:

Having never been to Oceanside High School prior to our visit, I was amazed at how the campus resembled a small community college.  It was incredibly modern looking and seemed well designed. The science building was amazing all by itself.

1. How was technology integrated into the curriculum? Do you feel that it promoted student learning?

            The technology was primarily in the form of iPads that the students used at their desks to carry out the day’s instruction. The students immediately came into the classroom and began working “warm-up” questions that the teacher had prepared. The primary use of the technology was for assessment. Students would complete assignments and formal assessments on their iPads, and the teachers could receive immediate feedback on their understandings. This can really help during the formative portions of a lesson or unit. Although the fullest potential for the technology’s use isn’t realized through its incorporation only in assessments, this is a start to a much more student centered, and personalized form of instruction. The amount of feedback a teacher can receive through the use of these tablets, is far greater than any teacher can obtain through verbal communication alone.

2. Is there anything you saw that makes this classroom/school unique?

            The use of the technology isn’t what made the classes unique for me. It was the familiarity and comfort with which the students used the technology that I have not seen previously. They seemed as at ease with the iPads as they would be using pencil/paper for note taking, and completing assignments.

            In contrast, I have observed at several schools that don’t allow students to use any electronic devices. This extends to the computers that might be already present in the classrooms. Their concern is that the students will spend too much time on frivolous activities and not on their schoolwork.  This was shown to not be the case in the classrooms we visited at Oceanside High School. The students were productive and used the iPads appropriately.

3. What did you learn and how does it relate to the class questions?

            I found it interesting that the teachers were committed to ensuring that eventually each student could be issued an iPad, or similar device, to carry with them throughout the day, and take home for homework/additional support. I am having difficulty in understanding why this is so critical to the students’ learning, if they in fact have home computers and are able to access all applications and information from their homes.  My personal belief is that it would be much more effective if they had access to the tablets at school, and utilized their own computers at home.

            If a student is issued a tablet and therefore responsible for its condition, I can only see that a great many students will be responsible for reimbursing the school at the end of the year for damage incurred throughout the year. This can have the effect of not being equitable for all students considering the wide differentiation family financial situations. Where the replacement of a broken iPad for one family might be a non-issue, for another, it may very well be a financial impossibility. Having seen the condition of many students’ smart-phones over the past semester, I am certain that a fair amount of students will be buying the school new iPads if they are permitted to carry them to and from school. In speaking with my current Cooperating Teachers, I have been told that there really isn’t a tech gap among their students’ families. They all have internet access and capable computers at home.  In one of my classes, my CT has supplied web-books for use by each student while physically in the classroom. This has eliminated the need for booking computer lab time, and allowed students to accomplish most of their work digitally.

Autotune Science Mash-Up

What learning looks like on a rainy Saturday at CSUSM!

Learning an important lesson about inertia!

What learning SHOULDN'T look like!

What learning looks like!

This is the work they are doing in my daughter's kindergarten class!

Fantastic Social Justice Lesson

One the greatest impacts to me from my PLN occurred today. I was quickly breezing through some of the class tweets, and I noticed Mallory’s reference to “What does learning look like” and a photo link. Prior to reading her post and subsequently educating myself on the issue, I was somewhat ignorant to the atrocities being committed by Joseph Kony in Uganda. Like everyone who sees the video, I was appalled at the level of degradation we as humans are capable of. Then I recalled some of my students during CP1 asking why we would ever get involved in another country’s affairs. Why we would ever risk American lives in a foreign land? As this was asked during an Earth/Space Science class, I could not spend too much time on the subject. However, thinking back upon the question, I see a tremendous opportunity for a Social Science or English class to investigate where students stand on international policy and social justice. If facilitated well, this could be a significant and everlasting lesson for the students. They can understand the complexities of foreign policy and the decisions that affect all of our lives.

Having been on the business end of our foreign policy, I can understand how my students would feel about the costs in lives when we send troops abroad. The interesting part of the question is what is the point of commitment. When do we decide to become involved as a nation and intervene. I believe few students in our classes, would ever deny that something must be done to counter these crimes against humanity. The question for the students is how we get involved, and what if we are not wanted by the ruling party. These are the kinds of discussions that make me envy my Social Science brothers and sisters. 

Are grades necessary for learning?