Today, I got a much needed dose of Harry Wong. This inspiring educational leader and author of The First Day of School with his wife Rosemary lists practical strategies and scenarios for the classroom to produce proven results.
I am in day one of the New Teachers Institute for my district. Three gals at my table are newly minted HS English teachers and I am starting my 19th year. I will make double their salary but we all share apprehension and excitement for the upcoming school year. I am attending because two years teaching from my living room with a virtual school avails me the need to brush up on my classroom techniques. It is also a great way to network- I met two dynamite teacher-coaches from the district and several other new teachers to my school.
Facilitating a virtual class poses different challenges than traditional classroom teaching. In both situations, the teacher must be a motivator, an expert in content, and a savvy user of the resources available to everyone in the learning relationship. Most of my virtual students had a high degree of technological ability but there were a few whom I had to walk through uploading and attaching work, naming a file, and even word processing. Others showed me their Second Life characters or their personal blogs and MySpaces pages. I don't yet know what technology is accessible to me in my new position. My goal is to apply Wong's basic principles of efficiency and organization to my teaching practice. With that in mind, here are some sites and programs that are easily accessible and that all teachers can use regardless of level or tech expertise or availability
--Electronic Grade book- My old district used Pinnacle and my new one will be institutionalizing Pinnacle as well. For those who have never used an electronic grade book, Excelsior provides a free scaled down version of Pinnacle . Teachers who still keep a paper grade book are doing their students a grave disservice by wasting human power hours annotating and calculating. The program renders professional streamlined record keeping and the reports included --even in the free version-- allow students to track progress without confusion or mistrust.
--Del.icio.us- There are several social book marking sites but del.icio.us seems to be the most widely available. All those favorites saved in MS Explorer can now be entered into Del.icio.us to share with friends and like-minded colleagues all across the world. Each entry can include key words to categorize the link and to add detailed descriptions. I will be teaching Othello in the fall and already have 71 resource links saved. Below blog entries or news columns, one frequently sees del.icio.us and Digg icons (if you like something, you "digg" it and it moves up becoming more accessible to the Digg.com community.). If MySpace intimidates you, what could be easier than saving and sharing your favorite resources and making them accessable from any computer.
--Mygradebook.com or Blackboard.com- Need help grading? Both of these sites provide "shells" to build blended learning environments. I have used Quizlab for years. For about $49 per year, (cheaper if you can get a group), you can post a variety of assessments and keep a calendar. Assessments can be set for one time or unlimited tries. Assignments can have start and expiration dates or can be posted for indefinite access. Teachers can create a quiz in their account and internally Email it to a colleague's library. There are more than 5000 quizzes in the shared library searchable by subject area and grade level. Parents and students can be E-mailed automatically when an assignment is posted. Finally, each student has an individualized page with his or her assignments listed and grades computed. Blackboard is a more corporate form of Quizlab widely used in colleges and virtual schools and is usually purchased and maintained on the school district level whereas one teacher can set up Quizlab for his or her own use. Blackboard can be used in the one computer classroom as a space to include resources and tools- much like a blog- or a teacher can post curriculum content and create an entire blended course. Blackboard contains additional tools like discussion board opportunities, auto-grade assessments, podcasting, a white board for synchronous and asynchronous teaching. Many features are at your disposal and each shell can be personalized for the teacher and students' needs.
