Mr Hammerlund

I first read this book in March 2011, which as some people will know, was when Japan was going through a small crisis . I was living in Sendai at the time, but was not on the coast. I think I could get more out of it with a second reading. Note: This website has great information. In fact, there is a ton of UbD information online. Chapter 1 - Backward Design Why backward design? If you don't know where you are going, then any road can get you there. Teaching with the end in sight allows for a focused curriculum. "Curriculum should lay out the most effective ways of achieving specific results." (14) "Too many teachers focus on the teaching, and not on the learning." (15) The Twin Sins of Traditional Design Hands on without being Minds on + Coverage  =  No guiding intellectual purpose or clear priorities frame the learning experience. (16) Students should be able to answer about activities: (17) What they are doing Why they are doing it Wha...

What is language fluency? Google Define gives two definitions: The quality or condition of being fluent, in particular. The ability to speak or write a foreign language easily and accurately. The first definition is not very relevant (nor very good), but the second is better. How can you measure this? Is it measurable? I have seen (and taught myself) people who I felt are very fluent, but once I went to teach them, because the vocabulary and grammar was new, reverted to what they knew and struggled. I think it is important to continue to try to expand on your knowledge as a language speaker, foreign or even mother-tongue, no matter your level. I think there is always something to be learned or improved upon. The purpose of language is communication, so with that in mind, what is the best way to achieve the second definition ( The ability to speak or write a foreign language easily and accurately)  as a teacher? From my own experience, fluency is extrem...

I don't hear parents telling me they like homework because it keeps kids out of trouble. I have, and do hear, that parents like homework because it keeps kids busy. I really wonder what these kids do at home. I did not have video games until later in elementary school; Legos are how I spent most of my time. I wonder what would happen if my students played with Legos more. Saying that makes me remember that in the beginning of the school year I wanted to give my students more time in school to do that.

Chapter 9 - Rethinking Homework Kohn's three kinds of assignments to give at home Activities naturally suited to the home - interviewing parents, replicating an experiment done at school, etc. Family activities that we don't normally think of as homework - cooking together, playing games together, helping out the family -- just have the students keep a journal of their activities. Reading -  let the students choose the book and share what they read with the class. Assigning pages, logs, or a set amount of time to read, isn't helpful.  Kohn also talks about student choice in this chapter. I am not very good at giving students a choice. For the last project we did, The Nocturnal Animals Project , really the only choice my students had was which animal they would research. I prefer to have a framework from which the students work from, usually all in the same medium (videos, picture posters, poems, etc.) but the students choose their own content. Mayb...

[caption id="" align="alignright" width="188"] Photo Credit: MrSchuRe [/caption] Everyday at school I have to remind both my own students, and those in other grades, what to do when they get into a disagreement with another student. I remind them of some steps I picked up from another teacher to help students remember what to do in those situations. Say stop Walk away Tell a friend Tell a teacher I think that it is very similar to what kids should do if they think they are being bullied online. Say stop If it continues, tell an adult Let's talk about it Cyberbullying, as defined by Wikipedia is as follows: actions that use information and communication technologies to support deliberate, repeated, and hostile behavior by an individual or group, that is intended to harm another or others. use of communication technologies for the intention of harming another person use of internet service and mobile technologies such as web pag...

When I write best, I write in the quiet with no distractions.  When I was teaching the grade 3-4 class last year, I imposed this onto the class during when they would write in their journals as well as most other writing periods. For the most part it worked OK. I found myself being a taskmaster sometimes when the students would talk. I guess it was more than sometimes. It's a fine line between collaboration and chatting.  This year I have been more relaxed during writing times, encouraging my students to discuss their writing with each other.  Help each other spell words they don't know. Their preferred method is going up to the whiteboard or chalkboard to write it there. Come to think of it, I think they are copying me. There are also times when students will just get on with their writing. Why did my thinking change? Since my students are young and inexperienced EALs , I could not help then with all their questions, so th...

I try to use my own pictures as much as I can on my blog and in class. Unfortunately, I cannot say that I have been the best model for my students when I do not use my own work in class. I have created videos and used music that was not mine without citations. I have used pictures in presentations without giving credit where it was due. I claim ignorance. Photo Credit: Yuba College Public Space via Compfight cc But with the reading from this week, I have a much better understanding of what is expected of good netizins and some of the laws surrounding copyright laws. Now I even [kind of] know the copyright laws in Japan which has this clause according to Wikipedia : Educational use: Teachers at non-profit educational institutions are permitted to reproduce copyrighted works for the purpose of teaching, as long as such reproduction does not infringe on the interests of the author. For example, a teacher may duplicate a television program or audio recording, but may no...

Happy Face by Me While looking for more waysI am violating copyright laws to legally use copyrighted materials, I came across this post on Edublogs explaining copyright law for educators . Ironically, while I was looking through Compfight for an image to use for this post, I saw an ad for a stock photo site that featured a photo that looked very similar to one I have taken. It could be a coincidence, but I emailed the support team to find out. After doing some searching of where I may have posted that image, I don't think it's mine after all. I wasn't so concerned that the photo was being used, but rather that it was being used for profit. Let that be a lesson for me. Searching for More than Images As I was reading some COETAIL posts for this week, I continually read about how people are really happy to have been introduced to CompFight. While it is a handy tool, I kept thinking to myself, "It's great. But what happens when I want a video?...

The only kinds of study skills that students would have to do homework to acquire ... are those useful for doing more homework. This chapter starts off with this great quote. I also like the chapter title - B etter G et U sed t o I t. At this point in the book though, I have to say that I am torn as to how I feel about the subject. While I was reading I thought back to my own days as a student. I did homework as it was assigned up until 9th grade when a friend of mine asked me why I was doing it. So I stopped. I kind of wish I hadn't. Who knows what would have been different, but I would like to think that I would have been better off somehow. I also thought of how Kohn talks of "family time" as a reason for why homework is bad. But what about those families who do not have "family time"? I don't have kids of my own, so I don't know what it is like for families at night. I do feel for parents who have difficulty making forcing their kids to do hom...

A long while back an email came into my inbox from Education Week with a subject that read, "Webinar: Surging IT Service Requests and Helpdesk Support". I just now finally got around to watching it. I cannot say it was that interesting. It was about how an IT support company deals with a huge school district in Kansas City and manages the support requests. While I was listening to it, I was thinking of the comments I have seen from some IT Coordinators when they become an IT Coordinator. Basically, the first thing many say (and I think I would say too) was that they were not a support desk. My school is centrally organized; meaning that the IT Coordinator works with the leadership team to formulate policy. He has to work hard since it is his job to make sure everything is running smoothly. The problem with organizing the infrastructure this way is that when something goes wrong, everything is dependent on one person and it can take time to fix. It is also d...

One of the most frustrating things I find online is a lack of information about authors. When I read someone's blog, especially a professional blog, I want to know who they are. It helps me make a connection to them. I want to see what grade they are teaching, what they are teaching, and where they are teaching. by  onlyalice  via  compfight.com I understand why people do not want to share information about themselves. Websites are pushing for more and more "openness", and the media is [fortunately] reporting on the increasing privacy breaches that websites have. We are in a time unlike any other where we can find information very easily, and unfortunately like other times in human history, people exploit it for their personal gain. I think it is up to us as users to decide what we put online. What about the times when information is posted by other people? Have you ever Googled yourself? I know everyone has. When I Googled m...

While I was inputting my comment links into my COETAIL Google Spreadsheet this morning, I found that it does not have the same functionality (duh) as Excel. What I thought would happen last time I saved it, was that it would open on the last page I was looking at; in this case Course 2. When I opened it up this morning, it opened to Course 1. Since I like things easy, I tried looking online to figure out how to make the spreadsheet always open to where I want it to. But after some searching, and not knowing the correct terminology probably, I could not find what I was looking for. With some tinkering though, I found out how to do it. Step 1 - Open your spreadsheet. Step 2 - Go to the bottom of the page where the tabs for the different spreadsheet pages are.  Step 3 - Simply click and drag the tab of the page you want to display first to the far left. It is that easy and I did a headsmack when I figured it out.

I often use the "search tools" button when I am using Google's search engine. I like being able to filter by time to eliminate outdated information. This morning I did a search for a french toast recipe. When I clicked search tools, trying to find a way to get recipes in Japanese, I found that recipes can be filtered in multiple ways by Google: ingredients, cook time, calories, and cooking time. Awesome! Google has been pushing out some great functionality with its search engine making it much easier to get more accurate quickly. Now I want some way to know on what searches the extra functionality is available.

I just came across an article on Time.com about homework, and about this book. It's funny to see AOL cited as a source. The "Tougher Standards" Fad Hits Home Google.com defines rigor as rig·or    /ˈrigər/ Noun The quality of being extremely thorough, exhaustive, or accurate. Severity or strictness: "the full rigor of the law". The Role of Homework Affluent students are more likely to have parents who are able to help them with their homework.  At my school, where most parents are non-native English speakers, I see a form of this. For us as a private school, most families are affluent. So parents who can help their students fall into two categories: those with time, and those who do not. Parents with time fall into two subcategories: those who can speak/read English, and those who cannot. So what happens when kids whose parents cannot help them? Over Christmas break I sent home a packet of English review worksheets hoping...

Ron Starker brought up a good point . Flickr's guidelines state: ... pages on other web sites that display content hosted on flickr.com must provide a link from each photo or video back to its page on Flickr. So, how do you do this? Step 1 - Locate the Photo You Want joshua tree by me Step 2 - Find the HTML Code and Select the Size Photo You Want Highlight the HTML code and click CTL+C to select it. Step 3 - Embed the HTML into The Blog Post Go to your blog and click on the HTML button in the upper-right side of the post box. In here you can insert the code by clicking CTL+P . Step 4 - Add the Photo Citation Take a look at Jeff's post about citation . Click on the photo and you will see an icon of a camera show up. Click on that and you can then edit the photo details. Hopefully this helps clear up any confusion rather than create more.

When and where should we be teaching students about their digital footprint? footprints by  sixmats  via  flickr.com I don't remember when I started thinking about my own digital footprint. I do know that when I first started using the Internet I tried to be invisible. Why would I want anyone else to know who I am? , I thought. It wasn't until a few years ago that I started my own online presence. I was taking a course that required me to reflect on my teaching and was required to start a journal. I seriously considered using a leather journal that I have and used in my first year of teaching. But, I decided that a blog would be better. That blog helped me become more comfortable with having an online presence. By the time I had changed my beliefs, I was an adult. The question that stayed in my mind all week was: How can I explain to first and second graders an abstract concept as a digital footprint? I decided to try to think of...

When we started this unit, I was thinking big. I really wanted the students to know where our garbage comes from and I wanted them to see that humans waste too much. I was thinking of actually dissecting a garbage bag. My plan was to dump out a bag of garbage from my own home and sort out the contents. I imagined my kids categorizing everything as they rummaged through the waste. I imagined us going out to the blacktop outside where we have recess and making a huge circle in chalk. My students would tally and sort the garbage, then at the end, we would make a glorious pie chart. It never came to be. I consulted with our Kindergarten teacher (the best Kindergarten teacher you will never know) and we came up with a different plan. I made these sheets that I put above our waste and recycle bins. The garbage bin has a picture of a landfill on it. Each week, every time someone throws something away, the students make a tally mark. Above the re...

There are some websites that I get sucked into. By the time I realize that I have been wasting time, an hour or two has gone by. I just came across a Chrome extension called Stay Focused .  It allows you to set a time limit per day in which to browse certain sites. This looks like a good extension for parents who want to limit their child's' time on the Internet or at least certain sites. It could also be used to get kids to go to bed. I suppose I could use it too.