Replacing a Lecture

About a week and a half ago, I was coming up on introducing the novel Of Mice and Men to my juniors. I absolutely hate introducing novels because I'd not found any way to do this beyond lecture. Don't get me wrong, when a novel is being started, it very valuable to know something about an author and his circumstances to understand the context of the novel: Why did an author write it? What had the author experienced that might be in the novel? What was going on in the world at the time? These global questions often act as a nice framework to begin talking about the work. However, those lectures were deadly.

It finally hit me the period before this introductory lecture (better before than after!): why not have the kids research and document the information? The laptops were available and unscheduled for that time, so I decided to jump off a cliff and give it a go.

I started the activity by setting the framework that knowing about an author and his background can often lead to an understanding of the novel. I gave them the author's last name, the name of the novel, and 20 minutes. They were off and researching! My only insistence this first time out was to record their individual finds on paper, so I could track individual participation. Of course, I monitored their progress as well be circulating the classroom.

Five minutes later...time to have a talk about web site selection; can you believe everything on any website? Who can you trust? Can you trust Wikipedia? (Yes, Wikipedia was an early stop.)

Twenty minutes later, I started recording the kids' findings on the interactive whiter board as they threw them out. They found every major fact that I would have given in lecture (except the formal name of his style), and when I told them this, they were amazed. I wrapped up by defining realism and talking with them about which facts tied in to that concept. We had set the stage for what Steinbeck brought to his writing and how it might have affected the outcome.

What would I do differently?

• I definitely need to be more clear in insisting on the note taking; I've got to have some record of what the kids find and where they have been.
• Hmmm, where they've been: must have the kids cite their sources. At what site did they find the content they found? Can it be corroborated on another site? Was it?
• Wouldn't it be cool to have the kids put their findings on the board live as they find them? Waiting to the end was effective, but might it be even more powerful to have this happening live?

Inservicing teachers of tomorrow

I taught an in service academy today...was one of three presenters. Our topic: Digitizing Your Classroom. We had about 45 teachers in for the day, and we focused on uses of social networking in the classroom, creating electronic charts, and creating dynamic, non-linear PowerPoint Presentations. My focus was PowerPoints.

First off...don't ever try to use a laptop as a file server for a folder 100+ MB in size! I learned the hard way. I'd used the Mac file share feature in the past, but not for anything that big. Get 5 to 10 computers trying to get it at the same time (or whenever the computer maxed out), and everything ground to a halt. Thank God for a back-up plan...USB drives to the rescue! (In hindsight, I should have started a wikispace with the resources. Of course, I didn't realize that until about 5 a.m. yesterday and the academy started at 8:00. Oh, well.)

The technique I was trying to teach was to use buttons for navigation so the kids can jump around as they wish and to embed rich forms of media within the PPT. Why these technique? Student pacing was my big selling point. Are there students who need more time to process the provided information? Absolutely! This kind of PowerPoint allows for this kind of pacing. Students can read at their own rate, take notes at the level they deem necessary, and even replay the embedded videos if they missed something. On a rudimentary level, this a simple way to handle differentiated instruction.

Anyhow, I used plenty of hands on instruction after providing that 100+MB play file: taught a small part while having the group follow along with the provided files, let them practice on their own, give another segment, practice, and then extended practice at the end. Towards the end of the session I provided a take-away: a PowerPoint with embedded screen shots and videos (thanks SnapProX!) to refer back to later when the teachers are creating their PowerPoints.

The feedback when the day was over was what I had hoped for. They liked the chunking and the hands on approach in not only my session but all three. Most felt they were exposed to so much new today. Overall, it was extremely satisfying.

What was my "take away" for the day? I got to interact with a bunch of eager teachers from veterans to some who haven't set a foot in the classroom yet, and I found out that most are all in the same boat: they want to connect with the kids on their level as 21st century learners and are just looking for how to do it. (There was a naysayer in the crowd who tried to tell me we needed to focus on the basics and not worry about the process too much. He said we were trying to scare them with all our talk of how we have to interact differently with the kids in the 21st Century.) It's gratifying to see that so many of us are on the same page and moving in the same direction.