Technologies Changing Education

I recently read an article on Edtechdigest.com entitled "18 Technologies Changing Education Forever" by Greg Limperis.  I decided to take a closer look at these 18 technologies to see how many of them were being used in my classroom and at my school.

1.  Servers - These I use everyday to input grades and attendance into INOW.  The county server also is where I store my lessons and tests.
2.  Fiber Optics - This is helping to increase the speed of the web and access to the servers.  With ever increasing video and graphic content on the web, more and more speed is needed to keep up.
3.  Wireless Technology - We have Wi-Fi at the school so that you can access the internet anywhere on campus with a Wi-Fi capable device.
4.  Tablets - These devices I have not really been able to incorporate much in my class other than using calculator apps but it is something I hope to integrate more in the future.
5.  Digital Signage - We have TVs in the commons and lunch room at our school that scrolls through upcoming events and news.
6.  Interactive White Board - I have a Promethean Board in my classroom that I use every day. 
7.  Document Cameras - I do not have one in my class at the moment but I have used one in the past and all of the science teacher at my school have them in their classrooms.
8.  HD Flat Screen Monitors - I just got a new computer in my room which has a flat screen monitor which helps to cut down on power consumption.
9.  Cell Phones - Students are not allowed to have cell phones during the day at our school.
10.  Web Cam - I have never used it in the classroom but there are classes that do distance learning at my school with it.
11.  Skype - I have never used it in the classroom but I can think of uses especially in distance learning and talking with professionals.
12.  Digital Cameras - We use digital cameras every year to do the "How Tall is it" project and I hope to integrate them more in the future.
13.  Cloud Computing - I have used cloud computing to sync data from my school computer to my home computer.
14.  Web 2.0 - Edmodo is a web 2.0 tool that I use on a daily basis to communicate assignments to students and parents
15.  iPods - I have not used these in the classroom other than calculator apps.
16.  YouTube - This is blocked at our school but I have used videos from TeacherTube to help engage students in the lesson.
17.  Databases - These are allowing us to analyze and compile all kinds of information from many different sources and put them together as usable data.
18.  XBOX Kinect - I have not used it in my class but I can see many possible applications especially in the area of special education and physical therapy.


So all in all I use most of these technologies, how about you?

Edmodo, Year in Review

So it has been one year since we started using Edmodo at our school.  Edmodo is social network that is designed to look and function like Facebook.  It is a social network for teachers, students, and parents to communicate, view homework, and see grades.  You make a group for each one of your classes or subjects.  The groups are closed and the only way to get in is to input the code that the teacher gives out.   I made a group for Geometry, Formal Geometry, and Geometry Math Team.  It was very easy to set up and use.  I gave out the codes to my students on the syllabus so that they could go ahead and get registered. At first I primarily just used it to communicate homework assignments and post study guides.  Near the end of the first nine weeks I decided to have the students submit a project on it in which they had to research a famous mathematician and make a gloster poster.  I created the assignment in Edmodo, put the instructions and due date on there, and the projects started coming in.  It worked so well that in the second nine weeks the whole Geometry department decided to do a project on it.  We found an educational game called ShapeMods on Edmodo that basically assesses your ability to perform coordinate transformations.  They submitted the highest score they received on the game and could attempt the game as many times as they wanted before the time it was due.  In order to get a high score on the game they needed to essentially learn all about different coordinate transformations.  It worked really well and most students had a pretty good time "playing a game" to learn.  During the third nine weeks I had another project that to be done on the computer.  The first two had worked so well that I decided to have the students turn in these projects to Edmodo also.  In this project they had to make a PowerPoint presentation in which a group of 3-4 students used trigonometry and special right triangles to determine the height of an object that was too tall for them to measure with a tape measure.  All of my students submitted their projects and it was great to have them all in the same place without them bringing in flash drives or all emailing me.  All in all I think the integration of Edmodo at our school was great and worked excellently for me.  Next year I hope to expand what I am doing with this and hopefully check out a couple more of the educational games that I can integrate into my lessons.  I would highly recommend Edmodo to all educators trying to integrate a little more technology into their classes.

The Class of 2012

We had graduation tonight at The Bartow Arena for Oak Mountain High School's class of 2012.  It has been quite a road over the last 4 years for these students.  The world has changed so much over these four years.  From iPads and apps to Twitter and Edmodo, the technologies that these kids interact with on a daily basis has changed dramatically over their high school careers.  What changes will the next four years bring?  At graduation there was the usual Pomp and Circumstance.  The Valedictorian's speech talked about thanking teachers for preparing them for what was to come.  This got me wondering how well I had prepared the students I taught for the future.  Out of the roughly 450 student that graduated tonight I counted 163 that I had taught.  Had I done a good job preparing these students for their future endeavors?  Had I made an impact on their lives, or will I be one of the "oh yea I think I had that class" teachers?

This week also marked the end of an era. Oak Mountain High School band director, Jim Duren officially retired. Mr. Duren was my 'Impact Teacher'. He was my band director at Pelham High School and when Oak Mountain opened in the fall of 1999 I switched schools in part because of him. Not only is he an amazing musician, he is also a man of such strong character and ideals that I hope to possess and pass on to my students. His retirement ceremony was held on Sunday and it concluded with "Mr. Duren's Opus". Consisting of former students dating back to 1978 when he taught at Mountain Brook High School, the "Mr. Duren's Opus" orchestra wanted to give a piece of what he shared with all of us, back to him. It highlighted three classical pieces and movements, in which Mr. Duren was our director for one last time. 

So as the graduating seniors walked across that stage, will they remember me and what can I do in the future to bring the lessons alive so that they do not just memorize it for the test but actually learn? I think that most of the students will remember me and through the integration of new technologies in class I know I can better reach my students in math.  As I go forward I know I must keep this in mind when I am planning for next year and in future years.  Technology moves forward and so will I.

Social Bookmarking

I recently made a page on the social bookmarking site 'Delicious' which you can find by clicking here.  In the creation of this list I learned one way that social bookmarking sites can potentially be used.  I have of course bookmarked websites before, but this social bookmarking allows to you find new and interesting websites that have been tagged by other people.  Its kind of like the "those who bought this also bought this" links that you see on sites like Amazon.com, or like if you did a Google search that only returned useful results.  There are many great resources that I found in making my social bookmarking page.  One of them is Jeff Utecht's blog, TheThinkingStick, in which he has posted some really great articles on his ideas in the area of educational technologies like 1:1 programs and different ways that it can be done   Another great resource that I have are any of the videos that Sir Ken Robinson has made like "Sir Ken Robinson Revolution in education and the invention of ADHD with RSA Animate - YouTube".  I think that he is a really great speaker with some great ideas on educational technology and the revolution of the American educational system that is now occurring.  I also was very interested in the article "15 Current Technologies a Child Born Today Will Never Use” by Avram Piltch.  I was so interested in fact that it inspired me to write the post I did a few days ago where I went through the whole list seeing if I thought my daughter would ever use them.   One of the other resources that stuck out to me was "The Future of Education" by Thomas Frey.  I love to think about what the future of education will be like and this is what this article is all about.  So how will these links help?  Anyone with an interest in educational technologies, specifically math educational technologies, will be able to get many things from these links.  Many of the sites have educational technology tools and resources geared to teaching at the secondary level.  You will be able to use the links to find some interesting videos from YouTube on the evolution of both the web and the revolution that is upon us in our educational system.  Someone following these links will also get the latest news and information on things and events happening in the world of educational technology.  You can see the latest 5 links on my social bookmarking site looking at the RSS feed on the right of the blog post.

Delicious.com - Discover Yourself!

Another Year Wiser

Another school year has come and gone.  I’m another year older and I’d like to think another year wiser.  I decided to use this post to look at what technologies I integrated into my class over the last year, and then look to technologies I hope to integrate next year.  Last year was the first year that I used Edmodo in the classroom.  It is an educational social network where teachers can set up groups for each of their classes.  I used this to post homework assignments, have the students turn in projects, and communicate with students.  This past year our geometry department had our students “play a game” in Edmodo on Transformations called ShapeMods.  They submitted the highest score they received on the game and could attempt the game as many times as possible, by the due date of course.  In order to do well they needed to learn about the Transformations.   Besides Edmodo, I also kept up a website called OMHS Mr. Feldman’s Fun World of Geometry.  On my website I have a calendar that keeps track of what we are doing long term in the class.  It also has formula sheets, old tests and cool sites for my geometry math team.  I have a blog called Mr Feldman’s Blog but to be honest I haven’t made much use of it, yet.  One of the biggest and by far the most used technology in my classroom is the Promethean Board. “A "Promethean board" or "Activboard is a component of the Promethean Activclassroom which is simply a revolutionary way to create a dynamic environment which allows students to actively participate in their learning. The Activclassroom is an integrated solution that includes the ability to bring together formative assessment, resources, and dynamic lesson development and delivery tools.”  (Promethean World Video)  I use this to bring geometry to life, by allowing to students to “click” in responses and answers.  I really only had time to do three actual projects where my students had to use technology.  The first was the ShapeMods game that they played and posted in Edmodo.  The second was a mathematician project where they had to research a famous mathematician and then make a glogster about him or her.  The third was the “How Tall is it” project, where students have to figure out the height of an object using trigonometry and then make a PowerPoint presentation.  Next year I would really like to integrate technology a lot more.  I want to take the things I’m doing like Edmodo and expand on it.  I want the students more involved, each using the technology and communicating together.  The thing that I most want to do is to get more use out of the clickers that I have.  It is a great way to get student involvement and I just don’t use them enough, but next year will be different.

In Ten Years

My 4 year old daughter just had her Preschool graduation today.  In 14 short years she will be graduating from high school.  I wonder what the world will be like then.  This got me thinking, in 10 years she will be starting the chapter in life that we call, high school.  What will it be like?  Will the chalk/ dry-erase boards be huge touch screen iPads?  Will there be books in the classroom or will they all be on tablets?  Will mystery meat still be served in the lunchroom?  Thinking about all of these things reminded me of an article I read entitled, “15Current Technologies a Child Born Today Will Never Use” by Avram Piltch.   I thought it would be interesting to take a look at the 15 technologies Piltch listed and see if she would know what they were or if I thought they would fade away without her ever remembering them.

1.  Wired Home Internet - This is one I'm pretty sure she will never know. Hot spots and cellular technologies are already spreading at a rapid pace.

2.  Dedicated Cameras and Camcorders - She knows what these are and so will her baby brother.

3.  Landline Phone - She will know what that is because older generations like her grandparents will never get rid of it. And since her mother insists on having one so she can call her cell when she misplaces it, so will we.

4.  Slow Booting Computer - This is one I don't think she will ever know unless she comes up to my classroom at school.

5.  Windowed operating system - This is one I think she will know only because we aren't away from it yet, and we may just end up with modified versions that will increase productivity with each new release.

6.  Hard Drives - I think the move to Solid State Drives will be so quick that she probably won't know. She is also already asking about pictures being saved “in the clouds”, and with the increase in cloud servers we move farther from hard drives.

7.  Movie Theaters - She will definitely know what this is and so will everyone else for generations to come. Where else would people have awkward first dates? The technologies in the theaters however will go through many changes and advancements, like we have seen with 3D, IMAX, etc.

8.  The Mouse - I think she will know since they teach this in preschool computer classes, but I'm not sure that her younger brother will have to use this method over straight touch-screen.

9.  3D Glasses - She will know, they still have 3D rides at Disney. And that is the most magical place on earth.

10.  Remote Controls - She will and does know what this is, however she will forget where she put it…and I will spend countless more hours trying to figure out where she could have placed it.

11.  Phone numbers - She does know what phone numbers are, and I don’t foresee other identifiers being used completely in the near future for her to not remember.

12.  Prime time television - She probably won't know what this is, we DVR everything.

13.  Fax Machine - She probably won't know what this is, we are already going to scanner based faxes in large corporations over the standard free standing fax machine.

14.  Desktops - She probably will but I'm not sure about her baby brother, the four year age span may be too much for this advancement.

15.  Optical disc - She loves her DVDs to watch her movies, she does grasp that Blu Rays cannot work in standard DVD players. VHS and cassette tapes will have the view of 8-tracks for me.

So some yes, some no, what do you think?