Learning as a Way of Teaching

Ms. C and a group of her students has been kind enough to show us how to participate in a collaborative project.  Teen Talk is a wiki that we are building together to get to know each other.

This is the first international project I have participated in since 1998.  Back then, I was a “one-computer-in-my-room-teacher” experimenting with ePals, trying to get my high school students using e-mail to correspond with other students their age.  The attempt was a complete flop due to inaction on the other group of students we were working with.  On top of that, it just was not what I hoped that it would be.

Now I am working with a one to one classroom, and we are devoting all of our energy on this one project.  The kids are learning how to use wikis, blogs, and Yackpack to collaborate with our new friends.

Ms. C has a great deal of experience with these kind of projects.  She has set up the entire framework of our wiki and our students are enjoying the ride.  My plan is to carry through on this project and then work some more with Ms. C starting next school year.

My explorations in Classroom 2.0 has found several blogs worth reading.  However, all of them deal with technologies.  I am still searching for a blogger who is discussing education and not necessarily technology in the classroom.

Where are the special education teachers?  Are there any teachers in my field of education that are blogging?

I have learned so much over the past few months reading the blogs that I have subscribed to.  What I am hoping for is to develop a global community of teachers who do not teach technology.  I want to find those who are using 2.0 technologies to share their thoughts and ideas on classroom practices, pedagogies, tips and tricks, lesson plans etc.

Are they out there?  Can anyone point me to them?

Region 10 has hired my to write curriculum for their upcoming TAKS Academy this summer.  My role is to write the special education side of the academy as we try to help high school teachers accelerate students to grade level.

As I am thinking about the history of assessments for students with learning disabilities, I have to say that I am very frustrated that the TAKS-M test is not further along in development.  Maybe it is and TEA is just keeping it a big secret.

But perhaps it is not TEA’s fault?  I found this on their website:

TAKS-Modified (TAKS-M) pilot tests will be administered in the 2007-2008 school year, with a fall testing window currently scheduled. TAKS-M will be developed pending the Texas Education Agency’s (TEA’s) receipt of final regulations from the USDE regarding required assessments for students with disabilities who will be assessed using modified achievement standards. Further information, including the required grades and subjects to be assessed, will be made available as soon as federal regulations are finalized. Note that TAKS-M dates have not been specified on the calendar, although placeholders have been included for review purposes.

Perhaps it’s all the Feds’ fault?  Just thinking.

…I barely knew ye!  Today officially ended the MacBook Project as FedEx took it back to California.  I did not get to spend nearly enough time on it, and maybe they will let me borrow another one that has Windows on it.  Why in the world would I want a Mac with Windows, you ask?  Well, we are a Windows only district and I want to see how Macs will run on the network in order to use some 21st century tools.

A handful of Special Education teachers from McKinney ISD paid a visit to discuss Inclusion strategies.  We had a great visit and exchanged some wonderful ideas.  One idea was to begin an online collaboration relationship to continue our information exchange.  We probably could have visited for the rest of the day, and I am looking forward to working with them again.

In light of 21st century skills, I borrowed a MacBook from Apple, Inc. as part of their loan program for schools.  I have to say, Macs are WAY easier to produce audio and video projects.  The students loved it as well.  You can find more of what we did on the blog created by the MacBook.  I wish I had more time…

To say that the Internet has changed education would be the understatement of the year.  The good news is this: schools have jumped on the technology board and are riding the waves the best they can.

Trouble is, many schools cannot keep up.  Actually, the bigger problem is that the Internet is changing faster than anyone can keep up with.  Blogs, wikis, podcasts, screencasts, online collaboration, social networking, and countless other buzzwords are not used in the classroom, but our students are.

Is it possible for Special Education teachers to spearhead the effort to bring 21st century tools to the Inclusion classroom?

Would you believe that there are schools in the world that are trying to get a laptop for every student?  I think that would help launch our initiative to get to Web 2.0, but there are many other concerns that the administrator side of me cries out to.

How in the world can Math be taught in the Blogged classroom?

According to Jamie Tubbs, it can be done.  The equation above was created with MathCast.  The idea of writing in the classroom seems like an idea that needs to be further developed.  To be able to “see” what a student thinks about Math and the algorithms he is using to solve a problem can help teachers better understand what is being learned and retained.