Foliotek Corrected - I Hope!

I think I have now corrected the problem with Foliotek. I had failed to publish the course in Sakai. I have now done that.

Sorry. If you still have problems, call or email me.

Additional iBook Instructions

If you are creating an iBook and do not have the original movie files you can create a widget in order to use your YouTube videos in your iBook. To create a widget you need to create a free account through bookry.com. After creating an account you will create a book that you are writing within the Bookshelf tab. After creating your book then add a widget. For every YouTube video you would like to use you need to create a new widget on Bookry. Once you have created your widget you will need to save and then click download. After the widget has been downloaded you can just drag and drop these widgets into your iBook. All you need to create the widgets is the URL for the YouTube video.

Lindsey Estes

Foliotek Instructions Summer 2015

1. You must have registered for Foliotek unless you are exempt. You must access Foliotek through USA ONLINE, not directly on the web. The following are exempt from using Foliotek: a) those seeking only recertification or license renewal; 2) students who are not seeking candidacy status; students who are not Education majors. Foliotek costs $ 35 for one year. NOTE: Several students who are in their first semester at USA report they are not being charged for Foliotek. If this happens to you, notify me or a lab assistant.

To register and pay for Foliotek follow these instructions:
a. When using Foliotek use Chrome or Explorer browsers ONLY.
b.Go to the USA Online Login page.
b. Login. Your User ID is your J number. Your password is the last 4 digits of your social security number.
c. Click on Sakai. Then click on a class which requires the use of Foliotek. Then click Foliotek in the left column. If you have not established a Foliotek account, do so. You will have to pay by credit card. After all information has been entered you will have to Accept the Foliotek rules, etc.
2. Once you have registered and paid for Foliotek and Accepted the Foliotek rules, etc. you will be able to post to Foliotek.

Think of Foliotek as a storage device in the sky where you will store evidence of your accomplishments in the College of Education. Every course you take in the COE has state established standards which you must meet. You must store the evidence used to determine whether or not you have met these standards in Foliotek where anyone desiring to can see that evidence. Your instructors will provide detailed instructions of what evidence must be submitted for what standards. You then place electronic copies of that evidence in Foliotek.

In EDM310 all of your evidence for all of the standards associated with EDM310 is in your blog and the EDM310 Class Blog. Therefore your blog and the Class Blog are what "go" into Foliotek. Since your evidence consists entirely of blogs we only have to provide Foliotek with links - links to your blog and the Class Blog. Therefore completing the Foliotek requirements for EDM310 is quick and easy.

You will need:
1. A list of the standards associated with EDM310. They are:

Literacy: Oral and Written Communications (3)(c) 1.(iii)
Literacy: Technology (3)(c) 4.(i)
Literacy: Technology (3)(c) 4.(ii)
Literacy: Technology (3)(c) 4.(vi)
Professionalism: Ethics (5)(c) 5.(ii)
Professionalism: Ethics (5)(c) 5.(iv)
For Elementary Majors ONLY: General Special Education: 290-3-3-.34 (2)(g)2.(iii)

Note that the standards are grouped into Literacy, Professionalism and Teaching K-6(for General Special Education). (There are other groups.) Also note that there is one small letter i (or two or three of them) at the end of the numbering system. These are VERY IMPORTANT. Be sure you pay attention to them!

2. You will need the URL to your blog and the URL for the Class Blog ( http://edm310.blogspot.com )

3. Then follow the instructions in Foliotek Instructions.

4. After you have completed Foliotek, your entries must be checked in person by one of the EDM310 staff members. This is an ABSOLUTE requirement and it must be done before 6 pm Sunday November 23, 2014. If one of us does not sign off on your Foliotek entries in person you will get an I in the course. And if you do not complete Foliotek (which is a GREAT hassle for you and an even greater hassle for Dr. Strange) no later than Friday February 13, 2015 your I will become an F no matter what you would have gotten in the course.

For Your Interview….

Mrs. Bennett has rounded up some volunteers for your interviews.
I am sending an email to you with their names and contact information.

Special Blog Post Assignment Due July 1, 2015

Assignments 1 and 1a:
Last Tuesday June 23, 2015 I spent the day at a worksop for all teachers at Gulf Shores Elementary School. The workshop leader was Dr. Heidi Hayes Jacobs. Look her up in Google!

Here are some comments she made which I want you to think about. I am not asking you to read them as fast as you can, but to THINK about what she means and what her comments have to say about your approach to teaching:

"Assessment is evidence - not what the teacher says or provides to a student."

"Doctors do not think about how they dispense drugs but rather whether the patients get better or not."

"Learners now create and share knowledge differently from other generations of learners."

We will discuss these further when we meet on June 30, 2015. Anthony Capps will be with us. He was also at the workshop and will share his thoughts with us.

Assignment 2:

Dr. Jacobs has a fabulous web site: Curriculum21 When you get to her website, click on Clearinghouse. She has 68 resources available in the Clearinghouse. Near the top there is Show …. sorted by …. containing… . This allows you to organize the list in different ways. Let your cursor hover over all resources. You can see your choices. The same is true for the other boxes. You can also use the next button (at the top and bottom of each page)to view all of the resources in more detail.

From her 68 resources, find 6 that are particularly interesting to you or that could be useful to you as a teacher. In separate sections of your blog post (use bold headers like I have done in this blog post, e.g.Assignment 2), identify the resource, provide a link to it, describe why it is of interest to you and how it might be useful to you as a teacher. This is NOT to be done as fast as you can but as thoroughly and thoughtfully as you can.

Midterm Questionnaire (Examination) Sent to Your Gmail

I have sent the Questionnaire that is due Sunday June 21, 2015 to everyone. It is to be completed no later than Sunday midnight June 21, 2105.

If you have NOT gotten the link to the questionnaire when you read this post, please send a Gmail to EDM310 Help and advise me that you have not yet received the questionnaire.

Project #14 (PBL #2) To be Done Collaboratively

I have changed the project Instructions for project #14 as a result of our conversation with Ms. Bennett.

The second Project Based Learning Plan is to be done COLLABORATIVELY. I have changed the project Instructions accordingly.

Date Change Next Mandatory Class Now TUESDAY June 30

IMPORTANT

The next Mandatory Class date has been changed.

We will now meet on Tuesday June 30. Anthony Capps will be with us and will share his latest teaching techniques, sample of his students' work, and many ideas and future plans. I talked with him about an hour ago (on Wednesday June 17). It is exciting what he has been approved to do, by State Superintendent Bice and his principal Ms. Julie Pierce.

We will see you on TUESDAY JUNE 30!

The Padlet Gallery

Another link from Mrs. Bennett that will take you to the Padlet Gallery

Using iTunes U

Mrs. Bennett has shared this link to help you understand how to use iTunes U and how valuable it can be in your teaching.

Twitter Education Chats

Courtesy of Michelle Bennett: Twitter Education Chats

Yes, You Have An Audience

Your trailers draw attention. Just ask Dawn Oliver! Watch her Book Trailer

Dawn's Original Message -----

Sent:
Thu, 11 Jun 2015 07:58:20 -0500
Subject:
Book Trailer


My name is Dawn Oliver. I am a student in EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. One of our projects was to create a book trailer. I chose to do my project on your book, Dog in Boots. My son chose this as one of his books to buy from his school's book fair a couple of years ago. We have enjoyed reading it together many times. I hope you enjoy my book trailer. Here is the link to my blog if you would like to view it. http://oliverdawnedm310.blogspot.com/

And the response from the author:

From: Greg Gormley
To: "Dawn Oliver"
Subject: Re: Book Trailer
Date: June 15, 2015 at 9:40:40 AM CDT

Ha ha, thanks for sending me that Dawn, I really enjoyed it. It's always a thrill for me to hear that someone so far away is enjoying one of my stories!
Do say hello to your son from me and I hope your studies are going well.
Very best wishes indeed,
Greg

Significant Changes Made to Project and Blog Assignments

I have made significant changes to both the Project and Blog Assignment Documents. Be sure you are using the latest versions as shown in the right column of this blog.

Clarification of Project 7 Assignment

Chihuly Bowls, Chihuly Museum, Seattle

All 4 videos must be posted to your blog, preferably in one post.

I have revised the project instructions to clarify whether part B videos should be posted. The answer is YES.

You can see that the project instructions have been changed. In the right column of the Class Blog the Current version for project Instructions is now 2. Always check the version you are using to make sure it is the latest!

New C4C and C4T Assignments Posted

I had inadvertently given everyone an extra day for C4C assignments last unit since I listed the due date as 6/7. I have honored that. New assignments are now posted as well as new assignments for C4T#2a

Congratulations - A Very Good Week. But We Can Do Better!

Yesterday (Sunday 6/7/15) was the first time you had more than one assignment to be posted to your blog.

For the most part you did quite well!

One person did not post C4T#1a

One person only posted Blog Post # 4 and did not post either of the other two assignments (Search Engines and C4T#1a)

One person did not mention the teacher's name of the teacher whose blog she read.

Good start - but we can do better!

Important Information and Changed Instructions

1. All pictures of members of both summer classes can be found at https://sites.google.com/site/edm310/summer-2015-photos

Follow the instructions in the Activity Manual activity #5 http://edm310.com/edm310/summer2015/activities.pdf

NOTE: Google has changed the way you add a picture for some users (they are slowly making the changes available). Therefore some of you may have to add your picture through Google+ rather than Google. Consult with a Lab Assistant or call any of us for help. If you are still having problems we will address the issue next Thursday.

2. I changed the first C4C assignment for the 2:00 class yesterday. I would also like to change it for the 10:20 class. Do your first C4C on the Practice Blog post of the students assigned to you. You will have two classmates for whom you will leave a comment. The assignments have been shared with you in your Google Docs. So… C4C # 1 will be on the PRACTICE Doc of your assigned students and will be due this Sunday midnight (5/31)

3. I am sending this by email as well as publishing it on the Class Blog because some of you may not yet be regularly checking the Cl;ass Blog. You must learn to do that daily.

4. Come to the Lab, text or call us for help. Anytime except between 11pm and 6 am.

5. See you next Thursday if not before.

6. I am sent this as an email to your jagmail account and your gmail account since you may not have yet developed the habit of using your gmail account for EDM310. The rest of my emails will go ONLY to your gmail account.

Proofreading of Summer 2015 Documents Now Complete

I have now proofread and corrected the Class Documents for the Summer 2015 session. That does not mean there are no mistakes still in them. It just means I found none after carefully reading them.

You can access them by clicking on the Syllabus Summer 2015 link in the right hand column or the Instruction Manual Summer 2015 in the right hand column. Follow the links contained in this two documents to access all documents I have prepared for Summer 2015.

REMMBER to create a Google account and you have been instructed to do in an email sent Wednesday May 20, 2015 to your Jagmail account. If you did not get that email contact me at strange.john@gmail.com.

I look forward to seeing you next Tuesday.

Welcome Students Summer 2015

Welcome!

Classes start next Tuesday.

You have been an email today to your Jagmail account advising you that you MUST establish a Google account (in addition to your University Jagmail account) BEFORE the start of classes.

If you have not received that email in your Jagmail account, contact me at strange.john@gmail.com

We look forward to having you join us in EDM310.

Links to the Syllabus and other materials are in the right column. These documents have not yet been proofed so they are subject to change. I have made them available before proofing them for your convenience.

Be sure to set up your Google account BEFORE class starts Tuesday!

Foliotek Instructions (Reprise)

 

 What is Foliotek and why do I need to complete the Foliotek requirement in EDM 310?

Think of Foliotek as a storage device in the sky (i.e., "Cloud") where you will store evidence of your accomplishments in the College of Education (COE). Every course you take in the COE has state established standards which you must meet. You must store the evidence used to determine whether or not you have met these standards in Foliotek where anyone desiring to can see that evidence. Your instructors will provide detailed instructions of what evidence must be submitted for what standards. You then place electronic copies of that evidence in Foliotek.

In EDM310 all of your evidence for all of the standards associated with EDM310 is in your personal blog and the EDM310 Class Blog. Therefore your blog and the Class Blog are what "go" into Foliotek. Since your evidence consists entirely of blogs we only have to provide Foliotek with links - links to your personal blog and the Class Blog.

Completing the Foliotek requirements for EDM310 is quick and easy:

1. You must have registered for Foliotek unless you are exempt. You must access Foliotek through USA ONLINE, not directly on the web. The following are exempt from using Foliotek: a) those seeking only recertification or license renewal; 2) students who are not seeking candidacy status; students who are not Education majors. Foliotek costs $ 35 for one year. NOTE: Several students who are in their first semester at USA report they are not being charged for Foliotek. If this happens to you, notify me or a lab assistant.

To register and pay for Foliotek follow these instructions:

a. When using Foliotek use Chrome or Explorer browsers ONLY.
b.Go to the USA Online Login page.
c. Login. Your User ID is your J number. Your password is the last 4 digits of your social security number.
d. Click on Sakai. Then click on a class which requires the use of Foliotek. Then click Foliotek in the left column. If you have not established a Foliotek account, do so. You will have to pay by credit card. After all information has been entered you will have to Accept the Foliotek rules, etc.

2. Once you have registered and paid for Foliotek and Accepted the Foliotek rules, etc. you will be able to post to Foliotek.

To post your evidence ("artifacts") to Foliotek, you will need the following:

1. A list of the standards associated with EDM310. They are:

Literacy: Oral and Written Communications (3)(c) 1.(iii)
Literacy: Technology (3)(c) 4.(i)
Literacy: Technology (3)(c) 4.(ii)
Literacy: Technology (3)(c) 4.(vi)
Professionalism: Ethics (5)(c) 5.(ii)
Professionalism: Ethics (5)(c) 5.(iv)
For Elementary Majors ONLY: General Special Education: 290-3-3-.34 (2)(g)2.(iii)
Note that the standards are grouped into Literacy, Professionalism and Teaching K-6(for General Special Education). (There are other groups.) Also note that there is one small letter i (or two or three of them) at the end of the numbering system. These are VERY IMPORTANT. Be sure you pay attention to them!

2. You will need the URL to your personal blog and the URL for the Class Blog ( http://edm310.blogspot.com )

3. Then follow the instructions in Foliotek Instructions.

4. After you have completed Foliotek, your entries must be checked in person by one of the EDM310 staff members. This is an ABSOLUTE requirement and it must be done before 6 pm Sunday April 26, 2015. If one of us does not sign off on your Foliotek entries in person you will get an I in the course. And if you do not complete Foliotek (which is a GREAT hassle for you and an even greater hassle for me) no later than Monday, July 6, 2015 your I will become an F no matter what you would have gotten in the course.

[ This is a amended post from Dr. Strange in an earlier iteration of this course. ]

Public Service Annoucement (PSA): Two

As of 02/19/15, if you have completed  60 percent (60%) or more of the assignments in this course, you have spoken with your instructor about your situation if you have less than 50% of your assignments completed, have discussed a completion strategy with your instructor to make up for your late assignments, AND you are actively engaged in the process of completing your tardy assignments, what follows will not apply to you.

 Otherwise, at this point in this course, you have three choices:

1. At your convenience and as soon as possible, you are welcome to contact your instructor directly to discuss your situation AND make a series of appointments with the Lab Staff as required components of your attempt to complete this assignments. 
2. If there is time left on the USA Academic Calendar, you can withdraw from this course without a grading penalty (i.e., withdraw passing) 
3. You can do nothing and wait for your instructor to give you a failing grade for this course. 

For the record, neither Mr. Tashbin nor I  have any interest in failing any student in this course without a valid reason for doing so and/or have no other recourse under the circumstances.

Having read this posting, if you are one of the students that meets this description here (i.e., you have completed less than 50% of the assignments in this course) and you have an interest in potentially receiving a passing grade for this course, I encourage you to contact your instructor as soon as possible and make an appointment with him to both discuss your situation and determine a course of action that will hopefully result in your receiving a passing grade for this course.

How to get a job as a teacher in today's job market

Dr. Strange has kindly provided a link to a recent interview he had with Dr. Ernest Rosato; a principal in the Baldwin County School System. This interview contains information that will be useful to you in your career planning as a teaching professional.

How to get a job

Public Service Announcement (PSA): One

This posting is an alert to inform you where you should be with your assignments, projects, and activities in this course at this point in the semester. 

As of 12:00 p.m. (midnight) this coming Sunday, February 8, 2015, you should have completed the following activities, assignments, and projects:

Activity #1 (Questionnaire)

Activity #2 Intellectual Journey (IJ) Part 1)

Activity #3 (You should have an active Twitter account and be following @EDM310_USA and the EDM Student Lab staff at a minimum)

Activity #4 (IJ Part 2)

Activity #5 (enhance your blog post)

Practice Blog Post

Blog Post #1 ("What about EDM 310?")

Blog Post #2 ("What will teaching in the 21st Century Be Like?")

Blog Post #3 ("How can you provide meaningful feedback to your Peers?")

Blog Post #4 ("How and what questions do we ask?")

Project #2 (Three Rubrics)

Project #4 (C4T #1: post #1, post #2)

Project #5 (C4C #1, C4C #2, C4C #3)

Project #6 (C4K #1)

Project #15 (Search engines)

If you have already completed everything on this list, please enjoy your upcoming weekend and plenty of the beverage of your choice with our compliments.

If you have not completed all of these activities, assignments, and projects by 12:01 a.m. on 02/09/15, it will be in your best interest to speak with your instructor after class on Tuesday (02/10) to explain why you have not completed them AND make an appointment to meet with a member of the EDM 310 Student Lab staff to resolve this situation during the hours that the lab is open as soon as possible. 

Your Instructors and the Student Lab staff stand ready to assist you if necessary. 

Dr. Lomax: EDM 310 Spring 2015 Blog Post #1

EDM 310 is course that will explore the idea of teaching for the 21st Century learner. The fact that you are enrolled in this course suggests to me that you either desire to become a certified teacher in the state of Alabama or you would like to sharpen your skills as a teacher to adapt to a new instructional environment that is increasingly being populated by a different kind of student. What are the features of this new instructional environment and the characteristics of the students that are a component of this environment? These features and characteristics include: collaboration, creativity, evaluation, analysis, application, understanding, and memorization.

Collaboration and creativity are the watchwords and will be essential components of your experience as a student in EDM 310. Much like the students you expect to teach, through course-related projects and activities, you will need to inquire, invent, design, dream and build ideas to support the active problem solving you will engage in during the conduct of this course. In the classroom and in life, students will be required to evaluate, analyze, apply, understand, and remember many things and to do so often. One of your jobs as a teacher will be to help your students hone all of these skills; regardless of your eventual content area or specialization. Through the suite of activities, projects, assignments, and the use of a variety of information resources and technologies that are all elements of EDM 310, you will gain greater experience in developing all of these skills and more as a student in this course.

There are expectations that come with your enrollment as a student in this course. EDM 310 is a course that will require at least 9 hours of your time per week. As has already been mentioned in the syllabus and in class discussion, you are expected to both be and behave like a professional educator. This means that you will submit your projects and assignments on time. This also means that you will attend ALL mandatory classes (including group meetings) unless there is a compelling reason not to do so.  I will take roll in my sections of EDM 310 on a random basis. After the third mandatory meeting of this course (1/20/15), if you cannot support the reason for your absence from class with credible evidence (e.g., a doctor's note), I reserve the right to lower your final course grade and/or award you a failing grade for this course. This proviso will also hold true for all group meetings.

In your professional practice as a teacher, you will learn that a late arriving student can be a disruptive influence on instruction and instructional activity. Please arrive to class on time. If you are a student who is habitually late to arrive to class, your final grade for this course will suffer from your tardiness.

In completing your activities, projects, and assignments related to this course, you will be honest and truthful in your dealing with your colleagues and classmates and you will support the integrity of your research activities by using quotations and citations when using the work of others as a component of your activity, project, or assignment.  Beyond our discussion in class and your consent to follow the plagiarism pledge in this course, it will be your responsibility to explore and gain greater familiarity about the rules and regulations related to plagiarism, copyright, and the protection of intellectual property here at the University of South Alabama and when using networked information resources such as search engines and file sharing sites such as YouTube.

If I discover that you have plagiarized any of the content in any of the activities, assignments, or projects you submit as a student in this course, I reserve the right to pursue action consistent with the policies of this College and the University of South Alabama in the area of plagiarism to the fullest extent possible.

Thorough our use of engaging and challenging activities, assignments, class discussions, presentations, and projects, Mr. Tashbin, the EDM Student Lab staff, and I sincerely hope that you will have both a positive and memorable intellectual journey and experience as a student in EDM 310.

I look forward to seeing all of you blossom as both students and teaching professionals in this course.

Welcome to EDM310 Spring 2015

Welcome to EDM310.

Dr. John Strange, creator of the current version of EDM310, has retired. EDM310 will be taught, in much the same manner as Dr. Strange taught it, by Dr. Edward Lomax and Mr. G. Tashbin.

You should have received a letter from one of us about EDM310. Be sure you create your Google email account BEFORE class starts on Tuesday. In addition, BRING YOUR OWN COMPUTER.

Ed Lomax and G. Tashbin

Second Graders Research, Present and Reflect

Second Graders from Gulf Shores Elementary School engage in research, make presentations, and reflect on their work.

The Presentations

Presentation Number 1

Presentation Number 2

The Reflections
A Conversation with Two Second Graders: Doing Research and Making presentations

About Over But...

1. You MUST have Foliotek checked before 4pm on Thursday December 5, 2014. As of the posting of this notice (5:25 pm Wednesday 12/3/14) 19 students have not yet had their Foliotek checked. They are:

Britton Mia
Chapman Christina
Cuhaj Kellie
Garrett Joshua
Gossett Savannah
Harris Candace
Johnson Arneetia
Kennedy Faith
Lynn Shelby
Meyers Cortnee
Miller Kela
O'Berry Robert
Parker Taylor
Reed Ross
Rodrick Emily
Stapleton Sabrina
Taylor Daniel
Thomas Justin
Wake Tiffany

You are asking for SERIOUS trouble if you do not get your Foliotek checked!

2. You must submit your Final Questionnaire no later than Sunday midnight December 7, 2014. You will be sent the link at about 8:00 pm tonight (Wednesday 12/3/14)

3. You must submit your video FINAL REFLECTION no later than Sunday midnight December 7, 2014.

Dr. Strange's Version of Blog Post #14

I have written my response to the assignment for Blog Post #14. Unlike other blog post comments, I will not cite grammatical errors or any other specific issues that I may have with your post unless they are so significant that I feel is essential that I leave a comment.

One general comment: Most students commented on only three issues although by my count (see my post) there were 10 issues that could be addressed. Since I never said Pick 3 … I expected a more thorough response that I generally got.

Here is the rubric I used:
Grammar/spelling: ≤ 2 mistakes - 4 points; 3-5 mistakes - 2 points; > 5 mistakes - 0 points
Follow directions (Outline, Paragraphs, Conclusion) Yes 3 points; No - 0 points
Addresses issues 12 to 9 - 9 points; 6 or more but not all - 8 points; 4-6 - 3 points < 4 - 0 points Response (Thorough, Accurate, Convincing) All 3 - 9 points; 2 of three 6 points; 1 of 3 - 3 points; 0 - 0 points
Conclusion (Appropriate, Convincing) Excellent 5 points; Very Good 4 points; Good 3 points; Poor 1 point; Unacceptable - 0 points

I have read all but 10 posts. I will finish them either later today or tomorrow evening. Three students did the original assignment before I changed it. They were omitted from this grading system There were 31 possible points. The average score was 15 (C). The median was 17. The mode was 0. There were 16 zeros because of no post or a late post.
Here are the grades I gave after evaluating your posts: Zero points (late or no post) F; 1-9 D; 10-17 C; 18-23 B; 24-31 ( the best grade was a 30) A.
Here is what you should do:
Read my post.
Compare your post to it.
Evaluate your post using my rubric as best you can.


When I finish evaluating all posts I will figure out some way we can individually share your grades.

My "Blog Post #14"

Start your blog post with a list of all problems and their associated “solutions” (or changes recommended without an identification of a “problem”) that need addressing as identified by Mr. Klein or attributed to Albert Shanker.

General problems not further discussed in the article:
“Using technology to improve teaching and learning“
“adopting a knowledge-based curriculum“
"starting education before 5 years of age"
Major issue:
Professionalize teaching and make it well-respected

What is needed to accomplish this:
"better academic training for prospective teachers"
math preparation must be improved
improve training in basics of reading instruction
new approach to recruiting teachers
B.A degree must be replaced as entry requirement. Must recruit from top third of college graduates
change how we reward teachers
establish ways to remove incompetent teachers
pay teachers according to performance
if layoffs necessary do not use rule of last hired but rather least effective
create self-policing procedures for the profession
establish national board
establish standards to be met by teachers
establish "mechanisms for removing incompetent teachers
change admission requirements to colleges of education - attract best students
professionalize course work in colleges
create national teacher examination testing pedagogy and content knowledge
create "more school choices“: end mandatory assignment of students to neighborhood schools and substitute widest possible choices
end treatment of teachers as workers in a factory


Take each individual item in your list. In a paragraph, indicate whether you agree or disagree that the “problem” identified (if any) is really a problem and whether or not you agree with the proposed “solution.” In all cases, defend your position with clear arguments and facts. Identify opinions as such.

Former New York Superintendent Joel Klein identifies three general problems and one major issue that require changes to the educational system of the United States. The three general problems identified by Mr. Klein included “using technology to improve teaching and learning," “adopting a knowledge-based curriculum," and "starting education before 5 years of age." Mr. Klein did not discuss these issues other than to identify them. I agree that we must use technology to improve teaching and learning. I would argue that this is best done when the learners have the tools readily available to them at all times - personal computers connected to the Internet) rather than group or class tools such as SMARTboards. I am not sure what is meant by adopting a "knowledge-based curriculum" If Mr. Klein means acquiring and storing information in one's head rather than developing the ability - and the desire - to ask questions and seek information in the most efficient ways possible, I would disagree. We must not continue to support a burp-back method of teaching. It results in no real learning, just short term memorization. Instead we must use project/problem/challenge based teaching and learning where the emphasis is on having students who say "I can do…" rather than "I once knew…" I also agree with Mr. Klein's suggestion that we start the education of children before the age of 5. Of course that is happening already, but not in classrooms designed to foster learning. A unified approach would help all children, not just those who live in well educated households where young children are encouraged to learn (to ask questions and seek answers) at all times.

The major suggestion of Mr. Klein is to professionalize teaching. I have outlined the ways in which he suggests we accomplish this objective above. I will add my thoughts to these suggestions.

Math preparation must be improved - My EDM310 students, all of whom want to enter the profession of education, are woefully unable to do basic math. I have been testing my students for 25 consecutive semesters. Over 1/3 cannot correctly solve a majority of problems such as convert a two place decimal into a percentage or convert a two place decimal into a percentage. This is also true for basic multiplication and division. When you add word problems taken from a GED High School equivalency exam, the results are even worse. Only about 20% of the questions are answered correctly. Should my students be able to do basic 8th grade math and 12th grade word problems before being allowed to enter the profession of teaching? I think so. But our current educational system operates as if that is not a necessary requirement. So I have given up on math.

Basics of reading instruction - I support this but have no data to share about how well prepared my students are in reading instruction.

Recruit from the top third of college students - It certainly does not happen now. Are grades in college a good predictor of effectiveness as a teacher? I would think that better teachers would have better grades in college but the correlation is probably lower that we might expect. I do not have data on this but I will try and find out. Certainly good teachers must also be good learners. Why are all students not good learners? Some do not attend college to learn but rather to engage in social and other activities. Too many have not been taught to learn but have been taught to burp back information. I have had many very good students who flunked out because they were not good learners. After growing up, they returned with a different attitude and were successful learners. In the next few years the technology that enables us to predict with surprisingly good accuracy what a given individual will do on a specific day will be put to use in helping us better predict who will be successful at teaching. Until then we may be stuck with inadequate predictors of excellence in teaching. Consequently I would not limit my hiring of teachers (or admission to teacher preparation courses) to the top quartile of a college class, but I would probably put them higher on my list of candidates until I had direct evidence of their teaching abilities and commitment to learning and to the profession of teaching.

Change the reward system for teachers - better pay and mechanisms to remove incompetent teachers. I strongly support both but I am not sanguine about the latter. A great objective but we are unlikely to attain it.

Self-policing procedures for the profession - Again a lofty goal but unlikely to be attained given the history of teaching and the local nature of its administration.

Attract better students to college of education - Again, I support that but unless issues of pay and competence are addressed this will not happen.

Create a national teacher exam - I am not sure to what extent content knowledge is important. The question is are the members of the profession able and willing (even eager) to learn. When we look at the difficulties in increasing the use of technology in teaching and learning we come face to face with large segments of current teachers who are not willing and able to learn new things - new ways of teaching. That is even true, to a much lesser extent, with students seeking to enter the profession of teaching. I have far too many students who are unwilling learners. And a few who appear not to be able to learn.

Create more school choices - I would hope we could improve the profession to such an extent that it wouldn't matter what choices families made about schools. That is very unlikely, however. I cannot envision a system where this could be instituted and which would also achieve the outcome Mr. Klein desires.

End the "factory like" conditions for teachers and teaching - I couldn't agree more. Will it happen? Probably not in the short run.



Write a conclusion to your post that is appropriate.

I agree with most of Mr Klein's suggestions. His goals, while not fully agreed upon, are generally accepted by me. We end up, however, never figuring out how to bring about real change. How do we do it? That is the question that is most important. I do not have an answer to that question. Do you?

Lab Hours Thanksgiving Week

For the Thanksgiving Holidays the Lab will be OPEN and CLOSED as follows:
Wednesday November 26 - Open and Staffed 9:00 am - Noon
Thursday November 27 - Closed
Friday November 28 - Closed
Saturday November 29 - Open and Staffed 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm
Sunday November 30 - Open and Staffed 1:00 pm - 6:00 pm

Still More Thank You Notes for C4K Comments

Another Thank You!

I just want to thank all the students who have been commenting on my middle school students' blogs in Germantown, Wisconsin. They have been so thrilled to hear from your students! It has been awesome feedback, and we hope to continue the feedback going both ways! Thanks so much! Chris DeBuhr, literature and language teacher

And Another!

Blog Post #14 Changed

Blog Post 14 Teaching Can Be a Profession by Joel Klein

Read Teaching Can Be a Profession by Joel Klein which was published in USA Today on November 17, 2014.
Start your blog post with a list of all problems and their associated “solutions” ( or changes recommended without an identification of a “problem”) that need addressing as identified by Mr. Klein or attributed to Albert Shanker.
Take each individual item in your list. In a paragraph, indicate whether you agree or disagree that the “problem” identified (if any) is really a problem and whether or not you agree with the proposed “solution.” In all cases, defend your position with clear arguments and facts. Identify opinions as such.
Write a conclusion to your post that is appropriate.


NOTE: This assignment is a change to the assignment previously posted. If you have already completed the assignment as original provided on November 16, 2014 and have posted your work on your blog, you are exempt from this version of the Blog Post 14 assignment. Nevertheless, I suggest you do it since these issues are vital to discuss.

Foliotek Instructions

1. You must have registered for Foliotek unless you are exempt. You must access Foliotek through USA ONLINE, not directly on the web. The following are exempt from using Foliotek: a) those seeking only recertification or license renewal; 2) students who are not seeking candidacy status; students who are not Education majors. Foliotek costs $ 35 for one year. NOTE: Several students who are in their first semester at USA report they are not being charged for Foliotek. If this happens to you, notify me or a lab assistant.

To register and pay for Foliotek follow these instructions:
a. When using Foliotek use Chrome or Explorer browsers ONLY.
b.Go to the USA Online Login page.
b. Login. Your User ID is your J number. Your password is the last 4 digits of your social security number.
c. Click on Sakai. Then click on a class which requires the use of Foliotek. Then click Foliotek in the left column. If you have not established a Foliotek account, do so. You will have to pay by credit card. After all information has been entered you will have to Accept the Foliotek rules, etc.
2. Once you have registered and paid for Foliotek and Accepted the Foliotek rules, etc. you will be able to post to Foliotek.

Think of Foliotek as a storage device in the sky where you will store evidence of your accomplishments in the College of Education. Every course you take in the COE has state established standards which you must meet. You must store the evidence used to determine whether or not you have met these standards in Foliotek where anyone desiring to can see that evidence. Your instructors will provide detailed instructions of what evidence must be submitted for what standards. You then place electronic copies of that evidence in Foliotek.

In EDM310 all of your evidence for all of the standards associated with EDM310 is in your blog and the EDM310 Class Blog. Therefore your blog and the Class Blog are what "go" into Foliotek. Since your evidence consists entirely of blogs we only have to provide Foliotek with links - links to your blog and the Class Blog. Therefore completing the Foliotek requirements for EDM310 is quick and easy.

You will need:
1. A list of the standards associated with EDM310. They are:

Literacy: Oral and Written Communications (3)(c) 1.(iii)
Literacy: Technology (3)(c) 4.(i)
Literacy: Technology (3)(c) 4.(ii)
Literacy: Technology (3)(c) 4.(vi)
Professionalism: Ethics (5)(c) 5.(ii)
Professionalism: Ethics (5)(c) 5.(iv)
For Elementary Majors ONLY: General Special Education: 290-3-3-.34 (2)(g)2.(iii)

Note that the standards are grouped into Literacy, Professionalism and Teaching K-6(for General Special Education). (There are other groups.) Also note that there is one small letter i (or two or three of them) at the end of the numbering system. These are VERY IMPORTANT. Be sure you pay attention to them!

2. You will need the URL to your blog and the URL for the Class Blog ( http://edm310.blogspot.com )

3. Then follow the instructions in Foliotek Instructions.

4. After you have completed Foliotek, your entries must be checked in person by one of the EDM310 staff members. This is an ABSOLUTE requirement and it must be done before 6 pm Sunday November 23, 2014. If one of us does not sign off on your Foliotek entries in person you will get an I in the course. And if you do not complete Foliotek (which is a GREAT hassle for you and an even greater hassle for Dr. Strange) no later than Friday February 13, 2015 your I will become an F no matter what you would have gotten in the course.

Two Important Updates

Blog Assignments:
1. The assignment originally assigned as Blog Post # 15 due November 30 has been changed to Blogpost #13 and is due November 16. The revised Blogpost Assignments (Version #5) Doc is now available.
2. The assignment for Blog Post #14 (due November 23) will be posted in Version 6 of the Blogpost Assignments later this week.
3. The Blog Post Assignment # 15 (due November 30) has been changed. See the Version #5 of the Blogpost Assignments.


C4T#4:
You are to select your own C4T Teacher. You can select anyone from the C4T#3 sheet or you can find your own. When you make a selection send an email to edm310help@gmail.com. List the mane of your C4T and provide a link to their blog.

Mandatory Class Times Changed for Week of November 16

I have changed the times for the Mandatory Classes the week of November 16.

The Tuesday/Thursday Classes will meet AS SCHEDULED on Tuesday November 18. They will not meet Thursday November 20.

The Monday Wednesday 4 Class will meet WEDNESDAY November 19 (NOT on Monday as previously scheduled).

The Wednesday night class WILL MEET from 6:00-7:15 on WEDNESDAY November 19.

Mandatory Classes

Mandatory Classes This Week
Classes will meet Tuesday and Wednesday ONLY this week.

Lab Open But Not Staffed Today

Sunday November 2, 2014

The Lab will be Open but not Staffed today Sunday November 2, 2014.

Becca is sick and we have no one able to fill in.

So if OPEN will work for you then come to the Lab today.

For assistance email or call.

So You Forgot To Save You C4K Data

Too many phone calls and emails!

I have opened up the tabs at the bottom of the C4K Assignment Doc for the rest of today. Select the date(s) you need by clicking on the Tabs at the bottom left of the sheet.

When you have finished, select the Tab for this week.