Creative Commons

Would you ever consider taking a published book, reproducing it entirely with your name listed as the author, and then try to have it published?  While most people would consider this theft, the same standard is not generally regarded when applied to Internet content or data files.  Fair use policy, when applied to the Internet, seems to have taken on a broad, and often unclear, presence in classrooms today.

In order to avoid the gray areas of fair use policy, one alternative is apparent:  Creative Commons.  Publishing your work under a Creative Commons license allows you to clearly state the parameters that others may legally use your work.  A perfect choice for teachers, Creative Commons content allows you to safely (and legally) imbed content (including videos, images, and worksheets) in your teaching without the worry of copyright infringement.

An example of such use is my Research Project lesson for this week.

Graphic Organisers, a photo by hastingspeel on Flickr.

This week's Research Project focus is to organize data using a graphic organizer.  In addition to giving examples of various graphic organizers (see above photo, which also includes a teachable moment regarding spell-checking), I will fill out a chart to provide an example of the organizational process.  My sample topic is "All About Bugs."

Butterfly1, a photo by tobyandetta on Flickr. 

What is my Learning Style?

During my undergrad experience, I had the opportunity to take a wide array of classes.  Most professors used a variety of teaching methods to meet the needs of students, and in those classes I was very successful.  There was, however, one set of classes that I barely passed.  They were both taught by a professor who used a standard lecture (with vigorous note-taking on my part) and quiz style of teaching - no discussions, no projects, and questions were only allowed during the last five minutes of class time.  As I reflect on my experience in those classes, I am puzzled by my poor achievement.  I understand why a kinesthetic learner would have difficulty, but why did I struggle when I generally identify myself as a visual learner (according to the VAK learning style model)?

Out of the three VAK learning style models, visual, auditory and kinesthetic, my placement is clear.  I believe, however, that all three types of learning style models are important aspects of information synthesis for all learners, regardless of preferred learning style.  Although each of us can identify a learning style that is more important for us, we ignore other learning styles at our own peril.

In order for students to be successful, they must be able to interact with classroom content in a variety of ways, regardless of their preferred learning style.  When we create lessons that focus on the learning strengths of one "type" of student, we are missing the point.  A well-rounded classroom has opportunities to interact with curriculum in a variety of ways, which in turn creates a more well-rounded learner.

In a more challenging student group, it may become apparent that gearing lessons toward the preferred learning style of your more difficult students has a positive benefit to the entire class.  When students are able to immerse themselves in content, it is easier to make progress in the class as a whole.  Since we have little immediate control over curriculum content, it is important to remember that we do have a choice in how we present content and allow students to interact with the content.

It is obvious that we can't teach each lesson focusing on every learning style we have in the classroom.  Our focus needs to be on creating interdisciplinary units that incorporate activities at all levels of Bloom's Taxonomy.  It is interesting to note, regardless of what learning style model is chosen (Myers-Briggs Personality Types, Kolb/McCarthy Learning Cycle, Felder/Silverman Styles, and Grasha-Riechmann Learning Styles are a few of the more recognized models), as one creates opportunities for students to work within the upper levels of the scale, lessons will naturally incorporate all learning style models.

RSS Page Reflection

Keeping current in the field of education takes a focused effort and, lately for me, quite a lot of time.  One of my personal goals is to find a more streamlined process for synthesizing both a wide variety of information and also exploring several topics in depth.  Using my Google Reader RSS feeds allows me to meet this goal.

Here are my Google Reader RSS feeds:

It is important for me to be able to quickly scan general articles in education, while also learning about more specific topics in the areas of brain research, teaching music, and using technology in the classroom.  Several of my RSS feeds have been chosen for their breadth of topics:  Education Week, ISTE Connects, NPR News, and Will's Weblogg-ed.  Other feeds have been chosen for their focus on a single topic: Edutech Today Newsletter, iLearn Technology, Dana Foundation's Master RSS Feed, Music Matters Blog, and Technology & Learning.

Users of RSS feeds can take advantage of a technology that allows the user flexibility, both in content and convenience.  Although my original goal was to track changes to these pages on a daily basis, I have fallen into a pattern of checking the feeds several times a week.  This allows me to keep up with current events when I have the time.  Content varies greatly from day to day.  If something unusual is happening (such as the internet blackout on January 18, 2012) I am alerted to the event, and also able to find several articles written from varying perspectives. Even if it is just a "normal" week, I have gained valuable knowledge from the variety of articles that I have had the time to read.

RSS feeds are interactive and fun.  The screen shot below shows a blog comment I made on January 20th.  Although I didn't win, I was entered into a drawing for a research-based classroom playlist.  Commenting on blog posts and news articles also gives me a way to ask questions of the author or argue a point. 

January 19, 2012 Screenshot:

On January 19, 2012, I enjoyed learning about the internet blackout from iLearn's perspective.  I also read an article in EdWeek, "Connecticut Education Commissioner Proposes Overhaul."  Connecticut is in the process of big educational changes, and my RSS feeds allow me to quickly and easily find information on a specific topic with my imbedded search tool.

January 27, 2012 Screenshot:

On January 27, 2012, EdWeek featured another article about Connecticut, "Connecticut Educational Reform Group Offers Priorities."  I also learned about a speed-booking technique in iLearn.  Speed-booking is a great way to assist students in forming literature circle groups.  It is similar to a process I have used in the past, but this technique provides a slightly different emphasis.  I bookmarked the article using my Delicious account, so that I can refer to the article at a later date.

January 30, 2012 Screenshot:

On January 30, EdWeek had an article about Kentucky's new student assessments titled "New Kentucky Student Assessments:  Prepare to be Confused," and Will's Weblogg-ed featured an article labelled "A Couple of Bold Ideas at Educon".  Will is a very thoughtful blogger, and I enjoy the wide variety of topics he covers.  His perspectives on innovative schools were timely and extremely relevant to the many educational reform discussions.

As I continue to read and learn from my RSS feeds, I am excited at how this technology is a more user-friendly version of my old "file full of torn-out magazine articles."  Not only can I use my Google Reader page at any internet-connected computer, I can also access my Delicious account to file and retrieve vital information.  The days of dragging piles and piles of paper from work to home, and back again, are gone.  With a more streamlined process, I am able to stay more organized and focused on my goals.