Keystone Submission

http://screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cDl6YRQqGI

Week 8 - Activity 2

My ISTE Technology Integration Research Activity

Week 7 - Motivation: Short Report

There are a number of reasons why I found the Nancy Drew computer games so enthralling. I think these reasons can be best understood through the scope of the Six C’s, outlined as follows:

1.      Choice:  Throughout the game, the player is continuously making choices about where to go, what to say, and which tool to use – as demonstrated in the screenshot below. This allows each player to customize the game according to his own interests, which in turn motivates the player to keep on playing.

2.      Challenge: The Nancy Drew games are categorized by challenge level, which allows each player to select a game that will fit “just right” with their learning capacity. In this way, players are challenged without anxiety, and motivated to see what happens next.

3.      Control: As mentioned in point 1, throughout the game the player remains in control. By retaining control (which is demonstrated by the many choices the player makes) the player feels ownership over the tasks, and feels responsibility and motivation to continue the game.

4.      Collaboration: Nancy Drew fans often collaborate online, through the Her Interactive blog and message board. While this is not intrinsically part of the game, the makers of the Nancy Drew collection use a learning community to promoted fan communication, and create a group environment, thus motivating players.

5.      Constructing Meaning: Throughout the game, players are encouraged to form meaning based on clues they’ve collected. In doing so, players realize the value of their sleuthing work, and are motivated to keep collecting clues that will be needed to solve the case.

6.      Consequences: During the game, the players are motivated to crack the case due to the consequence – i.e. preventing a murder, solving a robbery.

Week 6 - Intervention Strategy

Zack was a middle school student who was continuously bullied due to a limp he had that was caused by juvenile athritis. While Zack seemed happy on the outside, inside he was falling apart, and eventually planned on killing himself. Zack's school was completely unaware of what was going on, and even his family was dismissive when he (infrequently) complained. Thankfully, his parents intervened just in time, followed by his principal, and in the end, the bullying was resolved.

While Zack's story may seem unique, sadly Zack is one of many. According to O'Brien (2013) a whooping thirty two percent of students report having been bullied. In my opinion there are a couple of interventions that are and / or should be put in place to prevent such instances from occurring. I've shared my thoughts and findings below...

The School Environment: Unfortunately, too often schools allow bullying to occur by fostering an environment that permits intolerance. Incredibly, one school in Murray Country GA allowed students to come to school wearing nooses, in mockery of their classmate who committed suicide due to bullying just the day before. (Dubreil, 2010) It's hard to believe such a shameful and despicable act can take place in a school. School leaders must go out of their way to ensure their students are tolerant, empowered and aware, so that bullying can become a thing of the past.

The School Policy:  Elias (2014) stresses that while schools must employ anti-bullying policies, they should not overuse the term bully, since "there are many peer misbehaviours that may not conform to the formal definition of bullying, but still have no place in schools." Instead, schools would do well to set down a clear code of conduct and outline a "what-happens" procedure in the event that bullying occurs. Students must be made aware of these policies, so that they realize that their school has zero tolerance for such behaviours. School should also have a mandatory anti-bullying oath that all students are required to take and that is strictly reinforced. 

Teachers' Intervention: Gardiner-Halstead (2015) lists a number of ways that teachers can combat bullying. She suggests (1) teaching acceptance (2) modernizing our thinking (3) adapting our strategies (4) including compassion in the curriculum (5) avoiding labels (6) involving the community (7) including the arts and (8) starting early. Teachers should study each of these points in depth in order to ensure that they are doing their utmost to educate, prevent, and protect their students.

Parents' Involvement: According to Cohn-Vargas (2016) the first step in combatting the bullying epidemic is educating parents. "Parents need to... be able to support their children in being safe at school, in not engaging in bullying behaviours, and in safely intervening or reporting bullying to an authority." Through having parents involved, students will be surrounded by messages of bullying-intolerance and non-discriminatory understanding at all times.

Cohn-Vargas, B. (2016) Successful Community Efforts to Prevent Bullying in Schools. Edutopia. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/article/successful-community-efforts-preventing-bullying-becki-cohn-vargas

Dubreuil, J. (2010) Bullied to Death in America's Schools. ABC News. Retrieved from http://abcnews.go.com/2020/TheLaw/school-bullying-epidemic-turning-deadly/story?id=11880841

Elias, M. (2014) Bullying Prevention: Students Share Do's and Don'ts. Edutopia. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/bullying-prevention-students-share-dos-donts-maurice-elias

Gardiner-Halstead, A. (2015) 8 Steps to Combat the Bullying Epidemic. Edutopia. Retireved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/8-steps-combat-bullying-epidemic-ann-marie-gardinier-halstead

O'Brien, A. (updated 2013) Bullying Prevention: 5 Tips for Teachers, Principals and Parents. Edutopia. Retireved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/bullying-prevention-tips-teachers-parents-anne-obrien

Week Four - Video Activity

You can view my video on Screencast with this link: http://screencast-o-matic.com/watch/cD6nlhjtI6

Week Four: Critical Reflection Paper

Critical Reflection: Waiting for Superman

EDPC 605 | Shulamith Elias

            The video, “Waiting for Superman” was a real eye-opener, incredibly poignant and powerful. Having attended private school all my life, I was completely unaware of the shocking educational deficit that far too many of our public school children face. Watching hopeful children attend school lotteries was particularly heart wrenching, and left me wondering - why is it that after so many years of reform, does our educational system still seem to be morally broke, and an overall failure?

            I feel that in order to understand why our schools are failing, we must first attempt to understand why the reforms that were put in place to better our schools are not meeting success. In the video, “Waiting for Superman” Michelle Rhee was portrayed as a hero, and a bold crusader for children’s educational rights. Upon further research, I realized that while Rhee definitely had students’ best interests in mind, her modus operandi was highly questionable.

            Rhee promised schools thousands of dollars for increase in test scores. This was based on the assumption that better tests scores equaled better education. Rhee focused on scores exclusively, and, according to Breslow and Ravitch (2013) “never once mentions literature or history or science or civics or foreign languages; she doesn’t talk about curriculum or instruction. She never calls out a teacher for poor instruction or a principal for a weak curriculum; she is interested only in the bottom line, and that is the scores.”

            Breslow and Ravitch (2013) point out that the issue with this approach is manifold. For instance, focusing solely on test results promotes cheating, involves narrowing the curriculum, and wreaks havoc on the entire educational system. Perhaps most telling, is that according to Merrow,  (2013) “six years after Michelle Rhee rode into town, the public schools seem to be worse off by almost every conceivable measure.” Student scores have slumped, the racial divide has grown, and schools across DC are rocked with instability, as enrolment continues to plummet.

            To be fair, I was both horrified and amazed at the bureaucracy that Rhee faced at every turn. It seemed as though there was this “blob” of conflicting red tape, laws, contracts, unions, and rules, facing Rhee at every corner. And whether or not I personally support Rhee’s agenda, I found the structure of the system to be frightfully inept.  Mostly, the teachers’ unions were portrayed as uncaring organizations, who were seek to defend the interests of adults, as opposed to being there for the sake of the children.

            However, this point too, is subject to great debate. Phillips (2012) writes that while teachers unions run the risk of providing a safety net for ineffective teachers, they also “protect teachers - and, indirectly, students - from misguided evaluation processes, policies that undermine teaching effectiveness, second-rate working conditions, and attempts to control the curriculum by groups who lack the expertise and often have an agenda.” So while I strongly believe that we as teachers need to actively work to reform our unions, at the same time, we must be cautious to introduce measures that can cause undue harm to ourselves and out students.

            It was also interesting to note that according to Philips (2012) the primary funder of Walden Media (the producers of Waiting for Superman) is Philip Anschutz, “a multi-billionaire proponent of school choice and school privatization.”  And while Waiting for Superman aroused tremendous emotion, keeping the producers and their biases in mind, I now wonder how much of the film was actually based on factual evidence.

            Factual evidence of the film notwithstanding, based on my readings, and my view of the film, I have come to realize that our school systems are in dire, undisputed need of repair. How to do that, though, remains subject to debate. I recognize that while I, as a student may not have the answers just yet, so long as the discussion is “on the table” there is hope for all students out there. We as teachers-to-be need to ensure that the debate remains open, fair, and action-centered so that we can see to it that no child has to suffer through the experiences portrayed in the video “Waiting for Superman”

            In closing, may I suggest that perhaps the solution to this all lies within each one of us? Everyone agrees that student performance is directly related to the teacher’s competence.  If each of us fellow classmates, as future teachers, commits to be the very best teachers we can be, we can slowly introduce reform and change in the place where it all starts – the classroom. Ultimately, while the Board of Ed, the government, or the district may make the big decision, as teachers the hands-on impact is ours to determine.  It is up to us to make a difference in our students’ lives. It is not enough to be capable – we must be compassionate, empathetic, positive and inspiring as well. (Alburail, 2015).  According to Cutler (2016) the most transformational teachers are those that have a deep understanding of how their role transcends far beyond any subject that they're teaching. “Such teachers have the most lasting impact on their students long after graduation.” That is a goal each of us must strive for.

Alburail, D. (2015) The Heart of Teaching: What it Means to be a Great Teacher. Edutopia. Retrieved from http: http://www.edutopia.org/discussion/heart-teaching-what-it-means-be-great-teacher

Breslow, J. & Ravitch, D. (2013)  How do You Measure Success in School Reform? Frontline. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/how-do-you-measure-success-in-school-reform/

Cutler, D. (2016) How to Become and Remain a Transformational Teacher. Edutopia. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/become-and-remain-transformational-teacher-david-cutler

Merrow, J. (2013) A Story About Michelle Rhee That No One will Print. Taking Note.  Retrieved from http://takingnote.learningmatters.tv/?p=6490

Phillips, M. (2012) Won’t Back Down: An Engaging and Misleading Film. Edutopia. Retrieved from http://www.edutopia.org/blog/wont-back-down-engaging-misleading-mark-phillips