In the last four years at NCCS, students have used my classroom or me to complete their course portfolios on the CV-TEC campus. Yesterday, I saw them in action. It was awesome.
I went to Champlain Valley Educational Service's CV-TEC program yesterday. I was asked to review their new Plattsburgh Aeronautical Institute (PAI) English Language Arts curriculum. Tom Church did an outstanding job meeting the NY State Standards in ELA.
Jim McCartney and Tom Church offered me a tour of the general campus as well as the new PAI site. Career-Technical Education (CTE) is an excellent alternative to traditional public education. I have 11th and 12th graders that attend half-day sessions, and enjoy hearing their excitement about the programs at CV-TEC. The after-graduation stories are even better.
But more awesome is the new PAI program. As Jim and Tom gave me a tour of the new site they revealed two hangars, several workshops, classrooms, conference rooms, helicopters, general aircraft, commercial aircraft, and engines of all kinds, sizes and functions. Though there was no need to sell the idea or explain how they achieved funding, it was evident they are incredibly grateful to the program's benefactors, partners and Clinton County.
When I returned home, I couldn't wait to share my experience with my wife...and the readers of this blog.
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Discussion and Critical Thinking using technology
To get the most out of a novel, readers should share ideas through discussions. As teachers we use many practices such as Fishbowls, Socratic Seminars, Literature Circles, and in the last few years online forums.
I started using Moodle course management software. It's Open Source, which means free and ever evolving. Our district is slowly embracing this technology with very positive results.
Students who do not speak out in class tend to find online discussion engaging and in turn allow me to check for understanding. It's easy, as teachers, to think that because three or four students answer all the questions, to forget there are 20 other students being asked to contribute to the discussion. As such, we can conclude a class with a false sense of confidence in reaching our instructional goals.
Using online forums that include evaluation tools help us evaluate not only students, but our effectiveness.
I started using Moodle course management software. It's Open Source, which means free and ever evolving. Our district is slowly embracing this technology with very positive results.
Students who do not speak out in class tend to find online discussion engaging and in turn allow me to check for understanding. It's easy, as teachers, to think that because three or four students answer all the questions, to forget there are 20 other students being asked to contribute to the discussion. As such, we can conclude a class with a false sense of confidence in reaching our instructional goals.
Using online forums that include evaluation tools help us evaluate not only students, but our effectiveness.
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