Teacher in a Strange Land: Online Grading: Treat--or Trick?

• Teacher in a Strange Land: Online Grading: Treat--or Trick?

  A fascinating alternate take on how assessment (or the appearance of such) is the tail that waggeth the digital dog.  It also introduces the idea of  parents who "creep on their progeny".  Before you go creepin' on the ol' proj consider the following quoted from the article.

Points to consider:

• • Expecting parents to track their children's grades--and do something about low grades or missing assignments--shifts responsibility for learning and monitoring the grade to parents. And guess what? It's the student's job to do that, not Mommy's.

    • When parents are suddenly hawking their gradebooks, teachers feel compelled to put lots of numbers in the book, proving that they're organized and soldiering away, assigning lots of homework and giving lots of grades. My principal sent us a memo suggesting that we add at least one new grade per week, it being worrisome when parents see that several days have gone by with no grading.
    • Some of those grades represent formative assessment: constructive feedback to students in the process of learning to master a concept or skill. Formative assessment is supposed to be non-punitive--information that helps a student improve. If curriculum is appropriate--in the sweet spot where it challenges, but builds on prior learning--then formative assessment will show lots of room for growth. Try explaining that to one panicked parent at a time
    • Not everything that can be counted counts, and not everything that counts can be counted. (Einstein said that, not me.) An online gradebook converts all assessment data to numbers. Because it's...digital. Sometimes, kids need coaching or commentary, not a comparative percentage. Sometimes, it's OK to paint a pumpkin, just to see how it turns out. You don't have to grade everything, to make it real or valuable.

Citation: 

Flanagan, N. (2009, October 31). Teacher in a Strange Land: Online Grading: Treat--or Trick? Teacher in a Strange Land. Blog, . Retrieved December 15, 2009, from http://teacherleaders.typepad.com/teacher_in_a_strange_land/2009/10/online-grading-treator-trick.html.

Artistic Insubordination: Ethics at Work (not Work Ethic)

• Artistic Insubordination: Ethics at Work (not Work Ethic) «

  • The mirror in a middle school girls’ restroom is rusted to the point that one can not see her reflection.  The Principal recognizes that not being able to primp properly before class is making girls tardy to class and affecting their learning.  She asks the janitorial staff to replace the mirror.  The district has a policy that mirrors are not replaced unless they are broken.  The Principal calls the district to confirm, and promptly breaks the mirror with a hammer in order to solve this problem.
  • Creative or Artistic Insubordination emerged as a concept in the 1970s, according to Eric Pitts, a graduate student in Counseling at Western Carolina University, to do the most amount of good, while minimizing the repercussions from superiors.
  • Already presented at international conferences, with a head nod from the Executive Director of the University Council for Educational Administration (UCEA), their goal is to legitimize Artistic Insubordination as an alternative to teachers (and others) who want to “do good” rather than just “do no harm” through their work.  Kappan Journal will publish an article on their research as well
  • Many, nearly all bureaucratic structures are perceived by the citizenry as rigid, inflexible and unaccommodating.
  • it is recognized by those in public servant leadership positions as an effective means of accomplishing things quickly that would otherwise take months or years.
  • No Child Left Behind and the attitude of some state legislatures and governors has made creative insubordination a regular part of staying afloat in teaching.

My question here is this:  are there more examples of this out there and how could teachers use this to change draconian filtering policies, for example?  Just asking.  Guerilla teaching for our students?  This isn't just about sticking it to the man, it is also about rising above groupthink and 'insane' institutional imperatives.  There have to be reasoned approaches to why we do what we do in school. If they are not reasoned, then they are fair game for ridicule, for challenge, and for artistic insubordination.

Here is the article:  http://www.filesavr.com/hanneli2009insufficientquestioningphideltakappan91365-69

Citation:     Hannel, I. (2009). Insufficient Questioning. Phi Delta Kappan, 91(3), 65-69.

Wii Therapy for Special Needs Students

• Wii Therapy for Special Needs Students

  • The Wii can be used in special needs classrooms to:
    

    - help students with their hand/eye coordination
    - encourage students with physical disabilities to move, providing much-needed circulation to their limbs
    - enable students to take part in virtual sports such as baseball, bowling, volleyball, golf and tennis
    - aid students in gaining balance and coordination through virtual dance programs
    - increase/develop the ability to concentrate for a long period of time
    - motivate students to achieve goals
    - help with problem-solving, reasoning, and communication skills
    • - post by tellio

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) ICT policy handbook - Zunia.org

The Association for Progressive Communications (APC) ICT policy handbook - Zunia.org

ICTAC MEMO iPhone Apps for Education

http://www.scribd.com/doc/23745742/ICTAC-MEMO-iPhone-Apps-for-Education

ICTAC MEMO iPhone Apps for Education

Measuring social capital: an ... - Google Books

http://books.google.com/books?id=-xeaH2Qgn7kC&printsec=frontcover&dq=social+capital&lr=&as_drrb_is=q&as_minm_is=0&as_miny_is=&as_maxm_is=0&as_maxy_is=&as_brr=1&ei=1BElS7i8OYP2zQTAzvSMCw&cd=1