Good evening readers, moms, and dads. Today was a full first day of camp and I am pretty sure that I am writing this with one eye half open. The dorms are hot to sleep in at night and the mattresses are less than comfortable to sleep on. It sounds like most girls had trouble sleeping last night and I think I must have woken up very hour. All of us were dragging at some point today, but the girls fought through it all with a smile on their faces.
7am was the wakeup call for most of us and we were on the road to the shopping mall by 8am. Our first stop was IHOP for some pancakes of the international variety. The girls ate well and we split off in various small groups in order to do some light shopping, probably our only shot to do so this week. Most girls found something to buy (shorts or a shirt) and the coaches both bought a couple pairs of shoes (don’t worry mom they aren’t sneakers, they are casual shoes for teaching.) Coach Kyle also had to purchase a towel as he was using yesterday’s shirt for a towel this morning.... rookies eh? After shopping we made beat a quick retreat to the dorms to gear up and the coaches were off to a meeting and Mama and Papa Helton ensured our horses were fed and watered for their busy afternoon. After a short orientation the girls met their designated counsellor and we were ready to go. We had a short shooting practice in the old gym (built in the late 1800’s) in order to get our legs back. Of course I couldn’t resist telling the girls that in the inaugural year of the facility Naismith was most likely still using peach baskets. The game action flows fast and furious here as we play just 25 minutes running time. Both the girls and the coaches are having an interesting time adjusting to the various camp and American rules. As our girls are want to do, they were fairly sleepy for the first several minutes of both of their first games. We were able to shrink the gap in both but the pacing, the size of the older girls, and the overall “moment” took a while for the girls to get used to and we ended the day 1-3-1 (win-loss-ot loss). Coach and I both think we are properly placed in our division as our total point differential is probably -15. That means that, over the course of our five games, we have only given up 15 more points than we have scored (that is a good thing, it means the games are all close). Of course the emphasis is never on the wins/losses until the last day. It is all about the girls individual development. And boy... are we ever getting better every time we step onto the court. I mentioned to coach today that I think the reason I get frustrated with our girls silly mistakes is because they just go through stretches where they look so darn good... and then they make back to back plays where I think, “where the heck did that come from!?” As I reflect on the girls progress I remember that many of them are still so, so young. Some of our girls have only been playing for one or two years, they just don’t play like it sometimes and they fool me. As we sit in our last team meeting of the night the girls look tired, showered, and quietly confident that they belong here. Thanks for your support moms and dads, we could never do it without you. Go Falcons! Update on our Team goals: 1. Consistent energy and intensity on the court. a. Although the girls started slow, this goal was really picked up in our final three games after dinner. The girls are finally starting to understand that if they don’t 2. Acknowledge one another on the basketball court. Point for good plays and 'dap' for helping one another out. a. This one is big for me. I shared with the girls the fact that everytime someone catches a pass from me, and scores, I point to them for making me look good. I think the girls as a TEAM are really working hard at supporting one another, but I would love to see more individual to individual interactions midgame. 3. Learning to play as individuals within a team structure on both offense and defense. a. I honestly cannot believe how far the girls have come in one day with this. And it is EVERYONE. The ball handlers are ensuring they are yelling out the plays and calling “ball” on defense. The post players are calling “help” and making sure to set solid screens on offense. The wings are anticipating where the ball is going on defense and doing their best to balance the floor on offense. Good day readers. As most have you probably know blogging is something that I have only recently become involved with. Of course it started in earnest almost a year ago with my random stories from my overseas adventure as an educational intern. Those can all still be found by scrolling through the dates on your right hand side if it at all interests you. Parents and viewers please feel free to submit comments and questions at the bottom of the page.
This coming week my blog will have two new purposes. From today (Sunday) to Friday I am playing a small part in the adventures of ten teenage girls around the ages of fifteen who have decided they wanted to spend one of the weekends in their short summer together, learning as much as they possibly can about the game of basketball in Spokane at a team camp hosted by Whitworth college. My role is as a co-coach/assistant/waterboy/cheerleader as these young ladies experience the ups, downs, laughs, and all around awesomeness that is travelling with a group of like minded individuals with one goal: to become better at the thing they all do together. Each day I will post what I hope is a fairly detailed synopsis of what the day entailed with highlights and pictures and the like. This will serve as something the girls can read and go back and look at in the coming year to reflect on their time away from home as well as a communication tool with parents back home (the girls were NOT permitted to bring their phones with them.) Each one of us will also be doing a personal journal to record thoughts and feelings about the journey, coaches included. Coach Dave has provided the girls and myself with a writing prompt focusing on individual reflection and I hope to use a blog entry separate from my regular updates that will serve as my journal. It is easiest for me and I really don't mind if people can see my thoughts, read it at your leisure or simply check in on how the girls are doing, it is completely up to you (seriously though mom thank you for reading!) The time in the van was great with the girls. We sang songs, Coach and I traded driving and the girls were presented with uniwue challenges every step of the way. They have had to change seats at nearly every stop and have been asked to get to know not just their friends better, but everyone on the trip regardless of age, school, or skill level. We are in this together and it truly will only be done that way. One early highlight was a challenge Dave gave the girls in Cranbrook. The plan was to stop at Superstore and get supplies for lunch. They were given little instructions, other than sandwiches and snacks would be a good start.... oh and they had only ten minutes. I set the timer and after the dust settled all you could see were our eight girls sprinting in flip flops towards the front doors in order to complete their challenge. Although the peanut gallery was hoping for some lettuce and mayo to go on the sandwiches I would say the girls did an excellent job for such an impromptu challenge. For anyone curious they finished with five seconds to spare. We had a great lunch by Moyie Lake, about twenty minutes from Cranbrook. It was a good time for the girls to get out and stretch and for Dave and I to read whatever they had started in their journals on the way here. To begin with the girls have been quite thoughtful and Dave and I are pleased with the level of effort the girls appear to be thinking about putting towards this unique journaling experience. Later in the day was the stop at Sandpoint beach. The girls and I piled out of the van while Dave and Lee went off to fuel up for the last leg of the drive. The girls enjoyed a bathroom break, dipping their toes in the lake, and some *cough, cough* scenery before making our way back into the van with munchies and cold Powerades waiting. One last switch of seats and neighbours and Spokane here we come! As we hit the highway Coach decided it would be a good idea to give me random temperature checkups. Every 15 minutes or so he would lean/look towards me and say, “36.5C”. *Fifteen minutes later* “Oh..! 35.5C now. She’s cooling down!” *Twenty minutes later* “...... 38.5C now.” Each time he informed me my response was pretty much the same: “........... woof.” (hat tip to a friend of mine) And trust me... 38.5C is exactly how warm it sounds when you step out of the van and into the dorm rooms. Needless to say it will be a sweaty week.... oh and the coaches are sharing a room! Tonight we had dinner together at the Olive Garden and our girls were hungry, tired and giddy. It made for quite the amount of laughs during dinner with the grade 8's stealing the show at our end of the table. The night cap was some quick registration and of course a debrief on our day/briefing on how our week will most likely shake out. The girls made individual goals and we all discussed what our team goals will be for the week. In no particular order they are: 1. Acknowledge one another on the basketball court. Point for good plays and 'dap' for helping one another out. 2. Consistent energy and intensity on the court. 3. Learning to play as individuals within a team structure on both offense and defense. We are here safe moms and dads, thank you as always for your support. We could never do this without you. Go Falcons! Good day readers. As most have you probably know blogging is something that I have only recently become involved with. Of course it started in earnest almost a year ago with my random stories from my overseas adventure as an educational intern. Those can all still be found by scrolling through the dates on your right hand side if it at all interests you. Parents and viewers please feel free to submit comments and questions at the bottom of the page.
This coming week my blog will have two new purposes. From today (Sunday) to Friday I am playing a small part in the adventures of ten teenage girls around the ages of fifteen who have decided they wanted to spend one of the weekends in their short summer together, learning as much as they possibly can about the game of basketball in Spokane at a team camp hosted by Whitworth college. My role is as a co-coach/assistant/waterboy/cheerleader as these young ladies experience the ups, downs, laughs, and all around awesomeness that is travelling with a group of like minded individuals with one goal: to become better at the thing they all do together. Each day I will post what I hope is a fairly detailed synopsis of what the day entailed with highlights and pictures and the like. This will serve as something the girls can read and go back and look at in the coming year to reflect on their time away from home as well as a communication tool with parents back home (the girls were NOT permitted to bring their phones with them.) Each one of us will also be doing a personal journal to record thoughts and feelings about the journey, coaches included. Coach Dave has provided the girls and myself with a writing prompt focusing on individual reflection and I hope to use a blog entry separate from my regular updates that will serve as my journal. It is easiest for me and I really don't mind if people can see my thoughts, read it at your leisure or simply check in on how the girls are doing, it is completely up to you (seriously though mom thank you for reading!) First writing stems: · Vivid memories of athletic journey and memories of our time together · Feelings on where we have been and what we have done. · Why do I do the things most people don't? Man.... I’m not even sure where to start when it comes to personal vivid memories of my own personal athletic journey. It honestly seems like a lifetime ago that I was a serious athlete. I know many of you who might be reading this might not know my athletic history as well as my mother, but basketball was my sport from the time I was six until I graduated high school. It still is to be honest with you. I played quite a bit of baseball and tried roller hockey one year, but unlike every other white suburban male growing up in Canada, I never learned how to skate. I still don’t think I know how to. I never once played ice hockey, not even timbits hockey. I’m not sure why I never did. Probably because neither of my parents were big into winter sports and they did not think it was worth the money to get me started in hockey. It never really bothered me very much, it would have ended up conflicting with basketball anyways. Anyways back to the question. I suppose some of my most vivid memories of playing basketball were the numerous provincial tournaments that my mom and I would road trip too, she as the ever supportive mom/coach, and me as the coach’s son/ point guard. We would talk and listen to music and often transport another player who wasn’t lucky enough to have their mom or dad tag along for the ride. We would talk about lots of different things, although we would spend some time talking about the upcoming tournament, it would range from a broad amount of topics while I drifted in and out of slumber. I don’t hide the fact that I am a Momma’s boy and much of it goes back to these road trips that I always enjoyed with mom, whether she knows it or not. Considering the fact that we are on a road trip of our own I think I will share a road trip story that my mother has never forgot. Our memories have a funny way of skewing reality, but I am not sure I will ever see a wall of fog like I did the night my mom, my friend, his mom, and I had to negotiate on the way back from Lloydminster in the eighth grade. We played in the bronze medal game that day so we couldn’t leave town until after 5pm. I remember my mom wanting to get out of town before the very dark clouds moved in. I’m pretty sure that by the time we left the city my friend and I were both asleep. Sometime later my friend and I woke up simultaneously. It must have been 9 or 10 pm in the dead of February Winter. As I came to, I made three observations: we were not moving very fast, we were still on the major highway coming south from Edmonton, and holy man did I ever have to pee. I asked mother where we were and how long it would be until we could find a bathroom, my friend seconded the bathroom motion. Mom informed us that we were still quite a ways from home and that we were passing by a bad accident on the highway, she would try to find us a spot to get out when we cleared the accident. It was at this time that I noticed the fog outside the window. It was so thick I could barely see the trees on the side of the road. I could sense my mom was stressed so I tried not to think about the fact my bladder was about to burst. A short while later we had just cleared the overpass on which the accident occurred. I put on my momma’s boy voice and asked as sweetly as possible if we could find a spot to pee. I remember we were approaching a turn off. To the right was your average merge lane off the highway, and to the left was the through lane that the majority of traffic was now wrestling through. To my surprise mom began to slow down and turn on her blinkers. It isn’t everyday that your mom pulls off the major highway on your way home into the no mans land that is the solid yellow lines splitting the turnoff and the main highway. I remember asking her if she was serious, and I’m sure she responded with something like “now or never”. So my friend and I pop open the side doors of her minivan and proceed to the front of the van. It was pitch black you understand, so we needed light to pee, where else was their light to be found other than in my mother’s headlights? We each took a head light, turned our rears to our mothers, and peed into the night air. Just as my friend and I began to chuckle about how ridiculous this whole thing was (as the cars drove by wondering why two teenage boys were peeing on the side of the road) my mother decided it would be really funny to flash her brights at the pair of us. Once, twice she flashed us in order to let us know that we were taking our sweet time. I suggested to my friend that we do the only sensible thing: we should flash her back. Of course you see now where this is going. Of course we didn't have headlights, but we did have our bare bottoms, and bare them we did for our two mothers to see. By the time we got back into the van the two moms were laughing so hard that I was sure THEY would have to stop to pee next. Our journey ended without drama after that, thank goodness, and it is one trip that my mother has never forgotten. As I finish my reflection on that story it really is that road trip that sums up my mother and I’s relationship: while we have had our moments together of frustration, we always end up laughing together and the night ends with me being momma’s boy. Fast forward to this team, this week, and I think about where we were when we selected thirteen girls in tryouts four months ago and where we are today. Boy have these young ladies learned the right way to play. Of course we struggle with making baskets and with stringing our stretches together to maintain consistency, but many of these girls have only been playing basketball for a couple of years and when we are on, we are ON. The girls play hard, they play unselfishly, and they do the best they can to play the game the way that Coach and I believe it should be played. They have been a pleasure to hang out with and this week should be a great learning experience for all of us. Lastly, as athletes and coaches, why do we put ourselves through things that many people do not? This is my favourite question, and there really isn't a wrong or right answer. For me I put myself through the grueling commitments of coaching for one simple reason: there is no feeling like the joy of seeing a group of young athletes come together and simply “get it”. When you have a group of young people sacrifice for one another for a common goal it means so much more than anything you could ever put a value on. Yes, the schedule is busy. Yes, my girlfriend gets mad at me for being so committed to so many things. Yes I sacrifice my own social life because I want to be in the gym with the kids, but the results and feeling you get from these interactions and the opportunity that it gives me to be a positive role model for kids, just like others were for me, is a priceless opportunity that I wouldn't trade for anything. A final thought on why I do what I do. My girlfriend once asked me why I do what I do, without any real financial incentive. She wasn’t doing it to be mean, she was asking me honestly how I can afford to give up my time, since she has been saving to buy a house and just did not feel it maximized her income to “volunteer”. Now let me say that my girl is one of the most supportive people you will ever meet, and even loves volunteering herself, but she (among others) was surprised that I committed to coaching so much while already working two jobs this summer. I admit she was probably right, but my answer was simple: because this is my life. I want nothing more in life than to serve as a positive role model for young adults. It is why I have become a coach, and it is why I became a teacher. Whether I can be the one person to steer them in the right direction, or just one of many resources the child can draw upon, the connections and relationships that you build with young athletes are some that you will never forget. While it has taken her awhile to understand why I am so committed to this life, she has been there for me every step of the way and I love her for it. Second Writing stems: Why are we on this trip? Why are YOU making this trip? What would you like to get out of this trip? What would make this trip a success to YOU? These were our second question prompts from Coach for the day and they are good ones. I believe that we are on this trip because all of us sincerely want to get better at something and we want to do it together. Whether it is for sport or social reasons, all the girls are here because they like basketball, they like each other, and they want to be better. I have asked myself several times this morning what the heck I am doing in a van, going on a road trip with ten fifteen year old girls. Most of you probably laugh, but the truth is this is one of the best group of kids I have ever had the pleasure of being around. They play hard, they play for each other, they genuinely try to include each other and seem to really enjoy playing together. It has been a real joy to spend time with these young athletes this summer and I don’t think this week will be any different in that regard. On a more personal level I am here to learn. I want to see what it takes to bring a group like this on a long road trip to a different place. I want to see what routines and what documents we need to have established. I want to learn what it takes from an organization stand point so I can take my own group on a trip one day. I also am always looking to Coach to learn more about the craft of coaching itself. From the time he got me my first coaching job when I was still in the twelfth grade – till now I have mostly been learning on the job. Selfishly I am really looking forward to spending time with him this week and just listening to how he handles situations and picking his brain when I can in order to steal and learn all I can for my own exploits in the near and distant future, I have been lucky enough to have him as a mentor in the fact that I have never wanted for opportunities to coach, but to be able to coach both with him and under him is truly something I have been looking forward to for some time. That leads to me thinking about what would make this trip a success. First of all I think this trip is a success if the girls come together and truly learn and grow as a group. Above all else that is what is important to me. That the girls savor this opportunity and that I can be but a small part of their success. I would also like to walk away with one or two small things that would make me a better coach. A way to teach shot making, or a tip about beating teaching defense would make the whole trip worth it. Good day readers,
I realize that I have used this blog as primarily a tool for education, but I also have used it to explore my interest in personal writing. With that i bring anyone that is remotely interested in basketball my first ever NBA mock draft. Basically I attempted to guess what I think will happen in tonights NBA draft. In some spots it was difficult to guess so I put what I thought a team SHOULD do. The draft has long been a passion of mine and it was fun to try to predict. Enjoy. 1. CAVS – Jabari Parker, SF, Duke. a. Cavs want to win sooner than they should. I think it should be Wiggins, I want it to be Wiggins, it will be Parker. 2. Bucks – Andrew Wiggins, SF, Kansas a. No brainer here, take the highest touted prospect in draft. 3. 76ers – Dante Exum, G, Australia a. Mostly because I think he gives them so many options, he is really good, and if they trade the pick someone is coming to get him. 4. Magic – Noah Vonleh, F, Indiana a. They can afford to be patient and him and Vucevic make a killer combo. 5. Jazz – Julius Randle, PF, Kentucky a. I have questions about if he will be able to bully people at the next level, but he is crazy talented. 6. Celtics – Joel Embiid, C, Kansas a. Because, the Celtics. 7. Lakers – Marcus Smart, G, Ok St a. Only guy other than Randle who can probably withstand Kobe’s wrath. 8. Kings – Aaron Gordon, F, Arizona a. By all accounts they are trading this pick, so I have no idea who will be taken here, but if they stay at this pick then they should take Gordon so they have ALL of the length. 9. Hornets – Gary Harris, G, Mich St. a. Stauskas or Mcdermott are also options, but he bobcats were a top 10 defense this year and harris brings an edge defensively plus the shooting. Hide Kemba on the non threat and have harris and MKG bottle up the perimeter. 10. 76ers – James Young, G/F, Kentucky a. Because I think he gives them more versatility with the young core and I have them with Exum. Could also be Stauskas or Gordon if he falls. 11. Nuggets – Nik Stauskas, G, Michigan a. Apparently they are not keeping the pick. If they do than I say they take whoever from the last three (plus Stauskas) that is still here. In this case, Stauskas. 12. Magic – Elfrid Payton, PG, ULL a. This dude has apparently been shooting up draft boards. He could not hit water if he fell out of a boat, but he is terrific in transition and can run a pick and roll. Him and Oladipo on defense is fun. 13. T’Wolves – Adreian Payne, PF, Mich St. a. KLove replacement and a plug and play big with outside shooting touch. His lung condition concerns me because he probably cant ever play huge minutes, but he is quite talented. 14. Suns – Doug Mcdermott, F, Creighton a. Crap…. Well I really don’t think he falls this far, but I felt like i had good reasons for all the other picks. He could legit be in harris or stauskas or youngs spot. 15. Hawks – T.j. Warren, SF, NC State a. I am not the hugest fan of his game, but the hawks good use another wing creator and he can create for himself. He wont space the floor like their other wings yet, but if he can add that he will be good. 16. Bulls – Rodney Hood, G/F, Duke a. There is talk of them moving up with both the 16 and 19, but if they stay here they need a shooter and hood is a good one. His defensive woes could be fixed or hidden by Thibs and if he competes he should see mins. 17. Celtics – Zach Lavine, G, UCLA a. This seems like a fit to me, although he probably doesnt fall this far. Celtics take two huge home run swings with lavine and embiid and hope to hit on one. No one walks away with more talent, or questions from the draft if it shakes out like this. 18. Suns – Clint Capela, F/C, Switzerland a. This is almost assuredly sold for cash or stashed overseas so Saric is also an option here. Capela gives them a long shot blocking project to bring over in a couple years and help anchor a defense to go with their attacking offense. 19. Bulls – Tyler Ennis, G, Syracuse a. Again the bulls probably don’t keep both picks, but if they were to walk away with hood and either ennis or napier than that is a good haul for them. Ennis can function as rose’s backup or insurance, run the (nonexistent) offense and hit spot up shots. Hey they had hinrich and augustin last year… go Canada. 20. Raps – Dario Saric, F, Croatia a. Vomit inducing to some degree, but here are the facts: Lowry might be gone so if ennis is here then he is the pick. Masai seems like a BPA guy and saric has top 10 talent, but just signed an extension to stay overseas. He could come over in two years and be what Hedo was SUPPOSED to be. I think they should take more shooting or a big, Anderson could also be in play. God I hope this works. 21. Thunder – P. J. Hairston, G/F, UNC/D-League a. 6’5 shooter with some bounce if he stays out of trouble he will fill a role for the thunder. He can defend, run, and gun with two of the best. This excites me. 22. Grizz – Jordan Adams, G/F, UCLA a. Not a huge fan of his game, but the grizz love strong guards that can put the ball in the hoop. Needs to add a consistent jumper, but he can be a good option off the bench. 23. Jazz - Cleanthony Early, F, Wichita St. a. Big long three who can shoot and play some 4. Like the fit with their bigs and gives them another good athlete with good touch from the perimeter. Can fit with burks and Hayward if he stays. 24. Hornets – Kyle Anderson, G/F, UCLA a. He is probably too talented to fall this far, and could be in play for raptors, bulls, and suns, but if they decide to stash guys/draft point guards, then this slide is possible. His weaknesses are well documented, but he is essentially the opposite of the problems they have had with Rivers. He sees the floor well and creates for others with his shiftiness and length. He could fit here as a point forward off the bench to start. 25. Rockets – C. J. Wilcox, G, Washington a. Supposedly a smooth shooter who hits at a good clip. The rockets know a little about shooting 3’s. 26. Heat – Shabazz Napier, G, UCONN a. Outside of a few other picks this is probably the one I feel most comfortable with. LeBron tweeted during march that he was best point guard in the draft, he fits a need, and is talented. This seems too easy to actually work 27. Suns – Jusuf Nurkic, C, Bosnia a. There is pretty much no chance they keep this pick it seems as they would sell it for cash, an asset, or package it to move up with the 14. If for some reason they stay they could take another talented stash prospect in Nurkic, who is massive and has good feet and touch. 28. Clippers – Jarnell Stokes, F, Tenn a. Wide body, tough minded, and talented enough to be the top big off their bench. 29. Thunder – K.J. McDaniels, G/F, Clemson a. Goodness if the thunder somehow got mcdaniels and hairston their wing problems would be solved… poor Jeremy lamb. 30. Spurs – Mitch McGary, F/C, Michgan a. A Spurs pick pretty much. They take a talented guy with a cloud hanging over him from the marijuana thing and his back injury. He had lottery talent last year and could be an excellent back up big man for this team. Remember they gave meaningful minutes to aaron baynes in the playoffs. Today's blog is a short reflection on the semester as a whole for our online course. Overall I would say that this course has exceeded my expectations. Originally I was nervous about taking an online course because I was afraid that it would be too easy not to do the work. I thought that without the pressure of going to class I would fall behind. In fact just the opposite happened, I was routinely ahead. I fell into a routine of making my blog post every Friday morning and the helpful reminders from my professor let me plan on doing things way ahead of time.
Because there was no set class time I was flexible to get the course done and could be selective with the reading I did, choosing things that interested me and blogging about them. I also really liked that the course encouraged me to keep my blog up to date with a new post every week about something we had learned. As someone who had dabbled in the blogosphere before our class it was gave me a fresh idea to keep my blog up to date, it was easy to write for the class because I have grown to like blogging. I think that I have learned a great deal of information that will help me over the course of my career as each week I was able to write and reflect on a new idea. I have these in my personal blog so it is unlike other courses where I will lose all the work that I did, or want to throw everything away... it is on the internet for me to go find anytime I want. The use of twitter, wikis, social bookmarking, cloud computing, digital storytelling, and online presentations are all tools that I discovered or learned something new about during our class. I hope to use all, if not most, of these tools in my future classroom. Thank you for reading Mom, really appreciate it. If anyone else out there read weekly then I appreciate you too! Guess I will have to find something else to write about now... hmm... not sure what that will look like. Anyways thanks for reading and talk to you soon. This week’s topic in our online course talks about using online presentations in the classroom. Dedicated blog followers (HI MOM!) will have seen that I posted an online presentation regarding the causes of World War One a couple of weeks ago. I received good feedback on it for most part from our professor, but one thing I lost marks for was my ability to engage students. This was interesting because, largely due to my personality, student engagement in the classroom has not been something I have struggled with. If you’re not sure what “engagement” might look like in the classroom I assure you I am not popping the question to any teenagers on a regular basis, rather, engagement in the classroom refers to how invested your students are in the lesson.
As I reflected on my online presentation, however, I tend to agree with my professor. My approach to the project was to treat the presentation as if I was in the classroom, but it comes through as a rather simple audio file recorded overtop of PowerPoint slides and comes off as slightly bland. I don’t think I did a bad job; I just think if I used a ‘sexier’ platform (Prezi for example) I could have had more tools and some “whizzy templates” to work with, which could have increased the engagement level naturally (Hall, 2014). I think this level of engagement would be especially true when we talk about the use of online presentations/lectures in the flipped classroom. When we think of the conventional classroom I think many of us, me included, think of a big room full of whiteboards, desks, a teacher, and students. The teacher leads the instruction, the students kind of listen, and then attempt to put what they have just learned into practice. The flipped classroom turns this idea on its head. The students are expected to watch online presentations/lectures and come to school ready to apply their new knowledge. While I feel as though this idea could be very successful on many levels, I remain somewhat skeptical of certain students going home and viewing the necessary materials for class the following day. This would also put a lot of pressure on the teacher to ensure that these materials were engaging and succinct (it means brief, mom) enough for students to watch them after school. It also implies that the students would need a relatively strong WiFi or landline connection and not all children have access to these things in their homes. For more information on the Flipped classroom check out this infographic: http://www.knewton.com/flipped-classroom/ One way I can absolutely see myself using online presentations in the classroom would be as a collaborative learning tool with students for class projects. I think it would be a great way for students to present their research to their classmates, or our class could even present an online presentation to the entire school. Either way I think that online presentations will have a place the classroom both flipped and the more traditional setting. Reference: Sharon Hurley Hall. 19 Free Presentation Tools to Wow your Audience. Retrieved April 4, 2014; From: http://blog.crazyegg.com/2013/05/28/online-presentation-tools/ This week’s class discusses using online communication tools in Education. Our professor began the notes with an interesting photo and question prompt. She started our notes with the picture that you see on your left. She writes that the picture was taken in the 1950’s and that it is displaying various commuters on a train, heading to work. Mrs. Beaudin notes that she often hears that young people spend too much time buried in their phones and other mobile devices to notice the world going on around them, but given what we see in this picture sixty years ago... what has really changed? I thought this was an incredibly interesting observation and it really made me think that technology should be viewed within a context of its time. I have long been of the belief that every generation thinks that the one coming next has everything, and the one that birthed them must have had to do things so differently, occasionally this manifests itself as they are “out of touch”. Everything is contextual. The generation of individuals on that train reading newspapers looks at my parents generation and thinks, “TELEVISION!? I remember the days when you had to pay a copper to the young lad on the street corner to get the PAPER and actually READ the news... it was either that or huddle around the transistor radio in order to receive your evening news.” My parents generation looks at my generation and thinks, “INTERNET!? I remember the days when you had to sit with your whole family around the black and white television and see what had happened that day in the world, you couldn’t just log on and see what happened in London thirty-five minutes ago.” I assume my generation will go something like this: “TELEPATHY!? I remember the day when you had to sit and listen to your internet physically CONNECT... literally it ‘dialed up’ to your computer before you went ‘online’. Now you kids just get instant, live tweets to your brains about news of your choice.” Basically, in a nutshell, this is what happens: Basically I think that new forms of communication DO create connections, but only really for those in the generation that it is created in, those that come after it, and those that are open-minded enough to embrace it in the moment. As an educator I hope to stay open-minded about the role that online communication tools can play in my future classroom.
I had to laugh out loud during our course notes when I read this sentence from our prof: “As a student at the U of L, you have been exposed to Moodle and possibly (depending on how long you have been here) WebCT (also known at Blackboard).” (Beaudin, 2014) Yeah.... that is totally me haha. “MOODLE!? I remember the day when you had to log onto WebCT/Blackboard and no one really knew what they were doing!” I actually didn’t say that, just seemed like an appropriate joke given the nature of the post. Moodle actually works quite well. More importantly though, I feel more professors have embraced the idea of handing in assignments online, using discussion boards in Moodle, etc. For me it isn’t that the Moodle website platform is really superior to WebCT, but it is being used more effectively. Also, the WebCT server tended to crash when we all went to write our online tests at the same time, which was less than ideal. Mrs. Beaudin also had an interesting observation regarding her own children and the use of text messaging. She says in our notes: “I know with my own children, they often won’t answer a phone call, but will respond immediately to a text. I’m not sure why that is. Perhaps you have an insight? Thoughts for teaching? How would you encourage students to use their mobile devices to enhance teaching? What boundaries would need to be set in the k-12 classroom?” (Beaudin, 2014) I have to admit that I am as guilty of this as anyone else. Full disclosure: I hate talking on the phone. For dedicated readers my relationship to the telephone is almost parallel to my relationship with elevators. I fully recognize the strengths of the device and admire its efficiency, I just really dislike using them. The main difference in these relationships is that I use the stairs so that I am not lazy, and I choose to text versus phone calls because I AM lazy. I apologize to Mrs. Beaudin if she is reading this because I am not sure I have any great insights to offer on this topic, however, I would say that she, at least in part, serves to answer her own question later on in our notes. Our notes talks about the advantages of using Email as a communication tool comapred to the telephone. Mrs. Beaudin notes that, “Email is time-independent. This means, unlike a telephone, that you can answer messages at a time convenient to you. It also means that you can think about a response before replying. You can even take time editing your response until it expresses your point as clearly and carefully as possible.” (Beaudin, 2014) This is really how I feel about text messages. As someone who can make a habit of not knowing what to say/sticking his foot in his mouth (shocking I know) I like the idea that I am able to take a minute and think about how what I am about to type may sound to someone on the other end. Of course there is always room for misinterpretation and I apologize to my girlfriend many times over for the jokes I make that may not sound like jokes at the time. In regards to texting and Emails in the classroom though I see the lines as blurred, but firm. I know that may not make a whole lot of sense, but let me explain. I do not see myself ever giving out my number to students in my k-12 class. I do not feel there is anything that will go on in class that cannot be asked in an Email, telephone call, or face to face meeting. For me, texting is to “private” of a communication tool to share with the vast majority of my students. I would be extremely uncomfortable if anywhere from 10-30 some high school girls had my telephone number and could text me anytime they wanted. That is not to say that it would actually happen, it is just a terrifying proposition for me. Having said that if I was coaching a basketball team, as I try to every year, I would have very little problem with giving out my number to my players so that they can get a hold of me anytime to let me know of schedule changes and the like. The line between the two is admittedly blurred, but for me the classroom is a much more professional environment than the gymnasium with 12 players fighting as one team. I would say that the most important communication tools for my future classroom are Email, twitter, and blogs. I see Email as a necessity for every teacher. It allows easy and fast communication with parents and colleagues. Students can send you projects if they miss class time and you can send homework or provide assistance with things without fear of your phone number ending up in the wrong hands. Parents can ask questions and voice pleasure or concerns with their child’s progress and I can reply at my own pace, but in a timely manner. Twitter is something I hope to use in the classroom although admittedly I am still brainstorming the best possible uses of this device. I like how simple and succinct Twitter can be though, and hope to find a good use of it for my classroom in the near future. Lastly, blogging is something I have grown fond of over the last 6-8 months and think that a weekly, or bi-monthly classroom blog would be a great communication tool for my classroom. One of our websites said it best this week saying that: “Weekly class blog: posting announcements, class candid moments, student’s achievements, assigning group tasks and disseminating learning resources and helpful links. Since a blog has an excellent feedback system, they can immediately respond to voice out their queries, topic clarifications and ideas for class activities. You can also dedicate a post to your model student and special awards to motivate them. By updating it on a regular basis, parents will definitely appreciate your effort in fostering the learning process.” (Jones & Terrell, 2013). All in all, online communication tools are going to be a big part of my future classroom for corresponding with parents, students, and fellow teachers/colleagues. References: Beaudin, Lorraine. (2014) Module Ten: Using the Net to Communicate. Retrieved: March 28, 2014; From: http://ed4764.weebly.com/module-ten-communicating-with-parents.html. Jones, Reese, & Terrell Shelly (Nov. 2013) 12 Online Tools For Effective Teacher to Student and Parent Communication. Retrieved March 28, 2014; From: http://shellyterrell.com/2013/11/22/12-online-tools-for-effective-teacher-to-student-and-parent-communication/ Image Reference: Train Commuters. (1955). Retrieved March 28, 2014; From: http://ed4764.weebly.com/module-ten-communicating-with-parents.html For our on line class that I update my blog for we were asked to choose a topic, construct a presentation, and record the audio in an online format. Below is the 20 minute presentation that I was able to come up with. I took the approach of just being in the classroom, only it was just me, in my pyjamas, at my kitchen table. Check it out if you're curious, just press play! This week’s theme for class is talking about group discussion boards and mailing lists. Regular readers are aware that one of my goals as a young educator will be to find different ways to break down the barriers of the four walls that surround my classroom. This week I feel we were presented with two tools, one much more helpful than the other.
Having been enrolled in University for seven years I like to think that I have picked up a few skills and tricks along the way. One of these is working with the discussion forums on our Moodle/WebCT/Blackboard sites. While different professors placed different emphases on the online discussion format, I was able to quickly grasp the concept of responding to a question prompt and sharing insight on two or three of my classmates own responses. Essentially anyone can log onto the forum and pose a question to the group, make a comment on something said in class, or thank the teacher for bringing Timbits for everyone. As I said, in my experience the professor provided the prompt that we would respond to, and then ask us to comment on two or three other classmates responses, hence the “discussion” portion of the forum. The process felt very natural and completely in tune with what we were doing in class. Grandma if this process sounds similar to when people used to just tack their questions onto a giant corkboard in the staff lounge, that is because it IS! Think of this exact process, just online now. I really see a lot of value of using these online discussion forums in the classroom. Of course I have a Social Studies background and am all about engaging students in discussion in order to further their knowledge and understanding. I feel that online discussion forums provide a rich opportunity to take what we are talking about in class and continue the conversation outside of class. Students could be asked to respond to a prompt the day before a class in order to preview the next day’s material, they could be asked to reflect on something that we discussed in class that day or the day previous, or the students could be asked to go find something on the internet that pertains to a topic we are discussing in class and post it so that all can benefit from their findings. I believe that any combination of these would enrich the students learning experience in my classroom. The other online discussion format that we were shown this week is one that I have not had a lot of experience with. It involves the same online discussion concept, just with mass emailing through a mail list. Now, I am not sure if I am just to young and cool and hip, but I found this process to be WAY too dramatic. First you have to find a list on a database that you want to “subscribe” to, then you have to join the list. Once you have joined the list you will receive emails from the members of the list and can email the list so that all other members get your email. Sounds easy right? I think that mass emailing has its uses, but the process just seems unnecessary as a forum for online discussion when we have things like discussion boards now in place. I mean sure, getting seven new cupcake recipes every week SOUNDS like a great a idea in theory... but who really makes that many cupcakes in one week? In my classroom I believe I will use mass emailing and mail lists in order to get information out to staff, parents, and children efficiently and easily. However, when my goal is to engage individuals in a forum for discussion I think I will stick with the online discussion board. Image Reference: Online Discussion Board. Retrieved March 14, 2014; From: http://www.smallfoodbiz.com/wp-content/uploads/discussionboard.jpg |