Wearables, Virtual Field Trips, and TESOL With Technology

“What if I was to say that our inability to completely get our head around all these concepts and how they work is a limitation of this technology, which is the static page, or the explanation through written text. However, if you were to take and leverage simulation and interactivity to show what you can’t see, and to experience these things in real time, imagine what it might be like.”

A TEDx Talk I watched recently was about Unboxing education through gaming, playing, and making. Prior to presenting a virtual simulation, Lucien Vattel posed the aforementioned thought worth contemplating. Now, before you jump in blindly, harp on Vattel or question me about the possibilities, watch the talk and witness how he also instructed the audience in a scientific concept. He did this by utilizing the medium of himself with the technology of the human body though there was cutting edge technology at his disposal.

Google Glass showed up some years ago, and it seems to be continuing in development while it’s being used on factory floors. Some are wanting Apple to join in on innovating hearing aids. Where do these wearables that Vattel and others speak of fit within education? How will society view them? For merely entertainment and/or improving the quality of life for the world? It’s the quality of life and the education of those in my classroom that I have begun to consider the place that wearable technology could have. In my opinion, Chinese education is not close to embracing it since most schools don’t have a plan on how to incorporate phones, devices, or personal computers. I saw 3D printers at an experimental school once, but the connections weren’t operational. Nobody seemed to mind that nothing was being constructed for the scores of people visiting that day. It was like the future was stuck and not a single person objected.

With the current condition the way that it is, coding, programming, and more modern technology have found their ways into Chinese schools by being an after-school activity, or a school club. If I were to encompass wearable tech into my personal teaching, I would be waiting for a while. If educators or leaders in innovation in China want students to be prepared, they should first peel back the layers of historical, cultural, and traditional influences that lead to the ever-so-popular thought of how technology does much more harm than good in learning. I have never heard of wearables even mentioned until recently and after searching what the China Daily has reported on its place in advancements. Seems that while tech like these mind-blowing, futuristic gadgets created in China are being presented, at the same time VR is also being proven as “effective” in drug rehab. Therefore, like the US and many other countries worldwide, society and technology are moving forward. Education is behind the game. In its entirety, that’s not such a bad thing, but that topic is for another time.

One way that educators can launch forward is through Virtual Field Trips. Kyle Schutt defines a VFT as when “an educator leverages digital content and educational technologies to take educators and students beyond their classroom walls to meet people and see places they might not otherwise have the opportunity to experience.” Again, I hadn’t heard of these either until recently, and it reminded me of when my sixth graders and I were learning about The Underground Railroad. National Geographic provided an online interactive where the students could envision themselves as slaves on the run for Canada but had to avoid hunters, arrive safely at “stations,” and go through authentic emotional and psychological experiences. Though this wasn’t even a 3D/4D movie, it was an interesting class together exploring unknown territory and providing a dimension unmet before. It has me thinking what “advanced adventure” could be possible with my sixth graders next semester or my high school health class. (Side note: Connecting it to health has me recall being on a ride at Disney once where we were riding inside the human body.) Oh, the possibilities…Education World, Scholastic, and others have great resources for teachers.

These two topics have led me to a question I’ve been asking myself as a teacher. With technology, am I a user or integrator?

I would like to keep developing as a teacher who maintains pedagogy before technology integration, and through that continue to seamlessly embrace the utilization of educational technology most suitable. Currently, at the new school I work at, this is somewhat arduous seeing that the curriculum, students, and available technology (a smart board) is all novel too. That doesn’t mean I haven’t been mulling over how to improve. When referring to the picture above, I undeniably integrate technology in my classes while there are certainly some points I’d fall under using technology. Resources such as these push me to first examine my teaching, dissect the root of any problems I discover, and construct plans on how I can take steps toward practical changes. Each stride allows me to then apply proper critical thinking within the judgments I make to transform my teaching.
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Improving the Flipped Classroom in China

One of the teaching methods I have applied, analyzed, and been reflecting on this school year is that of the flipped classroom. It started out as an Action Research project that I simply placed hope in since I wasn’t sure how students in a bilingual school in China would respond. What happened beforehand, during the implementation, and afterward transpired in ways that inspired me to move forward. Part of progress is moving into the unknown, and before continuing to do so I checked out some blogs and well-known sites for any tips or suggestions when employing the flipped classroom.

One idea I received was from a first-grade teacher. Her students were too young to obtain internet access in the evenings. Therefore, she thought outside the box, and she did what she referred to as the “in-class flip.” She recorded and prepared the directions and examples for a project, and then made the video (and more thereafter) available to her students in order that they could independently look back to those instead of her. This provided her as the teacher to “work with individuals and small groups to address a range of learning styles and abilities.” For more details and steps on that, check out Creative Educator, where some teachers are Flipping the Elementary Classroom.

One of several suggestions from Teach Starter was to start with one lesson to flip in an area you as the teacher feel comfortable with. I’m wondering now if that’s the best piece of advice for everyone when mulling over the start of flipping one’s classroom. When I initially tried out the method, I actually had a class do it for a complete chapter that ended up lasting about three straight weeks with at least 2-3 videos a week. The kinks for the video-watching were mostly taken care of before the chapter began, as the rest were resolved after the first class period. From there on out to the end, the students knew the expectations with the short and succinct videos within our imperfect system, and they gave it all they had. It was a few fun weeks, but I’m not sure we (the students and I) would’ve revealed all that we did with one single time of flipping. The students and I discovered quite a bit through the experience, and it wasn’t just about our content. Thus, in my opinion, I’d say “yes” to the educator who asks, “Does Flipped Learning in a Primary Classroom Really Work?” Though there are more variables and other options a teacher should consider in accordance with one’s context before taking the leap since I wonder if there could be situations where it wouldn’t be suitable.

My students shared a healthy outlook on learning in that they control their learning, and the teacher is there to guide, correct, or challenge thinking within the subject and its interconnectedness to other subjects and, ultimately, life. The flipped videos were a nice substitute for the traditional homework that the students receive daily, and they expressed their desire for the videos since the beginning for they provided foundations for the classes we met face to face. The content in the videos was starting points for learning as well, and sometimes the students even did a little independent research of their own beforehand. Ultimately, flipping the classroom has felt like a success in professional and personal ways through the year, but that doesn’t mean I should stop growing and obtaining wisdom from experts on the issue. (Hence, the two hyperlinks in this paragraph stem from Jon Bergmann.)

Jon Bergmann on "What is Flipped Learning?" on Common Sense Media

Here are some more analyses on the flipped classroom.

A Student's Turn to Flip

Mr. B's Take on the Flipped Classroom

What do you think?

Would you incorporate or have you implemented the flipped classroom? If yes, what recommendations do you have? If no, why not?

Who Are Schools For?

Some things students say can just stick with you.

I clearly recall a moment that occurred the week of midterms for our elementary students this semester. I haven’t given tests as of the past few years, and it’s during spring that we have a cool movie-making project. During this time when students were motivated, interested, and able to use their creativity came events that the students dread. It was on one of the days the week of approaching the midterms that a student said to me, “I’m so tired. I don’t want to do anything.” Normally, a teacher could become frustrated at a comment like this, try one’s best to encourage the child to stay motivated, yada yada yada. What actually happened was I took time to listen to him and some of the recent reasons of which caused this tiredness. Number one was, of course, cramming for the tests. Day and night.

This memory came flooding back when I saw this image tweeted by Adam Welcome (#kidsdeserveit). It reminded me of conversations I’ve had with admin and teachers, Chinese and foreign, about the connections between how some things have always been done and the serious effects those same issues can have on a student’s love of learning/growth. It pains me to hear students say (and even some teachers show) that they don’t want to go to school. 

Students despise homework and teachers complain about grading and then having students fix mistakes? My reply: Why do students need homework? Do students love learning? How can high-stakes testing be removed while true, consistent assessment stays strong?

Students loathe morning exercises where they run to military music. My reply: Can students have free time? Why not play Taylor Swift, Maroon 5, Michael Jackson, or other modern music while running? (Many students have voiced their opinion about various songs or musicians.)

Students detest the need to miss specials, clubs, and free time to “fix mistakes.” Usually, the number of corrections is more than a couple times. My reply: Why are students making so many “mistakes” in the first place? How should students learn? How should they view mistakes in the course of school/life? How can they rebound and move forward on their own?

The list goes on, and so do my thoughts regarding the new school that I’m planning to help open starting this fall. I read a considerable amount of research, and if a school within the Chinese education system wants to just focus on student enrollment and raising scores/grades along with somehow expecting to genuinely push innovation forward, the leaders must revisit traditional habits, teachers must be open to new ways to educate, and both must examine how they relate to students in 2017. Start to have conversations that most likely lead to collaborative research, discussions, and plans for change. (Side note: Finland did this back in the 1990s. 1990s!)

Like I told my future principal, “You want more students to come during the first few years? Get rid of or cut down homework considerably. That will get students talking and sharing on social media.” Hopefully that and other changes could be seen as indicators that we would be making the best decisions for the students, seeing that…

The Voices of China, E03: Why I'm a So-So Student

Part 3 of The Voices of China Series continues with question 3.

3) Did you do well in class? Why/why not?

So-so: While I'm not at all surprised by this answer, I wanted to know the deeper reasons with every student who said it because (and they know) I believe it's a cop-out. So though a majority of the fifth graders gave this answer, there are two categories to which they belong. Quite understandably so, I might add, but I will get to that later. Until then, hear ye...hear ye...the following are the top two reasons why students think they are just "so-so."

I didn't listen in class. 
Classic. From early on, students are instructed to sit up, not touch their pencils while teachers talk, not talk with others, and listen to the sage on the stage with ease. Because of this definition of "good" behavior being ingrained in their mind from such an early age, I wasn't at all surprised to hear many students reason this way. It pained me every time, but I knew a time to speak into their lives and guide them in new directions would come.

http://tinyurl.com/ppdo5dd

I'm not good at English. 
Being good at languages carries a higher than normal weight with it when attending an elementary school known, in a city of 8 million, for its English program. Because a lot of students possibly don't do well on their English homework, midterms, revisions, class activities, and tests, they aren't confident in their second (or third) language. Notice the previous assessments listed, read them through a few more times, and reconsider why a student would say this. It shouldn't be too hard.

These reasons are reinforced from kindergarten. That's more than five years, 900 school days of behavior- and test-focused performance being cemented in their minds. These reasons are traditional and will culturally be hard to change. But(!) they are on the brink of shifting. Why would I say such a thing?! Because my students agree with me on particular topics of education. They despise tests. They hate listening to somebody who teaches to a test. They want to learn how they learn best. Thus, I stated some comments at the end of last semester in our class meetings.

1) If you don't understand me, you're not a bad student. If you understand me, you're not a good student.
2) People are different. Some students can listen and do something else at the same time.

Any teacher can tell you to start with what the students know (schema) before approaching new knowledge. This past week then I touched on these two statements within the context of our class studying Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligences. Believe it or not, it's in our curriculum! The students learned how everyone is made differently, particularly in the brain. Therefore they know and can apply the fact that we are all smart in various ways. It's not the test nor the score that tells you how smart you are. (I received more than one "yeah" from the students on that one.)

http://tinyurl.com/l8ab96l

Now connect those thoughts with the basic standards I gave the students last week, and you have 60+ fifth graders looking at the content (what) they need to know and creating their own processes (how) in acquiring language and information. More details are being worked out while we have also started sites for each class on Kidblog. There are a lot of new things going on in my classes this semester, and at times, I don't know what to think or how to feel. What I do know is that 60+ students are seeing me take risks, fail, brainstorm, and move forward. All they while, they're doing it with me.

This is what makes all of them more than just "so-so."