Falling Behind

I'm falling behind!  Right now I'm in the middle of an entry on canoe tripping that was supposed to be for yesterday but I will probably end up posting tomorrow.  I'll be catching up on the weekend.

The Civil Engineer in me just felt like posting some stuff on subways (that may or may not have to do with education).

**I have decided to blog in Helvetica for this entry because it's famous for being the typeface of New York's  subway system (usually, my blog is in Trebuchet).  Actually, I do like the Toronto Subway Font, which according to Wikipedia is based on Futura.  Note to self: do an entry on fonts.

1. Here is a gif from a blogTO article depicting the history of Toronto's subway system using TTC Station Buttons (that can be ordered from the Spacing Store).

http://www.photosapience.com/index.php?showimage=448

2. This next site has line drawings of subway systems from all over the world to scale. Toronto actually isn't as small comparitively as I thought...

http://fakeisthenewreal.org/subway/

3. Antonio Jorge Goncalves, a guy who sketches people on public transit all over the world.  Interesting pastime.  I should try it sometime.  Here's the link: http://www.subway-life.com/

There are also a bunch of sites that have collections of sketches of people on subways in Toronto.  Is it sad if I was looking for myself in one of them?  I caught a guy sketching me on a bus once.

4. The awesomeness of this image speaks for itself.  I think subway maps are an interesting way of presenting relationships between concepts visually as an alternative to mind maps or concept maps.  There's a lesson in that.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/smoy/4413987999/

Speaking of lessons, maybe a good idea would be to model Toronto in Minecraft and design an ideal subway system for it.  That would be cool.  Actually, I might go do that myself.  See you in 3 months...

While your waiting for my return, heres a link to a Super Mario Brothers 3 version of the Toronto Subway Map: http://davesgeekyideas.com/2012/06/12/toronto-ttc-subwayrt-map-super-mario-3-style/

Day 16 - Lab Safety

The problem...

What is the safest layout for a Science lab/classroom?

Why?

• Cover the Science Lab-Safety curriculum expectations in an engaging way
• Utilize Third Teacher principles (environment as third teacher) that enables students to take more ownership of their classroom environment (while considering safety)

Minecraft Classroom Image from:

http://dbatty.wordpress.com/2012/06/23/minecraft-brings-about-so-many-opportunities/

Each science course has a lab safety component to the curriculum.  It makes sense.  Lab activities use dangerous chemicals and apparatus.  There needs to be procedures in place to ensure safety that the students are aware of.  Usually, lab safety is taught over a day or two followed by a quiz. Why not make the way they learn about safety engaging?  

Minecraft!

What I propose is give the choice for students to model the classroom/lab in Minecraft and then experiment to determine the safest way to arrange the classroom would be.  They could also figure out procedures for dispensing and collecting dangerous chemicals and the best way to store apparatus.  I probably wouldn't force them to use Minecraft.  It would be one way they could attempt to solve the problem.

The Lesson...

First, to facilitate Self-Regulation, I would discuss with the class what would make a successful classroom layout and have them establish some success criteria.  They would then come up with some sort of method for carrying out the task.  It may look something like this:

1. Organize! Students determine roles for constructing the model.
2. Model the classroom - including desks, lab desks, teachers desk, windows, doors, intercom, materials storage and anything else of note.  
3. Label the safety equipment in the model - fume hood, eye wash station, sinks, fire blanket, sprinkler, fire extinguisher and anything else.  Students will really know where all the safety equipment is after this!
4. Layout - In groups, students discuss how to improve safety by rearranging and experimenting with the layout.  Not all safety items are movable but desks and storage of equipment are.  This is where students can take ownership of their classroom environment.  Different layouts can be discussed and actually implemented in the class.
5. Material Distribution Procedure - What is the best way to distribute lab materials/chemicals - come up with a plan!
6. Emergency plan - Plan for an emergency and try it out! With everyone sitting at their desks (in the model) re-enact the procedure.  
7. Make a video.  Groups create videos of the student's avatars interacting with their models acting out safety procedures (what to do when there is an acid spill, chemical distribution, etc). Each group could choose a different procedure to demonstrate. They can post their videos on YouTube to share with the rest of the class.  

Students could continue to modify the model throughout the year if a layout isn't working or if there is a more unconventional lab that will happen.

Why Minecraft?

Whenever tempted to use some form of ICT I think it is important to ask yourself if that is the best way to deliver a lesson or you are just using the tech for the sake of using the tech. If you can't rationalize the tech actually enhancing the learning experience for the students, don't do it. In this case I chose Minecraft for a few reasons:

• It provides a Collaborative environment for groups of students to experiment with designs
• Students can try different designs in a short amount of time.  It's a good platform to support Real-World Problem Solving.
• The first person perspective is more personal and engaging for students
• The digital environment may be more comfortable to students who would not normally contribute in group discussions
• Really, I'm just excited about the idea of using Minecraft in a class

There are limitations to what furniture/equipment you can build in Minecraft but if students are creative enough, they would probably be able to model anything they need for this exercise.  

One criticism of this may be that students wouldn't take lab safety seriously but I am fairly confident a student is more likely to remember the procedure from a classmate made video about what to do if there is a chemical fire in the class than from a teacher-directed lecture.

Ultimately, I students should decide how they want to come up with their ideal (safe) classroom.  They could use Minecraft if they wanted to.  For example, an alternative to Minecraft would be Trimble Sketchup (formerly Google Sketchup) or other 3D modeling software. The downside to that would be a loss of the collaboration and first-person immersion within their environment.  Experimenting with the classroom in real life may not be practical but is another option.


1. Collaboration: entry - adoption - adaptation - infusion - transformation
3. Real-World Problem Solving & Innovation: entry - adoption - adaptation - infusion - transformation
5. Self-Regulation: entry - adoption - adaptation - infusion - transformation
6. Use of ICT for Learning: entry - adoption - adaptation - infusion - transformation

Future lesson ideas

• Retrofit school to accommodate classes in portables (can be tied into math: measurement, etc)
• Classroom layout using magic plan or other app to get dimensions

Minecraft and Education

At the Connect 2013 conference I attended a few weeks ago, I saw a group of middle-school aged kids walking around.  The conference was mostly attended by teachers, administration and salespeople so I was a bit confused as to why they were there.  Turns out they were a group of Grade 7 students from a school in Hamilton that were there with their teacher hosting a poster session on a really cool project they worked on: redesigning Hamilton's West Harbour... using Minecraft.  Apparently, they presented their design to city officials.  This CBC article has a slideshow of the creation process.  Unfortunately, I missed the poster session and found out about it from my supervisor later (she was super excited about it).

What is Minecraft?

In case you haven't hear of it, Minecraft is an extremely popular 'sandbox survival' game.  What does that mean?  You build stuff out of blocks and try not to die.  There are 2 main modes to play in: creative and survival.  In creative mode you don't have to worry about the dying part so you can just create. Further explanation here if needed.

Minecraft and Education...

I am a gamer.  I love video games. I think they are a largely untapped source of educational potential so when I hear video games + education I get really excited.  As a  player of Minecraft, I can see tons of ways the game can provide fun and entertaining ways of teaching math and science.  

Just to be clear, Minecraft and Education is not a new idea.

In fact, there is a version of the game called Minecraft EDU that is specifically tailored to education.  Teachers have more flexibility with the environments their students create in.  Here's a video about the growing Minecraft EDU community:

As mentioned in the video, the creator of Minecraft EDU is Joel Levin, the Minecraft Teacher.  Most of his work is directed at elementary level students.  Check out some gameplay footage from his YouTube Channel.

Playing in the Sandbox...

In the documentary Minecraft: The Story of Mojang. Peter Molyneux (famous and sometimes controversial ex-Microsoft game developer) compares the evolution of video games to the evolution of Lego.  

Lego used to be a bunch of blocks that you dump on the floor and build whatever you want with.  Now, it is a kit made up of a bunch of specialized pieces that you follow the instructions to build.  After you finish building it, you put it on a shelf and leave it there to collect dust.

Similarly, Molyneux states the best selling video-games have overwhelmingly become linear, polished products.  Though they serve their own purpose as a form of interactive media, they generally leave little room for real creativity or creation.  When your done playing it, you put the game it in its case and put the case on the shelf to collect dust.  

On the other hand, there is Minecraft.  Notch (the creator of Minecraft) has done the exact opposite.  There are essentially no set goals or creative limits (other than gravity).  Minecraft has brought gaming back to the original lego bricks; back to playing in the sandbox. 

I like to think this analogy applies to education as well.  We generally have courses with predetermined outcomes and use the same lessons year after year for different students.  So much of what students learn feels useless to them after they pass the exam.  Instead, we should be providing students with the tools and environment to create and continue to learn by themselves.  Minecraft is one such environment and toolbox that enables students to set their own goals to create without limits in a highly collaborative environment.  

Teaching with Minecraft in High School...

The Hamilton West Harbour and Joel Levin's classroom are examples of elementary school Minecraft projects.  Would the game be able to engage high school students in the same way?  I think so.  Because the game is so open-ended, I believe a teacher could potentially come up with projects that addresses the curriculum from any course.  Some projects having to do with physics and math that immediately come to mind are:

Physics

• Find gravity in the game by experimenting with falling objects.  How does it compare to gravity on earth?
• Measuring momentum and velocity of a mine cart
• Measuring friction on a mine cart track
• Study circuit operation using redstone
• Examine gravitational and potential and kinetic energy and use it to design and build a roller coaster track

Math

• Find optimal ways to mine for diamonds (related to maximizing surface area)
• Cost to build different numbers of things (related rates)
• Surface area/volume relationships of structures
• Analysis of how the random world is spawned based on a seed (ties into Computer Science)

I'll try to explore these ideas and others in coming entries.

Why Minecraft?

The creation of a product is an integral part of the 21st Century Learning framework, especially for Knowledge Construction, Real-World Problem Solving and Use of ICT to be authentic and transformative.  If this is the case, why use Minecraft at all?  Why not physically build something?  Having a physical product isn't always practical.  Time, money, material and size constraints limit what is possible in the physical world.   

Resources and space are practically infinite in Minecraft.  Fairly complicated works can be built fairly quickly, especially when there is effective Collaboration.  In addition the game itself is cheap, user friendly and is available on almost any platform.  Its accesibility makes it appealing from an equity standpoint. In addition, students on the same server are accountable for their actions and interdependent on the cooperation of all players.  After all, there is nothing stopping from one student from completely destroying the work of the rest of a class.

Minecraft has potential for awesome Self-Regulation as well.  The game responds to the players actions as opposed to telling the user what to do.  Students can challenge themselves with goals they collaboratively set with the each other and the teacher.  

Basically, Minecraft is able to tie in all the neXt Lesson competencies.

Learning from Minecraft...

In addition to using Minecraft to teach, educators can learn from the game's success in engaging players and inspiring creativity.  This article from teachthought.com called '5 Lessons to Learn from Minecraft in Education' highlights some of them.  I would add 'Be Collaborative' as number 6 the list.  Though Minecraft does not have to be played collaboratively, some of the world's largest and most intricate Minecraft constructions are a result of the combined efforts of groups of people.  

Education should be about providing students with the tools to create and share their creations.  What those Grade 7 students in Hamilton accomplished is an example of how transformative 21st Century Learning can be.  Minecraft is just one platform that makes this kind of creation and collaboration possible but it sets a new standard on the possibilities of education.

Vague Entries

Just a general point about my work so far: I have been keeping them very vague and conceptual (and unpolished) for a few reasons explained below.

1. It's impossible to know whether many of these lesson ideas would actually work with a class until I have a class in front of me and get to know the students    Culturally Relevant Pedagogy is critical for student engagement so I wouldn't force any of these lesson ideas on a class unless I thought it would be successful for that group. Keeping it vague gives me the flexibility to change the lesson based on the students in the class and the actual course it would happen in.
2. One of the reasons I'm doing this blog is to better understand how 21st century learning would potentially look in a high-school math/science class.  As well as helping me understand the neXt Lesson Framework for my internship.  To me, the hardest part of doing this is generating some really good ideas to get started, which is the purpose of this blog. 
3. Time! To get down all the details of a lesson for each one would take forever. During my internship I don't have that kind if time! (what I'm doing right now takes enough time as it is)

One more point about the levels I have highlighted for each competency at the end of each entry: They reflect the potential of each lesson idea. Where they will actually fall is highly dependent on exactly how the activities are presented to students as well as grade level and course. For example, I have keft Self-Regulation out of many entries but it could end up being a huge part of the activity depending on how the success criteria and project timeline is established. 

Day 15 - Road Trip!

The Problem...

What do you need to know to plan for a road trip?

Why? 

• Bring together many skills from the Grade 9 Essentials Math Curriculum
• Have students learn skills that are directly applicable outside school
• Interdisciplinary opportunities (business and geography)

I'm starting this entry in a van on the way home from Fond du Lac, Wisconsin  This past weekend I was on a road trip with @emnose and her family to pick up her brother from university.  Long, long drive but great trip!  Their highway bridges are a lot nicer looking than ours (these are the things you notice when you are a Civil Engineer).  Maybe we should start tolling more of our highways... another discussion for another day.

View Larger Map

The curriculum...

@emnose had the the idea to do an entry based on the road trip so I started to think about some of the things that you need to research when you are planning a road trip. I quickly realized that planning a road trip brings together many of the skills in the Locally Developed Essentials Math courses.  I actually taught a Grade 9 Essentials Math course with my AT during one of my practica. I actually think the road trip activity would be an excellent culminating activity for the course.

The Essentials course has a heavy focus on real-world, concrete skills. The Grade 9 course for example had 3 units: money sense, measurement and proportional reasoning.  Really, the activity could be modified to fit into any math course but I thought this was a practical activity for the Essentials students.

In the classroom...

I would start the activity by asking the class what kind of things you would need to research before going on a road trip (I may specify USA because it provides the opportunity to discuss exchange rates and different taxes). Most of the following things should come up in a class discussion:

• Shortest travel time
• Shortest travel distance
• Lowest travel cost
• Exchange rate
• Cost of gas (conversions of volume and currency units)
• Taxes and tipping practices
• Time zone/daylight savings
• Hotel bookings and availability
• Driving rules and other laws
• Vehicle needed and packing allowances

Students could then get in groups, choose their destination and start working on what was discussed.  Deliverables should be based around Skilled Communication of their findings and could take the form of an itinerary sheet, a budget sheet including a total cost of trip, a custom google earth map and/or a travel booklet/infographic with all the info in it.

Equity and 21C...

To be a better example of 21st century learning and for the Knowledge Construction to be authentic, the road trip should actually happen. I know this isn't plausible for most high-schools or affordable by many parents but what if there happened to be a school team going on a road trip to a tournament? The class could help with the preparation of that (including creating a budget and booking the hotel). 

Because of the equity issues involved, I would probably only do this activity if there were a school trip actually planned that the students that were planning it were able to attend!  I think the activity is only worth it (from a 21C perspective) if they actually use the knowledge they construct and the products they create.  For a lot of 21st Century Learning (as well as Critical Pedagogy and Global Citizenship Education), I think it is necessary for a teacher to be highly opportunistic based on what is going on in the school and school community.  That's one of the reasons why I keep these entries fairly vague and open-ended.  I'll post a quick blog entry about this in a bit...

1. Collaboration: entry - adoption - adaptation - infusion - transformation
2. Knowledge Construction: entry - adoption - adaptation - infusion - transformation
4. Skilled Communication: entry - adoption - adaptation - infusion - transformation
6. Use of ICT for Learning: entry - adoption - adaptation - infusion - transformation

Coming in the near future...

This blogging business is hard work! But it's helping me really understand how I would be able to apply the neXt Lesson framework in my own classes.  

I'm a day behind but I will catch up this long weekend.  Here are a few topics I plan on blogging about in the next few weeks in addition to the daily lesson ideas (I figure if I put them down here then it's a lot more likely that I will actually do them):

1. Minecraft and Education - how education can be more like Minecraft and how Minecraft can be used to teach 21st Century Fluencies (also Gamification and Game-Based Learning).
2. Problem-Based Learning - I'd like to flesh out how I think about it and see it happening in my math/science classrooms and some potential problems with it
3. Global Citizenship Education (GCE) and 21st Century Fluencies - at OISE, I was in the Global Citizenship and Sustainable Development cohort.  I would like to try to reconcile some of the incompatibilities of the GCE frameworks I studied with the neXt Lesson Framework
4. Maps - I like maps.  I think they are useful tools for teachers and students.  More about this later...

Day 14 - EQAO and Equity

The Problem...

What educational equity issues become apparent when looking at EQAO results?

Why?

• Provides relevant context for statistics concepts
• Opportunity to turn a social justice lens on inequity in education
• Potential for Grade 12 students to help Grade 9 students get prepared for EQAO testing

This idea comes from a lesson example that I developed for a curriculum interrogation assignment at OISE.  It's an interesting lesson idea that I thought would be good to improve by looking at it through a 21st Century lens.  

The Math Curriculum...

I have stated before that the math curriculum is very concept-heavy (at least compared to Science which distinguishes STSE and skills expectations from concepts).  This generally leaves little room for deep investigations about culturally relevant and engaging topics.  

The vast majority of examples of using social justice education, global citizenship education, culturally relevant/responsive pedagogy or critical pedagogy in math class that I have heard have been based on statistics.  Unfortunately, in the high school math curriculum, statistics really only seriously comes into play in Grade 12 Data Management.  I think one way of increasing student engagement in math classes would be to spread out the Data Management concepts throughout the grades (another may be providing teachers with a bit more flexibility with the concepts).

Because Data Management is the obvious math course for the delivery of social justice education, I have stayed away from it in my blog.  Up until this point, my math entries have focused more on being critical of bias in math in general.  This however is an investigation about how we can use math to look at equity in society.  It fits in directly with a bunch of the Data Management expectations.

EQAO and Equity...

The following plot compares Primary EQAO data to Stats Canada Data on average family income.  Each dot represents a school's average result.  The article this plot comes from can be found here (it was published by EQAO in 2008).  This plot alone can be the starting point for a serious discussion on equity in standardized testing and education. 

I thought a good way to start the class would be to hand out a bunch of questions from a past Grade 9 EQAO test.  This will get them in the frame of mind of a Grade 9 student.  They can start to think about what factors may give students students trouble with those questions.  Note: A bunch of past secondary EQAO tests and other EQAO related resources can be found here.  

Find the relationships...

Then they could start looking at data.  The above plot can be found online but to facilitate Knowledge Construction students should be going to the EQAO website to get the raw data.  They can then draw their own relationships.  Some of the simple relationships they can get directly from the EQAO data are gender and stream comparisons.  Questions that may be good discussion starters are:

• does the division between genders seem to be increasing or decreasing over time?
• does the division between academic/applied seem to be increasing or decreasing over time?

Other sources of data students can compare the EQAO results to are Stats Canada data and even the Fraser Institute Rankings (which frankly scare me because of how seriously they seem to be taken).

Critical analysis...

After establishing relationships, students can begin discussing why some of the relationships exist.  As a teacher, this is where things can become difficult and exciting.  The discussion is the part of the investigation that can be most thought provoking and interesting but often gets left out for the sake of saving time.  I believe we're talking about 21st Century Fluencies, that excuse is unacceptable.  Bypassing the discussion doesn't help students develop the Skilled Communication and Real-World Problem Solving skills necessary for the 21st Century Learner.

I think another huge topic of discussion is taking a step back and looking at standardized testing in general.  What is the purpose of EQAO?  Really it is to evaluate teachers and schools.  Is this the best way to do this?  Is it a good representation of the academic strength of the school?  How else should schools be evaluated?  What equity issues may arise because of standardized testing?  What biases are present in both the test itself and the data it produces?  

It would also be interesting to look at the standardized testing situation in the United States, where it is much more pervasive and compare it to Ontario.

Action!

Now, how can these results be used by the Grade 12 Data Management Students?  I would say it's a good opportunity for the Grade 12 students to help the Grade 9 students that are preparing for the EQAO.  If they find relationships in the data that could be beneficial to the younger students then they could share their results.  Most likely, they will not be able to directly influence any of the factors that cause inequity but they can at least advocate for and educate the Grade 9's.  Most students probably never think back to EQAO after they write it but I think this is a good opportunity to build some school community and leadership skills by having Grade 12 students setting up tutoring sessions for Grade 9's.  There's the Collaboration!

21C...


1. Collaboration: entry - adoption - adaptation - infusion - transformation
2. Knowledge Construction: entry - adoption - adaptation - infusion - transformation
3. Real-World Problem Solving & Innovation: entry - adoption - adaptation - infusion - transformation
4. Skilled Communication: entry - adoption - adaptation - infusion - transformation