Managing it all

Over the past 16+ years I have worked in a computer lab and as a technology building leader at both my middle school and at the district office. As I started out teaching in a a computer lab my biggest fear was how do I manage 30+ kids on computers. I stressed to make sure they were:

• working on what they should be
• not going to websites they shouldn't 
• not playing games
• not installing files or programs they shouldn't

it was a huge stress and I never felt I was doing enough. As I moved forward with my career I learned many management strategies and tools to help with managing the lab. This past year our district went 1:1

https://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-some-common-learning-disabilities.htm

with Chromebooks. There were tons of questions and fears that I got, but by far one of the biggest was around how to manage these devices and kids. Which is the topic of this blog.

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First off I will warn you there is not silver bullet when it comes to managing 1:1 and/or a classroom full of computers. The closest I can find is rely on your best management practises. I have tried many different tools &/or strategies and found as with any good management strategy it has to be your own. In this post I am going to talk generically about strategies and tools as I don't want to endorse one over another. If you have questions regarding recommendations feel free to email me with what you are considering I will offer my opinion via email. My hope is to give you some tips and tricks as well as spark some conversation by others.

I am serious when I say find something that fits your style and personality. If you do you will have more success and less stress. That being said my style is more of being what I have heard as Lead Learner or as a Project Manager (although personally I like to call it lazy teacher 😁). In my classroom I focus on making sure kids know:

1. what they are to be doing
2. when the work is due
3. how to get help if needed
4. finding resources need to complete what they are doing

If all 4 of these are met I have few to no issues with kids working. It was hard to get to this point but once I let go of the list I mentioned earlier I was a much happier teacher and kids were much happier. That being said here are my thoughts on some tools and strategies that I use to support the above.

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Knowing  what they are doing

This is possibly the biggest thing I struggle with. You have to make sure you and your students are on the same page as to what needs to be done. If students don't know what to do then they will fill their time with work they want to do, and it won't be what you want them to be doing. This ranges from playing games, searching for pictures, work for other classes, to simply sitting reading a book. They will find a way to keep themselves busy. To help with this I use google classroom and skyward to send out assignment details and resources. I start each class with what I call an opening routine, basically a list of instructions to start the class and our class agenda for the day. I also give students the first 5 minutes (although I am thinking of reducing that this year) to get materials out and get started on the entry task. During that time I don't bother them and ask they don't bother me as I am doing my opening routine as well that helps me get ready for instruction.

Speaking of instruction it is important that you give clear instructions on what they are to do. This is something I continually work on as I often find that what I think of as clear instructions can and are interpreted differently. It is important that you get to know your kids and their needs and their personalities for this one. I am talking more than just knowing the IEP's/504's in your room and who your ELL kids are as well. You need to know who prefers to read and who prefers to watch videos, who likes to work in teams and who likes to work independently, you also need to know who your creative kids are that like to do things their own way and who are the list followers. Every kids will look at your instructions and see them differently. You need to be prepared to be flexible and open minded so you are able to handle the curve ball that comes when you least expect it.

What I have found works best is to give clear instructions on what you want and then invite conversation. I often times don't show examples of what I want because I want to encourage kids to find their own solution and not just do what someone else did. If they do that on their own that is fine but I want it to be their choice. Those who do need an example I will work with them to find it on their own if they are showing signs of being stressed. 

I have tried various online management systems as well as having monitors facing me. What I found found is that as I give better instructions the need for these tools/strategies goes down. I will be honest kids hate the online management tools. They hate them because they feel their trust is eroded because the teacher will post the classes screens on the big screen for all to see. I see this as a sure fire way to lose respect and trust with your kids. I have also been told that teachers tend to use it as a crutch. One of the most telling comments I got from students is when a former one told me that I took control of their computers too much. At first I was taken aback but then then I did some informal data analysis and found that I was controlling their computers more than I was letting them work. That being said there are times when online management systems needed and helpful but don't rely on them as a crutch or your sole strategy.

Knowing when work is due

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As a CTE  (career and Technical Education) teacher I am big on due dates/deadlines. I have heard from many an industry person that employees struggle with getting work done on time. I see this with my students as well. Especially with middle school kids there is this thought that if I am not done I shouldn't turn anything in until it is complete which often times leads to it not getting turned in at all. However I am now starting to see the other extreme with kids & parents requesting/requiring more time. In my class due dates or only negotiable if your are sick, absent, or have it built into a plan (IEP/504). That being said every kid in my class has the right to go back and improve their score to the highest score they are eligible for. Along with knowing the due date I am finding that kids also need a plan as to how they are going to reach that due date. This is not simply writing the due date down in an agenda or online calendar. It is actually putting together a plan of what they need to do/accomplish to get the project/assignment done by the due date. I learned this from doing my 20% time project last year. I had kids do a Gantt project planner chart in excel. The kids that filled these out regularly finished their work ahead of schedule and more completely than those who didn't. I will be looking at incorporating something like this over this next year for work that isn't part of 20% time projects. I will be honest students don't like/struggle with this at the beginning but it is a life skill and eventually they see the benefit.

Knowing how to get help if/when needed & finding resources

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I have seen many tricks when it comes to this. There is the tried and true raising your hand, using cups, 3 before me, 'I need help" wall, and an on and on. What I find works in this instance is what method works best for you. I have adopted the "I need help wall". This is a space a wall I have painted with whiteboard paint that kids can write on. One they love writing on the wall and two it helps the stay working. I have found that when the hand or cup goes up all work stops. Also I let kids know that I am not the only one who can help kids on the wall. This helps those kids who are ahead a way to practice their learning and grow a sense of community. Also I have found that sometimes kids at explain things better than me. I also use the 3 before me which includes the use of the internet. Often times the questions I get are on how to use a tool or website or app. I know I may be labeled a bad teacher for saying this but I hate those questions. I hate them because often times the answer can be found by doing a simple search like "How do I create a numbered list in word?". I will make kids search for those or use my new favorite website, http://lmgtfy.com/. I want to teach kids how to learn not teach them how to use a tool. Once I gave up teaching kids how to use tools on the computer my stress level went way down and the student's empowerment went way up. It is a hard shift to make though as I did like to have control over my class and I hate seeing kids get frustrated.

Along with finding help I also find that when kids know where resources are they management of the classroom goes much easier. If things are hard to find kids will either give up or revert to asking you. This is not necessarily a bad thing but does take time away for you managing/helping other kids. One thing I am going to do this next year is to build or have kids build a map of where things are at in the classroom as well as create a resource document of where they can find things on the web. 

Other

One last bit of management advice I will give is the importance of having a plan for down time. This was another one I struggled with for awhile. I was militant in not wanting games being played in my class. However after reading some books and sites on game theory in education I have revised my thinking. Games can be an instructional tool as well as a good stress reducer. That being said I don't let kids play games when they are done with their work all the time. I try to build in time when kids who are done can play games during the semester but I also have other tasks for them to do before they event think about game playing. In my class if you are done with or reached a point where you can't move one until someone else is done you have 4 options:

1. Work for another class
2. 20% time project
3. Read a book
4. Leadership points

Students can select from this list when they are done. I am famous for my saying "if you have time to play games you have time to work". This often times is all I need to say to get them back on track. However sometimes it takes a bit more of a push.

Anyways I would like to hear your thoughts and ideas. What works for you and your class? What are your questions and what fears do you have.

As always go forth and do great things!

Future jobs; training required

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On a recent episode of TWIT (This Week in Tech) the host and guest were talking about jobs and what types of jobs Amazon Go store uses technology to charge you for what you take and also how automated cars will take away driving jobs, and how AI will lead to computers that program themselves. This has been a discussion that has happened on this show many times and I have seen play out in the news recently as well. What was interesting to me was when they started talking about training needed.
were needed for future careers. They context of the discussion was in regards to technology taking over jobs such as grocery clerks, drivers, warehouse stocking, etc. They were advising a kid in the audience on what kind of training/schooling and jobs he should look for as he gets older. Their discussed how the

What I found interesting is the type of training/schooling the host and guests recommended. They talked about programming and computer science degrees but shot each other down based on AI taking over programming, automation taking over driving, & eventually settled on skilled trade type jobs of monitoring and maintaining automated devices and code. As well as skilled creative jobs that require out of the box type thinking that humans do better than machines. It was funny to see them fumble for words or a description of what kinds of training this was. I wish I had watched it live so I could post the description into the chat room as I found myself screaming it at the recording. 😝 I wanted so badly to say they were talking about CTE (Career & Technical Education).

http://vcs-k12.wikispaces.com/CTE

You might notice in my posts on social media and on hear that I get fired up and passionate about this topic. After working as a CTE teacher in robotics and programming as well as in PLTW (Project Lead The Way) Flight & Space class I find that the focus on the college part of college and career readiness is a bit too much. I am a passionate supporter of CTE classes as a pathway for kids into a career as well as college, because lets face it there are some kids whom college is not and option.

Back in my day in middle and high school we had shop class as well as home Ec

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:A_Home_Economics_class_receiving_instructions_on_cooking._Ottawa,_Ontario,_1959.jpg

. In middle school we learned about general topics like sewing & cooking and wood & metal working as well as plaster work. We made things like aprons, omelettes, pies, checker boards, plaster & metal casts, etc. We learned things like the importance of safety, especially when pouring molten metal & operating power tools, and the importance of accurate measurement, as well as taking your time to plan things out and reading instructions. In high school we had some of the same things but more focused like adult living, small gas engines, drafting, consumer math, etc. What I found is that where I struggled in an academics setting in these shop or Voc ed classes I excelled. I had to take algebra 2 times and did poorly in geometry. I struggled with reading and writing and math, it would take me several attempts at homework and extra credit to simply get a passing grade since I struggled on the the tests. It wasn't until many years later I found out that the reason I excelled in the Voc Ed classes on some of the same problems and algorithms and work I was doing in academic classes as in the Voc Ed classes were put in context.

I now try to keep this in mind with my teaching but I also try to keep it in mind when I talk with colleagues and other teachers and online. It is important as we move forward with change in education we don't forget about those kids like me who need that context when teaching a skill or subject. It is helpful if we teach reading to put it into context of reading for pleasure but also reading for career. Same for writing, math, science, etc. Simply teaching someone to write an expository paragraph on a topic that relates to kids lives is not enough. Having them write up an explanation of a recent event in a school news paper is better as they see the reason for the writing. Having them write a copy of the morning announcements regarding the daily happenings is better so they see their work published. Teaching kids math like fractions and equations just so they learn them for a test is not enough. That info needs to be embedded in design rooms, programming robots, building towers. Things they can apply or can see themselves doing in a real world context. This is what college and more importantly career ready means. 

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Lastly I want to say that we need to be careful when we plan work and design course and help our kids pick out classes that we are not doing so though the rose colored eyes of everyone needs to go to college to be successful. For some of us that isn't true and for some of us college is not in the cards. I was amazed when I started teaching CTE classes and meeting with industry partners and was told the following story. A professor as a local tech school shared that he had trouble keeping girls in his robotics classes. Our group asked why this was the case, wondering if girls were not going into the program or losing interest or what. His answer shocked me and others. The answer was that they were being hired out of his class by employer's to complete their training on the job for on average $70,000/year.  Think about that for a minute. A young girl 19+ years old being hired out of a 2 year trade school and making $70,000 to start. That is better than I did with a masters degree and teaching certificate. There are good paying jobs out there that don't need a 4+ year degree to get.

What I will end with is that we need to make sure we are designing school/education that allows kids to make their own choice about the future. Whether that be college or career.
I would love to hear your thoughts regarding this topics so feel free to post your comments below.f

As always go forth and do great things.