Rocking Biology with Guitar Hero

One of my young, energetic and extremely creative teachers recently did an exciting and original lesson in her biology class. The lesson hooked the digital native students right away and kept them interested. Why? Several reasons:

• the lesson was creative and unlike anything the students has seen before


• the lesson was hands-on and interactive


• the lesson used technology to support an already-solid lesson


• the lesson tied new knowledge to something the students already knew

I interviewed my teacher and asked her to share a little about the lesson for the benefit of others interested in jazzing up (or rocking out) their classrooms.

Why and how did you use Guitar Hero for a lesson in your classroom? What objective(s) were you trying to teach with the lesson?

I used guitar hero in the class to introduce students to translation, the process of creating proteins within a cell. To be admitted to play, students had to submit a "ticket" consisting of an analogy between video game playing and translation. As we played guitar hero, we discussed how each element related to translation and the students corrected their analogies.

My objectives were to try to help the students to understand the jobs of rRNA, tRNA, and mRNA in creating proteins in ways that stick to their minds and to motivate students to think outside the box when studying.

Where did you get the idea for the lesson?

This particular lesson is a modified version of two lessons my mentor teacher showed me during student teaching. In his first lesson, he had the students create an analogy for translation. As a class, the students chose to make the analogy to guitar hero. The second lesson was one in which he was having the students design their own experiments. The students were to play a video game with different variables introduced to see the effect. Some played with their opposite hand, others wearing oven mitts.

I felt that combining the two activities would work better for teaching translation because the students would have to think about what was happening in the video game in terms of translation, and also they would have the visual aid in front of them.

Would you call the lesson a success? Why or why not?

The guitar hero lesson resulted exactly as planned with the students gaining a better understanding of translation before we got into the minute details of it. For their last quiz, students were helping other students with vocabulary words and concepts, and continually referred to the guitar hero analogy in their explanations to each other.

What was the reaction of the students to the lesson?

The students were in disbelief when I first brought up the idea. As time passed and the day for guitar hero grew closer, the students became excited. A couple of days before we had our demonstration I assigned the students to create their "tickets" for entry to the guitar hero day. Part of the assignment was to play a video game for 10 minutes and create an analogy of translation based on the game they played. I posted the assignment on RenWeb because most students felt their parents would not believe such an assignment.

The day we played in class, the students were excited, cooperative, and helpful to each other. Some students had never played before and those that had gave instructions and encouragement. After the lesson many commented on their better understanding of the concept and said they hoped for more activities like that one.

Photo by Nancy Reynolds

Two-Track Curriculum for Louisiana High Schools: Lowering Expectations?

The Baton Rouge newspaper, The Advocate, recently ran an article outlining briefly a proposal by some of Louisiana's leaders to create a two-track high school curriculum in Louisiana's public high schools. The article lacks specifics but the message of the article is clear: some of Louisiana's policymakers are developing a plan to address the high dropout rate (about 18,000 Louisiana public school students each year out of almost 200,000 public school students) and the plan centers on an alternate second track curriculum for high school students.

Proponents of a two-track system blame the "college-prep" curriculum, and its irrelevance for students not planning to attend college, for the high dropout rate. Rather than ask the question of "Where, during the first ten years of a student's education, has the system failed the student?" and then formulate a strategy to correct the problem, it seems some policymakers want to take a different approach. For these policymakers, the correct way to address and solve the problem includes offering a second non-college-prep curriculum aimed at preparing students for the workforce. If it sounds like a good idea, I offer the following for consideration:

• $12-20 per hour may be great money for an 18-year old with a high school degree. What does that student's wage look like ten years later?
• How does a second-track curriculum graduate ever move into management with only a high school degree and without reading, writing and math skills of those who graduated with a college-prep curriculum and, probably, a college degree, too?
• If a second-track curriculum graduate decides to go back to school at some point in the future for a college degree, has that grad ever taken the ACT or SAT? Probably not if he or she went through a state-endorsed program encouraging students not to consider college as an option. How does that grad even begin to study for a college entrance exam without foundations in algebra, geometry, etc.?
• If a second-track graduate enters college, how far behind his classmates will he be without the college-prep background?
• How many students would actually stay in school for such a curriculum? How many college-prep and college-bound students would opt for the easier high school track?
• Will second tracks be offered on current campuses or on separate campuses for non-college-bound students only?
• Is a tenth grader really ready to make such a life-altering decision as choosing a high school curriculum to prepare him for a life with no college education?

Do I believe every high school student is college material? Maybe not. Do I believe a person can make a nice life for himself with no college education? Yes, I believe a few can but only a few. Entering the real world today armed with only a high school diploma, especially a non-college-prep diploma, is not a recipe for lifelong success.

Rather than create a second track and endorse not considering college, why not offer students options like these, which could still be challenging courses, while encouraging them to attend a technical college upon graduation (course options could be limitless; this is a quick list):

• Algebra I, Geometry, Consumer Math, Business Math or Intro to Accounting
• English I, English II, English III, Business Composition
• Biology I, Chemistry I, Environmental Science, Conceptual Physics, Agriculture, Pre-Engineering
• World History, US History, Government & Economics, Current Events, Business Law
• Art, Music, Graphic Design, Computer-Aided Drafting, Computer Literacy (Office Suite Training), Computer Programming

An easier curriculum may or may not entice students to stay in school in Louisiana. An easier curriculum certainly won't prepare students for success after high school.

Louisiana did a good thing recently by requiring high school students to take four maths, a quantifiable attempt to raise standards statewide. Louisiana should not take a step backward now.

Blaming the college-prep track for the dropout rate rather than actually looking for the root of the problem is short-sighted and not at all creative. While it is true the traditional curriculum reflects needs of generations past, the current college-prep curriculum is not so problematic that it is chasing away at-risk kids at an alarming rate.

Evidence seems to indicate some policymakers would rather take the easy way out rather than fight the tough fight. Louisiana's leaders must understand that students will rise to expectations. Lowering expectations for Louisiana's students is no way to move Louisiana forward. Students not ready for LSU, Louisiana Tech or other traditional colleges and universities should be directed to technical colleges and community colleges. Sixteen year old students should not be given the option of choosing a state-endorsed plan that gives them an easier-than-college-prep curriculum and no incentive to continue their education after high school.

The Importance of a Job Description

In the world of education, as in the business world, administrators must assess the needs of the organization and make decisions about how best to meet those needs. Many times, administrators with vision meet organizational needs by creating new positions and by hiring new personnel. Perhaps an HR position needs to be created to manage the increasing number of employees, employee needs and future hires. Perhaps an Academic Dean must be hired to vertically align curriculum and begin the process of teaching across the curriculum. There exist countless needs waiting to be met in many schools and districts. Visionary leaders and administrators can meet those needs by creating new positions or by shuffling responsibilities so needs are met by current employees.

As John Maxwell points out in his book The Difference Maker, change must be managed. It is one thing to make a change but, to be effective, leaders and administrators must manage the change they institute. One of the simplest ways to manage the change of creating a new position or of shuffling responsibilities assigned to current positions within an organization is to create detailed job descriptions for new and for redefined positions.

A Venn diagram perfectly illustrates the need for accurate job descriptions for new and altered positions. Let the circle on the left represent a position that has existed in the organization for some time. Let the circle on the right represent a new position created by a visionary leader to meet needs that have arisen within the organization. The area inside the circle on the left and the area inside the circle on the right represent the responsibilities of each position as perceived by the employee holding that position. Without clear job descriptions for each position, the circles overlap and responsibilities are confused. The resulting confusion stems from two (or more) people trying to do the same job or trying to fulfill the same responsibilities. Conversely, responsibilities and tasks can be overlooked or forgotten altogether because each employee believes the other has it covered.

Once job descriptions have been written, they should be given to each employee in the department, within the office, etc. In other words, if a position is created on the administrative team, all members of the team should be provided with the job description for the new position.

Furthermore, written job descriptions can contribute to the long-term stability of the organization. Without written job descriptions for each position in the organization, turnover of personnel and changes in leadership will lead to disorganization, confusion and inefficiency. Whether creating new positions or redefining pre-existing positions, written job descriptions are a must.

Who Teaches Digital Natives to...

Keeping Up with Digital Natives - Part VI
Who Teaches Digital Natives to...

This is the sixth installment of my series on digital natives and how we can meet their needs in the classroom.

We spend so much time in schools today trying teach kids, to impart knowledge. Today's digital natives can teach themselves in many situations. Their creativity and the way their brains are wired allows them to problem-solve better than their digital immigrant teachers in many situations.



Consider these points:

• Who teaches a digital native to use MySpace? Facebook? Twitter? PhotoBucket?


• Who teaches a digital native to use his iPhone straight out of the box?


• Does a digital native ever read the instruction manual before he picks up the controller for XBOX 360, PS3, or Wii?


• Who teaches a digital native to IM or text?


• Who teaches a digital native to capture video with a phone and upload it to YouTube?

Digital natives, when interested in something, will spend whatever amount of time necessary to find solutions to problems and to map pathways to a desired end, to a finished product, to mastery of a skill. Digital natives will do the same in the classroom if the teacher can find a way to give them a problem to solve, a pathway to create, a process to learn. Give them tools and they'll figure it out, either on their own or collaboratively.

Student Email Accounts: Why Don't More Schools Provide Them for Students?

Providing high school students with email addresses certainly is nothing new. What college or university doesn't use school email accounts with its students? When I taught in Texas between 1996 and 2006, our students had email addresses. I don't know that having email addresses for students more than ten years ago was incredibly progressive. I do know it was invaluable, though. After spending a year without student email addresses last year, I moved to another school with no student email addresses. I am pleased, though, that I have rectified this situation for our 500+ students.

Beginning in the next few weeks, all our high school students will be given an email account through Gaggle.net. Gaggle provides safe, secure email accounts for students. Some of Gaggle's best features include anti-porn filters, filters that alert administration when inappropriate text appears in emails, a line embedded at the bottom of every email sent that says, "This email was sent by a student at Insert Name of School Here," server storage space for students, and more.

The obvious question for those who have never used student email addresses in conjunction with school is, "Of what use are student emails in the process of educating kids?" To help shed some light on this, here are just a few ways we will use Gaggle to enhance our students' educational experience:

• the teachers and administration can teach students to use email responsibly


• students can register for Turnitin.com (another great service we use) using a school email address rather than a personal email address
  
• students can register with and log in on blogs (like those found on Blogger) using safe, school email addresses rather than personal email addresses to help protect their identities


• students can use school email addresses rather than a personal email addresses when they begin creating and building digital portfolios
  
• teachers can quickly and easily add entire classes to Outlook address books and send communications to their classes (I'll be out of class on Friday but I would like you to... or Please don't forget the Unit Test covering... or I found a great website you should check out before class tomorrow... or Please remember that parent consent forms for the field trip are due...); possibilities here are endless
  
• teachers can communicate easily with individual students (I'm sorry you were sick today. Please get class notes from a classmate and please read pages 88-102 before class tomorrow); teachers can be encouraged, not discouraged, to communicate with students because Gaggle can be monitored and because inappropriate dialogue will raise red flags


• students can communicate easily with teachers in a safe, secure way (I'm sick and won't be in class tomorrow. Will you please email me tomorrow night's homework? or I'm having difficulty with the proof on page 99. Can you help?)
  
• students can communicate with adults outside of school (college admissions correspondence, volunteer opportunities, interviewees, etc.)

As I speak to parents and students about what we can do better this year than we have in the past, the overwhelming majority of answers include something about better communication. By providing students with email accounts and then communicating with our students via email, we will be able to make major strides toward increased customer satisfaction. Additionally, we will give our teachers an additional tool with which they can reach their digital native students, thereby making it easier for our teachers to be more effective.