There's only a week left before the official summer break for Pines so much of it's going to be speculative and exploratory; planning and evaluation what I think will be beneficial. As always, I'll also look at it critically to determine what I have and if it even has any value in education at all.
Maybe that's the wrong way to look at it. Just about everything has some sort of value to education. After all, that's the art and craft of being an educator. We evaluate and recognize the qualities, discard what doesn't have enough value and then use it, pass it along or dismiss it.
The title is deliberate because, for those who know me or have the misfortune of asking, I am an avid (read obsessed) fisherman and spend much of my free time after work here:
I sometimes catch fish, oftentimes don't, but thoroughly enjoy the time I spend in my 16 1/2 feet of floating peace and quiet.
As I move forward and our seniors move on, expect many examples of me out and about enjoying all the beautiful north woods has to offer.
Back to Glass. It's time to take it to the next level. Let's recap: I used it for several weeks when I first got it. I passed it along to Ann who used it in HS Science and posted here, she passed it along to Josh who used it in HS Tech Ed and then I almost made it back to my office when I decided to pass it off to Jenni who used it in a HS Science classroom. Each of them were excited and, most importantly, honest in their evaluations. Jenni was the most enthusiastic about one aspect that I believe has merit in education: she was able to post what was going on quickly an efficiently. This is something she felt the need to do before but Glass provided the easiest avenue to date.
I like to hear this because that's an important part of education as we move forward. Students of Jenni's that were absent or unable to get to class could take advantage of the lesson she was teaching after the fact. This can be done with other recording devices but the fact that it was easy and available made it worthwhile. Chalk one up for innovative, effective teaching.
Josh and Ann had similar thoughts and are planning to integrate this into next year's adventure.
So, Phase Three:
The consumer market is absolutely driven by third party support for the technology tools we have. I feel as though Google has a limited number of apps available through their My Glass site and app and this has hindered my ability to really, truly use much more than the camera. Don't get me wrong, the camera is a powerful and extremely high quality component, but so is a $300 GoPro.
My next piece of the quest is to explore the third party apps that are out there, put them on Glass and see where they go. To do this I have to install a developer program on my Mac and then install the apps manually. I'm not sure what Google thinks of this, but I'm going to do it anyway. Preliminary research suggests leads me to these:
1. Sphero. Augmented reality through a robotic ball. There's an app for Glass and I'm pretty sure our Charter school has one. (sorry Scott)
2. Homework. There's an app that works as a homework reminder. I want to check it out since some day our students will have this device or one like it.
3. Astronomy. There's an app that lets you look at the night sky and then Glass identifies constellations. Too cool to even imagine now. We have an astronomy class at the HS.
I'm sure I'll find more and keep you posted.
Professionally, I'm relieved to see there are groups forming (Google+) of teachers with Glass that are connecting and collaborating. There are presentations at ISTE from some of these teachers. I won't be going to ISTE this year but I will be sure to follow what they do and connect with them to increase my knowledge base.
For Pines teachers that follow this blog or have been bugged enough by me to read it, don't be afraid to ask about it, I'm open to anyone who wants to give it a try next year. Josh, Ann and Jenni have done something wonderful for me by being my test group. They are all dedicated, busy teachers that took on the extra burden of trying something new.
I have to throw in one more photo of a couple of SOAR students. They saw me looking through an expansion pack for the Lego robotics kits they've been using and were enthusiastic to share with me what they did, problem solve with me their struggles and continue to push themselves to learn at the wee hours of the school year.
This is why I love what I do.
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