Too Few Teachers Not Connected?

Recently, while on lunch break from a technology in-service on the use of Chrome Books the conversation naturally migrated towards the use of some of the social applications (Pinterest, Twitter, Facebook, etc).  There were five of us at lunch so invariably there was five different opinions or opinions directly related to the level of understanding and use of these great social tools by the individual conversationalists (Oops! My bias is showing). But I did notice that the conversation did not get to the effective use of these or any of the social media types in the educational or professional setting ( I take some of the blame for not bringing it up, not that I am an expert on such matters). But like anything in this world the tool is only as good as the craftsman using it (if all you have is a hammer, then everything becomes a nail).
 
I shadow/follow many people/organizations through these social tools for my own personal and professional gain. As a professional you should follow only those people/organizations that you have investigated and their presence will be a benefit to you and you will be a benefit to them (don't just be a taken and not a giver to the community). 

I presently use these tools (personally and professionally):

Edmodo-provides a safe and easy way for your class to connect and collaborate, share content, and access homework, grades and school notices.

Face Book-is a social utility that connects people with friends and others who work, study and live around them.

Twitter-Instantly connect to what's most important to you. Follow your friends, experts, favorite celebrities, and breaking news.

Blogger-is a blog-publishing service that allows private or multi-user blogs with time-stamped entries.

Linkedin-is a social networking website for people in professional occupations. 

Ustream-is a company founded in 2007 that provides video streaming services to more than 80 million viewers and broadcasters

Vimeo-is a U.S.-based video-sharing website on which users can upload, share and view videos. 

Coach's Eye-You can't fix what you can't see! Coach's Eye provides video capture with slow-motion review, drawing tools, and simple sharing.  Coach’s Eye delivers “ah-ha” moments that elevate athletes from good to great.

Nike+ Running- The Nike+ Running app tracks distance, pace, time and calories burned with GPS, giving you audio feedback as you run.

iBook-is an e-book application by Apple Inc. iBooks is an amazing way to download and read books. You would be surprised how many downloads are FREE!!

Below is the link to an article I came across about the use of one particular social tools, called Twitter.  Check it out and respond by to me on this site.  I would love to hear your voice on this matter!

http://blogs.edweek.org/teachers/teaching_now/2013/07/are_there_too_few_teachers_on_twitter.html?utm_source=dlvr.it&utm_medium=twitter

Have a great day!

Dragoncoach1

 


Follow me on Twitter: @dragoncoach1

It did not get any more real than this...

Once more and again we arrive at end of another school year (though this year has been more trying/intense than most). By that I mean we started the year under pressure and it did not let up until June 7, 2013.  Last year I blogged about and showed you a soccer ball that had an amazing adventure in our physical education and playground.  And summed up the willingness of our students endure.

 Boy did we have a ball this year!

We started the year with more than half of our class equipment gone (due to an administrative snafu).  We achieved the status of Blue Ribbon, lost the availability of our gym for more than half the year,  sponsored a winter chess festival, worked through the passing of our principal just after Christmas, living under the cloud of STARR, working with an interim principal (who was fantastic by the way), sponsoring a school wide field day, unveiling a new gym floor with dragon logo and this is just scratching the surface from our point of view (the other faculty and staff members have a story that would rock your socks). 

So this year we started out with a brand new soccer ball that "Took a kicking yet kept on ticking". The posting of the image below illustrates the kind of year that the Dragon Community experienced, through thick and thin we endured to cross the finish line victorious!! 

This is the actual ball that endured the 2012-2013 school year!

 

Worn, Torn, and Shorned! 

So the plan now for the summer is to Recoup, Regroup and send our Super Hero outfit to get cleaned and pressed.  

Until then have a great summer, learn a new skill set to add to your teaching arsenal, tune into the Dragon Network (KDES) every Friday morning at 9:00 am < http://www.ustream.tv/channel/the-dragon-network >  and all you Alumni like our Face Book page < https://www.facebook.com/DouglassElementary?fref=ts > > to keep tabs on us!

Via con Dios!

Coach Davis

Twitter: Dragoncoach1

Face Book: Gregory Davis

Chessing with No Guessing

While going through my masters course a few years back (Media and Curriculum Design) one of our projects was to create a teaching song. I decided to challenge myself and present the chess concepts in song/dance via iMovie.  Hopefully I can post it on this site, if not I will feature the movie during one of the breaks at the Douglass Chess Tournament.
I will try and get the text file so you can see the dance movements that go with the music.  Well here goes, enjoy!!

 
Created using iMovie, Garage Band, Apple Loops and Animation Factory images. Lyrics written by Gregory A. Davis (November 2009)

Boy, we had a ball this year!!

Well teachers we made it through another year battered, bruised, singed, tapped out, flying high, still vertical and above ground (wow it has been a good year).  As we look back over our shoulders to August 2011 can we say we met our set goals? Did we have to recalculate? For those of us who are blessed with great co-workers, God is good!! The physical education department on the Douglass campus was blessed with such an individual who transitioned from the middle school atmosphere to the world of elementary physical education (he made it through)! He appeared larger than life with his cool, calm demeanor (I wonder how many pro outfits he really has?) and straight to the point wit. He kept us all motivated and ready to do what it takes to meet the needs of our students.
  
This is how he, Javier Diaz summed up our year out on the blacktop for this school year:

"This is our Soccer ball at the end of the school year at Douglas Elem. School in El Paso's Segundo Barrio (second Ward ~ low income).... This is dedicated to the have nothings, where we all came from. The barrio. At the end of the day, this ball found itself back to us one way or the other... We lost it, landed in the canal, threw it away (and got pulled out by someone), stayed over night on the yard.... but it found it's way back to our school....2 our kids. Like the rose that grew from concrete, nothing is beautiful about this ball, but it has character, endurance, heart, and will, just like our kids.... Some will conquer and achieve... the ball didn't give up, neither do our kids! Great School Year. Thank you ball.... somehow I feel the ball had it's own agenda. Someone up above was working his magic through the ball...... ;)"

Well said, Javier thank you for your patience, your up right character, and your willingness to play with us.  Looking forward to seeing what else you have got up your sleeve, have a great summer.

As a matter of fact everyone have a great summer, refresh, learn a new skill set or two to add to your teaching tool box.

Yours,
Dragoncoach1_"Blue in the Barrio"

    

Blue in the Barrio_Part 2

As promised, I am letting my readers know the result of last months trial run in "BYOD" (Bring Your Own Device).  There were eight students that were able to bring their personal devices to school (one even brought her iPad). So I made these students facilitators of their groups.  It worked out perfectly!! Eight groups of eight the entire class was covered. Each student leader was given the responsibility of a data sheet to be handed in at the end of class.  On this data sheet the leaders needed the names of each person in their group.  Then they were to time each group member (including the leader) in the 50 meter dash using the correct starting protocols.  Some leaders did not feel comfortable timing and allowed a different member of the group to time the runners.

I had invited several tech people from the district to attend and observe this event and Mr. Stiles was able to attend (he even lent his personal device to one of the students who finished early to do some timing). The class started off somewhat chaotic, but five minutes into the task every one settled into doing the task.  All the names were posted, the times recorded to the nearest tenth of a second and data sheets were signed and collected.  SUCCESS!!!

The next part is to enlist the help of another class (preferably off campus) to use this data to assign these students to running events (50 meter dash[2], 400m Baton Relay[4], 25m dash[2]) each sheet would be a team, and make predictions as to how the teams will place.  Once the events have been populated we will run the events (without the knowledge of the predictions) and send the results back to the off campus class. Then compare the actual results to the predictions. Was the data that was provided enough to select the best people to meet the predicted outcomes.

Do I have any volunteers??

If you would like to participate,  contact me at < gadavis@episd.org> or leave a comment below.

Welcome to the 21st century!!

"Blue" in the Barrio, Bring it"

Since 1982, this prestigious program has honored more than 6,000 of America's most successful schools, including 538 Texas public schools. Last year, Silva Health Magnet and Coldwell Elementary were named National Blue Ribbon Schools. The Blue Ribbon Schools Program honors public and private elementary, middle and high schools. The schools are selected for one of two honors: • Improving - Schools that dramatically improve student performance to high levels on state tests • High Achieving - Schools whose students rank in the top 10 percent based on performance on their state standardized tests

Douglass Elementary has been nominated for dramatically improving student performance to high levels on state tests. The nominated schools were chosen through an objective evaluation of student achievement statistics and other data for the more than 8,000 public school and charter campuses in the state.

Schools nominated for the award serve as models of best practices for schools across the state.

So having said that, this week the PE department will make a "bold move" (quoting one of our head tech specialist) towards teaching 21st skills to our Blue Ribbon elementary school students.  I have always been a champion of integrating technology into all areas of the curriculum, particularly in physical education.  The students have been encouraged to bring in their personal devices to class(iPods, iPhones, Blackberries, etc), if they have a stop watch application.

We will be collecting times on the 50 meter dash, posting them to a data sheet and applying that collected data to other challenges or projects.  This move will no doubt challenge certain policies that pertain to the use of personal electronic devices during school hours.   When I informed my peers about activity their faces revealed their inner thoughts. So I am getting my head ready for the "Battle of Confiscation".  I will inform you on the next posting how the encounter went. 

I remember the heated discussion I had with my administration, a year and a half ago,  about the use of mp3 players in the PE class, now that encounter lasted well over an hour.  Having checked the policy concerning these particular devices I was able to show that using them in class did not violate policy.  As a matter of fact I encountered a lot of miss information/confusion concerning personal device policies (hear say vs fact).  So as I said before, "Bring It, the challenge is on"!! I think this introduction will excite the students and help engage them more into the academic atmosphere.

So my PE peers what do you think? Have you had similar experiences I would love to hear about it. Please add your comments below.

Dragon Chess Team Moves Around the Community

So what's in your neighborhood?  On June 3, 2011 the Douglass Chess team went for a walk on a warm Friday afternoon to go find out.  This small group of dragons, four members of the team,  left their lair and took a walk around the corner to visit one of their community and educational benefactors, W.Silver Recycling,Inc.

W. Silver Recycling is an international company headquartered in the heart of El Paso's industrial district and resides minutes from the US-Mexico Border and just a ten minute walk from Fredrick Douglass Elementary school.  This company also has taken an interest in the surrounding community. One of those interests is the chess team on the Douglass campus.  The chess team came into existence about eight years ago as a way to challenge and motivate a small group of "At Risk" students early in that academic year (four to be exact). Within six months this group developed into a formidable team, challenging players and schools that had well  established teams.  Hearing about this team's activity at a PIE (Partner in Education) luncheon, the company's  representatives decided to come along side the team and school and support this academic activity.

Support was given in various ways, such as supplying funds to pay for tournament registrations, the team had a sponsors' banner made, and this year polo shirts were fashioned and tournament chess boards were purchased for each team member. 

To thank W.Silver Recycling, the owner and financial manager were made honorary members of the Dragon team. So today the Dragons left their lair to walk around the corner to say,  "Thank You",  for your support of the Douglass Elementary School campus.

More images in the Photo Gallery < http://douglass.episd.org >