Sonoma State University

Article by Dr. Jessica K. Parker

Here is another installment of our biweekly Ed Tech Tips blog articles from the Sonoma State School of Education. In this platform we will share thoughts and practical advice on technology and ideas for how to use these tools and applications for good teaching practice.

1) TED Talks: You love TED talks, but are you aware of all their amazing features? Not only can you embed the TED talk in a Moodle page or your latest blog post, but you can also email the link to colleagues and students. Feel free to turn on subtitles for talks as well and download the talk to use later, EVEN if you don't have access to the Internet. Not interested in watching a video but would rather listen to a TED talk? Then subscribe to the RSS audio feed and start listening via iTunes!

2) TED Ed: Love TED talks and want to use them creatively in your class? Check out the TED Ed videos that allow you to customize supplemental material such as quizzes, questions, and additional readings and activities for a specific Ed video. Just click on the "flip this video" button and you can turn a TED Ed video into a customized lesson. Take the TED Ed tour to learn more.

3) TED Books: Wishing you could read a multimedia TED book? Now you can download the TED Books app and choose a TED book from their library for either $2.99 per book or $4.99 per month for all access. Plus, the TED books are short and inspiring. TED books work with the iPad, Kindle, and the Nook.

Congratulations to School of Education Assistant Professor Megan Taylor for recently being accepted as a 2013 STaR Fellow! The Service, Teaching and Research (STaR) Project is an induction program for recent doctoral graduates in mathematics education. The program, funded by the National Science Foundation, is a 12-month experience that networks early career mathematics educators (in the first or second year of their first academic appointment). The Program focuses on three themes: research, teaching and service as well as leadership development To be eligible for this program you must have your doctorate in mathematics education and be in your first or second year of tenure track at an institution of higher education in the U.S. As a STaR Fellow, Megan will have the opportunity to attend a week-long Park City Mathematics Institute this summer, get extra support as she continues her research agenda and collaborate with a strong cohort of other mathematics faculty to strengthen her teaching practice.

Megan Taylor is the newest faculty member in the Curriculum Studies and Secondary Education department and the Single Subject Credential Program here at Sonoma State. Her research focuses on secondary mathematics and teacher education. Megan has taught 6th-12th grade for twelve years and believes that in order to improve public mathematics education in the U.S., improvements on teacher education are necessary. Her recent work investigates how mathematics teachers use textbooks and explores ways they can be do it more effectively to improve classroom learning.

SSU Credential Candidate Roxana Leiva, 2012-2013 SOMArts Curator in Residence

Roxana Leiva, Single Subject Credential Program Candidate in Art and student teacher in the Art Quest program at Santa Rosa High School knows what it is like to be an immigrant. She has done it herself-- twice. First, she moved to Petaluma at the age of 13 from her homeland of El Salvador. She recalls the experience as terrible--an incredibly difficult cultural transition--and vowed that after she grew up and finished school she would move back to home country. After high school, she earned her B.F.A. in Art/Illustration and her M.A. in Latin American Art and Culture at Long Beach State University and then she followed her heart and returned to El Salvador. She had a great job at the Art Museum of El Salvador, and even worked as the project director to establish a government funded arts school for youth. She was making a difference in the lives of hundreds of children through her arts education program there, but after several years, Leiva felt a need to come back to California and be near family, so once again she became an immigrant.

Leiva recalls the culture shock she experienced both times she moved to the U.S., and how she felt out of place, and marginalized socially. Although she is Salvadoran, she was often referred to as Mexican, and she felt that people she interacted with didn't treat her as an educated woman. Even now, as a credential candidate at Sonoma State she says people that she meets and talks to often assume she is training to be a Spanish teacher, not an art teacher, just because she is from Latin America. Leiva is motivated to break through these stereotypes, and aims to work on building cultural understanding through teaching art and art history--both in the classroom and in the broader community. As an artist and an educator, Leiva understands that art is a powerful medium which can help express ideas and feelings and expose people to new ways of thinking about culture.

Leiva is on a career path for arts education, and realized her employment options would be much wider if she had a Single Subject Credential in art. As she looked for jobs in arts education both in non profits and in public schools, most required that she hold a credential.

Artists installing their work at SOMArts. Left to right: Leiticia Hernandez, Jan Carlos Mendizabal, Tessie Barrera-Scharaga and Rick Victor

At the same time she was starting the credential program, she decided to build on her graduate school research too. Continuing her exploration of art, culture and civil war in 1980s El Salvador, Leiva applied for and received a grant the SOMArts Cultural Center in San Francisco to be a Commons Curator in Residence. Her project, Mourning and Scars: 20 Years After the War presents new artwork by Salvadoran immigrant artists and exposes their life straddling two cultures 20 years after the signing the Peace Accords which ended civil war. Leiva hopes that the show, which opens on February 1 and runs through the end of the month, will be a catalyst for dialogue on ethical, political and cultural matters and that it will help the reconciliation process needed after experiencing trauma and war.

Black Butterfly by Juan Carlos Mendizabal

The exhibit features work in a variety of media, including paintings, video, textile sculpture and large-scale multimedia installations by prominent contemporary artists, all immigrants from El Salvador, including Victor Cartagena, Carlos Rogel, Tessie Barrer-Scharaga and Juan Carlos Mendizabal and others.

Leiva wants the Sonoma State community to join in the dialogue too, and is partnering with The Hub, our on campus multicultural center, to host a panel discussion on February 28. Three noted cultural scholars Beatriz Cortez, Karina Zelaya, and Douglas Carranza will speak at the noon event. Leiva is exploring the possibility of bringing the art exhibition to Sonoma State next year as well.

The SOMArts Opening Reception for Mourning and Scars: 20 Years After the War will take place on Friday, February 1, from 6:00-9:00 PM. The event is free and open to the public. SOMArts is located at 934 Brannan St., San Francisco (between 8th and 9th streets). The exhibition will be on view through February 28. http://www.somarts.org/mourningopens/

Article written by SSU Student Melissa Marengo

Franklin Matthews never thought he would one day become a teacher. At SSU during his undergraduate studies, he originally declared a business major. Eventually, he switched his major to Kinesiology where he began working as a basketball coach and personal trainer. Parents of kids that he was working with suggested to him that he become a Physical Education teacher because he seemed to work well with children and enjoy teaching them. He thought he would give it a try and began taking some pre-requisites for the credential program during his senior year in 2008.

He then took a brief leave of absence from the school and moved down to the Peninsula with his wife. Wanting to continue his schooling and get his teaching credential he went to San Jose State who would not accept his transfer credits. Instead of starting over with them, he spoke with Dr. Karen Grady here at SSU who encouraged him to do the program up in the North Bay, despite the long commute. Franklin said that all of his teachers worked around his schedule and his busy commute to allow him to get his credential and fulfill his dream of becoming a Physical Education teacher.

Franklin would commute by bus everyday from East Palo Alto to his classes in Rohnert Park. He got his student teaching opportunity at Petaluma High School, which he described as a "blessing in disguise". He was having a hard time finding a student teaching job and Petaluma High was his last hope. He said his experience there was great and he learned a lot about full inclusion for all students. During his time in the credential program what he learned most was classroom management, the importance of gaining student respect and understanding, and developing strong relationships with your students that will leave a lasting impact on their lives.

With the help of all of his professors and fellow students at SSU, Franklin was able to graduate from the Single Subject Credential Program for Physical Education and is now working with kids in the South Bay. Franklin works at a non-profit organization which partners with Stanford University called East Palo Alto Tennis and Tutoring. He works with about 25 students every other day after school as the High School Group Coordinator. He teaches them life experience as well as offers help with college applications. Franklin Matthews would like to thank Dr. Grady, Dr. Marker, Dr. Victor, and the entire Sonoma State faculty and staff for being so supportive and flexible with him through out his credential program experience. He says he would not have made it where he is today without them.

The teachers at Mary Collins School in Petaluma are dedicated to teaching as a profession, one which mentors new teachers and fosters professional growth for experienced ones through collaboration, research and study. Each semester the Multiple Subject Credential Program places teacher candidates at Mary Collins to gain valuable clinical experience from their staff of expert mentor teachers and the guidance from School of Education faculty supervisors and gain direct experience working with children in the elementary classroom.

In step with this belief that a continual learning process is key for professional growth, Mary Collins teachers host an annual Symposium on topics related to curriculum, teaching and learning. The Symposium is not just for their own staff but is open to educators in the North Bay community. Motivated by the belief that parents are key partners in student learning, they include a parent night in the Symposium schedule so parents can listen to presentations by the guest speakers and discuss these topics too.

This year will mark the 11th time they have hosted the Annual Mary Collins Symposium, which will take place on Saturday, January 26, 2013 and features presenters Dr. Vivian Vasquez and Dr. Patrick Callahan.

Dr. Callahan will focus on the changed expectations for mathematics instruction with the Common Core Standards, specifically two of the mathematical practices: "Constructing Viable Arguments and Critiquing the Reasoning of Others" and "Reason Abstractly and Concretely" and Dr. Vasquez will focus on critical literacy across the curriculum--specifically: critical literacy and technology-- and place based pedagogy.

Registration is $25 to attend the event, which includes lunch.  Registration is online at http://www.brownpapertickets.com/event/308125

This a wonderful opportunity to network with teachers and educators from all across Sonoma County.

Person Theater's house was filled last week with people gathered to celebrate a new group of teachers who have completed their credential programs at Sonoma State.  This group of students will move on to work as public school teachers in elementary, middle and high schools in California.  Most have completed the program over the course of two or three semesters, including many hours of work in clinical practice, working with a mentor teacher and a university faculty supervisor to gain the important practical experience needed to begin their career as a teacher.

Dean of Education Carlos Ayala and President Ruben Arminana delivered opening remarks for the evening's celebration. Faculty from the School of Education's Credential Programs spoke, offering kind and supportive words to the students as they begin their teaching careers.  A student speaker from each program offered remarks at the ceremony: Sarah Kremple, Yasha Mokaram and Jaime Alexander each spoke about their own experience in the program, and their passion for teaching.

In her address to the Multiple Subject Credential Candidates, Dr. Susan Campbell noted that this is an exceptional group of motivated teachers saying, "You have also taken your own students beyond their immediate worlds and shown them how to be active citizens in a humane democracy. With your guidance and leadership, your elementary students have cleaned up local creeks, sent letters to active military personnel, sent food and cards to needy families, started school recycling programs, and made scarves for residents in eldercare-all this within the umbrella of academic learning as they also learn how to read, write, research, and interact within school. You have changed the world and we are proud of you."

Dr. Viki Montera offered her congratulations to the group who completed the Education Specialist Credential Intern program, "who have earned their credential while also serving as full - time teachers in area schools."  Dr. Montera acknowledged the tremendous effort that required, since these Special Education Interns "are responsible for their students' success at work while simultaneously being responsible for their success here at SSU. A balancing act and a remarkable feat."

Dr. Karen Grady acknowledged how challenging it is to earn a credential in California, and offered words of advice to the beginning middle and high school teachers: "
Remember to be kind to adolescents. Even when it is hard to do, put the kids first" and stressed she the importance of maintaining a professional community, advising "...remember that you do not have to manage it all by yourself--the Lone Ranger is actually not a good metaphor for being a great teacher. Find like-minded colleagues, go to conferences, become members of your professional organizations. You will need to do this to be your best, to stay sane and healthy, and to keep growing."

The inspiring ceremony concluded with a slide show of photos of the teachers at their student teaching field sites, and a reception for the graduates and their guests.

Sonoma State faculty, staff and administration got together on December 14 to honor Professor James Fouche's retirement from Sonoma State's School of Education after twenty years of service.  Dr. Fouche came to SSU as the Dean of Education in 1992 following a post as Dean of Education at Winthrop University in South Carolina.  During his tenure as Dean of Education, Fouche contributed in many ways to the campus and community, including the establishment of the Educator in Residence Program, work as a partner on the design for Technology High School, and a co-author of the North Coast Beginning Teachers Program, along with many other projects and initiatives. In 1997 he transitioned to a faculty position in the Curriculum Studies and Secondary Education Department and spearheaded many successful state and federal grants, including work for the advancement of bilingual teacher preparation (Projects BECA and PITA), and many notable initiatives to the advancement of educational technology for teachers: Digital Bridge, Light Bridge and SMART. More more recently he was a partner on the EnAct grant project for accessible technology and Universal Design for Learning. Together these grant projects brought millions of dollars for educational research and innovation to Sonoma State and our public school region.

At the retirement celebration, colleagues shared stories of working with Dr. Fouche over the years, noting many examples of his steady leadership, collegiality, vision for innovation, and dedication to helping teachers and students that characterized his career.  Retired faculty joined the celebration, including Jayne DeLawter, Rick Marks, and Marty Ruddell.  Dr. Fouche's roots in Louisiana and his well-known dedication to Gators football were a theme at the party too, including a cake decked out with an alligator staring down a seawolf, surrounded by blue and orange icing.  The School of Education faculty presented Jim with a gift of a framed Matisse print in honor of the occasion. 

Jim and his wife Kathy look forward to this new opportunity to spend more time with their family, especially their two young grandchildren.   

Despite the stormy weather outside, an enthusiastic crowd of teachers, school and district administrators, university faculty, staff, and Sonoma State Students gathered in the Student Union on November 29 for an evening of creative idea sharing and professional dialogue about educational technology. Twenty-nine student and alumni presenters showed examples of the kinds of lessons that they are designing using new media tools. What is unique about this showcase is the emphasis not on the tools themselves, but on how they are used to increase student engagement and student learning. Carlos Ayala, Interim Dean of the School of Education posed the question, "How can we create a better learning environment for students through the integration of technology, and how do we know it is better?" Presentations at the event demonstrated how new teachers at Sonoma State are working to answer those questions.

Dr. Jessica K. Parker first organized the Technology Showcase last year, as part of a project funded by Google. Dr. Parker noted that this year the event has more than doubled in size. This year's Showcase was once again sponsored by Google, with additional support from KQED Education and Edutopia (The George Lucas Education Foundation); both of these organizations tabled at the event.

What the Showcase revealed is that across all subjects and age groups, new technology tools provide many possibilities for engaging students, providing teachers with tools for teaching and assessing student progress. There are many useful tools that foster open student collaboration and creative opportunities for student engagement. The Showcase also demonstrated that there is much room for research on how these tools can best be applied to advance learning.

Many of the applications that were on view were not originally developed for educators, but have been applied to teaching in unique and powerful ways by these beginning teachers. For example, a team of Special Education teacher candidates Wendy Franklin, Samantha Thurston and Erica Metz showed how music entertainment software Garage Band can help students learn vocabulary. And Diane Dalenberg, Master's Degree candidate in Educational Leadership showed how she re-purposed two children's storybook websites to analyze children's reading skills with retrospective miscue analysis.

Some presentations showed how applications can provide ways for reluctant students to become more engaged and active in learning. Christina Sanders and Tasha Schmitz, both from the Multiple Subject program, demonstrated using Voicethread to get students to talk about literature. Carmen Vecchitto, a candidate in Single Subject Spanish showed how a 'digital jump start' can warm students up and help them be ready to learn more in a Spanish lesson. Julia Marrero and Mary-Clare Neal showed how the social learning platform Edmodo can help keep students engaged and collaborate on learning activities beyond the classroom walls.

The atmosphere at the event was one of wonder, hope and possibility--an invitation for educators to try new things and share ideas with colleagues, to experiment and innovate all to help foster student learning. In the lobby of the Student Union, informal 'sandbox' areas were provided for one on one dialogue about tools, equipment and applications. Clearly, in this ever-changing technology environment, educators from all backgrounds need to be agile and open to learning new skills. The robust attendance at the event showed that many teachers, administrators and students are eager to acquire some of these skills themselves.

Dean Ayalay noted that Sonoma State's School of Education is ready to be a center for innovation in educational technology for the region and welcomes opportunities for collaboration and research in this arena. Hosting this annual Showcase, offering credential and advanced degree programs that spur innovation in schools, and participating in partnerships that encourage collaboration and innovation all contribute to this effort to support the appropriate use of educational technology in our schools.

Imagine a classroom where middle school students learn geospatial awareness by taking a virtual tour of the moon, or a lesson where special education kids improve their vocabulary with Garage Band.  These are just a couple examples of projects that will be featured at the Teacher Technology Showcase this Thursday at Sonoma State University.  At the Showcase, twenty four pre-service and recently credentialed teachers will demonstrate lessons that they have created to help build student engagement and support student learning. 

School of Education Assistant Professor Jessica Parker designed the event, which provides beginning teachers the chance to share creative ideas for ways they plan to use new media tools in classroom experiences. Dr. Parker, who teaches educational technology at SSU, notes that the focus of the event is not just on the technological tools the teachers are employing, but also on the content objectives as well; how are they creating a better learning environment for students through technology integration.   At the showcase, presenters will have the opportunity to converse with experienced teachers and administrators from local schools, graduate students and faculty about the lessons they designed. 

Presentations will include examples of lessons built for mobile devices, the use of web based collaboration tools, video screencasts for flipped classrooms, wikis and more. The presenters come from a range of teaching environments and student age groups, from early education, elementary, secondary, educational leadership and special education, and they will provide examples of for kindergarten through senior year of high school and beyond.

This is the second year that the SSU School of Education is hosting the Showcase, which this year has support from Google, KQED and Edutopia. The event will take place on Thursday, November 29, 5:00-7:00 PM in the Student Union Multipurpose Room and is free and open to the community.  (Please note that parking on campus is $2.50).

Can't make it to the event?  Follow us on Twitter for highlights:  @educationSSU #ssuedtech.