Berlin to Copenhagen for Our Anniversary

Early on our fourth day in Berlin, we ran into Michael from TEP (my program at UCSB)!  Michael is going to be student-teaching with me in Denmark and we both were planning to visit Berlin prior to beginning our study-abroad experience.  However, I had no idea when he was planning to arrive in Berlin - and we ran into him IN our hostel, because completely by coincidence he had chosen the same one on a spur-of-the-moment decision!  It was fun to see a familiar face.  We planned to see each other the next morning, but unfortunately ended up missing each other, so now we won't see each other until we're all in Hadsten.

This all makes me realize how hard it is to stay in contact without cell phones - what did people do without them?!  I feel so thankful that Philip and I have T-Mobile (Philip is currently dancing an "I told you so." jig) and can text and use the Internet on the go, just like at home.

We tried to go shopping on the fourth day, but surprisingly even though at home December 26th is one of the biggest shopping days of the year, most stores were closed.  We ended up going to the DDR Museum and the Alte Nationalgalerie.  The DDR Museum exhibits what life was like in Eastern Germany.  The museum was extremely popular (almost too popular because it was pretty crowded and felt pretty touristy).  Its popularity is potentially due to the fact that it is a rather alternative museum.  It is very interactive; for example, you have to open little drawers and windows to see more information about each subject.  We learned a wide variety of things ranging from the fact that being nude on the beach was a very popular form of revolt and that induction into the socialist system began with little school children - they had scheduled times to all go to the bathroom together!

The Alte Nationalgalerie is a beautiful building architecturally and it had some lovely pieces, but it wasn't so much our cup of tea and we were tired, so we didn't stay too long.  

In between all of this we had a fun time watching a young boy play with some giant bubbles a woman was blowing on the street.  We saw a painting in the Alte Nationalgalerie from over 200 years ago of some children blowing bubbles - this just affirms my belief that bubbles are timelessly magical.

Later that evening we went to a Christmas Concert in Hedwig's Cathedral.  We had originally planned to go to a Christmas Concert on Christmas Eve, but had been too tired, so we had promised ourselves we'd go to this one.  It was the first time either of us had celebrated Christmas with traditional Christmas music in a church, but it was pretty nice.  The organ especially was incredible and very moving.

We were a smidge late, so we stood in the back, but we had a beautiful view of the cathedral and since the acoustics were fantastic, enjoying the concert was not an issue.  The bottom portion of the organ can be seen in the top left corner.

Hedwig's Cathedral

We finished our fourth day in Berlin with a walk down "Unter den Linden," which literally translates to "Under the Lime Trees."  It goes down the middle of the street as you approach Brandenburger Tor and is beautifully lit up with Christmas lights the whole way.  

Our fifth and final day in Berlin began with some delicious cinnamon rolls at a bakery a friend of Philip's had suggested.  We liked them so much we bought more for our early morning flight the next day.  We then bought some picnic supplies and walked to Tiergarten, which is a huge park (formerly hunting grounds).  The sun was shining brightly, so even though it was cold it was a beautiful winter day and we had a nice picnic in the park.  At the end of the park is the Victory Column, which was pretty remarkable in the bright sun.  It was apparently first built in celebration of the Prussian victory in the German-Danish war.  Good thing that didn't last or this whole trip would be pretty different!

The Victory Column

Our final evening in Berlin was spent at a tiny Italian restaurant in honor of our anniversary.  We had a particularly long walk getting there, because the restaurant we had originally planned to go to was closed for over a week for the holidays!  We ended up walking over an hour and a half, which was very tiring, but also very informative because we saw parts of Berlin we hadn't been to and which were significantly less touristy.  We felt like we were suddenly in a different place that was definitely much more ethnically diverse.

Overall, I would say I have three main impressions of Berlin:

1. My knowledge that Berlin has been a central location for many huge historical events over the last century has been strongly reinforced.  It is by far the most "historically full" city I have ever been to.

2. Berlin is unlike the other "old cities" I have been to in that it lacks clear organization or a city center.  My guess is that this is a combined result of the long division of the city and of the many bombings this city has undergone.  It is a strange feeling though and I must admit I never felt fully clear about where I was.  I particularly missed the exciting feeling of walking towards the center of the city and feeling the sense of converging into a specific area that is particularly full of life.

3. Oddly enough, Philip and I were surprised to find that most of the places we went to were in East Berlin.  We had expected to find the opposite (that most cultural sites would be in West Berlin); however, nearly everything we wanted to see was either in East Berlin or right along the border between the two halves of the city.  I read a few interesting things about this, including one note about the fact that since rent was super low in East Berlin after the reunification many of the "cool places" (ie: restaurants, shops, bars, clubs, etc) moved into East Berlin.  This doesn't completely explain the phenomenon, but it does give some insight into it.  Someday perhaps we'll learn more about how this occurred.  Philip definitely chose a well-located hostel though, as it was right in East Berlin.  

On our final morning in Berlin, I took a few photos of our hostel before we got on our plane to Copenhagen.  Look at the pretty colors!

Now we're in Copenhagen with Philip's grandparents.  We've had a very relaxing day, including a walk through Dyrehaven - a beautiful park (also royal hunting grounds) that we biked through many times last time we were here.  We were hoping to see reindeer (many of them live in this park) but we didn't find any.  Hopefully, we'll see them next time.  

Note that this picture (of sunset) was taken at 3:00pm.

I am now surrounded by Danish, which is good practice for what's coming up.  For now, I have Philip to translate, but he lets me struggle often so I can practice.  I am thankful to have this immersion before I arrive in Hadsten and am truly enveloped by the language, but it can be overwhelming.  

Today is our actual "bryllupsdag" (Wedding Anniversary) and we're very happy to spend it here in this lovely, relaxing place.

Berlin for Christmas

In honor of my trip to Europe this winter, I have decided to use this blog again, this time for a new purpose: to log my experiences Student-Teaching in Denmark!  Since my journey there is beginning with a vacation in Berlin, it makes sense to begin the blog here - in this incredibly historic city.

Philip and I arrived early on Monday and have kept ourselves very busy since our arrival.

On our first day, we dropped our luggage off at our hostel (which is very cute) and began by visiting the Pergamon Museum.  It was very impressive - particularly the HUGE reconstructed architectural pieces, including the title piece: the Pergamon Altar (see below).

We spent the remainder of the day visiting Christmas Markets, all of which I fell in love with.  They are full of delicious food, pretty lights, and cute items to ooh and aah over.  I think touring the Christmas Markets has been my favorite activity in Berlin, not just because they are a happy and pretty place, but also because even though they are somewhat commercial, they don't feel inauthentic.  Even on December 23rd, the majority of people there seemed to be locals who were meeting friends for a drink or a bite to eat, or who were there with family.  It felt like an embodiment of "Holiday Spirit" and it was lovely to be part of.

The items above and below are called "Christmas Pyramids" in English.  Above are the real items for sale in a Christmas Market shop.  Below is a representation of one at the center of a Christmas Market.  The windmill at the top is made to turn around by the heat from the candles placed on the bottom.  They are beautiful and everywhere here.  

 Philip and me at a Christmas Market.

 Our favorite Christmas Market, which was surrounded by beautiful old buildings.

Our second day was spent primarily learning about the Berlin Wall.  We went to the Berlin Wall Memorial at Bernauer Strasse, which was the main road split in half by the Berlin Wall.  Berlin is full of so much history and this was the beginning of a three-day crash course in European History.  Other historical sites we visited included the Brandenburg Gate, which also stood at the separation of East and West Berlin, the Reichstag, the Holocaust Memorial, and Checkpoint Charlie.  It was a history-packed day and at the end we were happy to have a Christmas Eve dinner in our hostel.  

In front of the Reichstag.

The Brandenburg Gate (with a huge Christmas Tree).

The Holocaust Memorial.

Philip in the middle of the Holocaust Memorial - so you can see just how tall the blocks get.  It really does become pretty overwhelming, which I believe was the intent.

Our third day was Christmas, so it was somewhat less productive.  We began the day on a very sobering note with a visit to the Topography of Terror before journeying over to the Bauhaus Museum.  The main event of the day, however, was our Christmas dinner in our hostel.  There were people there from all over the world (at our table Australia, Israel, and the United States were represented).  It was a new way to spend Christmas and we missed family, but it was very nice.  The hostel's cafe was decorated and lit with candles, so it all felt very festive.  Merry Christmas!!

 

Regulation of the Use of Mobile Devices in the Classroom

Part I.

My original research question was “what is the overall effect of mobile device regulations in the classroom?”  Realizing this was covering too broad a scope, I narrowed it down to look specifically at student preference in relation to various classroom policies related to mobile device use.

This question has been in the back of my mind since my time as a Pre-Professional.  What first struck me was simply the classroom management issue.  In a few of the classrooms I observed there was a fair amount of flexibility about mobile device use.  For example, students could use their devices during work time to listen to music or they could enter the classroom using them during passing period.  This flexibility meant that managing mobile device use was significantly more difficult.  Of course some students pretended to “check what playlist they wanted to listen to” while they were in actuality, texting.  Not only did this feel like a difficult situation for the teacher, it meant that students could more easily get themselves in trouble because the policy was ambiguous.   

My first placement as a Student Teacher was at a junior high where there was absolutely no cell phone (implied any personal mobile device) use during the school day (including passing periods and lunch).  This simplified matters significantly.  Classroom management was easier and there was zero ambiguity, so students knew exactly what to expect if they used their devices.  At the time, I thought this system was the ideal set up.

Then I went to a high school that had no school-wide policy, so I got to see many different classroom policies.  This was very similar to what I had observed as a Pre-Professional, but I now had a new perspective.  I was beginning to think about it with a wider mindset than classroom management and was beginning to feel skeptical.  It felt extremely artificial to reject all use of mobile devices.  As I told students repeatedly to put their phones away, I felt increasingly hypocritical. 

I am very tied to my own use of technology.  I use my iPhone, iPad, and MacBook Pro constantly.  I understand that there are times to not use my devices, but in most situations, I would think it was very strange if someone told me I could not use my phone to look up a quick Google search, put a reminder on my To Do list, take a photo, or add something to my calendar.  Mobile devices have become so much more than social devices and it seems increasingly silly to ignore their existence.  Further, I feel that it is important to teach students how and when to use their devices properly.  However, this does complicate things and I have seen many classrooms where mobile device use is rampant and far from educative.    

I decided to find out what students thought about all of this, so I conducted a survey of my AVID students (all seniors).  I’ve compiled their responses into the following figures.  All of the results should be considered with the surveyed students in mind.  AVID seniors while part of a specific group, are remarkably varied and represent a good cross-section of the school population.  However, as long-term members of AVID, they do have a specific mindset that I am sure played into their responses.  On the flip side, I would guess that it also means their answers are relatively honest. 

This blew me away.  While I know students use their devices often I did not think that “every period” would be so far ahead of “once a day.” 

This did not surprise me very much and, sadly, I think it is pretty accurate.  Teachers’ eyes can only be in so many places at once.  I would like to say that I wish that this graph would change, not because teachers get better at “catching” students, but because a better balance is found, such that teachers increase the amount of time students can use their devices and students decrease their amount of off-task time on their devices.  However, this is clearly overly idealistic and, unfortunately, I do not think this will change even with changes in policy.

This graph pleasantly surprises me because I would have expected “Rarely” to surpass “Sometimes.”    

I chose to ask this question for two reasons.  First, if students are using their devices frequently without teacher permission, how often are their caught and reprimanded?  I was curious to see if teachers are choosing to turn a blind eye to mobile device use.  Second, I was interested to see if students would resent this punishment and therefore, if that would affect the following questions.  This question was specifically related to the idea that when rules are more ambiguous, students may in fact be more likely to be punished than in a classroom that prohibits mobile device use in general.  I find it interesting that the two options are so closely matched. 

The final two questions were the crux of the survey.  This is how they were worded:

Rank the following classroom types in order of preference: (1 = best, 5 = worst)

_____Classes where students can always use their mobile devices for anything

_____Classes where students can sometimes use their mobile devices for anything

_____Classes where students can use their mobile devices for schoolwork only

_____Classes where mobile devices are never allowed

Rank the following classroom types in the order in which you feel you learn the most: (1 = most learning, 5 = least learning)

_____Classes where students can always use their mobile devices for anything

_____Classes where students can sometimes use their mobile devices for anything

_____Classes where students can use their mobile devices for schoolwork only

_____Classes where mobile devices are never allowed

Students interpreted the ranking system in a variety of ways and this was compounded by the fact that I accidentally put 5 as least learning instead of 4.  All students correctly understood that lower numbers were better, so I tallied up the totals for each classroom type for the purposes of comparison.  This is expressed in the following graphs.

I was not very surprised by the responses to the first question about general preference, particularly since three of the classroom types were so closely matched.  I expected most responses to be in the two middle categories.  I was a little surprised that “Classes where students can always use their mobile devices for anything” was as highly ranked, particularly after looking at the second graph.

Students reported that “Classes where students can always use their mobile devices for anything” were the classes where they felt they learned the least and yet they prefer them over “Classes where students can use their mobile devices for schoolwork only.”  This is despite the fact that the latter classroom type was ranked as the environment most conducive for learning.  I would guess that a large proportion of this is based on the weakness of surveys: they show what people think they think rather than what they actually think.  However, I still believe it is a telling discrepancy and that it hints at the truth, which is, simplistically, that they want to be able to use mobile devices in the classroom, but realize they should be primarily (though maybe not always) for schoolwork.

The good news is that students are relatively self-aware about their use of mobile devices.  They understand that using them indiscriminately is unwise, but they also understand that they can be useful devices and that eliminating them from the classroom is unrealistic and strongly disliked.  I tend to believe that we, as teachers, should listen to this.  While, I find it a daunting challenge, I think it is my job (at least when working at a school without a school wide policy) to find a way to allow mobile devices without letting them become a classroom management problem.  I am unsure how to do this specifically, but I think that a big part of this is dependent on acknowledging the use of the devices and teaching how and when it is appropriate to use them, so there is no ambiguity.

Part II.

In order to get at what I have learned over the course of this course, I looked back at my first blog post.  I agree with everything I wrote, but I think there is a lot more involved beyond what I included in that post.  Technology in the classroom means so much more than iPads and Internet resources.  It includes deciding how and when to use students’ personal devices (as I’ve discussed in the first portion of this blog post).  It includes teaching how to use technology effectively.  It includes using technology to communicate with other classrooms.  It includes connecting the classroom to current culture.  In short, technology in the classroom encompasses a lot and I would tend to agree with Caitlin’s claim that “with respect totechnology in education, … it is about time to ‘reinvent the wheel’.”

A lot of what we learned in this class has scared and intimidated me, and very little of it has seemed easy.  However, who am I to think that reinventing the wheel could ever be easy?!  Thankfully, some has seemed inspiring and exciting, so I will hold on to that.  Most importantly, I think my mind has been opened to the ways in which technology can in fact increase collaboration and student involvement in learning.  I think the immediate image of technology in the classroom is a room full of students staring at screens (which is not entirely inaccurate).  However, positive spins on technology in the classroom can create quite a different image.  These include using technology to set up flipped classrooms, to facilitate collaboration outside of the classroom, or even to increase live participation in the classroom! 

Overall, I would say that my vision of technology in education has changed significantly primarily because I see many more opportunities for including technology in the classroom.  That being said, as I mentioned, little of this is easy to implement, so I am concerned that I may not put these ideas into action for a while.  My original vision of technology is much simpler to implement, so I must continue to push myself to move beyond my comfort zone. 

As I mentioned in a previous blog post when answering the question: “when should technology be used in the classroom?” the key is that technology is used “to achieve the learning objective.”  I still firmly believe this, but in addition have come to realize that a major learning objective is comfort with technology itself.  Students need to learn how to use these tools academically and, despite the claim that they are all “digital natives,” few students I have worked with are innately comfortable with academic uses of technology.  This is a crucial skill for our world and one that I think we must take on as part of our responsibility as teachers of the next generation.       

Educational Games

A friend of mine introduced me to EteRNA last summer when I was first entering UCSB's Teacher Education Program.  I glanced through it and then promptly forgot about it in the midst of this intensive program.  However, while looking at educational games for this assignment, I was suddenly reminded of EteRNA.

According to this New York Times article, EteRNA is a successor to Foldit, a game that harnessed mass collaboration to determine the structure of a specific protein.  EteRNA uses a similar principal applied to RNA.

The game starts off pretty simply with an introduction to the base-pairing rules, but even then it takes a fairly advanced teaching approach.  For example, did you know that G and U can pair together?!  Apparently, this is an example of wobble base pairing, which I didn't even know existed before playing EteRNA.

The fact that I, a prospective biology teacher, can learn something new from this game, makes me both excited to, and wary of, introducing this game in the classroom.  Wobble base pairing is a small example of the many learning opportunities this game provides for students, but I am also concerned that the material is a little too abstract.  Designing RNA in the context of this game is fun, but is entirely outside of RNA's real context.  With the exception of in the introduction, the game does not contextualize or explain why RNA design matters.  RNA is already a difficult concept for high school students, which is why I was originally excited about this game.  However, I would be worried that the game would make it even more theoretical, and that perhaps students would enjoy it, but would walk away unable to apply their knowledge to class discussions about RNA.

On a more positive note, EteRNA is an excellent example of inquiry-based learning as it encourages students to experiment and try different combinations and patterns.  Perhaps EteRNA would be better suited to an AP Biology course after the fundamentals of RNA are more thoroughly understood.