What is an Arc-Alaskan?

Hello, blogosphere.  My name is Danny Robb, and I'm a Welding and Algebra I  teacher in Ketchikan, Alaska.  My wife and I call ourselves  "Ark-Alaskans" because we moved here last year from Northeast Arkansas.   I am the owner/operator of Camco Machine Works, my family's welding and machine shop.   My father founded the business in 1976.  I've been welding since I was very young, hence the play on words with "Arc" in the blog title.  Below is an aerial shot of the Camco shop.  You'll notice it's surrounded by the Robb family farm.  Those are rice fields you see in the background.

As you can imagine, moving from rural, land-locked Arkansas to Ketchikan on Revillagigedo Island in Southeast Alaska created quite the culture shock for my wife and me.  We have enjoyed our Alaskan adventure thus far.  This year is my second year to teach at Ketchikan High School and I am really enjoying my new career path.

I am enthusiastic about sharing my lifetime of welding experience with the next generation here in the Ketchikan Gateway Borough.  I know that welding is a vital job skill for Alaska's economy, and I enjoy turning out welders with the basic skills they need to enter the job force or more advanced apprenticeships.  I've also found that welding in a rainforest climate is much more enjoyable than the Arkansas heat!

Anthro-Tech Assignment

 Understanding Your School’s Technology Culture

I. Technological Capacity and Capabilities

1.   What kind of technology is available to you?

I have a classroom computer/SmartBoard, portable laptop cart for math classes, access to library/computer labs when needed

2.   What internet capability is available?

Our school has wireless internet-Safari and Firefox browsers.

3.   How is computer and internet access provided? Dispersed computers? 1 to 1? Labs? Can students use their own equipment?  All of the above

4.   What kinds of filters are in place, and how do they restrict what you might want to do?

The servers block popular sites like YouTube from student use, but teachers have access.  Educators can override filters with passwords for needed sites. 

5.   If resources like social media are blocked, are there “intranet” options? Are there ways to get special permission to use blocked resources?  Yes, and yes

6.   Who has the specialty gear (cameras, scanners, etc.) and can you use it?

We do have specialty gear (camera gear) it is used by the digital media productions class, taught by Mark Woodward.  Depending on their schedule

and rules, they do have equipment that may or may not be available for

use.   

7.   What is your best sense of the technology that your students have at home? To what extent can you expect them to have access to technology and internet access outside school to work on school projects? 

Probably 75% of students have web access at home. 90% of them have web access on their cell phones.  The library lab is available to them before and after school each day.   The public library computers are available six days a week.

II. Leadership and Policies

8.   Does your school have a mission statement and an educational technology plan? If so, when were they last updated? Attach them or provide a link to them from your blog. 

 You can find our tech plan and mission statement at:

http://www.kgbsd.org/Page/2601.  It is updated every three years.  I believe it is up next year for review.

9.   Are missions and plans used and generally valued at school? Do you use them?  I’ve never heard of one.

10.      Do the missions and plans address the issues of digital citizenship, or of developing a balanced view of technology adoption?

11.      Is technology well-funded at your school? Do you see signs of technology rotation, professional development and on-going maintenance of existing equipment? Yes, and yes

12.      Does your school have Internet use and parent permission policies? When were they last updated? Yes.  Last updated 2012.

http://www.kgbsd.org/cms/lib3/AK01001769/Centricity/Domain/112/OFFICIAL%20ACCEPTABLE%20USE%20AND%20INTERNET%20ACCESS%20PERMISSION%20LETTER.pdf

13.      Has your school adopted or established competencies for students? When were they last updated? Attach them or provide a link to them from your blog.  Yes.  Updated this year.  (attached to email)

14.      Who are the ed tech leaders within your school? Does your school have an ed tech committee? Is it active? What are its responsibilities?   Steve Thomas, Chasina Worman.  No committee.

15.      Who are the student leaders in technology? Are there programs that allow them to use their expertise to help teachers and other students? Are there special programs that allow them to pursue their interests?  Mr. Thomas’s class, Mrs. Robb’s class....Mr. Thomas’s students repair computers and equipment.  Mrs. Robb’s class updates the school website.  We also have a Robotics club.

16.      Are community members involved in regards to using technology in your school?  They help with websites, sports streaming activities, video production

17.      If something breaks, who fixes it? How do you contact them? Are corrective and on-going maintenance well supported?   Building rep, then IT dept.  Email, work order.  Yes, they are.

Reflection

In a few paragraphs, summarize your assessment of your school as a technology culture by addressing the following points:

·      What is the current status of your school as a technology culture?  Every class uses some form of technology. Email is the primary form of communication among staff, and all grades are communicated online.  Several of our course offerings are online courses.

·      What is the overall attitude about and level of support concerning the use of technology at your school?

o   Technology is critical for education, and our district recognizes that.  We have a good level of tech support, and a lot of available professional development in-house.

·      What areas are doing well?

o   Lots of workshops to broaden tech skills

·      Which need improvement?

o   Better communication with building reps/tech department when there is a technology issue

·      How can you become involved?

Ketchikan Education Association

·      If you had a budget and authority, what would you do to improve your school’s technology culture?

o   I would assign more than one building rep for technology issues-when you have only one, he’s spread thin with his own work obligations and the demands of the entire building.  I would ensure all new teachers had document cameras, projectors, laptops, printer access, and Smartboards from the first day of school and beyond.

Reflection:

Every class in our building uses some form of technology. Email is the primary form of communication among staff, and all grades are communicated to students and parents online.  Several of our course offerings are online-only.  Technology is critical for education, and our district recognizes that.  We have a good level of tech support, and a lot of available professional development in-house.

Probably 75% of students have web access at home. 90% of them have web access on their cell phones.  The library lab is available to them before and after school each day.   The public library computers are available six days a week, so every student has some level of web access.  Various teachers and study halls also have internet access for students.  This teacher has found that there is plenty of convenient technology for students, but new faculty members have to search a bit harder for resources.  Printer access, laptops, projectors, and other tech items are not just waiting in the classroom.  These items have to be tracked down and are not always easy to obtain.

IEP

Danny Robb IEP

Using Cognitive Tutor in the Classroom

            When I was first approached about incorporating Carnegie Learning’s Cognitive Tutor into my curriculum I was hesitant, to say the least.  Not being a fan of technology, I was uncertain if it would be a benefit to the students.  I wasn’t sure I had time to do the training necessary to implement the program.  My colleagues in the math department motivated me to give it a try, so I was pulled along into the 21^st Century.  I attended several hour-long training sessions to learn how to incorporate the program into my class curriculum.  This professional development truly enabled me to implement the program in my classroom.  I was able to set up my classes and student profiles.  (As I had feared, this was turning out to be just more paperwork for me and a “gadget” for entertaining the kids.)   I started my students on the first module, and spent the next two weeks dealing with the network and bandwidth problems.  It was an unmitigated disaster.  There were a few days where I would run myself ragged for the entire class period to get one or two out of twenty students logged on.  When we would get one problem fixed, another would pop up.  Between Apple updates (students upgrading iPhones on school Wi-Fi), Java updates, and students forgetting passwords, I was at my wit’s end.  All I could think was-“This is the biggest waste of instructional time, ever.”  I hated it, my students hated it, and I could not see one redeeming facet of using this in my curriculum.

            When we finally got all of the hardware/software problems “fixed”, I thought, “Well, at least I don’t have to make lesson plans for two days a week.”   The kids would jump through their hoops and I would be falling in line with the rest of the Math department.  It would be just another cross to bear.  Things bumped along relatively smoothly for the next few weeks.

            Then one night, while I was trying to prep for the next day’s lessons, I signed on to the website as a student-just to see why my kids were whining about the lessons so much and to see if they were actually making an effort to do the work.

            I spent the next two and a half hours enraptured.  It was one of the coolest things I had ever seen.  I worked through the first seven units that night before bed.  It gave me new insight into the material I was teaching, and inspired me to incorporate other things.  I immediately recognized the benefits of using this as a self-directed study (my favorite kind).  Students love the fact that cognitive tutor allows you to learn at your own pace and skip over the sections remembered, while reinforcing those lessons where extra support is needed.  I have since gone through the entire modules over Algebra I and II, and Geometry.  I am using this as my own professional directed study to help me pass the Praxis II Secondary Math exam.  It is more cost effective than expensive college classes, and I can work on it from home at my own pace.  I am pushing this program to anyone and everyone who will listen.  I love it.

            The only limiting factor is the individual student’s desire to learn.  They can only get out of this program what they put into it.  A student must be motivated and disciplined to get the full benefit of the lessons.  My less motivated students get frustrated easily and will lag behind.  The program makes the students think about the problems in a real-world context, and that can be daunting to students who have never had to utilize higher-order thinking skills.  (It has been a tough adjustment for some of my students, but they are realizing the benefits.)  The program also assumes a basic knowledge of mathematics.  These prerequisites are not always met, as every student’s skill level is different.  There are some who come to high school without mastery of even the basic multiplication tables.  Once the program assesses where the student’s mathematical skill level, it reinforces areas of weakness until the student shows competency.  As the student grows, the program grows with him. 

            I am so excited about sharing what I’ve learned about Cognitive Tutor; I have taken the liberty of setting my instructor up as a student in the Algebra I module.  As for the rest of you, I highly recommend you check it out for yourselves.

Digital Storytelling Project

For this assignment, I decided to create a media clip that my welding classes could use for years to come.  Safety is the first priority in a welding lab, especially in a school setting.  This was an excellent end-of-semester project for my experienced welders.  It allowed for some great higher-order thinking skills.  We had a great time creating the story, prepping the script and storyboard, and prepping the scenes for filming.  The video is supposed to be a bit campy, in the style of old safety videos from the sixties and seventies.   The kids got tickled during filming, and it was a bit hard to stay in character.  I hope you enjoy the story of Steve the Safety Officer.  Click on the "Welding Safety Video" to check it out!

Danny Robb

Digital Storytelling Project

Steve the Safety Officer

Script for narration

This is Steve.  He’s going to do some welding today.  His first priority is to minimize personal risk to himself and others .  Doing the job in an unsafe manner is not doing the job.

Steve’s first step for safety is to check his outer clothing and P.P.E.  (Personal Protective Equipment).  All clothing should be made of natural materials, such as cotton, wool, or leather.  Man-made materials such as rayon, nylon, and polyester are petroleum-based and will catch fire easily.  Clothing should not be frayed or extremely loose-fitting, and should cover from the neck to the ankles.  Leather boots at least eight inches tall should be worn while welding.  This keeps sparks out of the socks and shoes, and keeps Steve from getting a “hot foot”.

            Next, Steve will check his PPE for proper function and wear it at all times while he is in the welding area.  PPE includes gloves, safety glasses, leather jacket (or cape and apron) and a welding hood.  When used in conjunction with proper clothing there should be no skin exposed to the welding flash.   PPE should be inspected daily for rips, tears, and cracked lenses.  The headgear on the hood should be comfortable and free-working.  Once Steve is certain that he is properly outfitted,  he should check his welding area for any possible hazards.  These may include flammable materials,  combustible liquids, exposed electrical wires,  sharp edges, and/or slippery or uneven floors.  The work area should also be free of unnecessary clutter and have easily accessible routes to an exit.  (Always have an exit strategy.)  Knowledge of fire extinguisher and first aid stations is also recommended. 

            Now that his pre-check list is satisfied, Steve can enter his booth and begin welding.   But wait a minute!  There is a small fire burning in welding booth #3.   This could turn into a serious problem quickly.  However, Steve has been trained in how to respond to such a situation.  He immediately alerts his supervisors and co-workers of the incident and grabs a fire extinguisher.  The fire is quickly put out.  Proper training saves the day!  Remember, in the welding shop, everyone is a safety officer.  Closely monitor your work area and the areas around you to check for unsafe situations.

Story Map

Narrative (Voice)	Images (Media)
This is Steve.  He’s going to do some welding today.  His first priority is to minimize personal risk to himself and others .  Doing the job in an unsafe manner is not doing the job.	Shot of actor in safety gear, preparing to weld in welding shop
Steve’s first step for safety is to check his outer clothing and P.P.E.  (Personal Protective Equipment).  All clothing should be made of natural materials, such as cotton, wool, or leather.	Shot of actor checking his clothing and gear-zoom in on clothing.
Man-made materials such as rayon, nylon, and polyester are petroleum-based and will catch fire easily.	Shot of synthetic clothing going up in flames.
.  Clothing should not be frayed or extremely loose-fitting, and should cover from the neck to the ankles.  Leather boots at least eight inches tall should be worn while welding.  This keeps sparks out of the socks and shoes, and keeps Steve from getting a “hot foot”.	Slow head-to-toe pan of clothing, close-up of boots, zoom out for “hot foot” jumping shot
Next, Steve will check his PPE for proper function and wear it at all times while he is in the welding area.  PPE includes gloves, safety glasses, leather jacket (or cape and apron) and a welding hood.  When used in conjunction with proper clothing there should be no skin exposed to the welding flash.	Shot of actor checking eyewear, headgear, etc.
PPE should be inspected daily for rips, tears, and cracked lenses.  The headgear on the hood should be comfortable and free-working.	Close-up shots of PPE items
Once Steve is certain that he is properly outfitted,  he should check his welding area for any possible hazards.  These may include flammable materials,  combustible liquids, exposed electrical wires,  sharp edges, and/or slippery or uneven floors.  The work area should also be free of unnecessary clutter and have easily accessible routes to an exit.  (Always have an exit strategy.)	Shot of actor entering welding bay, checking all areas. Shots of exits, close-up on exit sign
Knowledge of fire extinguisher and first aid stations is also recommended.	Shots of these items in the shop if available, otherwise we can insert stock photos
Now that his pre-check list is satisfied, Steve can enter his booth and begin welding.   But wait a minute!	Shot of actor entering welding bay, with sudden surprise appearing on his face
There is a small fire burning in welding booth #3.   This could turn into a serious problem quickly.	Close up shot of a fire (pulled from internet?)  Smoke coming from welding bay
However, Steve has been trained in how to respond to such a situation.  He immediately alerts his supervisors and co-workers of the incident and grabs a fire extinguisher.	Shot of actor calling to teacher, class, pointing to fire. Shot of actor grabbing extinguisher
The fire is quickly put out.  Proper training saves the day!	Shot of actor extinguishing fire
Remember, in the welding shop, everyone is a safety officer.  Closely monitor your work area and the areas around you to check for unsafe situations, for safety’s sake!	Shot of Steve, in PPE, arms crossed and smiling.  Zoom out slowly to show entire welding class, with instructor, outfitted in PPE with arms crossed and smiling.