EdTech Workshop

Hitting Publish (Once a Week)

2012-01-27T09:29:00.000-05:00

For someone who spends massive amounts of energy working on and advocating for student blogging, I rarely blog myself these days. There are, of course, many reasons for that, but it is something that must be remedied. As part of our faculty's "accountability initiative" I have set for myself the goal to write and publish at least one blog post each week.

Normally, it takes me quite a while to organize my thoughts enough to hit publish. Many posts sit in draft, many more stay in my mind. So I am going to do what I ask the students to do, and that is just write. I'm starting out with low expectations- once a week, sit down at the computer, write, publish. Get it out there, let it go and move on. I'm using the Seth Godin/Karl Fisch model "Just write poorly. In public. Every Day" (except my writing is hopefully not that poor...and once a week is the best I can do right now.)

Godin's premise:

No one ever gets talker's block. No one wakes up in the morning, discovers he has nothing to say and sits quietly, for days or weeks, until the muse hits, until the moment is right, until all the craziness in his life has died down.

Why then, is writer's block endemic?

The reason we don't get talker's block is that we're in the habit of talking without a lot of concern for whether or not our inane blather will come back to haunt us. Talk is cheap. Talk is ephemeral. Talk can be easily denied.

We talk poorly and then, eventually (or sometimes), we talk smart. We get better at talking precisely because we talk. We see what works and what doesn't, and if we're insightful, do more of what works. How can one get talker's block after all this practice?

I've been sharing this post with everyone- teachers, parents, anyone who will listen. It speaks to my core beliefs about learning. And writing. And teaching.

We learn through practice. In musing about the practice of yoga (and relating it to other learning situations) I wrote this:

In school classrooms, we break the learning into parts. Instead of practicing reading and practicing writing, we try to break reading and writing into pieces and parts, skills and standards. I wonder why we don’t just practice what we want to learn in its entirety by showing up and doing it- just reading and writing every day.

I believe that in order to teach something well, one must actively practice that thing. I have been testing the waters of that idea and have had some interesting discussions on Twitter and elsewhere about the truth or falseness of that assertion.

Is it possible to coach a sport you used to play and of which you have intimate firsthand knowledge but no longer do yourself? Is it possible to teach something you learned way back in school but no longer engage in as a learner?

Tough questions with lots of nuance. I believe that the best teachers will be in some way engaged with the process of what they teach as a learner themselves. In other words, maybe the coach no longer plays football himself but is still actively involved in learning about the game. In yoga it is said that the teacher teaches for herself and practices for her students. Teaching is part of the path of the learner.

When we practice something, we can't be overly concerned with mistakes. We can't worry about criticism or who is watching (or not). We just do it, secure in the knowledge that practice will lead to growth.

We need to give the students blogs and let them write and publish without fear. Let them write for genuine communication and a real audience. As adults, we need to let go of our fear of mistakes, of students' writing being imperfect. How many times have I heard that if we let students publish writing that has errors in spelling or grammar it will make the school or teacher look bad? Does my yoga teacher look bad when I lose my balance in an asana?

And, as teachers of writing, we, too, must write.

Coaching the 21st Century Teacher -Notes

2012-01-16T11:57:00.001-05:00

These are notes from the NAJDS session I attended yesterday- "Coaching the 21st Century Teacher" with Rabbi Joe Hirsch. I am trying to build fluency with my iPad, so I used the Corkulus app to take notes. Not only do I feel that the practice was good for my iPad fluency, I am happy with the notes that I am able to share, not only here on my blog, but I was able to email the notes to the person sitting next to me, as well as others who were not at the session.
(Click on it for full size view)

What is Quality (in a Blog Post or Comment)?

2011-12-27T08:38:00.012-05:00

Our 5th graders took part in the Student Blogging Challenge this fall. This was a positive way to kick off our blog-folios; it gave students plenty of choice within a structure, as well as providing motivation to comment and be commented upon. Students were also to be assigned a teacher-mentor to comment on their blog regularly. All good, right? Well... sort of...

As is often the case, good intentions and good ideas for teaching/learning don't always result in high quality work.

I observed:

•teacher-mentors (and other adult commenters) whose comments did not model quality in either content or form

•in my role as a teacher-mentor, I visited blogs that had only one or two, poorly-written posts and then seemed to have been abandoned by the student-blogger (which to me says there was no follow through by a teacher or adult mentor/guide who most likely started the "project"

with their students)

I've also observed what I judge to be excellent, thoughtful, high-quality posting and commenting in a developmentally appropriate student voice. I am completely sold on student blog-folio-ing as a practice for many reasons (which I hope to outline in detail in another blog post), but the question is how to identify and inspire excellence.

Blogging is not a "one-off." It's not a worksheet. It's not an assignment. Blogging is a process- one that involves both reading and writing. By definition, a process is a series of actions, changes or functions to achieve a goal or result. If the goal is to run a marathon, would one day of running around the block qualify?Why then do teachers set up student blogs and assign a writing prompt or two- and then abandon the whole thing for other "assignments?" Blogging is game-changing precisely because it is a long-term practice- a blog is a platform for sharing in a variety of formats and can be a chronicle of student development. I'm going to go so far as to say that a non-blogging teacher can not possibly do justice to student blogging. I believe that you can not teach what you do not practice yourself.

And that is just the introduction! The impetus for this post is a meme started by Silvia Tolisano asking teachers to identify quality blog posts and comments. Silvia is working on an incredible series of posts for teachers that breaks down and explains the entire process of blogging. Called "Stepping it Up- Learning About Blogs FOR Your Students" this is a MUST-read for any teacher even remotely interested in student blogging.

In part VII of the series, she tackles the elusive issue of quality- identifying it and evaluating it. As part of that post, Silvia provides multiple examples of student posts and comments with a breakdown of what she feels exemplifies quality and what could be improved. The meme was created to challenge other teachers to do the same:

In order to gather more audit samples from a large variety of age groups and authors, I challenge you to publish a blog post with a post or comment audit.

1. Select a blog post or blog comment to audit (Professional or Student)
2. Take a screenshot or copy and past the post or comment into your blog post (be sensitive whether you want to reveal any names or references)
3. Include or link to the rubric you use to assess the quality of post or comment
4. Audit the post or comment by describing your train of thought regarding the level of quality you would assess your chosen post or comment
5. Suggest how you would coach the author of audited post or comment to improve
6. Tag (at least) three educators and challenge them to audit a post or comment
7. Leave a comment with the link to your audit post on Langwitches

Kathleen Morris has very quickly responded to the meme with a superb audit of student comments.

For my own participation in the meme, I must begin with an admission-- I don't currently use a formal tool for assessment. I have used a number of strategies in the attempt to teach students how to recognize and produce high-quality writing. A rubric is a good idea and one I will explore with my co-teachers.

One other thing that I find so valuable about engaging in this process is that it helps give me a barometer of what I can reasonably expect from a student of a particular age. Of course, all students are on their own path of development. That's another piece of the beauty of blogging- by it's nature it documents the growth of the individual in comparison only to him or herself. However, I've noticed that it's very useful for me to have "touchstones" (especially since I work with students of all grade levels. I think I sometimes tend to expect too much from my own students. When I view their work in the light of a larger sample, I am often very pleasantly surprised at how well they are actually doing :-)

This post was written by a 5th grader in response to the student blogging challenge prompt of "favorites." What I like best about this post is the introduction, where the writer explores the whole idea of what "favorites" are. That intro drew me in and made me interested in what else the writer had to say. I also appreciated that she didn't just list her favorites, but included a bit of additional info telling why she likes the things she likes. I felt that she made an attempt to tie her ideas together with the conclusion, by revisiting ideas from the introduction. Overall, I felt that this was a fairly cohesive piece of writing- with a beginning, middle and end.

There are several ways I could see to coach this writer-

Form:

•End sentences with proper punctuation (What are your favorite things?)

•Consider not starting a sentence with "like."

•I see that this student needs some instruction on when to use a comma.

•There is a mistake with matching a singular noun (animal) with a plural (mosquitoes). Those types of grammatical mistakes can often be "heard" by students if you ask them to read the sentence out loud and listen for what doesn't sound right.

Content:

•"I will tell you some of my favorite things...." -I could ask the student if she thinks this line is really necessary.

• Overuse of "smart and cool"- what are some synonyms for these words? What is she really trying to describe with use of the word "cool?"

I'm going to stop my audit here. However, this has been a valuable activity, and I thank you, Silvia, for tagging me. It is enlightening to take the the time to bring internal processes (that I have in my head after so many years of teaching) out into the open and think more deeply about them.

I tag: Shelly Zavon, Deb Kuhr and Stephanie Teitelbaum

image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/boojee/29777131/

Making Shift Happen- HOW?

2011-12-14T12:19:00.013-05:00

It's interesting how things sometimes appear at just the right moment. Grappling with feelings of frustration can be productive. It can prepare the soil of the mind for new seeds to take root and begin to grow. I have been struggling with what sometimes feels like a growing chasm, wondering how to bridge the gap. I am lucky to work in a supportive environment. I have like-mindedpeople to talk to, as well as people to challenge my ideas. When I take time to stop and look back, I see progress. But the road ahead sometimes appears riddled with obstacles and mountains to climb. My expectations, for myself and others, are high and time is of the essence.

I have moved into the role of instructional coach, but the organizational culture that exists doesn't naturally support this role. Not only do I have to learn how to fulfill the responsibilities, I have to figure out how to "sell my services" to those who might use them. I find that, as part of forging a new path, I am often working without a roadmap. So I adapt to what I think is needed or I do what people seem to want. I often find myself falling back into old, familiar roles.

Today, our head of school returned from a conference energized with new ideas about leadership and team-building. He talked excitedly about the need to transform culture. He stated the bold fact that we can't keep calling our team "21st century learning"- that it is, plain and simple, "learning." Changing school culture is complex; it can't be done by just one person, and will not happen in a quick, linear process. But it can and will happen we keep the vision at the forefront of our minds.

"Probably the most important--and most difficult--job of an instructional leader is to change the prevailing culture of a school...A school's culture is a complex pattern of norms, attitudes, beliefs, behaviors, values, ceremonies, traditions and myths that are deeply ingrained in the very core of the organization." - from "The Culture Builder" by Roland S. Barth

From that same article was this E.B. White quote:

"A person must have something to cling to. Without that we are as a pea vine sprawling of a trellis."

What I have been seeking-- something external to support the growth of our school and to use as a roadmap formyself--is a structure to cling to.

Some structures are part of the problem- those that are outdated or restrictive, that don't support the vision for a reflective and collaborative culture. It seems important to commit once you've decided on a particular approach so that the structure can become embedded. However, it's also important, in a reflective learning environment, to be free to adapt or abandon what seems not to be working. How do we know when the structure itself needs more time or when to jump ship and change directions? Finally, the structure can't be so difficult or time-consuming to implement that it becomes the focus of the work.

At this point, I am collecting ideas and tools. One thing I have found that I think holds great potential for our school is this rubric, "Evidence of Learning in the 21st Century Classroom,"which I think, once adapted, can be used as a tool for goal-setting and self-evaluation. Is this a viable structure? What can school leadership to to make this structure work? (One thing I have already done is to post the rubric on our faculty Ning and ask for input from everyone as far as re-writing/adapting to make relevant for our school).

Why the need for an external structure? I think the right structures or systems may serve the following goals:

-model and support

-define priorities

-make values and vision explicit

-data collection

-build a common vocabulary

What else? What am I missing?

Are tools structures?

Can tool implementation support growth? I think the answer to that is yes (sometimes and it depends on the tool and the way it is implemented). School wide implementation of Wordpress MU and Google Apps for Education has created an infrastructure that allows us to do many of the things we want to do.

Can changing structures shift culture?

I ask this because I wonder, not because I think I know. I'm curious. If we only have so much time and we spend that time doing certain things because we've always done them, can changing the way that time is used be part of the process of shift?

One example that comes to mind is the process of having teachers turn in lesson plans. This is a common structure that exists in many, many schools. How does this support the school's vision of learning? Is is a meaningful activity or a hoop to jump through? Would teachers still plan lessons if not for this requirement? What is the follow-up? Are teachers given meaningful feedback on the work? Are they offered alternative ways to reflect upon or share their lessons? I wonder how many principals engage, without much thought, in this process of collecting lesson plans simply because the structure is so embedded in the life of the school and the idea of what the job of principal or instructional leader includes. If we would like teachers to think critically about the things they do in the classroom, we have to model this by questioning how things are done and asking if there is a better way.

What structures do teachers use in their classrooms to support the growth of their students? Can those be modified or adapted for use in professional development settings? What structures do other schools use, and more importantly, what structures work well? What old and well-worn structures are choking educational reform and absolutely must be abolished?

Image Credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/laurenipsum/2687279551/

Crafting Questions

2011-11-29T08:51:00.022-05:00

I want to reflect on an "upgrade" I am working on with 4th grade right now. There are a few things that stand out to me as important. We say "it's not about the tools" all the time, but I find that most people still equate "21st century learning" with use of electronic devices. I think this example is a good demonstration of "not about tools". The other thing that amazes me and that I want to verbalize, is the power of the pedagogy of students asking good questions.

4th grade Social Studies-

Collaboration Between Classroom Teacher and "Learning Specialist"

The 4th grade teacher and I, as a result of planning together, decided to join the Virtual USA project to add interest & excitement to the social studies curriculum, while making connections between our students' study of Florida and other 4th graders' studies about their states or regions. As part of this process, we decided to split the class into two groups to facilitate learning about Florida's economy and government. Although I don't normally work with small groups of students in this way, I was excited to be with the government group.

We began with KWL, and the students knew very little about state government. In fact, all they knew was that Tallahassee is the capital of Florida and Rick Scott is the governor. I decided to begin with the textbook. I gave out poster board for taking notes, and we began to read and discuss.

Side note: The other group, working with the classroom teacher to learn about Florida's economy, began using the computers for research right away. My group asked several times if they could "start looking for things on the computer." I think it was surprising to them, since I am usually the "tech teacher," that I told them I thought they needed to develop some background knowledge in order to be able to use the computers in a meaningful way.

As we read and talked about the three branches of government (including, of course, watching the classic Schoolhouse Rock video about how a bill becomes a law) I saw interest in the topic beginning to take shape.

Connecting with Experts

I suggested that we might learn more by talking with someone who works in state government. The students worked together to write a post on their class blog requesting help in finding an expert to Skype with us.

I love what happened next because, to me, this illustrates what happens when you empower the kids instead of the teacher doing all the work. I received an email from one of the 4th graders telling me that her grandmother knew former state representative, Dick Kravitz and would speak to him. This fabulous 4th grader basically set the whole thing up herself (through her grandmother.) All I had to do was finalize a date and time.

After we scheduled the date and time, I received this email from the student who made the connection:

I can't wait!!!!! Is he going to skype or come in because either way is awesome! We keep emailing each other but haven't talked in person since this whole dick Kravitz thing started!
When are we going to start preparing? BTW can't wait till December 1st!

I share this because I feel it serves as evidence that we should, as much as possible, have students do the "work," whatever that may be. I know that in the past, I might have done the connecting and scheduling myself, just telling the students about the "special guest." I'm not saying this is a bad thing, but I believe and have experienced that the more the students are involved, in an age-appropriate way, the more ownership they feel. They discover that they are capable of making things happen, and they learn to use the tools and skills to make meaningful connections.

Crafting Questions

We began working to prepare for Mr. Kravitz's visit. One of the most important components of preparing was the process of collaboratively writing questions. We started by asking each student to write questions for homework. We then entered all of the students' questions into a Google doc, and that's when the great work really got started.

One student showed us the website he used to learn about Dick Kravitz before writing his questions. This led to a discussion about the importance of "doing your homework" and learning about the person you are planning to interview so that you can ask intelligent questions that draw forth the person's ideas/experiences.

We also talked about:

•open-ended vs. closed ended question

•avoiding asking factual questions- we can find those answers ourselves by researching

We started deleting, combining and reworking questions to make them more open-ended. We used background information we had learned about our speaker to craft excellent questions. For example, the question "Why did you want to be a representative?" became "You majored in education in college and have a master's degree in sports administration. What made you decide to go into politics? Why did you choose to run for House of Representatives?"

Finally, we decided on a logical order for asking the questions and decided which student would ask each question.

I am amazed by how much the students have learned from this process- about government and about the art of interviewing someone. The interview took place yesterday, December 1st, and I hope to write more about that in another post. However, I believe that even if we never had a chance to ask the questions at all, the process of preparation was, in itself, a tremendous learning experience.

Important factors that contributed to success:

•Time- We gave the process of working with the questions plenty of time, and we needed it. Often, with so much to "cover" I feel we rush through things instead of giving them the time they deserve. When preparing for a Skype call with students, we always take time to prepare and write questions, but never before have I spent such focused time working on the questions. I have learned a ton- not just about teaching this way, but also about state government!

•Collaboration- This was a good synchronicity from every angle- between teacher and teacher, teachers and students and students with each other. Most of the credit goes to a classroom teacher who has worked on building a community where students know how to listen to one another and treat all ideas with respect. The teacher(s) acted as guides, but this was the students' project, and it was evident by their engagement in each stage of preparation.

•Building background knowledge- If we had jumped right in by scheduling an interview with someone in state government, I believe that it would have been virtually meaningless to students with so little background knowledge. Because we used basic information in the textbook to learn about the structure of government and the Internet to find out more about Dick Kravitz, the students were able to ask deep, intelligent questions and to understand the answers.

For a student point-of-view, read Jamie's words here.

Edublog Award Nominations

2011-11-21T09:04:00.004-05:00

Although I read a lot of blogs, I've never attempted to post an Edublog Award nomination before. I feel generally incapable of bestowing the title of "best"....at least for the most part. I'm not sure if that's just a personality thing or if I don't pay enough attention to what I'm reading, but what has moved me to do this in 2011 is a few of the student bloggers I am working with in 5th grade. Out of the class of 15 are 3 who are really putting extra effort into their blogs. I would really like to nominate each of them for "best student blog" because I think that they all deserve recognition. But "best" isn't about recognizing all the good ones, is it? So, I have thought long and hard, and I have decided which student blog is getting my nomination. And while I'm at it, I thought I'd try to sift through the other excellent blogs I read to give a nod to some that really speak to me.

Best individual blog- Tech Transformation Maggie Hos-McGrane tackles many of the deeper issues surrounding edtech that I grapple with, and she does it in a style that is concise, to the point and always makes me think.
Best individual tweeter- @courosa He shares a lot of good stuff. He seems to make a genuine effort to really connect with a wide range of people. He's helpful and has a good sense of humor. Those are the things I look for in a "best" tweeter.

Best student blog- Sarah S Despite having several students who I feel have poured heart and soul into their blogs this year, I had to choose just one to nominate. I chose Sarah S. because her writing is excellent, she covers a wide range of topics, and she illustrates almost every post, creating many of the images herself. Sarah is a very quiet girl, and I have enjoyed getting to know her better through reading her blog. We blog in class twice a week, but Sarah puts in extra effort, working on her blog at home to make it shine, both in written content as well as other items of interest, such as polls, Wordles and widgets. I am proud to nominate this blog for an Edublog award, and I hope to bring attention and visitors to this high-quality example of a student blog.
Best ed tech / resource sharing blog- Langwitches What I appreciate about this blog, and what I think distinguishes it from other ed tech/resource sharing blogs is that blogger, Silvia Tolisano, doesn't just share a resource- she documents each and every step she takes in using tech resources with students, including step-by-step how-to's and wonderful photographs. Not only have I learned a ton from reading this blog, I often use it as a working resource, going back to search and re-read, as I'm planning lessons or trying to implement ideas of my own.
Best teacher blog- Elementary My Dear, Or Far From It I like this blog because it's real. I appreciate the honest self-reflection from first grade teacher, Jen Orr, who tells it like she experiences it. This year she is writing a series of posts about her students, in an effort to spend time thinking about what makes each student unique and special. That's the kind of teacher she is.
Best free web tool Google Apps for Education We couldn't do many of the things we do at our school if not for Google Apps. Just having student emails allows us to access many other web tools.

Plan, Do and Review iPad Exploration

2011-10-26T13:29:00.013-04:00

After finally getting the 20 new iPads set up and ready to use (a major undertaking for which I take no credit-- read about it here), I am planning to embark on an explorative journey of how to best use these tools to transform learning in 2nd grade.

Aside from a little fun in Kitah Alef (1st grade) one afternoon, using Doodle Buddy to practice writing Hebrew letters, I have very little experience with the iPad as a school device. I am only a moderately fluent user of my own iPad, which I use mostly to consume information.

So, where to begin?

I will be using iPads in one of the 2nd grade learning centers, twice a week. My initial goals are to learn more about what can reasonably be done by 2nd graders during this period of time and to let the kids do a bit of structured exploration. So far we have only been able to add free apps to our iPads. (Here is our list.)

Rationale

I need to do my own experiential learning of how to use the iPads with young children, while continuing to gain fluency in using the iPad for my own productivity. I am willing to allow curricular goals to take a backseat in the early stages of exploration. In my many years of using technology with students (of ALL ages) I have always had big goals, but I have learned that what seems simple to me is not always as simple as it seems. In fact, I believe that one of the reasons many teachers turn off from using technology actively with students in the "messiness" of it. For me, part of embracing the messiness (which I have come to love) is to realize that it's all learning.

Plan•Do•Review

In thinking about how to structure the early exploration, I recalled a model called Plan, Do and Review. In researching the method, I see that it is used most frequently in preschool, but is also indicated as developmentally appropriate for use in lower elementary grades.

I like this model because it gives students opportunity to explore and choose but within a guided structure designed by the teacher. I believe that creativity and exploration are often more productive within a structure. I have observed that students, when given too many choices, may have trouble committing to an activity. They become overwhelmed with choices and jump around from one thing to the next, never really "doing" anything.

Plan

In the initial meeting with students, after a brief introduction to the iPad and discussion about proper care and handling, I plan to provide students with 3 or 4 choices of apps/activities to freely explore. I will keep demonstration to a bare minimum and let the focus be on problem solving and exploration for the students.

Ideas for choices:

•Listen to a student created podcast, downloaded from the MJGDS podcast channel on iTunes. We have many excellent, student-created podcasts, including one that they made last year in first grade.

•Doodle Buddy

•Google Earth

•Read an eBook (we have a few free eBooks downloaded, as well as two student-created eBooks.)

•Puppet Pals

•Sock Puppets

The emphasis will be making a choice and then sticking to that choice for the entirety of the "do" period.

Doing is the active engagement. Some choices will offer more exploration and experimentation than others. It's all good. Or even if it's not good, it's ok. That's why there is time to review.

Review

Review can be formal or informal. I am hoping to have time for a formal, written review. I've created a google form for students to use (at this point, I will probably print the form and have them write it. In the future, we plan to download the forms app so students can fill out the form on the iPads).

Although that will complete one Plan, Do, Review session, the cycle will continue with the next session as students become more familiar with the process itself, as well as the things they enjoy doing during their "do" time.

This is my plan for at least the first few sessions of working with the 2nd graders. It should give me opportunity to get a feel for using the iPads with the small groups. From there, the teacher and I will strategize on next steps.

I welcome your ideas and feedback, as well as suggestions for great (especially free) apps to use with young students.

Taking Notes

2011-10-26T09:16:00.007-04:00

I was intrigued by the exploration of note-taking styles described in the post "The Official Scribe: It's All About Learning Styles & Collaboration" by Silvia Tolisano. We (the 4th grade teacher and I) decided to try a similar lesson while watching a movie about the Geography, Culture and History of Florida.

What We Did:

We began with a discussion about note-taking. Why and how do students take notes? Some of the students shared their own note-taking strategies; other students had little or no experience with note-taking.

We talked about how different people think in different ways, and took a few moments to think about and share the way each of us thinks we think best (in words, in pictures, a combination of words & images).

We generated a list of ideas of different ways to jot down key ideas, as well as the tools we might use:

• paper and pencil-words

• paper and pencil-doodles and drawings

• computer keyboard using mind-mapping software (Inspiration)

• computer using art software (Pixie)

• iPad using the app Doodle Buddy, and a stylus or iPad keyboard

We also showed a the beginning of the RSA Animate Ken Robinson video as an example of using doodling to take notes.

Each student chose a tool and a style to use to take notes during the video. Most were given paper/pencil as the tool; we had one iPad and two computers. One student was selected to stand by the SMARTboard to pause to the video to use Skitch to take screenshots at important points. Those screenshots were put into an open Word document.

What I Noticed:

The students seemed highly engaged in the video and in their note-taking. They were vocal about where the video should be paused for screen shots. The student doing the screen shots was slow at first with the tools and process but very quickly became proficient.

I wonder:

I wonder if the emphasis on the different styles of note-taking impacted the way the students watched the video and, if so was the impact positive.

What's Next?

This afternoon, we will finish watching the video. We plan to compile the notes and reflect with the students on the pros and cons of the different strategies. It will be interesting to hear their thoughts on taking notes. Did taking notes help them pay attention to the video? Will their notes help them review and process what they learned?

Re-Thinking Faculty Meetings

2011-10-12T08:24:00.012-04:00

Meetings=Drudgery?

In 20 years of teaching, I have attended my fair share of faculty meetings. I remember sitting in the meetings at my first job, listening to impassioned debates over whether or not to have a water cooler in the staff lounge, wondering, "Is this what adults do at work?"

I found out that the answer to that was, disappointingly, yes. This is how a lot of adults spend time in meetings. I have viewed faculty meetings, for the most part, as something to be endured, a necessary part of a teaching job, but not something exciting, enlightening or particularly useful or relevant to my work.

We Don't Need Reform, We Need New Forms

Our new (as of last year) head-of-school, Jon Mitzmacher is committed to new forms for the traditional faculty meeting. The first innovation he introduced was to begin & end every meeting on time. This is no small feat and brings into focus the question of how to best use that once-monthly hour when the whole staff is together in one place. Do we really want to spend that time discussing the proper way to staple papers to a bulletin board?

Even more importantly, Jon did away with the typical "administrivia." An agenda is shared with items of note listed at the bottom, and we are trusted to read these ourselves and clarify, if necessary, on our own.

This stems from a core value that I feel is game-changing, although it seems obvious and simple. Staff meetings should be devoted to the practices of teaching and learning. The goal is to model the type of learning culture we envision for all members of our community: reflective, differentiated, participatory, collaborative. Last year teachers took turns "hosting" the meeting. We had the opportunity to visit each other's classrooms and learn from one another.

New School Year~New Ideas

I was thrilled when, this year, I was invited (or maybe I invited myself) to brainstorm and participate in re-thinking the faculty meeting. My role at the school is evolving as we grow into a 21st century learning community, and I am working more in the capacity of a provider of professional development and coaching for teachers, so I think it makes sense.

The first meeting of this year featured a guest speaker, Dr. Elliott Rosenbaum of The American School of Professional Life Coaching. He did a wonderful presentation about "Active Listening" and then guided a role-playing activity. Everyone agreed that it was an excellent use of our faculty meeting.

For our next meeting, we decided to introduce the idea of "Ignite" presentations. In talks that are exactly five minutes long, Ignite presenters share their personal and professional passions, using 20 slides that auto-advance every 15 seconds. I wanted to show Jen Orr's "Encienda EduCon"presentation "What do you teach?" but I couldn't find a video online. Jen very generously agreed to Skype into our faculty meeting and recreate her presentation for us.

Next we showed Chris Lehmann's "Ignite Philly" presentation "The Schools We Need."

We have invited faculty members to present their own 5 minute talks at הצתה (Hebrew for "Ignition"), which will be
the opening to future faculty meetings.

In the remaining time, each teacher was given a KWH (What do we KNOW, WANT to know, and HOW will we find out?) graphic organizer to begin preparing an implementation timeline for his or her professional development plan for the year.

What Else?

Here are some other ideas I'm thinking about--

•using TED talks (have a different teacher select the TED talk of the month to be shown at the meeting. Have teachers give their own TED talks (very similar to the Ignite model).

•I was very moved by the movie, Temple Grandin. There are some important messages in this movie for educators, and I would love to use parts of the movie as a catalyst for discussion about how we deal with different types of children. How do we, as teachers, either help them feel valued for who they are or misunderstood? An additional resource might be Temple Grandin's TED Talk, "The World Needs All Kinds of Minds."

•Watch a video of someone teaching then ask participants to "rate" the teaching or similar discussion starter of what constitutes "good" teaching.

•Speed-geeking

• A "smack-down" where anyone shares a favorite resource. This is a really low-pressure way to introduce a shift in the culture toward one of sharing and openness.

•Guest speakers either in-person or via skype.

•Time for collaboration and reflection.

What are other schools doing during faculty meetings? What are your ideas for the best use of this time?

Blog-folios

2011-09-27T15:27:00.009-04:00

Last year I began working with students in grades K, 5 and 8 to create digital portfolios. We used Wordpress blogs as the platform. Portfolios are a digital collection of a student's best work with a reflective component. This type of reflective practice is new for most of our students and is a process, which will take time. As we began the process, we realized that it was almost a tease giving students a versatile, customizable, blogging platform and then not allowing them to freely blog. So the "blog-folio" was created-- part blog, part reflective portfolio.

Portfolios give students a chance to develop metacognition, set goals and internalize what "good work" looks like. Blogs offer a platform for creativity, communication, connection and the practice of digital citizenship. "Blog-folios" are the best of both worlds- using a blogging platform to develop writing skills, provide opportunities to connect with an authentic audience and increase reflective practices. Instead of using the entire site as a portfolio, students will use the category "portfolio" to designate those selections that represent high-quality work and reflection.

Blogs are Transformative:
As educators, we are in the business of helping each child bloom into the flower that he or she is meant to be. The goal is to help students reach high academic standards while developing their unique selves, growing at their own rates and discovering their personal passions. Blogs are a space for sharing ideas in almost any format, a place for self-expression, connection, and reflection- literally a platform to explore, document and record the growth of the learner. The tool (blog) is transformative in that it allows instant publishing and the possibility of an authentic audience, as well as bringing in multimedia communication and creation. It is also transformative in that, unlike many school assignments or projects, blogging is a long-term "project" that incorporates many different "subjects" and skills.

Student Blogging Challenge:

We have started this year by introducing the blog-folios to our 5th graders through participation in the Student Blogging Challenge. This activity has approximately 300 participants from around the world. Students are enjoying the opportunity to customize the look of their blogs, write about areas of interest and interact with other student bloggers. As teachers, the blogs enable us to get to know our students better, to model good writing through our comments and to target instruction. Blogging is, by definition, differentiated instruction.

Comments!

Part of the joy of blogging is knowing that someone is reading what you've written. All of our student blogs are open to receive comments, and all comments will be moderated (by the students) before being published on the blog. We invite you to read and comment on any of the 5th grade blogs listed here. The big idea is to engage students in the act of writing as communication. Please encourage students by responding to their content, not correcting their mistakes. By leaving a comment, you can model good writing skills. Know that the blog-folios are a work in progress and a long-term record of a student's growth. Each child's writing and thinking will show growth over the year(s).

1st Day of School Thoughts

2011-08-21T21:44:00.005-04:00

This was one of the slides in my "Next Steps" presentation. The original source of the quote was this post from Paul Bogush, which I love.

We may spend a lot of time planning lessons, managing the classroom, communicating with parents, all important components of the craft of teaching. But when it comes down to it, who we are in every moment is the greatest teacher of all.

Am I a learner?

Do I do what I expect my students to do?

Am I a reader?

A writer?

Do I own my mistakes and try to do better the next time?

Do I take risks?

Do I listen well?

Am I a critical thinker?

Do I treat others the way I want to be treated?

With that slide, I read the following, from the book Reflective Practice to Improve Schools

"You can genuinely teach only who you are. In these demanding times, it is easy to slide to a place of feeling as if you are never enough. But who you are every day, how you create meaningful learning experiences for students, the positive energy you choose to bring to your work is enough. It is more than enough: It is an enormous gift to the world around you. By maintaining a focus on reflective capacities that expand and improve your personal practices, your influence on others expands as well. Just remember to place your own oxygen mask securely in place before assisting others."

Take care of yourself so that you have something to give. Be mindful of your own practice of learning and reflecting, communicating, collaborating, creating and, most importantly, being a human being relating to other human beings. Because, at the end of the day, that is what matters most.

image credit: Silvia Tolisano

Next Steps

2011-08-20T22:12:00.005-04:00

This past week was pre-planning for teachers, and in my new, moving-into-the-future-that-is-now role of "21st century learning specialist" I was given 2 hours on Tuesday to present "Next Steps." My presentation followed Silvia's one hour, "Curriculum 21- A Deeper Cut."

Next steps

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Reflection:

I really like presenting. Although it is a ton of work to think through what I want to share, organize it and create the slides, I find it really satisfying. I also think I'm kind of good at it, and it comes somewhat naturally (after the tons of work and preparation). I'm a talker, a storyteller.

My audience seemed, for the most part, engaged, interested, respectful. I really appreciated their attentiveness. Afterwards, I got a lot of positive feedback, which felt gratifying. My favorite comment was from our MS social studies teacher who said that my presentation was like 21st century therapy. I took that as a compliment.

What I would like to do better (my own "next steps") is to work toward being more of a conversation facilitator and less of a presenter.

Who really likes to sit and listen for 3 hours? My presentation was supposed to be shorter, with time afterwards for teachers to reflect on the prompt in the final slide, "What is your next step?" or another topic from either of the presentations, but both of us went a little long, and we ended up taking the whole three hours to present (with a little break in between).

When I present, I feel like there is so much to say. I definitely do my homework, in terms of preparation (including pre-presentation insomnia where I lie in bed while my mind races and reviews my slides, thinking of all the things I might say). However, if I learned anything at all from Educon, it is that active learning is better than passively listening to a presenter, no matter how entertaining and engaging. I remember in Chris Lehmann's really inspiring session about leadership, 2 Educon's ago, how he threw out ideas, had everyone discuss, and then brought it all back together so that the group could move to the next idea. Like a magician. In reviewing my notes from that session, I wrote " The ability to have these conversations and come to common ground requires a good leader. Get to common ground and then move on."

"Conversation leadership" - it sounds a lot like teaching...

We Are Not Alone...The Power of the Network

2011-08-09T20:42:00.020-04:00

In my role as one of our school's two 21st century learning specialists, I am tasked with presenting a 2- hour professional development session for teachers on the 2nd day of our pre-planning week. If you know teachers during back-to-school time, you know that they can be a bit of a tough crowd during this week when they have so much to do setting up classrooms and preparing for students.

I really want to make those 2 hours meaningful, inspiring and totally worth the time spent away from the work that needs to be done in the classrooms. I love the idea of opening up with a TED Talk to get people feeling inspired. At our PD day in January, I opened with Adora Svitak's fabulous TED Talk "What Adults Can Learn from Kids." It was well-received and generated some excitement and fun discussion.

But this post isn't about which TED Talk I'm going to choose. Nope. This post is about what happened when I did what I usually do when planning any type of instruction these days. I ask my trusted network.

I have truly, completely, totally embraced the "together we are smarter" idea to the point where I don't even try to think alone anymore. When it comes to TED, even if I watched one TED talk every single day, it would take several years to watch them all! (When I got my ipad and downloaded the TED app, I did intend to watch one talk a day, but you know how those things go...) So, naturally I turned to my network on Twitter.

The tweet was re-tweeted by Rachel Abrahams and between my tweet and her re-tweet, I received a handful of responses (newest on top).

Since I've already seen Sir Ken Robinson's TED talks "Schools Kill Creativity" and "Bring on the Learning Revolution", as well as Alan November's TEDxNYED talk, I started by watching Itay Talgam's brilliant, "Lead Like the Great Conductors." My husband and I both really enjoyed it. Next I watched Julian Treasure's "5 Ways to Listen Better."

This was on Sunday morning, and just watching those two talks took almost 30 minutes. That was all the time I had to indulge in the pleasure of watching TED Talks (although it WAS for work!). A little later in the day, I looked at Facebook and saw that TED had posted my question on their Facebook page.

It was amazing....and at the same time overwhelming! I could barely watch two TED Talks. I skimmed the FB comments (LOTS of votes for Sir Ken Robinson), but I couldn't even read all those comments!!

Then tonight, Tuesday, I saw this tweet:

and another tweet which linked to this post on the TED blog "What TEDTalk would you play to open the school year? We counted your (almost 1,000) responses..."

There is so much to this. First of all, I now have the opinions of over 1000 TEDTalk watchers. TED writer/editor Ben Lillie went through the freeform comments and tallied the results. Seems that Sir Ken is the favorite by a mile, but I have a great list of the top 14 vote-getters to watch, many of which I haven't yet seen. And that is doable.

Besides that, I have a good story to share! This is a terrific example of the power of networking- what we're working to bring to our school.

Collaboration. Social learning. Content curation. Filtering. Connecting.

Ideas worth spreading.

Thanks for the help everyone.

PS- After speaking with my partner, Silvia Tolisano this morning, and connecting what I'm doing with what she's bringing, we have decided to open with the Alan November talk. It really speaks to what we are going to be doing this year with our 21st century learning program.... which involves, among other things, having our students write and present their own TED Talks. There are so many incredible thinkers; it's really an uplifting change from watching the network news shows' tales of gloom and doom. I challenge myself to revisit my intention to watch one TED talk a day!

"I Am" Poetry

2011-05-19T11:37:00.010-04:00

I love these poems our 6th graders wrote the other day using PicLits. We used "freestyle" mode. The directions were to find an image and finish the sentence starters to complete the poem. It was sort of a "one-off," meaning that I don't usually work with this class and only had the one class with them, so we didn't have time to revise or even for them to share their poems with each other. Keeping that in mind, I think they are pretty expressive.

by Aaron

by Avichai

by Joey

by Julia

by Rachel

by Ryan

Brand, Un-brand, Re-brand

2011-04-11T12:30:00.005-04:00

Companies do it all the time. They change their logo, their website, the look of their packaging. Sometimes we, the "audience," respond positively. Sometimes (think New Coke vs. Coke Classic) we do not. I have always been of the "if it isn't broke, don't fix it" mindset, but I am questioning the 21st-century-ness of that attitude. To go mucking about, changing things just for the sake of trying something that might or might not "work out" when status quo was, well...comfortable enough... is a risky proposition.

Changing something that is not really "broken" could be:

(a) a waste of time and energy

(b) a complete and total failure

(d) a learning experience

What if we reframed our ideas about concepts like "waste of time," "failure," and "success?" What if we decided that (d) a learning experience = (d) all of the above?

How would that impact the way we work? How would it impact the way we teach?

I think this is one of the core values of what we often refer to as "21st century learning." In an ideas and innovation-based economy, we don't thrive on "it's not broke." This is a big shift for me. Change makes me nervous. I feel most comfortable when things seem stable. People like me don't invent wonderful, crazy new things; we make do with what we have.

These thoughts are arising as I ponder the future of my personal brand. Believe me, I am aware that "edtechworkshop" isn't anything earth-shatteringly interesting as far as teacher-brands go. However, I have been blogging for over three years now. I have subscribers, and I fear "losing" them were I to move my site. (Yes, even as I write it, I realize how silly this is.) This feeling of wanting to "hold on" to something, even as I realize the total pointlessness of it (like holding onto life itself) is what keeps me from feeling free to experiment, reinvent myself and play around. In other words, it limits my ability to learn and grow.

According to personal-branding guru, Dan Schawbel, your online presence will replace your resume in 10 years. I disagree with his assessment that it will take ten more years. I think that for the best jobs, the most sought-after positions, a strong online presence is already more important than a resume. Think about it. Where do we go to find things? Where do we go, more and more, to find people? We go to google. And if you're not google-able, you won't be found.

The Garden of Tweetin'

2011-04-06T11:36:00.014-04:00

I was asked to "intro twitter" for my cousin and her friend. I've been meaning to write a twitter blog post for a while now, so I thought I would gather some favorite resources and share a few thoughts.

Here is a helpful intro for educators from Langwitches Blog: So, What About This Twitter Thing?

So, What About This Twitter Thing

View more presentations from Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano

Beyond the most basic intro, to really "do twitter" you have to just go ahead and do it. Twitter is a garden of sorts. To plant a garden, at some point, you have to get in there and get your hands dirty. There's no "right way/wrong way"...there is just your way which you can only figure out by figuring it out. You can read guidebooks, ask an expert, learn from your mistakes... eventually you come to realize that, with attention and care, you have gardened your way to a decent little patch that makes YOU happy.

But that doesn't mean that MY garden- with it's marigolds and tomatoes, usually in need of weeding- would be the right garden for YOU. For example, if you were planting a vegetable garden, you would be likely to choose vegetables that would be useful and valuable to you and your family. It's the same with your twitter garden. The power of twitter lies in the opportunity to build a useful and valuable network, of like-minded (or different-minded) interesting people. My twitter network consists mainly of educators. Many educators on twitter use the term PLN- personal learning network and use twitter for their own lifelong learning.

I'll happily share with you how I manage twitter today (which might change tomorrow or next week). I currently like Tweetdeck for these reasons:

-I like to be able to view multiple columns showing different streams. It's easy to add and change them, too.

-I like the "edit then retweet" capability which the web RT doesn't offer.

-I tweet from multiple accounts, and that is very easy to do in Tweetdeck where I can be logged-in as more than one tweeter. (I have also tripped myself up this way by tweeting from the wrong account. Oops!)

Just in case you were wondering, what I don't like about Tweetdeck is the newer "deck.ly" feature which lets you go over 140 characters. It just doesn't sit right with me- the whole genre of twitter is 140 characters or less. I have disabled it on my Tweetdeck. Go to "settings" and uncheck "Use Deck.ly for sending long updates."

A few more thoughts:

•Filtering the mad, mad world of too-much-information is a high art. Again, everyone does it differently BUT (since you asked my opinion)- don't habitually re-tweet articles you haven't read or at least skimmed. Being a good filter, and only sharing what you think is truly worthwhile and relevant builds your credibility.

•Follow celebrities if it makes you happy and adds something to your twitter stream, but that's not really the "twitter thing." Twitter is about having lots of different interesting people to talk to and listen to. Choose who you follow thoughtfully, just as you would decide what to plant in your garden. For more on this idea, read this great post, "Curating People" by self-proclaimed "mayor of the internet" ijohnpederson.

Because I know you really want to know, these are the celebrities I follow (at least right now)-

Dr. Wayne Dyer

Sir Ken Robinson

The Dalai Lama

Dan Millman (author of The Way of the Peaceful Warrior)

None of them follow me back. They also don't tweet much and, most likely, someone else tweets for them anyway.

•Be yourself. If it's interesting to you, share it. Follow real people who interest you, and add something to the conversation. Give and take.

One last analogy :) -- Think of twitter as a giant cocktail party. Who do you choose to talk to? The spammer who is just there to sell something or get you to join an MLM scheme? The self-promoter who talks incessantly about herself? The person who has nothing original to say and only repeats what he has just heard someone else say? Or the interesting person who listens and adds something intelligent to the mix? Be that person.

Great minds must think alike. Just after I wrote this, Silvia Tolisano shared with me a new presentation she created on personal learning networks, also using the idea of the garden as a point of reference.

Building a Personal Learning Network

View more presentations from Silvia Rosenthal Tolisano

Portfolios-- A "Digital Can of Worms?"

2011-03-28T13:04:00.001-04:00

I love home improvement shows. The homeowners decide on a fabulous renovation to turn their house into the house of their dreams. They work with a contractor and make a plan. But once they actually begin the process of tearing down walls they discover a problem- mold, termites, whatever. The problems are such that there can be no continuing with the planned renovation until the newly-uncovered dilemma is solved.

This is the perfect analogy for my experience this year piloting digital portfolios in grades K, 5 and 8. There is no possible way that I, or anyone, could have foreseen all of the questions and conundrums that would arise. Some were easily solved; others have required more research and development. Some were straight out of left field. I've taken to referring to the whole thing as a digital can of worms.

It's been an interesting journey so far, and I have been remiss in taking the time to reflect and share. How ironic that I can't seem to find the time to reflect on this process of becoming more reflective with students.

First of all, I feel like a pioneer. Maybe I am just not looking in the right places or asking the right people, but I am not finding a lot of teachers who are actually using digital portfolios with students. I have had a google alert set up for both "digital portfolios" and "eportfolios." My hope was to find examples of student portfolios and get ideas. While these alerts fill my reader, very few of them yield anything helpful. The examples I find are, by and large, created by adults. The few portfolios from younger students often look like they were started and then quickly abandoned. And I am starting to understand why.

I have also found several examples of "digital portfolios" that seem to be just exercises in using a blog or wiki for students to post work. There is no reflection on the work itself nor does there seem to be any attempt to select the student's best work. The space is more of a repository, and I wonder a bit about the thought behind the assignment of the portfolio. Even in these cases, it is usually high school and college age students.

Several times I have participated in #edchat on twitter. I figure that is a good place to find fellow educators who are also dipping their toes into the portfolio pool. Nada. When I ask about portfolios on twitter, I generally hear crickets....occasionally I get a retweet of my question or a teacher who says they are interested in using portfolios "next year." I started a digital portfolios group on the Curriculum 21 ning, again thinking that would be a relatively fertile place to mine for those who had information to share. The group has 39 members, which is very encouraging, but little hard data, portfolio samples or even detailed conversations. Again, it seems to be a case of people who are interested in getting started in the near future.

I hear a lot of talk about portfolios. I can only assume that there are people using them with students, but I haven't hit upon the right group. I am going to draw the conclusion, for now, that I am one of relatively few at these grade levels who is actively working with portfolios, and that I have quite a bit of helpful information to share for all those interested teachers. Maybe I can save them some of the difficulties for which I was unprepared.

I am not sure how best to share though....do I simply state my conclusions, and skip over the "can of worms" or do I detail the whole messy path that led me to this point? I know that, personally, I like to know the reasons behind decisions, but I don't know if it's superfluous.

Consider this the introduction with more information to follow. If you are interested in seeing some sample portfolios from my students, here is a link to a kindergarten portfolio. Here are links to some 8th grade portfolios (any of these students would be very excited to receive a comment on their portfolio):

Can of Worms by Nate Erlin

My Life as a Reader

2011-03-22T10:53:00.000-04:00

A few years ago, my father presented me with a very special gift. He had searched painstakingly, calling a number of used bookstores, to find a copy of The Big Tidy Up, the first book I ever "read" all by myself.

I still remember the opening lines:

"Jennifer knew as well as you

that everything has its place.

But she just didn't care a whit, a bit

So her room was a real disgrace."

I memorized the entire book at age 3 and from that moment on, was an incredibly avid reader.

My favorite outing as a child was to the public library. I could have spent all day, every day, wandering amongst the shelves. I would pick out a book, open it, and get lost. I would take home huge stacks of books and immediately dive in. I loved the Bobbsey Twins and the Nancy Drew series. My parents made rules. For example, I was not allowed to read at the dinner table. I was not supposed to read while walking.

Now, many years later, I am a teacher and mother. There were several reasons I chose to become a teacher; one of them was based in my love of reading. I love to share books and reading with children. As a 4th/5th grade classroom teacher, I read aloud to my students almost every day. As a mother of a 10-year old daughter and a 7 year-old son, I read aloud to my children almost every night before bed. I have even started reading aloud to my husband. The bookstore and the library are still two of my favorite places.

I attribute most of my academic success to reading. It was through reading that I really learned to write, spell, and love stories. Through reading I have improved my vocabulary and increased my knowledge about the world. Through reading I have learned about history, psychology and myself. Through reading I traveled to places and times, inhabited the minds of characters I might never get to meet.

I once had the pleasure of hearing Kurt Vonnegut speak. One thing he said that really made an impression was "Reading is meditating with someone else's mind."

I guess I really like getting into the minds and thoughts, imaginations and ideas of others.

Bats from A to Z

2011-03-18T10:10:00.003-04:00

Note: This blog post was written by the 2nd graders. One of my goals for working with classes this year is to have the students reflect and share after completion of a project. They posted it on their class blog, however, that blog does not allow for comments from non-registered users. They would really love to receive comments, so please share with other teachers and students and let our 2nd graders know what you think of their work.

by Mrs. B's 2nd grade

It all started with a story. We read "Fast Food on the Fly," a story about bats, in our Wordly Wise book. We were so interested that we decided to write reports about different kinds of bats. We each chose our own bat, and they were all from Australia. We used the computers to research our bats, and we made a bat cave in the hallway where we displayed our reports.

We decided to create an ABC video to give people information about bats. Mrs. B and Ms. H showed us an example. Then we took a bat quiz. Next, we worked with a partner to brainstorm ideas using the alphabet organizer. We printed out the organizers with all of our ideas. Some letters were easier than others so we had to do more research to come up with a fact for each letter.

Once we decided the best fact for each letter and assigned the letters we used Pixie to write and illustrate our ideas. We went over them and checked to make sure they were correct and looked good. Then we recorded ourselves reading our facts. Finally, we published our video, and we are so excited to share it with you!

Some Reflections:

Reflection pyramid from Peter Pappas

Ayden: We met our goal by finishing the video and teaching everyone about bats. I learned facts about bats that a lot of grown-ups don't know.
Elad: I did this before when we did the values report because I had to look in a book. I can use this again when I do another report or project.
Eliana: It was important that we taught people new information about bats. I learned to work together without arguing.
Griff: I see a relationship with this project and the president reports because we had to research on the computer for both. In both of them we were teaching people. I feel that I learned a lot about bats. I see that there is so much I didn't know about bats.
Jona: Our class did really well. We edited and revised it. We had to take our time in order to make it really good. We used the computer and used typing skills. I learned more about bats and I liked using technology.
Natan: We worked well together.
Mrs. B: I was very pleased to see the growth from our very first project, the fire safety and prevention video, to this project. I think you are going to be very prepared for 3rd grade.

Dear Thinkquest

2011-03-16T13:02:00.004-04:00

Dear Thinkquest,

I appreciate the opportunity to enter your international competition with my students. My 7th grade students have defined a problem and begun working on their project.

I wonder how upset they will be with me if we are unable to actually enter their project in the competition because I am unable to actually enroll our team. The problem seems to lie in the fact that our school does have a Thinkquest Projects account, (for which I am the administrator). Our "signing authority" is our former principal, who not only no longer works at the school, but no longer retains her school email address. Although I requested changing the signing authority on February 3rd, that request is still "pending." My application to coach a team is also pending the approval of the incommunicado ex-principal.

Silly me. I thought I could easily get help for this easy-enough-to-explain problem (surely other people have had a principal leave and had to request a new signing authority) by using your contact links on the website. To date I have sent 5 requests, via your website as well as directly by email. I did receive a response to two of my emails saying that I should have a response within 48 hours. That was over a week ago.

And then yesterday I received this email from "support@thinkquest.com":

Dear ThinkQuest Coach,

We noticed you enrolled in the ThinkQuest International Competition 2011, but have not yet enrolled any teams.

Enrolling a team is easy! Just follow these steps:

Log in to your ThinkQuest account.
Click the "Competition" tab.
Click the "Enroll a Team" button.
You can come back and edit your team later if any information changes.

As a bonus, you will be entered in the Coach Sweepstakes when you enroll your first team. Each month, one lucky coach will receive an Apple® iPad™ 16GB.

For additional assistance with team enrollment, visit Online Help.

Kind regards,
Oracle Education Foundation

Um... thank you for your concern and offer of additional assistance? Really?

The Flat Classroom- Are We Really Ready?

2011-03-06T12:15:00.023-05:00

Global Learning=Good

Global collaboration, global awareness, global connections.... these are some of the exciting possibilities of technology in education. Having students learn about, with and from their peers around the world has inspired some amazing projects like the Flat Classroom project and Around the World with 80 Schools. I believe in the power of education to build a more tolerant and peaceful world.

Last year, middle school students at our Jewish Day School had some amazing skype calls with students from Muslim schools. They compared prayer books and each group showed the other how they prayed. Afterwards, our students reflected in writing. Here is what one 7th grader wrote about that experience:

Interestingly, we discovered that Muslim and Jewish beliefs are very similar in certain
ways. We both have certain times to pray, traditional articles of clothing, forbidden foods, as well as so much more.

It is important to learn about other religions, to realize the similarities between all cultures around the world. We have to set aside our differences and look at the ways that we are all alike... Hopefully, one friendly interaction at a time, more and more people will begin to realize the similarities connecting people around the world.

The Project

When I heard, recently, about a project for students from around the world who speak both English and another language, I thought it was a good fit since our school has a dual-language program, English and Hebrew. The project organizer is a world language teacher in an English-speaking country who I feel I "know" in that twitter/blogger way and whose work I respect. The project uses food as a theme- sharing our foods and our languages. Liat, our fourth grade Hebrew teacher, agreed to work with me; the students were interested as well.

Clusters

Let me make it clear that, while I have joined many of these projects, I have never organized one. I try to be a helpful participant, to stay on top of things and to contribute meaningfully, but I can only imagine the work that goes into actually organizing it. The organizer of this project decided that it would be more manageable to group schools into smaller clusters to allow for more extensive contact. Our school was "clustered" with one school in Australia and a second school in an Arabic nation. I was very excited to be partnered with the Arabic school. Because I believe that, through these types of projects we can teach peace by accentuating how much we are alike and by planting the seeds of understanding, I thought that having our school partnered with this school represented a unique opportunity.

As I have stated, our school is a Jewish school with an English-Hebrew curriculum. We have strong ties to Israel- the Israeli flag flies alongside the American flag, students sing the Hatikvah (Israeli national anthem) every morning, many of our teachers are Israeli.

It is widely known that there is a history of conflict and violence between Israel and its Arabic neighbors. It is truly a horrible situation that exists between these countries, and I can not claim to be an unbiased observer. Still I felt excited that our two classes might have an opportunity to talk about lunch and languages as part of a friendly school project.

It was not to be. Almost immediately after the cluster groupings were shared, I received another email saying that there was to be a change. That change was to separate our school from the Arabic-speaking school. I was disappointed but not surprised.

And then...

As part of the project, each school was to contribute a slide that showed a picture of a "typical" lunch in your country, as well as the name of the country written in your two languages. Here is the slide we shared:

Pretty benign, right? A PBJ sandwich with some cheese puffs- a typical lunch for kids at our school. It was interesting for our students to hear the comments as other schools reacted to our slide- they liked the sandwich, they didn't like the sandwich, the lunch looked unhealthy, etc.

In the course of sharing information about our school and viewing the media shared by the other schools, we visited the wiki page of the Arabic school. First we looked at pictures and video showing typical food from their country, which is located in the same part of the world as Israel. Liat, who is Israeli, pointed out the similarities between their food and Israeli food (more alike than different?) Then we watched an adorable video of the students reacting to the slideshow. Liat and I both noticed that all of the slides were shown except for the one from our school.

I had not reacted when our clusters were changed, but now I was upset. The teacher would not even allow her students to view the slide from our school? I felt that to purposely ignore one school went against one of the main goals of the project- cultural awareness.

Naive

I emailed the project organizer to share my feelings.

Today we watched the "reaction to the lunches" video from the school in ___, where they showed every slide except for the one we uploaded, which had some writing in Hebrew. What is the point of doing a "global awareness" project if not to promote tolerance, acceptance and eventually to teach the next generation that things like hatred and anti-semitism must be overcome?...I feel that no school in the project should be allowed to simply ignore another school because of language or culture. I am really upset by this... How do you teach 9-10 year olds that people in the world hate Jews so much that the adults will not allow the children to look at a slide that has Hebrew writing on it?

The resulting email conversation really opened my eyes and made me realize how sheltered and naive I am. This is from the teacher in the Arabic-speaking school (from an email she sent to the project organizer):

I do believe that we are really one world and one heart, no matter where we come from or what our religion is...We can't make any relation with Israel no matter what the relation is. It will be dangerous for me and for my family...I feel sorry not being able to communicate with her...but this is the situation in our country.

I can not imagine putting myself and my family in danger through my participation in a project, no matter what countries were involved. From my comfortable vantage point here in the US, I have been able to shelter myself from some truths about the world. I allowed myself to believe that all you need are good intentions, that individuals connecting could eventually change the world. I still believe in education and friendships, learning about others, tolerance and global awareness. I just feel incredibly naive and incredibly grateful that I live in a place where I am able to have such naivete. I am not the only one. From the project organizer (who lives on another continent):

When I made up those clusters I had no idea that having your two schools together would be a problem. When ___first emailed me I immediately thought that I should have been more aware and perhaps not put your two schools in the same group to begin with which is why I was so quick to change the groups...it is not a situation I am very familiar with...

Here is another point-of-view, from the Rabbi who is associated with our school:

Given the political climate in ______, this teacher may be justifiably fearful (as I’m sure that there would have been German teachers in the 30s). That being said, if the [project] folk can rationalize the discrimination (after all, this is not our school issuing Israeli political propaganda, but simply existing and being itself), it does quite the opposite of promoting co-existence. Participants in______ can’t have it both ways – global understanding . . . except for those whose right to exist we won’t acknowledge.

I find all of these reactions understandable and also confusing. I understand the emotions of fear, anger, denial and regret. I understand being unfamiliar with certain parts of the world and their problems. I don't understand what to do with it all.

Never would I want to put another teacher or her family at risk. Nor do I want my students to learn firsthand, through a school project, about hatred, discrimination, anti-semitism/anti-Israel or that the world can be a confusing, conflicted and violent place. It is especially difficult when these harsh sentiments are directed at them, as Jews and supporters of Israel.

To be honest with myself, I am nervous about posting this. It feels like I'm stirring up some dust that might turn out to be poison. However, I feel hopeful that something good might still come of it.

Image Credit: AWW80S-Skype with Minnesota

10 Thoughts After EduCon Day 1

2011-01-29T17:53:00.005-05:00

I've had an interesting week and, of course, a lot of interesting conversation today at Educon. My usual practice is to try to mull it all over and write a coherent piece on the blog, but for the sake of getting it done, I've decided to mix it up. I'm just throwing out the first 10 complete (random) thoughts that make their way onto the page. Publish post. And worry about fleshing it all out at a later date...

1. I need to blog more. I am doing good work and learning a lot. The missing piece is that I do not reflect and share enough. Actually, I reflect almost constantly in my head or in my daily conversations with Silvia. It's the sharing piece that is missing, as well as pushing myself to organize the ideas and communicate them to others who may not have the same background knowledge. I get in my own way with my expectations for each blog post. Sometimes less is more.

2. I am glad I brought the big heavy boots (thanks, Marjie) and not glad I brought the big heavy SLR camera. I should have stuck with just using my iphone as a camera. As much as I love photography, I love traveling light even more.

3. Talking is an important part of my learning. My 6 year-old son frequently interrupts others, saying, "I NEED to talk." One of the hardest things for him in school is how much he is not allowed to talk. Once, when having yet another discussion with him about school behavior, he looked down sadly and said, "I just want to be able to talk."

I have to admit that I can relate to this. I think I am a good listener, too, and I don't need to talk all the time, nor do I think I talk too much (most of the time). However, I LOVE the Educon model of a conversation. Participating is an important part of my learning. If I'm not included in the conversation, like with a traditional presentation, I usually turn to tweeting to get my talking fix. But I prefer actively engaging with the ideas as opposed to just listening and taking notes.

4. If I feel this way, others must feel this way, too. I think one of the biggest things I've taken away from the Educon and Edubloggercon model is that professional development has to change. Just like classroom teaching has to change. I think maybe as teachers and presenters we get overly bogged down in how much there is to say. We just want to make sure not to miss an important point or resource. However, actions speak louder than words, and I think I speak for a lot of teachers when I say that teachers are tired of the hypocrisy of a presenter talking at teachers telling them not to teach by talking at students. PD must become more active and engaging.

A lot of teachers complain of feeling overwhelmed after professional development, where so much is introduced at once by a well-meaning presenter. I think that a common response to this feeling is to totally shut down. Less is more!

5. I really liked the lunchtime "Encienda EduCon" where people delivered a 5 minute talk using 20 slides that automatically advanced. I think this would be an excellent model for site-based professional development. I would love to hear from every teacher at my school this way. I think it would have far-reaching implications.

---It is already day 2 now, and I didn't get past #5. But it's time to pay attention again... so much to learn. I'm going to stop here and publish. Sorry if my title was a bit misleading...

6. 7. 8. 9. 10. I guess less is more!

Sharing Our Learning

2011-01-07T08:39:00.005-05:00

Image credit: Silvia Tolisano New Roles for developing empowered learners

Adapted from Alan November (pp.188-193), Curriculum 21 (ASCD, 2010) by Heidi Hayes Jacobs.

At our school, we frequently reference Alan November's "Roles for Empowered Learners." Silvia's recent blog post on Langwitches Blog, "What do you have to lose?" speaks of the importance of educators sharing their work. In it, she references this quote, from Ewan McIntosh: "Sharing, and sharing online specifically, is not in addition to the work of being an educator. It is the work."

We know that students thrive on meaningful work and an authentic audience. We also know that when students reflect on their work, teach others, and use language to describe their process, learning is deepened and reinforced. Does it not stand to reason that students, as well as their teachers, have a strong impetus to share their learning, and to share their learning online specifically,where they have the potential for a wide audience, interaction and feedback?

One of our 2nd grade classes did just that with their blog post, Trading Card Experts. After creating several trading cards, each one the extension of a reading assignment, the students felt that they had developed sufficient expertise to become tutorial designers.

A classroom blog provides an easy forum for students to reflect and share in this way. The process of collaborative writing is extremely rich with opportunities for developing students' skills in both reading and writing. When students are sharing what THEY know, interest is high. Students, proud of their accomplishments, know that this is important writing. They want to get it right.

The wordpress blog provides authentic reinforcement of the writing process.
After starting a new post, we clicked "save draft." When we next worked on that post, we chose "edit post." As students read their writing aloud, they began to understand the importance of hearing how the writing sounds. The revision process came to life as respectful suggestions were made, discussed, and decided upon by group agreement or popular vote. Finally, students gathered together at the SMARTboard, to click "publish."

Learning is sharing and sharing is most definitely learning. No longer do the four walls of a classroom define the learning environment, and no longer do the students work for the "audience of one." Students are engaged in meaningful learning when they share their work publicly as participants in a global community of learners. No longer is the writing process a series of posters on the wall or words repeated by a teacher. No longer does "publish" mean copying over your work in your nicest handwriting using magic marker. Using the classroom blog for reflection and sharing represents one example of the kind of upgrade recommended by Heidi Hayes Jacobs in Curriculum 21.

Here is the original, collaboratively-written post "Trading Card Experts." Since we are in the beginning stages of blogging in the classroom, our 2nd grade blog is not yet open for public commenting. However, the students would very much appreciate any feedback you would like to share with them.

Trading Card Experts

We have made three trading cards in the computer lab. The first one we did was about ourselves. The second one was about what we thought was the strongest element or thing in the world. We read a story called "The Strongest One," and that is how we got the idea to make that trading card. The third trading card we created was about a rescue dog. In our reading book we read a story about rescue dogs.

Now we are experts because we know how to make trading cards very well. It was fun making trading cards. You should make a trading card, too.

How-to Make a Trading Card

Step 1- Go to BigHugeLabs. Scroll down and choose "trading card." (Or you can click on the picture below. We made it a link.)

Step 2- Use a picture that you have saved on your computer. We save ours to the desktop so that we can easily find it. Next click on "choose file" to find your picture and upload it.

Step 3- Click on one of the three choices for where the picture goes "top left, bottom right or center." Then pick your background color.

Step 4- Choose a title for your card. For example, on a trading card about the strongest element, the title might be "Hail." The sub-title would be "The Strongest One." Another example from one of our trading cards is title: "Rescue Dogs" and sub-title: "German Shepherds."

For the description, we wrote adjectives that described our topic, and we also wrote one or two sentences. We pre-wrote our thoughts in our journals before we went to the computer lab.

Step 5-

We did not choose any icons, but you could if you want. Next, press create and you will see your trading card.

Step 6- Then look at your card, and make sure it looks the way you like. Read it over to make sure you don't have any mistakes. If you need to change something, click "edit" to go back. If it is the way you want it to be, click "save" and if you want to print it, click "print."

We hope you have fun making your trading cards. We hope our directions help you. Thank you for reading our blog post. Please leave a comment if you have any questions for us or to tell us about your trading cards.
- by Miss Stein's 2nd graders.

Upgrading the Reading Log

2010-11-29T10:31:00.017-05:00

I love Shelfari, a social networking site for readers. I am an avid reader, but not a big collector of physical books. I don't have an ereader; I do read books. However, I get a lot of my reads from the public library or borrowed from friends. If I do buy a book and love it, the first thing I usually do is pass it on to someone else I think will enjoy it. Therefore, my bookshelves do not represent my life as a reader. Enter Shelfari. Now, I can have the pleasure of a beautiful bookshelf to display my books. It helps me remember what I have read and when, what I liked, what I loved.... If anyone else is interested in my reading, they can "friend" me and peruse my shelves. I have recently started including on my shelfari shelves the books I read aloud to my children, as well. I'm happy to have a way to remember those precious moments spent each night at bedtime, even after the physical books have made their way back to the library or shared with others.

I am a big believer in using authentic tools and processes to develop habits of literacy with students. One of my least favorite of all "schooly" inventions is the reading log. Real readers catalog and share their reading in a variety of ways, but I have yet to meet the adult reader who keeps a reading log showing how many pages read of a particular book at each reading session. I've even seen reading logs that require children to count how many words they've read and how many minutes they've engaged in reading. What real reader counts pages or minutes? It is ironic that an activity designed to help ignite a love of reading can be exactly what sucks the very life from it. Teachers looking for accountability have devised this tool with best intentions in mind, I am sure. However, as a parent I can tell you that the reading log, besides being inauthentic, is also difficult to maintain and provides no motivation or impetus for engagement. I know I could be fairly accused of being opinionated, however, it's not just me who has thoughts about reading logs. This post from a mom, titled "I Hate Reading Logs" garnered 692 comments!

Upgrading the Reading Log-

As an adult who loves to read, I also love Shelfari. This is the litmus test I use. If I find something motivating and engaging, if it is a genuine part of who I am as a reader, than I believe it is potentially useful for students who are developing their reading-selves and teachers who are helping them to do this. There are many possibilities for using Shelfari with students as a way to monitor what your students are reading outside of class. As an added bonus, Shelfari promotes the social aspects of reading, gives students a place to share with and learn from others, and helps students begin to understand that what they read is part of their identity.

How-to:

In order to create a shelfari account, students must have an email address.
Shelfari How To

Once your students have created their accounts, they can create and upload avatars, add friends and start exploring the site. In order to add friends, students should use the "advanced search" and type in the friend's email address. This is easy to do if you use school email addresses with a predictable format. Teachers can also experiment with creating groups and having students add certain books to the group shelf. Students and/or classes who blog have the very cool option to create a widget to post their Shelfari shelf on their blog. Creative teachers will find that there are many ways to adapt the tool for your students. Try things out, explore and have fun. Please share in the comments if you have good strategies, things to watch out for or any other thoughts about using Shelfari with students.

An Expert Opinion

2010-11-06T08:23:00.004-04:00

I have a secret wish.

Sometimes I dream of going to one of the "big name schools" to get a PhD in education. It's not because of a desire to advance in the field or teach at a higher level; it's to get the stamp of approval so that people will listen to me with respect.

Not to take anything away from people who follow a path of formal study and research, but I question our cultural obsession with the opinions of experts. I could tell you a thing I have witnessed through direct personal experience. However, if that exact same idea was published as part of an article in the Harvard Educational Review, it would now be received through a lens of credibility that my anecdotal experience could never achieve. I suppose that is as it should be, but only to a point.

The problem occurs when we become unable to trust anyone who isn't deemed expert by virtue of a degree or position, when we give no credence to our own senses, when we are blinded to the messages of our hearts and minds. Experts are people- flawed, human and capable of changing their minds. Knowledge is in a constant state of flux. Statistics gathered through research are open to subjective interpretation. I am formally well-educated enough (by society's standards) to know that this is true.

I have always kept my own counsel. My father loves to tell the story of when I was 12 years old, and he took me to the orthodontist. The doctor was reviewing the x-rays with my father, showing him which teeth would need to be extracted, when I said, "You're reading them backwards." The orthodontist was stunned but admitted that I was, indeed, correct.

A colleague of mine was accepted into a PhD program at an illustrious institution. She is a brilliant educator and writer; I had no doubt that her application would be accepted. However, after visiting the school and learning more about the program, she decided that her gifts were better used in schools with students and teachers. Is she less of an expert than she would be if she was pursuing a formal PhD? She spends every day doing action research in the classroom, reading, learning, sharing, writing. I value her expertise more than that of a researcher who devises a study and watches from an objective perch, with no knowledge of the bigger picture of the situation.

I am a big-picturist. I think that everyone has a piece to the puzzle. To give more weight to certain pieces and completely ignore others lacks coherence and common sense. I think we have the responsibility to work as best we can with the facts we possess while trying to learn from others and consult with experts as indicated. Ultimately though, the decisions we make are our own responsibility. Keep your own counsel.

Planning + Collaboration = Success

2010-11-04T13:26:00.003-04:00

I am so excited to share this fire safety PSA created by a second grade class. I think this represents an example of what can be achieved with good planning and collaboration between the classroom teacher and an integration facilitator- someone to help with the technology.

Many classroom teachers simply do not have the time and/or the technical skills to do such a project on their own, and a computer lab resource teacher does not have the necessary time to work and plan with the students.

The idea for this came from an email notification about The Fire Safety Project, a video contest for students. The teacher and I agreed that this would be a worthwhile and appropriate project for the class.

We spent several classes in the classroom, planning. This is something that, as a lab resource teacher, I was never able to do. It was hard to have students come into the computer lab and then not go onto the computers. If I tried to have them plan on the computers, the computers often got in the way, due to technical skills issues and other distractions.

Planning is key-

First we watched some fire safety public service announcements. The students took notes on the fire safety and prevention tips. We talked about what makes a video interesting, what makes a video stick in your mind, how to best communicate through this medium. We also discussed the idea of a PSA- using your movie to teach others.

Then we brainstormed ideas for our movie. Through the brainstorming process (which took two whole classes) students considered several different concepts and ideas for the video. They really took ownership- discussing, deciding, revising- until they agreed upon a slogan and 5 safety and prevention tips.

We filmed pairs of students saying "Stay safe, Be cool. Don't be a fool" and students created individual storyboards to generate ideas for filming the 5 tips. Finally we created a whole class storyboard:

We used the storyboard as a guide as we filmed each scene.

Student ownership-

This project completely belonged to the students. The students came up with each and every idea for how to film the scenes, what to say, what props to use. If they didn't think it was right, they did it again, changing, adding, subtracting, improving. I can not emphasize enough the involvement and ownership of the students in each and every decision. They showed patience, perseverance, creativity and an impressive ability to work together as a group.

Process and Product

The process worked, and the students are so proud of their video. Whether it wins the $10,000 prize or not, they have achieved success. Please take a minute and a half to view their video and leave them a comment.

It's all just talk until you DO It

2010-10-19T21:05:00.007-04:00

Theory. Or practice?

It is one of those sticking points I bump up against over and over again in education circles. The talkers are often not the teachers; the teachers who are working hard every day in classrooms with students often don't have time to theorize, write, tweet all night, present at or even attend many conferences.

I am personally aware of many exceptions to this, and, frankly, I have no idea how they do it.

But I don't want to argue, blame or criticize nor do I want to praise or name names. Everyone has a role to play, and anyone who cares enough about education to devote themselves to it at any level, in any way, has my appreciation and respect.

Something really stood out, though, to me tonight during the weekly edchat on twitter. The topic for discussion was about assessment, and many tweeters were glorifying eportfolios as a form of assessment. I jumped into the chat, as I am working this year on piloting eportfolios with students. Yes, I said working and with students. I tweeted-

(and then re-tweeted it again since no one responded).

I did get a few "try so and so, I think they are doing portfolios..." and one tweeter who responded that he is planning to try them next year. And I did get one person to join the new digital portfolios group I created at the Curriculum 21 ning.

This eportfolios experiment is proving to be one of the most challenging things I have undertaken with K-8 students. Most of the high-quality samples I have found are from adults and college/grad school students (education and graphic design).

I'm certainly not advocating that we don't talk about anything unless we've tried it. Everything has to begin in the ideas-talking-thinking stage...

It is just making me wonder how much of the "teachers should be doing this" talk is based in real-teacher, real-classroom, real-school reality.

image credit

Homework-Parenting Dilemmas

2010-10-03T12:36:00.002-04:00

I am not a big believer in the value of homework. Though not as vehement in my opposition as some, I just don't find it all that useful, especially in the lower grades. I have read many interesting articles and reviews of the research, but I am not going to go into that here. Mainly I want to explore and seek feedback on the dilemma that I am presented with as a parent.

I understand that my children's teachers have different views than I. I accept that my children attend a school where assigning homework is required. My strategy, for the most part, has been to work homework into our after-school routine and let the kids do it themselves. I rarely look at it unless my help is specifically requested, which it rarely is.

When I do look at the work, I find it consists of a bit of practice or busy-work; occasionally there is a "project" requiring me to go to the store and buy a poster-board or some art supplies.

In my own defense, I do engage with my children in many ways that, I believe, impact them educationally. I read aloud to each of my children almost every night, discussing and laughing over stories and characters. We play word games like Boggle and Scrabble. My son and I have a beloved storytelling game that we have been playing for years. I bake with them. We play board games and thinking games, guessing games and Mad Libs.

But when it comes to homework, I am just not that involved. And I wonder, sometimes, if I'm doing something wrong. I see how involved other parents are in their child's homework, taking the opportunity to teach their child and help them. They show them, through this, that school is important and that they care. Although I am not outwardly negative about the homework and I do what is required of me, I do not give my children that extra bit of help and attention where homework is concerned. This is not my way of protesting my children's homework, it is simply the last thing I care to spend my precious minutes on, in a busy family and work-filled life.

Am I doing a disservice?

Last night my daughter and her friend worked on an assignment to create a flyer about Florida. I set them up with two laptops and left them to the task. Afterwards, the friend's mom noticed a spelling error in her daughter's work and asked me to reprint her flyer. I then took a moment to look at my own daughter's work. There were several errors of spelling and punctuation. I now feel that I should sit with her and help her correct her mistakes, and I very well might, but is this MY job? Or is this the teacher's job? I know that parents and teachers are in partnership together. I am not trying to be dense or difficult or to push an anti-homework agenda. I am questioning the purpose of why we do what we do, we being teachers, as I am also a teacher. I am also faced with a dilemma: as an educator who cares very much about learning and substance and very little about grades, do I try to care more about the grades in order to help my children? The other mom said that she thought it was important to correct her daughter's work because the flyer counts for a "quiz grade." I had to admit that I had no idea what kind of grade the flyer counted for and I personally don't feel motivated to help my daughter because something counts as a "quiz grade." If I help my daughter it will be because I do want her to learn (and think she should already know) that Florida starts with a capital "F," and you should always read over and check your work before printing.

My daughter, when asked, rarely understands the purpose of her work. She tries very hard to comply with what is asked of her, not understanding the learning behind it. I try hard to be true to myself while also trusting my children's teachers and being generally supportive. What do you think? Is homework a parent's responsibility?

The Dark Side of EdTech??

2010-09-28T15:28:00.008-04:00

There is something on my mind...

Those of us who have been drinking the EdTech Kool Aid sing the praises of our gadgets and tools. Integrate! Engage! Connect! Web 2.0! It's all good, if only everyone would do it right. Right? But more and more I find myself wondering if we are simply ignoring another inconvenient truth. Is sustainability the overlooked 21st century literacy?

In this blog post "I Call B.S.," written after TEDxDenverEd this past summer, the blogger complains that TEDx had a "secondary agenda" beyond the realm of pure education.

"Despite hearing from some amazing educators, there was an obvious trend with a political and social agenda. One that I wasn’t expecting and it really caught me off guard. More towards the end of the evening, the presentations were increasingly chocked full of buzzwords like: food justice, activism, organic, global citizenship, green, climate change, social justice, vegatarian, brown, awareness, community, school garden, nutrition, empowerment, global model, and environmental literacy."

As I read the post again, I appreciate his point about education conferences being cluttered with buzzwords that can detract from the most important and enduring value of education- the connection between students and teachers. However, can we really keep separating ourselves from our source? We must have clean food and water to sustain our existence. Education, as important as it is, is secondary to basic survival and quality of life. I fail to understand the offensiveness of an agenda that recognizes that schools must address issues of sustainability if we are to maintain a quality of life that affords us to grow and learn and create into the future. Dr. Tim Tyson, in his excellent post Do We So Easily Fool Ourselves? asks,

"Have we really become this selfish: we demand the good life, all of it. We want it now. We will sacrifice the future to have this moment?"

What does sustainability and selfishness have to do with the "dark side" of educational technology? As technology enables us to do more, think more, share more, create more, connect more and in many cases live a better quality of life, I sometimes wonder if we are indeed sacrificing the future to have this moment?

Writing a Class Mission Statement

2010-09-20T21:55:00.011-04:00

In thinking about the digital portfolios, I have decided that a good place to begin is by having the students in 5th grade and 8th grade write personal mission statements. Since hearing Stephen Covey and his son, Sean Covey, speak about The Leader in Me, a program designed to teach leadership skills to young students, I have had a revived interest in the 7 Habits of Highly Effective People (and teens and happy kids...they're all the same habits).

Habit #2 "Begin with the end in mind" is the habit that inspired the personal mission statement. This is the hardest habit for me, personally, so maybe I'm projecting, but I think that for a lot of students it is also hard to think of the future. They may not understand how what they are doing in 5th grade or 8th grade is part of the foundation for who they will become.

I like the idea of writing a personal mission statement as a focus for the portfolio because the portfolio is about reflective growth as a learner. What better way to begin... than with the end in mind. Why are you in school? What is your purpose? What are your goals?

I see the personal mission statement as being more general, more direct, than a list of learning goals or, as in the case of a teacher's portfolio, a teaching philosophy. It will not necessarily take the place of these; both could be included.

In trying to craft a lesson on writing a personal mission statement I looked at lots of tools, examples and ideas. This is what I have come up with for 5th grade.

As an introduction to the concept, we will read together our school's mission statement.

We will view this video created by a 4th grade class to illustrate their vision for the year.

Next, we will use wallwisher to collaboratively brainstorm a class mission statement. Students will answer these 3 questions:

-Why are you here?

-What do you most want to learn this year?

-How will we accomplish our goals?

Students will then organize their answers into categories and use each category to create a sentence or two for the mission statement.

That will probably be enough for one day. I see this exercise as a stepping-stone on the path to writing a personal mission statement. I am going to work with 5th grade this afternoon, and I will share results.

Digital Portfolios- Beginning the Process

2010-09-08T13:15:00.003-04:00

One of my main tasks this year is to pilot the implementation of digital portfolios. Right now it is an amorphous idea, and I need to (very quickly) make it concrete so that I can go back to sleeping at night.

First steps-

1. Decide to focus on grades K, 5 and 8. --DONE

2. Decide what platform to use for the portfolios. We have decided to use wp multi-user, hosted on our website. Each student will have their own site for their portfolio. --( sites have been set up/are currently being set up. I need to follow up on this and finish creating sites that have yet to be set up.)

Next steps:

-Meet with teachers to formulate a timeline, standards and process for artifact collection and evaluation/reflection.

-explore resources and examples. Formulate a template or templates and a plan for each grade K, 5 and 8.

Process, thoughts, and ideas:

-Met with 8th grade language arts teacher.

We assigned tasks:

•Teacher is responsible for creating a rubric for the language arts section of the portfolio.

•Teacher is responsible for deciding on required work samples to be included in the portfolio.

•I am responsible for creating a template and a timeline.

We discussed having each student present their portfolio at the end of the year to a group of adults (parents, principal, teachers, representative from high school, etc).

-I really like the idea (from 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens) of formulating a personal mission statement. I envision this as the home page of the portfolio. I have discussed this idea with the 8th grade LA teacher and the 5th grade general studies teacher. I ordered the 7 Habits of Highly Effective Teens workbook and have started exploring online tools for learning about and creating a personal mission statement. One site I plan to explore in further depth and possibly use with students is this one from Franklin-Covey. I need to reserve some time in my schedule to plan this lesson.

Ideas: share the mission in writing, view the mission in wordle, student reads the mission statement on video as the intro to themselves and their work.

-I have begun creating my own professional digital portfolio. As I work with students I will be doing many of the same steps they are doing. For example, I will also work to define my personal mission statement.

-I need to learn how to format the wordpress sites in order to design a template for each grade level. I have scheduled time with Silvia to work with me on this.

-I briefly spoke and brainstormed with Kindergarten teachers. We need to meet again soon to formulate a plan.

-I have been bookmarking examples and resources on delicious. I need to make time to explore these to mine for ideas.

-I started a digital portfolio group on the Curriculum 21 ning as a way to connect with others who are at various stages in this process. Please join me there.

Now that I've taken the time to document some of the things that I have done, I feel a little bit better. There is much to do, but it is about the process (and the product) but more about the process (and sharing, documenting, and reflecting on the process).

A New Blog

2010-09-04T18:16:00.004-04:00

At the end of last school year, I wrote the post "Off the Mat" with some thoughts about a new blog I wanted to start. Today I created it, and would like to invite any interested readers to check it out. I love EdTech Workshop and plan to continue blogging here with the topics of education and educational technology.

The new blog is a more open space for me to explore things I think about. I will probably write a lot about yoga, parenting and other things that don't really fit with the EdTech theme.

Effort and Ease

2010-09-04T10:33:00.004-04:00

In yoga, the word "asana" refers to the physical postures. Most of the sanskrit names for the postures contain the word asana, as in trikonasana (triangle pose) and vrksasana (tree pose). In each asana, the yogi seeks the balance between effort and ease.

I have been thinking about this idea in my "off the mat" life, specifically work. I need to find the balance between effort and ease in my professional life.

If you've been reading my blog, you already know something about my work and the changes that have been occurring at my school. When I compare the use of educational technology at the school today with when I started working there four years ago, I am pleased and a bit amazed.

Everything at work is great. We have a new head of school who really "gets it." I get to work with Silvia Tolisano, who is brilliant, and I learn from her every minute we spend together. I work with my good friend, Kim, the best technology assistant in the world, bar none (really, assistant is the wrong title for her, she is so much more than that). Our teachers are blogging on brand new macbooks, our website has evolved from a static site to a dynamic hub of communication, I am charged with the exciting task of working with students and teachers to begin the process of digital portfolios. I have increased my skills and abilities to the point where I could go almost anywhere from here. In short, I have gotten pretty much everything I ever wanted.

So why do I feel stressed and overwhelmed? And what am I going to do about it?

I need to find that place between effort and ease. There is so much to do. I have long lists of blog posts I want to write. My google reader overflows. I can not keep up. I want to do have the time to do things properly. Every task takes time. I feel rushed and pressured, and I feel that my co-workers don't understand why I can't always stop whatever I'm doing and run to show them, for the 50th time, how to reset an airport when the signal goes weak or rename a printer that has lost its network connection. And before you suggest I create a "how-to" sheet, please understand that I did that years ago.

I love my work. What I don't love is the feeling of anxiety that keeps me up at night, the feeling of being spread too thin, my energies scattered. My eyes hurt. I don't even know if I believe in the power of educational technology as much as I once did.

Effort- I work hard every day. I try to keep up, keep things working, and continue to grow. I learn from my mistakes. I reflect after every lesson, every encounter, every situation. I am there to help, and I try my hardest to respond with patience to every person who approaches me. I am a team-player, and it is not just luck that I get to work with people of the caliber of Silvia and Kim. My to-do list overflows. I do my best to prioritize, strategize, and share.

Ease- I remind myself to stay in the moment. I breathe in and out. I try to remember that, ultimately, my job is not so much about technology (try to tell me that when things aren't working, though); my purpose for being where I am is to build relationships. It is about helping people. I can only do so much. I need to have faith-- in myself, in the students, in my colleagues. I must make time (and space in my brain) for rest and relaxation. Worry has no place in the picture. It doesn't add to my productivity. If people don't understand what I do all day, that is not my problem.

Amazing!

2010-07-31T21:37:00.004-04:00

Alan Levine asked for "Amazing Stories of Sharing."

"We asked colleagues to share with us a video of their own stories of something surprising, valuable, powerful or just plain inspiring that happened when that piece of media, that document, that video, that blog post, became valuable to someone they did not know before. "

I've referred to this story before when I wrote about serendipity and change. I think it is truly an amazing story, and I fully believe that openness and sharing leads to amazing things. Here is the story of how I met Silvia Tolisano, we became virtual colleagues through blogs and twitter, and eventually (and amazingly), became real-life colleagues. Who knows what's next?

Why Buy Software in a Web 2.0 World?

2010-07-26T20:40:00.001-04:00

I have had a few people ask my advice recently about what software to purchase to "do" more 21st Century-centric learning in their school. My answer, in a nutshell, is that I think funds are best spent on hardware: updated, webcam-enabled laptops (preferable) or desktop computers, flip cameras, still cameras and, of course, a ceiling-mounted projector (a necessity in any classroom these days. I could not imagine teaching without one).

Most of the best tools-blogs, wikis, google apps, even photo editors and mind-mapping tools- are available for free online. Other, excellent software is available to be freely downloaded, so why spend any money on software, especially when money in schools is in short supply?

I have a few parts to my answer (and in a follow-up post, I will tell you what I use in my computer lab at school):

First of all, let's remember the old saying about no free lunch. I think this is basically true or, at least, the free lunch only seems free. Maybe it's free drinks and appetizers....not the whole meal. If you think about it, everything costs. There are people working to create these applications; they must get paid. There is server space and other costs involved. Twitter is unusual, in that it is free to use and free of ads-- at least for now. Everyone thought ning was paid for by advertisements, but recently ning announced a monthly fee. Many people who had started nings were left to figure out what to do...try to move the entire community to another space or get stuck paying $19.95/month to keep the established site.

There are plenty more examples, but remember, most sites must get revenue somehow. Either advertising abounds or you get a "lite" version of the service or a trial version, and once you decide it's worth it or you want more from it, you can pay for the "pro" or the membership or pay for an ad-free space. There are some noteworthy exceptions to this, but I do wonder how long those will stay free.

I don't have a huge problem with this concept. I actually appreciate the chance to try something and get hooked (or not) before deciding if it's worth the price. I have upped my membership to a number of services, and I usually do so willingly. Some sites have education accounts that have varying degrees of "free-ness" for educational use. Wikispaces is amazing and much appreciated- they have given away many ad-free sites for K-12 education with, so far, nothing in the fine-print, no long waiting periods to be approved and no take-backs (as in "it was free, but we're taking it back." ) In most cases, I've found that there is something about the educator account that ends up being less than what the paying folks get. But, hey, it is what it is.

There is open-source software. I love the idea of open-source, and I use it when possible, but I have found it to have its limits. When using it with students (which I admit, I haven't done too much), it seems that there is always some issue or other.

If you are looking to buy software, remember that it's not all created (or supported) equal! Some thoughts:

-download the trial version to all of your classroom computers, and let the kids be the judge!

-I personally dislike software with a lot of "bells and whistles" or so-called "educational games" that are really glorified worksheets with games to play in between.

-Ask around. What do other teachers like? Before purchasing anything, however, always try it out yourself.

-Take your time. There is plenty to do on a computer these days without spending a dime on additional software. Figure out what your needs are before thinking about filling them.

-I really like software and sites that are "open-ended." To me, these are the most worthwhile programs in the classroom. Think Tech4Learning, Inspiration, Fablevision, Scratch - programs that give the learner the tools to create and solve problems.

I've always loved this Jaron Lanier quote:

" We already knew that kids learned computer technology more easily than adults. What we're seeing now is that they don't even need to be taught. It is as if children were waiting all these centuries for someone to invent their native language."

--Jaron Lanier

I agree, kids don't need to be taught, per se. But think about the native language analogy. We don't "teach" kids their native language. Yet, most people speak to babies and very young children using simple words, rhymes, repetitions, etc. We know that a child just learning to speak will have a more simple vocabulary.

It is the same with tech skills. A few, carefully chosen software purchases, can provide scaffolding in developing software skills for young students. For example, Kindergarten kids enjoy using Pixie. They can playfully explore the program. It's accessible, fun and they can do more with it as they become more skilled. Yet the interface is similar to that of advanced programs like Photoshop, so they are acquiring skills that are transferable to other applications. Find programs that help children grow into independent and creative computer users.

ISTE10- Through My Lens

2010-07-06T13:29:00.016-04:00

So, by now, almost a week after the final keynote, there have been lots and lots (and LOTS!) of ISTE10 blog posts. I still have an #iste10 search column in Tweetdeck, and, although it is starting to wind down, there are still quite a few tweets. I will process them slowly, over time. We've all heard the apt analogy that learning at a conference like ISTE is like taking a drink of water from a fire hydrant.

Last year was my first time attending NECC (now known as ISTE). I was overwhelmed and spent way too much time wandering aimlessly, afraid to miss something good. This time, I knew that I would barely scratch the surface of possibility, and I made my peace with that before leaving home. My strategy was not to worry, to enjoy what came my way, to make the most of each moment and every conversation and to take time to recharge my batteries, literally and figuratively.

As I wrote in an earlier post, I had the exciting opportunity this year to attend ISTE as a tweeter/blogger for my favorite software company, Tech4Learning. One of the best things about this was that it imposed a filter for the conference. Rather than making me feel confined, having a focus helped me to not feel so overwhelmed. The theme for ISTE this year was "Exploring Excellence." Tech4Learning is a company that strives for excellence in what they do. I appreciate their strong alignment with what works in education and their genuine desire to provide the best tools for students to "engage, create and share."

I tried to "mix it up" in terms of finding different ways to view the conference through the Tech4Learning lens. I had a lot of fun videotaping people at the T4L booth and events. A big thank you to everyone who spoke to me on-camera!

To read more about information overload and filters, including some excellent graphics, check out this post.

image credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/zaneselvans/3908076784/

The Path of Your Heart

2010-06-29T11:34:00.014-04:00

I love Tracy Chapman's song "All that you have is your soul. " I love her voice and her words:

"Don't be tempted by the shiny apple, don't you eat of a better fruit. Hunger only for a taste of justice; hunger only for a world of truth. Cause all that you have is your soul.

As I reflect on TEDxDenverEd, what keeps coming to the forefront of my mind is this:

The most important thing you bring to teaching is your soul.

Your soul is your passion, your love for the world, your caring for students and for learning, your desire to share with others. Your passion may not be all that you have, but it's the fuel. Without passion you are an empty shell.

Many things touched me at TED last night. Even though I'm "edtechworkshop," I resonated most with the non-techie speakers- inspiring educators like Brian Crosby, Sarah Elizabeth Ippel, Earthsea, and Dafna Michaelson. I was heartened by the environmental message that, thank goodness, was showcased on the TED stage with equal or greater importance than futuristic tech (5000 days to get it together, people!!!!!)

The two women who spoke as Earthsea, Pandora and Zakiya really struck a chord with me as they talked about weaving your passions into your work, walking your unique path because only you can do what YOU are supposed to be doing in this life. Was it a sign that they are from the Bay Area and showed a video from Hunter's Point, where my own path as an educator began?

Another of the speakers....and I apologize for not remembering who said exactly what. (I'm finishing this post several days later, talks are not yet posted online and I didn't take any notes during the show)....anyway, another of the speakers referred to "islands" of good teaching but asked the poignant question, "Is the ocean supporting the island?"

Sadly, in my experience, the island often has to fight for it's right not to become the ocean.

Why is it so hard to speak the truth, walk the path, be who we truly are? This is a personal struggle for me, and I feel that I do a somewhat decent job of staying one step ahead of the ocean. But I have had at least 10 jobs in 18 years, and I often feel worried. I am different- too opinionated, too passionate. I see things differently than most of those around me, and it is for this reason that I identify with the island/ocean analogy.

Finally, Sarah Elizabeth Ippel...wow. She is more than a decade younger than I, but I would like to be like her when I grow up. (that's a little nod to Adora Svitak -- watch her TED talk, she's

awesome!) I am in awe of Sarah Elizabeth Ippel's fierce determination. This is a woman who trusted her instincts and followed her heart, despite being laughed at and negated over and over again. She submitted her proposal to start the Academy for Global Citizenship 3 times before it was finally approved by the board, and I loved what she said after she submitted in year 3 and was waiting for the response. "I was waiting and thinking, 'Am I going to have to

wait another whole year before I can try again?'" She had no intention of failing, no intention of quitting. She believed in herself, even when the establishment, "the ocean" repeatedly told her no. How many of us have this kind of confidence?

I recently filled out a feedback form about TEDxDenverEd. I summed up my feelings about the night by contrasting how I felt after TEDx with how I feel when watching mainstream media. I find myself feeling hopeless in the face of television news that showcases problems, but rarely solutions or reality shows that glorify excessive over-consumption and mediocrity. After TEDx, I felt hopeful again, inspired. I hope to be able to tap into those feelings in order to keep focused on my own path, to fortify me as I push back that ocean.

A few thoughts after TED

2010-06-29T01:22:00.003-04:00

TEDxDenverEd- An amazing, inspiring night-

1. Be hopeful. Humans are amazing!

2. Weave your passions into your work. Your path is unique- own it. Be courageous, audacious, don't take no for an answer.

3. Solve problems. Collaborate with others to solve problems. Empower the kids to solve their own problems.

4. We only have about 5,000 days left to make serious headway with solving environmental problems before it will be TOO LATE.

I needed this. I had been feeling hopeless; now I feel hopeful. I haven't been doing nearly enough in my job or in my life. I must do more.

I am very inspired by what I saw, heard and experienced tonight. Thank you, TED!

Lifelong Kindergarten- Keeping Imagination & Creativity in the Learning Process

2010-06-28T14:22:00.005-04:00

Mitchell Resnick, MIT's Lifelong Kindergarten

I decided to take my notes from this session in wordle.

Other posts I've written about LLK and Scratch:

Sowing the Seeds for a More Creative Society

Scratch that Itch

some about playful learning:

The Science of Play

Taking Play Seriously

and a great article from The Creative Educator (excellent magazine) on Iconic Pattern Play

Top 10 Components of Effective Technology Leadership

2010-06-28T10:18:00.005-04:00

Chris O'Neal- trains principals at University of Virginia

chris.wikispaces.com

italics are my thoughts...

the room is PACKED. We are packed in so tight I can't drink my coffee...

skoodad....(introducing guy works for them)???

He is apologizing for not having paper handouts, this is the first time he hasn't made paper handouts. That, alone, is making me question whether I am in the right place.

Equity of Access- we can't solve the equity of access issue in students' homes, but we MUST solve the issue during the school day. (Covey-- area of influence, area of control. work on those things that are within your control)

In 2010 kids using technology as a reward for finishing work is educational malpractice.

Every kid in every class must have the same access, not just to the equipment, but to the experiences.

Understanding and Using Data-

Lots of schools make (expensive) decisions based on superficial data (ie: student survey "strongly agree....strongly disagree). need to dig deeper into the data before making decisions.

Effective Professional Development-

What is effective professional development? (good question, even at ISTE, not all sessions are created equal!) He is talking about customizing pd for different grade levels. (I don't think that's necessarily the right approach. I agree about differentiating, but I don't know that just focusing on different grade levels is the answer. I personally, after Educon and EdubloggerCon and my learning style which thrives on interaction, have a hard time sitting in a 100 degree lecture and just listening.....I guess that is the point of blogging and twittering for me.)

"Walk the walk~Talk the talk"-- Model what you want

Leaders use the technology themselves, make it look easy

Vision

http://tinyurl.com/istelead

for vision prioritizing

then paste into wordle, very quick way to bring everyone's ideas together to reshape the vision

Reward Growth- recognize and reward when people are trying to move out of their comfort zones.

Genuine Reflection- most education professionals do not reflect in meaningful ways. We need to reflect after professional development, not just ooh, I want that cool thing. Allow time for refection and encourage others to reflect. What is the one thing I am pulling from this session that I am going to DO? (again, the power of blogging....it is a good start, no?)

Student-driven technology - let the kids do the tech stuff. takes some of the pressure off the teachers.

PLN- get one.

It appears that I missed one of the 10 components of effective technology leadership; I only recorded nine. What do you think #10 should be?

The Stories We Tell -EduBloggerCon #2

2010-06-26T12:08:00.004-04:00

What stories do we tell about education? What stories are broken? What new stories are emerging?

What's "true?"

Old story- The teacher has to know everything.

New story- We all learn from each other. Everyone can be a teacher.

I like "stories we tell" as a way of thinking about what is happening in schools/education.

Old story- all learning takes place in the 4 walls of the school building, School year based on agricultural calendar

New story- Learning is participatory, learning can happen anywhere you are, learning is creative.

Old story- If you aren't attentive when the info is given, you lose.

New story- People learn at different times of the day, in different ways.

Old story -Learning is linear and subjects are separate.

What story or stories do we have to tell about technology in education?

Can our system of education truly adjust or will there be a whole new system that will emerge?

the story about one-to-one laptops is that they're not working... ?? (I hadn't heard this)

Old story -Learning is neat, quiet orderly

New story- Learning is messy!

Old story Curriculum focused on knowledge of information (ie: everyone should know the parts of a flower)

New story learning how to learn

competing stories.

Technology doesn't improve instruction, teachers improve instruction.

New story - Learning is social.

Should the "new stories" be mandated? J. Alba- how to we move toward a paradigm shift large-scale? must be mandated and supported. and a movement away from testing as assessment.

Kevin- Not mandated, invited, inspired-- meet teachers on the front porch with their stories

What can we take away from this that has value? Knowing that these are stories...As humans we identify with stories as a way to explain things but stories change. We are going through a period where we are redefining the way things work because of the internet.

Book recommendation from Kevin Honeycutt- Don't Think of an Elephant

Building Your Brand Online

2010-06-26T11:08:00.004-04:00

Simple K-12
Iheartedtech.com

do you see yourself as a mini-biz? Scott Mcleod....how do you market yourself in a way that reaches people outside of the space you are operating in? brand/marketing helps reach more people.
have to find a personal voice
there is worth in having a brand as a teacher-Scott Mcleod

hiring committee- we looked for people's online presence
- important for employment

Carol Broos- sees a lot in college, wants to see more in K-12
wherever you participate online you are creating a brand, a lot of people haven't consciously worked on creating their brand yet.

How to transition to a new personal brand? move content to ebooks and link to it

keeping "selves" separate ie: having a separate facebook page for personal contacts, a professional brand that is only professional
schools have a fear of social media, need to teach kids how to use it , create brands, represent selves. (Yup, so true)
time commitment, get out of it what you put into it.

What is your goal?
different goals for different people.
many agree that you don't need to necessarily have a goal

Twitter--
How to get districts, schools, classrooms to use twitter?
See EdTechLeader's twitter resources for teachers.

how to increase presence with the blog, using all the pieces to build your brand (twitter, blog, etc). Go to every social networking platform and secure your brand. Even if you don't think you want to use it, secure it. Also think about securing social media sites for your school, even if you're not using them yet.

namechk.com - to check for availability of your name across sites

Postcards from ISTE

2010-06-22T23:06:00.006-04:00

I'm getting so excited for ISTE.

This year, I will be wearing a new hat at the conference- that of ISTE2010 blogger/tweeter for Tech4Learning. It is a wonderful opportunity on so many levels. I only hope I can do justice to the task of sharing all the amazing things that will be happening.

In the old days (when I was a kid), people sent postcards. I remember when my parents or grandparents would travel. They usually arrived home about a week before the postcard arrived.

Tech4Learning has recently introduced a web-based version of Pixie called (what else?) Wixie.

You can use Wixie to create a digital postcard from ISTE that can be shared immediately. Here is mine:

If you're going to be at ISTE, stop by booth #526 to make yours.

Workbook Agita

2010-06-08T07:40:00.012-04:00

Another school year has ended, and once again I am having agita (cool word from a book I am reading, blogger says no such word, but I like it)....anyway having agita as I go through my daughter's big bag of workbooks.

Here are my issues-

1. The workbooks are expensive. Parents are required to buy a workbook for every subject, including a series of workbooks for Hebrew.

2. The workbooks are by-and-large unused. Some of them have only a few pages that have been used.

3. I would prefer for my child to use more authentic tools and materials to learn many of the skills presented in these workbooks. (Boy it took a lot of restraint for me to write that nice sentence. I wanted to just write "Workbooks suck" but I held back.)

4. I hate waste. The books are just used enough that it's hard to find an incoming 3rd grade student who would take them. I certainly don't think my daughter will want to spend her summer answering contrived workbook questions about random paragraphs. I might as well just throw some dollar bills into the recycling bin at the start of each school year, and skip the whole charade.

Every year now I have questioned the reasoning behind having parents spend a lot of money buying workbooks that won't be used. I have not yet received an acceptable answer.

I wish the teachers would have the courage to order only the one or two workbooks they really plan to use. I am ok with my daughter practicing D'Nealian handwriting with a workbook (one of the only books that got used). Who knows if cursive writing will be of use to her in the future, but she enjoys it, and that is fine with me.

If each parent took half the money they would normally spend on workbooks and donated it to a class fund, the teacher could buy lots of real books for children to read and lots of other useful and authentic materials for the classroom.

After 3 years of buying school books, I have spent almost as much money as it would cost to buy my child a macbook, which she would love and could use for a long time, something that would kill those workbooks.

Our school seems to be moving in a new direction. We will be reading Curriculum 21 as a staff this summer and working on upgrading our content, curriculum and assessments. I particularly don't understand the decision to make parents purchase these wasteful and expensive books, year after year. We must not only talk the talk, we must walk the walk. We must take time, at the end of each day and the end of each year, to ask what is working and what is not?

We must have the courage to be real, to let go of the old and to change. If not now, when?

Trust a Teacher

2010-06-06T13:38:00.008-04:00

Perk up your listening ears and you will notice that everyone has an opinion about teachers. Parents have strong viewpoints on which teachers are "good" at their child's school though Parent A and Parent B might strongly disagree on which teacher is the best.

Politicians are forever searching for a way to measure good teaching. Should good teaching be rewarded with better pay? How, then, will we measure good teaching? And, of course, bad teachers should be forced from the classroom!

I purposely use the vague and almost meaningless words "good" and "bad" to introduce the idea that perhaps we need to look at teaching and teachers through a different lens.

What I think it boils down to, in the most basic way, is relationship. Teaching is one half of a relationship.

The teacher-student relationship is archetypal. It is certainly not dependent on a classroom or a school. As I think deeply about teachers and teaching and what I consider to be a good teacher, I keep coming back to trust. As a student (or a parent of a student) I must give over a certain amount of trust to the teacher. This is what, I believe, is being eroded with our personal and societal preoccupations with measuring and quantifying teaching.

As a teacher, you must earn your student's trust. You must commit to do the hard work necessary to be worthy of that trust. You must reinvent yourself, your practice, your lessons, your knowledge. You must deeply understand the way in which each class and every student is unique. To be a true teacher is to want to be in relationship with students, to realize that you teach human beings, not subject matter.

On the flip side, teachers are also special and unique. Teachers are not machines. We are not robots. We can not be expected to talk alike, work alike, manage classrooms alike, have the same notions of what is most important for our students.

As a student and a parent I have my ideas of what good teaching looks like, sounds like, and feels like to me. I also try to remind myself to put these expectations aside, to trust a teacher who may, in many ways, differ from my ideal of a good teacher. Each caring teacher imparts a different lesson.

From time to time I hear the question, "Will computers replace teachers?" With good software and instructional media, can't I learn whatever I want to learn without a teacher? Good instructional design (designed by humans!) is an excellent way to reach learners. However, learners are individuals and instructional software and materials can only reach so far into a learner's soul.

Will computers replace spouses? Will computers replace having children?

"Computers are magnificent tools for the realization of our dreams, but no machine can replace the human spark of compassion, love and understanding." -Louis Gerstner
A story-

Some years back I wanted to learn to play the guitar. I envisioned singing my favorite songs and strumming easily in accompaniment. It was difficult and frustrating to be a beginner, and I had to tap into everything I knew about being a learner.

First of all, I found a teacher. But after weeks of lessons, practice, chords and scales, I still couldn't play a song. I began to get antsy. I started to question my teacher.

When he finally taught me a song, it was not a song I chose, but a song he chose. I was beginning to really question whether I had the right teacher. Other friends with other teachers had learned to play songs early-on. Why was he making me suffer? Why did my first song have to be a difficult jazz song? Why, why, why???

Being a teacher myself, and one who reveres the teacher-student relationship, I calmed myself. Trust him, I thought. He is the teacher. You are the student. He is your guide; you must trust him. Finally he allowed me to choose a song. I chose "Here Comes the Sun" and boy, was I excited. I will tell you that no beginning guitar student has ever played such a complicated and lovely rendition of "Here Comes the Sun." Not just chords, my teacher taught me every note and nuance of the song. The proof came when I played for my friend, Scott, an extremely accomplished guitar player. Scott had been playing guitar for decades, and had not taken a lesson for many years. When he heard his beginner friend play "Here Comes the Sun," he requested my teacher's phone number.

The other day a friend told me she was interested in trying yoga. I mentioned how much I like my studio, that she might want to try a class. She said she had a yoga program on her wii fit. Now, I have to admit I don't have a wii fit, so I don't speak from personal experience. But it seems to me that while a wii fit might be a decent tool for getting a little exercise, I have a hard time imagining how the wii fit could hold a candle to a real yoga teacher who sets the mood, imparts bits of wisdom, adjusts certain poses and guides the journey. I can't imagine the wii fit having a passion for yoga. I have trouble imagining a new student falling in love with yoga through the generic program that is created basically the same for everyone. I will take a real teacher over a machine any day of the week.

Off the Mat

2010-06-04T13:30:00.013-04:00

This is my son, Jack.

Today was Jack's last day of Kindergarten.

Like any parent, I could go on and on about my son-- his talents, his unique attributes. Jack is smart, adventurous, strong and athletic, sensitive and kind, outgoing and friendly. He loves learning, has an incredible memory, is enamored with reading and writing, and craves constant mental stimulation.

He is also fidgety, impulsive and loud. He forgets to raise his hand. He "HAS TO SAY SOMETHING!" Not always welcome attributes in the classroom setting.

Although he was in a small class (only 8 students) at a private school, Jack struggled to fit in this year due to his impulsive behavior. Every day he came home with a number written in a folder, representing how many smiley-faces he received (or didn't get taken away) that day.

As Jack and I discussed his behavior, and why he might have lost a smiley that day, it became apparent to me that a lot of his troubles seemed to occur on the mat. Jack lost smileys for talking on the mat, scraping the mat, writing on the mat, etc. Once he even received an extra smiley for good behavior on the mat.

Our school, in general, seems to struggle to meet the needs of kids, like Jack, who don't seem to fit nicely into the box (ie: sit nicely on the mat). Put Jack in a tree and I think he would listen more attentively.

Look at the mat:

It even looks like a box.

I have just finished my fourth year of teaching at the same school Jack attends. I continue to grow and learn and am lucky to be in a place where I am able to evolve professionally. When I got into the field of educational technology it was sparked by my interest in what motivated students. As I started blogging and tweeting, I chose the name EdTech Workshop because, at the time I was thrilled by the new and exciting potential I was discovering as I became an expert in the field of technology integration.

Although I still believe tremendously in the potential it holds, technology in education is no longer new to me, and I find myself feeling a bit "boxed in" here at EdTech Workshop. I want to feel free as I work through my ideas about learning and life in a broader, more open space, as silly or arbitrary as that may sound.

I have taken the "tech" out of my job description. In honor of Jack and all children who don't fit into the mold of schooliness, I am calling my new blog "Off The Mat." This also reflects my growing commitment to my yoga practice, and my desire to explore how I can take that practice off the mat and into the rest of my life.

There are a number of absolutely brilliant EdTech blogs out there. Instead of continuing to sing with the choir, I am ready to find and share my own true voice.

"What the world tells you is to be like everybody else. What the world needs for you to be is YOU." ~Ralph Marston

What should I call it?

2010-05-04T16:53:00.009-04:00

What's in a name?

I think words carry a great deal of importance. They are seeds that help turn dreams and ideas into realities. I struggle, in speech and even more so in writing, to find just the right words to express that which I truly mean.

So, what should my job title be?

My title for the last 4 years has been "Technology Coordinator." I no longer want to be the technology coordinator, and I have been somewhat successful in passing on many of the technology-related responsibilities.

Our school has grown and changed and adopted more of a 21st Century learning perspective, and I, too, have evolved professionally. Now I have the opportunity to redefine my role and with that, one of my first tasks is to figure out what to call myself.

My first thought was "technology integration facilitator." But with that, the emphasis is still heavily on technology. And technology integration. For me, I want the focus of what I do to be on learning. I plan to work closely and collaboratively with teachers in a coaching or co-teaching style model.

Should the title include the word "learning?" "Curriculum?" "Coach?"

Should I purposely eliminate the word "technology" from the job title?

Here are some similar job titles I've considered:

Instructional coach

Instructional technology coach

Literacy coach

21st century learning specialist

I have created a wordle with some ideas of what I see myself doing, my strengths and what I hope to contribute.

I welcome your input!

Sowing the Seeds for a More Creative Society

2010-03-08T21:45:00.002-05:00

In an earlier post, The Science of Play, I shared my ideas about the importance of playful learning, the type of learning observed in very young children. In my personal experience as a teacher, I have seen that as children mature they often lose some or all of their natural comfort with learning through spontaneous and playful exploration.

Think of a toddler with a big pile of blocks. Does the toddler ask an adult, "What should I do with these blocks?" or does a toddler start with a "product" like a big tower in mind and ask, "How do I stack these blocks to make a tower?" No, the toddler jumps right in and begins to explore, trying whatever he or she wants to try. Does the toddler feel upset and frustrated when the tower of blocks topples over? Doubtful. It is more likely that he or she is delighted by this and may knock it over and rebuild it again and again.

MIT recognizes the importance of the creative exploration of early childhood to the extent that they have created an entity called The Lifelong Kindergarten group.

Lifelong Kindergarten :: MIT Media Lab via kwout

As part of their mission to "sow the seeds for a more creative society," the MIT media lab has developed a free program called Scratch that encourages the kind of open-ended exploration and creative problem solving that is not on the test, but that promotes the trial and error learning that is the heart of math, science and technological innovation. The beauty of Scratch and similar applications is that while the processes they engage are complex, most children are naturally drawn to them and find them fun. Kids ask to "play Scratch."

In my STEM classes and, to a lesser extent, my weekly lab classes I attempt to provide students with the time and space to engage in this kind of exploration using freely available resources. In my role as the teacher I model possible approaches, support students in their attempts, validate and encourage them as they proceed, and open the door by introducing them to what's out there. When appropriate, I push students to go a little deeper. Some students are more inclined than others to enjoy the open-ended, for those who require more structure I can help by defining a problem or assignment for them. I can also help them to reflect on their learning styles so that they grow in an understanding of their own abilities. Some students can't wait to get to the computer and play, others prefer a tutorial (there are many tutorials online for most applications. It can be great practice and reflection to have students who are more advanced create tutorials for others), some students are more comfortable watching first before trying. Any and all approaches to learning are valid as long as students understand the process and challenge themselves.

In addition to Scratch, here are some other recommended resources for open-ended, creative exploration:

Whizzball -from Discovery Education, whizzball is a puzzle creator. Students can design puzzles, submit their puzzles for others to solve and solve puzzles created by others. I have found this to be challenging and fun for grades 1-5.

Fantastic Contraption- physics challenge. Use the materials provided to create a contraption that solves the challenge of getting something from point A to point B. There are multiple challenges and endless solutions. I am using this with a first grade STEM enrichment class, and they LOVE it. I could see it being popular with older students as well, although I haven't introduced to other grades yet.

Lego Digital Designer - design tool using virtual legos.

PHUN - 2D physics sandbox. This one is more advanced. I recommend viewing at least one tutorial before jumping in to play. I used this with 5th grade, and it was fun (phun) at first, but many of them became frustrated quickly.

Teach Paperless for Earth Day

2010-03-01T14:46:00.014-05:00

I just joined over 475 teachers around the world who have pledged to teach paperless on April 22nd in celebration of Earth Day. I pledged to "use no paper and accept no paper in my classroom this Earth Day," so I will also be turning off the laser printer that resides in my classroom for the day.
Please join the pledge, yourself, by signing up here.

I have invited/challenged all of my fellow "in the building" teachers to join me, as well. It would be wonderful if our whole school would embrace a paperless day. Our school is part of a synagogue, and I plan to try to inspire the synagogue staff to also pledge to go paperless on April 22nd.

I think it will be fun to share creative ideas for a day of being thoughtfully paperless. I know that many people will be using technology to replace paper, and, of course, so will I. You and your students might enjoy a digital camera scavenger hunt. You could create one with a special theme for Earth Day.
There are lots of non-tech ways to go paperless as well.
I recently had a guest in my classroom who made recycled paper with the students. It wasn't too difficult, just required a few special supplies. I have offered to (attempt to) replicate this project with any interested class. It's a different take on the paperless idea, using previously discarded paper to create something unique and beautiful.

Paula White shared this idea with accompanying photo on twitter: Paperless means kids use dry erase markers on tables and then antibacterial wipe to clean.

Just a few thoughts and ideas. The possibilities for paperless learning, creating and sharing are almost endless. Please share additional links and ideas in the comments.

The Science of Play

2010-02-22T15:02:00.014-05:00

Recently I attended Educon2.2. It was difficult to choose which sessions to attend as there were so many high-quality offerings. Two of the conversations I chose were Taking.Play.Seriously with Brian C. Smith and Thinking Creatively-Inventing the Possible with Linda Nitsche. Both of these wonderful and thought-provoking sessions were right up my alley as an educator, and I was excited to be able to discuss my personal passion in teaching with like-minded educators.

It seems that the educational value of play is beginning to gain greater respect in wider circles. I had to chuckle when, in one of the sessions, it was suggested that play be considered a "new literacy." To me, that is like calling breathing a new literacy. I believe that children are instinctively amazing learners, and that play and creative exploration are vital components of growth and development.

The current trend is to start academic learning at an earlier age. Preschool is what kindergarten once was, and kindergarten is what first grade used to be. Parents employ private tutors to teach 3 and 4 year olds how to read. The paradox is that in order to grow into our full potential, we must be allowed to develop our brains at a natural pace. Happily, research is catching up to what many of us who work with children have long understood. Children learn through play. Play is vital and necessary. Here is the catch- the play must be unstructured. Children learn through creating their own play. Why is it so scary for adults to respect the inherent intelligence and wholeness of children?

It seems that in our fear of falling behind and our frenzy to compete with other countries that are supposedly surpassing us in industry and math and science test scores, we have taken a path that, ultimately, makes little sense.

Problem: Kids aren't scoring high enough on standardized tests.

Usual Solutions: Teach to the test, more tests, more academics, longer school days, longer school years.

The way I see it, both the problem and the solutions need to be revisited and revised. The problems facing us as human beings are extremely complex. We must have a deep understanding of the world in which we live, the mindset to approach problems with creativity, a spirit of innovation and an outstanding ability to connect, collaborate and care about others, in order to go forward.

The human brain is the greatest technology ever known. Human beings created artificial intelligence to reflect our own intelligence. We are the machine. By working creatively with technology to explore and solve complex problems, we develop neural pathways and increase our abilities to think, problem-solve, create and understand our world. The way we use computer applications and troubleshoot equipment is, like learning, non-linear and open-ended. There are multiple approaches that will work. What is important is the ability to problem solve through trial and error as well as knowing where to seek further assistance when trial and error isn't working. When a process is used enough times it will be naturally committed to memory, but that is much less important than the confidence that comes through striving, frustration and success. That is learning. Today, more than ever before in history, we can not be satisfied with a standardized test score as the main indicator of a well-educated person.

image from BrianCSmith's flickr. Lots more great quotes there, too, from the Strong Museum of Play.

Passion Project

2010-02-18T17:27:00.005-05:00

Have you read Sir Ken Robinson's book, The Element, yet? The subtitle is "How finding your passion changes everything."
For me it was a total mind-opener on many levels. It is everything you already know on a deep level. But I suggest you read it anyway.

For me it was that very satisfying experience of having a very articulate person with a whole lot of credibility do a very good job of saying all the things I have wanted to say and tried to say for many years of working with kids.
We're all "gifted". It's a question of finding one's passion.

I decided to implement a "passion project" with 5th grade. I've done something similar before and was pleased with the results. It's taps into the user-generated education idea.
The "task" I have set forth to the students is to create a multimedia project about whatever they want to explore or share in a creative way.

I introduced the project today. First I showed them this video from the Imagine It Project:

video platform
video management
video solutions
free video player

Then I showed them student work samples from the last time I did a similar project a few years ago. I challenged them to take it up a notch, citing the fact that they have more tech skills than their older siblings and friends who did the earlier projects. They should be able to use multimedia authoring tools to create work that would show the results of their explorations and allow them to share their passions with others.

I also allowed them to work with partners of their own choosing.

I gave them this short survey to complete:

Loading...Before I even had a chance to go over the survey results, they were ready to get started. Although I know my students and have worked with them for 4 years now, it is always a revelation to me to learn more about them. What makes them tick? What do they want to create, to learn, to do? A few of the topics I could have guessed, but some were a surprise.
I threw in the last survey question, about what motivates you to do your best work, for my own edification, but also to get them thinking more about motivation. The answers were varied and interesting. One student chose "other" and wrote: "having fun and doing what I like."
Sir Ken would approve.

Classroom Innovation

2010-02-06T16:17:00.003-05:00

This was my first attempt at making an animated film. I made it as part of my entry into Google Teacher Academy in Washington DC in November. I didn't get in to the GTA, but I like my movie, so I figured I'd share it here for fun. I made it using Frames4.

The Cost of Copyright Confusion

2010-02-04T21:52:00.002-05:00

The future of intellectual property in a remix generation

facilitator: Kristin Hokanson

copyrightconfusion.wikispaces.com

Essential Understanding -instead of telling students "these are the rules" we must get students to think critically about the issues

What is your understanding of copyright? small group discussion.

common themes-

what is law vs. what is ethics?

public vs. private use

using certain media to enhance your message (the importance of teaching this to kids)

contextual and intent-driven

where do you draw the line on educational use?

citing sources, attribution

The intent of copyright: "to promote creativity, innovation and the spread of knowledge"

-Article 1, section 8 US Constitution 1787

Fair Use is the exemption to the law. How are we teaching kids to make the distinctions?

Range of comfort with use of copyrighted materials:

"see no evil" teachers who say go ahead and do it, I don't see it. sends kids mixed messages

"close the door" - I'll just close the door and we'll go ahead and do what we want.

"hyper-comply"- teachers who want exact rules, times, etc.

all of these examples fly in the face of critical thinking around the issues.

Discuss:

What do kids understand about...

•copyright

•fair use

•public domain

•creative commons

•understanding the difference between authorship and ownership

•creative commons

-challenge of giving credit, challenge of school filters

•what is the purpose of your work? are you analyzing the piece or simply restating something?

example of importance of purpose: Bill Graham Archives vs. Dorling Kindersley, Ltd. (2006)

Bill Graham sued DK for using their poster in a book about rock posters. DK won. The purpose of the original poster was to promote the rock concert. Purpose of the book was to document the time period, etc.

Codes of Best Practices:

Book- Code of Best Practices in Fair Use for Media Literacy Education (available from Media Education Lab)

video at http://mediaeducationlab.com/video-overview

The effective use of copyrighted materials enhances the teaching and learning process.

Context and situation of the material (user's rights video. available on temple site, embedded in the wiki, linked above).-

fair use depends on the benefit to society. does benefit to society outweigh the costs of the copyright holder.

Ask yourself: Did I

*add value?

*repurpose?

also on the wiki: scenarios for discussion, fair use reasoning sheet to help students develop the critical thinking skills around fair-use

"Mashups are an opportunity for students to really look at the media they consume-- to take it and give it their own spin. It helps show kids how they can present their own point of view."
-Faith Rogow

Watch: Larry Lessig's TED talk (How the law is strangling creativity)

The above are notes I took during the session. I just want to add that this session really opened my mind to a new understanding of this topic. There are no hard and fast rules. It really is about critical thinking and developing media literacy and a true understanding of intellectual property. And the best news of all is that there are incredible resources (check out the links) available to teach yourself and your students about copyright and fair use.

Leadership 2.0- Who do we need our leaders to be?

2010-02-04T21:26:00.000-05:00

Chris Lehmann

Session Description:

If we assume that the schools we need are inquiry-driven, technology-infused and communities of care, what do leaders have to be to engender and nurture those ideas?

Big ideas!

Inquiry-

all of our classrooms should start with the questions we ask together- CL

What does this idea mean?

What does this idea mean for education?

How could this idea affect our schools and communitites?

How does this idea inform my personal practice?

•teacher guided questions leading to self-guided exploration

•inquiry as a pedagogy continues beyond school. is a real skill, process.

•not just asking questions but getting to the answer or an answer.

•teachers asking questions they don't know the answers to "What do you think?"

shared process of inquiry between teacher and student

connection between inquiries and communities of care. We know the content but they (students) know themselves. We can inquire about them.

What does "technology infused" mean?

•technology not independent of the content/pedagogical structure

•how do we leverage what kids are already using/doing with tech?

•can't be "the schools we've always had + technology"

•ubiquitous and invisible

•learning experiences going on that demand technology and can't be done without it.

•saying "I want my kids to be able to do something, what's the tool?"

"tools are transformative"

•release of control by the teacher

The ability to have these conversations and come to common ground requires a good leader. Get to common ground and then move on.

Communities of care-

difference between "I teach math." and "I teach KIDS math."

Students should never be the implied object of their own education.

mutual transparency- true motives are available to each other

care is at all levels. You can not bully teachers into caring for kids.

teachers have to feel cared for, trusted, listened to. top-down mandates will never get us to communities of care.

even when you care for people, you occasionally have to have hard conversations. caring means setting boundaries, being the adult (when talking about adults caring for kids, imposing structure and discipline).

Enabling is not caring.

Leadership- in order to transform a school where do you start?

Start by listening.

what do we do well?

what do we all want to do?

people want to make meaning together. someone who will take their ideas and synthesize them. Then lead.

You have to carve out the time and space for care. It doesn't fit neatly into the academic calendar, but you must make time for it. Structural change- at SLA every student has an advisor, someone whose job it is to know and care for that student. "The curriculum is the community."

"managing up" -teach our leaders how we want things to be. coming to people with solutions they can own. building trust and bridges.

Visioning: Developing Ideas

Modeling: How can leaders publicly live these ideas?

-articulating vision and starting discussion around vision, values

Whatever we want our kids to do, we have to allow our teachers to do.

Servant Leadership: Top Down Support for Bottom Up Ideas

We should be able to say to teachers "How can I help?"

Leading? How do we get everyone on board?

consensus-driven decision making doesn't mean we all agree completely. It means we are all willing to come to consensus and move forward around a shared decision.

requires:

honesty

transparency

a subjugation of ego

Sustaining:

How do we build systems and structures?

go into a school, ask what their mission statement is and ask them to prove it.

what are the systems and structures that support and sustain it?

Good leadership says, "Here are the systems and structures that will enable any teacher who is willing..."

Dream Job?!

2010-02-01T21:22:00.010-05:00

My school is currently in the market for a new "head of school" for next year and beyond. Today, the second of three candidate finalists came to visit and tour the school. Teachers were given the opportunity to sign up for a 10 minute meeting with him on Tuesday, which I did.

Then I got a few minutes to meet with him today. I shared with him some thoughts about my job, the school in general and my hopes and challenges for the future. He gave me a "homework assignment" for our meeting tomorrow, which was to imagine my "dream job" at the school. If I could shape my role to be whatever I wanted it to be, what would that look like?

Ok, first of all, how much do I already like the guy for giving me this homework assignment?

You might think I have an easy answer to this question of a dream job, but I do not. So, I thought I would use my blog to explore my ideas. And then, if I haven't alienated all my readers by neglecting the blog for so long, maybe I could get some helpful feedback, too.

Currently, in my "technology coordinator" role I do the following:

•teach weekly resource or "specials" technology lab classes K-5

•teach a STEM pull-out, enrichment class for first graders, twice a week (and about to start a similar, once a week group for 5th graders)

•provide support for teachers in the area of tech integration

•with a LOT of help from a wonderful assistant, I oversee the network, troubleshoot problems, install software, order supplies, fix anything tech related, help teachers with technical problems, act as administrator for edline (our school's web portal)

•with Silvia Tolisano, our 21st century learning specialist, host monthly "parent coffee talks" to educate parents on relevant issues

•meet weekly with Silvia to collaboratively plan and strategize. Work on various projects or parts of projects with her.

•teach 8th grade weekly Jewish Lens class and technology resource classes in the middle school

•maintain my own Personal Learning Network and devote regular time to my own professional development through reading articles, blogs, exploring multimedia, commenting and otherwise engaging in the network, writing, reflecting, planning and exploring online resources, taking

classes and attending conferences. This takes time, but I believe it is a necessary and vitally important part of my work as an educator. The vast majority of this time is after school hours.

•maintain a classroom blog to share student work

In previous years I have run an after school tech club and keyboarding classes for students and an after school tech club for teachers. Before the addition of Silvia Tolisano to our faculty, I provided more professional development for teachers and tried to get into classrooms to work with teachers and students on unique, tech-infused projects. This year, Silvia has taken on more of the role of professional developer and tech integrationist.

So, that's the past and present. What about the future?

What does our school need and how can I use my time, energy and talents to best help?

There's a bit of a tug of war going on in my mind...

First of all, there are the weekly computer lab classes. A big part of me feels that it is time for those to change or to disappear altogether. As much as I enjoy my time with the students and my freedom to explore without many boundaries (no grades, no set curriculum, etc), I feel that the model of once-a-week computer resource classes conveys a message that computers are a "class" instead of a tool. We all know that kids don't really need to learn computers, right?

Well.....I think that's basically the case. But I still believe there are skills that the kids get from my class that they might not get without my class. File management, troubleshooting, that type of thing. Ok, I admit, they probably could get those skills without my class.

So then what about the things I do in my class that I know are valuable for students but that don't fit into a typical lesson plan? The creative, playful, open-ended explorations; the "educational free choice" time, the public sharing and presentations? Some of these can (and probably should) be brought into the classroom, but my fear is that some of the activities that don't have an easy to recognize curricular goal (but are still incredibly important) will get lost. Think Scratch, for example.

Then there is the issue of how teachers see me. Most teachers see me first and foremost as tech support (weird because I am an educator NOT a techie, I just learned the tech stuff because there was no one else in the building to keep the network running). And though they are often, but not always, too polite to admit it, the K-5 teachers view me as relief so that they can have a break from the students. While I think every teacher deserves prep time, bathroom time, make a phone call time, whatever....I am not a babysitter. And I really resent the implied notion that whatever happens in my class is not REAL learning.

So why do these things matter? It's because my dream job as a teacher is to be a true collaborator with my colleagues. I do have the tech skills, but I have much more than that. I envision a coaching type of job- going into classrooms and working together with teachers and students. Embedded professional development. But for it to work I think that teachers would have to view me differently than I think they do now. Because it's not about me demonstrating a SMARTboard lesson. I would want to be a team teacher and if I went into classrooms and the teacher just "tuned out" and started checking email, grading papers, etc. which happens all the time at this school then I would rather keep my lab classes the way they are.

So, potential new head of school, as you can see I need some help with this decision. I thank you for asking me about my dream job. But my dream job might not exist. I guess if I was the right person for the job I would figure out the way to make it work, but I think I would need your help.

image credit http://www.flickr.com/photos/starforlifeorg/3565572491/

Taking. Play. Seriously

2010-01-31T12:40:00.006-05:00

Facilitator: Brian C. Smith

session wiki

Conversation Description: Diane Ackerman's quote, "play is the brain's favorite way of learning" is oft used to describe the learning that takes place in elementary schools. Despite that belief, a simple visit to any school in the country will reveal a picture that flies in the face of Ackerman's statement. We know why play is being squeezed out of schools, but bringing it back will take creative thinking ideas and sharing. Together we will discuss and construct ideas for bringing the aspects of play into more learning experiences.

Framework of Play-

•anticipation- expectation

•wonder

•curiosity

•anxiety

•uncertainty

•risk

•surprise-a-ha! moments

•discovery- a new sensation or idea or shifting perspective

•pleasure- it feels good

•understanding- new knowledge, application of ideas

•strength-empowerment, confidence, new skills

•poise-grace, state of balance, composure, contentment

What is your play history?

What do you think you learned from play?

Types of play-

creative

object

social

body and movement (rough and tumble)

spectator

imaginative

storytelling-narrative

Images: Brian C. Smith's flickrstream

User-Generated Education

2010-01-30T12:36:00.007-05:00

Jackie Gerstein

http://jackiegerstein.wikispaces.com/User-Generated+Education

Idea for the Conversation: Once kids get the K-3 foundational skills let them create their own educations.

Is it possible, etc?

The problem: Should a student-centric, user-generated education be the predominant learning model for this era of the 21st century?

The protocol: Technology-Enhanced Socratic Seminar

Socratic- based in the idea that deeper understanding of complex ideas occurs through rigorously thoughtful dialogue.

*dialogue not debate*

•4 elements: text, questions, leader and participants

•Leader's job is not to present material. Leader listens and define additional questions.

•you should leave with more questions than answers.

•based on reading a text or texts.

•Leader: "I wonder if..."

if we can google the answer to a question we shouldn't be talking about it.

see wiki for texts: Disrupting Class

Anderson, J. Remaking Education

Furedi, F. Let's Give Children a Store of Knowledge

User generated education assists the learner in selecting the best tools for individualized learning.

problem: those who are naturally more vocal and extroverted have a voice. use tools to give all kids a voice. let kids pick the tool that they want to use.

honor people's different styles and ways of contributing to a conversation. Not everyone likes to talk.

social media increases options for participation.

Discussion ideas:

everyone is a learner, some are "lead" learners. reconfiguring the role of the adult. making learning transparent.

What is/should be the role of the adult?

talk of guide, talk of creating and manipulating the environment

discussion about core or foundational skills. what are the core skills? core ideas? cultural literacies?

How do we blend approaches? (I think this is an important question)

Do we have enough faith in kids?

Why do we (adults) get to decide for children what they should know?

What matters? (my question)

Alvin Toffler: "Let's throw it out and start all over again."

Thinking Creatively: Inventing the Possible

2010-01-30T10:33:00.015-05:00

Educon Session 1: Facilitator: Linda Nitsche

http://inventingthepossible.wikispaces.com

Conversation Description: If schools kill creativity, then what hope do we have of helping our students be prepared to devise creative and imaginative solutions to problems in their futures? Come examine frameworks for thinking and working creatively. Explore and experience creativity, innovation, and imagination in action. Reframe your problems into opportunities.

We each contributed to a wall of the "bricks" that inhibit creative thinking-

Frameworks for Creativity:

Paul Torrance-

-incubation formula for stages of creativity-

1.heightening anticipation: warm-ups, arouse curiosity

2. deepening expectations - apply to content curriculum but look at differently. no rigid path.

3. keeping it going- stretch. go beyond. apply outside of specific area.

research: children who scored high in creativity were more successful than those with high IQ (over 40 years of watching, testing).

elements: innovative, adaptive, creative strengths

Fluency:brainstorming. rules. as much as possible. open up to all ideas. avoid criticism!!!! no comments (+ or -). piggybacking on someone else's idea. practice hearing others' ideas and use them. oddball stuff-want kids to feel comfortable going beyond. taking risks.

Flexibility: flexible thinking, ability to get past your set perceptions of the first picture that popped in your head. takes practice. notice that you're stuck there.

Originality: the result of good fluency and flexibility. that one good idea that comes out.

Elaboration: a creative process isn't just the idea, it's how you elaborate on the idea. example: think up a cool car, be able to give all the details of it.

Scamper: ideation strategy

S=Substitute (other ingredients, materials, etc. )

C=combine (blend)

A=adapt

M=modify (magnify,minify?)

P=Put to other uses

E=eliminate

R=Reverse (roles or rearrange patterns)

start with a question and move through the "SCAMPER" to look at possible answers from different perspectives. OR start with a statement of fact and use scamper to generate questions. look at knowledge, ideas from a variety of perspectives.

"What if?" -"classic phrase. use it!"

Lateral Thinking: from the mind of Edward De Bono

(youtube video edward de bono on creative thinking). will embed here whenever I am able to get onto youtube :)

challenge the process.

provocative statement- look at the problem in an "impossible, contradictory way"

random words- strategy where you choose a totally random word. (from anywhere). attach it

and use it to brainstorm. does it help solve the problem in any way. (takes your mind away from its' preconceived notions of something and helps you see it in a new way).

parallel thinking- 6 hats, take on different viewpoints

So what?

imagine it project- fascinating collection of videos. watch video and record thoughts

creativity

imagination

innovation

curiosity

Behaviors we want to encourage:

•imagination

•awareness

•curiosity

•risk taking

•complexity

•playfulness

Now what? Remember the barrier wall we created at the start of the session -

Name a bridge. How can we knock down the barriers?

Educon Keynote: Marilyn Perez

2010-01-30T09:37:00.005-05:00

notes from the keynote speaker at Educon- Marilyn Perez (district admin in Philly)-

•Think of schooling as opportunity to provide access and equity for all, regardless of background, etc.

•It begins with the principal of a school.

•high expectations for all students

•believing that every student has innate talents and can reach their potential

•Teachers-believe the power of your words. It is possible to achieve and learn regardless of circumstance.

•Education can transform quality of life for poor children

• a sense of order. if students don't come with it, we must provide it for them.

rigor! high expectations for all children! homework...

relevant. fun.

desire to make things different, courage to challenge the status quo. have a relationship with students. "attitude of servitude" serve others (your students) with love. don't judge your students b/c of their backgrounds.

reflect on your expectations for students.

What is the purpose of schooling?

teach students to communicate, contribute, find solutions, have a successful life, be productive.

"I'm Done!"

2009-12-17T18:33:00.009-05:00

I enjoy a good quote, a succinct reminder to keep my mind in the right place. One I find relevant for my work as a teacher is "No great thing is created suddenly. "

I read a book last year that impacted my thinking a great deal. The book was An Ethic of Excellence by Ron Berger. Berger writes of three "toolboxes" for bringing out the best in students: a school culture of excellence, work of excellence and teaching of excellence.

One story he told that really stuck in my mind was the story of when he took some of his students to speak about their work to some teachers at another school. It was a school for the deaf, and Berger's students addressed the teachers using sign language; they had learned it as part of a unit of study on deaf culture (this, in itself, impressed me). One of the teachers asked the students about doing so many drafts and putting in so much effort on each project. "Don't you complain about having to work so hard and do so many drafts to complete your work?"

The students, having always been at a school where excellence is the norm, where work is important and meaningful, did not really understand the question. Why complain about the way things are?

It would be like asking students at another type of school, "Why don't you complain about doing so many worksheets? Don't you want to have an authentic audience, to do meaningful, high quality work?" These students probably would be as baffled by this type of question as those girls were baffled by the question of why they put in so much work and effort on their projects.

I've grappled, as a teacher, with what I call the "'I'm done' culture." Ignoring the grammatical problems with the phrase "I'm done," I find that my students generally view projects and assignments as something to finish. Why? What is the reward for being "done?"

Is it a question of authentic audience? Non-engagement in a task? A school culture that more or less trains students to view school as a place to finish one thing (no matter how crummy the job) and move on to the next? Where is the internal motivation to care, to work through drafts and make changes? I believe that this is one of the most important roles I can embrace as a teacher- to try to bring students to a place where the work they do matters to them, where they strive for quality over quantity.

I highly recommend reading Berger's book as a helpful guide. It can be boiled down to four key points:

•Give students work that matters

•Share examples of excellence

•Public presentation

•Critique

I feel that I do a halfway decent job of 3 out of 4 of these. Although I have tried, I have not gotten the hang of having student critiques of any real value. I do believe strongly in public presentation of work, be that a presentation to classmates, parents, other classes in the school, contests, partnership or a worldwide audience through web 2.0. I have seen this impact students' desire to do a better job on the next project more than any grade or feedback from the teacher.

My questions are-

*Can this type of student work ethic be achieved in a single classroom when the general school culture is of a different ethic?

*How can a school move, as a whole, toward an ethic or culture of high standards, meaningful work and true integration as opposed to more isolated, non-authentic assignments?

Pushing students only works so much. There has to be some internal desire to put in the work necessary to create something of which a student can be genuinely proud.

I have an anecdote to share, a tale of a struggle I am currently having over this very topic. I am going to save it for my next blog post.

LAN Party

2009-12-12T20:33:00.009-05:00

Please read the flyer below and, if you're local to Jacksonville, Florida, come out to join us for a high-quality, FREE, professional development event. Anyone can watch the K-12 presentations online, but it is just more fun to watch and discuss with colleagues. It's all about the network (in this case, the Local Area Network.)

Seeds, Serendipity, Sustainability

2009-11-11T16:49:00.009-05:00

Change.

It's the one constant in life, yes? And yet human nature seems to be such that many of us will cling to the old ways like a life raft in stormy waters. Why? I don't know. What I do know is that, my own issues with change aside, I have worked hard for change in schools. My twitter profile, until recently, read "wannabe change-agent." I changed that the other day, as I realize that I am no longer a wannabe. I am an agent of change.

Looking back, I realize that my school has changed. This is year 4 for me, and I am amazed at what is taking place. Are we firmly, solidly planted in 21st century, learner-centered, relevant education? No, not yet. Have we glimpsed the future and it is now? Yes.

I thought I would share my story in hopes of encouraging other wannabes out there. Keep

plugging away. Change does happen.

Seeds-

First, you plant the seeds. Do what you do. Talk to everyone about your ideas. Keep it upbeat. Don't expect people to get it. They won't. Keep learning. We are so lucky to have our online colleagues who do get it. Talk to them. Network, network, network. You need your network! You are planting seeds, and it will take time before you see growth. Keep planting and nurture whatever growth you see.

Serendipity-

This is when things begin happening of their own volition. You can't control the winds of change, and you can't do it all on your own. As one person you can only do so much. Hopefully, at some point, change itself takes over and helps you find the support you need. The way this happened for me seems amazing, but maybe it's really not. Maybe it's what happens when you plant the seeds and let nature run its course.

My personal story of serendipity started with a chance (and extremely short) meeting two years ago at FETC. Because of that meeting, the PLN, and a person with vision and leadership, a new position was created at my school this year for a 21st Century Learning Specialist. The position was created specifically for Silvia Tolisano, not as an abstract concept, as in "let's hire a 21st century learning specialist."

This, in itself, seems unusual to me, but correct. People make all the difference. The position was much less important than the fact that we recognized Silvia's skills, experience, passion and visionary leadership as something good, something worth having, something worth trusting.

Sustainability-

This is the chapter still to be written. Silvia's blog tagline "Langwitches -The Magic of Learning" says it all. She has worked magic, and she has done it by embedding PD into classroom teaching. Our students are engaged in global communications and other relevant, exciting learning, our school has a new website, teachers are blogging, we've implemented google apps for education. We have tasted the future, and there is no turning back.

My concern is that, while Silvia is truly an incredible teacher and we are extraordinarily lucky to have this time with her, I worry that we are putting all our eggs in her basket. Silvia is an agent of change, a support, someone to lead the way -- but the teachers MUST begin to develop their own PLNs, we must learn to be better at collaborating, sharing, supporting and teaching each other. That is the only way for these changes to be sustainable.

Image thanks: first seeds planted http://www.flickr.com/photos/pictoscribe/430716741/

Surfing the Wave

2009-07-07T22:29:00.002-04:00

I wrote the following for an online PD class I am taking. The prompt was "unintentional learning." I thought it might be worth sharing here.

I am in a constant process of learning and changing. Most of my learning can be attributed to my online personal learning network. As I learn something new I bring it back to the classroom to my students. Many times this results in me having to tell them something that contradicts something I told them a week ago.

I feel that I am modeling for them the important processes I go through as a learner, and I believe that is more important than doing things a certain way. I remind students and myself that "learning is messy." I even hung a "Learning is Messy" sign on the wall, right across from my desk. When things sometimes start to feel out of control, it helps to remind myself that learning is not always neat, orderly and quiet.

As I find value in new processes, such as blogging, I feel compelled to share these with my students. I am sharing things almost as quickly as I am learning them myself. Activities like blogging are not fixed. There is hardly a right or wrong answer and it is difficult to anticipate students' needs, interests or possible problems that may arise.

I've come up with the analogy of surfing to describe some of my work with students this year. This is where I came up with the surfing analogy. I began a class blog with my 4th graders this year as part of a global blog pals communication project that was started by Kim Cofino, a teacher at the International School of Bangkok, Thailand. So many different things happened once we started blogging. There were times when the fourth graders would leave the lab after an active session of blogging activity and me running like crazy around the room, and as soon as they were gone I would sit down at my computer to try to learn more so that I could continue to help them do what they wanted to do.

It was exciting and motivating, but at times it felt out of control. I realized that student-directed learning can feel out of control, much like surfing. Sometimes you have the wave and you're up on top. Other times the wave is going too fast and you're just hoping to make it without crashing. And sometimes, you go down, under the water, and have to swim to the surface to catch your breath and start again. But you always go again, because it's exciting and worthwhile.

Image credit: Michael Dawes flickr photostream

Why I Was at NECC09

2009-07-05T14:08:00.011-04:00

After reading this post and this post about vendors at NECC, I thought I would offer my perspective to the mix.

I was a first-timer at NECC this year. When you add up plane flight, hotel room, conference fees, food and other costs, especially in an expensive city like DC, an experience like NECC is a pricey proposition for a private school teacher like me. In other words, I might have spent another NECC reading tweets and blog posts instead of writing them, if not for a lucky break.

You're thinking I won the lottery, right?

I wish.

I was at NECC this year because of my relationship with a vendor.

This vendor-teacher relationship has been building for a few years now. It was something that happened naturally, yet, in my experience, was anything but common. I understand now that this is just how Tech4Learning operates. Yes, they are a commercial organization. They exist to make money, and I sincerely hope they make boatloads of it.

I don't think any of us begrudge anyone else for making a living. I think the tension, if any exists, between vendors and teachers is that teachers, by the nature of what we do, are usually not business-minded. We are often not in the position to decide where money is spent, and many of us regularly spend our own money on supplies for work. There are stereotypes and bad experiences to contend with- the sleazy salesperson, the hideous customer non-service with companies who sell a product, then run and hide. It can get in the way of our pure-minded notions of education. But, let's face it-everything costs. Educating kids well costs money. Putting on a conference like NECC costs money. And I've never yet attended a conference where anyone was forced to enter the exhibit hall.

I thought this comment, by Dean Shareski, on Lee Kolbert's blog, said it quite well-

An important post. You clearly distinguish between vendors who truly want to make a difference and provide meaningful products and those just interested in a sale.
Kinda reminds of the divide we currently see in education between those really wanting to make a difference, recognizing there has to be a different/better way and those who just want to collect a check.

I completely agree.

It has been a transformative experience for me being involved with a company like Tech4Learning. First of all, they make great software. They seek student and teacher feedback as they develop their products, and it shows. If that's not enough, check out their website to see the free resources they provide including a lesson library, a ning for teachers to share projects and the high-quality, non-software-specific Creative Educator magazine.

I considered it an honor to be able to represent Tech4Learning at NECC and to have the opportunity to share some of my students' work in their booth. I found myself hanging around to watch the presentations of fellow teachers. I certainly didn't have to spend my time in the Tech4Learning booth with so much to see and do and experience at NECC. I was drawn there, quite simply, by the quality of the presentations. After each presentation attendees were given a full-version CD of Tech4Learning software. No hard sell.

I'm about to wrap up, but I'd like to share a story. This, to me, says all there is to say in answer to the question of whether companies can care about anything other than profits.

I teach at a Jewish school with a dual-language curriculum in English and Hebrew. We have trouble finding software for the macs that supports Hebrew. When I first purchased Pixie, we used it to make Rosh Hashanah (Jewish New Year) cards for some students in Israel. Through her own network (which at the time did not include me) Melinda Kolk, Director of Professional Development at Tech4Learning got a look at those cards. Can you imagine my surprise and gratitude when I received an email from her asking if it would be helpful if they added the Hebrew alphabet to the Pixie sticker library?

Small private schools do not wield the big-dollar contracts of large public districts. I'm sure it would be easier and more profitable to ignore us. Unless, of course, you really care.

Learning at Lunch

2009-07-05T10:26:00.003-04:00

Learning.

Who decides when it happens, where it happens, how it happens?

I guess this question has been around for as long as we have. All kinds of assessments and other ways of quantifying and qualifying learning have resulted. We, all of us, educators and non-educators alike, discuss and disagree. What matters?

We must have proof! Proof of learning, to me, is change. When we have learned something, there is some type of change--a change in behavior, a change in vocabulary, ability to articulate, other new abilities, a change in the way we do what we do, even a change in the questions we ask.

So, I thought I would share another story in hopes of clarifying my own views. I, for one, learn through writing and through words.

This is the tale of The Scrumptious Lunch-

Time flies.

Four years have passed since I traded in my California teaching credential for Florida certification. My Florida teaching certificate expires next June. I must provide proof of my professional development activities (and, of course, pay a fee) in order to reinstate the piece of paper. I am nothing if not a seeker of PD, but I made some mistakes along the way in terms of getting the required documentation.

Last summer, I authored an online course for teachers called Tackling Tough Text for Professional Learning Board. It was my first time using moodle and my first time, outside of a school project, creating an online course. I also facilitated the course twice. I figured that was worth a few credits in terms of my ongoing professional development. Teachers can get PD credit for teaching a college course. However, when I requested credit for this experience, I was flatly denied with the following explanation,

"Teachers don't learn from teaching."

Seriously????

I was floored by this offhand dismissal that any teacher knows is utter nonsense. I tried to argue my point via email, but was again flatly denied. It's in the realm of things in life that make no sense- bureaucracy rules, jumping through hoops. I know better than to spend too much time or energy getting upset.

Part 2: In order to get credit for the time spent learning at NECC, I submitted my request beforehand. Along with my written request I had to attach a description of sessions I would attend. I knew that I would be attending an all-day TIE event on Saturday and The Constructivist Celebration on Sunday, so I submitted write-ups describing those activities. The write-ups for each day included a one-hour "scrumptious lunch."

Now we get down to the nitty-gritty. Should I be able to get credit for the lunch hour?

Time spent networking with my colleagues and discussing teaching is, in my humble opinion, valid learning time. The fact that I can enjoy a scrumptious lunch at the same time does not inhibit my learning in the slightest.

I will be submitting my request for PD hours to include lunch.

Google Earth Model Lesson Presentation

2009-07-01T10:33:00.006-04:00

Ok, after saying I can't live blog, I'm now going to try it. :)

Session is called "Caravans and Google Earth" Presenters: Ellen Dierkes, Dana Livne and Renee Hawkins.

It's a model lesson (5th grade). Here's the presenter's website.

One-to-one laptop school, moodle school

"Caravans" came first, teachers were using, role-playing simulation game.

Tech teacher suggested integrating with google earth.

In game Caravans, students travel the world and do tasks .

All start in San Diego, assessed based on "travel dots." Students get travel dots based on things like map skills, learning languages, creating artifacts, etc. Travel dots earn gold pieces. Goal of game is to get gold pieces to collect artifacts for a museum. Here is description I lifted from the site where the game is sold-

She says it sounds complicated, but it actually works very easily once kids get started they are self-motivated, able to work independently.

Each caravan has to research and plan their journey. Can focus the game on particular areas of the world or can do the whole world.

Students work in caravans in their classroom, then when they come into the lab (once a week, 40 minutes) they learn html coding and work in google earth.

Each caravan group is responsible for creating place marks in google earth with text description and photo or video clip. Students use html, also create a template with important factual information about country. Each caravan responsible for a region and creating 4 place marks for that region. Then other students take tour of that region by exploring place marks.

Start with an already-created place, show kids how to right click, go to properties and copy html code that is already there to use as a starting point for writing the new code.

Here are the resources from the presentation.

Not another post about NECC09

2009-07-01T09:51:00.004-04:00

NECC Day 3- I'm sitting in the blogger's cafe, laptop open. There are about 30 other people here, some just talking, many typing away. I've skimmed some of the blogs in my reader and checked out a few links from twitter.

NECC, NECC, NECC.

Everyone's manically sharing and reflecting. (For some excellent NECC posts check out this blog.)

It's not that I feel I have something so unique to add to the NECC soup of blog posts. Yet, I must blog!

I've been working hard to take in as much as I can. Of course, there's way too much. Hence the beauty of all the blogging. I can share others' NECC experiences, too, if I'm willing to read.

Writing and reflecting is one way I can begin to process and truly learn from this tidal wave of people, projects, ideas and words.

I'm amazed by the people (and there are many) who seem to be able to process and share in real time. I am not one of those people. I've been taking notes in some sessions, just listening in others, have taken a few photos, but I can't begin to understand what I have really learned until I have more time. Writing is, for me, an important part of the process.

I'm that kid in your class who needs a little time to think.

NECC Reflections Thus Far

2009-06-30T10:48:00.002-04:00

Going to keep it short and simple. At a conference this large (HUGE, ENORMOUS, OVERWHELMING!) I want to get the most out of each minute. This is my first time at NECC. Also, I tend to be a person who needs some time and space for reflection in order to learn. Yesterday, the first "official" conference day I made the following personal discoveries:

•I am beginning to tire of the famous "conversation." Early in day I found myself sitting at a "session" (not sure if that is the correct word) of NECC Unplugged. The discussion was 21st Century Literacy, a concept in which I have high interest. One of the speakers talked a lot about "the conversation" and how it's not going anywhere, no one is making any changes. I left feeling somewhat discouraged by the generalizations made about teachers. "We" are doing this. "We" are not doing this.
I dislike the generalizing of teaching/education. I always have. "We" are all different and unique. You don't know me and don't know what I'm doing or not doing.

•I obviously have "issues." :) Just want to make sure I clarify that I have the utmost respect for all of the people who are speaking and presenting. I believe wholeheartedly that they speak with nothing but positive intent. It is just that I am finding maybe, at this point, listening to more of this type of talk is not the most productive use of my time.

•I have spent a great deal of time in the Tech4Learning booth listening to the incredible educators they have showing samples and strategies. I could certainly be called biased, as I am extremely humbled and honored to be one of those educators this year. You'll have to trust me, though. It's not bias. These are the kinds of presentations that leave me wanting to run back to the classroom (ok, well, run back as soon as summer break ends) and start playing/learning in fun ways with students.
Again, this is just where I am, personally, right now. I don't want to hear any more people who don't work directly with students telling me what I should do, how I should teach. I get it! I am enjoying hearing real teachers show and tell what they are doing to make learning student centered, engaging, higher-order thinking, meaningful, etc.

If you are a K-5 (or K-8) educator looking to see examples and strategies from people who are doing great things in schools, I recommend the Tech4Learning booth. Here is the schedule.
I saw Liz Allen's presentation "Research without Copying" yesterday and recommend it highly. She will be sharing it again today at 2:30 pm. I am also looking forward to hearing Dr. Henry Olds "Kids, Cameras, Computers, Creativity and Cognition" today at 4 pm.

Just to let you know, I don't work for Tech4Learning !!! Just sharing some of my thoughts. Putting the laptop away now so I can pay attention to Gary Stager!

Partner Rubrics for Elementary School

2009-05-22T12:22:00.004-04:00

I wanted to take a moment to share a rubric I created for my 5th graders to use after working on a project with a partner. Thanks to my network, especially Carey Pohanka, for responding to my request for examples of rubrics used to evaluate collaborative skills. It was very helpful.

"Remember, you will get to share your feelings about working with your partner at the end of the project. And remember that your partner will also be evaluating YOU as a partner."

With that simple statement, I was able to head off several issues before they became "full blown." Not only does filling out the rubric give students a chance to be heard, it also reinforces the skills that are expected.

Partner Skills Rubric Partner Skills Rubric edtechworkshop6991

Publish at Scribd or explore others: Study Guides, Notes, School Work collaboration partner

The Best Plan

2009-04-19T17:12:00.010-04:00

the Preface

I sometimes feel compelled to stay "on topic." EdTechWorkshop-- it's about education and/or technology, right? But it is my unique path that has made me the person who cares about educational technology enough to blog about it. I feel that some of my stories are worth sharing even if they're not about what I'm teaching tomorrow or the latest cool new thing I've found online. So I hope you will bear with me if I sometimes go off course. I offer my thoughts and experiences as that which I have to share, and I hope that someone learns from or even simply enjoys reading them.

The Planner

I often hear people proclaim with pride, "I'm a planner."

What I sense they are saying is "Subconsciously I know that life is unpredictable and some things are out of my control. By being a planner, I stay in control!"

Ah well. Good for you.

I, Andrea, am not "a planner." This seems to really bother people. I had almost become convinced that it was a regrettable personality flaw. But, you know what they say about plans.

When I rode my bike through the US, Mexico and Guatemala, my traveling partner, Daniel, and I had a saying, "The best plan is no plan, and that's our plan." It worked well for us-- time and time again something amazing would cross our path at just the right moment.

Here is one story of a time I didn't have a plan but everything worked out better than fine. Around 15 years ago I had my first teaching job. This job was actually two part-time jobs at the same school. One of the two jobs was that of environmental/outdoor ed. coordinator at an inner-city public school in San Francisco. I took all of the kids in the school on overnight camping trips.

If you know me at all, you know that I was passionate about the work I was doing and threw myself into it wholeheartedly. So when I heard about a large experiential education conference in Texas I thought, "that sounds interesting. I'd like to go to that."

When I asked my principal if I could go, she gave me a strange look. She told me that the school would not pay my way, but that I could go and still get paid for working. So I signed up as a volunteer for the conference which gave me free admission. I found a super-cheap plane ticket to Austin. And I packed my bags. I had never been to Austin, never been to a professional conference, didn't know another soul who would be there and did not know where I would stay once I arrived. Obviously this was before the days of having access to people, places and information online. As I headed to the airport, I began to question myself. What in the world was I doing?

I arrived at the conference hotel in time for the volunteer orientation. As I sat in the circle with the other volunteers I wondered where I would sleep that night. I noticed a woman looking at me and smiling. At the break, she walked over and asked if I knew Ken W. Know him? He was a close friend!! She, too, was friends with him and reminded me that we had gone hiking together when she was living in SF, and he had come to visit. Now she lived in LA and worked for an environmental ed organization there. They had sent her to the conference.

When I confided to her that I had made no plans for a hotel room, she generously invited me to share hers. She was supposed to have come with a work colleague who couldn't make it last minute, and she had a nice double room.

We had a great time together at the conference, and it sparked a friendship that lasted for many years.

It reminds me of a vivid dream I once had. I was planning a trip with a co-worker (a planner). He was busy collecting maps and plotting the route. He became frustrated with me because I didn't have a map. I told him I didn't need a map, I would follow the signs.

And that is pretty much what I have always done. While I have never stayed in one job or one house or even one place for too long, I have always felt that I am exactly where I am supposed to be. I have always been pretty happy where I am at the moment. So who's to say that planners are superior to non-planners? I think the best plan is to try to accept ourselves and others. Most of us are doing the best we can. It's not as if life is a race to the end.

All Cakes Deserve the Best Ingredients

2009-03-24T22:01:00.003-04:00

I've been trying to come up with an analogy to express why I dislike pull-out as a means of addressing special needs, specifically pull-out enrichment for gifted and talented students. I dislike labels to begin with, and I believe good teaching is good teaching and all students benefit from a strong, well-integrated student-centered approach to learning and a school culture that values and encourages excellence. Please note: I understand that there are some

special needs that are extreme and that may require pull-out programs and other resources. My point is that excellent classrooms can meet the true needs of many different learners. Not enough of these classrooms exist.

Let's think of each child as a cake that we are baking. In reality, there is no comparison to the growth and development of a human being to a cake. I know that. Let's move on.

There are many different kinds of cakes. That is the way it is supposed to be, right? All cakes are good. A chocolate cake is not supposed to be a banana cake, nor any other kind of cake. Each cake strives to be the most delicious cake it can be.

Many ingredients go into creating the cake. Since this is about education, let's talk about the important ingredient of education. Have you ever tasted a cake made from a boxed mix? I liken this to a "boxed" curriculum--worksheets and textbooks. These days there are some pretty fancy cake mixes out there, made with better than average ingredients and producing a darn good cake. These mixes, like a private education, cost a pretty penny. But no boxed cake mix can compare to a homemade cake, baked with quality ingredients. Think project-based, differentiated classroom. The best ingredients are good for all cakes. Fresh, organic eggs and high-quality butter are not going to turn a chocolate cake into a carrot cake, but they will enhance both cakes and help them be the best they can be.

Some bakers believe that their cake should be "pulled out" of the regular oven and baked in a convection oven. The convection oven is accelerated, and true, the cake may bake faster. However, their ultimate destiny is no different than that of the slower-baking cake. Each becomes the cake they were meant to become.

Some bakers insist on worrying over their cakes. They think if they constantly open the oven to check on the cake's progress, they will improve its outcome. Not so. They actually interfere with the all important process of cake development. All a baker can do is make sure that his cake is given the best possible ingredients and then love and appreciate it.

image: Graduation Cake Guy from CarbonNYC's flickrstream end note: had I searched flickr for cakes first, I might never have written this. Wow. I mean WOW. There are some crazy-talented cake artists out there. If you want to see some amazing looking cakes go search flickr!

Best-Ever Banana Bread

2009-03-24T21:27:00.005-04:00

We may be talking soon about baking cakes here on ETW. (oh no, what does it mean when you give your blog a nickname?)

I promised this recipe to a twitter friend who asked me to post it to a blog. Since this is my "main" blog, I thought I might as well share it here. Not ed nor tech, it may still be the best thing I've ever shared here. That is cause this banana bread is GOOD. And easy. And really, really good. Everyone loves it. I just made some the other night. And I did try to take a picture to post, but the picture just didn't do it justice. So no picture.

Chocolate Chip Banana Bread

1/2 cup canola or veg oil

1 1/2 cups sugar

2 eggs

1/2 tsp salt

1 1/2 cups flour

1 tsp baking soda

1/3 cup buttermilk

2 or 3 very ripe bananas, mashed

1 cup chocolate chips

Mix all ingredients except chocolate chips until you have a nice, smooth batter. Add chips. Pour into 2 greased bread pans and bake at 350 deg. for about 45 minutes. The chocolate chips will sink to the bottom.

Skyping with 2nd Grade

2009-03-19T20:33:00.004-04:00

Around the World with 80 Schools-- if you haven't already heard of it, this is a very simple (in theory) way for schools around the world to use skype to connect with other students. I say "in theory" because we had our first skype session today, and it was a bit messier than I had hoped. But, as I always remind myself, learning IS messy!

As part of the sharing/learning/connecting, participants are asked to blog about the experience afterwards. I'm going to keep my post short and sweet as I am tired tonight. Unfortunately, I didn't take any pictures during the call.

I threw out my request for a skype call on twitter, as I thought it might be the easiest way to find someone. Silvia Tolisano, the project's organizer later messaged me that she found it simpler to connect via email, so I will keep that in mind for next time. Luckily, I had a quick response from Paula White, a teacher at Crozet School in Crozet, VA. We made arrangements to have our 2nd grade classes meet this morning around 11 am. ET. It was easy to start with a school in the same time zone.

The hard part on my end was that our students are engaged (?) in standardized testing this week. Being a dual-curriculum school, most of the general-studies part of the day has been filled with testing which didn't leave me much time to prepare the kids. I like to really prepare for things (which, yes, does involve me talking quite a bit as one of my students pointed out today). I asked the classroom teacher to have them write questions in advance.

Technical glitch:

Technical problems are par for the course. Despite the best preparation, they do happen. Unfortunately, we were unable to see the students in Virginia. It threw me off not being able to see the kids to whom we were talking, although we could hear them just fine.

What went well:

The kids were extremely excited about the call. They asked questions about field trips, pets, wild animals, the weather (the VA kids asked my kids how HOT it gets in Florida during the WINTER. My students were a bit confused by that one!), and questions about locale such as "Are you close to Washington DC?" and "How many of you have been there?" Almost all of the students from VA had been to DC.

The best part was that Paula called us back after her students left to go to art. She called from a different computer, and this time the video worked. Since our call had been short, many of my students had not had a chance to go before the camera and ask a question. Paula was very patient and answered many questions. She even took the computer into the hallway to show us her school's pets.

What I would like to do differently next time:

I would not try to do this again without having a chance to talk to and prepare the students beforehand. We will brainstorm our questions as a whole class instead of having each student write their own questions. We will also decide in advance who is going to sit in the "hot seat" and who will ask which questions. Of course, we will discuss behavior expectations as well.

Thank you so much to Paula and her students. I am really looking forward to our next skype session.

6 Things That Make Me Happy

2009-02-26T21:04:00.002-05:00

A lovely meme and easy, too...I was tagged by TJ Shay to share 6 things that make me happy. I find it pretty easy to feel happy. Here are six of the things that make me so.

1. Cuddling with my kids.

2. Sleeping late

3. Summer break

4. A good cup of coffee in the morning

5. A hot shower

6. Cool, but not cold, weather

I am going to tag some of my students for this meme. My fourth graders have been working on a group blog this year. The content has been sliding downhill a bit. They need some direction, and I like this meme. Please, consider yourself tagged if you'd like to share.

Act Smart

2009-02-25T20:42:00.002-05:00

I was talking with my husband who is going through yet another "career change." I put it in quotes because, really, he has never had a career. He is an amazingly talented person who can do so many things really well, but he just hasn't found the way to make any of his avocations into a vocation.

As we were talking about how hard his new business is I shared with him some thoughts about changing his approach in order to become successful. He agreed, but he felt that it wasn't what came naturally to him.

So, I countered, just act that way.

ACT the way you want to be. Fake it til you make it. It's simple.

It made me think of an incident with a student. I had started to present an assignment for the lab and heard some moaning and groaning (I know, unbelievable!). I told them never mind, just act like you like what we're doing.

Later that night I received an email from one of the kids. She said, "I don't have to act like I like what we're doing anymore. I LOVE it. "

What a great actress. She convinced herself.

More on What Matters....How about READING?!

2009-02-13T08:20:00.004-05:00

OH, MAGIC HOUR WHEN A CHILD FIRST KNOWS IT CAN READ PRINTED WORDS!

- A Tree Grows in Brooklyn

I'm a dinosaur, I admit it. I still believe that reading is and will always be a core value. No links, this is just an off-the-top-of-my-head post, but I know I've seen articles listing reasons why reading will not be an important skill in the future. All information will be accessible in non-written formats.

I don't believe it. I never will. Call it my inability to embrace change, call it what you will. I believe that reading matters BIG TIME.

One of my defining interests as a teacher is literacy. I would love to see all kids love reading. I think every classroom in every school should give kids time to read.

Time.

To Read.

I'd like to see reading textbooks become extinct. Sheesh. There are so many good books to read to kids and for kids to read. The idea of a reading textbook? It makes no sense. ( I spent over a hundred dollars on my daughter's reading textbooks for school this year. Can you imagine if every parent spent that money, instead, to build a classroom's library or to build their child's at-home library?)

Real readers read. Real readers talk about and share books with others. Some real readers do related extension activities depending on who they are and how much they liked the book.

Real readers hang out in places like bookstores and libraries. Real readers enjoy stories and most enjoy hearing stories read aloud, even after they can read themselves. Real readers get emotionally involved with characters. They think about the characters and the story beyond the time they are reading. Real readers go back and re-read things. Real readers don't need outside incentives to read. The incentive is the joy of the story. For young children, it's the warmth of cuddling with a special adult who reads aloud.

Until children have been "hooked" on reading, what about giving them outside incentives to read? I'm ok with that. Whatever makes readers of our children is fine with me. What I don't want to see in schools are activities that make reading something inauthentic. I've seen too many children who believe that reading is something you do in school, that it has no real value in their lives.

Building a classroom community that centers around authentic reading is actually fairly easy. To me, literacy, the whole, is more important than all the pieces and parts our schools seem to spend so much time teaching. Reading matters.

image credit: http://flickr.com/photos/chaparral