I Love Lectures (that's why I rarely give them)

by Shelly Blake-Plock

Confession: I love lectures.

Well, good lectures. Delivered by great lecturers.

Back in college, my life literally was changed by a series of lectures on Greek Archaeology. And I've had the fortune to sit before some of the greatest lecturers on the planet. Lecturers who are warm, funny, engaging, and fiercely intelligent. Lecturers who inspire you to push your own intellect beyond its presumed capacity.

But I'm an auditory learner. I know this. I know this is why I listen to NPR several hours a day. I know this is why I love jazz. I know this is why I did so well and learned so much in lecture classes despite the fact that I never took notes.

I also know that in many ways I'm an exception. And so, in my own teaching I use lecture relatively rarely. Instead, I tend to put students on tasks where they're the ones "doing stuff". Or, if I do have to lecture, I try to make the experience as conversational and inclusive as possible. Because I recognize that the way I learn best is not necessarily the same as the way I teach best.

Last night I started following a series of astronomy lectures from the Yale Open Courses. I've long had an interest in astronomy, but had never dedicated any formal coursework to it. Figured I couldn't go wrong beings that the courses are free and all. And so I've gotten through the first two sessions and I have to say I'm enjoying them thoroughly. There's a lot of smart stuff happening there -- both in terms of content and teaching.

First of all, the students are encouraged to learn in groups and then apply what they learned in those groups individually to problems. That makes sense to me and is a basic rule of how I approach teaching a foreign language. Secondly, the professor clearly states that there is no textbook -- because no textbook could keep up with what's actually happening right now in astronomy. Again, this is the same discussion I have with my graduate students when we talk about the state of educational technology. Finally -- and this really hit home for me -- much of the second lecture focuses on how and why mistakes are made in astronomy and what that means. And it was literally exhilarating following the prof as he set up the assumptions later to be knocked down. Throughout it all, the professor relied on nothing more than a notebook, an overhead projector and blank sheets of transparency, a marker, and his voice. And it was brilliant.

And I'm sure it would have bored the hell out of many a student and driven even more to check to see if it was too late to switch classes.

Because not once, despite what we all know is available in glorious color photographs, did the professor even so much as offer an image except for a single overly-Xeroxed black-and-white pic of a fuzzy star. Because not once did the professor attempt to engage even a single student in the hall except perhaps for a brief aside. Not once did the professor suggest the students could follow along with his descriptions via Wikimedia Commons or any of several telescope projects worldwide.

Nonetheless, I was enthralled. Because my type of learning is attuned to his type of teaching. And because I know where to go and how to supplement a lecture as I'm watching it. But if I were a different type of learner, would this presentation of astronomy be beyond my reach? How many kids with a deep love of the stars have felt that those stars were out of reach precisely because their introduction to astronomy looked like this series of lectures?

As teachers, we have to remind ourselves sometimes that our way of thinking is not the way of thinking. We have to remind ourselves that the point of education is not to go through the motions of teaching, but to go through the hard scrabble process of helping someone else learn. It's humbling, really. And speaking for myself, I know that I've got a lot of work to do to improve. Because there's a lot more than equations of speed and distance between our students and those stars.

What Is Teacher Leadership?

by Steven W. Anderson

Cross Posted At The Web 2.0 Connected Classroom

A colleague and I were doing a workshop at a school today. I was filling in for someone who had been out and the content were we covering, I thought, would be better if we taught it together. And that also allowed one of us to teach while the other floated around the room to help teachers who got behind or need a little extra encouragement. 

The workshop was just like any other. Participants were very engaged and really enjoyed the content we were teaching. They asked great questions and were really excited to go back to their classrooms and try out what were covering. 

As we were preparing to leave a teacher said, "I have a question."

"Sure!" I said, thinking I would be answering another question about what we were there for. 

"Why are we doing this workshop?" 

Most people in my position have heard this question before. Immediately my defense goes up. In my brain I am thinking of the standard district response that it supports our goal of 21st century blah, blah, blah. 

"That sounded very rude," she said. "What I mean is why are we doing it this way. No what I mean is,"

Ok, at this point I am beginning to understand what she is talking about. She wanted to know why this particular workshop on this particular day. Without going into too much detail it was one that at the beginning of the year someone else thought this staff would benefit from. They were half correct in that the staff would benefit from what we were talking about but not in the format we were asked to do it in.

"I have a suggestion," she said. (I like suggestions. They help me get better at what I do.) "What we are talking about here is very content specific. I teach 7th grade science. My other 7th grade science teachers need to hear this information too as we all can benefit from it. Why are we not doing technology PD in more of a PLC format. You (mean me and my colleague) come in during our PLC meetings after we have the basics and talk to us more about how it applies to my content area. I know you guys (again meaning myself and my colleague) didn't plan this workshop but for the future I think this is how we should do it."

To say I was speechless is really an understatement. This was a teacher that gets it. She understands that most of the information that she receives in technology PD would be better suited in a small group in her PLC meeting where they can discuss how their content can benefit, rather then focusing on the tool in a large group setting. 

By the end of the conversation we had ideas as to how they could accomplish the PLC Technology PD and how they could get started working on Technology PD with other teachers at the same grade level from across the district. 

That, folks is Leadership. She understands what her and her department needs and what the needs of her students are and she took the initiative when the opportunity presented itself and capitalized on it. She is starting a movement in her school to have better PD that meets more needs than what we were currently providing her and her teachers. She is only able to do this because she has an administration that is flexible and understands that the PLCs will only work if they decide the direction they take. (That is Leadership too.)

I am reading The Technology Director's Guide To Leadership. (I picked it up at ISTE last year and have been meaning to read it for a while now.) In it the author talks about how technology directors and CIO's need to take a step back even now and then and reflect on the effectiveness of their program as whole. Is it on fire? Is it simmering? Or does it need some heat? If it is simmering or needs heat what changes need to be made to get it on fire? This teacher had done this for her school. She looked at all the technology PD they had been doing and said there had to be a better way. They needed some heat and she went straight to the fire. 

Being able to critically look at myself as a technology educator and look at what I am doing is an important part of my ability to be effective. I constantly look at my evaluations for workshops that I have done to see where I can improve. I like critical feedback. Again, thats how I get better.

The same must be true for everyone involved in education but most importantly those of us involved in technology. We have to make sure we are not only looking forward at where are programs are going but where they have been and if we have done a good job. We have to talk to people, solicit ideas, get feedback and make changes even when those decisions might be tough. 

But it all starts with one question and that teacher nailed on the way out. 

"These kids deserve better right? After all thats why we are here."

Couldn't agree more...

What do you think? What are some other aspects of leadership that we need to consider in our various roles. Leave me some feedback below. 

Learning by Examining One's Being

by Shelly Blake-Plock

Having lunch. Behind me sit a table of med students. They are studying for exams. And they are studying in some of the most interesting ways.

In trying to better understand how the passages in his head connect, one student laid down on the table and poured water down his nose. After nearly drowning, he discussed the experience with his friends.

Later the group took turns pulling on the beard of one of the males in the group trying to figure out why and exactly how it hurt when you pulled on a beard.

Right now, they are examining and trying to explain various splotches, marks, and bruises on their own bodies.

While I don't condone trying to drown yourself in the interest of understanding nasal anatomy, I do think what's going on here is interesting from a teaching and learning perspective. Would love to hear your thoughts.

Getting Students and Teachers Organized - tips and resources

GET ORGANIZED!!

by David Andrade

http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/

I just saw a Tweet asking for tips on helping students to get organized, so I decided to write some tips up. I am a very organized person (type A personality and was an engineer for ten years) and I used to teach organizational skills to other employees at one of my jobs. There are a ton of different organizational methods out there, but it is actually pretty easy to be organized and stay that way using some free tools.

I use a variety of tools to keep myself organized and share them with other teachers and with my students. I have some links below to other articles I've written that are similar in nature, so please read those too.

Since this blog is about Teaching Paperless, I will deal with electronic apps and devices. 

The trick to being organized is to always use your system and not deviate from it. Take 5 min each morning, lunch, afternoon, and evening to get organized, check your schedule and task list, and make plans for the next time period. Keep your task list and schedule up to date and check it before making plans. Prioritize your task list based on what is most important or needed done 1st. Use a calendar or prompts or reminders to make sure you get things done on time.

Electronic organizing tools can be helpful because they can remind you of due dates, meetings, etc. through text messages, emails, and on-screen alerts. They can also link notes, web sites, and more together so it's easier to find things.

Here is how I stay organized: 

(I use electronic resources and can access them from anywhere)

1. I have a Palm Pre+ running on Verizon so I can access all of the tools I use at any time. That means I'm always able to take notes, create a task or calendar event, and review all of my stuff any time, anyplace. I can access all of my emails, my Google Calendar, Google Task List, and Evernote from it. I can also access all of my files via Dropbox. (and all of this is accessible from any computer and always in sync).

2. I use iGoogle to keep everything in one place on my computer. My calendar, Tasks, email, and Evernote notes are all available to me on one page on my computer. This means I can see everything very easily and keep myself up to date. I also have events in Google Calendar set up to send me a text message reminder.

(here's an article I wrote about using iGoogle to stay organized. )

3. I use Evernote to take notes, organize notes, organize info and web clippings, and as a lesson planning tool. I have access to this from any computer and from my Palm Pre+. I organize notes into notebooks and also have tags, making them easier to find when I need them.

4. I even have an app for my phone that will alert me when I am near a place that I have a task for (via GPS).

I tell my students about all of these, and I also share some great tools specifically for students, like Trackclass, Shoshiku, and Dweeber that can help them get organized with their classes, schedule, and notes.

Electronic Planning Resources (free)

Smartphones can access Evernote and web sites and many have their own organizing apps. 

Evernote

iGoogle (and other Google Tools)

Student Planner Sotware (all free) (lots of good ones here to share with your students)

(Palm PDA's and Smartphones (not the Pre or Pixi) came with Palm Desktop which was a great way to be organized on the computer and sync to your PDA or Palm OS smartphone)

Not necessarily Free

Microsoft Outlook (free if your school uses Microsoft Exchange for email) there is web access. 

Outlook Express used to come with Windows. Windows Live now offers much of same functionality.

Fee (not free)

Franklin Covey has electronic planning solutions (more well known for Paper Planners) 

       PlanPlusOnline is pretty powerful and is accessible from any smartphone. But, it's $14.95/month. 

Organizing Resources

Online Organizing

Get Organized Now - great site with great tips and resources

Julie Morgenstern - professional organizer with some great tips and resources

The big thing to remember is that you have to use your system consistently and you have to take a time to plan out your day. You have to prioritize things and realize that free time and sleep sometimes have to take a back seat to priorities. However, if you plan things well and do things each day, you can avoid the sudden backlog and all-nighters that many students end up experiencing.

Basic Steps for being organized:

1. Plan Ahead (every day)

2. Make a ToDo (or task) list

3. Put things in your calendar (and check your calendar during your planning)

4. Students: write down your assignments and due dates in organizer

5. Students: study/work on homework a little each day to stay ahead

6. Stick to your schedule and commitments

7. Reward yourself with some free time.

Teachers and students can benefit greatly form being organized. You are more efficient, get things done on time, don't forget things, and generally have less stress.

Ten Reasons to Have a Paperless Classroom

By Steve Katz

10. Work doesn’t get “lost” in the bottom of a backpack.

9. Save space (no file cabinets).

8. Nobody ever forgets their pencil.

7. Collaboration is easy from anywhere.

6. No carrying notebooks (only netbooks).

5. Students are building digital portfolios.

4. No more “no-name” assignments.

3. You never have to wait in line for the copier.

2. Save paper, save the Earth.

1. The dog can’t eat your homework.

You can go paperless in your classroom, or at least reduce the use of paper while improving your lessons. Begin planning for a paperless Earth Day, Friday, April 22, 2011. Need some ideas about alternatives to paper? Feel free to add more.

Some Facts & Myths Regarding Classroom iPads

by Michael Grzelak

I first wanted to say hello to everyone who follows this blog and thank Shelly for the opportunity to contribute to this awesome blog.  A few months I was sitting around a conference table discussing a school grant opportunity.  The grant itself dealt with technology and at the end of the meeting, my principal stated she was going to purchase a new laptop lab for the school.  The others in the room were excited, but my mind was thinking about other types of technology.  The night before, I was in a class that Shelly taught called The Paperless Classroom.  We had just talked about iPads and wrote a fake letter about the type of technology we wished existed in our school.  I had wished that every classroom had a set of iPads, but this is simply not feasible for a city high school in Baltimore.  However, I wanted to voice my opinions about this new purchase.  

I spoke up and suggested that we look into iPads; this gathered some strange looks from others in the room who did not necessary understand the power of these devices, but I continued and made a sales pitch for the iPad.  Some of the things I mentioned included how they were more cost effective, how they can be used for product creation, and the engaging apps (many of which are free).  My principal, who loves technology, was more than willing to purchase two school IPad labs instead of the one laptop lab (the total amount spent was the same).  To my surprise, one of the new iPad labs was for me to teach a World History course.  I did not believe these words at first and to be honest, I had limited experience with an iPad.  To my excitement, one was purchased quickly for me to play around with and in our third trimester I will be teaching a nearly paperless class with iPads.

Before my teaching iPad arrived, I wanted to conduct extra research about the device and I placed a survey link on Twitter to #edchat and #edtech asking individuals to state if they would rather have a laptop class set or an iPad class set.  The results were surprising; I was not shocked that most teachers would prefer laptops, but I was taken aback by the misunderstanding of the power of iPads.  This brings me to the point of this blog entry, to start to debunk some of the myths currently existing about iPad features and capabilities.

1)                 

       1) Fact or Myth – you cannot create documents on iPads, you can only engage with apps.

MYTH:  this was the most surprising data gathered from my poll of educators; the iPad is a fully functional creation device.  There are many apps, some are free and some cost a little bit of money, that enable you to create documents, presentations, spreadsheets, flyers, graphs, etc.  

If you want professional quality documents, two of the most popular apps for creation are Pages (for word processing documents) and Numbers (for spreadsheets).  These apps each cost about $10, but the cost is due to the professional quality it gives such documents.  If you do not want to purchase these, no problem; there are MANY other apps (many are free) that will allow you or your students to create products on the iPad.

2)      2) Fact or Myth – iPads will not allow students to save their work.

MYTH – On a laptop you can save a lot of different documents, pictures, videos, etc. on the hard drive.   However, the selling point of the iPad is the cloud effect.  We live in a digital world that no longer requires use to be bound to hard drives, flash drives, external drives, etc.  We can use the cloud (the vast digital space of the internet) to save files directly.  Students are not limited by this feature; in fact it is for their benefit as the cloud can be accessed from any device that connects to the internet.  We have to start moving away from thinking that we can only save our information on one machine; we can save on the cloud and access our “stuff” anywhere in the world.   

Some iPad users have said that Google Docs does not work with the iPad, but in my experience I have had no problems creating word documents or spreadsheets in Google Docs.  The best thing about Google Docs is obviously the fact that it saves to its own cloud network.  Not a fan of Google Docs, once again this is not a problem.  Use Dropbox (there is an app for this to make it easier) which is an online cloud tool that you can sync to backup your files or simply drop your files manually into the digital box.

3)      3) Fact or Myth – the iPad is too difficult to type on; our students need to know how to type on a normal key board.

Myth – Yes, the iPad does take some time to become familiar with the shorter keyboard layout, but it is not impossible.  Do you remember typing your first text message on a cell phone; did you instantly type that message perfectly, without any errors or difficultly finding the appropriate keys?  I know I had trouble.  Once you explore with the iPad, you will get the hang of the keyboard.  Your students will adapt too.  In fact one response on the poll was that iPads provide a typing disservice to students, but this is a flawed way of thinking. 

Think right now about how many different kinds of typing devices we have – there are thousands of different ways to input and interact with a device.  I agree that our students need to understand how to use the conventional computer keyboard, but we live in a world where a new device is thought of and created.  Some of these devices have different types of keyboards, thus we need to expose our students to different typing devices. 

4)     4) Fact or Myth – iPads cannot function with Flash.

Fact (FOR NOW) – It is only a matter of time (months, if that) before this is turned into a myth.  Many sites on the internet do have flash components and currently these do not display on the iPad, but there have been recent attempts (nearly successful) by a few companies (one is called Skyfire) to create an app for the iPad and iPhone to allow flash content to show.  Skyfire released this almost two months ago, but it was so popular that it nearly crashed their servers with an overload of demand for the app and they had to remove it.  They have placed a different version in the app store, but it is still being developed.   There are rumors that Adobe will be creating an app (they have always wanted too, but something was in disagreement with Adobe and Apple); it is only a matter of time before the iPad will be able to run Flash!

Hopefully this provided a little more insight to the iPad.  These fact/myth comments came directly from the poll I created and I think teachers need to understand the iPad functions and capabilities a little more before they write it off.  In future posts, I will focus on some awesome apps and ways to use the iPad in a classroom setting. Thanks for reading.

Five C's of Multimedia Mastery

by John T. Spencer

"You know Ed Hardy t-shirts are just really bad tattoo art with a Bedazzler," a student comments.

Minutes later, a kid says. "Did you know that they used to have a haircutter that you could attach to your vacuum?  I saw it on YouTube.  It's hilarious."

"You know that you can watch Alf reruns on YouTube?" another kid says.

Later that day, when students hear a Ray LaMontagne song, a kid recognizes his voice.  "Hey, that's the white guy who sang the song 'Crazy.'  I saw it on my friend's myspace." (Apparently myspace is still pretty popular with low-income youth).

My students piece together pop culture in a never-ending collage.  I tell a kid that something isn't her fault and five people are quoting "Stewie, it's not your fault," from Family Guy. I mention North Korea and students show me a Facebook fan page for their dictator.  When I taught the American Revolution, I had a student show me a Social Media Guide to the Revolution, showing how it would look with Paul Revere on Twitter.

My students have a ton of information. Nothing shocking there.  They piece together shards of satire from television, converse about it on Facebook, create their own parodies with cell phones and then post them on YouTube.  They ping pong back and forth between facts.  And yet . . .

My students arrive in my class with almost no critical thinking.  The tools they've used to access information have made them brilliant collage artists and pop culture snobs, however they have rarely ventured beyond entertainment.  True, they can find satire and yes, they can reference a decent joke.  However, most of them fail to use information for anything more than a joke or a conversation point.

So, for the love of all things alliterated, I'm tossing out 5 C's of Multimedia Mastery:

Context: I want students to understand the context of information.  Yes, it's neat that they can quote an obscure line from Alf.  However, do they understand the context of the eighties?  Do they get what it was like to be in the waning years of the Cold War?  I want them to use media to find the context, to understand the space.  As they approach a video or a website, I want them to think about the sense of space and time that have been chipped away by media.

Creativity: I want my students to use media for creative purposes.  By this, I don't simply mean piecing together other people's work, either.  I want them to write original blog posts, create and share concept maps, record their own podcasts and spend some time creating decent video. If media is supposed to be democratic and social, I want my students to get beyond entertainment and start using a medium to compose something original.

Critical Thinking:  I want students to think critically about the information online.  This means they need to learn to ask deeper inquiry questions, analyze the bias of a source, differentiate between fact and opinion and make connections that aren't instantly noticeable.  It also means they need to critique the medium itself.

Civics:  The revolution in Tunisia was essentially a social media revolution. The same is true of the protests in Iran. Sadly, our schools often block the very media that helped launch democracy in other nations? I want my students to use media to express their social voice and to engage in a civic dialog.  I want them to question whether Twitter is right for keeping WikiLeaks' account information private.  It's a powerful thing when students use media to access public files, ask questions to public leaders and speak out for what they believe.

Conversation:  I want students to understand that there is a social element to social media and that the best way for them to have a holistic, contextual understanding of their world is through real-life conversations.  Kids come to media (even social media) with a sense that it's not real.  I want them to recover the human side of it.  How can they engage in media in a way that broadens worldviews and helps them to see that there are multiple perspectives?

Student Resources

by David Andrade


Since this blog is entitled "Teach Paperless" I thought I would make my first post about some great Web 2.0 resources for students that can help them get organized and study. These resources are very useful, and all free.

TRACKCLASS:

Trackclass is a great, free resource for students. The site allows students to track their classes and assignments, and even will send reminders (email or SMS) for upcoming assignment due dates and test dates. There is also a note taking utility so students can take notes on it if they have a computer in school, or transcribe notes later. You can even attach files to each class and assignment to keep things organized. It is a great way for students to stay organized.

There is also a version for mobile phones and the iPhone, so students can stay organized no matter where they are.

I found it very easy to use, with a great help section. I wish they had this when I was in school! I was even thinking that teachers could use this too.

SHOSHIKU

Shoshiku is another free class organizer, similar to Trackclass. It has a calendar, notes, task list, and reminder system like Trackclass. It is not as full featured, in my opinion, as Trackclass, but it is easy to use and some students may like it better than Trackclass.

DWEEBER

Dweeber is a homework collaboration site that also has tools to help students learn better. It is described as a homework social network. Students sign up, for free, and can add their friends, known as "dweebs" to their network. Students can work on homework together and help each other out. It even as a virtual whiteboard so that they can work together just as if they were in the same room. There is a message center, study sessions, and even a place to post links to web sites that you find helpful in doing your work.

This is a great resource for students who can't get together physically to work on homework or projects.

Google Student Blog:

I am a huge user and fan of Google's many applications and their use in education. I use Blogger for this blog and my classroom blogs, Google Sites for my classroom site, Google Docs, Google Earth, iGoogle and much more with my students and for my own use. I show my students Google's applications because they are easy to use, useful, and free.

Google recently launched the Google Student Blog. This blog site is a great resource for students who use Google's products. It includes information, updates, how-to's, tips, and much more on how to use Google's applications as a student. If your students use Google's products, they should be reading the Google Student Blog. 

Scribblar:

Scribblar is an online meeting room / white board. Students can use it to collaborate on projects, teachers can tutor via the computer, and teachers can use it for collaborative meetings and projects.

Scribblar gives the users a virtual white board on the screen and writing tools to create text, lines and shapes. They can even add images.

There is also a chat window on the side bar so that users can talk to each other while working. There is even a live chat system if you have a microphone and speakers.

I see students using this to work on homework problems together. Teachers could use this to help students with homework after school or on the weekends.

Scribblar can now support PDF files. Free users can upload PDFs with up to 5 pages. Your uploaded PDF will be turned into an editable image in Scribblar.

Evernote

Evernote is a great, free resource that allows you to easily capture information using whatever device or operating system you use. It then makes this information accessible and searchable from anywhere. Their tagline: Remember Everything.

You can capture task lists, notes, web pages, white boards, business cards, pictures, and even clip web pages to Evernote.

You can download a desktop version of the software, for free, which will sync to the Evernote web server, or you can just access it through the internet on their web page. You can also access it through a mobile device. They have downloadable applications for the iPhone, Blackberry, Android, and Windows Mobile devices. You can also access their mobile website on any web-enabled phone.

You can create new notes via desktop, web, or mobile version. You can also use your camera phone or web cam to take a snapshot and Evernote can even recognize the text in the image. You can also email notes, clip web pages, record audio notes, and scan papers, receipts and more into Evernote.

Their website has easy to follow instructions and help sections. Students can use Evernote to take notes in class, share notes with other students, capture notes off of a whiteboard or poster using their smartphone camera, and much more.

Dropbox

Dropbox is a service that allows you to sync your files on your computer with their system as a backup. This also allows you to access the files anywhere. You can also sync the files across multiple computers. This means that you have automatic backup of your files and 24/7 access to your files. I have it set up to sync a folder on my home computer and school computer so I don't have to worry about having multiple versions or forgetting a flash drive.

There are also Dropbox apps for iPhone, Android, iPad and there is one coming for Blackberry. There is an independent app for Palm webOS, but you can also access the mobile site from any web-enabled phone. Imagine being able to access all of your files on your smartphone!

One feature that is very nice is the fact that it works with network drives like we use in my district. Some of the other cloud file storage and sync systems can't work with network drives. I was very happy to see this was able to be done with Dropbox.

Students can use this to access and back up their files anywhere. They can also share files with each other which is useful when working on projects.

E-Learners:

This web site has some great resources for students and teachers, including test prep, study skills, organization, grammar and writing, and career planning. Everything broken down by topic and is listed on one page, so it is easy to find things.

http://www.elearners.com/educational-resources/

I created a Google Presentation about Google and other free applications and resources for students that I will be sharing with my students next week. I feel that these are the tools and resources that will be the most useful to them, with the shortest amount of training time required.

I thought I would also share it with you. You can view it HERE.

I also just learned about Student DOG Organizer from the site MakeUseof.com. I have not had a chance to use it yet, but it looks like a good app for students to use to organize notes, schedule, and more.

Related:

Free Resources for Students from Educational Technology Guy

Share these with your students and please share any others you know of with us.

You don't know me!

By Mike Kaechele

Been thinking a lot about relationships lately. I think they are one of the most important parts of teaching and learning. If there is little or no relationship between people than it is hard to have the trust to push each other to a deeper level. When something goes poorly in my room it is one of the first things I check. I also think it is important to reflect openly even when things do not turn out as well as planned.

   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *   *
I like to experiment in my classroom and am not afraid to try something new. Recently my 8th graders worked with an 8th graders in Vietnam designing video games in Scratch. The project was modestly successful at best. One of the reasons was that the students in Vietnam were more experienced with Scratch and in thinking like a programmer than my students. Many of the international students had used Scratch for a few years whereas almost all of my students were first time users. We learned the basics by making a few basic games following step by step instructions. Most of my students were fine with that but when they had to create their own game from "scratch" then they struggled.

Some of the groups worked well with each other, but many of the groups struggled. The reasons were varied as some students slacked off and let their partner students do most of the work. Others had miscommunication about either their designs or how to actually make them work.

By Aphrodite

But the key breakdown that I saw was the lack of relationships between themselves and the students overseas. We had the students create introductory videos but did not have time for them to make any more videos through out the project. Skype unfortunately is not an option because of the time difference. Students were supposed to email the game files back and forth to each other and explain what they are working/stuck on. They often forgot to do this or did not take the time to write good explanations.

The students just were not "connected" to their overseas partners so they were not very motivated to cooperate. It was easier to blame some abstract student partner who was not in the room. We were under the gun time wise to get this project done, but next time we must lay more groundwork before the collaboration to develop relationships between the students. For most middle schoolers their social life and friends are their life. We need to tap into this to build meaningful relationships to inspire deeper learning.

Novelty, Huh?

by Shelly Blake-Plock

A reader writes:

There was an interesting article in the New York Times regarding the use of iPads in schools. Larry Cuban, a professor emeritus of education at Stanford University is quoted: “IPads are marvelous tools to engage kids, but then the novelty wears off and you get into hard-core issues of teaching and learning.” Cuban also believes that rather than spending money on new technology it should be used to train, keep, and find the best teachers available (Hu, 2011). Would you agree with Cuban’s statement that the novelty of technology will wear out sooner or later? 

 I would somewhat agree with Prof. Cuban. If we were living in 1983.

In those heady early days of educational technology and computers-in-schools, it was all about hardware and software. Technology was a matter of spending enormous amounts of money to create a relatively weak digital facsimile of the analog/physical world.

And so kids like me who were fortunate enough to have a small computer lab in our school learned quickly that a math game that was lame on paper was just as lame on the computer. Especially when we could go home and play Atari.

As for the specific case of the iPad, it's hardly an ideal device if you are looking for a catch-all. I'm especially concerned about the closed nature of the system and the emphasis on sales at the app store and on iBooks. But it is a device that speaks to several of the important features of our time, most importantly: mobile and accessible instant Internet connectivity. And I would argue that to see the iPad as a fad is to miss the bigger picture: the iPad only exists within the context of a mobile-connected world. That mobile-connected world is not a novelty; that's a paradigm and a reality.

Furthermore, the paradigm and reality of a mobile-connected world has nothing to do with the institution of education, per se. The mobile-connected world isn't a new ed tech gimmick. It's a cross-cultural societal shift. And I'm not blind to the fact that that shift itself has got a lot of money riding on it; but our personal feelings about how culture is changed don't change the fact that culture is changed. Too often we try to raise a barrier between the classroom and the world; I think that defeats the potential of either to grow.

Now, I certainly think Larry Cuban realizes that the world has changed with the coming of the Internet, smartphones, and myriad social technologies. I think his point was that it's silly to think of the iPad as a singular tool which will change education. Instead, he wants us to focus on teacher training and retention. And I completely agree with him. Furthermore, Larry Cuban obviously realizes that there are differing values derived from differing technologies and there are also going to be many tech dollars wasted on schools that don't have teachers trained and qualified in the use of those technologies for learning purposes.

In fact, I see the whole issue of teacher preparation tied to a bigger reality of creating a new educational paradigm to meet the needs of a new societal and global paradigm. In other words, we've got to up-end the way we prepare and support teachers if we ever want to change the results in our schools.

I don't want to spend money "training" teachers how to do the things that educational institutions are currently doing. Rather, I want to develop teachers who are comfortable and savvy moving education forward into a future where the physical and the digital are augmented in a variety of ways; where schools themselves are mobile and hybridized environments merging the digital and the f2f in teaching things relevant to the lives and futures of their students' potential and authentic experience in a globalized world; and where the point of education is not simply to pass a test or get a job, but to empower individuals and community in celebrating creativity, innovation, beauty, and human capacity.

All of us want our students to succeed. And we should learn from and develop our pedagogy based  on the experiences and research of the past. But we should not do so with a blind eye to the realities of the present. Barring catastrophe, the new connections are not going away; even given a catastrophe, the seed of instant global connection has already been planted in the human psyche. It is now part of us. And it won't be long [IT WON'T BE LONG] before every student -- regardless of the neighborhood they live in or the employment status of their parents -- will be connected. We have to live up to that reality as educators. That means that we need teachers to engage in a relevant way with the digital reality -- to bring their humor and compassion and expertise to it; we need to support teachers in making this move -- above all they need time and they need to feel like they can explore and experiment without fear of being 'wrong'; and we may have to look with a keener eye at just what it is that we call 'novelty' -- because in every innovation (and every failure) there lies a deeper context.

Creating Meaningful Professional Development

by Steven W. Anderson

Cross Posted At The Web 2.0 Connected Classroom


This week on #edchat our conversation centered around Professional Development. Specifically, what are some of the roadblocks that prevent teachers and administrators from engaging in PD. 


Pretty deep huh?


There are lots of ideas out there as to why teachers don't want to engage in PD. Many times the PD, when it is required, isn't meaningful. When I was in the classroom I was part of a team that helped to decide the direction our PD at the school level would take. That was always a lot of fun and we always had positive experiences because the teachers had a voice and role in what we would be doing. 


On the flip side, at the district level, teachers rarely got to choose the direction of the PD. Now, I understand, working at the district level there are just some things that we need to do PD on for on reason or another. But what has seemed to work well for us are buffet offerings. Several of our divisions like Title I, Social Studies and others have taken whole days and run them like a mini conference. There are sessions to choose from and the only requirement is that you attend a minimum amount of sessions for the day. Even better, teachers are the ones in charge of decided what will be presented and there are some really great offerings. 


Time is always a classic complaint. As a person who conducts a lot of PD for teachers I hear this one more than I like. There never seems to be a good time. Mornings, before school are bad. After school is bad. Saturdays are bad. Ideally the solution is on-demand, anytime PD. Great! There is a solution for that. Social Media. Look at #edchat. Teachers come together for an hour and talk about various topics, get ideas, take them back to the classroom, reflect and many blog about their experiences and learn from others. Perfect PD! Or look at the Reform Symposium. Last Saturday there were 18 sessions, 2 keynotes and tons of great learning. Everyone who was there, didn't have to be there. They wanted to be there. They attended the sessions they wanted to and spent their own time doing it. The problem is, if the vast majority of educators tried to turn in that time for credits or renewals on their teaching licenses, they would be denied. But why? With the right steps in place (like opportunities for reflection and practice) on-demand, real-time PD could take a huge time and budget burden off of districts. 


However, one theme that came up again and again was maybe too much blame was being placed on teachers and district administrators. Maybe "bad" or "ineffective" PD is the result of poor design. What can those that design PD do? 


K.I.S.S. Keep it simple..well you know the rest. Often, especially in technology professional development those that do the training try to cram in every little thing into a session. I can't tell you the number of sessions I have sat in on various products where the trainer tried to explain any and all details about some tool or program. Now, I love technology. I live, eat, and breathe this stuff. But most teachers are completely different. Most are content specialists. They know what they teach backwards and forwards but when it comes to learning technology they really have to take their time. And we try to pump too much information into their brains all at once the likelihood of them shutting down and not using what we are teaching is very high. If possible we have to focus on one thing at a time. I am always an advocate of looking at one thing for 3-6 months to a school year. We can really dive in, spend lots of time talking about the ins and outs of the tool or resource. Of course there might be people that don't need that much time but you probably know who that is by now anyway. But taking lots of time on very specific topics leads me to my next suggestion.

Reflect. Reflect. Reflect. By taking it slow and spending lots of time on one specific tool or resource we provide times for all involved to do some reflection. As a trainer what I do is never perfect. There is always room for improvement. One of the tenets of instructional design is taking time to reflect on what works and what does not. By taking it slow we get the opportunity to take a step back every now and then and see what is going well. What is working? What isn't? What do we need to cover again? What would I do differently the next time? Is there someone who needs some extra help? I never would have been able to help my teacher with her webpage had it not been for the simple reflection I did after the first training. And the reflection is important for the teachers as well. They get to really think about how this new tool or learned skill fits in to their classroom and with their kids. They also need time to soak it all in. Even if what we think we are presenting is as easy as copying and pasting there has to be some time for reflection. And reflection leads to play.

Play Everyone needs some time to let loose and play. The fact is, often, in PD there is not enough time for play. Time isn't taken for play. There is usually some time to mimic but not really play. Teachers who are learning new tech skills as part of PD desire more time to just get in and play. Not during the actual PD but afterwards. Teachers need to have time to go back to their classrooms and get their hands dirty. But they need that support of the trainer. We have to be available and offer follow-ups and 1-on-1's. We can't send our teachers back to the classroom with some new skill and not check on them or simply follow-up. Would we do that to our kids? Doubt it. Why do that with teachers.

So the time to play leads to reflection. And we would have neither had we not taken it slow and kept it simple.

There is no doubt that teachers need PD. And there is no doubt there is meaningless PD out there. But we can begin to make it better and have a greater impact on our teacher learning.


What do you think? What was the most meaningful PD to you? Why was it that way? If you design PD how do you make sure it is effective? Leave some comments below.


Now get out there and learn something!


Image From Flickr CC