November 6, 2012 · 9:28 am

Announcing App Series

When I was in high school our school purchased a new technology that was going to change how the classroom worked.  We could now pause, rewind, and even jump to certain parts of a film.  I don’t remember which year it actually happened, but we moved from film projectors to VHS and Laser disc players.

In college I had a class that covered how to troubleshoot overhead projectors, VCRs and other technologies we might encounter in the classroom.  The objective was to be able to quickly handle situations so that instruction time was not disrupted.

These technologies didn’t really change anything.  Yes, we loved movie day in English class.  It was interesting to see how they changed the story and we would have discussions about how we “saw” the character versus the actor in the movie. But I would often doodle or write poetry during instructional films in Chemistry. Which might explain why I got D the first quarter, but did end up with a solid B by the end of the year. What changed was simply how we watched film.

Jump forward with me to today.  Using an idea from Malcolm Gladwell, I think we are at a “tipping point” in Education.  Mobile devices are the catalyst for this change.  I don’t think this is going to happen today, or even next year, but I sense the change.  And I think it will take one bold school in this area to start the change reaction.  What education might look like after the tipping point is for another blog.

This blog is to announce that next week I am going to do a five post series on specific apps for mobile devices that personify the fun, creative, and educational aspects of mobile devices. If you want to get started on investigating the apps for yourself, below are the days and apps with links to their sites.

Monday: Pic Collage (and photography in general)

Tuesday: SCVNGR (gamification)

Wednesday: Snapguide and Tagwhat (sharing what you know)

Thursday: Coursebook (creating your own course of learning)

Friday: Aurasma (augmented reality)

Join me next week to learn more. You never know what new ideas might be generated.

 

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November 1, 2012 · 12:25 pm

Grumpy Teacher

I think it has happened.  I am a grumpy teacher.  Many of my phrases start with “Back in my day,” or “Kids these days.”  To be honest, some days I feel drained after teaching instead of energized.  I get grumpy grading papers.  I am becoming that teacher.

How did I get here?  The answer is not easy to write, but I think it reveals some important aspects of education.

My Classroom

I teach all my classes over a DL (distance learning) system.  I juggle different start and end times for periods, 14 different school calendars, and one period with six different schools on the screen.  Not to mention technological issues or other factors that affect the environment of the class: lighting, all students on screen, and even just trying to answer a question from their computer screen.

I have, at best, shallow relationships with my students. I’m on line with them three days a week for 45 minutes.  I don’t get to have those conversations in the hall or at lunch.  They cannot ask for help in the morning.  I do not get to see the light bulb moments.  Learning is about moving to higher levels of understanding and articulation of that understanding.  It is scary to make that jump sometimes, but a teacher is that foundation that gives students the courage to make it.  I don’t seem to be building that foundation, and that is hard to live with because that is what a teacher does.

Connected to the environment is my approach to grades.  Lessons are just as much a part of the culture of a classroom as the desks and paint on the wall.  And with lessons comes grades.  I have tried to create a more project-based environment for both of my classes.  To create activities that builds the students’ skills without worrying about the grade.

 

Animal masks from when I taught in a classroom.

Here again I get tired of battling all the different grading issues, from the student cliché. “How long is it suppose to be?” to justifying every assignment that is not “graded” to schools.  In some ways I have made it even harder on myself because I’ve tried to run my DL classes as if it was a normal classroom.  So, I have kids go outside to write and take pictures.  Students hand in homework by taping it to the walls in their classroom.  But it is not so simple to correlate these activities with six other schools for that period.  Or to make sure all students post their work on the wall.

Grades are important, but I feel that improving their skills is more important.  Life doesn’t give us a midterm report.  We don’t get a grade for how well I did as a parent, or as a friend.  Yes, we do get evaluated for those things, but it is reveled in our sense of pride, the smiles and laughter at the dinner table.  Our skills help us create a life filled with love and strength to handle rough times.  I know a single classroom cannot measure up to life, but it can be a place to build the work ethic for students to strengthen the skills that will be needed in life.  I would rather see them work hard on an essay then filled a page requirement, but to create that freedom takes a relationship that is built throughout a school experience.  And I’m just some guy on a screen…

So I get tired, I get grumpy, I feel like a failure. But this feeling highlights what matters most in education and in life: the relationships we construct with students to help them reach their highest expression of talents and skills.  I might still be grumpy, but I know that all I can do is keeping trying.  Because I won’t get a grade for this moment in life, but will know how I’m doing by the smiles and pride my students express in their own life.

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October 24, 2012 · 11:12 am

The Easy Path

Robert Frost once wrote, “Two roads diverged in a wood…”

I wish life was that simple.  That each day was layout in two paths and that was it.  I’ve discovered that throughout a day we are given many opportunities or roads to travel.  But maybe Frost meant something deeper.  That there is always an easier path, and that path is more traveled by.

 

Tough Road Home

Everyday we are given the opportunity to choose our road, the easier path or the other.  The other path can lead anywhere and can be in any condition.  It can be a battle that leaves us bruised at the end of the day.  On another day that road is a walk in the park and we are filled with joy.  But the uncertainty of the outcome scares us and we shy away from choosing that path, especially if we have traveled that road and it has been a battle for too long.

So, we will choose the easier road.  That path is familiar to our feet.  No matter what the day might bring we can get through it by walking this road.  The day may not be fulfilling. It might irritate us, or stress us out, but it is easy.  It is a passive path.  It allows us to do almost nothing as the world moves on around us.  We know we could have done more with the day.  There is emptiness to the scenery, we don’t have to think, we don’t have to risk anything.  No failure, no heartache. Just a nagging emptiness that we don’t seem to mind because of the easiness of the walk.

But we find out, sometimes too late, that the road is a dead end.  A vacant lot filled with what ifs that blow across our hearts like tumble weeds.  The other path, for all its uncertainty, is the path we know we should choose.  No matter the wear of the road, or the obstacles, or sunshine streaming through the trees, this road leads to deeper fulfillment of our lives.  It is not always easy, but it leads us to a life of achievements, a life without regrets.

So we have another day before us.  There is an easy path through this day.  There is also the opportunity to do what it takes, no matter how difficult or different roads we end up walking to achieve a day we are proud of.

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October 12, 2012 · 10:53 am

Bullying

“On Wednesday, Amanda Todd’s body was found in her home, police in the Vancouver-area city of Coquitlam said. She took her own life.

She was 15.”

The quote comes from the article,  “Bullied Canadian teen leaves behind chilling YouTube video” written by Lateef Mungin, CNN on October 12, 2012.

My oldest son turned 12 in August.  As a dad I worry about bullying.  About the mind field that schools can be.  Last night at dinner my oldest daughter, who is in second grade, shared how she lost a friend during recess.    Second Grade! And we are dealing with friendship drama.

I know that friendships have cycles to them.  That growing up is not easy.  Discovering our talents, strengthen our beliefs, dealing with peer pressure.  These are things we deal with throughout our lives.  But how did it get so deadly?

What can I do about it?  What can anyone truly do about it?

The first step is the most important. Create a classroom environment that is safe.  We can’t change “the world” but we can change our world.  As a dad, as a teacher, I can only be a buffer against the cruelty of the world.  I am the role model of behavior, of strength, of what it means to be a person of character.  No one will ever be perfect, but as a dad and an educator I have an important job beyond the books or the paycheck: to show by living out the greatest aspects of this life.  It’s not easy, and I have failed too many times.  But no child, no son or daughter, no person deserves to be treated so bad that life has no meaning anymore.

The second step is education about digital citizenship.  For all that technology can do to enhance our lives, it brings out the darker side of society to our screens just as easily.  What was once written in the bathroom stall is now broadcasted on Facebook.  Thousands on YouTube now view a humiliating stunt at lunch. A mistake is not forgotten in this digital age.  Digital citizenship needs to start in elementary school right along with sharing and fair play.

The third step is to make a stand in some way before things get bad.  Our stories, our expertise, our smiles can be a catalyst for a student.  Last night I finished the book, “Season of Life,” a part of the story is about Joe Ehrmann’s program called Building Men for Others and it’s effect on the Gilman football program.  It is about the “why” of life.  And as a dad and a teacher (and when I was a coach) I have the blessing to share that why with my family and my students.  We all do.  We all should because without a deeper foundation the cruelty of life can crush any of us.

Here is a list of sites to find more information.

Stop Bullying

The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention

CNN “Speak Up”

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October 3, 2012 · 10:32 pm

Happy Birthday?

What does it mean if I only had two people wish me happy birthday on social media?

In the overall scheme of things, it doesn’t mean much.  I could have written a post to notify everyone that it was my birthday and received the traditional responses.  But I didn’t.  And therefore there was no stream of birthday wishes on Facebook or Twitter.

So, why am I writing about it if it didn’t matter?… Because it is a chance to explore social media’s connection with human relationships.

Birthday Cookie

My family sang “Happy Birthday” to me as we shared birthday cookies from Eileen’s.  I got cards from my parents and friends, and laughed with my best friend about getting “old” and the irony of our age getting closer to our golf scores for 9 holes on the phone. I also got to host a workshop I designed for creative apps in the classroom.

The two birthday wishes I got via social media made me feel good, especially as the day wore on and nobody else wrote anything to me.  Of course, it got me thinking about what social media is and what we expect from it.

First, what did I expect from my social media connections?  Some of my connections are with people I consider friends; others are people I know I would be good friends with if we worked together or lived in the same area.  Even more connections are surface relationships made through social media because we are interested in the same things or working in the same field. Then there is connections, especially on Twitter, that are purely one sided.  I follow bands, athletes, and/or other powerful people that do not even know I exist, even if I do reply to one of their tweets.

What do these connections mean for me, for anyone?   It lets us be heard.

That is a powerful motivator (as expressed in the above movie clip from 12 Angry Men). We now can all be quoted. But that single aspect can lead us to believe that social media is more than it is. I see (or read) many people who use social media as the main facet of living.  The worst example is reading as a marriage disintegrated into divorce through Facebook updates.  Comments left on social media is not living.  Yet we can find ourselves sitting in front of a screen waiting for something to happen, most of the time just a response to our post… a reinforcement of our existence.

At this time in our society we are working through these social issues.  Finding that balance between our life in front of a screen and the life we have in front of our eyes.  The hard part is both affect our hearts.

The only answer I have at the moment is that I believe that social media, even just technology should be approached with the idea of enhancing our lives.  Allowing us to feel, share, or express our lives on deeper levels than we could not do without it.  From sending pictures of the grand-kids to the grandparents as we play in the park, to sharing lesson plan ideas with a teacher in Georgia.  Social media and technology allows us to experience and share life with close friends and family, but even more powerful is the ability to make connections that enrich our lives.  But we need to remember that life happens away from the screen and that there is a person behind the avatar.

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September 18, 2012 · 9:43 am

The American Scholar Today?

I have been thinking about Ralph Waldo Emerson’s speech “The American Scholar” lately.  The speech is a part of the American Literature course I teach in the spring semester, and it is one of my favorite pieces of literature.  I agree with so many of the points he expresses about true scholarship.

I wonder what he would think about the state of education today?   At the beginning of the speech Emerson reveals the three main influences in a scholar’s education. The first is Nature.  Simply stated, being outside.  Emerson goes much deeper in his speech, but the idea is that scholars spend time with Nature, spend time reflecting, as he states, “And, in fine, the ancient precept, ‘Know thyself,’ and the modern precept, ‘Study nature,’ become at last one maxim.”

I have been trying to conduct my DL classes as if I was in my own classroom, and so my CCC writing course went outside to write.  I instructed that they could take pictures, too.  As students will do, they had some fun:

Burwell Students

Then this morning 1011 News reported about Kearney public school’s “Outdoor Days.”  Don’t get me wrong; I think this is a really good idea.  But what does it say about the norm of our education, that having kids outside learning is news? Emerson states this is the first thing that influences scholars. Yet, we set up learning to be done inside, during the best time of the day and in rows.

The second influence is the “mind of the past” that at his time was best reflected in reading books.  We know that today that influence is even greater. I won’t spend time on this point because my thoughts have been on the fist influence, Nature, and the last influence…

Created at PicLit.com

Emerson makes a strong argument that true learning is done in living, “Of course, he who has put forth his total strength in fit actions, has the richest return of wisdom.”  He states that we can only truly understand that which we live, that true scholarship is produced through our lives.  Emerson states, “Character is higher than intellect. Thinking is the function. Living is the functionary. The stream retreats to its source. A great soul will be strong to live, as well as strong to think.”

I show this clip of Neil Gaiman at the beginning of the CCC writing course, listen to what his first piece of advice is for writers.

In my position I am immersed in technology, but I also see our students immersed in technology to the point that I do wonder if they understand the beauty and heartache of living.  Or are they just skimming the surface of life one statues update at a time?  I believe technology and especially mobile devices can enrich our lives deeply.  But that has to be the focus for the use of technology. It should be a tool we use in living. Living is our greatest teacher, “Time shall teach him, that the scholar loses no hour which the man lives” (Emerson).

I have been thinking about Emerson’s speech, “The American Scholar,” lately. I wonder what he would think about the state of our educational system?

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September 11, 2012 · 9:43 am

Different Road

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Routine isn’t bad.  It provides a sense of security and understanding on how life works.  My children do better when we keep to a routine.  Even in my classroom, I noticed when I arranged my desk in rows there were less issues to deal with.  The sun comes up, the sun goes down; nature has its routine.

But all routines have a beginning and an end.  As my kids grow their routines change.  The desks in my room had to move to fit different lessons.  The time when the sun rises and sun sets change everyday.

When do we change?

Why don’t we change?

The first iPad sold on September 17, 2010 (just two years ago).  In the ESU 10 area we have at least eight schools with 1-to-1 iPad programs this year and at least another five looking at going to 1-to-1 programs next year.  Not to mention all the schools that have iPad labs. iPads are just an example of the rapid shift happening right now in our world. There is change happening in schools, but we are still driving on the same road.

We have been on this road for so long that we don’t even consider pulling over at a rest stop. We put the school on cruise control and head toward graduation.  Even if there is construction, or a bad storm, we have always arrived at our destination.

Courtesy of Flickr user Jared Zimmerman.

 

But there are many roads we can take.  And reasons to take them.  The first step to change is recognizing that the road we are on may not be the best one for us.

Because I am afraid the kids are sleeping in the back to pass the time…

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August 28, 2012 · 8:50 am

Start of the Year

It is Tuesday.  Like many Tuesdays last year, I dropped off the little ones at daycare. I checked homework and goofed off with my three older kids at school.  I’m now at the Blue Moon Coffee shop drinking a coffee and writing this blog post.  Last week I started with my CCC class and with the ESU 10’s TECHS class.  It is a different year, but not much has changed.

Yet, life is very different.  My oldest son is 12 and stands one inch shorter than me.  My littlest girl will be three in December and she is as independent as a forty year-old.  I don’t know if I will ever figure out this dad thing.

I am still trying to find my place in the second part of my job, tech integration for teachers and schools.  But I am exploring really cool tools that I am using in my classes and love sharing with teachers.

I have started a creative writing blog, “Creative Corner,” to keep my aspiration to write a book going.  My 365-photo challenge is almost over.

It is life.  The sun is reflecting off the glass storefront, I am about to get a refill on my coffee, and I have shared a moment with you.  I know I will have a few bad days. I know I will fail in some way.  I know that the routine of life will make weeks fly by.

It is life.

I may be sitting at the same table next year thinking that not much is had changed.  But that everything was different and I will smile, as I am now, wondering what this next year will bring.

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What do you hope to achieve this year?

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August 10, 2012 · 10:18 pm

Patience

Today my kids taught me two lessons in patience.

Lesson one: People have to have their own timetable to accomplish a goal.

On her way

My girls and I took a walk today.  It was to our stop sign.  I can walk to it and back in under 5 minutes.  On our walk today it took thirty minutes.  I walked. The girls all took a different vehicle.  My youngest in our leg powered toy car.  Second daughter on the Dora big wheel.  And my oldest daughter on her training wheeled bike.  I kept trying to get the girls to turn around, but they were determined to get to the stop sign and back.

My youngest daughter’s little legs just kept going, with a few curb checks that I would help her off of.  The toy car has no steering.  My second daughter is just learning how to peddle; she would get a few revolutions of the wheel before she would ask for a little push.  Of course there were birds, and cars, and bugs, and new houses to talk about.  “They worken,” my youngest would point out as we sat in front of one of the new houses being built.

Yes, sandals on the wrong foot.

After the seventh time trying to get the girls to turn around I just settled in for the walk.  My oldest daughter actually adventured to the next stop sign, waving all the way back to us, proud as can be riding on her own.  I thought that the girls would tire out, and I would have to push them back, but their little legs never ran out of energy.  They were focused on the walk, unconcerned about how long it took.  They were going to do this and they did.

But I had to have patience to let them do it on their own.  I could have hurried them, pushed them, made them feel my impatience and ruin the 30 minutes we had together.

I didn’t start out so well with the lesson my boys had for me later in the day.

Lesson two: We can’t take for granted people will “just know” how to do something.

Later in the day the boys got to mow the lawn.  Both of them have mowed the lawn before but not for about two years.  First, I like to mow the lawn. So, mowing the lawn has not been a part of their normal chore routine.  Second, I don’t remember the first time I had to mow a lawn.

I went over the pointers of running the mower, and hit the grass around the house and outside edge of the lawn.  I though this would help them start on their route of mowing.  Sadly, I wasn’t patient right away.  The boys took turns, but both of them mowed the same way– crazily.

Rounded corners, lines of tall grass, mowing the short length of the yard 12 times instead of turning the mower and hitting the grass in two passes.  I bet I did the same thing once, but I can’t remember.  I’ve been mowing so long that it is just second nature to mow in an efficient way.  Before I totally lost my cool, I caught the lesson.  The boys didn’t know how to mow a lawn quickly and efficiently.  It was my job to show them.  Most importantly to do it without making them feel bad.  All the grass was cut, even if it took extra passes.  But by keeping my cool the boys finished the job on a positive note.  Even laughing at the rows of long grass they had made.

Today my kids reminded me about the importance of patience in two separate ways.  My girls showed me that people need their own pace to accomplish their goals.  I was truly amazed at their strength and attitude.  My boys reminded me that everyone has that first time with learning.  The important part for me was not making that crucial moment negative.  To be patient with them as they learn.

What cool lessons have you learned lately?

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August 5, 2012 · 10:17 pm

And then there is Golf

Tools of the Game

Saturday was the first day of our club championship.  This was the third year I have played in it.  The past two years I finished last.  I was determined not to finish in last place this year.  All summer my scores ranged in the high 40s and low 50s for 9 holes.  I got my first new driver, ever.  My game was doing OK.  I was excited to play this year.

Well, the first nine was a disaster. I shot a 61.  My inconsistent play got me into trouble on a couple of holes, scoring a 10 and a 12.  I improved on the back nine, but not much. I shot a 57 for a first day score of 118.  Last place.

I headed home feeling pretty low.  I had hit some nice shots and even had a par.  But I was again in last place.  I had another day to play I told myself. Sunday would be better.

Sunday was a new opportunity.  I had three pars, hit some incredible putts and made some nice shots.  But I shot a 61 on the front nine and a 58 on the back nine. 119. One shot worse then Saturday. Last place again.

At that moment, I wanted to quit.  I had been playing for 20 years and had improved very little. I practice.  Especially the last couple of years I have had a practice session almost every week.  Maybe I’m just not good at golf and am wasting my time.

As I drove home today, it hit me how much I sounded like a student.  I started to remember students who would say the same thing in my class when presented with new material, or a deeper concept.  I remember one student who would balk at anything creative.  They would state that they weren’t creative, and it was too hard.  Or the times working through rough drafts of essays and hearing time and time again, that the student wasn’t a good writer.  I would do my best to break through the mindset, but I don’t know if I actually did get through for some of the students.

What really got me this weekend was the way I felt about myself.  How my students might also feel about themselves.  I know that my self worth is not measured by my handicap, but that didn’t change the way I felt as I drove home. Last place.  Everything felt like last place.  How do my students feel about themselves when they struggle, when they say “I’m not good at this.”?  Are they experiencing that same irrational, but ever present connection to their self-worth?   I bet they are, and keeping that in mind could help generate a new approach when a student wants to quit.

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