Make. Write. Remix. Share

Make. Write. Remix. Share.

Photo Credit:  vmperella via Flickr

Paul Oh, Senior Programming Associate for the National Writing Project, lauds in his post the potential for programmable books, multimedia poetry, DIY clubs, and the like to inspire the human condition and promote creativity.  This blog serves largely as an advertisement for a project taking place this summer in which the NWP is working alongside the MacArthur Foundation to create a program called Educator Innovator.  The program provides dozens of opportunities for educators around the country to work on webinars for innovation or collaborate on making and learning from innovative MOOC gaming.  The program is free and open to anyone.

The summer will be supported by a concept called  Connected Learning, in which participants may connect based on interests, passion, peer mentorship, peer collaboration, or partnerships.  The program is actually a smaller part of a larger project, called The Summer of Making and Connecting, which includes a youth component called Maker Party 2013.  In this program, students come together to become creators of the web, rather than just consumers of it.

The entire project basically includes educators and students working together to, as Oh puts it, "imagine the possible."  The program opens pathways to collaboration and creativity and sets the stage for a summer of fun, which may just lead to a future of innovation.  The implications for the classroom are yet undetermined, but it is likely that the evolution of the 21st century focus on teamwork and creative collaboration will use these events as a springboard for future endeavors.  

Virtual Schooling: Where are We Now? Where are We Headed?

Virtual Schooling:  Where are We Now?  Where are We Headed?

Photo Credit:  iStockphoto

The blogger Andrew Miller is a self-professed advocate of virtual schooling.  He posits that students who may not have thrived in a traditional classroom can gain essential college-readiness skills and thrive in a virtual setting.  For some, Miller argues, the virtual classroom can be a life saver.  However, Miller also cautions that advocates for virtual schooling can also do as much harm as good if they fall into a mold of cranking out as many students as possible with a high student to teacher ratio.  

Miller goes on to cite statistics revealing the growing popularity of distance learning, indicating that the movement is on the rise and that virtual classrooms are cropping up in the majority of U.S. states.  Two of the more common reasons for the rise in virtual education are the potential for credit recovery for students whose traditional experiences ended in failure, along with a broader range of subjects and greater access to learning opportunities.  

One potential drawback to online education, says Miller, is the quality of online courses.  He has personally witnessed online classes which lack the rigor and engagement needed for student success.  Rather, they resemble the more traditional methods of "sit and get" learning which plague many traditional classrooms as well.  To combat this, Miller suggests that teacher training and professional development be extended to teachers of distance classes, and that standards for instruction exist to ensure rigor.

Miller laments that, too often, blended learning is perceived as simply offering technology in an otherwise traditional setting.  This misunderstanding is partially responsible for the failure to add rigor and relevance, and for the online learning opportunity to underachieve in its goal to engage students and provide meaningful instruction.  The solution to this lies in a shift to competency-based pathways, says Miller, in which the required "seat time" espoused by the Carnegie model is eschewed in favor of a competency-based model which affords more individualized instruction and pacing.  

Finally, Miller points out that, in order to ensure the success of virtual learning, we must avoid replicating a "broken system," and instead ensure that the virtual model include both quality and innovation.  As a traditional classroom teacher whose attempts to integrate technology into my teaching, and as a current distance learner in this cohort, I can't help but be excited by the idea that a model for distance learning which includes rigor and relevance might one day impact my traditional on-site instruction.

Lessons From the Field: Teaching Foundational Life Skills Through Baseball

Lessons from the Field: Teaching Foundational Life Skills Through Baseball

I'm a baseball nut.  I played baseball when I was younger, from age 6 until college, and I continue to follow my beloved Tigers.  Baseball is one of the few sports I'll watch on TV even when my team isn't playing.  I'm fascinated by the strategy, the clean lines, the black-and-whiteness of ball vs. strike, fair vs. foul, safe vs. out.  So this blog post by Kevin Christofora intrigued me.  It explains nicely how the game I love can be used to teach young people important life skills.

Christofora begins by explaining how mistakes are a part of life.  In a game where a .300 batting average (30% success rate) can lead to a spot in the Hall of Fame, mistakes are more commonplace than success.  The author explains how, in life, the preparation for a big opportunity and the effort put forth can make the difference.  Even in failure, preparation and effort help to mold a persona that will eventually lead to success.

Further, Christofora talks about winning as being much more than just "beating the other team."  Rather, he points to self-respect, as well as respect for teammates, coaches, and opponents, as keys to success.  In life as in baseball, much can be learned from the people we work with, the teachers we learn from, and the competitors we square off against on the field, in the workplace, and in the classroom.

Recognizing a goal, putting forth a sincere effort to reach that goal, and respecting the people we encounter along the way, are keys to success in baseball and in life.  Kevin Christofora draws some interesting if predictable parallels between the two.

Teach with Your iPhone: Apps to Use in the Classroom

Teach with Your iPhone:  Apps to Use in the Classroom

Photo Credit:  macsd via Flickr

So much has been made about the implications that technology has in the classroom, and much of that buzz seems to readily accept the idea that students have 1:1 access to devices and technology.  Edutopia blogger Monica Burns is a huge advocate for 1:1 devices, but in this post she identifies several iPhone apps that can be used by individual teachers to simply change up their routine and engage students in a different way.

One such app, says Burns, is called Mastery Connect, which keeps the Common Core State Standards at the teacher's fingertips, so that lessons designed can be easily aligned for greater student learning.  Another cool app the author recommends is the Pick a Student app, which takes the guesswork out of calling on students during discussions.  It's often awkward for teachers to work so hard to avoid calling on the same student repeatedly while neglecting others.  This app allows the teacher to enter in a class list, and by pushing a button, a name from the list pops up to be called on next.  Its randomness keeps students on their toes and engaged in the discussion.

For practicing with standardized tests, Burns suggests using a Timer app, such as Sand Timer or Traffic Light, which allow teachers and students to work within the confines of a time limit without the intimidation of a countdown clock.  For readers, the Book Leveler app allows teachers to scan the bar code of a book to determine its reading level, text complexity, and appropriateness for given student.

The Groovy Grade app seems like little more than a calculator, but it allows teachers to input the number of questions on an assessment and, when divided into the number of correct answers, the percentage and grade are provided.  A Word Press app allows teachers to update their blog, add homework assignments, or send messages to students as simply as sending an e-mail.

DocScan HD sounds like a wonderfully useful tool.  It allows the user to simply snap a picture of a meeting agenda or memo or important document, and then it converts it to a PDF file or JPG file.  And My Script Calculator allows the user to write their problems on the phone's screen so that it can convert it into numbers and solve the problem.  Very cool.  

Until every student has a device in his/her hands, true 1:1 technology-based learning will be a challenge.  But with cool apps like those mentioned here by Burns, the engagement of technology can be shared with students and the teaching of individual teachers improved with a single iPhone.  A pretty powerful tool.

Zombie-Based Learning: Braaaaaaains!

Zombie-Based Learning:  Braaaaaaains!

And so it begins...Zombie-Based Learning! by David Hunter

I am new to project-based learning.  As an AP teacher, I guess I never really felt that a project-based approach would work to prepare my students for a standardized test, the sole tool by which my success is measured.  Instead, I looked for other ways to be creative and incorporate technology into my instruction without sacrificing the rigor and specific content required to prepare students for the AP examination.  Until now.

I was recently accepted to a summer intensive program called iChallengeU, a project-based learning program sponsored by my county's ISD.  As a participant, I have had to participate in several days of training and implementation.  It has been eye-opening, and this blog by educational consultant Andrew Miller serves as reinforcement that school can be fun, that learning through project-based curriculum can and does include rigor, and that students can prepare for standardized testing by participating in a project-based classroom.

Using David Hunter's geography curriculum, popularized by an affiliate of NPR, Miller expands the idea of a zombie themed-project to include math, language arts, and science.  In Hunter's classroom, students complete 70 lessons which require them to consider how to duck the invasion of zombies, how to secure supplies, and how to rebuild society.  

Miller suggests that ELA classes could also study graphic texts, comics, and film.  Science classes could pursue the theory that zombies are real, the result of a virus that causes the undead to live.  And math classes could use exponential data to determine where a zombie invasion would occur and the rate at which it might spread through populated areas.  

This kind of engagement would be powerful, and Miller insists that the learning could be tied to standards and serve as an entry point to engage students in meaningful learning and discovery.  As I move forward in my pursuit of project-based ideas, the zombie apocalypse notwithstanding, I hope to come across equally stimulating ideas to engage my students while maintaining the rigor and relevance needed to succeed on the AP exams.

The Common Core: Haven't We Been Here Before?

The Common Core:  Haven't We Been Here Before?

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Dr. Allen Mendler, an author and educator, writes in this blog for Edutopia about the uncertainty of testing and standards as the measurement for determining student success.  Dr. Mendler equates the Common Core with the professional football NFL draft, arguing that it is impossible to accurately predict future success based on a set of standards applied at a given point in the player's (or student's) career.

Dr. Mendler claims that the Common Core State Standards are just the latest iteration of standards-based instruction, replacing A Nation at Risk and No Child Left Behind.  Adding that standards will do little to ensure student achievement, Mendler points instead to the social ills that plague society in which schools lack the resources to deliver adequate instruction.  Further, Mendler says that using such standards to evaluate teachers is simply the wrong idea.

The difference-maker, says Mendler, is three-fold.  It includes pairing at-risk students with those who are high achieving, creating a culture of high expectations, and training teachers to be both knowledgeable and caring.  High-achieving school districts have these qualities already established, inherent in their systems, but for those who lag behind, an entire paradigm shift is needed, and standards like the CCSS may not be the answer.

However, Mendler does not write off the Common Core as flawed.  In fact, he argues that the standards themselves are a thorough collection of skills or traits that students should be able to master in order to be considered career and college ready.  It is the misuse of the standards as a teacher evaluation tool that has Mendler concerned.  Another major flaw with the standards is their vague language.  While the CCSS points to specific skills desired in career and college ready students, they do not tell teacher what or how to teach.  Instead, they leave it largely up to the educator to determine what content to teach, and the ease with which almost any content can be aligned to the standards is appalling.  Numerous books and websites promise that their materials are aligned to the Core, but in fact they often have conflicting information.

For better results, Dr. Mendler suggests that less attention be paid to creating standardized tests and promoting student performance on those tests, and that more attention be given to creating a culture of learning which values dedicated teachers and provides the resources which make students want to come to school.

Engaged Teaching: "Do Now" Activities for Your Lessons

Engaged Teaching:  "Do Now" Activities for Your Lessons

Photo Credit:  Veer

Edutopia blogger Maurice Ellis, a professor of psychology at Rutgers University, follows up on an earlier blog in which he reviewed the book titled The Five Dimensions of Engaged Teaching by Laura Weaver and Mark Wilding.  Ellis summarizes some useful techniques that teachers can use right away in their effort to deliver the Common Core.

For younger grades, the author suggests beginning each day with a "golden moment of silence" to quiet the mind and body.  This almost zen approach calms younger students (older, too?) before engaging them in the tasks of learning.  Another technique, mentioned here by Ellis but also appropriate for middle and high school students, is a "shared agreements" policy, in which students collaborate on things like classroom rules, culture of behavior, and acceptable standards.  The buy-in created from such a policy would strengthen cohesiveness in a classroom of any age student.

In the middle grades, the authors recommend a "transitions circle," in which students would engage in discussion about the difficulties of transitioning to middle school.  This format gives each student a voice in a non-threatening environment, and promotes healthy discussion of the challenges shared by all of the students as they grow older.  Another idea from Weaver and Wilding's book is "personalizing global issues."  Students could take issues like global warming and connect to their own world, establishing the relevancy and delivering on a call to action to improve things.  

Finally, for high school students, the authors provide ideas for book-ending the class period with an inspirational quote or passage at the beginning and a "pair-share" or "dyad" at the end.  The opening quote might set the tone for the lesson plan and help students connect to the subject being taught.  Especially in literature, thematic inspiration is only a keystroke away.  The "pair-share" or "dyad" allows students to write down 2 things they learned that day, or ask 2 questions about  which they would like to know more.  It's a formative type of assessment that checks for understanding while holding the student accountable for that day's material.  

School should be a safe place for the exchange of ideas in a cooperative environment.  This blog post, and the book by Weaver and Wilding gives a number of ideas that can help teachers to create such an environment and to foster healthy collaboration in a non-threatening way.