#FutureReady starts with Metanoia: doing life together in the journey to change one’s mind

Metanoia: What it really means to be #futureready

Every morning Anastasis Academy students start with a mile walk. Together. We don’t walk by class, or by age. We walk together in community. Sometimes (when the weather is nicer) whole families join us, dogs included. It is a great way to start off the day. Directly following the walk, our students come together for a morning meeting. We call it “Metanoia” which is an ancient Greek word meaning: the journey to change one’s mind. Again, we do this as a community, not separated by age, grade, or class. They all sit together. Sometimes we bring in guest speakers, sometimes we watch a video together, and sometimes different staff members lead Metanoia. We share stories and take time to do life together. We do a lot of awesome things at Anastasis, but the Metanoia time together in the morning is among the most awesome.

The Metanoia tends to be tied up with the current inquiry block. This block, our students have been intentional about being thankful. Having an attitude of gratitude every day as part of our How We Express Ourselves inquiry block. Early in the week, we had @thewesroberts as our guest speaker. He gave each student a quarter and challenged them to multiply it and then give it away. Wes talked to the kids about the power they have to make an impact on each other’s lives and on our community. Incidentally as Wes was talking to our students, one of my friends lost their house and dogs in a fire. Devastating. I mentioned this to some of the Anastasis staff and before I knew it, our students had determined that they were going to multiply the quarters they were given to help my friend. Wow.

Today during Metanoia, @lancefinkbeiner called up students to the front one at a time and then asked the other students to say something that they appreciated about the student at the front. As a community, our kids told each other why they matter. This was a neat exercise, but what made it extra special was the way that kids of all ages gave input. They know each other. It matters not if they are the same age, or if they are in the same class. They know each other well enough that they can speak to what they appreciate about in each other. The love and grace that they offered each other through their comments was outstanding. “I like the way that you are friends with everyone.” “You are so creative!” “You include people.” “You have a great heart.” “You are really funny.” It was seriously so much awesome. Every student got to hear what others appreciated about them. Happiness.

So much of the time when we talk about education we focus on policy, politics, technology integration, curriculum. I’m learning that the most important thing is often the one that no one talks about. Community. Doing life together. Our kids are really good at thinking deeply, they are creative and innovative, they are incredibly articulate, they are confident, they are smart. I’m convinced that none of this would look the way that it does if we hadn’t been so intentional about building up our community. When kids feel supported by others; when they know that kids who are older and younger than they are care about them; when they can be vulnerable together, this is what leads to all of the rest being possible.

Many of my friends have been having discussions about #FutureReady. I think #FutureReady starts with Metanoia, doing life together in the journey to change one’s mind.

 

Want to see first hand what makes Anastasis such an awesome place to learn? Join us for 5 Sigma in February!

YouTube saves the day: Busting Conspiracy Theories

As  you may remember, I am currently working to bring a school from zero technology integration to full technology integration in a one to one laptop setting.  I am working alongside a WONDERFUL teacher who is eager to learn with her students.  The school initially asked me if I would just teach this group of middle school students technology as a separate subject.  I explained why I would rather work alongside the teacher so that both students and teacher could learn technology together and we could integrate it into the learning that was already happening in the classroom.  They agreed and I am now working with the teacher to weave technology into the learning that is already happening in the classroom.  On Fridays, I model how to use technology within the learning they are doing.  Today the learning focus was astronomy.  I had the students start out in Capzles where they are building an interactive timeline of the astronomy events that they are learning. Each time they learn about a new discovery, historical figure, or space mission, they add images, reflections, and information to their timeline.  I have to say, the Capzles interface is turning out to be the perfect place for them to collect all of their learning and creations in one place!

Throughout the week, students are keeping a night sky observation journal on Capzles.  Not only are they studying about historical figures who made astronomical discoveries, they are adding their own discoveries to the timeline.  Capzles lets students add blog posts right within the timeline.  Students are taking pictures, and writing about their observations, reflections, and questions as a nightly blog post.  In addition to adding their pictures to Capzles, students will also be uploading their photos to Planet FOSS where they have the opportunity to view other students night sky observations and add their own.

Today I taught the students how to add a YouTube video to their timeline.  I have to admit, this isn’t the one-step process I would hope for (either the ability to use the YouTube embed code or just copy/paste the link to embed).  Students first searched for videos about the moon using NeoK12.  Then they click on the YouTube link within the video so that they can view the video in YouTube. In front of the YouTube URL the students typed “kick” so that they could download the video to their computers.  From here, they can upload the video to their Capzles.  You can view my step-by-step instructions for that process here. Even though it isn’t a simple one-step process, it still isn’t difficult and it gave students the opportunity to practice downloading and uploading files- bonus tech skills that are built-in is always a good thing!

After students learned how to embed video, we headed over to the site We Choose the Moon.  If you haven’t seen this site, it is a MUST. It has been around for a few years and is absolutely incredible.  It drops students right into the Apollo 11 mission and gives them the chance to “re-live” that experience.  The students were totally engaged and excited to look through the pictures, video, comment on the fashion of the day, how much technology has changed, etc.  The dialogue as they explored and completed the interactive was incredible.  This interactive let students travel back in time and made them feel as if they were witnessing history first hand. Incredible.  Reading a text-account just can’t do an event like this justice.  During the interactive one of the students casually mentioned that he didn’t believe that we had ever really been to the moon, he thought it was a conspiracy theory and started pulling up websites supporting his claim.  This led to a lively class debate.

I remembered seeing a Myth Busters episode where they busted those moon landing conspiracy theories.  I pulled up the YouTube video on my iPad for students and we watched as the Myth Busters busted each one of the conspiracies that the boy had found online support for.  It was an AWESOME learning experience for all of the students as they learned about perspective, atmosphere, vacuums, and light.

You know what I love about technology?  It spurs and enables learning experiences.  Without technology in that classroom today, the conspiracy theory student might have mentioned the theories he had heard. Kids would have chuckled and rolled their eyes and that would have been the end of it.  Because we had access to technology, the conspiracy theorist was immediately able to pull up evidence to support his claim.  He even had some students who were initially rolling their eyes believing that the theories might be true.  Other students immediately jumped in to support the opposing view, that Americans had indeed landed on the moon.  This is authentic learning at its best.  Students practiced searching, taking a position, forming a persuasive argument, debating, and going through the scientific process of hypothesis, experimentation, and conclusion.  None of this was in our learning plans for the day… it was SO much better than anything I could have planned. We were able to immediately pull up a Myth Busters episode on YouTube (yet another example of why filtering policies need to be re-thought!).  The class ended with students making plans to re-create some of the Myth Buster experiments so that they could see the outcomes first hand.

Today reminded me of why I am passionate about technology in education. It also reminded me of why I love learning.

Best quote of the day from a student: “This is cool, I thought we would just learn about technology, I didn’t know we were actually going to get to use it.”

What a novel thought, using technology as a tool to learn.

Capzles Interactive Timeline Tutorial

Capzles is a site that I have written about and recommended many times (you can read one of my original posts about it below).  I am currently working with a school that has zero technology.  When I say zero, I mean they don’t even have over head projectors.  This is a NO tech school.  They recently enlisted my help in taking their eighth graders from no tech into a one-to-one environment.  Each of the students will be receiving a laptop to use during instruction.  The challenge: the computers aren’t all the same age, make, or model.  No problem, we will use web 2.0 tools!  The benefit of going from zero to fully immersed: no bad technology habits to break, we are staring from a clean slate!

Last week I met with the eighth grade teacher to talk about what learning is currently happening in the classroom and took a look at the scope and sequence of learning for the next semester.  I asked a LOT of questions and together we mapped out a plan for integrating technology that would support and enhance the learning that was already happening.  We decided to begin by adding technology into art, composer study, history, astronomy, poetry, and literature.  I thought about having the students create blogs or wikis to chart and reflect on learning, but in the end decided that Capzles was the best tool for this job.  Capzles lets students organize learning in the form of an interactive timeline.  Students can upload a variety of documents to the timeline including images, videos, documents, and slide shows.  They can also blog directly to the timeline (complete with comments!). The blog feature also provides a way for students to embed other web 2.0 creations.  For the learning that these students will be doing, the visual timeline makes the most sense.  Students can create multiple timelines or compile all of their learning into one timeline.  If students create these timelines based on actual historical dates, they will begin to see the overlap in history, astronomical discoveries, composers, and artists of the time.  This leads to a more complete understanding of how the world that they know has been shaped.

Students can also create a timeline based on their learning, each day adding learning to a virtual “journal” of events.

I have created weblists of the links these students will be using as a part of their learning over the next semester:

To Kill a Mockingbird

Poetry

Astronomy

Art

Composers

History

The tutorial above is a brief introduction to using Capzles, you will have to forgive the drowned rat look…that is what happens when you shovel snow in a blizzard 🙂

Original post from July 22, 2008:

What it is: Capzles is another interactive timeline maker. I really love all the little extras that Capzleshas! With Capzles teachers and students can add photos, videos, audio, and text to their timeline. Themes, colors, backgrounds, and background music can be added to the timeline making it unique and personalized. Capzles also provides options when sharing your Capzle, it can be private with a specific list of who can view the Capzle or made public for the world to see.

How to integrate Capzles into the classroom: Obviously Capzles is a great way for students to create timelines about any subject. The web 2.0 collaborative aspect of Capzles makes it very appealing to students. I think Capzles could also be very valuable in the primary classroom. Students probably won’t be creating their own timelines in Capzles at this age, parent helpers paired with students to create simple timelines would be appropriate. Because Capzles has the capability of adding audio, photos, and text, it would be the perfect place to record students reading throughout the year. As you assess student reading through reading records, record the students using a program such as GabcastGcast,Audacity, or Garageband. Take a digital picture of the student reading. Throughout the year, you can make a Capzle for each student. This is an excellent motivator for students, especially your struggling readers. Students can see their growth throughout the year in pictures, and hear their reading progress made throughout the year. You can share the Capzle with parents (they will go crazy for this keepsake!) and with the students future teacher. How much would you love getting a timeline of your students from the previous year? You would have a jump-start on their struggles and strengths in reading as you quickly flip through their timelines. Cool huh?!

Leave a comment and share how you are using Capzles in your classroom.

How to make a 2 computer classroom work for you: tech integration and classroom management

I often get asked how I managed to integrate technology into my classroom before I was a technology teacher teaching computer classes in a lab (with every child on a computer).  I must preface this post with: I am not an expert.  I taught second grade for one year and had two computers in my classroom and no computer lab for the school.  I used what I had and found a system that worked for me.  With that in mind here is how I made my 2 computer classroom work:

My goal as a teacher is to individualize instruction whenever possible.  I am very aware that each of my students comes with different strengths and weaknesses, learns differently, at different rates, and with different interests.  I remember looking at the curriculum I was provided with by the school and feeling a distinct disappointment in it.  I knew as I read through the lessons each week that some of my students just weren’t going to get it.  I knew that some of them would love the subject if it was approached in a different way. I knew that some would just need it at a different pace.  With this in mind, a few weeks into my first year, I decided to structure my class around centers.

My problem: space was an issue.  With 26 seven and eight year olds, supplies, and 26 desks, there was little room left for individual center areas.  Since I couldn’t have my students physically moving around from center to center, I decided that I would create a system where the centers came to them.  With 26 students and five days in a week, I split my students into five groups for each subject.  These groups were created by grouping students by similar ability levels.  Throughout the day the groupings would change (I used colors because it made sense to me).  For example: one student might be in the blue group for language arts/reading, red group for math, and green group for science.  I saw every single one of my students in their small group of 5 in what I would call my “conference” center for every subject, every week.

At the beginning of every week I would introduce the whole class to the concepts we would be learning over the course of the week.  I introduced students to their “tubs” (colored plastic tubs that were full of necessary supplies for each center) and we discussed the “big ideas” of the week.  I had 4 tubs (and my conference center) so that each day my student groups were working on a different task but by the end of the week all of my students had completed the learning for the week.  My desks were grouped into 5 clumps in the room.  Because the groupings changed, a group of desks didn’t necessarily equate to all of the group member sitting at the work space.  For each subject we usually started class as a whole group, we would play a game as a class, watch a video clip, do an experiment, or learning something new together.  After the initial introduction, I had a leader from each table pick up that table’s tub for the day.  I met with the fifth group in my conference center where I could work with students in a 5 to 1 grouping.  If you aren’t doing something like this, I HIGHLY recommend it. Meeting with my students in smaller groups several times throughout the week gave me huge insights into my students and made me a better teacher.

Tubs had a variety of activities and prompts in them.  All activities were designed for self-guided learning and flexibility.  I had a rule that unless someone was barfing or bleeding (the 2 b’s…if you’re in elementary you know what I am talking about) they were not allowed to disturb my conference group.  This cut down on the distractions and let students know it was okay to make mistakes in their learning.  One of my “tubs” always held instructions for a computer center.  With two computers and 5 students, this meant I could find activities that were short enough for each student to successfully complete them in the time they had, or I could find activities that they could complete together.  For skill building games and activities, students usually held a mini relay race.  The first student would complete a level or set number of problems and pass play to the next student.  This worked really well and kept students from getting too out of control because the wait time was minimal and they were “silent cheering” the other students on.  (I had “Go Team” signs that they could hold up next to each computer so they could cheer without disturbing anyone else).  For activities that needed to be completed by each individual student, I added a secondary game or activity to the tub that could be completed while students waited.  For example, if it was a skill building game or activity, I had students who weren’t at the computer play a file folder game together while they waited for their turn within their small group.

For writing activities or activities where students were going to use the computer to create something, I made another tub activity that would prepare them for their computer time.  For example, if they were going to create an animation on something like The Zimmer Twins, I would use another tub for them where they would prepare by writing a script and planning the storyboard.  Because of the way the tubs rotate, it was easy to ensure that every student had done the prep activity before the computer center.

My other tubs had a variety of activities in them, each one of them was flexible in the way it worked.  Students might perform an experiment and write/draw/discuss as a group, practice their spelling words in a way that made sense to them, play a math game, write, etc.  For each subject I had a standard tub where the activity didn’t really change from week to week.  For example, language arts had a spelling practice tub every single week.  Math had a fact practice tub every week.  In the standard tubs I included a Tic-Tac-Toe activity board where students could choose which activity they would complete to practice.  This let students practice basic skills in a way that was fun and made sense to them.

At the end of every day, I would re-fill each tub with the necessary resources and supplies so that it was ready for the next day. On Friday afternoon I would fill all of the tubs up for the following week.  At the beginning of the year the tubs were extremely time-consuming to keep up with.  I got smart second semester and enlisted my students in helping me create the tubs for the following week on Friday afternoons.  (duh!)  By the end of the year it was part of our routine and didn’t require so much prep on my part.

Because I was working with second graders, I knew that not all of my students would be able to read directions for the tub or remember the directions from the beginning of the week.  For detailed tubs, I included a tape recorder (iPod, what was that?) with recorded audio instructions for the tub.  This helped tremendously when their were multiple steps involved.  Students knew where they could help themselves to extra supplies like paper, crayons, books, scissors, dictionaries, etc.

On Friday I spent some time at the end of the day to meet with each group so they could show me their mini portfolio of learning for the week.  This gave me a chance to do some formative assessment and plan any adjustments that were needed for the following week.

I didn’t have the luxury of a projector that first year of teaching.  If I had a projector, it would have opened up the learning opportunities greatly! I am a big believer in playing to learn and technology lends itself so nicely to both.  When I help teachers integrate technology into their lessons I often recommend creating a game where a game wasn’t meant to be played.  For example, when we were studying paleontology and dinosaurs, my students and I went on a virtual dinosaur dig.  I found a great virtual dig that we could do as a class.  We pretended to get in our jeeps and travel to the dig site. Each student received a “special” paleontologist journal where they could record observations.  Students took turns coming to the board during the dig and helping unearth the dinosaur.  The other students sketched what they saw and took careful notes so the dinosaur could be reassembled later.  This was a grand adventure for my students that made for a fun day (digging M&M’s out of cookies didn’t hurt either.)  I look for opportunities to play with my students whenever possible.  Even older students love this (anyone want to solve a forensic case as a class?).  Play and learning are closely connected. I am always looking for ways to make learning fun and engaging whether we are limited to a class of 26 and one projector, or 26 students and 2 computers.  You can do it!

Using the tub system meant that I got to spend a lot of time with my students. That conference time was so valuable. It let me meet all of my students exactly where they were at and provided the opportunity to work with them on a more individual basis.  As I said before, if you don’t have something like this in place, I highly recommend it!

After I developed my Bloom’s re-imagines, I started including them in the tubs.  As part of the tub work, students could talk about the learning they were doing and what categories it fell into in Bloom’s Taxonomy.  Back then my Bloom’s wasn’t as fancy as it is today, it was hand drawn and copied 🙂  My how times have changed!  I find that students learning is even richer when they are thinking about their learning. Bloom’s Taxonomy gives students a nice framework to do this in.

How about you all? What technology resources do you have available to you and how do you utilize them?

ISTE 10 Recap: From Add-on Technology to Essential Technology: Constructing a 1-to-1 Aware Curriculum

One of the sessions I attended at the ISTE 10 conference was Elliott Soloway and Cathie Norris’s entitled: “From Add-on Technology to Essential Technology: Constructing 1-to-1 Aware Curriculum”.  It is hard to go wrong with a session by Elliott Soloway, his humor is contagious.

I was interested in this session because I am currently working on a proposal for a 1-to-1 iPad pilot program and study for next year.  I came away with some new perspectives on mobile technologies that I will share at the end of the post.  To begin, here is the gist of the session:

  • “Within 5 years every child in every grade will be learning with mobile technology, it will be bigger than the Internet”- Elliott Soloway
  • There are 7 billion people on the planet and 4 billion mobile devices.
  • The greatest challenge we face as educators is to teach ALL kids.  We need to teach kids “brain jobs” not “back jobs”.  This is 21st Century skills and content.
  • “Right now looking at all the school data is just like moving deck chairs around on the Titanic.” – Elliott Soloway
  • Mobile technology is the game changer.
  • In Singapore, Nan Chi Primary school saw a significant increase in tests scores after introducing smart phones in the 3rd grade science classroom.
  • In a classroom using 1 to 1 mobile devices, not a single child failed to turn in a single homework assignment all year.  Why did that happen? Because they are engaged.
  • Time on task = success
  • The tools have to be used as essential tools, not supplementary.  Supplementing with technology doesn’t move the needle.  Essential means that technology is in hand 24/7 students have complete access to the tool.  Essential means that students are actively engaged in doing and creating.  That doesn’t mean that there aren’t other tools being used.
  • Most things can be done on a mobile phone device.
  • Mobile devices connect students to the real world.  Learning doesn’t end when school does.
  • When you look closely at the studies that show that technology has no impact, you will see that it is because technology was used as a supplement.
  • Technology should be like oxygen, invisible but essential.
  • Mobile devices like the cell phone are ideal because the cost of the device is $0 and what you pay for is the connectivity.  It is a cheap solution.
  • It is about the kids, not the technology.  Let them use their own tools.
  • Mobile devices are growing at a rate of 50% a year, this is the fastest growing technology.  We used to tell teachers to get on the technology bus, now we have to say get on the technology bullet train because it is moving!
  • Elliott mentioned that he doesn’t think that the iPad has a place as a learning device.  His reasoning is that it isn’t what kids are using.  He argues that kids are using cellphones and mobile devices, that the iPad isn’t natural for them.

Elliott was an excellent presenter.  He made some great points about using cellphone technology in the classroom.  I have to disagree with his assessment that the iPad isn’t a good device for kids.  While I like the idea of using cellphone technology and just paying for connectivity, it isn’t what every classroom needs.  The conclusion that I kept coming to is that no classroom situation is the same.  While an inner city school with low access to technology and resources might benefit best from a smart phone for learning, it might not make the same sense in a suburban school with more ubiquitous technology access.  In a poorer neighborhood you will find homes that lack wireless Internet access, putting an iPad in the hands of those kids might not be as successful as giving them a cellphone that they could use to access a cellular data network.  But in a wealthier, suburban neighborhood where wireless Internet is around every corner, an iPad is the perfect device.  What I realized is that there can be no one-size-fits-all approach to education.  One solution isn’t going to solve the education problems of the world.  We need to look at each population and each classroom and choose the solution that makes the most sense for that instance.  Education has to be tailored to the individuals, not the masses.

Soloway is right, we keep trying to make the data tell us a new story.  Policy makers implement new standards and tests as a way to save education.  But that is like moving deck chairs around on the Titanic.  Sure things look different, but it is still a sinking ship.  We need to cut our losses and build a new ship all together.  That new ship should be tailored to fit the needs of the students who are boarding it.  For some that means mobile phone technology, for others iPads, and for some netbooks.  I can argue all day long for the benefits of the iPad in learning but when we get right down to it, the reason I hold that view is because it is perfect for the student population I work with.  It makes sense in our situation.  That may or may not be true of you.

To learn more about the session visit here.

Ten Ways to Boost Learning with Technology

FETC Virtual Conference ’09

 

What it is:  Save the date!  FETC is having a free virtual conference on April 23, 2009.  The virtual conference is ideal for k-12 educators and technology staff exploring the most important issues related to 21st century skills.  Topics will include career and technical education, the Obama administration’s global workforce development agenda, and digital teaching methods and tools.  You will learn about the latest in 21st century skills from engaging speakers.  FETC Virtual Conference is offering a virtual networking lounge to expand your network of k-12 educators and technology experts, access to other participants through instant messaging, and free content downloads and presentation to go.    You will also be able to virtually attend technology product and service demonstrations and Q&A sessions with technology experts!  This is a completely FREE event, you can go as a staff!

 

How to integrate FETC Virtual Conference ’09 into the classroom:   FETC is one of the leading technology conferences in the country.  With budget cuts this year, you may not have the option to attend the full FETC conference.  This free virtual conference is an outstanding opportunity, be sure to take advantage of it!  You will learn from some of the best educators and are sure to get practical technology integration tips, tools, and ideas.  See you there!

 

Tips: Register today at http://virtual.fetc.org.  

 

Leave a comment and tell us if you will be attending FETC Virtual Conference.