Fluid Conversations

So, the power of networking shines through once again. After twittering about our upcoming staff professional development day, Judith Epcke picked up on it and encouraged me to share with my PLP friends. (Thanks, Judith!) Why hadn’t I thought of that? I guess I’m still trying to wrap my brain around the ways in which this is all connected…you know…how the nodes are all connected to each other and how I fit into the community of nodes.

First, some background information:

We are in the third year of our T.A.B.L.E.T. Project. (Tools to Access Better Learning Environments through Technology) Each year, 90 staff members in grades K-12 participate in a year-long PD program that requires them to attend monthly meetings and read/reflect on a host of topics through our virtual learning environment. (Moodle) Each person is equipped with a tablet pc and a wireless projector. It was our first attempt to “Move our Mountain”. Like a drop of water, the effects of this project have rippled throughout the entire district…capacity building at its best.

To continue our journey, we invited Will to our district for two days last January. In addition to a keynote, he worked with a variety of groups exploring the idea that the web has profound implications for teaching and learning. Needless to say, his message registered high on the richter scale; I think it’s fair to say no one walked away from those two days without being forever changed in some way. His words were both inspiring and eye-opening. I remember when he told our staff that he undoubtedly would cause some cognitive dissonance…oh, yeah…just a wee bit. :0)

So this year, we continue the work with a morning focused on conversations around a variety of topics, including the following:

Learning in the 21st Century

Student Voices: Conversations about Life and Learning in the 21st Century

Teacher Voices: Beginning Conversations about Educating the 21st Century Learner

Content-based Sessions: Looking at the ICT Maps created by the 21st Century Partnership

Our hope is to continue the dialogue of what it means to learn in the 21st century. Although technology will undoubtedly be a part of our conversations, it is not the primary focus; there are no sessions dedicated to learning how to use a single tool. Teachers were given the opportunity to sign up for sessions which will be led by their colleagues.
This entry was originally published on my PLP Ning site.

Yes, indeed…we’ve jumped into some unknown territory here. (I’ve upped my dosage of Prilosec.) The mountain might regress…or erupt…or worse, stand still. It’s funny, though…I find when I listen to that still, quiet voice, more often than not, it provides me with the direction I need to take to affect positive change. How lucky am I to work for a district that supports forward movement and actually encourages me to listen to that voice?

So, back to moving mountains…I’ll let you know how it goes.

I am a big fan of the “Partnership for Partnership for 21st Century Skills”. Their work is important and necessary if we are to compete in the 21st century. Bringing states on board, one by one, is what sets them apart from others with the same goals. You can hardly read an article on 21st century learning, education, teachers, students without hearing about their work.

I worry, however, that we might be focusing almost exclusively on preparing students for life after high school while losing sight of another important goal: to create K-12 learning environments that foster a genuine love for learning. If we are to remain relevant to our students, we must find better ways of engaging them in the learning process. Long gone are the days where all students learn from the “sage on the stage”.

Karl Fisch, another one of my favorite bloggers, has a post that beautifully reflects these ideas. In his post entitled, “Let’s Stop Preparing Kids for College” he says,

“Let’s make their high school experience meaningful and relevant, so that they rarely feel the need to ask the question, “When are we ever going to use this?” because the answer will be so darn obvious. So often the answer teachers typically give to that question is, “In the next course” – which is a travesty. If we can’t give them a better answer than that, then we shouldn’t be teaching that topic. Let’s follow the words of Seneca that are posted in my school’s cafeteria, “Not for school, but for life, we learn.”

He goes on to say,

“Oh, by the way, I would argue that if we do this – if we stop “preparing them for college” and actually make their education meaningful and relevant right now, a by-product will be they will actually be better prepared for college and the world of work. They won’t be meeting seat-time requirements with no regard for what they actually know and understand, but instead will be placed in relevant situations solving meaningful and important problems that will prepare them for college, the world of work, and to be effective and contributing citizens in a vibrant democracy.”

Brilliant, Karl. We are all so fortunate that you share your thoughts and ideas so freely.

Dear Santa,

All I want for Christmas is the following:

–the end of asking kids to write all of their spelling words ten times even if they got them right on their pre-test.

–teachers who…
“differentiate instruction by modifying the depth or complexity of content, the processes by which students learn, the content itself, and the products students are expected to create based on considerations of learning styles, interests, and skill levels.

–teachers who are open to the promise technology has to support and enhance learning.

–states that realize we must move beyond a 20th century way of educating children.

–educators like Chris Lehmann who continually inspire me with words like these…

“I’d rather have to deal with the balance between (student) empowerment and entitlement than sleep and absence.”

Time for bed, Santa…but I’ll be back later…don’t you worry…

Love always,

Cary Harrod

So a person in my network emails me and asks what I’ve turned her into…I just shared the Classroom 2.0 Ning site and she can’t stop! I know, I know! It is truly addicting…this collecting of ideas, knowledge and other bits of information. My AHA moment came when it occurred to me that this is what happens to our students OUTSIDE of school…then they come to school and it must often be agonizing to sit and listen to us drone on and one about seemingly irrelevant stuff. (Yes, WE know it is relevant.) Which is why it’s even more important to find ways to engage them.

My other AHA moment is that Twitter finally, finally clicked for me! Intuitively I knew it had to be good because millions of people are using it but I just couldn’t wrap my brain around it. Now I’m excited about building my PLN. It was helpful to find Twitter4Teachers, as it was confusing trying to figure out how to get started with meaningful interactions. Now you can start with this list and build out from there. Best of all, I’m starting to feel what our kids must feel when they connect with other people…it’s electric.

Chapter two of “Integrating Literacy and Technology” by Susan Watts Taffe and Carolyn Gwinn focuses on the learning environment of effective literacy-technology integration. I took notes in OneNote; many things captured my interest but perhaps none were quite as relevant to me right now as this:

“The integration of technology into literacy instruction is not business as usual. Rather, it requires a change in the teacher’s role in the classroom and in his or her approach to learning about and implementing innovation.”

and

“In order to be a change agent in your classroom, you will first need to become a changed agent. In other words, you must be willing to explore teaching in ways that may be new and different and to learn as you go.”

I totally get that but I wonder how many other people get it. I’ve read quite a few times that you cannot simply throw technology into the classroom and expect to keep teaching in the same way. Used properly, the technology WILL change your classroom…that’s the true power of technology…to enhance learning.

The other piece that really got me was this:

“Students often scaffold one another’s learning.” Hence “the importance of social interaction.” I guess I’ve always thought of the teacher as the person solely responsible for scaffolding students’ understanding.

Finally, I liked this:

“The goal of differentiation is to move all children to a place of meaningful, high-level learning.” Too bad there are many, MANY children who never quite experience that lofty goal. Maybe it’s easy for me to see now that I’m not in the classroom. Maybe all teachers should have to take some time away from the profession to gain a wider perspective on teaching. Maybe all this reading is making my brain hurt. (Grin.)

Susan Watts Taffe and Carolyn Gwinn ask the question, “What is purpose-driven, effective literacy-technology integration?” First of all, I like the idea of “purpose-driven” technology integration. The past year has provided me with the chance to develop a better understanding of what people mean when they say we need to focus on the learning…not the tool. Purpose-driven…why are we using this tool? In the process of becoming more technology literate, a natural stage is to focus on the tools…I get that but when and how do I help teachers to jump to the next stage? Do they just have to see it on their own?

As I reflect on my own development of understanding, it seemed to just naturally happen because I’ve done an incredible amount of reading; something I doubt most teachers have the time or inclination to do. So again…when and how do I help teachers to jump to the next stage…to transform the way in which they understand what it really means to learn something? The authors also ask the questions, “What does [purpose-driven, effective literacy-technology integration] look like? Sound like?” I hear that quite often from the teachers I work with…what does it look like?

The authors also talk about professional development and how it needs to focus on “capacity building, where capacity is defined as the ability to continuously learn”. Another quote, “Traditionally, these communities have worked in isolation, like individuals on independent paths. As we move into the digital age, there is a compelling need for these communities to come together and create shared responsibility for and ownership of literacy instruction.” So how do we “come together” to do this when time already seems impossible to capture? One answer: Use technology to create spaces of time when people can learn at their convenience. I’m thinking Elluminate or Dim Dim.

So, those are some of the ideas I extracted from chapter one of the book. I’ll keep thinking about these ideas, questions, thoughts. I’m loving this!

So I purchase this new book, “Integrating Literacy and Technology” only to find out that one of the authors lives in our school district. Susan Watts Taffe cowrote this book and has agreed to participate in some kind of a book study with my eCoaches. (They don’t know it yet!) I’m so excited about this opportunity but haven’t quite fleshed out the details. (I meet with Susan next week.)

Anyway, I thought this blog would be a great place to distill my thoughts while reading the book. So for the next couple of weeks, my blog posts will reflect that reading. I’ll also be “thinking aloud” about how to design an incredible experience with my eCoaches as I’m reading the book. I truly think this may be my “break out” of the blogging box moment. Stay tuned.