Category Archives: Blogging

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An Education Summit Meeting For Change!!!

Possibly the most recurring theme that makes the rounds of the edbloggosphere is why the nation, states, school districts, schools and teachers have not been more open to change. Change in how schools do school, embrace technology and project-based, problem-based learning among other possibilities. Is it because things are going so well?

Doug over at Borderland picked up on a post by Clarence Fisher about a “grid” that would apply to classroom change. I threw in my response and Doug replied, but the gem is Marco Polo’s reply. I think he frames the issue magnificently:

a) you have to get agreement or consensus from so many different people, and b) so many of those people never meet or talk to each other.

And

The changes suggested may make perfect pedagogic and psychological sense, but be rejected because parents, teachers and other stakeholders are concerned that the changes may make the school appear “wacky”, and therefore seriously impact the employment chances of students who attend.

I know business people that feel things need to change – as well as some parents, administrators, teachers and obviously the edtech “gurus” who are also spreading that notion ad naseum, – but when does that diverse group ever get together and hash this out? We should probably add some enlightened politicos (is that an oxymoron?) in the mix too. Did I leave an important group out? Students – DUH! Anyone else?

So we’re talking about an Education Summit Meeting for Change! Any ideas? How do we pull this off? I might even talk my wife into letting me pay my way to something like this!

OK – so who’s going to organize and invite and make this happen? I would … but … umm … my plate is full this summer. But I’ll be there, promise! (Was that too obvious a dodge?)

Learning, AND CHANGE, are messy! Too messy?

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Legislate Or Educate?

In response to the Deleting Online Predators Act, or DOPA legislation being considered by congress and that is burning up the edublogosphere:

30,000 people are killed by in auto crashes each year and many more injured.

Air crashes kill and injure hundreds or thousands each year.

People die or are injured by the thousands in swimming accidents (50,000), and playground equipment alone causes over 200,000 injuries to children each year.

What would those statistics be like if we did no training on safe use of cars, planes, swimming, guns, playground equipment and everything else we receive safety training on?

Why do we even still allow people to drive? 200,000 playground injuries a year is almost 4 times the number of students in my district’s 93 schools. So why do we not cut student access to playground equipment? The equipment at my school is also considered a city park available 24/7/365. The reason we don’t cut access to these resources is because they are deemed too valuable to give up even though people are killed and injured by them. Without training these statistics would go off the charts. To keep our kids as safe as possible we teach them how to cross the street but that doesn’t guarantee they won’t get hit by a car.

The reason this DOPA legislation has a chance is that so few people and so few teachers understand the value of these technology resources or even know what they are so they might not put up a fight. Otherwise we would be reaping the benefit of receiving more money to offer students an education in proper and ethical use of valuable educational resources instead of blocking something that people wonder “What do you even do with that kind of technology that’s valuable educationally? I don’t perceive value, but I see evil, so yes let’s block it to protect our kids. Umm… excuse me for a moment while I call my kids home from the park. Or maybe I should run down and pick them up in the car.”

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Are We Safer In The Dark? – REDUX

In light of today’s Dopey… I mean DOPA legislation I’m resurecting a recent post:

You have a toddler at home. The street in front of your house could be dangerous. They could get hit by a car or picked up by a stranger. You’ve seen news stories about it on TV… in the paper … kids injured and kidnapped and killed in the street. Maybe it would be safer to not tell them about the street. Put a wall up outside so they can’t see it from the house – if they don’t know about it they won’t go near it you reason. At first it’s easy. They’re young and you keep them distracted from the street with toys and games and stories.

As they get older they see and hear about “the street “ on TV shows and from playmates. You continue to not talk about it or teach them about it – just avoid it…they’ll be safer. They begin to notice the street when you go places in your car, they even see other kids riding their bikes and sometimes playing games in the street. You explain that our family doesn’t do that or talk about that… we just don’t do the street… and you turn up the radio or put a DVD in the car player and distract them. They’re safer if we just avoid it and stay away from it. You’ve even talked to other parents that feel the same and heard talking heads on TV – some that are supposed to be “experts” that seem to agree with your tactic … stay away… stay away. The talking heads even have stories about what has happened to some that have ventured into the street. You are reassured in your decision.

You were right all along. The street could be a dangerous place. But Tommy’s mom didn’t know that your child had never been in or around the street before when he came over to play … was unaware of the dangers. The kids just went out to ride their bikes in the driveway. She said your child didn’t seem to know where the driveway ended and the street began. She had told them to stay on the driveway … only ride where it’s safe … but he didn’t seem to know what the danger even was. Like a flash he was in the street and the car just came along … he didn’t even seem to know to get out of the way, or what to do … or what might happen … or how to make a good decision about the street. You were right… it was dangerous… we should have done a better job of keeping him away.

Does this have implications for Flickr, Myspace, Classroom blogging? …. Are we safer in the dark?

Learning is messy!

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Are We Safer In The Dark?

You have a toddler at home. The street in front of your house could be dangerous. They could get hit by a car or picked up by a stranger. You’ve seen news stories about it on TV… in the paper … kids injured and kidnapped and killed in the street. Maybe it would be safer to not tell them about the street. Put a wall up outside so they can’t see it from the house – if they don’t know about it they won’t go near it you reason. At first it’s easy. They’re young and you keep them distracted from the street with toys and games and stories.

As they get older they see and hear about “the street “ on TV shows and from playmates. You continue to not talk about it or teach them about it – just avoid it…they’ll be safer. They begin to notice the street when you go places in your car, they even see other kids riding their bikes and sometimes playing games in the street. You explain that our family doesn’t do that or talk about that… we just don’t do the street… and you turn up the radio or put a DVD in the car player and distract them. They’re safer if we just avoid it and stay away from it. You’ve even talked to other parents that feel the same and heard talking heads on TV – some that are supposed to be “experts” that seem to agree with your tactic … stay away… stay away. The talking heads even have stories about what has happened to some that have ventured into the street. You are reassured in your decision.

You were right all along. The street could be a dangerous place. But Tommy’s mom didn’t know that your child had never been in or around the street before when he came over to play … was unaware of the dangers. The kids just went out to ride their bikes in the driveway. She said your child didn’t seem to know where the driveway ended and the street began. She had told them to stay on the driveway … only ride where it’s safe … but he didn’t seem to know what the danger even was. Like a flash he was in the street and the car just came along … he didn’t even seem to know to get out of the way, or what to do … or what might happen … or how to make a good decision about the street. You were right… it was dangerous… we should have done a better job of keeping him away.

Does this have implications for Flickr, Myspace, Classroom blogging? …. Are we safer in the dark?

Learning is messy!

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Working, Breathing, Reproducible, Intriguing Models

Students blogging, creating content, manipulating text, graphics and video, designing and producing projects and all that technology and Web 2.0 has to offer – Wow! It’s so obvious what dynamic, mind stretching and engaging platforms technology, problem-based and project-based learning are!!! Or is it so obvious?

Who gets the most excited and visionary about this stuff? – Probably anyone that might actually be reading this post. I’ll bet few if anyone that isn’t already doing “Messy” learning is checking out this or any other blogs that teach, preach or discuss it. We hear about “The New Story,” or “The Read/Write Web in the Classroom,” but who else but the choir reads, hears or cares about any of it?

The gurus trip around the country and the world physically and virtually to spread the word, but who goes to these conferences or subscribes to these podcasts (or even knows what a podcast is?)? The masses of teachers and administrators looking to be enlightened? No! (well maybe a few, but VERY few) The early adopters that see and saw the implications straightforward are the few and the brave. So the questions have been asked and numerous and various answers have been proposed about how to change how school is done and how using these “New Tools” fit into that scheme and how do we get the message out?

Do the gurus continue to guru? (How do you guru? – don’t ask just try to follow along) Yes, that is certainly part of the equation. Do we continue to blog about it? Absolutely! The conversation is the point! What is missing are the models – the working, breathing, reproducible, intriguing models. We need ongoing models of all the power of what this looks like or we get nowhere.

Yeah I know there are examples out there – but my staff and my administrators and my congressman and senator and school board probably aren’t jetting out to Maine to observe Bob Sprankle’s class or any other of the teachers and students doing this kind of school.

YOU IDIOT!!! – You’re thinking or maybe yelling at your monitor – you and your staff can go to Bob Sprankle’s class or any of a list of teachers using blogs and video and web 2.0 applications – via the web!!!! Yes, yes I know… cool down … I know that. I can pull up one of Bob’s productions – for example his class made a recent vodcast about how they produce their podcasts – way cool – I GET IT!

BUT – (notice I made it a big but) I GET IT! I could run around my school and district showing teachers and administrators Bob’s kids’ vodcast and I might even get a few people excited – but most WON”T GET IT! You can’t just show most people – you have to show them and explain it to them and then answer their questions and then show it to them again and then explain it to them again and then show them how this relates to things they already do – takes the place of this and makes it even better and does this and this and this! I’m telling you they will think the vodcast was kinda cool… would be an interesting thing for their kids to do once if they had the equipment and the time and someone to show them how to do it. But they won’t get it until they experience you doing it and getting them to do it…several times … and talk about it and have them notice their students’ reaction and learning and how they talk about it and how excited their parents get about it. Wes Fryer talks about Face 2 Face – that’s it… that’s what I’m talking about.

So where is everyone that does this? Are there whole schools that do this? Districts? Where’s the list? – we should all post it and send it around – where will people see this that is as easy and as accessible as possible? Is there DATA that goes with any of these teachers or schools or districts that do this? (yeah, I don’t need the DATA but some will require the DATA). Maybe there’s downloadable video of some of this – I know where some is… where’s a lot more? Better yet, are their teachers – “Old School” teachers that have come to this that can speak about what their experience has taught them? I think that would be a powerful “New Story.”

We need working, breathing, reproducible, intriguing models available in many places for many to see and experience to leverage the gurus and the online examples. Should we build the clearinghouse – any volunteers?
Learning is messy!

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Response To: Powerful Beyond Measure

Miguel Guhlin posted a great piece today Powerful Beyond Measure that is a must read. In it he states:

“The words of Isaiah, as Bonhoeffer shared them, are, “He who believes does not flee.” The words strike home as I reflect on education today. For those who can, have fled schools. They have fled our schools and abandoned their colleagues, the children, and moved on to greener pastures. And, who can blame them that they chose to take advantage of the active exit strategy to deal with slow death?”

Those who can have also fled to within themselves, their classrooms – quietly doing what they’re told. Many teachers take on the good little girl or boy persona that they learned as students – it’s how they got their positive strokes, how they were acknowledged – by being good, not rocking the boat. They want to do what’s best for their students, but too many can’t or won’t make that decision on their own. So now in a time that they are being told that what is best is accountability (per NCLB) they fall back on being good little boys and girls – not entirely because they agree with the method, but because they haven’t thought about or discussed what might be better and they wouldn’t be “good” then and that is scary. What if I’m not considered good? When your pay isn’t acknowledging your work then having your work acknowledged is what you hang onto. Not being considered good for any reason then is scary.

This might sound too strong, but it is a similar reaction to terrorism or what Bonhoeffer witnessed in Nazi Germany – don’t rock the boat and draw attention to yourself. Don’t have a public opinion about anything because that might come back and be used against you.

What are the examples many teachers have to follow? Are they being in-serviced and trained and encouraged to use problem-based/project-based learning? Not in my experience – so why would they even think about going that way if they don’t understand or know it? When they read headlines like last weeks – “Computers May Not Boost Student Achievement” – Why would they find themselves pondering changing paths?

The early adopters of project-based. Educational technology driven learning are like those that Bonhoefer saw disappear early on in the Nazis rise to power when they questioned things. They saw the power of changing paths but were swept out of the way as an impediment to progress. Wasn’t NCLB promoted that way? I know, invoking Nazism as an example almost always goes too far – no one is disappearing in the same sense as what happened under the Nazis – but that sense of being swept aside professionally is a very scary line to cross.

Learning is messy!

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Response to: Is Experimentation Ethical?

Doug Johnson over at The Blue Skunk Blog made me write this post in response to this:

Questions that come from the dark side of the force…

  • Why should a teacher be given any more latitude to be “creative” with a computer than an accountant? Why should a teacher not be required to use district adopted software, much as they are required to use district adopted reading series or textbooks?
  • Should a teacher experiment rather using established best practices? (A medical doctor who “experiments” on his patients would be considered unethical – that job is for specially trained research scientists.)

I am especially interested in the last question. So much of what is being written about in the educational blogosphere (at least what I read) promotes the experimental use of technology with students. At what point do we need to ask ourselves is this healthy for students?

These are not “experimental” practices. They are tried and true, research based, best practices and techniques used with new media, technology and applications. It’s research (librarians should like that), quantifying data, brainstorming, gathering and organizing data, synthesizing information, designing a method for dissemination, editing and more.

The leverage comes in many forms, but include: being able to print pictures from primary sources (could we cut pictures from your books or periodicals?) and change the size and crop out unnecessary, distracting areas and enhance others. It’s being able to ask questions from experts here-to-for that were very hard to access (email, blog requests, ask-the expert sections on many web pages). Instead of writing a report and delivering it in a report folder that the student and the teacher and maybe the student’s family will see and learn from and so who really cares, students can deliver in a web page/blog, Wiki, slide show, digital video and more – and have the report become an international resource instead of a folder in a drawer (which just might mean we are more motivated to polish and rework and rethink and revisit and polish some more and even update at a later date – I can just see someone pulling their old report folder on the Revolutionary War out of their drawer and updating it).

The experimental part comes in having to think out of the box (we wouldn’t want that!) to think about which media or application or venue should be used or not used or is appropriate to use (you mean think about, discuss and debate ethics and best use?). One of the best parts is that when things go wrong it is often an opportunity to problem solve and learn from mistakes and learn to deal with mistakes (unthinkable) in a relatively safe environment when you’re not going to get fired from your job.

Why should teachers be creative? Hmmm, boy that’s tough. Think about your best, most memorable learning experiences in school. Come on really think. Did you list reading groups or working a sheet of math problems or doing a state report? You may have thought of one of those, but if you did it was probably because the teacher had you do that in a creative way! Most likely however, you thought of a project or field trip or activity or science experiment.

Blogging is akin to journal writing (journal writing is a big waste of time?).

Doctors would be liable if they “experimented” on their patients – but I guarantee that no two doctors do the same procedure exactly the same way (except of course for the most absolutely critical parts). I’ve had doctors try new approaches and methods on me a few times – and I’m Ok, and I’m Ok, and I’m OK. Teachers may use the district adopted textbook or reading series – but use it the same? – excuse me I’m still recovering from my laughing fit – and of course I can see your point. When teachers use the district adopted textbook or series they are always successful and teachers that try new ways usually fail. (Sorry, I’m bent over laughing again – or at least trying not to cry).

Student motivation is one of the keys to teaching and learning. New approaches are often intriguing. Many students are not served well by traditional methods, but there are many examples of unreachable, unmotivated students being caught up in a new approach.

Communication is intriguing – and blogging and Wikis and publishing and presentation applications are all about communicating.

I’ve gone on long enough – I’ll ask others to add to and enrich my thinking and comments (dang! there I’m pointing out an advantage to blogging again – I hope no one notices this publicly published post). : )

Learning is messy!

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An Important Part of the “New Story”

Let’s face it, one of the biggest obstacles for elementary school teachers to overcome to feel safe teaching and doing much outside of language and math instruction, is the notion that students have to have mastered those subjects to be successful in school and in life. Many teachers don’t feel that they have permission to do anything else as long as their students lag behind in those important subjects. Many feel their professionalism is at risk if they do more, and at many schools teachers are under the thumb of administration to not go outside language and math except where other subjects can be covered by reading about them, and writing keyword summaries about them, and other similar activities.

Teachers want what’s best for their students, and the predominate thinking now is that this focused language and math instruction is what is best – especially for struggling students and second language students. If you observe in classrooms where this kind of focused teaching is going on, you see very good stuff happening. You don’t see techniques or lessons that make you think, “This is bad teaching,” or “This is bad technique.” In fact you come away impressed because it is effective, good teaching. In primary grades especially, test scores are often very good or on the rise, which fuels the belief that this is the right path.

OK, what’s the point? The point is that the fly in the ointment is that science and social studies and art, PE, and REAL project based work and learning are part of literacy and being literate. You can’t leave them out and expect literacy to come into full bloom any more than leaving out phonics or vocabulary or fluency or comprehension skills. Those subjects and all they entail are actually part of learning to read and do math because they are the schemas and substance that makes language and math make sense. You can make great strides temporarily without them, but at some point (about 4th grade from my experience) students hit the schema and analyzing context wall (and a few other walls too) without the knowledge of the real world and the understanding of accomplishments and defeats and what they mean and are like to experience.

Students that have never played sports or participated in hard physical work like running can’t imagine how great or difficult the feat the character in the story just managed is. They don’t understand the joy of winning, or the frustration of losing, or the feeling of trying your best, or many other experiences involved. If you never made the flour/salt relief map of the country or state, or put the soda can that you have boiling on the hotplate upside down in cold water and watch and hear as it collapses under the weight of our atmosphere, how do you appreciate or relate to things like that that happen in books? On a less academic note – it’s just too antiseptic and boring and wrong without those experiences and some common experiences that help relate everything.

This isn’t a choice between doing science and the other subjects and experiences and learning to read and do math. You can’t do one without the others. And here’s the really bad news … it is probably going to cost more to do a good job of it. Because to do it you can’t cut the time spent on those great literacy lessons mentioned earlier, we’ll have to add time to the year and possibly the day (like most of the rest of the world already does) and that will cost more. We will need to provide the learning tools needed to leverage and magnify and present that knowledge, technology, which students need to master if the U.S. is going to compete in this “Flat-World” anyways – and that will also be a money investment – as will the physical education and sports programs we should put back into elementary schools and all schools nationwide. This would be just about the best money our country ever spent.

Learning should be messy, not antiseptic.

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Marsopolis – Real, Messy Learning

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My class got started this week on a 7 week project we will participate in with almost 500 other students from 9 schools in my district from 4th to 8th grade. We call the project Marsopolis. The students will work together to design the systems needed to survive on Mars (air, water, food, waste, communication, recreation, transportation and temperature control). Each 4 student group in my class is actually part of a 16 member team, but their other team members are at 3 other schools. The have to communicate via email and FAX (I’d like to use blogs starting next year too).

Yesterday each group started designing spaceships incorporating every system to get them started thinking and dealing with the problems they will face. Next week I will have each student design a creature to live on Mars taking into account the environmental conditions and resources available. Then they have to explain each part of their creature and how they survive 200 mile an hour winds, cold temperatures and every other condition on the planet.

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As I observed my students today I saw that messy learning I covet so much. Students that don’t always get along, sharing ideas, asking questions, asking if it was OK to look something up (what a concept!) focusing on their work and with smiles on their faces yet. We ended the activity by taking a “tour” of each group’s spaceship design and commenting on cool, interesting or “I wish we’d thought of that” design ideas. This is really an evaluation piece because you really see what the students don’t know much about or haven’t thought much about. I always get pumped when we do this kind of work and I can’t wait to see the excitement, frustrations, realizations, mistakes, and the students learning to deal with all of it constructively.

I’ll keep you posted!

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Just Do Reading and Math?

The New York Times reported today that schools have been cutting back on science, social studies, art, PE, and other subjects to push reading and math.

Like where have these people been? This is just coming to light? They don’t mention technology and field trips directly, but I’m guessing (not really guessing – I know this for sure) that tech literacy is one of the victims of this push for “literacy.”

I understand if to many this seems a no-brainer – students that are not literate in language and math should focus on those subjects. How can you succeed in life, in society and in the work world without being literate in those subjects, and with few exceptions I understand this thinking,,, and mostly I agree with it.

Where I diverge is here. You cannot produce literate students if you cut them off from the rest of the curriculum and experiences. You cannot produce students that will compete in an information rich, science rich, global view rich society if you cut them off from those subjects from an early age. If you want to give them more time in reading and math I don’t disagree. Add days to the school year and some time to the school day for those students – I’m fine with that. Most students that are that far below grade level in reading and math are also usually not students that are engaging in activities during the summer that enhance their learning and schema and understanding of the world. My own students mostly fit that description and they usually spend their summers watching their younger brothers and sisters (4th – 6th graders providing day care for 1 to 8 year olds) and their highlights usually involve trips to the supermarket. They are thrilled when school starts in the fall and they can do something besides watch TV. Spending more time in school would be a good thing.

Most of the students I have that are not doing well in reading by upper elementary are missing the vocabulary, schema and knowledge of the real world that would allow them to make sense of what they read. They generally have phonics down pat, but sounding out a word only works if the word is in your vocabulary and schema. Books are only interesting to read if you understand why something is interesting or exciting or sad or not. Otherwise you are just reading words – how long would you last reading words that did not relate meaning? – although you might be feeling that way while reading this – : ) . So by cutting the subjects and field experiences that contain and convey that meaning and are paramount to obtaining schema and information we are actually stifling their reading and possibly subjugating them to only the lowest level jobs. Is that what school and this country are supposed to be about?

In my class of 31 sixth graders only 4 have access to the internet, and none of those use it for much more that emailing relatives in other countries. I’ve pointed out in earlier posts how many of my students think there are sharks in Lake Tahoe (30 minutes from here) and ask questions like, “Is Florida in Nevada? Is France in Nevada? And have no idea how we get electricity, water or how most things are made or come from. How will they fill in those enormous gaps if they continue to focus on JUST reading and math.

On the other hand, every time,… every single time I have these same students go on a field trip and/or integrate technology and engage in gathering and thinking about and processing and presenting information in science or art or whatever, they start asking questions. Questions like: What does this mean? How do you do this? How can I find out more? Can you explain this to us? AND, “Hey we just learned that…”… and “Did you know that…?”… and “Look at this!!!” and “Can we go here? And students are mostly excited and motivated and willing to do more and learn more. I bet if we take them there maybe they will make the push we are looking for to change how we do school. Or at least help drive that change.

Learning is messy!