Category Archives: Messy Learning

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Online Inclusion Update 2

NOTE: This is the latest update about a post from December 7th: Hoping To Make a “Web 2.0” Difference In A Child’s Life and: Hoping To Make a “Web 2.0” Difference In A Child’s Life – Part 2 – about including a student assigned to my class that cannot attend school because of her depleted immune system that we are trying to “Skype” into our classroom.

“Hurry up and wait,” seems to be the theme here. I got a message from AT&T last Monday that the phone line and DSL service they are installing would be in her apartment by this past Thursday, so Friday I would be able to install everything finally. Unfortunately, Friday I was busy until 10:00pm and I left Saturday Morning on a trip, so now we have to wait until at least Thursday this week before I can install and train my student to use the internet, Skype and email etc., so I’m REALLY HOPING that this Friday we will give things a try.

My students in class have written some new blog posts about Inclusion that I need to get posted and we plan on making a vidcast about getting things set-up and our first attempts at including our off campus classmate – so watch for that.

Learning and inclusion are messy!

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A New Horizon?

Dave and Will and others have recently posted about sensing a new attitude towards education. They experience that change while mainly talking to large groups attending conferences – conferences that are going to draw folks that probably already share their outlook. I’m seeing that resurgence too, but from a different population. I mentioned my feelings about that just last night.

What is important here is that I am experiencing that change at the local and even building level. Teachers in my school – the ones least likely to embrace new ways of thinking about learning are the ones giving me the most encouragement. Admittedly, some, if not a lot of that change has come about because we have acquired digital whiteboards, laptops, cameras and more just this school year. And some of these reluctant integrators have had a new digital whiteboard screwed into the wall literally covering-up their old whiteboard forcing them to at least try using technology. Our principal also built into our budget about $175 per teacher for field trips this year – it helped pay for our fourth grade trip up the mountain at Squaw Valley this fall.

So, yes, an influx of actual tech at your site can help – although we’ve had 30 wireless laptops available here for 7 years – and cameras and scanners and more, and they have rarely been used – most have never used them even though we have had trainings and encouragement from administration that it was OK to use it even when the heat from NCLB was the hottest.

So what has changed? Maybe the few of us pounding away has helped. Certainly more teachers have their own home computers and high-speed access. More teachers at my school have young children now (we’ve experienced a baby-boom of our own the last few years), are they seeing the light based on seeing their own kids’ futures? My principal has been pushing integrating tech (even though she is a novice – she is trying hard to learn) and experiential teaching and making connections hard. Maybe … probably it is all these things.

But I am also seeing it from teachers that have attended classes and workshops I’ve taught recently from other schools – even from schools where they tell me that their day is TOTALLY pre-scheduled by their principal. That when their principal walks through their room if it is not VERY obvious that they are employing one of several “programs of learning” they have in place, they are questioned and even reprimanded. Some of these teachers have started to work tech-as-a-tool for learning into these lessons to avoid suspicion. Others work it into their mandated half hour or 45 minute once a week computer lab time.

I also am hearing from some that they miss the creativeness of planning and implementing lessons totally designed by them. I feel this might actually be one of the biggest motivators for some. Learning and teaching as creative processes (what a concept!).

The point is that I’m seeing a change – and it has infused me with vigor and encouragement. Maybe we are seeing a new horizon – a new visual to pilot towards!

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Top 5 of the Year

The top 5 most read posts in my first 10 months blogging at Learning Is Messy: . . .

1) Paper, Pencils and Books May Not Boost Student Achievement 

2) Too Much Time For Change To Happen? 

3) Hoping To Make a “Web 2.0” Difference In A Child’s Life – Part 2 

4) Working, Breathing, Reproducible, Intriguing Models 

5) Society May Be Willing To Invest In Children If They Are Seen As An Immediate Value To Society 

Learing Is Messy

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We’ve Finally Joined The School Blogosphere!!!

I got a Blogmeister account set up and had my students upload their first posts today (Thanks again Dave!). We have several finished pieces already, so hopefully by the end of the week we will have several posts going. I’m hoping to get them to finish writing posts about our “cutting edge” project to include a student that is assigned to our class, but has leukemia and can’t come to school, via a Skype audio and video feed. They are SO excited about being part of this and making a difference in someone’s life.

I had hoped we would have that up and going by now but we are still waiting for our donor to deliver a computer (and beggars can’t be “demanders”), so that won’t happen until after Christmas. That will give me time to load Skype and other software and maybe install the DSL in her apartment and teach her how to use it so when we return from the Holidays we are up and running.

So three-and-a-half weeks into our 1:1 laptop project we have learned how to log-on, open Appleworks, save, log-onto Flickr, add a photo to our written document, print, log-onto our blog, paste our writing into a blog document and post to our blog. We’ve also used several interactive web sites to practice math, learn about analogies and practice making them and do a bit of research about our state. And that’s just what we have done using tech!.

Learning is messy!

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Hoping To Make a “Web 2.0” Difference In A Child’s Life – Part 2

Note: this is a continuation of an earlier post about using SKYPE to include a student that has been assigned to my class that has leukemia and can’t attend school because of the effects of her chemotherapy. The plan is to have a computer/web cam at her house so she can see and hear us and we can see and hear her using SKYPE which is free web based voice and video over internet.

BREAKING THE NEWS

Thursday I finally felt we were far enough along with getting the “infrastructure” lined up that I could inform the class of what we were hoping to do. I didn’t actually tell them anything, I just did an activity to get them ready to hear about it the next day. I had them write about the following:

Imagine something has happened to you, and you can’t be around other people at all. You can’t leave your house or have friends over, and you even have to be careful about being around members of your own family. You can talk on the phone or watch TV – if you have TV – but most of your family is gone during the day so you are by yourself – and you don’t feel real well sometimes and you can’t eat many of your favorite foods. How would you feel? What would you miss the most? What would be the hardest parts of not being around others? How could others make you feel better if they can’t play with you or even be with you?

The last question was what I really wanted a thoughtful response to – it would be the last thing we would discuss Friday before I told them the whole story. NOTE: I am planning on posting the 4th graders’ responses on their blog once I get it up and going (I know, I know … well MAYBE this weekend).

The ideas students came up with to answer that last question on Friday were truly inspired. “People could write me cards.” “They could send me emails” (one of my 4 students with internet at home). “They could stand outside my window and we could talk that way.” “They could have a MyFace (sic) page and we could write on that and put pictures.” (When I asked later she said she meant FaceBook actually).

Then I broke the news. I explained to the class that unbeknownst to them we had a new student in our class that had been in our class for about six weeks. “So who is it?” I asked. They all looked around the room with puzzled looks. Then I told them her name and about how she had cancer (I’ve found some web pages I’ll share with them next week specifically about leukemia). I explained about their journal entries and discussion we’d just had and made the connection for them.

I reminded them how a few times in the last weeks when they had entered the room I had Skype going and they could see themselves. I told them we had a computer donated along with an internet connection and web cam and that we would use that technology to include her in the class.

Needless to say they were pumped. They are really looking forward to making this work. So am I. Now I am just waiting for a call to come pick up the computer – then I’ll have to make arrangements to install the DSL line, computer and teach her how to use them.

Learning is messy!

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Our 1:1 Laptop Program Is Going Slow But Steady

Two weeks ago we passed out our newly “batteried” (I know … no such word) Key Lime iBooks (about 7 years old). Since then my fourth graders have learned how to get them out of the carts, started-up, onto the web, start-up Appleworks, save, access Flickr, drag a photo from Flickr onto an Appleworks document, some font and text size adjustment, center text or image, put back in the carts and a few other skills. We also have spent some of our time troubleshooting issues like computers that didn’t have the right version of Appleworks or had no browser installed and the like – which I knew we would deal with. I’ve also learned it is close to ludicrous to all go to the same web site at the same time (we are using original Airport hubs – 26 computers all going online at the same time is a traffic jam waiting to happen), but I am going to play with that some (not that we should have to do that very often).

I’ve felt like things are going too slow – but in retrospect we are doing fine – especially considering that the vast majority of my students have never done this before – never used a trackpad (not one of my 26 students), 2 students had ever had 2 windows open at the same time or knew that was possible. Depending on what happens with getting my “27th student” a computer for her apartment so she can Skype into the classroom, we might get a bit sidetracked while we learn a bit about leukemia and Skype and how we are going to make that work. We also need to start blogging. Think we’ll get that done by Christmas?

Learning is messy!

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Hoping To Make a “Web 2.0” Difference In A Child’s Life

About a month ago I was called to the office at my school (no I wasn’t in trouble) and I was informed that I was getting a new fourth grade student – not unusual at an “At Risk” school. Several years ago I had 21 changes in my classroom in one year – 11 new students entered and 10 students moved. What was unusual was that I was told I would probably never see this student.
“Huh!?”
“Well the student has leukemia and is undergoing chemo treatments and her immune system is shot – so she is being schooled by the home studies teacher, but she has to be placed in a classroom for administrative reasons and we chose yours.”

Later that day our school counselor came by with her file and I asked her if the girl’s family happened to have an internet connection at home because maybe we could include her in at least some class activities and lessons by having her “Skype“ into our classroom. Ann asked a few questions and left.

When I returned to my classroom from morning recess duty a bit later, there was a file sitting in my chair (probably because there was no room to be found on my desk). Inside I found a grant that Ann had already filled out and submitted to pay for a DSL line for the girl’s house and a web cam.

I thought I had an iBook that would do the job for the computer at her house – and that we were on our way. Unfortunately, the iBook is only 600 Mhz (which will support the iSight camera they got her, but Video Skype requires 800Mhz) – NOTE – I can’t do iChat because AOL instant messenger is blocked by the school district and I’d rather use a Mac because my whole class is using Mac laptops running Panther (OS 10.3.9) and it will be easier to give her directions and for her to follow along if we are using the same machines and software + we have to use Appleworks 6 because it is the only word processor that we have a license for and the online word processors don’t have some of the features I’d like – and I’ve got too much going on right now to learn and teach a new piece of software. We will use an HP computer in class with a web cam because that is mandated by the school district (another reason iChat is out and Skype is in – I need software that is cross-platform).

So we have feelers out for a Mac with at least an 800Mhz processor – we’re in the process of informing local media to see if that will help scare up the hardware we need. I haven’t told my own class about any of this yet – until I’m more sure this will all come together. I have a feeling, if I get this set-up to work, that they will benefit at least as much as she will. I must say that our IT department is totally supportive of this endeavor so I am optimistic.

I’m in the throes of setting up a classroom blog with Blogmeister (thanks Dave!) and I’m hoping to include her. Since our field trip last week we have been writing poems and journal entries that will become our first blog entries once I have the time to get that up and running. Busy, “Messy,” times here which is why I haven’t been posting as much of late. I’ll keep you posted on how things go.

UPDATE: 5:30pm PST – a local TV news person here just emailed me that she thinks she has a computer for us to use. : )

UPDATE: Saturday 12/9/06 AM – Turns out instead of donating a computer someone has offered to pay for a computer – I guess they will tell me who later. I like that it is someone in our local community though. : )

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Skype Comes Through Again

I want to belatedly thank Dean Shareski and Barry Dahl for Skyping into my “I Want To Integrate Writing, Field Trips and Technology Into My Curriculum, But How?” class Tuesday night (I know – the title was designed by committee and part of my stipend is paid by the Northern Nevada Writing Project).

My few past experiences with Skype have been intriguing, and again, except for my screw-up in not being able to re-establish the video link with Barry, things worked so easily. I mean there is just something cool about talking from Sparks, Nevada, to Dean’s group near Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan, Canada, and 30 seconds later connecting up with Barry in Duluth, Minnesota.

Thanks again!

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Our “Squaw” Experience






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Just before the cable car began its journey it rocked slightly when some sort of release was pulled, and a squeal erupted from the fourth graders – but it quickly diminished and then was soon followed by “ahhs” as the car lurched and then smoothly soared from its perch.

The day before I had handed out 5 digital cameras and 2 digital video cameras to the seven groups of students in my room. As they read their SSR books I made the rounds to each group and showed them how to use the camera their group was assigned and had each group member take a trial picture (or video clip). 23 out of 26 students had never used a camera before, but they caught on quickly and were excited about using them to record our journey and get the “landform” pictures we were seeking for our projects.

Cameras emerged from backpacks as we gained altitude, and the student that had been assigned by their group to take photos of our ascent began snapping pictures (click on my Flickr badge on the right side of this page to see over 20 of the 180 total pictures the students took). As the car cleared the first tower, about 1800 vertical feet from where we started, and the car rocked and swayed, a student standing close to me sputtered, “This is so cool!”

As you cover the final third of the trip to High Camp, granite boulders that were melted into blobs cover the ground below you. The cable car attendant explained that Walt Disney had his artists spend time here sketching and designing how the rocks and boulders would appear on the “Thunder Mountain” ride at Disneyland after he experienced this scene many years before.

At the top we emerged from our car and I noted that we really only had about 30 minutes to make our observations and photos outside and eat lunch before we needed to board the cable car for our trip down the mountain if we were going to keep our bus drivers happy.

The scene outside was amazing. I’m sure many of you would think I’m nuts … and truly I wish the weather had been clear and we would have had the view of Lake Tahoe that is available here … but I loved that the weather was somewhat marginal. The wind was blowing steady at probably 12 to 15 miles per hour and the temperature was 16 degrees. The thick wire fencing around the deck had frosty ice on the side facing the wind that was difficult to break off with my gloved hand. The flags waved stiffly in the wind. I strode out onto the deck and the students followed – cautiously at first, but then flooded the deck and lined the rail. My students traded off who used the camera in their group, as they had pre-arranged, and more pictures and video were snapped. The Olympic rings that adorn the ice rink garnered much attention, as did the swimming pool and spa (see my Flickr badge for sample photos).

About 5 minutes was all that most could take, but they weren’t running into the lodge … they loved it. I stayed out a few more minutes with those that wanted to stay and soak it all in and take more pictures.

While the students ate their sack lunches they were already reminiscing about the experience. After slamming down lunch we quickly caught the next car down … a news crew from Sacramento, there to do a story about the start of ski season, had had the great fortune of making the trip up the mountain with our rabble, and now they had the great fortune of timing their visit so they also joined us for the return trip : ). They got a student to help them by taping him saying some catch-phrase (that I didn’t catch) and he did on the first take so they were all high-fiving him and he was beaming.

All during the trip students were also writing in their “Field Trip Journals” – making assigned observations and gathering impressions that we will turn into poetry and informational paragraphs and captions for some of our photos. Today my class learned how to “word process” the first poem they wrote about the cable car on their laptops, and tomorrow we will grab pictures off of Flickr to illustrate them. Maybe we will even post a few.

Whenever I take a trip like this with my students – I am always reminded why I take trips like this with my students. Some have already mentioned to me how they can imagine how difficult it was for the mountain climbers we read about earlier in the year. This is how I want to do it. Experiences, messy experiences leveraged by tech and science and social studies and art and …

Learning is messy! – and a bit chilly!

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So Much Learning To Do – But So Little Time

Tuesday we embark on our second field trip of the year. As reported in my last post, we will be traveling to Squaw Valley to ride the Cable Car so we can get pictures, video and personal observations of landforms. In addition we are in the early throes of a project that ties science and social studies together quite well.

The fourth graders recently learned our state song, “Home Means Nevada” and sang it at a school musical performance. We noted that it describes our state’s history and geography … so we plan to make a music video of “Home Means Nevada” and possibly even write a new stanza or two that include our learning and impressions of our state. The students will take pictures and video to include in our project as well as solicit them from others around our state that live in places too far for us to go (Nevada is over 300 miles wide and 400 miles long). Then we will edit it all together over a recording of the students singing the song.

We will also be taking observation notes in our field trip journals about what we see, feel, hear and do -  to use in writing other pieces (poetry, informational paragraphs, photo captions, etc.). If all goes well we might even have photos posted to my Flickr account Tuesday afternoon. I wish I could say we were going to blog about it, but that will have to come later when I can get a Blogmeister account going. Right now we are learning to use digital cameras, digital video cameras and laptops, along with learning how to make observations and write about them.

Learning is messy!