Connect More

30th Street Station, Philadelphia 

As I said my goodbyes and left Philadelphia’s 30^th Street Station I noticed a message on a banner above the door. I paused. The sign read, “Connect More”. While this was not the entire script on the banner, these words were in bold and immediately resonated with me. The remainder of the sign read, “Trains CONNECT MORE Than Cities”. I took a quick picture and was on my way.

This message lingered as I drove home. I sent out a tweet with the picture accompanied by the text “An enduring message from Educon”. This is the message we all must carry with us as we depart from EduCon.  We must connect more.

However, we must carry this message far beyond the “EduCon fraternity”. We get it. Those of us that have attended this past weekend, and in the past get that we must connect, share, etc., but what about those that did not attend? What about the colleagues that don’t get it? How do we delicately approach them and tell them about the weekend without sounding like an overzealous tween that just met Justin Bieber?

We start by opening up subversive connections within our disciplines and work places. Simply approaching a colleague and mentioning one small thing you learned this week is great start to connecting and encouraging a culture of sharing. Don’t bombard them with EduCon highlights, photos, blog posts, etc. but show them one thing you learned and walk away. Follow up in a few days, or maybe a week, or not at all. Just connect.  

As educators we must model these positive connections while empathizing with a hesitant colleague. We not only owe this to our hesitant colleagues, but our students. All of us must encourage building new relationships within our learning environments and promote transparent learning.  

Further, we need to bring new faces into the fold. Edcamps and ntcamps are happening monthly across the nation. There are plenty of free opportunities to introduce colleagues to these learning forums and create new connections.  Much like the train, we need to build more depots along the way so that we can continually bring new colleagues along for the ride.

EduCon is built on connections. It continues to grow because of the culture of sharing and connecting that it provokes. As I left the station yesterday, I promised myself that I would take the message of EduCon and make every attempt to cultivate new connections and reinforce old ones. We all must strive to connect more, to share more, and to constructively criticize each other.

It is our responsibility as educators.

Reform Education From Within

CC image via flickr by bensonkua

Browse any education twitter feed and you are sure to see the word “reform” somewhere in the mix. While I believe serious reform is needed in the education sector, I also understand that I will…

A) …never work in a perfect educational system that is equitable for all and

B) …not see any serious education reform happen in the next few years.

Call me a cynic, but don’t call me a quitter. I am also aware that most State and Federal Governments are not taking time to listen to what educators have to say about education reform. Rather, they are paying attention to prominent voices in the entertainment, business, and music industry. The rhetoric continues to the talk show circuit and eventually finds its way to the educators. Our voice: small, full of static. Solution?

Teach the hell out of your classrooms and give your current students the best opportunity to question, think critically, and seek out new learning opportunities under our current education system.

A lot of energy is burning on ways to develop new reform structures and ideas for reform, but it’s not happening this year. It’s not happening any time soon. We need to give our current students the best opportunity under a system that most of us would like to see overhauled immediately. We must, for the sake of our students’ future, change the tone of reform and move towards innovating our best practices, sharing our best practices, with what we have while developing dynamic leaders. We all owe it to this generation of students.

There is no denying education is in a state of flux but let’s prove “them” wrong in the classroom every day rather than with redundant rhetoric. When we change the rhetoric from what we have to do, to what can we do, then we make progress. Let’s build great learners with what we have today, rather than what we hope for tomorrow. This is not to crush our hopes for a better educational system, but if we want the system to thrive we need to change the tone. This happens each day by creating dynamic learning environments where students can constantly question, analyze critically, search efficiently and safely, synthesize and create, and feel as though everything they are doing in your class is purposeful and necessary for the rest of their lives.

Every school has the right to emulate great school systems throughout the world, but many lack the leaders to push and provoke their teachers. A great school system starts with a great leader. Not simply a leader who follows the straight and narrow or who spends all hours of the night working at his or her desk, but a leader who has a clear vision for creating classrooms that are purposeful. A leader who gives his faculty autonomy and trusts they will yield engaging lessons.  I can only speak from a teacher’s point of view, but a dynamic, purposeful classroom starts with a leader that is willing to take a risk and listen to their faculty.

When you tie all of these elements together - dynamic classrooms, innovative leaders, engaged students - you create the classroom today’s students deserve. We need to work within what we can control. Educators need to stop getting frustrated and worrying about when and how the system will change. Rather, make an immediate impact on your classroom today, tomorrow, and throughout the rest of your career.

The educational system will always have flaws. So what are you doing today to instill the best learning practices in your students? What are you doing today to promote innovation within your classroom? What are you doing today to combat the notion that no matter how hard it feels to deal with the educational system, testing, etc to make sure your students are leaving your classroom with the ability to learn, question, analyze, and create? If you expect to see a Utopian vision of education in your lifetime you are dreaming. We need to focus on what we have today and thrive. We owe it to these students!

iTeach180 Project Days 29-30

Shouting fire in a crowded theatre is bad. Similarly, tweeting about blowing up an airport is just as bad. Last week you may have stumbled upon this story reported first by The Guardian. I found it via Mashable under the title “#IamSpartacus”. The writer’s of Masable pose an interesting question at the end of their adapted article,

Was Paul Chambers really breaking the law when he joked about “blowing the airport” on Twitter? Subsequently, are all the Twitter users who have repeated the message breaking the law, too?

The easy answer is yes, however it strikes up a good debate. This is how I will start my class today. This article raises many good lessons about using social media responsibly and understanding your audience. It also presents students with the realities of how using social media irresponsibly can result in serious consequences. 

Objectives:

Students will be able to explain how to use social media responsibly

Students will be able to analyze how to use social media responsibly

Process:

Depending on your class size split the room in half. One side will argue for Mr. Chambers and the other side will argue against Mr. Chambers.

Allow each group a day or two (again, depending on class size and time) to research the story and construct their argument. Each group must share a google doc with their group members and the teacher. This document will house the minutes from group meetings, links to secondary sources, and each member of the groups’ role.

During the debate one member from each group will backchannel the debate proceedings with the hashtag #chamberdebate (or what ever hashtag you decide to use) NOTE: Later on we will analyze the thread of the backchannel and use it to evaluate the debate and reflect on the effectiveness of each groups’ argument.

Another option for this exercise is to use USTREAM.com to broadcast your debate to your personal learning network or possibly the school. I have done this before and it really gives the students an audience and produces excellent feedback. Make sure you consult with administration, parents, and your academic technologist before going through with this. 

2010 EDUBLOGS Award Nominations

My nominations for the 2010 EDUBLOGS Awards 

Most influential blog post: The Power of Flexibility by Sarah Edson
Best Individual Tweeter: Dr. David Timony (@DrTimony)
Best Group Blog: Connected Principals 
Best School Administrator Blog: Burlington High School Principal's Blog 
Most influential tweet/ series of tweets/ tweet based discussion: #edcamp 
Best use of a PLN: The Educator's PLN
Lifetime Achievement: Chris Lehmann

iTeach180 Project Day 28

Yesterday students started working on projects that identified the positive and negative effects of online learning communities on high school students. My students targeted five sites, researched how they are used, how they could make this community better, and guidelines for acceptable participation within these communities.

Today, as students present their communities to the class, I want the members of the viewing class to backchannel on a Google doc. I consider backchanneling a type of learning community that focuses on a central issue(s) and examines it by constructively criticizing or highlighting what the presenter is yielding. In the case of this class, I want my students to test the waters of backchanneling by setting up a shared Google doc.

Objectives:

Students will be able to use a backchannel for feedback

Students will be able to assess presentations effectiveness through a backchannel

Process

1. Briefly define what a backchannel is for your students. If you have extra time in class, you can set them out to find the definition on their own along with examples.

**NOTE: If you use twitter, you may want to summon your PLN and ask them how using a backchannel can promote constrictive feedback and transfer new information to a larger community of learners.

2. Set up a Google Doc and share it with the entire class. Give your students some guidelines before they start to backchannel in class

A. If you present criticism, be constructive. Offer options or solutions for your classmates. No empty criticism or attack criticism will be tolerated.

B. Highlight the key points to share. Don’t just look at what others are saying and copy their idea. Develop your own thinking on the subject and present it on the doc.

C. Respond to other’s assertions and criticism. Part of backchannel is creating a dialogue of ideas in a uniformed fashion. While you want to construct your own ideas and highlights, it is good practice to participate in the conversation that is unfolding.

D. Maintain a high level of interest in the presentation. Do not let the backchannel be your only focus. You are still watching your peers present and you want your primary focus to be on the presenter while checking in with the backchannel periodically.

E. The conventions of the English language still count in the backchannel. While the purpose of the backchannel is to be short and brief, you still want to articulate your message effectively and provide a coherent message. Remember, your peers will be looking back at this document and learning from your responses. Make sure they can read it. Be concise and coherent at the same time.

3. Once you cover the ground rules for the backchannel, make sure you instruct the presenters to focus on their content and not to feel ignored if they see the heads of their peers looking down to type a few lines about the presentation.

4. For a follow up or homework assignment, have students write a reflection blog post on what they learned from the presentation combined with what they gleaned from the backchannel.

iTeach180 Project Day 27

Introducing online learning communities

During our last session students created presentations highlighting the positive and negative aspects of social media. Each student group researched social media and conducted interviews with students, teachers, parents, administrators, and guidance counselors. Their finished presentations highlighted how social media can have a positive and a negative effect on a student’s identity.

This week we will be taking what we know about social media and working with learning communities. Today’s lesson will focus on the parameters and guidelines for becoming a contributing member of an online learning community.

Objectives:

Students will be able to define an online learning community

Students will be able identify guidelines for using an online learning community

Process:

Today’s lesson will be guided by student research and analysis of various learning communities that can be found online. Students will work in groups of two to three (depending on class size and your procedures for grouping students). Each group will analyze a different learning community and present a list of guidelines (rules) for using that learning community. Students will take some time to join the learning community and find ways in which a student can use this tool effectively in a high school setting.

Here is a list of learning communities your students can research:

1.     Wikispaces

2.     Flickr

3.     Diigo

4.     Facebook

5.     Goodreads

Each student group must present the following items at the end of this project:

1. Address the following questions:

·      What is the objective of the learning community you researched?

·      How can this type of learning community be used in a high school?

·      How are members using this community to further their learning?

·      What are some downfalls of this learning community?

·      How could you make this learning community better?

2.  What type of community decorum guidelines would you suggest to students?

·      Develop a list of guidelines your group feels are necessary for getting the most out of this learning community.

3. Observe how others interact on this site

·      Present ways this site can be used effectively by students

·      Present ways in which you could foresee students using this site irresponsibly.

iTeach180 Day 24-26

This week students will be breaking down social media sites and building a comprehensive guide on our classroom wikispace. This project is designed to engage students by highlighting the positive and negative aspects of social media. Students will present positive ways in which social media can help them showcase their talents and connect with a vast audience. On the other hand, students will also present ways in which social media, if used inappropriately and irresponsibly can hurt their online identity.

Objectives:
Students will be able to compare and contrast the differences between positive and negative uses of social media.
Students will be able to analyze the positive and negative attributes of social media
Students will be able to present the positive and negative attributes of social media

The Process:
1. You may assign or have students choose the social media they want to analyze. I would suggest presenting each group with one social media platform to save time.

2. Once students are arranged in their groups, they must create a pro a con list for the social media they will be analyzing. Have each group open a Google Doc and share it with the teacher and all group members.

3. Once you have your wikispace up and running, have one member of each group create a link for their social media in navigation frame of the wikispace (left-hand side).

4. Either on the wikispace or a handout, have students address the following questions:

A. Imagine that our school blocked your site. How would you present an argument to the administration to unblock this site? Why does the school need it? How will the students’ learning benefit from having this site open? NOTE: Keep in mind counter arguments to your points as you present.

B. Interview one teacher and one administrator in the building. Ask him or her how they would use this site in the school and why we should have access to it throughout the building. NOTE: Please present a list of interview questions beyond the prompt I suggested in the previous sentence. Also, follow the MLA guidelines for citing an interview.

C. Interview a guidance counselor and if you have the opportunity, a college representative. Ask them how students can use social media to increase their chances for college admission. Also, consider how students can hurt their admission chances if social media is used inappropriately. NOTE: Please present a list of interview questions beyond the prompt I suggested in the previous sentence. Also, follow the MLA guidelines for citing an interview.

D. Interview two students and ask them how they use social media. Also, ask if they think their use of social media will help or hurt their digital identity. NOTE: Please present a list of interview questions beyond the prompt I suggested in the previous sentence. Also, follow the MLA guidelines for citing an interview.

*** If you record any of your interviews, make sure you seek permission with your candidate before start filming or recording his or her voice***

5. I would like each group to set up a shared Google Doc folder that all members can access. In this folder you will house all of the files your group is using for this project.

6. One member of each group (or a different member each day) must compose a daily reflection blog chronicling the progress of the group’s progress.

This project will take several days and in the end we will have a valuable resource made by students for students, teachers, parents, and administrators. This wikispace can become a sustainable document that future classes can learn from and add to as social media continues to evolve. In short, the class will be creating a digital textbook for digital citizenship in a high school classroom.
If you decide to try this lesson with your class, please share a link to your wiki in the comment box below.