Swimming

I don't know who to give credit to, but I saw a great poster yesterday when I was on campus at Montclair State University:

"You can't tell if you have taught someone how to swim by giving them a paper and pencil test at the end of the lesson."

School and free time

Based upon David Warlick's recommendation, I watch a beat of Clay Shirky's speech from the recent Web 2.0 conference.

In his speech, Shirky shares that over the last 50 years, we have "suppressed our cognitive surplus" as a society by using our free time to mostly watch sitcoms on TV. (Gilligan's Island, Seinfeld, Friends, I Love Lucy, etc.)

According to his estimates, we spend 200 billion hours every weekend watching TV.
100 million of those hours are spent watching ads.

So what does this mean?

I am constantly reflecting on and redefining my defintion of the purpose of school. One piece that I continually come back to is that school should be a place to encourage students to do things that they wouldn't do/learn/try/think about if left to their own devices.

Based upon Shirky's thoughts I am going to add a corollary.

The purpose of school in the 21st century is to encourage students to use their free time to become creators of something new (thoughts, ideas, products, media, games, imagination, creative outlets) instead of passively receiving someone else's ideas. (Hmmm. And maybe encouraging more teachers to use their work time to do the same.....)

Best Use of Administrative Learning Time?

Seeing the value in administrative PLC's, four years ago, I started an administrator book study group in our district. We collectively selected a book and read a chapter every month, then met for an hour or so each month to discuss it. Of our 17 administrators, about 10 would consistently attend. The group was not mandatory- you attended because you wanted to.

We read "failure is Not an Option" by Blankenstein, "Its Your Ship", and read the story of Shackleton's expedition to the Arctic. Good discussions, but we felt that by halfway through the year, we were saying much of the same things.

This year we tried starting "Instructional Council". Each month a different administrator would bring a topic to the table to facilitate, either through an article, a demonstration, discussion, debate, or hands-on activity. This year has included studies of Daniel Pink, use of Palm Pilots for walk through evaluations, the Apple iTouch, how to teach gifted students, how to get the "administrative monkey" off your back, designing inquiry based professional improvement plans, and Schmoker's "Results Now".

The group has been productive. Certainly the meetings earlier in the year had better attendance than those in April and May. However, we are now questioning what the best use of our time is. It is too easy for administrators to find a reason NOT to come. Paperwork, phone calls, finishing projects; all reasons to not make a meeting but all reasons that don't "move you forward" as a leader.

So, what should we do for next year? We want to design an experience that is valuable and compels people to come. It should also help us grow and improve as leaders. It should also compel us to step out of our comfort zones and admit that we need to learn some thing and that everything at our buildings isn't the best it could be.

This will be our topic for our last meeting. If you could give suggestions to your administrators for how they should spend an hour and a half of PLC time every month, what would you suggest?

Call, email, skype, or text your mother

My mother passed away from cancer seven years ago this month. Certainly, not a day goes by where I don't think about her in one way, shape, or form, but the artificial construct of Mother's Day forces the thought, especially since that holiday and the anniversary of her passing always fall within a few days of each other.

Thomas Friedman (of Flat World fame) wrote what could very well be one of his best columns this week about his mom. Reading it made me reflect on my mother's influence and I wanted to do something similar.

My mother was a high school math teacher before she was married. She also became a high school guidance counselor but then took some time off from work to raise me and my siblings. I believe that my life started out strong because she was home with me when I was very young. Not a relative, not a nanny, not a babysitter... but my mother. By being home with me, I have strong memories of her reading to me, going on trips to the library several times a week, going to museums, and playing learning games. She had this fabulous ability to turn a nature walk into a counting exercise about seeds and leaves.

Teaching for her was a natural thing. No doubt her instructional skills were what made her a fabulous parent, with patience, creativity, inquiry, and smiles a natural part of who she was.

Growing up, she always stressed that being well-rounded was important. I took piano lessons, played soccer, went to religious school, played trumpet, acted in shows, went to camp, read books, watched movies....I got to experience a variety of facets of life thanks to mom's pushing (and driving). That start certainly makes me appreciated and understand the world around me.

She herself was a model of being well rounded. She sang, played guitar, made up fabulous poems (which were written on birthday cards every year), played tennis, was a volunteer at my school, read what seemed to be half a dozen novels a week, and went to musicals and plays.

She was a communicator. She edited the PTA newsletter, spoke out at various gatherings, and was an early adapter with technology. I remember her learning TRS-80 programming and her being the sender of emails from a mainframe in the early 90's. I think she might have been the first email I received when I set up an AOL account!

When I was in third grade she went back to work as a high school math teacher. Though she was qualified to teach upper level classes, she requested to work with the low acheiving students. She had a way with them and connected with them in ways no other teacher could. Even when cancer wracked her body and made her sick and weak in ways that would topple most people, she went to school and taught and motivated and pushed on. The cards and letters I received after her death from some of these kids were a testament to her influence.

Even now I still run into former colleagues and students of hers who always tell me what a fabulous teacher and person she was.

I don't need them to tell me that, but it always nice to hear.

I miss you mom.

So today, the day AFTER mother's day, be sure that you call, email, skype or text your mother that you love her. Make mother's day every day, if you can.

Give them The Slip...and a Lesson on Copyright

My music tastes are all over the board; an eclectic mix of jazz, pop, 80's rock, grunge, and R&B. Though not a huge industrial fan, it caught my eye that the band Nine Inch Nails released their new album, "The Slip" on their website yesterday for free download. (All you have to give is an email). According to their site, there is no digital rights management (DRM) and is released with a Creative Commons license - which means you can share the album with your friends, put it in your podcast, put it on your blog, digital story, or remix it.

From most of my observations as well as what I read on blogs and in national publications, most students do not understand (and as a result do not respect) intellectual property. P2P File sharing sites like Limewire and Kazaa serve the primary purpose of illegally copying copyrighted music. CD's are shared and copied without abandon. In my opinion, the main reasons this happens is that either students don;t know the law OR they have no fear of consequences. (i.e I won't get sued by a record company; they are going after the major copiers. I'm not one of them.)

David Pogue had a discussion with college kids about this. Interesting generational morality differences.

Here is a neat opportunity for education and engagement. Give your students the link. (You might want to cross check the lyrics first to ensure you are comfortable with them and that they are age-appropriate for your students)

Then, have a class discussion with some of these key questions:

• Why do you suppose Nine Inch Nails (NIN) is releasing this album for free (especially when they will release a CD in about 6 weeks)?
• Why don't other bands or singers release them for free?
• What is copyright?
• What is fair use?
• What is Creative Commons?
• Do schools have different rules ofr copyright and fair use than the public?
  
• When is it appropriate to use someone else's music and when is it not?

With free music in hand, it might be a real teachable moment for students.

Feel free to view this short 1 1/2 minute film I made called "Cut and Paste" that gives some basic background to copyright and fair use in school.

Mindfulness in the Classroom

“Parents and teachers tell kids 100 times a day to pay attention,” he says. “But we never teach them how.”
-Phillip Goldman, Stanford University

“I have always found some insanity at the thought of yelling at kids to be quiet.”
-Barry Bachenheimer

When one thinks of mindfulness or yoga, thoughts of hippies sitting in a circle saying “Ohm” may come to mind. Instead, try to think for a moment about the value of silence.

There is value in silence. Kids (and many adults) are always “plugged in” from the time they wake up. The TV is on, DVD players in the car, texting, IM, email, blogs, readers, and more create both an internal and external chatter (dare I say “noise”) that is a digital cacophony throughout the day. We use Media or stimulation to get us through time, whether it is sitting on a bus, waiting at the doctors, or (gasp) sitting at the dinner table with our families.

I just finished co-teaching an after school workshop with a district colleague, Christine Davison on the subject of mindfulness in the classroom and it was very well received.

In the workshop we dealt with several topics:

1. The power of the deep cleansing breath before you begin a task and after you end it. Clear the mind and body.
2. “Musing”: To wonder, to ponder. A Topic is given. Learners prepare before hand. Then musing starts with no set goal, no text, except what is mentally brought and where the discussion leads you.
3. Caring and Compassion: “Where seldom is heard a discouraging word…”. Kindness on par with consideration. Perspective into others feelings. Because kids text more than they talk sometimes, we are seeing a loss of emotional intelligence. Kids can’t read emotional cues as well because they don’t see faces. As teachers we need to need empathy and to teach with empathy in order to teach empathy.
4. Media Inflammation: The idea that the purpose of the news is to cause a reaction, to get you passioned and perhaps upset. To keep your filters on the not let news (and a constant media cycle) dictate your emotions.
5. Visualization: Athletes have done this for years. Picturing actions before delivery. Identify your anxiety and visualize yourself working through it. Be in the zone, not zoned out.

To read more, look up the works of Jonathan Kabat-Zinn or read one of the more popular downloaded articles last year from the New York Times on the subject of mindfulness.

It is good to be mindful…and technological!

Google Teacher Academy: Year 2 in Mountainview, CA

Having been accepted to and attended the Google Teaching Academy in New York City in February, 2007, I can vouch for the quality and learning opportunities of these programs. (I also got to go back again in May, 2007)Any American teacher or administrator from the 50 states can apply, but you have to pay your own transportation and lodging. (I understand that there is a possibility that there will be another one in NYC in the future, but that is unconfirmed)

Check it out and apply. (Feel free to post questions. I'll answer what I can!)

Google Teacher Academy

The Google Teacher Academy is a FREE professional development experience designed to help K-12 educators get the most from innovative technologies. Each Academy is an intensive, one-day event where participants get hands-on experience with Google's free products and other technologies, learn about innovative instructional strategies, receive resources to share with colleagues, and immerse themselves in an innovative corporate environment. Upon completion, Academy participants become Google Certified Teachers who share what they learn with other K-12 educators in their local region.

About the Academy

50 innovative educators are selected to attend each GTA based on the merits of their online application. Potential applicants include classroom teachers, curriculum specialists, technology specialists, librarians, administrators, professional trainers, and other education professionals who actively serve K-12 teachers and students.

Participants are selected based on their professional experience, their passion for teaching and learning, and their successful use of technology in K-12 settings. Since the program relies on a "train-the-trainers" model, we are particularly interested in educators who actively provide technology-related mentoring or training for classroom teachers.

Participants must provide their own travel, and if necessary, their own lodging. We've changed our format based on past feedback, so that we may include interested applicants from regions all around the world. Though we will give preference to K-12 educators within a 90-minute local commute of an Academy event (in this case, Mountain View, California), anyone may apply. Please remember that each Academy is designed to create a strong professional learning community of educators who support each other over the course of a year, so if you are not local, you must be willing to be resourceful with all technologies to facilitate communication and collaboration with your fellow Google Certified Teachers.

Google Certified Teachers

Educators who attend a Google Teacher Academy become Google Certified Teachers.

Google Certified Teachers are:

• Exceptional K-12 educators with a passion for using innovative tools to improve teaching and learning.
• Creative leaders who understand their local needs and can spread innovation as a recognized expert.
• Ambassadors for change who model high expectations, life-long learning, collaboration, equity & inclusion, and innovation.

Google Certified Teachers are expected to:

• Develop a "Personal Action Plan."
• Lead at least three local professional development activities over the course of 12 months.
• Actively participate in the Google Certified Teacher Online Community.
• Share the impact of their work with other Google Certified Teachers through an end-of-year reflection.

In addition to a free day of training, Google Certified Teachers get:

• Access to the GCT Online Community
• Access to additional free ed tech resources
• Opportunities to give Google feedback on educational uses of tools
• Invitations to join Google at special events
• The right to post the GCT web badge on their website or blog.

Application Requirements

All applications to the Google Teacher Academy must be submitted using our online form. Only completed applications submitted before the deadline will be considered, and you may only apply to an Academy in your local region.

*NOTE: Each applicant to the Google Teacher Academy is REQUIRED to produce and submit an original one minute video on EITHER of the following topics: "Motivation and Learning" OR "Classroom Innovation." Be as creative as you like.

Once you create the video, you must post it on the Web to Google Video or YouTube for us to download or view, then paste the specific URL for your video into the appropriate field on the application. We will not accept videos by email, and we will not watch more than one minute. So, make it count!

This video is a very important part of your application. The task is designed to demonstrate your technical ability, your resourcefulness, your commitment, and your unique personality and interests. We realize that you may have never produced a video before and that you may not own video equipment, but through perseverance we are confident you can find a way to meet this requirement. You do not need to be in the video, but please do not submit videos produced for another project or videos created by others. We're specifically looking for educators that creatively address one of the above topics in an original way.

Apply Now!