What It's Like on the Inside

2011 Holiday Greetings

2011-12-24T19:21:00.000-08:00

I hope you are enjoying some time off and an opportunity to do whatever you like to do with whomever you like to do it with. Borrowing from a co-worker: "Best wishes for a nicely modulated seasonality."

And to all, a good night.

Lucky Seven

2011-12-10T13:27:00.000-08:00

"Seven has always been my lucky number."

The number "seven" holds appeal for many people in many situations: brides for brothers, sins and virtues, dwarves and samurai, hills and wonders.

And today, we can raise a toast to the seven years of blogging here at What It's Like on the Inside.

Many happy returns of the day to my readers and supporters. May seven be a lucky number for us all.

A Look Into The Purposeful Classroom, Part II

2011-12-02T13:33:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, I took a long train trip. I suppose that "long" is a rather subjective term. So, let me say it this way. I spent three days traveling from my home in Washington to the town in Texas where I grew up---nearly door-to-door service. While most people I tell this story to cringe in horror---Trapped on a Train! Waste of Time!---for me, it was delightful. It was the first full week I've had off in a year, and having someone else "drive," cook, clean, and treat me to wine tastings for three days was a little bit of heaven (and not nearly long enough). It was also an opportunity to be anonymous for a bit. In fact, I think that is one of the most appealing things about taking the train...not just for me, but for a lot of people I met along the way. Everyone talked about themselves in terms of where they were going---not where they'd been. They didn't define themselves by a job. Conversations felt a little different. Interestingly enough, many of the conversations on that trip turned to Technology. I didn't bring up the topic, but there seemed to be a pervasive belief that Technology Was Very Important. If you're a regular reader here, then you know that I struggle a lot with whether or not that statement is true.

Technology has a bit of a starring role in Chapter 4 of The Purposeful Classroom by Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey. And as I read, I couldn't help but think of the various conversations I'd had on the train.Technology is such a mushy word (Are we talking hardware or software? Does it have to be digital or will any sort of tool do?), but within the context of the book, definition is not as important as the role it can take with establishing relevance for students and purpose in the classroom. Fisher and Frey describe the roles technology can play as students find, use, and produce information. (Unfortunately, the book went to press before Google's Wonder Wheel went defunct last summer.) To me, this is technology in its proper place---something I meant to blog about after my post on being App-rehensive about the infusion of tablets into classrooms. I see way too much confusion out in the edusphere about "student-directed" vs. "student-centered" learning. And what I like about The Purposeful Classroom is that it provides a firm, but even, hand to bridge these two ideas, even though it never uses these terms.

In Chapter 4: Ensuring the Purpose is Relevant, there is a good discussion at the beginning about relevance---a term does not refer to just one thing. Relevance can take the form of curriculum (which is where we most often try to pigeonhole it), but it can also be found in the connections we make for students (to the "real world," to other learning, to their own lives), as well as the products we ask them to develop. Relevance is an amalgam. And for me, this is an important point to carry forward. Technology is a way to make purpose relevant for students, but it is not the only way. I wonder now about the conversations I might have had on the train. They obviously thought technology was important...relevant...but were seeing it as more of a goal than an entry point.

If relevance represents the push of student-centered learning, then Chapter 5: Inviting Students to Own the Purpose responds with the pull of student-directed. I have to say that this was my favourite chapter. It's the shortest one in the book, but it packs the most punch in terms of implications for the classroom. There is a brief overview of motivation (goal theory is missing...sigh), followed by a look at helping students identify purpose statements. This is something that I would like to explore further upon returning to the classroom, because I didn't take this concept far enough with students. At the end of a grading period, each student and I would look at their performance and I would ask them three questions: What are the strengths? What needs improvement? What should the grade be? Looking back, I should have built out the second question. We did talk about what students could do---how to focus on improving, but I should have had them do some goalsetting...something we could both refer to in the coming weeks.

The final chapters (6: Identifying Outcomes Related to Purpose, 7: Knowing When a Learning Target Has Been Met) describe specific instructional, assessment, and evaluation strategies. A lot of what is included here is just part of good teaching: cooperative learning, peer-assessment, feedback, rubrics, various assessment formats. There might be nothing new here for a good teacher, but all of the ideas are good reminders about how the pieces should fit together.

If you have the opportunity to read The Purposeful Classroom, I am sure that you will have your own "a-ha's" along the way. Whether you are new to the profession and are looking for some extra support---or an old hat (like me) who needs a booster shot about working with students to set classroom goals---there is something in there for you.

I'll be attending a keynote address by Doug Fisher next Friday and then spending a few minutes talking with him about the ideas in the book. If you have questions or comments to share, I'd be happy to pass them along. Many thanks to ASCD for a copy of The Purposeful Classroom. This has been a great opportunity for me to learn and reflect on my classroom practice.

A Look into The Purposeful Classroom, Part I

2011-11-30T17:58:00.000-08:00

Douglas Fisher and Nancy Frey’s new book is The Purposeful Classroom: How to Structure Lessons with Learning Goals in Mind, published by ASCD. In this post, I’ll provide an overview and some thoughts on the first three chapters, and follow up with a look at the second half of the book in the next post.

I’ve been a Fisher and Frey Fangirl for a few years now. I appreciate their continuing commitment to walk their talk by staying involved with high school teachers and students. This sets them apart from many of the “expert” voices in education who have either no experience (or, at least, no relevant recent experience) working in classrooms. Fisher’s and Frey’s deep background knowledge shows throughout the book in the form of the personal stories they share. As a teacher, I really connect with that approach.

The focus of The Purposeful Classroom is on creating clear and meaningful purpose statements for students, and then supporting work toward these goals. At first blush, this doesn’t sound particularly new or groundbreaking—let alone deserving of an entire book. But Fisher and Frey take this concept in a direction that may be different for a lot of teachers. We know about standards. We likely encountered Madelyn Hunter’s version of lesson objectives in our teacher preparation programs. Fisher and Frey make the case that standards, objectives, and purpose statements are actually three separate things. Standards are broad and lack specific direction for students (How long will it take to learn the ideas? What will it look like when I’ve learned it?). Objectives are more for the teacher than the student (The student will be able to…). A purpose statement provides students with a clear expectation around “what they are going to learn and how they will be expected to demonstrate their understanding” (p. 6). There are some very subtle differences among the terms. The rubric on pp. 20 – 21 is a tool that PLC groups may find useful for developing and revising purpose statements, but I found myself aching for a checklist, too. I can’t help but think of all of the teachers in our small schools who don’t have a way to collaborate with others very often. A tool containing “look fors” when developing purpose statements would be a very welcome addition here.

In Chapter 2, Focusing on Learning Targets, Not Tasks, Fisher and Frey provide background on developing purpose statements that move student understanding forward by using what students already know. Part of this chapter made me want to cheer (they shy away from “higher order” and “lower order” ranking of skills), but other parts raised a lot of questions for me. On pp. 36 – 37, they state that “In addition to identifying what students already know, teachers have to understand the type of knowledge that students still need to gain.” I’d like to know more about Fisher’s and Frey’s view of both Learning Maps and Learning Progressions. It seems like a natural connection here—tools which a teacher might use to help plot the course, as it were, for students. There is a connection back to this concept in Chapter 3 during a discussion of Pacing Guides. Here again, it is refreshing to see a very common sense approach to using Pacing Guides—one which speaks directly against using them as “scripts,” but as their name suggests, a guide for planning and instruction. I’d still like to learn more about how Fisher and Frey view Pacing Guides vs. Learning Maps.

Fisher and Frey look at content and language components of purpose statements in Chapter 3. Content refers to subject-area knowledge; language the terminology used. I like the attention placed to both of these areas. It elevates the importance of content vocabulary as a basis to understanding deeper concepts. Fisher and Frey advocate for “unpacking standards” in order to look for both content and language components. This can be a great exercise for teachers in terms of identifying what students need to know and be able to do. I was also left hanging, however, waiting for Webb’s Depth of Knowledge to make an appearance during the discussion of unpacking standards. Fisher and Frey use a table to separate the nouns and verbs from some Common Core State Standards. I think this process can be useful for teachers as a way to focus on what a standard includes, but I’m not sure of the reasoning behind separating the nouns from the verbs. The table makes things look like a mix-and-match approach, when the standard is very direct about which verb and noun should be partnered…something more Webb-like. I hope to find out more about the reasoning for doing so.

I recently had a sneak peek at the upcoming revision to Classroom Instruction That Works. “Setting Objectives” is still one of the strategies listed. What I like about The Purposeful Classroom is that it gives time and attention to Setting Objectives (or, in this case, purpose statements). The book is a deep dive into being intentional with the goals we provide for students, something that can only help them in identifying gaps in their knowledge and determining pathways for growth.

App-rehensive

2011-11-15T05:41:00.000-08:00

About 6 weeks ago, I started using a tablet. Perhaps "using" is too strong of a word. It might be more accurate to say I have access to one at work. The fact is, there isn't a lot of work that is done on it---mainly because the day-to-day aspects of my job don't fit well with this kind of device. Yes, I have access to a keyboard for it...and I even purchased an app to be able to do some basic work with Word, PowerPoint, and Excel files. But my laptop is just a much more robust tool (and, it's connected to the Internet).

However, the overall purpose is greater than just my personal productivity. I'm also doing a lot of thinking about classroom uses. I've been trying to set aside a certain amount of time each week to review apps and ponder how I would integrate the device and the apps into my teaching. I keep asking myself, If the education fairy plopped you in a classroom tomorrow and all the students had tablets, what would be different for teaching and learning?

At this point, I'm not entirely sure of the answer to that question. Mind you, I never thought much about it with other resources and tools. Replace the term "tablets" in that question with "textbooks" or "calculators" or "coloured pencils" and I don't think the answer would be very different. Maybe it's because the magic that is learning is not dependent upon the stuff---at least not in my mind.

It's not that I don't see certain advantages with the tablet. One tablet weighs a helluva lot less than a bunch of textbooks. (Tablet = 1, Scoliosis = 0) In terms of science and math, there are a lot of tools that I wouldn't have to spend precious dollars to buy/replace: e.g. stopwatches, graphing calculators, measurement tools. There are additional ways for students to capture content. They can take a picture, capture video, or sync audio to notetaking. A classroom calendar could easily be synced with a student's personal calendar to track assignments. Certainly immediate access to the Internet could be a plus (and a distraction).

But in the grand scheme of things: So what? If kids can do all of the same things in the classroom without a tablet---why bother? It's a lot simpler to pull out the container of stopwatches for a lab than to sort through the various apps to find the best option. I have to say that searching for and testing out apps is a major time commitment. I don't have to plug in and sync textbooks (and kids have a far easier time annotating print). I know that I'm not the most knowledgeable person around when it comes to careers, but I can't think of any that exclusively use tablets. (We'll get into the whole issue of student choice for product/output in the next post.)

I know that some out there will argue that this isn't the point. A tablet is a Disruptive Technology, therefore we won't understand it's potential and uses from the get-go: Users will define those within the learning environment. Maybe there's some truth in that, but I would be willing to bet that what we will see is a bunch of tablets pushed into schools and instruction will continue pretty much the same way it always has. If you want to blame lack of PD for that, feel free. But I think it's more than that. I think it's a fundamental disagreement about how teaching and learning occur.

However skeptical I am at this point that tablets will revolutionize the classroom, I'll keep poking along with my own explorations. I'm willing to be convinced.

And with that in mind, here is my first list of apps to share. These are just for organization. I don't know or care if these are available for iPad. If you're a droid person, however, you might want to check these out:

AudioNote allows you to take synchronized audio and text notes. It's not as good as a LiveScribe pen, I have to say, but for brief events that you want to capture, it's a nice tool. There is a Lite Version, which is free.
Schedule St. is geared more toward students. It's a dayplanner/agenda app, with to do list integration. I like this one because you can easily categorize and sort the "to do's." So far, this is the best agenda/planner app that I've found.
Bluetooth File Transfer is a nifty way to move files and apps between devices. One of the greatest advantages of the droid platform is the freedom you have with your devices and apps. You never have to use iTunes. Sharing and syncing with bluetooth means you can be cable free.

That's all for this update. I'll keep exploring and sharing ideas now and then. Have recommendations? Leave them in the comments.

You've Got Questions? I'll Get Answers

2011-11-13T07:11:00.000-08:00

pic from Amazon.com

One of the sessions I enjoyed most at this year's ASCD conference was one presented by Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey. Their books have had a place on my shelf over the last few years and it was great to hear them share ideas in person. I always appreciate this sort of "unfiltered" opportunity---no editor, just a direct transmission from the expert.

I've been looking forward to seeing Doug Fisher present again at next month's WERA conference about the new book he has written with Nancy Frey: The Purposeful Classroom.

Better yet, ASCD sent me a copy to review and I plan to chat with Doug Fisher about some of the concepts in the book. Why don't you join me? Right now, you can read sample chapters of the book for free online. Have a look and see what sorts of questions it provokes for you. Then, either post your questions in the comments or send me what you would like to ask Dr. Fisher. With the impending shift to CCSS for most of our states, now is a great opportunity to think about how these will translate into classroom goals, as well as any issues associated with transitioning to these new standards. Read a chapter or read the whole thing. Ask your questions and I'll work on getting the answers.

It Goes Both Ways

2011-11-11T09:17:00.000-08:00

Recently, Good held a contest for a report card redesign. Here was the winning entry, by Polly Avignon:

While it was obvious that none of the candidates applied best practices for grading and reporting to their entry, as Susan Brookhart recently pointed out for ASCD, I have to say that we educators also deserve some of the blame. We might know a thing or two about grading and reporting, but we've had decades to redesign report cards to reflect those practices and have not stepped up to the plate. I'm sure that information designers look at our paltry efforts and say the same things about our design knowledge that we point out about their understanding of grading practices. At some point, we have to stop throwing stones and step up to learning how to communicate data both accurately and using the principles of good design.

We don't all have to invent new report formats, but we should not be afraid to ask for better from the companies which push software into schools. This includes not only those who sell gradebooks, but also those which supply benchmark and formative assessment materials. Shall we look at a few that are used heavily in Washington?

Up first: DIBELS (graph from here)

This has to be one of the ugliest colour combos around. I'm all for the "stoplight" approach to formatting data, but there are better shades than these. And there's the weird thing going on with the labeled ranges along the bottom. Thousands of teachers are handed these charts (or review them online)---all trusting that this is good design.

How about AIMSweb, a Pearson product?

Probably good information here, but who can tell? Is this really the best we can do to give teachers an at-a-glance view of student performance?

And, finally, MAP from NWEA:

The yellow is attention-getting, for sure (original here). But again, we're lacking in representing the data in a friendly way.

And so, my fellow educators, it's time to stand up against bad design---not just bad principles communicated through good design. Tell software companies that it's time to give us the kind of reports we and our students deserve. Start taking two minutes to clean up the charts and graphs you produce. Find a design scheme that works for you and stick with it. Remember that responsibility goes both ways.

Have you visited Excel for Educators recently? You missed these posts:

The advanced gradebook, showing you how to use nested IF statements to integrate more than two sets of data.
Marzano's Power Law formula integrated into both the gradebook and reporting tool.
A public service announcement to remind you that Friends Don't Let Friends Use Pie Charts.

Welcome, ASCD Ed Leadership Readers

2011-10-28T05:35:00.000-07:00

If you're an ASCD member, you may have seen that this month's issue of Educational Leadership is devoted to grading practices. And Ye Olde Blog got itself a mention (as did my friend Kirk from Teach Science for All):

I have updated the grading wiki, in case you haven't visited in awhile. I loaded it up with more research, a section on policy, and a whole lot more. (And, thank you to the EL editor for giving me a "heads up" that company was coming so I could rebuild that site.)

If you're new to What It's Like on the Inside, thank you for joining me here. It's a space that I've used to chronicle my last seven years as an educator at the classroom, district, and state levels. Some of the content is science-related. Part of it is specific to teaching. There are rants and raves sprinkled about. I talk about being an EdTech skeptic while (currently) working in EdTech. And yes, there are a lot of posts on grading and assessment to explore. I also blog at Excel for Educators, which has a lot of nifty posts and tutorials on building and using gradebooks for standards-based grading. If you can't find something you like here, check out some of my suggestions on my blogroll.

You're most welcome to hang out and learn, reflect, and join the conversation. If you need a doggy bag, click the RSS button at the bottom of the sidebar and posts will be delivered to your virtual doorstep (I'm also on Twitter). Let me know if there's anything I can do to make your stay more comfortable. I'm happy you're here!

Silicon Implants

2011-10-27T05:47:00.000-07:00

I think a lot about the purpose of integrating digital tools and devices into the educational setting. I have been called "techie," but it is not an adjective I use to describe myself. It's not one I admire or have any desire to attain. I am not someone who claims that digital is always better or that just because kids were born into a world of computing that they should be surrounded by it 24/7.

In the circles I move in, I'm definitely the minority. I have to wonder how much this impacts things---both from my perspective and the other one. There have been times when I've been in a room of 12 people and been the only one without an iPhone. And if an iPhone is the norm for a group, I worry about how that might skew the decisions that get made. There becomes an assumption that everyone has access to an iPhone, which then drives the discussion about what to showcase or pursue. My concern is that this increases the digital divide. When what we offer is only about a single platform or expectations, the people or districts which can't afford the technology (or broadband plans) or who don't live in a particular service area will continue to be left out.

More and more, I hear about the promise that digital content and connections will have for rural schools. I agree with part of that---the increase in accessibility can be a good thing. But this promise is almost always coupled with the concept that connectivity will replace all professional development for teachers. While you might say that something is better than nothing, I don't know that creating a division where urban teachers get direct access to expertise and classroom coaching while rural teachers get ether represents a step up. How about asking rural educators what they want and how they want to learn?

And ditto for students of poverty. The constant push to infuse computers in the classroom so kids can have interventions really sets my teeth on edge. What will happen when the students with the greatest needs for relationships get 1:1 learning with a machine?

Finally, I'm not convinced that the goal of a digital learning environment has any real purpose. I see lots of pictures of kids in a cubicle-like learning space, each with their own computer doing their own thing. That there's some real disruptive innovation. The greater goal, in my mind, is to help each student learn how to learn. Some of them will want pencils and paper. Some of them will want tablet computers. "Paperless" should not be a goal any more than the endless parade of standardized tests.

Technology in the classroom isn't going to go away. It will increase, driven first by the rise of testing, and then secondly by instruction. It can help in some wonderful ways. But we need to quit looking at it as a panacea for whatever we think is wrong with today's classroom: the teacher, the distance, the student. And we need to quit admiring it for the logo it sports or the fact we can now toss our year-old model in the landfill. Tech has consequences, just like any other choice. It's time we started thinking responsibly about its use.

Scaffoldication

2011-10-24T04:42:00.000-07:00

When I was in the classroom, I used the oft-maligned "If...Then...Because" hypothesis format with students. My purpose was not to require this format. There are any number of ways to construct a hypothesis. But I had a lot of kids who had trouble communicating their thoughts about a prediction. You could talk to them and they could explain their thinking. But to write a hypothesis for a given question? They were like deer in the headlights. So, I helped them incorporate this scaffold...this tool in their belt...so if they got stuck, they had a way out. To me, this is one of the purposes of using an instructional scaffold. It's a support for the student until they can stand on their own with a skill.

At a recent conference, I was in a discussion about the research process, and many of us in the room remembered using note cards, at the behest of our teachers. Although the notecards were meant to be a scaffold---a way to help us develop the ability to "chunk" information and track sources---but many of us also remembered being either required to use the strategy and/or graded on whether we used it. In fact, I'd wager that most of us have worked with teachers who misuse scaffolds in this way: they take what should be a flexible skill (like notetaking) and ossify a scaffold around it (index cards only). Scaffoldificiation has now occurred.

This is not to take anything away from the notecard process. Index cards can be used in all kinds of awesome ways. Where I start to have a problem is when something like notecards is presented as THE way to do research or when any "musts" are attached. At that point, you are asking the student to conform to the tool instead of helping the student develop a skill. I totally get that as a teacher, you don't want 30 different styles to have to learn and provide feedback on. There has to be a balance between meeting student needs and not pulling out all of your hair. But can you introduce more than one way (even just two?) for kids so they can start to learn what works for them?

I think there are various things at work that lead to scaffoldication. Part of it may be the old chestnut of "We've always done it this way." This presumes that the best way was identified decades ago, prior to the invention of lots of other tools and methods. And, who knows? Perhaps the old way is still best. But there's no way to know unless others are given an opportunity. It may be that fear (or laziness) is another reason. We grow comfy in our ruts. Hey, it worked for some students...let's give it to all of them.

Do you need to have a conversation with a colleague about scaffoldification? Obviously, you can't start with "Scaffolds. Ur doin' it wrong." But can you help them identify what it is they really want students to take away from the process? Chances are, it's not really the "If...Then...Because," the physical cards, or that every essay must have five paragraphs. Beyond that, they should be able to see that these attributes don't belong as part of the scoring process or final grade. Help your colleagues remove their own crutches and scaffolds so they can focus on student ideas and learning.

Tastes Like Chicken

2011-10-22T04:44:00.000-07:00

Over the years, I've been involved with a lot of lenses focused on standards. I've used them in the classroom. I've helped write them. I've developed items and assessments for them at the classroom and state levels. I've presented on them. I've evaluated student performance and reported on them. If there's anything you can do with a standard, I've probably done it. I'm just that kinky.

But the more I work with these little beasts, the more I realize what complex little creatures they are. And the more I worry about the ones yet to come as CCSS becomes implemented and the Next Generation Science Standards emerge. (Aside: If you haven't been keeping up with Jack Hassard over on The Art of Teaching Science site, he's been killing it with great posts about the science standards process. Get on over there and read.)

I mentioned in a recent post about a conference session I did that was geared toward having a conversation about the shift from analog to digital in the research process and what that means for us and the students we work with. During that process, we took a peek at the EdTech standards and considered what was underneath. For example, a standard for grades 3 - 5 includes these expectations:

Gather information using selected digital resources.
Organize information using digital tools.
Record sources used in research.

Seems simple enough on the surface. But whether you're talking about how we guide students to take notes, paraphrase, use digital tools (e.g. outlines and mindmaps), read a digital text, or capture information about a source, there's a lot going on here. This is the mechanical engine that drives the standard. While you can make an easy link to the next grade band and how it will build on the strengths students develop at this point, that really doesn't get us toward a greater good. If there's an argument I hate more than "You need to learn this because next year's teacher will expect you to know it.", I'm hard-pressed to name it.

Although I'd never say it this way to students, the point of this standard is about getting your shit together. And that, my friends, is a lifelong skill that requires constant attention. What you learn, where it comes from, and how it fits with other pieces are things we all do throughout a lifetime (in both analog and digital ways). But we don't say this in the standard. Relevance gets lost as we condense and package the words. Meanwhile, all those bits and pieces mentioned above (such as, read a digital text) are also not mentioned. Standards seem to occupy some sort of middle ground between the grunt work that goes into mastering them and the higher purpose they can serve.

Teachers already know this. Most of the people involved in writing standards do not. I really worry about this---not just because it's ridiculous to leave teachers out of that process---but because it can take months or years for the statements representing the standards to be "unpacked" enough to know what's there. And here we are, simultaneously trying to develop assessments, when we don't even understand what's going to need to happen from an instructional standpoint.

Back when I was more naive (or more to the point: ignorant), about working in a true standards-based classroom, I thought things would be pretty simple. You read the standards...you get a picture in your head of what it looks like...and Poof!, kids learn them. The reality is different. I couldn't get to more than 6 standards in a semester with students, and even then, I felt that was pushing too hard. To build understanding for every student takes time---not just for them, but for the teacher. There needs to be multiple assessment opportunities. Instructional time devoted to teaching and reteaching. Standards shouldn't just be like chicken---something that can be incorporated or repurposed into a variety of recipes. They each need their own flavour for kids, with a palate that develops in complexity over a lifetime for them. I have major concerns about the rhetoric out there about the CCSS making kids "career and college ready." I'm sorry, but the words on those pages won't make that happen. It's all of the mechanical parts underneath---all of the unmentionables---that will guide that development. And teachers will be the most valuable part of that process.

I may well be overthinking things, but the more I have to wrangle the bon mots contained in standards, the more unsure I am that we as educators really know what we're signing up for. Hassard cautions, "Standards are opinions of a subset of professors, mostly from the academic disciplines, often appearing on boards and planning and writing teams for the first time. And in some cases participants of the teams ought to be replaced with fresh faces. Are there concepts in science, for example, that every human being must know? Probably. A set of standards for every student? We really do not have a way to determine what every student should know, and we have to wonder why we are so obsessed with this. Why, in a nation of 50 states, and 15,000 school districts, do we insist of a single set of standards, all of which are discipline based." I like the idea that every child has access to the same flexible "toolkit" when they leave the PK-12 system, but I have no confidence that we really know the meaning behind the words on those pages.

Yes. Those Britches.

2011-10-20T04:15:00.000-07:00

It's been a little busy around my place. Six events in four states in six weeks makes for one very tired Science Goddess. And tired leads to cranky. Cranky leads to putting on the ranty-pants.

Two of the meetings I've attended have been full of people who pride themselves on their educational leadership. And when it comes to discussions of online testing...or Common Core State Standards...the basic attitude is that "districts will figure it out." And I'm happy to give credit where it's due. Districts (read: Teachers) are competent professionals and do figure out how to manage what gets crapped on them. I also understand that when it comes to things like technology, it's unreasonable to expect that everyone will have the same hardware and bandwidth available at exactly the same moment in time. But telling districts to just "Git 'r Dun," as someone suggested at one meeting is not only crass, it's an abdication of your responsibility as a leader. You may not be able to solve every problem in every district, but you should at least provide some support and a road map. And, if you have no intention of doing so, please find another job and leave schools alone.

And speaking of technology-related things, such as online testing, it's time for tech-heads to quit whining about their outsider status in schools. As soon as you chose to separate educational technology as its own line item in budgets, you were no longer viewed as integral with curriculum and instruction. Claiming that you're futuristic in your thinking is ridiculous. Sure, you have a responsibility to look ahead and plan, but don't cry about how you're left out of current conversations. If you're not willing to help people move forward from where they are, then you don't get to complain about your exclusion from processes where that is happening. You didn't step up to help because you thought it was beneath you...that you were better off preparing for the world in a few years. Guess what? Others are now determining the path. Get over yourselves and ask where you can support the work others are doing. Don't expect them to come to you...and don't expect them to adopt your plans.

And, finally, I sat in on a presentation recently where a high-school teacher was talking about what she saw as a lack of skill development in students and told the elementary teachers in the room that they were going to have to do something about that. She justified this by saying that she used to work in an elementary school, then proceeded to detail her résumé---as if she'd "graduated" from low level work and could be the big booming voice of doom. Guess what, honey? I don't care if you worked with elementary students decades ago. No one cares that you think you're queen because you happen to have a high school job. You don't get to tell elementary teachers what to do. If you see a problem with student learning, get off your supposed laurels and fix it.

I feel better. Got a rant of your own? Borrow my ranty-pants (One size fits all!) and let off some steam in the comments.

The Next Wave

2011-10-18T05:23:00.000-07:00

This most recent set of conferences I've been attending is about the last for 2011. At this point in the year, I start to think about retiring my current slide decks and building new ones to extend the conversation from the current year.

Except...

With conference attendance diminishing with budgets and people attending as schedules and interests allow, it strikes me that there will always be a need for a "Start Here" sort of session when it comes to the work I do. If you're new to your job, just moved to the state, are a beginning teacher, or just haven't gotten to go to anything for awhile, you've missed the opportunities to learn the basics.

I do have a place online to put the old stuff. There are narrated tutorials anyone with an Internet connection can watch at any time. Noobs can engage with the content at their leisure (and others can review), but I also want to acknowledge that learning something online (especially in an asynchrous environment) is not the same as physically being with others who are. I don't want to claim that one is better or worse than the other. I think that depends on the skill of the presenter and the individual needs of the participant. What I do wonder is that by retiring a conference session after a year that we're eliminating a very important pathway for people to engage with the content.

As much as we discuss the concept of readiness for students, I really think there's something to that for adults, too. I've had any number of experiences working with adult learners when the proverbial light bulb goes off over their heads. Readiness emerges in waves every year. And I don't know how to account for that in an ever-changing educational landscape.

I'm going to have to ponder this some more as I start to prepare proposals for next year's conferences. How do we bring people up to speed while we're forging ahead? Have you seen something that works?

Conversation Starters

2011-10-16T13:16:00.000-07:00

The fall conference season is in full swing here. I've been busy the last two weekends with travel and presentations. A few were sessions recycled from previous conferences, but for new audiences. Science teachers want a different bent than librarians, even if the essence of each set of materials is identical.

But I also wanted to do something different with a conference session...something more personal for participants...something to engender the kind of conversation that isn't easy to have with a group of strangers in a one-hour block of time. As much as I hear people rail about how their PD isn't "engaging," I have to tell you that I've been in any number of sessions over the years where people wanted sit-and-get, and left when I provided more "constructive" sessions. Go figure. Anyway, I built an odd duck sort of session this time, never sure if it would sink or swim, and took it out for an inaugural run. I was pleasantly surprised with the results.

We started here:

I'm sure responses would vary with the median age in the room, but let's just say I had the card catalog, Reader's Guide, notecards, and ink pen age group. And this is okay---because as clearly as they could remember all of these things, it was the process that stuck. The most common response was "outlines" as an organizational device for thinking. As much as I remind people that technology is not (just) about the stuff, setting this personal context to drive the rest of the conversation was powerful in its own way.

I used four video clips from Desk Set to prompt the rest of the discussion. I chose the story arc about putting a computer (a 1957 version that nearly takes up the whole room) in the library and its impact on the people working there. These clips were meant to explore the research process further and have participants think about where they started and how they use both analog and digital tools today.

The first clip introduces Spencer Tracy's character, Richard Sumner, as he arrives to measure the library. But the librarians haven't been told why he's there (and he doesn't tell them).

So, the inquiry process starts with developing questions and determining a plan of action. This was tied to standards for students as their starting place. It was also connected to the lifelong takeaway (the "Essential Understanding," if you're a UbD fan) is that asking the right question matters, because that drives everything that comes next in the process.

We then moved on to a clip where the computer has been installed and the librarians have to face off with it. A question that took them three weeks to answer takes the computer mere seconds.

We then dug into the need to search, catalog, and organize. It's the next information literacy standard for students...and the next part of the process. And the computer (EMARAC) does a tidy job of that.

Believe it or not, this section of the presentation engendered the most lengthy discussion. We could have spent the full hour on this idea. Why? Because how you search, catalog, and organize is very personal. Some like post-it notes and mindmaps. Others like Evernote and Delicious. What tools you choose and how you put information together that makes sense for you is very individual---and yet, how many of us have been forced into the "Thou Shalt Have 10 Notecards" box? Also, as we make a shift from the analog to digital age, how do we accommodate students (and teachers) all over the spectrum? I'll talk about this more in upcoming posts.

Which brought us to this question for discussion:

Uh-oh. Our librarians have been pink-slipped. But the third clip shows that the need for the human element arrives in the form of evaluating information. EMARAC looks for information on the King of the Watusi's and finds a review of the movie King Solomon's Mines, as opposed to facts about the king himself. The computer operator types in "curfew" instead of "Corfu," resulting in even more hijinks. All while the librarians watch from the sidelines. We talked about the need for building a functional "baloney" detector within students. Fair Use is embedded with that, as well.

And finally, we discover the pink slips were a mistake. This solves one problem for our heroines, but they're still going to have to make peace with the elephant in the library. But they start to figure it out when there's a question for them about how much the Earth weighs. Hmmm...maybe EMARAC might be useful.

This question guided us to our final standard for students---one requiring them to share solutions and seek feedback. There's not an "either/or" option with technology anymore. But we do have to figure out where the pieces fit and how to use them wisely.

As you might imagine, an hour was a very tight timeline for things. It got rushed at the end. If I did this again, I would definitely look for a 90-minute time slot. I can even see this as being a 3-hour workshop, with plenty of time for table groups to not only explore the questions, but kick around some solutions for their own situations. What bubbled up a lot in the room was frustration with trying to go back and have these same conversations at school with people who aren't interested in thinking about technology, but who are teaching the research process to students. Those are important things to talk about, but we just didn't have the time or capacity.

I would really like to do more of this type of session. It's sort of a middle ground between a regular conference session and the unconference style. It is a structured discussion about some deeper ideas and personal connections, only the participants don't know that's what they're getting. When program descriptions limit you to no more than 25 words, it's difficult to cue both content and format.

I am always a big fan of conferences. Yes, some presentations are awful. (I attended one eye bleach-necessitating one this month. It was so bad, even the presenter's computer fried itself halfway through the session and refused to cooperate any further). Yes, the formats can be a bit stodgy. But I like that people are coming together to learn. In a time of shrinking budgets, fewer attendees are seen at these events. I think this is all the more reason to make the time that we have in these sessions more meaningful in terms of how people can be conversation starters when they return to their schools.

Take Two and Call Me in the Morning

2011-10-09T08:36:00.000-07:00

Last week, I started using my first tablet device (computer?). It's for work, as with the infusion of these items into classrooms, it's difficult to provide any support or advice without knowing what they are able to do. I'm not an Apple fan. I don't have an iTunes account. I don't use their hardware. So, I'm sporting an Asus Transformer, which has a Droid (Google) OS.

I am looking to interact with this tablet from a couple of perspectives. One is simply from an educator level. If I were a teacher, for example, how might I use this for my own productivity? So, I'm hunting for apps for managing lessons and projects, record-keeping, content, and interactivity with other people and devices. But along the way, I have to learn how to personally deal with this...thing. Do I like to try and touchtype...or is the "hunt and peck" method better? I do have access to an external keyboard/docking station, and a stylus. When are these the best options for input or use? And then there is app management---what items to place where, as well as basic set up. How do I decide if an app is "good"? What role might these play in my work with students?

The other viewpoint I'm trying to take is at a student level. Sure, there's an advantage of having a tablet deliver classroom content over a backpack full of books, but that's only a small part of learning. You also need to able to manipulate information (e.g. take notes on what you read, organize information for papers/presentations) and share it (e.g. upload to wikis or other learning spaces). At this point, I don't really care about the content-related apps. I know they're there, but right now, I want to focus on the output. Can I edit a wiki and add hyperlinks? Can I edit a video clip or create a music track? Draw something and then share it on Flickr or Tumblr or Moodle?

The answer to all of these so far is "Sorta." This echoes what I've seen and heard from people with iPads. The Apple market is much farther along in terms of app development, but considering the Droid platform far outstrips iOS in the phone market, it won't be long until open source apps catch up (and go further). There are beautiful apps for getting information into your head...but the ones for harnessing the real power of the web just aren't quite there yet. At this point, I really hope that schools are proceeding with caution about getting tablets into the hands of students. If your primary reason is to provide access to digital content, you have spent a ton of money on nothing that will actually change instruction. Is that really what the goal should be?

I have a netbook. The battery life has never been great...and the processor struggles with large files. It runs on Windows XP, a soon-to-be no longer supported system. However, it is smaller and lighter than a tablet...runs regular software (not apps)...and has a small, but very functional, keyboard and touchpad. I have loved this little machine a lot. But, it's 2.5 years old and is starting to show its age. I'm going to have to replace it at some point and it will be interesting to see if I make the choice to go tablet. I like the idea of a handheld...but I don't like the idea of not being able to easily access, edit, and use the files that I need most. I understand that different tools can have different purposes, but how many things am I supposed to carry---a phone...a tablet...and a netbook/laptop? I will be watching the tablet evolution very closely. I am hoping that the devices become lighter and the apps more powerful.

Are you using a tablet, either for personal or professional reasons? What's been your experience? What would you recommend?

Virtual Road Trip

2011-09-28T05:15:00.000-07:00

One of my favourite parts of each day is sitting down and working through the posts in my Google Reader account. Like many of you, I subscribe to a number of blogs, news, and websites. An aggregator, like Google Reader, can be a real timesaver---it collects the information.

What I don't like about Reader is the sterile environment. You get content, but you don't get to see the actual sites. You miss the bigger experience---the colours, format, changes, and additions. I don't see what's on the blogroll or the comments others leave to discuss a post.

So, every once in awhile, I like to take a little road trip. I work through the blogs on my sidebar and perhaps a few others from my Reader. Here's what I found on my most recent trip:

I like how many of you are using the pages options in Blogger and Wordpress. This looks like a great way to showcase other parts of your (working) life. Most of us are little multimedia moguls these days. We contribute to more than one site, may be active on Twitter, and have a voice in the real world beyond our classroom. Using pages allows the blog to act more like a website and host a variety of content. I'm definitely going to steal this idea.
There continues to be a very healthy variety of templates. Sure, a lot of bloggers use default options, but I see a lot of mixing and matching of plugins and backgrounds. Nearly everyone has moved over to the standard idea of content on the left and navigation on the right. I have set up my new blog that way, but this blog is set up with a special template. It's old school...and I kinda like it that way. We'll see if I feel like catching the next wave of web design. The most unusual among the blogs I frequent is Chalkdust 101. Patrick's three-column template with the post tags on top invites you to spend a little time looking around.
I try to keep my blogroll stocked with people who post regularly. I know, I know, I'm one to talk after taking some time off this summer---I didn't kick anyone off who's posted at least once in the last three months. But I'm looking for some new stuff, too. Frank, over at Action-Reaction, has a fantastic collection of standards-based grading blogs, as well as science blogs. Jason, at Always Formative, has a nice category of Deserves More Traffic. What a great idea for getting new bloggers some attention and notice. In the early blogging days, there weren't very many of us. It was a lot easier to get attention before Google smart search, Twitter, Facebook, and everybody-has-a-blog. And now there is (thankfully) a lot of diversity in the blogosphere. It makes me smile every time I think of the range of voices out there---ones that didn't have an audience at all a few years ago. The nice thing about the web is that there is room for everyone. However, we still have to work at building community. Suggestions in my Google Reader help, but seeing what you all suss out to add to your blogroll is vital, too.
Nearly all of you are using full feeds for your RSS. Thank you! I expect short feeds for sites like Education Week, which just offer headlines. But, I'm not someone who "clicks through" on blogs with this type of feed. So, if you're hiding content, I hope you'll reconsider. Unless you have a good reason for needing a level of control over who accesses your blog or are counting on ad revenue from click-throughs to feed your family (and most of your readers are probably using an ad blocker, anyway), you might be losing a lot of readers/commenters. Put your content out there!
Blogs written by men seem to get more attention than ones written by women. I don't know that I have anything empirical to point to. I just find it interesting to see which ones get the most follows/reads/mentions. For example, I've seen any number of retweets from Solution Tree about a book a man wrote or a workshop provided by a man...and not a single one related to ideas from a woman. And for another example---reread this post and see who I mentioned. Apparently, I'm just as guilty as anyone else. I'm not complaining. Good ideas should stand on their own merit, regardless of gender. And I won't say that women deserve special consideration or treatment. When it comes to schools, women far outnumber men (especially at the elementary levels). Perhaps the voices of men are more important in this space because they have less representation. Whatever the reason, I notice an imbalance more now than when I first started writing. Either it was always there and I didn't see it...or it's not there and I'm just imagining it. Or, maybe it doesn't matter at all. Feel free to tell me I've gone around the bend.

Do you blog or have a website? When was the last time you clicked through your blogroll or other links to see what's happening (or find ideas to steal)? What have you noticed in the edusphere?

Have you visited Excel for Educators lately? If not, come on over to my other blog to read...

The Intermediate series of Roll Your Own Gradebook. Learn to add the IF function to your arsenal to integrate different worksheets. Part One, Two, and Three, all come with how-to videos and links to the before and after versions of the gradebook. Come earn your Yellow Belt.
How to make your charts and graphs pretty.
A guest post from Jennifer Borgioli, on identifying your purpose for Excel.
And, using the Sparkines Add-In.

Come over and learn with us!

Cogitating on Metacognition

2011-09-25T04:50:00.000-07:00

In my last post, I mentioned that I'm trying to reinvent the 1-hour conference presentation so that it elevates the ideas for the bulk of the session and then rolls around in the mud at the end. I don't know that I can do this for all of my presentations. Sometimes, you just have to get down and dirty with information. The new hotness of a presentation is focusing on the edtech standards related to information literacy. There are four, and they more or less mimic a basic research/inquiry process: asking questions/planning for research, searching for and organizing information, selecting valid information and following copyright, and then sharing/reflecting on the product.

At first, I was thinking about using the transition from analog to digital methods/tools as the backbone of the discussion. We've gone from card catalogs, encyclopedias, and notecards to Google Scholar, Wikipedia, and OneNote. My hunch is that many of us (adults) don't do our work in an either/or state. Sure, I use the computer for many tasks and products, but I am a huge fan of paper and my Palamino Blackwing pencils. I have tried several apps and software options, but I haven't found a replacement for my paper planner (yet). However, I am certainly not ready to turn Luddite and give up my laptop and smartphone.

The more I pondered the language in the standards, the more I started to wonder if the "hidden" goal is really building metacognition. Don't get me wrong, learning to ask a good question is a fine skill to engender. But how you know it's a good question? Now you're getting somewhere. Now you can start to build your bullshit detector for the world at large. Add on the other components in the information literacy part of the standards and you start to wonder if a populace which has a healthy dose of skepticism is possible.

This train of thought has me building a very different presentation. It's not that I don't think the analog/digital discussion isn't important in its own way. This is a wrenching transition we're making. And as much as I might shake my head now when a school tech person tells me a story of having to teach someone that they could change the font in a Word document, I remember when I was at that point in the learning curve, too. I'm not someone who buys the whole "digital native" thing. Heck, I was born into a world with tools, too, but that doesn't make me a finish carpenter or engineer. Thinking about our own pathways and helping others would make for a fabulous discussion with the librarians I'll be presenting to.

But I want to go farther. I think there are ideas lurking even deeper...the things we really want to talk about. Can I do that in a one-hour session? Probably not, but it's a start. I've been looking through my old files to see if I have any additional resources to offer. I have two old handouts (authors unknown) that might fit the bill. The first one has 12 Learning to Learn Skills. The other is about Teaching Students to Think about Their Thinking. Both are intended for a teacher audience. They include considerations for building metacognitive skills in students. They are not, however, "how to" guides. And looking around, there really isn't much out there which resembles such a thing. While I don't expect a magic recipe for metacognition, we also can't expect students to develop their abilities in this area unless we can provide some support and feedback. Maybe the best I can do for now is use my presentation to help us discover and communicate our own strategies.

Do you have methods for supporting metacognition in the classroom or with your peers? What do they look like?

Deep Dive

2011-09-23T10:03:00.000-07:00

I present at a lot of conferences---more now because educational technology has tentacles in every subject area. And while I believe that a single shot of PD will in no way lead to sustainable classroom change, conferences still have a role to play. Much of that is at a relationship level, whether it's getting to hang out with like-minded people or meet someone for a conversation. Sure, there's learning happening, but I think the larger purpose is more along the lines of inspiration and reflection.

Some of my presentations are of the stand and deliver variety. An hour with an audience who is just hearing about something for the first time doesn't leave a lot of room for a constructivist approach. I don't have time (and neither do they) to "discover" the information. What's more, I find I get a large number of walk-outs if I try to have participants do some activities---right or wrong, a lot of them want the sit-and-get approach in a conference session. So, I need to get things into their hands, the most important points into their heads, and then cross my fingers that they'll take the initiative to do more---although the research suggests that 99% of them won't. Why bother, then? Again, I'm not looking for sustainable change as an outcome. I'm looking for building personal connections with others who have similar interests.

However, I'm rarely content with the status quo. I like finding the edge and exploring. Maybe an hour at a conference won't change the world, but it doesn't mean that we can't take a deep dive into thoughts and ideas. So, there will be a new addition to my portfolio this year---a presentation for educators which looks at standards through a more adult lens and focuses on bigger ideas. A way to reflect on the knowledge/skills you practice today, along with where and how those developed, as a basis for talking about how we support students in reaching these same ends.

My goal here is to reverse, or at least reorder, the sequence of events. A traditional session delivers the nuts-and-bolts, all the while hoping that participants are making a personal connection to the content. This time, I want the message to be personal, only reaching the obvious link to the nuts and bolts at the very end. Will it work? I dunno. Do people want to choose a conference session that focuses on ideas rather than concrete take-aways? Beats me. But I'll take a chance and see what happens.

I'll share more specifics at another time, but so far, the presentation involves four clips from Desk Set, a variety of tweets from #phdchat, some work around the analog to digital shift in research, musings on metacognition, and oh---of course, the ed tech standards and assessments. Slide designs include dot matrix paper, chalkboards, and other ephemera to help us take a walk into the past in order to talk about the present. I think it will be good, but if nothing else, it will be different.

Neither Here Nor There

2011-09-17T10:25:00.000-07:00

In my last post, I asked you to think about the purpose of technology in the classroom. Maybe it is not necessary to get students to 21C skills---like critical thinking, innovation, and collaboration. (Heresy, I know...) So, if technology isn't for all the reasons we give school boards, voters, and teachers...what's it for?

Looking back to my start as a beginning teacher (21 years ago...), I would describe myself as eager, but not great in the classroom. That is, I really wanted to do a good job---I was very enthusiastic about working with kids and sharing my love of science---but I was inexperienced (only had 1 pre-service teaching semester) and ill-prepared (very little of my coursework applied to teaching in a high-poverty junior high). I don't remember having students with IEPs, but I'm sure they were in my classes---how could they not be? And yet, I'm sure I didn't pay them much attention. Ditto for ELL students, who spent most of the class time being pulled out. I won't claim that for the first year or two that I did much in the way of encouraging critical thinking in students. Sure, we did lots of labs and activities, but I lacked the skill to help kids pull the deeper meaning from these learning experiences.

What saved me from a career as That Teacher was just a drive to do better. I sought out NSTA conferences and moved into more specialized graduate studies. Technology? Not an option at school. I think there might have been 10 computers in the whole place (school had 1600 8th and 9th graders)---all of them for administrators, counselors, and secretaries. The computers were for student records, not productivity or creation. But to say that my students never engaged in any creative output for their learning or flexed their critical thinking muscles would be a lie. I still have some of their products. I won't claim that I asked them to dig deep into content every day or that I reached every single kid---but I can say that it is possible to provide high-quality learning experiences for students without using technology.

However, I can say with certainty that not every kid had access to the content at a level that they needed or in ways that best supported their learning needs. And to me, this is the role that technology can have in the classroom. This is what tech can do better than I can. I don't have to rely on a single set of instructional materials and media. I can find content that connects a student's learning needs with the standards. If a student needs to access the lesson from home or just needs to see/hear things again, that can happen. Students who need resources in languages other than English or delivered in ways that account for learning disabilities can have them. Sure, the output can be varied, too, but I won't claim that you need the technology to write, draw, collaborate, communicate, or produce. I can get content to students in a diversity of ways. But that's all. I can't make them learn it. And I am still the teacher---I am responsible for instruction, for using assessment data wisely, and for building relationships with students. I think I would have been a much better teacher at the beginning of my career if I could have focused on those things and not had to spend so much energy just tracking down content.

As for the second question I asked, I would have to rely on more qualitative measures. Observations of students and (informal) interviews with them along the journey to check for learning. Sure, it's great if they come to school more often or do better on summative assessments. But if the role of technology is to support the journey, then I need to see evidence along the way. I need to be able to connect the fact that an English Language Learner used a YouTube video that explained a concept in their native language with what they are able to show me in a lab or how they add to a discussion or help another student.

I realize this isn't a very sexy answer. I know some of you believe there is something more to what technology (and only technology) can do. It's not my goal to deprogram the fervent believers, but I do want to start restructuring the conversation.

What If There is No "There" There?

2011-09-14T05:01:00.000-07:00

I love this tweet:

In my head, I can hear the collective gasp of the Hardcore EdTechers. I can hear their claims that we're living in a digital world, dammit...and 21st century collaboration just isn't possible without a computer. An iPad in every pot!

Pshaw, I say.

Other than a classroom, can you tell me of a "real world" workplace where everyone uses tablet computers all day, interactive whiteboards are the focus of the office, and colleagues share their work using document cameras and projectors? If not, why are we insisting on spending millions of dollars each year to outfit classrooms?

Let me make a slightly radical suggestion: Maybe the 21st Century classroom is a myth. If you want to tell me that the tools themselves aren't the outcome, I can buy that. I've said for a long time that it's not about the stuff. However, don't tell me that you have to have the stuff to in order to teach critical thinking skills, innovation, collaboration, etc. All of those skills that you draw from to work with other teachers these days, cooperate with family members, or all of those "real world" functions didn't come from a computer.

So, if it's not about how much silicon and bandwidth you have in a learning space...if you can get to your "21C skills" without 21C tech...what is the purpose of the shiny touchscreens, apps, and LED bulbs? What if technology literacy (learning to use the computer and basic programs) was just a goal in and of itself, with no expectations for anything further? Let's face it, most of what we know about "good instruction" was learned over the years before anything smelling like a 1:1 initiative was on the scene. Does completing a Venn diagram on a computer automatically make it better than one on paper---or do we care more about whether or not a student understands how to compare/contrast as the goal?

A lot has been made recently from Matt Richtel's recent NYT article In the Classroom of the Future, Stagnant Scores. I would completely agree that the goal of getting computers into classrooms should not be to raise test scores---but tech supporters have no one but themselves to blame for this view. How many school boards have been convinced to put their money into whiteboards and document cameras because they've been told it will increase test scores? Isn't that how we get attention for things these days? If you want to say (as Karen Cator did) that the goal of integrating tech isn't to raise scores, that's fine, but you need to point to at least some sort of value-added. As a taxpayer, how will I know that all these shiny tools actually do something for student learning (not achievement)? ISTE dropped the ball with its (barely) two paragraph rebuttal, refusing to address the bigger issues of the NYT article. Big mistake.

Look, edtech, I'm on your side. I work for you. But the longer I look, the less I like what I see. If you can't answer Garr's tweet in a serious manner...if the head of your organization can't put together a well-reasoned response...how long do you think it will be before the public at large notices that your emperor is running around in the nude? I would ask you to think deeply about the following:

What do you need technology to do in your classroom that you could not do using analog methods? Sure, I know that technology can automate some things and increase productivity with other tasks. But that's just basic tech literacy---and still represents items that could be done without a computer. Would your students not learn to read? Write? Draw? Think? Engage with content? Play? Collaborate and communicate? We don't have to go back to the slate and chalk era---old ways aren't always the most efficient or effective. But I do think we need to have better justification than "It's new!"
What is the value added that technology brings to the classroom? In other words, for those skills/learning that you think technology is critical for, how do you know? What do you see? It doesn't have to be test scores. But if I asked you to prove its worth---what data (qualitative or quantitative) would you think is appropriate to collect?

Gradebook in the Cloud

2011-09-12T10:00:00.000-07:00

Cross-posted from Excel for Educators

A couple of weeks ago, I posted a "Roll Your Own Gradebook" series for beginners. The advanced version will be available soon, but in the meantime, some of you might be interested in the GoogleDocs version of the gradebook.

I like GoogleDocs for a variety of reasons. "Cloud-based" documents are accessible from anywhere I have an internet connection, collaboration is simple, and sharing information is a snap. Mind you, these are exactly the same attributes which can be deadly for student grades. In the U.S., the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) outlines the responsibility institutions have when it comes to student data. So, even though you can keep your gradebook on the web, please think carefully about whether or not you should.

The spreadsheet feature of GoogleDocs is really not ready for primetime, but it does afford some functionality. You have very few colours to choose from (and no way to adjust RGB values), limited formulas, and no way to pretty up your charts and graphs (even though you have some types unavailable in Excel). However, if you just need a down and dirty way to look at scores, it's good enough.

Here is a link to the unadulterated version of the gradebook. You can copy this to your own Google account and play with it to your heart's content. You can follow (nearly) all of the same steps as I posted for the Excel version (see Part I, Part IIa, and Part IIb). Or, create a new beast.

I have also developed a final version of the gradebook and reporting tool, with all of the steps applied, if you just want to skip ahead to the ending. This, too, can be copied to your own Google account for hours of amusement.

Ow! My eyes!

Keep in mind that many people have created gradebook templates in GoogleDocs and have posted them to share. Look around and see how you can improve on what's there.

IFRD 2011

2011-09-11T09:58:00.000-07:00

It's International Rock-Flipping Day (IFRD)! Get out there and see what's sharing your space. This morning, I was joined by Tomato and Celery, the neighbour's hens. Each morning, they dutifully hike up the ravine (a climb I refuse to even attempt) in order to partake in the bounty of my lawn.

I have to say that while the lawn contains more invertebrates than you can shake a hen at, there aren't a lot of rocks. In fact, I didn't find anything satisfactory and had to resort to a man-made rock (read: concrete). I tried some scattered pavers and the stack of cinderblocks by the garage. Nothing was wriggling beneath. I was starting to feel inadequate when I remembered one more option: the birdbath.

Score! On the bottom of the birdbath was some sort of egg sac. I'm guessing it was placed there by a spider, but I'm really not sure. I've been looking at a variety of online images to see if I can find a match---no luck yet. Anyone know what this belongs to?

But the star of the show was this little millipede. It was about 3 cm in length. (Head is at the right.)

Again, I'm not sure of the classification of this little being. I think it might be some sort of Tylobolus. I found a similar picture here, but the identification for that picture doesn't really seem to fit (there's no way this is a black and yellow spotted millipede). Anyway, it was a very cute little animal. I squeed for good reasons.

I put the birdbath back in the place, refilled the water, and hoped the millipede was able to get back to sleep. Did you find something interesting today? Don't forget to post and share. If you need more information on International Rock-Flipping Day, you can get more background here. See you next year!

Update: You can see the full list of posts over at Wanderin' Weeta's, including one from Jen (of Elementary My Dear, Or Far From It Fame).

Move It On Over

2011-09-10T16:16:00.000-07:00

While my raison d'être for my current position is somewhat moot---the big Legislative deadline was in June---the simple fact is that there is still a lot of work to do. We met our directive to develop assessments (you can see them here...the very first statewide assessment system for educational technology/21st century learning goals), but some need to finish the field testing process. And all of them need some supporting tools and resources for implementation.

There's not any money to do this, mind you. So, I've been pursuing some alternative/tech-based options to develop and provide what I can. There will be a Moodle site containing a self-guided professional development course---as well as materials that others can use more widely (e.g. in-district staff development opportunities). We can do webinars and go on the conference circuit.

The nagging question in the back of my mind is whether or not anyone will use these forms of support. I can build a Moodle site, but will anyone come? Would I, if I were in the classroom this year? I've participated in a variety of online learning opportunities. And I have to admit that I would rather have a face-to-face experience. I much prefer a real-time collaborative session. I like the immediacy and spontaneity of the discussion and presentation. All of that---and I'm more comfortable being online than a lot of teachers out there.

Therefore, it's been a real challenge for me to think differently about delivering PD in an all online format. How do I make the components inviting and accessible...and not make the environment seem sterile and the learning experience lonely? How do I provide enough options so that the time teachers have to spend on professional growth is honored---and yet allow a deep enough experience so that teachers are ready to implement the assessments on their own? The fact is, the online environment is a lot more "sit and get," another issue to try and overcome. How do I "road test" a few of the offline ideas so that school or district personnel can use them with confidence?

Have you had to take your course materials from the real world into the virtual one? What did you learn along the way?

Don't forget about my new blog: Excel for Educators. It will eventually include much more than Excel in terms of applying data visualization techniques to your classroom, school, or district. Come over and check out the latest posts:

Make It Work: How to makeover your graphs so they go from drab to fab.
Everything Old Is New Again: BASIC and DOS make their reappearances in Excel.

I will also be looking for guest posts for this blog. Have a tip or tool to share? Let me know.

IRFD 2011: Are You Ready?

2011-09-05T12:59:00.000-07:00

It's late summer...and you know what that means. International Rock-Flipping Day (IFRD) is coming. There's nothing you can do to stop it. You just have to jump in and grab that flippin' rock with both hands and be prepared to document what lies beneath. Citizen science/naturalism never felt so good.

It's the fifth year for the celebration. Wanderin' Weeta is once again taking on hosting duties. Here are her instructions for participants:

On or about September 11th, find your rock or rocks and flip it/them over.
Record what you find. "Any and all forms of documentation are welcome: still photos, video, sketches, prose, or poetry."
Replace the rock as you found it: It's someone's home.
Post on your blog, or load your photos to the Flickr group. (Even if you don't have a blog, you can join.)
Send me a link. Or you can add a comment to any IRFD post.
I will collect the links, e-mail participants the list, and post it for any and all to copy to your own blogs. (If you're on Twitter, Tweet it, too; the hashtag is #rockflip.)
There is a handy badge available for your blog, here.

Get your family and/or students ready to flip out. Spend the week finding just the right rock and making predictions about what's waiting for you below. I'm looking forward to seeing what you share on Sunday!

Roll Your Own Gradebook: Adding Sparklines

2011-09-04T05:07:00.000-07:00

It's now time for the big finish for our beginning gradebook: using Excel's built-in chart functions to create sparkline graphs for our student reports. (Just a reminder that you can download the workbook and play along at home.)

To do this, you'll need to create a table in the gradebook for some dynamic data. You could actually put this table anywhere in the workbook that you like. I put it below the student scores because it makes it much easier to associate the numbers with their labels.

Use your INDEX/MATCH combo function from yesterday's post to get things kicked off:

Be sure to make the cell on the "Report" sheet that contains the list of names an absolute reference. Otherwise, when you use the fill option to create the data points for the other cells, Excel will also change the location it references on the report. Not good. All you have to do is click on the "C4" in your formula and then hit the F4 key. This will lock the cell for your formula. Then, add a row of "3" underneath the student data. This will represent the number for "at standard" performance and be useful for the charts.

Now, you're ready to make a line chart using the student scores for an individual standard, and a bar chart (A/K/A "column chart" in Excel) to show growth. You'll need to clean up the starting graphs that Excel barfs up, then lock the cell size and shrink it down to fit in a cell on the gradebook. When you're done, you'll have something like this:

The charts will auto-update anytime you change the student name. They will also update if you add scores to the gradebook. Just set them up once and let 'er rip.

Here's the "how to" video:

This concludes the beginner series of "Roll Your Own Gradebook," but we have certainly not exhausted the options. Some of you are going to want to pull multiple classes, subject areas, or other data sets into a single dashboard. You're going to need a couple more formulas to make this dream come true. But I'll help.

If you've watched the videos and are still feeling lost, you can download a copy of the finished workbook to adapt and use. Don't be afraid to click and play.

I'll get back to my usual rambling here soon. But if data viz and Excel is your thing, be sure to check out my new blog: Excel for Educators. This most recent series of posts is already there, and soon there will be lots more lessons about Excel, Google tools, and other data options with a classroom application. Hope to see you over there!

Roll Your Own Gradebook: Using INDEX and MATCH to Set Up a Dashboard

2011-09-03T13:17:00.000-07:00

Once you have your data all in their places with bright shiny faces in your spreadsheet, you're going to want to have a clean way to extract it. This is where a Dashboard is handy. A Dashboard is a type of reporting tool which pulls together different kinds of data.

In our model, we'll have space for a student's name, a rundown of current scores, an overview of total performance and a space to show progress/growth. There are other things you might want to report---such as attendance or qualitative information. Do what you need to do.

In order to get individual pieces of data from the sheet with the scores to the dashboard, you are going to need two things:

A data validation list in a designated cell. I pick the cell beside "Last Name" for this. In creating this list, you will have a dropdown menu to select any student and the cell will become the "key" that will be used to extract the right data for the student and plug it into the empty spaces in the dashboard.
A formula that uses both "INDEX" and "MATCH" functions. The INDEX function will tell Excel which column/table of data to draw from and MATCH will tell it which name the data goes with. Your formula will look like this: =INDEX(Column with Data for a Cell,MATCH(Cell on Dashboard with Last Name,Column with Last Names,0)) Why is there a zero at the end? It's part of the MATCH formula---it tells Excel that the match must be exact...no room for error.

Want to see it in action? Watch the tutorial below. Tomorrow, we'll do the final piece: the sparkline graphs for the dashboard. Remember that you can download the workbook and follow along with the steps.

Roll Your Own Gradebook: Setting Up

2011-09-02T12:09:00.000-07:00

Welcome back to Ye Olde Blog. The welcome is for me, by the way. I wish I had some sort of exotic story to tell you about what I've been doing during this very long interim between posts, but all I can say is that sometimes, managing my personal life doesn't leave any headspace to think out loud here. Blogging is its own variety of habit or muscle memory. And while I may have let things gone to seed over the last few weeks, it's time to get back on the wagon. No more "real world" benders for me. I've learned my lesson. :)

I've been working on a couple of little project recently with people who don't know jack about Excel. This is not a personal fault. I still like them, even though they look askance at the program like it will get their dog pregnant or steal their souls while they sleep. There are plenty of data tools out there. Not everyone has to get to know Excel, but it is very difficult in education these days if you don't even understand the difference between "data" and "information" as a first step. Data literacy is becoming a must-have skill.

As I've been beefing up my Excel know-how over the last few weeks, I've been thinking about how to share that information here. If you're not into the whole gradebook idea, I'd encourage you to keep reading, anyway. The tips and formulas would be just as useful for whatever data set(s) you are managing. Are you an elementary teacher who DIBELs? In a school with MAP testing? A district with various benchmark or interim assessments where you want to look at performance by classroom or school? If you've got a list of students/teachers/schools that has data next to it, then, these ideas are for you, too.

One of the most frustrating things (for me) as I try to do new things with Excel is the lack of non-business examples. Most websites and YouTube videos assume that you are (a) always working with numerical data and (b) interested in some sort of angle about profit margin or losses. We really do need a bank of "how to's" that models for education. If you have seen some, please do share in the comments.

I've had a lot of you contact me over the summer asking about my Excel gradebook and any updates. I have been promising to post those...and now your wait is over. The video below will show you how to get set up. I also have a sample workbook you can download and use with the video. (But if you want to use your own data sources, that's cool, too.)

As you will see, the workbook has two worksheets: Scores and Report. This allows me to keep the raw data separate from the dashboard reporting too. Depending upon what you're working with, additional sheets can come in very handy. Perhaps you want them for qualitative data you collect, attendance, discipline, or other notes. If not, and you're anal-retentive about how your spreadsheet looks, then an extra sheet is very handy for stashing your formulas and ranges: It will keep your raw data looking fresh and clean. If you're hellbent on making things look pretty, stay tuned for later videos. You'll have the Miss America of dashboards when I'm done.

I populated the Scores worksheet with some names, assignments, and data. Even though the default color themes in Excel are awful, I'll demo them so you can see some basics about applying colour. I like to separate grading periods and different types of standards using colour. This makes it much quicker to find information. But I also apply conditional formatting to the spreadsheet so that I can more easily visualize what is happening with the scores.

Finally, I use a simple formula to determine the median and help summarize the scores. This is as far as Lesson 1 will take you. But I'll be back in a day or two to show you how to pull the data in to a dashboard reporting tool.

Please Try Again

2011-06-27T07:24:00.000-07:00

Are you old enough to remember the message below---the one you heard if the phone company thought you tried to reach a disconnected number? (Sound file from here.)

This blast from my past kept rolling through my mind over the last several days.I kept feeling like what I was seeing and hearing was completely disconnected from what I hope the reality of education will be. I've been at meetings on behalf of the state since Thursday, listening to not only what others are doing, but what various vendors are providing. All of them are very passionate about what they believe and knowledgeable about a variety of programs.

One vendor promoted his company by remarking how schools would be able to get rid of their foreign language teachers. A colleague from another state nodded in agreement and added the idea of individualized instruction as a bonus. Is this really a plus---thinking that moving teachers out of the classroom is a good thing?
I heard two vendors describe how you could plop your remedial math students in front of their computer program. And that made me sad. Not only do students need teachers, I think that the struggling ones are those who need personal relationships the most...who need the very best teacher they can get. Again, is moving teachers away from students really the goal we need to be pursuing?
I am amazed at the push to put tools or digital content in teachers' hands, without ever including them in the conversations. One state described a 1-to-1 initiative that was rolled out in 6 months (just in time for the school year) and then complained about the struggles to get high school math teachers to integrate netbooks into instruction. You know, maybe a graphing calculator is really okay. It's sad to see the volume of money wasted on iPads. Not that these won't be good classroom tools at some point, but they just don't seem ready yet. The content format (print, digital) doesn't make a damned bit of difference if it doesn't match standards, student needs, and instructional purposes.

Perhaps I have officially moved into the "old fart" phase of my adult life. Or maybe it is some other sort of ennui that doesn't get the "Oooo shiny is better!" attitude that is pervasive here. Where are the discussions about what is meaningful for students and teachers? Where is the connection to other national groups and initiatives? EdTech has seen its federal support be taken away, and yet there seems to be no lesson learned from that: become relevant to and effective with what is really happening in the classroom...or die. Your call cannot be completed as dialed, EdTech.

Please try again.

Minus Six

2011-06-26T06:18:00.000-07:00

One of the nice things about traveling for work---and there are very few niceties---is the ability to mesh the online and offline worlds. So many of the people I am in regular communications with live far away from Washington. Going out of state means grabbing opportunities to put faces with avatars.

So, tonight will be another round of decreasing six degrees of separation through the magic of shrinking geotemporal relationships. In other words, I'm meeting some edubloggers (and kin) at a bar.

Jenny Orr, who I've gotten to see a few times (most recently at ASCD in March), is always a delight.
Laura Varlas, who manages the ASCD Inservice blog and Twitter feed will be joining us. We met Laura in March and are looking forward to having her join us again.
I am particularly enthused about meeting Karen Traphagen. As one of the key players in organizing ScienceOnline and making it a success, I have been hoping to get to know her for some time. She is bringing her daughter (techielit), an English teacher from the Philadelphia area. I am most anxious for Karen and Laura to chat. The ASCD/ScienceOnline connection really needs to happen---not that I would expect anything in particular to emerge from that, but there is such potential for building some understanding of how online environments develop and flourish.
Also new to me will be Tim, from Assorted Stuff. He's another long-time edublogger and has been on my blogroll for years. Finally, we get to sit down together and have a beverage.
Doyle, a/k/a The Science Teacher, looks to be a game time decision. We are all very much looking forward to meeting him (and his lovely wife). Keep your fingers crossed that he will be able to set aside his work for a few hours and play with us.

Are you in the Philly area and need some dinner dates for the evening? Let me know. We'll be happy to put "+1" at the table and "-6" for degrees of separation. It's the very best sort of math

Update: Squee! Just heard that Organized Chaos is coming to dinner.

Update #2: Thank you Tim and Ann, Organized Chaos, Karen, Hannah, Jenny, Laura, and Angela for a wonderful dinner last night at the Good Dog Bar. Definitely the highlight of my trip. You've done my teacher heart a lot of good. (Doyle, you were greatly missed. You owe me a trip out to Seattle.)

A Sheep in Wolf's Clothing

2011-06-10T17:50:00.000-07:00

I have a weird job. No...that's not quite right. The job itself is not weird, but the circumstances in which I attempt to accomplish it are. For example, when I was blissfully ensconced in a classroom with students, I never received a message telling me that someone was going to have to miss a conference call because he was meeting with the president of Mongolia. This is not to say that classroom life doesn't have its own headcocking oddities. They just don't play out the same way.

I'm finishing up my third year outside the classroom. I work in a place which has the sole purpose of overseeing education in this state---and yet, I am one of only a handful of teachers within it. So rare are we, amongst those influencing ed policy, that other workers tend to make a point of it when we are discovered. We are sheep who have infiltrated the pack of wolves: A highly dangerous place to be. The fact is, we shouldn't be the odd ones out...but as long as we are, let me pass along some hard truths I've learned.

Teachers have enormous power inside their classrooms. This is as it should be. And yes, I can hear some of you yelling at your screens. You're saying, "Have you seen the Pacing Guide the district gives me? Have you seen the Internet filter Mordac uses to restrict my students' learning?" And I will nod in agreement that you do not have complete control of every factor which impacts your teaching. You don't make the bell schedule, set the income level of families, determine bus routes, or choose what gets served in the cafeteria for lunch. But you are the ones who are with the children. You have the power to influence their thinking and learning. Don't point out to the wolves what you don't control---they will treat it as weakness and reason to form policy. Stop confusing control with power. Use your power.

Outside the classroom, you have only as much power as any other citizen. You can get your ranty-pants on (as Sci Curious would say) and blog. You can tweet what you think are bon mots from "experts." You can march and demonstrate, if it makes you feel better. But don't fool yourself for one moment that the wolves are paying attention or that you're making a real difference. If you want their attention...if you want change...then you're going to have to learn to speak Wolf---because there is no way they will make an effort to understand Sheep.

Yelling louder at the wolves is akin to speaking loudly and slowly to someone who doesn't speak your language. If you're serious about wanting something different, then you're going to have to change the content of your communication. What does that sound like?

First of all, stop blaming the wolves for job woes. I'm not saying that they aren't to blame---they have played a major role in earning it. But if you want them to try to understand your position, you have to make a similar effort first. There's a lot of bad policy out there. There aren't a lot of bad people. Get to know some wolves as individuals. Relationships are king here, just as they are in the classroom. You're probably not going to be able to get on Arne Duncan's calendar, but there are plenty of state officials you can sit down with. Just don't let your utterances be completely negative. You will be given as much credibility as a toddler throwing a tantrum.
Get involved. Join a state level committee and participate in some of the process---especially something you hate. Don't think that if you belong to a union that it matters beyond the confines of your district. They might have clout there, but they are nowhere to be seen amongst the wolves when deals get done. You have to be the advocate and you can't effect big change without understanding all of the angles. Classroom experience is the most important lens you can bring, but stop fooling yourself into thinking it's the only one that matters. (Do you really think anyone at my agency cares that I clocked 17 years of experience in the classroom?) You're far easier for wolves to ignore when you just stay in your little box. Don't make it easy for them. Get in their territory (and pee on a corner).
Pay attention to the right things. Some people will make an analogy between sausage-making and laws, but it's really more like a magic show. There's a lot of misdirection involved. The wolves will guide your attention in the direction they want you to look while the real action is happening elsewhere. I don't really know how to advise you to know where you should be watching, but a place to begin is to carefully look at staffing and hiring changes. In our state, there are probably 2 or 3 easy pressure points that would blow the wolfpack apart, and yet not a single blogger has sniffed them out. Look for the things no one is talking about...and talk about them. A lot. Do it with a big smile on your face so they can see your teeth.
You're going to have to learn to negotiate by making the wolves think they're getting what they want. This is not so simple. For example, when you gripe about state testing, you let the wolves win. Why? First of all, their hands are tied by the feds. The tests aren't going anywhere. You will win no arguments against testing based on what you think makes a good test. The posts by teachers I've seen show an incredibly poor understanding of statistics. This type of ignorance on display does not help your cause. And really, the tests themselves are not the real problem (see "misdirection" above). The real problem is how the results get used---and why. So if testing isn't going away, then you are going to have to leverage the other pieces. But most importantly, you have to be willing to make a trade. If the reason for testing/AYP/miscellaneous punitive NCLB items is ostensibly to increase accountability for helping every child learn---then you have to provide another plan. You can't just fuss about what you don't like with the current one (see "toddler tantrum" above). Getting the tests to go away and letting teachers pick whatever they want to teach isn't going to cut it. There were decades of that which is part of what triggered the current accountability environment. You want control back from the feds or from your state? Offer an alternative which meets the same goals. Tell them you understand what they want (you don't have to say you agree or like it) and why your plan will be better to achieve those goals. That's how you get them to fight for what you want.

I'm not saying it's easy. I'm not saying I enjoy these diplomatic forays. I'm just trying to tell you what you will have to do if you want something different. How much do you want that? Bad enough to step up, learn the system, and figure out how to repurpose the pieces? Do you crave it enough to put on some wolf's clothing instead of bleating from the field?

Roundup: New Data Tools

2011-05-30T04:30:00.000-07:00

As much as I love all of the new data tools and interest in visualization, I have to admit that I am a babe in the woods where all of it is concerned. A fan of the game...maybe even a minor league player/benchwarmer, at best. But for me, all these bright shiny tools I see are inspiring. They are like a workshop full of possibilities. I just need to figure out what those are. Perhaps you have some ideas, too?

Not long ago, Google Trends allowed you to examine how various search terms have emerged and are being used. You might also have seen people playing with Google Ngram Viewer, a way to see how certain words have been used in published works in various languages over time. And now, we have Google Correlate which is described as "Google Trends in reverse," but is really just Trends Squared. You give it a term and Google finds others with a similar pattern. This can lead to some rather interesting pairings, as Bug Girl discovered (e.g. "honey bee" and "raptor cam"), but it also makes me wonder how to better tune into the signal vs. the noise. Maybe we need to look for things that don't match---or where misinformation is most easily disseminated.

Speaking of all things Google, you may have seen or used Google Refine to clean your data, but there is a new kid on the block: Data Wrangler. I haven't used it yet, but I might give it a whirl. Our state puts out any number of spreadsheets with data about schools, but only annual snapshots. There is no way to look at data over time and I have long wished for One Spreadsheet to Rule Them All. (*insert maniacal laugh here*) Okay, so maybe I need to get a life, but in the meantime, a girl's gotta dream what a girl's gotta dream.

Another intriguing tool to play with is Zanran, a search engine for graphs, charts, and tables. How cool is that?

For me, data visualization and all of these tools are a natural outgrowth of the Internet age. They are attempts to corral the volume of information we have access to and translate it into something manageable. They are how we eat the proverbial elephant. I'm sure that in a few months, I'll be back with another post containing more recipes. Until then, please feel free to share your favourite new discoveries in the comments.

When Failure Isn't an Option

2011-05-29T08:43:00.000-07:00

I've been pondering the concept of "failure" recently. I'm trying to wrap my mind around what this means with certain projects or situations. Adam Savage from Mythbusters would say, "Failure is always an option." For the most part, I'm inclined to agree. Perhaps failure is not an option that is purposefully selected from a menu of outcomes, but the sum of either not choosing or making poor choices. There are situations where failure is stigmatized or dangerous, but there are also opportunities to learn that come from such experiences. Failure often implies blame or points to the lack of responsibility---not credit for trying...no kudos for any positive experiences along the way.

Much has been written about failing schools and teachers. Most of us have experience either as a failing student or working with one. Maybe you've had a failed marriage, event, or dream. And as my project from the last two years comes to a close at work, I realize that I have spent so much time focusing on what success will look like, that I haven't contemplated failure. It hasn't ever been an option. There is hubris in this, but I justify it by acknowledging that the work is really not mine. I have facilitated an amazing group of educators...I have worked with some outstanding teachers as they bravely attempted to field test new assessments with their students...I have collaborated with many different stakeholders and listened to numerous voices in order to push and pull the products into their final form. The work itself is not mine. My job was to tell others that I refused to let them fail and provide every ounce of support required.

I don't enjoy discussions about leadership. There is a haughty woman in my workplace who often begins her sentences with "As a leader, I..." or uses other words to consistently refer to her leadership style. Gag. The simple fact is that we have responsibilities. We were not chosen to "lead" by those who are impacted by the work. We are not better or smarter or more capable than anyone else---we just have a different role. Maybe it's a subtle difference, but I think it's an important one. She wants people to see her as the boss/leader. I want people to know that my role is serve them. She doesn't want to be seen as a failure. (Who does?) I don't want the teachers I work with to be viewed that way. But the attitude she displays is pervasive among ed policy types. I'm not sure how we overcome that and yet I see it as the single most important shift that needs to be made.

A few weeks ago, there was concern about a lack of response to a summer PD opportunity that we'd sent out. Nearly 60 districts had been invited. Two had responded. It would be easy enough to do nothing---send no reminders. Isn't that what we tell kids about how the "real" world works? You snooze, you lose. If you don't read the email, then you don't deserve an opportunity. I did my part just by sending it, right? But I really didn't want failure to be an option. The education of students---no matter how few in number---was at stake. So we made nearly 60 phone calls and while not everyone wanted to play, close to 1/3 of them did. They had misunderstood what was originally sent...or missed some important pieces...or were just overwhelmed by the volume of what they were dealing with. In taking some time to reach out on a personal level, we took responsibility and let them know we didn't want them to miss out on learning.

I can't---and won't---tell you that everything is perfect with my 2-year project as it is released to stand on its own two feet. Some components are outstanding. Others are in need of further refinement. Maybe failure will continue to be an option, but so is fighting for success.

Mind Your P's (and Thrown In Some Q's)

2011-05-21T19:06:00.000-07:00

I've noticed recently that a lot of articles and blog posts include the following: problem/project-based learning. It is as if the words "problem" and "project" are interchangeable---two monikers for the same item. And while there are some similarities between problem-based learning and project-based learning, the fact is they are not the same approach.

I first fell in love with problem-based learning (which I will refer to as "PBL" from here on) in 1998. In fact, this was my first extensive experience with ASCD, having been sent by my principal to a 3-day workshop in Seattle. (My notes are here.) At the time I knew nothing about it PBL...and by the end I felt somewhat evangelical. Over the years, I've tried a number of PBL units with kids with varying success. There are a few key elements that have to be in place for things to work.

The prompt (problem) must be finely tuned. Students must be placed in a position of someone who has the power to make decisions about a real-world problem. PBL purists will tell you that all students need to take on the same role. This does not mean that they will all have the same opinion about the problem or come up with the same solution, but it will help the inquiry and discussion along when they have the same mindset. Secondly, the "hook" that drives the inquiry must be irresistible to students. And finally, the problem must be "fuzzy" or "sticky"---there is not just one right answer. Here is one example of a possible prompt:

You are participating in a toy car race. You have two different cars and need to decide which one you want to use for the race. One car is very light, weighing very little. The other is very heavy, weighing much more. You will conduct an investigation rolling two different balls representing your cars down an incline ramp. From this investigation you will collect your data using digital applications (Excel spreadsheet, PowerPoint, etc.) and use that data to create a line graph representing the speed of each ball. From these results you will make an informed decision on whether the lighter or heavier car would be more likely to win the race.

It's not too bad. Some kids would no doubt enjoy participating in a toy car race, such as the pinewood derby's run by the Boy Scouts. This prompt does ask students to make a decision, but note the perspective: they are only making a decision for themselves. This is not a powerful role.

So what if we twist this a little:

You have been asked to judge a toy car race. Last year, some cars were so much faster than others that it was believed some racers might have cheated. The organizers want the race to be fair. They would like you to write a set of at least four rules for the event to ensure no car can cheat to win. The rules must be based on evidence about how weight, time, and distance affect the speed of an object rolling down a ramp.

To develop the rules, you will need to plan and conduct an investigation, collect and interpret data, and explain how your rules will make the race fair. Use digital tools to organize your information and communicate your results to the Racing Committee.

Ah, now the student has some power---s/he is the judge. And, we have a problem to solve---we don't want any cheating. What will it take to make the race fair? Now students have a reason to build their background knowledge with the relationship between weight, time, and distance. We have a hook.

Next, the teacher must present it as a real problem. This does take a bit of suspension of disbelief on the part of the students, but if you've built the prompt well, they will have no issues. A first grader will believe that the school nurse is asking them for advice. A tenth-grader will buy in to the idea that they are genetic counselors advising a real couple. It's hard to explain, but kids need a sense of hope that they really are being asked something significant. If students ask you if the problem is "real," just ask them if it matters. Most want to enjoy the Santa Claus/Tooth Fairy/Easter Bunny effect. Let them have the illusion.

Finally, PBL is about cognitive demand---it requires deep thinking about content. Students have to understand a variety of concepts and put then put them together. Understanding enough about how weight, time, and distance affect objects rolling down a ramp so that you can create rules is much more difficult than simply choosing between a heavier/lighter car.

Project-based learning units have different qualities. First of all, they might put the student in a position to act, but only from a kid-based viewpoint. There's nothing wrong with this---influencing change (especially social change) is important regardless of one's age, but it is not the same as being the one who gets to make the decisions. Project-based learning tends to have more visible results and more community connections than PBL, however. In that sense, project-based learning could be considered as more rooted in the real world. Finally, project-based learning is more focused on collaborative outcomes and action.

Each of these units can have a place in the classroom, but it is important to remember that they aren't interchangeable terms. Mind your p's.

Small Scale PD

2011-05-20T07:58:00.000-07:00

Earlier this week, I chatted (by phone) with a number of supes who head tiny districts in our state. It's the kind of tiny that when you call and ask if they are planning sending teachers to some PD targeted at rural districts, they answer with "The other teacher and I are going to be there."

In Washington, there are 295 school districts. Of these, approximately 40 have enrollments of less than 100 students. If we go up as high as 500 students district-wide, there are about 100 districts that would fall into that category. Still, there must be an enormous difference between a district with 2 certificated staff...and one that has 2 for every grade level.

There are some obvious advantages to being small. NCLB? AYP? Not a problem---you have too few students to fit in the boxes. You can also tread lightly with most federal and state initiatives without anyone raising much of a ruckus. But it's easy to see the challenges, too. You are still expected to push all the same paper as any other district and you're almost exclusively dependent on state/federal funds---no levy money for you. You're probably not just doing "more with less," you're probably doing "more with ancient," in terms of the instructional materials and hardware you have. We know that 99+% of the classrooms in this state have access to a computer connected to the Internet---but how does that matter when you have 10 kids in various grade levels studying a variety of topics...all of whom might need the (8 year old) computer?

As someone in my office pointed out this week---we spend a lot of time in education talking about how to "scale up" initiatives. We don't talk about scaling them down.

For me, the intriguing thing to think about has been the educators in these schools. What does staff development look like when you teach everything to everyone? Is there even such a thing as "job-embedded" PD? I know that the Internet provides great opportunities to connect with other educators...but I also know that it isn't the same as having a trusted colleague next door when you need to explore ideas, plan new lessons, or get some help thinking about working with students.

Is there such a thing as a "Circuit Teacher"---someone who might travel between 4 or 5 small districts each week to provide additional support and instructional coaching? How would you provide opportunities for teachers in these microdistricts to go and observe other classrooms? What do they want to see and learn?

Seems like a fascinating project to find money for. Significance of impact would be qualitative (which I think is fine). But if we believe that every teacher is important and what happens in a classroom should be about kids, then there should be something for these small spaces that makes a big difference.

Unknown Territory

2011-05-15T13:06:00.000-07:00

We're wrapping up field testing, and for the last few weeks, I have been knee-deep in first graders. It's a situation I can highly recommend. I learned a lot---perhaps more than they did---as we looked at data, technology, and health (!) from our different vantage points.

There are very few large-scale content assessments out there for primary students. In fact, in our state, there are none. And before you send me dirty emails about leaving these little ones alone, I'd like to point out that these assessments (a) will be completely optional and (b) are not high-stakes. You can read the one I'm referencing here, but the gist was this: students were given/read a letter from a parent who was worried about her son becoming sick at school (immediately after a trip to the library where there were some new books). Students then did some research about what makes people sick, graphed and analyzed some attendance data, and finally recorded a voicemail to the parent stating what they found out and providing some advice. We selected the health-related content because we knew that the K-2 span is replete with opportunities to discuss where not to put your fingers, how to cough/sneeze in a "friendly" way, and reminders to wash your hands. Why not connect with what is already happening in the classroom?

What did I learn from all of this?

The prompt needs some revision, but it is pitch-perfect. Kids totally buy it and are excited about the content.
One teacher told me it was the first time all year that kids went home to talk about what happened in class and then came back to report. However, one teacher "ruined" the illusion that the prompt wasn't "real," and kids were pissed. We need to include more background for teachers on what it means to do a problem-based learning unit with a class.
Another teacher mentioned that while she thought the data pieces would be over the heads of her wee ones (and they were for some), many of the kids who "got it" were her typical behavior problem children. She wondered if they had been bored and in need of a challenge. I can't speak to that, but I can say we were pretty demanding---15 data points to plot. And while all of the teachers had previous taught bar graphs with students, there were never more than 3 categories and no one had ever asked the kids what they thought the data meant. But you know, students did a pretty good job. We asked them to think---and they did.
There were fabulous misconceptions uncovered. The adults in the room were fascinated by all the things students shared. For example, one kid said that the student got sick because the author put germs on the books. (Why not? We tell kids the author wrote the book.) Many understood that germs could be transferred from one person to another, but thought that once a germ landed someplace, it was there forever.
Most 6-year olds cannot read their own handwriting. I'm not sure what that surprises me...but it does.
Collaboration, even at the elementary level where there is a much more conducive environment, is still difficult. I had one teacher-librarian tell me that the 1st grade teacher refused to spend any class time supporting the math/graphing skills or engaging in discussions of personal hygiene with students because she already had her whole year all planned out. Fair enough, I think to say that things didn't fit with current units of study---but to say that for months in advance you knew what you were doing each day? Makes me think something else was going on.
Listening to dozens of 6-year olds explain their thinking will send you into a diabetic coma from the sheer delight of it all.

There will still be some things we will have to figure out at Rangefinding. These assessments are meant to be measures of what students do, and the challenge at primary (when it comes to technology), is that a lot of it is teacher-directed. Kids made some fabulous audio recordings, but not without a ton of assistance and direction. I think that's okay...the committee may think otherwise. The other part of that, however, is communicating to teachers that kids need to use the technology. We had a beautiful description written by a primary teacher that described all of the resources she pulled and activities she did with kids...and not a single one of the student products used technology. I know, part of it is accessibility...part of it is kids knowing what to do and having some practice. But some of it is also a shift in approach. All of these things are on our shoulders, however. Every teacher who participated gave it their all and did an incredible job with the draft materials.

In another 6 weeks, these assessments will be finalized and sent out into the great wide world. After nearly 2 years with this project, we're a little older and wiser, but there's still an awful lot of unknown territory to cover.

AWOL

2011-05-09T18:07:00.000-07:00

I'm here...lurking. Several large-scale projects for work and home all seem to be wrapping up at the same time. Either I haven't had a lot of headspace or positive energy for blogging the past few weeks. Seems like there's enough whiny voices in the edusphere already. :) I'll start drafting some posts for the weekend. Hang in there.

Century 21

2011-04-17T13:14:00.000-07:00

I work in EdTech, but I often consider myself a visitor to this strange land. I have long been trying to understand its language and customs...wondering if I should try to establish residency. Having a foot in the tech-for-the-sake-of-tech world and one in the good-instruction-is-good-instruction world has given me the opportunity to observe the bastardization of certain terms in both places. And if I were to give an award for "most abused term," it would be this one: 21st Century. Used as an adjective to describe skills, assessments, instructional models, and more, it was originally invoked as a rally cry for techies everywhere to drag classrooms into the modern world. Now, more than a decade into the new millennium, I'm seeing a much broader educational audience adopt the term and make it their own. And like a game of Telephone, where every iteration produces a copy slightly altered from the original, 21st Century is starting to venture into some very odd territory.

At ASCD in March, I saw more than one presenter make the 20th Century = Bad vs. 21st Century = Good distinction. Trust me, there is nothing which will open your eyes as quickly early on a Saturday morning as slides like these (taken from Session 1118):

Good teachers have been using things like self-assessment and questioning to evaluate student products (including case studies and portfolios) long before the year 2000 (or 2001, if you're a stickler). The cognitive demand of a "selected choice" item has nothing to do with which year it was written (not to mention you can write an incredibly bad item no matter the cognitive demand). And best practices in assessment are just best practices---whether or not you use technology. But as I look at these slides, and consider the similar proselytizing by other presenters, I think it's an interesting study about what happens when someone's chocolate lands in someone else's peanut butter.

Cries for 21st Century skills, first heard from the EdTech camp, seemed to spring from a need for credibility. Techies didn't want to be seen as people with toys---look, kids can learn with these things, too! And they can learn better...faster...stronger! And while that shot did land in the Instructional camp, it hasn't grown in the way EdTech hoped for. In fact, it is being returned to EdTech in a twisted and stunted manner like Dorian Gray and his painting. I'm both amused and horrified by this turn of events. Techies are ready to abandon the term (we're already more than a decade into the 21st century) while it's just turning red hot in the rest of the education world. This time warp means that there will never be any sort of agreement about what the term means---or its relevancy to the classroom.

I think that, as with any edu-fad, this term will fall out of favour soon enough and we can weed out the definitions at the edges. What we will likely be left with is some sort of agreement about a set of skills that cross disciplines (critical and creative thinking, collaboration...). However, at the rate we're going, that might not be until the 22nd Century.

P.S. Today is the 50th anniversary of the beginning of construction for the Seattle Space Needle---built for the Century 21 Exposition in 1962. We've been using the 21C term a really long time...

Are You Smarter than an 1869 Harvard Freshman?

2011-04-16T12:15:00.000-07:00

Over the last week or so, the link to this 1869 Harvard Entrance Exam has been floating around. It includes Greek and Latin translation, grammar, and composition questions, a bit on History and Geography, and Math, Trig, and Algebra to round things out.

Many people sharing the link tend to include comments like the ones shown below:

But as I look at the exam, I think people are reaching the wrong conclusion. Are the questions about Greek and Latin difficult because of the structure of the question---or the content? I admit I couldn't pass that part, but if I'd had some education in those areas, I might think it was pretty simple. So, let's look at some of the other components.

Here is a snapshot of some questions from History and Geography:

These are not questions with much cognitive demand---they only ask for basic recall. What about math?

Again, these particular questions don't require a deep knowledge of mathematics. In 2011, some of the terminology might trip us up (When did the terms vulgar fractions and circulating decimals go out of style?), but the math skills involved would be found in much lower grade levels than high school now.

For me, this test is a perfect illustration of why it's important to communicate what we mean by "rigor," whether we're talking about the attributes of an instructional material or an assessment item. Does this test really show that we as a society have gotten dumber or that we expect too little from our students? I actually think I'd make the opposite argument. We might not include Greek and Latin with basic curriculum anymore, but we do expect a more intensive performance of deeper knowledge and skills. We also do this for all students and in a variety of subject areas.

The test also shows the importance of not using Bloom's Taxonomy as a hierarchy. It's just a taxonomy, people. "Recall" doesn't have be any less rigorous than "Synthesis," because it depends on the content. (I much prefer Webb's Depth of Knowledge because it includes both aspects: How you ask an item and what it's about.) The assumption that we're not as smart as 1869 Harvard freshmen is based on our lack of background on the specific content asked. What we value as a society in terms of what belongs in public education has always been an evolving target. Just because every high school graduate no longer completes coursework in Greek doesn't make them stupid or signal the end of civilization as we know it. I'd love to see an 1869 Harvard freshman complete the variety of performance assessments (or even standardized tests) we require now. I think they'd feel just as inadequate.

World on Fire

2011-04-10T18:11:00.000-07:00

I had a lot of time to think on my recent train trip. The thing about traveling that way is that it forces you to slow down and look at things from a different perspective. Sometimes, you are moving through areas where there are no roads or cars. At night, lying in bed with the horizon removed, you feel like you are floating in space as the constellations move around you just outside the window. It feels like you are inside the sound---the whistle, the click-clack, the squeals of the brakes---not sitting at a fixed point experiencing the doppler effect as the train passes by. Even with all of the modern conveniences available (wi-fi, wine tastings, cinema...), being on a train connects you with something distant.

I thought about how people used to always travel long distances on the train. Travel must have felt far more significant. There was no flying out to see grandma for a long weekend. I imagine that a "family vacation" was not a concept yet. The train was a way to change your life. Maybe it still is. In an age where we're all in such a hurry to get to the destination, it reminded me that it is important to remember and appreciate the journey that gets you there.

The area where I grew up is on fire.

from Alpine toward Ft. Davis by John Schwerdtfeger

Looking east of Alpine by John Schwerdtfeger

It is devastating and sad to read posts from friends who have lost homes...to think about all the places I knew well growing up...and to see people trying to drive cattle down the highway away from the fire. It's an old-fashioned sort of area. We're not fancy. It may not be much, but it was my journey.

Volunteer firefighters are doing their best to battle multiple fires, some as large as 2 miles wide, 20 miles long, covering 4 miles every 30 minutes. Much of the fighting must be done with dirt. Water is running low, and with the fire cutting through electrical poles, there is no power to pump what is left.

You can find out more at these sources:

Marfa Public Radio site and Twitter feed
The Big Bend Sentinel (the paper my mother works with) and Twitter feed
Fort Davis Fires and Benefit Concert on Facebook

Want to help? Check out the list of ways provided by Big Bend Now or post or tweet the link for others to get involved. Thanks.

ASCD 2011: Conference Wrap-Up

2011-04-02T19:20:00.000-07:00

I'm already thinking about the ASCD 2012 Annual Conference. Session proposals are due May 15, so if you're interested in presenting, the clock is ticking. This is important for me to remember, too. Not sure what I'll toss in for consideration. I'm hoping for a stroke of brilliance within the next couple of weeks.

As I start to look forward to next year, I also need to think about what happened for this year's conference. I've shared some of my thoughts about the sessions, but it seems to be important to take a more holistic view.

ASCD did an awesome job with organizing the conference. Messaging was clear and consistent and there were many paths for people to find information. If I still had my eyeteeth, I would have given them for a simple PDF version of the conference book, but I was still impressed with the full range of options for finding out about sessions. Kudos to the organizers for looking for so many ways for people to connect.
My fantasy conference would have a collection of posts each day---kind of like ScienceOnline does. Lots of people are blogging, writing, and tweeting about what's happening. There should be some place where it gets aggregated and can be accessed. More people could get in on the discussions.
One of my favourite parts of this conference was meeting so many new people. Thank you to everyone who emerged from the online world into meatspace to enrich my learning this past week. Thank you to the ASCD event and communications staff for your hospitality, enthusiasm, and all the work you did to create this experience.
The site for sharing conference handouts was changed this year, and I don't think it was for the better. For all intents and purposes, only those registered for the conference could have access to the handouts. I can understand that there might be reason to limit things to ASCD members only, but I would love to see more open access. I also would take this a step further and mark the area for Creative Commons. There will be some who feel too proprietary about their work to share via such a license, but presenters have always had the choice as to what they offer. It would also be nice if the site is more of a "living space." As it is now, handouts are deleted a few weeks after the conference...and yet, it may be weeks or months before some application develops. One of the people in my session asked how long I would have my wiki available for them to use. My answer: As long as people have a use for it, I'll maintain it and leave it. There shouldn't be an expiration date on learning.

Conference season is over for the 2010 - 2011 school year. I've been to lots of events this year, met many new people, learned much along the way. I'm not sure yet where 2011 - 2012 will take me, but I am hoping that there will continue to be new opportunities to extend what has been started.

ASCD 2011: The End of the Affair

2011-03-29T09:13:00.000-07:00

Monday was the last day of the 2011 ASCD Annual Conference---a bit of a bittersweet time. The truth is, everyone is exhausted, but you’re enjoying the conversations and learning so much, you can’t help but go back for more. The day also felt like the last day of school as I said goodbye to new and old friends.

But I had to set this aside for the morning, as it was finally time for me to present. I have talked about data tools and visualization before, but my presentation materials had received a major facelift over the last couple of weeks. I was really excited about rolling it out. Here are my new favourite slides I designed. The first is meant to invoke an iPad (yes, I made all the little icon buttons from scratch) and the second is taken from an idea on Flickr CC (although I wish I could have made the orange line smoother).

The main points of my session were

Visuals are more powerful than words and numbers alone because the brain can process and respond to them faster.
There is a story---one with characters, audience, setting, plot, and theme---in our data. We have to find and show it.
A good visual requires the user to interact with it. Maybe we think that numbers speak for themselves. They don’t. If the story is important, make the audience engage.
Data visualizations need to include some basic design elements. Use color, line, size, shape, and other attributes to help sell your message…but don’t go too far and end up with a junk chart.

Along the way, I showed various tools (all of which I’ve shared here over the past year or two). But the interesting thing was the reaction to the QR code I included on my business card-sized handout. Several people stayed after the session to learn how to use it. One of the biggest differences I see between ASCD and ISTE is that ASCD is full of people with mobile devices. Lots of smartphones and tablets. ISTE is made up of a group with laptops. The ASCD audience would be the one to target with things like QR codes, mobile versions of Web sites, and so forth---and yet I’m not sure if they know the power of the tools they hold in their hands.

Things that went well for me during the session included everyone who wanted to be there got to be there. I had a ticketed session---one that was “sold out”---so there were lots of people (who for a variety of reasons) who would not have been able to attend. But there were enough no-shows and other workarounds that everyone who wanted a seat got one. I was only aware of three people leaving early, so my message appeared to be on target and the audience engaged. The timing was good. I had an hour-long session. We started a minute late (as the non-ticket holders were seated) and ended a minute late. I had three people tell me afterwards that my session “made their conference” and others who asked if I would do a road show for their districts/groups. While I’m sure that not everyone who attended was so enthusiastic, it is reassuring to know that the information shared was valuable for some.

What would I do differently? Definitely build in more time for people to think-pair and reflect on the information. This presentation might need a 90-minute time block. I’m not sure I can scale it back much further. I would have liked to take more time showing the various tools. Maybe I also need to start thinking about looking for and incorporating more things for mobile devices.

This was the first presentation I’ve done where there was something resembling a backchannel. Considering that the comments were made mostly by people who know me, I won’t claim that this represents an unbiased or full view of the event, but it was fun for me to read later. Here are the tweets (most recent at the top...oldest at the bottom).

I had some nice conversations with people throughout the day. A few stopped me wherever they saw me (including after dinner) to tell me that they really enjoyed the presentation. Others had questions about tools and downloads. I am always grateful for the opportunity to connect with other educators. It is always a humbling experience to learn more about all they do on behalf of students everywhere. I didn't attend any other sessions on Monday (and Edutopia completely stood me up about taking me to Skywalker Ranch...the stinkers).

I have a couple more posts rolling around my head about the conference that I will work on soon. Right now, I am on the train home---crossing the California/Oregon border---and enjoying the opportunity to reflect on this amazing conference.

ASCD 2011: Sunday Workshop Worship

2011-03-27T18:20:00.000-07:00

It was suggested to me by another member of the press/blogging community (*cough*) that following my "Live. Nude. Notes." post (which is driving the search engines wild), that I title this one "Barely Legal Coverage of the ASCD Conference." But considering that my day began riding the bus to the conference with a bunch of nuns clutching their lattes, perhaps today is one that should be devoted to contemplation and reflection at the altar of staff development.

In the morning, I started out in 21st Century Skills for a 20th Century Curriculum with Bruce Taylor (from the National Opera) and Liz Eder (from the Smithsonian). An excellent start to the day (you can download my notes here). I was interested in this session mainly because of the presenters. It's not often that you get arts educators---especially ones from outside the K-12 system---talking about technology. They were off to a fabulous start, but I was so enthused by the description of this session (which started 30 minutes later), I snuck out. Big mistake. The presentation started out to be rather promising---not many people are talking about how to use interactive whiteboards in a student centered way. And then, there was a parade of demos. Argh.

The afternoon was better. I attended Fisher and Frey's session on Responding When Students Don't Get It. (my notes and their PowerPoint, flowchart, and questioning guide). These were presenters well-skilled in communicating with an audience. I have read their books, but really enjoyed the opportunity to engage again with the ideas and talk about them with Jason and Jen. I also found it interesting how powerful it is to look at samples of teaching, even in an arena-style presentation. Fisher and Frey did a fabulous job building our background knowledge in order to apply their work to the videos. Very impressive---I'm a total convert now.

My final session was Visual Literacy: Learning Content and Skills with Pictures by Mark Newman and Donna Ogle. (Click the links to download my notes and their handout.) This session was also outstanding. I love the simple strategies and methods they suggested to help students use visuals in more constructive ways. A truly excellent way to end Day Two of Learning.

If you'd like to see what others are writing about the conference, you can see the list of ~~acolytes~~ bloggers here.

Tonight, I am off to a reception for the ASCD Conference Scholars (including yours truly) to imbibe some holy water...then back to the room to run through my presentation a time or two. I present first thing Monday morning (8:30 a.m.). And at high noon...I'm off to Skywalker Ranch. (Squee!)

Now, go in peace.

Live. Nude. Notes.

2011-03-27T05:55:00.000-07:00

Nothing is more exciting than hearing all about a conference you're not at...am I right? You're in luck, then, as I have things from Saturday to share with you. So, sit a little closer and I'll whisper in your ear.

But first, a teaser. I've been thinking about the following question: What is the role of a conference in today's educational landscape? We know that single-shot PD events don't lead to significant change. These are expensive events (as my bank account gently weeps...), so only one or few people from an institution can attend---and many times, they don't even see the same sessions. Why bother?

I think the answer to the question comes down to relationships: a foundational aspect of the classroom and making things happen in education. I have read lots of stuff by Thomas Guskey and Carol Ann Tomlinson---but there is something fundamentally different about sitting in a room where they are speaking and sharing. The accent of their voice and they way they deliver their patter...how they communicate their information when they are the ones in control. No editors. No filters. Just ideas in the buff. It's very seductive. But beyond that is the conversations that get generated. I had so many quickie discussions with people in hallways (and at the bar)---all focused on what we'd seen and heard and how it stimulated our thoughts. Speakers at a conference are not an end point: they are the beginning of beautiful relationships.

I will whip out more ideas to share later. But here is a basic rundown of my Saturday---with links to download my notes from each session. They are messy, to be sure. It's not easy to take neat notes while sitting "airline style" in rows of chairs. I also have electronic versions of their handouts/slides for most of the sessions.

So without further ado, here are my live nude notes:

I started with Trent Kaufman's Beyond Regrouping and Reteaching: Using Data to Dramatically Improve Instruction. The session was a bit of a bust. I got the impression that the presenter really didn't understand how standardized tests get put together and why this is not the data you should be using for classroom level decisions. I think he also missed the boat on impacts to individual student learning when we regroup and reteach. I'll come back to this later. Click here for ppt.
I snuck out of the first session and into Laura Greenstein's Assessing 21st Century Skills. I did pick up a couple of golden nuggets here. If there was anything from yesterday to take back home and directly insert into my job, it came from this session. This was another presenter, however, that made me a little nervous about some of the messages that were portrayed widely. Click here for pdf of presentation and Word file of handout.
After lunch, I started with Thomas Guskey (swoon) in Fair and Meaningful Grades for Exceptional Learners. Not much new here, if you've been around standards-based grading for very long, but still well-grounded info to share. The exceptional learners piece can be really tough to navigate. Click here for pdf of presentation.
I moved over to Carol Ann Tomlinson's Differentiating Instruction and 21st Century Skills. I was incredibly impressed to watch her manage a room of 1400 people. Srsly. Again, I'm not sure that I heard anything new, but I really did get a different perspective on differentiation. Behold, the power of conferences. Click here for pdf of presentation.
I ended my day in Jen Orr's session on Collaboration through Technology for Assessment Information. If you read Jen's blog, then you probably have a good idea of the strategies used in her classroom. There is something magical in seeing the information presented. I did audio record this session and will give Jen the link, but for now, visit her post about the session for resources. The session was a great "bookend" to the one I started the day with. Jen provided some very concrete examples of collecting and reflecting upon classroom level data---and how to use it for regrouping and reteaching.

Lots more experiences for me to share from Saturday, but they will have to wait. I need to finish getting ready and get out the door for Sunday's events. Time to put this post to bed. :)

ASCD 2011: Sunday Scouting Report

2011-03-26T06:36:00.000-07:00

All right, campers. It's time to build our brackets and mix our metaphors for ASCD Sunday (sunday...sunday).

In the 8 - 10 a.m. time slot, I have the following contenders:

Creating a Culture of Reflection and Learning Through Questioning---I like the idea of building a school culture where all stakeholders are engaged in an inquiry process. Many teachers struggle with questions that come from outside the classroom. How do we make that an empowering process?
Using Technology to Create Interactive Learning Centers and Group Activities---As we begin to move out our statewide assessment system for tech, I really think that one way to make it work in most classrooms is to build into a workshop model or help teachers see how to use learning centers in new ways.
There are two different "21st Century Skills" sessions on the menu. One is more assessment oriented. I might try to drop in on one of them.

Then, in the 12:45 - 2:45 timeframe, competitors include

A three-way (careful...) between sessions focusing on thinking skills---Thinking about Thinking, Developing Critical Thinkers, and Creativity: It's Not Just for Artists Anymore.
I am also eyeballing Responding When Students Don't Get It. The presenters (Doug Fisher and Nancy Frey) really do have a nice model and understanding. Seems like a great opportunity to hear from the collective horse's mouth.

Mid-afternoon, we have a walkover: Linda Darling-Hammond's lecture on The Flat World and Education. Here is a woman with her head screwed on right, which is probably why Arne Duncan is now Secretary of Education. Sigh.

And for the end of the day (5 - 6:30 p.m.), we have

Bold Strategies for Standards Based Instruction in Diverse, Inclusive Classrooms---Kinda sounds like a barbecue sauce, doesn't it? It's bold...It's spicy! I like it. Even better, it looks at ways to use technology to help reach some of our harder-to-reach students.
Visual Literacy: Learning Content and Skills with Pictures---Should be a great warm-up for my Data Viz presentation Monday morning. I would really like to learn more about getting data and information visualization out to students---as well as using these tools to teach medal literacy and other skills.

Want to build your own fantasy ASCD schedule? Just visit the conference Web site.

Tomorrow evening, I have an ASCD Scholars reception...then it's back to my room to see if there are any other final touches to put on my presentation. All 200 tickets for my session have been spoken for---good to know that I will have a full house bright and early on Monday morning.

Enjoy your Sunday!

ASCD 2011: Saturday Possibilities

2011-03-25T20:34:00.000-07:00

It's been a lovely Friday afternoon getting ready for the ASCD conference. I went to the Moscone Center to pick up my press badge, badge candy (presenter ribbon), and Scholars packet. I stayed for the Welcome reception---live music, warm Asian foods, and diabetic coma-inducing desserts. While there, I chatted with a pair of educators from the Virgin Islands (who thought SF was cold), four administrators from Regina, SK (who thought SF was warm), and a gaggle of NYC public school teachers (who were having hot flashes and therefore had no comment about SF weather).

Tomorrow is a buffet of sessions. I'm still in the process of making the final choices. Here are the top four I am looking at for the 8 - 9:30 timeframe:

Beyond Reteaching and Regrouping: Using Data to Dramatically Improve Instruction---I am always on the hunt for strategies to share when it comes to reteaching, especially for secondary teachers. This seems to be a weak point in many classrooms.
Teacher Assignment: The Key to Maximizing Student Learning---This one is on the list because the description makes me a little nervous. But, sometimes controversy can be a good thing. If I don't find coffee tomorrow, I'll go get my adrenaline pumping here.
Assessing 21st Century Skills---A session that is high on the list for this timeframe, mainly because it directly relates to my current job and I am interested to see how others are trying to solve the same problems that we have.
Conferring with Students: Practical Strategies That Close the Achievement Gap---Another one that is at the top of my list. I'm a firm believer in collecting and using qualitative data in the classroom. This session has a secondary focus, which represents the grade levels least likely to include student conferences as part of the assessment process.

Then, in the afternoon, between 1 and 3...

Teaching With Poverty in Mind---Could be another controversial session. I do have an earlier book by the presenter/author (Eric Jensen) and am interested in his take on reaching our ever-growing populations of children living below the poverty line.
Working Successfully with Difficult and Resistant People---Dude. Who couldn't use a session like this?
I'm also interested in Guskey's session on Fair and Meaningful Grades for Exceptional Learners, (natch) a couple of sessions on differentiation/tech integration, and one on using Social Studies and Math to Teach Social Justice.

At the end of the day (3 - 5 p.m.), I'm looking at

Boosting the Cognitive Complexity of Instructional Tasks and Assessments---Anyone who uses Webb's Depth of Knowledge over Bloom's for designing assessments is a person after my own heart.
Collaboration Through Technology for Assessment Information---presented by Jen from Elementary My Dear, or Far from It. I'll totally go to this one. Go, Jen, go!
There are also a couple of sessions on increasing rigor and a few on tech integration that pique my interest.

As you can see, it's going to be a busy Saturday. I also have a Scholars Luncheon, may peek in on the Keynote, and there's an Edutopia tweetup in the evening. If I'm lucky, I'll get to the Exhibit Hall or chat with a few other bloggers.Do you want more information on the conference? Visit ASCD's Web site: http://www.ascd.org/conferences/annual-conference/2011.aspx

What I love about ASCD---and that I don't find at any other conference---is the representation of ideas. How wonderful to be in a position to have so many choices...to see all of the ways the pieces of our schools can fit together. It is rejuvenating to be in a place where the focus is where it should be: kids and teachers.

Here's hoping I remember to show my enthusiasm in appropriate ways...

The Train! The Train! (with apologies to Tattoo)

2011-03-25T08:35:00.000-07:00

As I start this post, I am sitting at a train station in Sacramento, California. I am traveling by train between Olympia, Washington, and San Francisco, California. This is my first extended train trip. I've done a couple of short jaunts on Amtrak...and a few day trips in Europe. Now, I feel like I"m sold on taking the train whenever possible.

Most of my life is "hurry, hurry, hurry." Maybe it is that way for most people, too. There are times when hurrying is efficient---take the freeway instead of the scenic route...fly cross-country instead of drive. But for most of the last 24 hours, I've had time to let someone else worry about the "driving," the meals, and the clean up. Me? I've been sitting in a little compartment, watching the world go by outside my window. Some of it has been beautiful. There's been snow covered mountains, rivers, rainbows, and sunshine. At night, tucked in bed with the train gently rocking, and the constellations the only visible items out the window, it was like floating in space---the path of the train altering the positions. The midnight blue of the cloudy sky I woke up to early this morning, lit only by moonlight underneath, was a wonderful way to start the day. Other parts of the journey, however, are not so scenic. I have seen lots of backyards that seem to be the place where old cars go to die and many abandoned homes.

I will be in San Francisco in about 2 hours. I am looking forward to the conference, for sure, but now I am looking forward to the journey home---knowing that the train will be a quiet place to reflect on what I've learned and what I hope to do.

Edublogournalism

2011-03-25T08:09:00.000-07:00

This weekend, I will be blogging about the ASCD conference. We are making a trade: My corner of cyberspace in exchange for a free registration…and press pass.

In the edusphere, we don’t talk much about the potentially blurry line between blogging and journalism. It is, however, a hot topic amongst science bloggers. I think that this is because there is such a range of science magazines and newspaper sections. Education does not have its own version of Scientific American or Discover. My hunch is that there are far fewer reporters out there devoted to an education beat than there is for science. Those who see themselves purely as science journalists are not always welcoming to blogs. But as newspapers move to online formats, they bring up questions about how online content (and those who develop it) are viewed. If you blog on behalf of a magazine, such as Scientific American or Discover---are you a blogger…or a reporter? Both?

My adopted mother has been involved with journalism for years. Even in her retirement, she still goes over to the next town one day a week to help the local paper with their layout and other tasks. I don’t see what I do here as fitting into the neat box of journalism. My blog, as you know, is a mash of personal thoughts and reflections on my life as a professional educator. Over the years, there has been any number of iterations as I have shifted positions and had my eyes opened to many different parts of the system.

I do, however, believe that blogs have earned a seat at the communications table. Our style may be informal, but our reach is far greater than a piece of paper could be at any given point in time. We may have page hits instead of a circulation number, search engine optimization issues vs. the Reader’s Periodic Guide, and a network instead of readership---but we are all after the same goal: to share what we know (or think we know) and to generate dialogue.

I hope you’ll enjoy the stories and join in the conversation here this weekend. Maybe next year, you can join us in person.

Ready...Set...

2011-03-22T20:18:00.000-07:00

It's been quiet on ye olde blog as I have been busy with one conference last weekend and have ASCD coming this weekend. In between I'm juggling meetings, field testing, planning for more rangefinding, and a host of other details. Stay tuned for an onslaught of posts from the ASCD conference over the weekend.

A Preponderance of Ponderous Perceptions

2011-03-12T12:33:00.000-08:00

I'm sure it will surprise no one that it's a rainy weekend in western Washington. It's spring in the Pacific Northwest---and while my yard is waking up from its winter slumber, the conditions are still not entirely friendly for staying outdoors for long periods of time. Cold and wet is one of most unpleasant combinations to find yourself in.

So, I am working on various indoor projects and thinking about the following ideas...

Take 20 minutes to watch this video. No...really. I know---you have a brazilian other demands for your time and attention. But I can think of nothing I've seen in the last year that has totally blown my mind the way this TED talk does.

In "The Birth of a Word," Deb Roy, a researcher at MIT, "wired up his house with videocameras to catch every moment (with exceptions) of his son's life, then parsed 90,000 hours of home video" to capture not only how language development happens, but all of the environmental influences that help it along. Beyond that, Roy and his group also look at social interactions that happen in real time across media. What do we see when we cross Twitter with tv feeds? It's a presentation that left me dumbstruck. I'm still not sure what to think about all the implications presented here---but it is fascinating to consider them.

And then, I was handed some links to "geotemporal visualization." Wha'? These are tools that mash together space and time into one visual. When you think about some of the things I've shared here, the visuals are one or the other. We've looked at how to plot achievement data (or any other set) on a map...and we've looked at tools that allow you to follow data over time. But nothing that shows these simultaneously. What if you could? And why would you want to?

You can play with the "timemap" showing Renaissance Artists and Authors here. (For more examples, visit Timemap or the Geotemporal Viz site. I can think of ways to use these tools with students, but for teachers and administrators, there might not be as many advantages. I'll have to think about this some more...or perhaps you can see some schoolwide benefits.

Now that my files are all copied and uploaded to Amazon.com's cloud ($.14/GB/month---quite the deal), I am also pleased to discover how easy it is to share files. How nice to be able to send a link to a new teacher and give them instant access to my entire library of AP Biology stuff, for example. I really like this idea...but still need time to play with it. A lot of my "old" curriculum really isn't very good. I would definitely overhaul it before using it with students. There's probably no historical value...and yet, I'm not willing to just delete it. Maybe another teacher could take the crude base and reconfigure things into something wonderful. Or maybe I'm just fooling myself.

I decided this week to put my entire handout for the ASCD conference on a business card. One side will have my contact info...and the other a QR code (shown at the right) that will automatically link to all the resources. I will also supply the URL for those who don't have smartphones. Is this too weird? I haven't tried this before...so we'll see what feedback I get. Somehow, it just seems silly to provide a paper handout for a session which showcases a variety of digital tools and information.

I've been feeling more creative recently---good things happening at work...some excellent progress on my ASCD presentation...new ideas to share at a conference next weekend...trying to post here more often. Positive things to identify in spite of the all the negativity in the world I'm living in. Where all these things take me remain to be seen. And out of all the things I'm pondering this weekend, it's the one topic I know I have to leave out.

The Big Show: 2011 Edition

2011-03-08T07:49:00.000-08:00

In just over two weeks, I'm off to the 2011 ASCD Annual Conference. I've gone to a lot of conferences in the past year---I believe that this one will be #8---and while all of them are work-related, this is the only one that is completely paid for out of my own pocket.Why bother? Because it is the best place for me to get some professional development. Don't get me wrong---I learn tons from the other conferences I attend around the state, but it's learning for a different purpose. When I go to those events, I'm really there to wear a very specific hat and listen to what the field wants and needs me to do. I'm there to find out how they need me to serve them better. At ASCD? I get to be selfish---it's all about me at that conference. I'm there to learn whatever I can so that I have something more to offer and share. For me, this is worth every penny I've been scrimping and saving for months---even my 89-year old grandmother kicked in $100.

Last year, I unofficially blogged for ASCD at the conference (see posts here, here, here, here, and here). This year, I will officially be cranking out posts on their behalf, as well as several other bloggers/tweeters. You can see the list here and follow the tweets here. Even if you can't get to the conference, we'll do our best to bring the conference to you. Have questions you want us to answer? An expert you would like interviewed? A specific session you want covered? Let me know and I will do my best.

My presentation this year is on data visualization for educators---lots of things that I've posted about here over the last couple of years. I'm in the process of overhauling the materials. ASCD deserves something extra special...and I have learned a lot since I first rolled out this presentation. Besides, I gotta make grandma proud, right?

Sometimes They Come Back

2011-03-07T17:42:00.000-08:00

Nearly three years ago, I wrote a post about a senior who was dropping out of school:

I was working with one of my classes a few weeks ago when a student from another class came to see me. He had withdrawal papers with him. This is a student who had been frequently absent (or disengaged), but who I genuinely enjoyed. He was a senior---two months from graduation.

"What's the deal?" I asked.

"I'm quitting. I'm getting my GED and have already enlisted in the army. I show up for basic training mid-May and will be off to Iraq soon after."

"Kevin," I said, "You make me sad."

"I know," he replied. "I make me sad, too."

Don't come home in a box, kid. Sigh.

According to today's paper, he very nearly did. I've thought of him now and then since signing those papers. I always wondered if he was okay. I still hope he will be.

Excel Dashboards for Educators

2011-03-05T14:18:00.000-08:00

I've been interested in the idea of a dashboard reporting tool for the classroom for a long time. I stumbled across business versions three years ago when I first started thinking about how to build a gradebook I could use, then created a static mock-up a year and a half later. I have wanted to fine tune the darned thing ever since---getting to a point where the reporting tool would auto-update for individual students. Then, in my typical foolhardy manner, I proposed a workshop for data visualization which would include creating dashboards...even though I hadn't made one yet. However, a deadline can be a healthy thing. A little frustration leads to innovation...the night before the workshop. And then, I had my Colin Clive moment: It's alive! It's aliiiivve!

The starting point was the gradebook from my Building a Better Monster post. Plenty of student scores to play with. What I ended up with is something that looks like this:

Yes, it looks the same as my original mock-up...but it's not. The important difference is in cell A1:

See that little number there? If you change that number (there are 10 students in the gradebook example, so you can change the number in A1 to any whole number between 1 and 10), all of the names, scores, and graphs will automatically update to represent that student. ZOMG This is so supercool that even if you aren't an Excel lover, you should still download one of the files to play with. It is an awesome thing to change a single number and watch everything else update and bow to your whim.

This is accomplished by using OFFSET/CHOOSE formulas in each worksheet (one for the scores, one for the dashboard). The one in cell A1 tells the rest of the dashboard what to pay attention to. The ones in the remaining cells describe which data to pull. I'll provide some additional tips and tricks in a later post if you want to start from scratch.

I won't claim that everything is picture perfect. I would much prefer to use the Sparklines add-in to display the graphs. But while they work beautifully in the gradebook, they won't work in the dashboard. So, in the Excel 2007 versions, I had to use the regular graph options. In the 2010 version, I used the MS "sparklines" in the dashboard (and add-in for the gradebook). It's a start.

So, here are your download options:

Excel 2007 version without Sparklines: if you're a Mac user, don't have the Sparklines add-in, or are still running Excel 2003, this is probably your best option.
Excel 2007 version with Sparklines: You must have the Sparklines add-in downloaded and installed (It's free!) with macros enabled for these to work. But, so worth it.
There is an also Excel 2010 version with Sparklines (both MS and add-in), for those of you with new shiny Office software (and add-in).

I hope you'll take these and make them your own. If you're an elementary teacher, sub in different subject areas. If you're an administrator, see what happens when you look at different classroom level data. I know you can purchase fancy-schmancy software that will do these things for you---but I firmly believe that you should have the choice about how your data is used and visualized. Enjoy!

September 2011 Update: I have a new series of posts (and updated gradebook) for those of you who want to build your own reporting tool. There are even "how to" videos so you can see how to add conditional formatting, the two "must have" formulas, and create the graphs (even if you do not have the Sparklines plug-in).

Roll Your Own Gradebook Lesson One: Organizing Information
Roll Your Own Gradebook Lesson Two: Using INDEX and MATCH to Build a Report
Roll Your Own Gradebook Lesson Three: Adding Sparklines

You can also head over to my other blog, Excel for Educators, or my YouTube Channel for additional ideas. There will be more posts and instruction to support more complex reporting tools and the use of other data visualization tools.

The Wisdom of the Crowd

2011-03-05T11:19:00.000-08:00

100 educators---some from districts with 70 students...some from districts with more then 40,000 students. Some teachers, librarians, administrators, curriculum/instructional specialists, and IT staff. Some with primary students and some with middle and high school kids. Some with little knowledge and experience with educational technology and some with significant expertise. All of whom needed and deserved some personal attention and individualization during the day.

100 laptops---with needs for tables, AC power (that wouldn't blow the circuits), and wi-fi. All in different shapes, sizes, and operating systems. Some locked down tight by IT requirements...some easily accessed by teachers.

100 lunches---including accommodations for vegans, vegetarians, diabetics, and various food allergies. Nearly 100 different travel arrangements to make sure everyone could get to the event.

8 hours---to summarize nearly four years of work and build anticipation for the future.

Put all of this together in a single room, and you have my Tuesday. It was a little bit like being on the world's largest field trip: a million little details, an extended learning purpose, working to meet so many needs, taking attendance. But it was also much more than that. Any journey with teachers---especially those who voluntarily give up a day with their students and take time away from their family and colleagues to share and learn with others---is an awe-inspiring experience. It was also a humbling one, with such amazing people to support and serve.

It was a good learning experience for me. Large groups are difficult to plan for and manage. As much as I hate "sit and get," when you have 100 people with laptops in a single space, there aren't a lot of options. So, we tried to alternate delivery of information with as much time for table work and discussion as possible. Pacing-wise, we did pretty well. We kept to the agenda, even though some things felt rushed. I wanted people to have time to plan, but we also needed to be sure we gave them the information to plan with. Since we will have another event like this in three months, I have time to learn from this past one and make a few adjustments to the timeline. Evaluations were mostly positive---people felt like they got what they needed. Some pointed out (and justifiably so) the sedentary nature of things. A few indicated that they came expecting one thing and left with something different---not necessarily in a bad way. We definitely can be more vigilant about stating goals, but so many people are signed up to attend by others that I'm not sure how clearly things are communicated before they arrive.

I am grateful for the wisdom of the crowd present this week. I admire their willingness to represent the best interests of their schools and their courage to share what they know and are still learning. I am hopeful that the seeds we've planted with these assessments and goals will bloom and bear fruit for students throughout the state.

Update: PD is hard on the feet. Here are my poor bruised piggies from that day. Ouch.

Conference Head

2011-03-04T10:01:00.000-08:00

It's been a long week...and it ain't over yet. I have a couple of presentations later today and then some travel to manage. I also have a variety of blog posts rattling around in my mind: the trials and tribulations of working with 100 people at once for a full day...my brand new Excel dashboard for the classroom...people who teach kids vs. people who teach stuff...and how the continuing call for teachers to be treated equally (especially from within the ranks) has caused us to be treated unfairly.

My head is a big ole mess---a lot like "bed head," except no one can see it. I'm learning a lot along the way. I like that part. I like that I've met all sorts of teachers this week---and gotten to enjoy visiting with some old friends. As comfortable as it is to be home and have my regular routine going, I have to admit that being plopped into different situations and unfamiliar surroundings is good for me, too. It makes me ask questions and try some new things. Now I just have to figure out what to do with them.

On the Road

2011-02-28T04:28:00.000-08:00

I expect to have lots to blog about this week, and precious little time to blog, while I'm doing my best impression of a headless chicken. So, I offer you a selection of posts by other bloggers:

Dina, over at The Line, is sharing My Own Private Wisconsin. It's a beautiful little post about seeing the extremes in education at the moment and looking for the middle. There are a lot of angry educators out there---lots of people screaming into the void. Me? I don't think we solve anything that way. You have to get involved with the machine...and you have to learn that none of us have "the" answer---we each just have a small piece. What I like about Dina's post is her willingness to explore the grey areas.
And then there is Bora, someone I have admired for years. A lot of us talk about online community. Bora lives it, promotes it, and supports everyone who wants to be part of it. Please read his post on how the Web breaks echo-chambers, or, 'Echo-chamber' is just a derogatory term for 'community.' This post gets its awesome in a variety of ways. First of all, I like the stream of consciousness reflection about the context. You get a feel for what it was like to be Bora in that situation. But most importantly, the exploration of the role of the Web in building community (both online and in meatspace) and understanding of different viewpoints. It isn't a short post, but make the time to read and think about this one.
The Common Core blog has a guest post by "Emma Bryant," the pseudonym of a teacher working in a New Tech high school. She exposes my worst fears about tech integration into schools---an all hat and no cattle effect where kids are supposed to think, but given nothing to think about. Need Content? Just Google It! has comments worth a look, too.

Go read...leave a note for these bloggers or add them to your RSS. I'll join you soon.

I Want to Believe

2011-02-25T09:19:00.000-08:00

by Flickr user Jerry W. Lewis

A friend of mine, who is a biology teacher, manages to convince his students each and every year that jackalopes exist in the wild. There are always a few skeptics at the beginning, but his mounted proof, like the one shown on the left, starts to wear down their resistance. Heavily embellished stories of the habits and habitats of these beasts heighten the sense of reality, as does peer pressure. Hey, 29 other teenagers in the room are buying it, why shouldn't I? The coup de grace is delivered by the Internet. A simple Google search returns hundreds of images and stories about the jackalope.Therefore, it must be true.

I was thinking about this whole madcap adventure recently when a few of us were talking about the need for everyone to develop a good "bullshit detector." (Or, if you prefer, to develop "information literacy" skills.) I can remember lots of examples over the years of my career where I was a bit stunned by what students (and adults) of all ages believed---and how many of them refused to adjust these inaccuracies. Do you have any idea how many people out there think the blood in your veins is actually blue? Because that's how every anatomy drawing depicts things. Or, hey, the veins you can see through your skin are blue, so what's inside must be blue, too. Or my personal favourite, "My third grade teacher said it was."

Via Flickr user mat-

I used to do an activity called Checking Your Facts at the beginning of the year. I gave students ten urban legends to examine. They could pick any four that they wanted---and the goal was not so much to accept or reject the truths presented, but rather to consider sources. I was surprised each year by how many kids would find sources that fit the pre-conceived notions in their heads (e.g. that George Washington really did have a false set of teeth made from wood).

It is simple enough to point to a lack of critical thinking...the lack of the bs detector...that enables such beliefs to persist. But I'm not so sure it's due to ignorance or utter gullibility. I think that if you like the idea of a jackalope, then you're going to want to find one. Beyond that, however, is that most kids trust adults. They expect us to tell the truth. If we say jackalopes exist...or that the blood in your veins is blue...then believing that is a lot more comfortable than thinking that grown-ups have been lying all along.

In science circles, there is lots of talk about identifying and addressing student misconceptions. I don't know how many success stories there are...how many kids actually change how they think the world works because we give them new experiences. And although my view is a bit more broad now---looking at developing a bullshit detector that applies in all areas---the challenge is the same. It has to be safe to ask certain questions of yourself and challenge those of others. How do we create learning environments that move students from wanting to believe...to wanting to believe the evidence?

Mad As A March Hare

2011-02-21T09:38:00.000-08:00

There is still a week of February, but March is weighing upon me. It has for several months. It is, once again, Conference Season. This is not to say that I am dreading the month ahead---quite the contrary as it presents several opportunities for professional learning. But I also have several roles to fulfill and I am not one of those people who believes that doing something half-assed is good enough.

In a week, I'll be spending the day with 100 educators from around the state. They represent all grade levels, a wide variety of district sizes and backgrounds, and are depending upon me to deliver 8 (!) hours of high-intensity (and differentiated) professional development. Planning has been ongoing, with some pieces having to wait until rangefinding was completed. Things are firmed up and I'm looking at this opportunity as another grand adventure. Big groups are great---but they can also be challenging. You can't turn them on a dime when you need to change activities. Opportunities to get people up and moving are reduced and need to be highly orchestrated. It will be wonderful. Lots of very enthusiastic teachers on the way.

Two days following the big extravaganza, I'm giving my first-ever 3-hour data visualization workshop. We will play with Sparklines, MapAList, Google Fusion, Motion Charts, and more. I have some databases built and ready to play with...others not so much. I have a basic plan for things, but I need to nail down some details. I haven't taught tools before. I have no idea how many people will be in my session (though it will be no more than 30), what their ability levels are with data, or how much support I should front load. This is one of those occasions where being overprepared can only do me good. Will I have time to do that much work? I'll try.

The next day, I have two different presentations about the assessments. These should be simple enough to pull together---we've done similar ones before and will have things we can use from the big extravaganza from Monday. But it still means looking for ways to engage a large group of people for a short group of time and get them what they need.

The following week is the last round of Bias & Sensitivity reviews for the assessments. Other than getting the invitations out, I haven't done much planning for this one. I have a feeling this one will sneak up on me fast if I'm not careful.

And the week after that? Two more presentations for the science conference. My cell phones in learning will get a third round of airing and then a specialized STEM + EdTech session.

A few days after that I am off to ASCD. I have been scrimping and saving (and begging family for money) for this one for months. I am taking Amtrak's Coast Starlight down to San Francisco and back. I am very much looking forward to slowing down and traveling this way. I have a room reserved on the train and am already fantasizing about stretching out beside the floor to ceiling windows and watching the world go by. My presentation? Data Viz, natch. It isn't completely built yet---as you can see, I'm a little busy before this point---but I'll be ready. This is the one part of March I'm least worried about.

Are you heading into the full gale force of conference season, too? Will March enter like a lion and leave like a lamb for you? If you see me rushing around, mad as a March hare, I hope you'll stop me and chat. Might even be a shiny new beer in it for you.

What Is Rangefinding?

2011-02-14T19:20:00.000-08:00

A commenter on a recent post asked, "What the heck is Rangefinding?" What the heck, indeed. Instead of responding in the comments, I thought the answer deserves its own post. But before I get into this hot mess, you might also be interested in previous posts about how large-scale assessments are birthed:

In Part I, we looked at how standards get selected for item development.
Then, in Part II, we watched with bated breath while items were born.
In the enthralling final chapter, also known as Part III, we examined the ways items get poked and prodded before they are placed into a test bank for use.
But wait! There's more. A bonus post on how a test gets put together, including all the statistical goodies.

And now, without further ado...Rangefinding!

Imagine, if you will, a continuum of performance:

This could be any size scale that you like. I seem to remember Rick Stiggins saying that research had shown that we lose the ability to discriminate amongst anything more than 7 different categories. Most rubrics tend to have 3 or 4 levels, so we'll choose a 4-point scale for our discussion here:

Now, imagine a set of student work---perhaps they are explanations of how to solve a math problem or detail an experimental design or maybe it's even an essay about Shakespeare. Whatever. Unless there's been some looky-looing, no two student performances will be identical. Sure, all of the kids could write answers that score well, but that doesn't mean that they use the exact same words, organization, or other features you are looking for. They will be spread out across the "range" of the scale. Your job as a rangefinder is to determine two things.

First, you want to look at the work and decide what is acceptable within each score point. I know, I know. From 1 to 2 looks like an easy jump. But it's not.

There's a lot of space between points. What is the least best "1" a student could earn...so barely a "1" that it's killing you that a piece of work even gets that much attention---what would it look like? What about a "middle" and a "high" 1? It is astounding how a one word change in your scoring tool (or even a one word swap in an answer) makes all the difference in how an artifact of student learning performs against the standards.

And then, there are these questions to answer:

What is the difference between a "high 1" and a "low 2"? How do you officially draw the line between score points?

Sometimes, sets of papers illustrating each point are put together prior to rangefinding. Other times---especially if it is a brand-new type of item or assessment---a rangefinding committee might look at groups of papers, order them from best to not-so-best, then determine the score points and refine the scoring tool. My group? I pulled a few samples I thought were interesting. We used those to calibrate amongst one another and tweak the scoring guide---then we applied it to every single sample that was turned in, sifting out exemplars and finalizing the scoring guide.

There can be a variety of outcomes of these conversations. Sometimes, you develop some additional scoring rules to clarify how the rubric is applied. You will want to find samples to use as exemplars. These are sets of papers which clearly illustrate how to apply the rubric (or in some cases, represent "tricky" papers that get people into the nuances of scoring).

I can hear some of you. You're saying, "Who the heck cares about this crap?" Most of us educators don't---unless the test is big enough. We just don't have the resources to deal with this for every item that will cross a student's desk. At a state level, where you might be scoring tens of thousands of student responses (or a national level, like the SAT or AP), rangefinding becomes important for validity reasons. And, in fact, the legislation which required the development of the assessments I'm working on also mandates that they be able to be "consistently scored" by educators. We must be able to have a water-tight scoring tool that a fourth-grade teacher (for example) in any classroom in the state can pick up and use---and get the same scores as any other teacher looking at the same work. But to do that, we first have to see what kids do with a prompt. We have to set them loose upon an assessment, then reel in the products and see how they look along the scoring tool we developed. It is inspiring to see all the creative things kids do...all the unanticipated ways they interpreted directions...or how many papers you end up shaking a fist at (or cheering for).

Get thee to a rangefinding event. You'll never look at classroom work the same way again---and for all sorts of wonderful reasons.

No...not exactly

2011-02-14T17:19:00.000-08:00

The sad---and unfortunately, very accurate---state of high school testing in Washington.

Home on the Range

2011-02-13T14:36:00.000-08:00

The past week has been dedicated to rangefinding activities. If you haven't been to a rangefinding event, I highly recommend you apply for one in your state. It is my absolute favourite part of the assessment process, because it is where you spend time with actual student work. Rangefinding discussions are tedious, as every part of the scoring tool is picked apart and held up against how students responded to a task; but, in 20 years of education, I have never had as meaningful discussions with peers.

The discussions are always difficult to facilitate. There is a rhythm you have to find as you allow ideas to bubble up before you rein things in and nail down the perfect word or phrase. You have to learn to recognize when a group is overthinking a point and bring them back to the beginning and ask a more simple question. And while time is a precious commodity (in three days, we finalized only one scoring tool), you have to be able to read the group to know when they are too mentally spent to be productive.

The end result is always a mixed bag of emotions. There are always pieces of student work that score higher than you think is "deserved," and others you love that score far lower. It is always hard to believe that consistent scoring can be so fair and unfair at the same time. And as much value as there is in observing students and having conversations with them---with applying professional judgment to grades, rangefinding is not about grading. It is only about scoring a single piece of evidence. This vacuum has a different purpose. One that is incredibly rich all on its own.

I look forward to sharing the results of the upheaval, discussion, and resolution next month. We have picked our exemplars to share statewide, but the next two weeks will be full of work annotating them and preparing to communicate about them with a wider audience. We have learned to score the unscoreable. We have gone snipe hunting and captured the snipe. We have learned to measure what we value about students' thinking skills. I feel good about that...and am looking forward to our next round of rangefinding in May.

Disconnect

2011-02-12T19:25:00.000-08:00

There is constant sense of push and pull with my job when it comes to talking about "stuff." And by that, I mean things like computers, document cameras, smartpens, and other hardware; as well as particular software tools, such as PowerPoint, blogging, or YouTube. You can't talk about integrating tech into the curriculum without the stuff---and yet, the stuff is not the goal...just a means to a aligned learning end. At least it should be.

The techevangelists think the stuff is enough. (Just put an iPad into the hands of every child and we'll revolutionize schools!) And while this stance hasn't changed over the years, what has happened is that as more "stuff" made its way into schools, educators have viewed the technology in a different way than hardcore enthusiasts wanted. Technology was an answer to a problem they didn't have: connecting kids with learning goals. Instead, the tech stuff has just become one of my kinds of instructional strategies a teacher might choose from.

Recently, I've begun to sense a real tension between the Integrators and the Aligners---the Integrators being focused on tech for the sake of tech and the Aligners being focused on helping students learn (no matter the instructional strategy). After all the years of being experts, the Integrators have found themselves in the interesting position of being challenged by the Aligners. They now know enough about tech that they are no longer willing to blindly swallow what the Integrators spout. The Integrators are unhappy. They proposed a revolution...and nobody came.

This is going to be an interesting little fight to watch, because it is happening at the classroom level. It's not a policy issue. It gets at our most basic philosophy about learning as educators. If you had to choose, would you want kids to hold 3 unifix cubes in one hand and 5 in the other hand so that they can feel differences in numbers...or would you want students to swipe a finger across a screen? Do you want students to grow plants from seed and understand the time and conditions involved through experience...or do you want them to watch a timelapse video on YouTube? Integrators will tell you that a touchscreen and projector is best. Aligners will tell you that you choose whichever one best suits the needs of the student.

Me? I'm an Aligner immersed in a world of Integrators. I've been doing a lot of thinking about what this means---and whether or not I can stay with such a disconnect. I don't feel like I have the energy it will take to fight them off---or at least bring them closer to the middle. And yet, every time I make an Integrator think twice about doing something for the student instead of the stuff, I feel like it's worth the effort.

All Things Great and Small

2011-02-09T04:23:00.000-08:00

This will be the last of the shared resources...for now. I'm still working through a variety of folders and I'm sure that there will be more to post in the future. Today, I am including a big file and a little one. They have no particular relationship to one another, other than being things I used with students.

The little one is Travel with Columbus (1MB; pdf); author unknown. This was an activity I picked up in my MEd program as a way to have kids consider what goes into a decision making process. My copy isn't clean, but if you like the activity, you can easily polish it up. In the activity, students are provided with bios of 10 potential crew members to travel with Columbus...but they can only choose five for the journey. Complete the activity as a modified Think-Pair-Share, with students individually making selections, then coming to consensus with a small group, and then as a class.
The big one is Establishing a School-Based Seed Bank (70MB; pdf). It's an 87-page document crafted by Joseph Sanders and Julie Laufmann for the 1993 NSTA conference. There are dozens of seed-related activities for all ages in the packet---all with the goal of building interest in preserving genetic diversity for plants. Definitely a presentation ahead of its time. I can't claim to have done every activity that is included, but the first one using spices was always an awesome bit of fun to have with students.

I'll be back with a big PBL extravaganza later in the month and we'll see what else I find to pass along. I hope you've enjoyed this week of resources!

Natural Resources

2011-02-07T04:27:00.000-08:00

Up next in my sharefest of old resources, are two taxonomy and natural selection items---one tried and true, the other has been on my "always wanted to try it" list.

from http://www.flickr.com/photos/mirandala/2147100674/

I have long loved Punch Card Classification (3.5MB; pdf). If you aren't an old fart like me, you probably don't know what a punch card is. (Now get off my lawn!!) These cards---like the one pictured above---were how digital information used to be stored. And when I was a little girl, back in the Dark Ages, I used to play with these when my dad brought the spares home from work. The activities described in the attachment use index cards, so you don't need to worry about finding fossil punch cards to work with. The handout comes from Dr. John B. Beaver and Dr. Don Powers and was presented at the 1994 NSTA conference. It is a great hands-on way to teach dichotomous keys to all ages of students.
Cranial Conjectures (4MB; pdf) was presented by Joyce Gleason also at the 1994 NSTA conference. In this unit, students are provided with an animal skull. Using the skull, they make predictions about the kind of animal it belongs to, as well as the environment it would live in. It's a great inquiry into natural selection and I would have loved to have done it---I just never had access to enough skulls.

Still Standing But Not Standing Still

2011-02-06T05:51:00.000-08:00

This photo landed in my RSS feed last week. It came through a scraper site, so I'm not sure of the origins of this image---either location or photographer. I did try to find out by using Tin Eye, to no avail. All I can tell you is that when I saw the picture, it seemed to neatly sum up the status of one of the major projects I've been working on for the last few months. It's been beaten up...lost a lot of structural integrity...and it's best days are well into the past. But you know, it's still standing. Somehow, it made it to shore.

The upcoming week presents an opportunity for some rather unique salvage work. I admit that this was not quite what I had in mind when my shiny new project was launched. I trusted that it would be safely steered across the stormy sea. However, a lot of people didn't keep their end of the agreement to take care with the cargo. This resulted in a very different state of affairs at the end of the journey than I had expected and it will make for some intriguing conversations this week. But there are always opportunities if you're willing to look for them...if you can find the beauty in an ugly situation...if you can keep moving forward instead of standing still.

Buhnookular

2011-02-05T04:18:00.000-08:00

When I was a teen growing up in the wilds of west Texas, one of my friends had a five-year old sister. (If you're an old-timer at this site, you may remember my story of this very same child telling me that if I wasn't good, I would go to h-a-i-l.) It was the 80's and jelly shoes were all the rage. This little girl had a pair of jellies that were a shade of neon orange that caused blindness if you looked at them too long. My friend would make fun of her little sister's "nuclear orange" footwear...but the child kept insisting, "They're not buhnookular."

I tell you this random note from my childhood as a set up to two resources I collected that have nuclear connections. This is a continuation of my spirit of sharing posts as I pass along old resources made new to me by the miracle of modern scanning.

I bring you the Wonders of the Chihuahuan Desert Coloring Book (29MB; pdf), courtesy of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) in Carlsbad, NM. WIPP is where alpha-irradiated waste items go for permanent storage. It's a big ole salt mine with miles of underground tunnels. I took a group of kids there once so they could participate in a job shadow program. While they were off doing their thing, I got a tour of the place. It's one of the most claustrophobic experiences I've ever had. There's no way I could be a miner. Anyway, where else are you going to get a coloring book with tarantulas and prairie dogs. No author or copyright date on the material. It's your tax dollars at work, kids.
But, even better, I have the Tuna Can Cloud Chamber and Radioactive Food handout (17MB; pdf). This was put together by Jay Shelton for the 1995 NSTA conference. Oh, how I love this stuff. The "tuna can cloud chamber" is just awesome. You need dry ice, empty cans spray painted black, styrofoam containers, plastic wrap, rubber bands, a chunk of something radioactive (uranium ore, old Fiestaware...), and a flashlight---and boom, your kids can watch the vapour trails left by the ejection of radioactive particles. There's a lot more to be had in the handout, including a quiz about radioactivity---great for addressing misconceptions.

These old resources might find new life in your classroom...but let's hope that buhnookular-coloured jelly shoes never do.

Game On

2011-02-03T04:31:00.000-08:00

Some of you know that I've recently completed a project to take my paper archive of conference handouts and other paper ephemera and convert them to a digital format. Today, I will start sharing some of that wealth. The work I post belongs to others---and while I do not have their permission to document it here, I am starting from an assumption that they won't mind that their work is living on (sometimes nearly 17 years after the end of a conference). However, if you are the owner of any of these items and would like me to remove them, I will certainly do so.

I'll start by sharing three different packets of games for the classroom.

The Einstein Game (2MB; PDF) by Leon Spreyer was picked up at an NSTA conference in 1996. I have to say that it was my favourite game I ever played with students. It is a trivia game---one where any and every kid can show that they are an "Einstein" with something. It's a great time filler when you are left with an unexpected gap in a class period (e.g. snow day schedule) or just after a test when everyone needs a bit of fun.
Games in the Middle School Classroom (35MB; PDF) is a packet of options by Kathie Owens, Sylvia Murray, and Richard Sanders. This is also from the 1996 NSTA conference. This handout has about 15 different games (some of them science specific) that you can use as learning tools for students. I didn't use all of them, but I remember having kids play some of these. We did have some rousing review sessions of "football."
I also have an author-less collection of Games for the Classroom (16MB; PDF). Wish I could tell you more about where these came from. Some of the fonts suggest that they're contemporary with the other mid-90's stuff...but I just don't know.

I hope that these resources continue to find life with some of your classrooms. Perhaps you have ideas to improve and add to them.

Give 'em a Hand

2011-02-01T04:16:00.000-08:00

I've been involved in a few discussions this year about "scaffolding." What I find interesting is that the older the student, the less positive the reaction. There seems to be an assumption that students should just know what to do.

I understand the view---really, I do. I used to have 10th graders come to class who struggled to put a basic hypothesis today. Geez. How many science classes had they had by then? How many times had they been taught investigative design? How many models of a hypothesis had they seen or read over the years? What was wrong with these children?! But you know, it really didn't matter why they didn't develop the skill. The bottom line was that they didn't have it and I needed to help them do something about it.

Enter the Sentence Starter. It is a commonly used tool in elementary classrooms and reviled by high school. Yes, friends, I gave my students the (oft dreaded) "If ____, then ____ because ____." format. Don't be hatin' on me for that. I never required kids use it. I always had students who were able to make predictions supported by reason in a variety of ways---and that was just fine by me. But for those kids who looked like a deer in the headlights when anyone said "Hypothesis!"? For those kids, an elementary style sentence starter was a lifesaver. They still had to learn how to fill in the blanks, but at least they weren't starting from ground zero in trying to construct a coherent thought.

A lot of what is being included during the assessment development process is modeling, and we have been kicking around the idea of adding some additional formative assessment scaffolds for teachers---both in terms of how to look at student work and think about next steps, as well as how to construct useful comments for students. I will be interested to hear how this is received in future months. As with any proper scaffold, we have no "musts." If you're comfy with what you're doing, then you go, girl/guy. If you're a n00b and want a hand up, we'll reach out to you.

Scaffolds become troubling when they are promoted as The Magic Formula. When they are used as a requirement, then there can be some stifling of creativity and ownership in developing a skill. But as an option? Why wouldn't you use them to help backfill some basics or provide a sample until there is readiness to move forward?

Hot and Cold

2011-01-30T06:56:00.000-08:00

I've spent some time this week thinking about what makes for a "good" teacher. There are much better minds than I (and others with far more influence, for better or worse) who are trying to get down to the nuts and bolts of good teachers---and I will leave them to their own work. Me? I've been thinking about perspective.

If I talk to parents about what makes for a good teacher, would I get a different list of attributes than if I asked a fellow teacher? What about the difference---if any---for different grade bands. Is a good elementary teacher different from a good high school teacher? What do students and administrators think?

What happens in a classroom is a complex dynamic. Can we...should we separate it from the factors that exist outside of it in order to identify what qualifies as "good"?

Part of what has been driving my thinking about this has been the projects I'm doing at work. Rest assured that I have absolutely no part of teacher quality discussions in this state. Rather, I've been interested to watch the participation in the ongoing field tests and opportunities for feedback and PD around the new assessments. Elementary teachers? They are ecstatic about jumping in to help. They communicate amongst themselves...collaborate and support one another in trying things out. They share. Middle school teachers? Maybe not quite as enthusiastic of a response as elementary, but still very collegial in their approach. High school teachers? *crickets* It is as if there is a continuum of hot interest to frigid refusal as you move up in grades.

Being a former high school teacher, I find this intriguing. Many of the high school teachers who have had at least a toe in this work are fantastic classroom teachers (by my personal standards). They give everything they have to their students, care deeply about their content...and struggle to commit to their own peers. This is not new to me---I could pull any number of posts from my archives detailing my frustrations with lack of support from other teachers in my high school. But recent events have me wondering: Can you be a good teacher if you're only good within the confines of your classroom?

Get on the Stick

2011-01-24T18:41:00.000-08:00

At long last, I have finished up a project that I started in October: scanning hard copies of information collected throughout my years in the classroom. Many of the items, such as handouts from conferences, only existed in paper form. Over the last three months, I have digitized (and recycled) what amounts to a four-drawer file cabinet. That's a lot of pounds of paper...and a lot of MB of data. I also went through all of my existing digital files from my 17 years in the classroom and cleaned them up. After shifting jobs over the last several years, I had ended up with several items in four different locations. Now, there is just one copy of each...and they're all in their places with bright shiny faces.

I am now a teacher on a (USB) stick.

It's been a long strange trip as I've completed this process. I have some truly cringeworthy examples of lessons from early in my career that I could have deleted, but didn't. I've rediscovered some fabulous activities---some collected and some designed by me. But the most unanticipated consequence is just how inspired I feel after seeing all this stuff again. I'm excited by the possibilities and feel like I'm clear about what I want to do with my future career (as well as what I don't want to do). I like the idea that I'm more mobile now...even if I don't have any particular place to go.

Move It On Over

2011-01-18T17:43:00.000-08:00

If you're so inclined, you can read a fusion of two of my posts (Faking It and Space: The Final Frontier) into something where two great tastes taste great together on the ASCD Blog.

Are you coming to the ASCD Annual Conference in March? I know Jenny and Jason will be there. Anyone else I should meet up with?

However, if you've clicked over here from the ASCD blog and are new to this space...first of all, Welcome! You can find more about me by clicking the "About Me" button on the sidebar or reading this interview. My blogroll is an eclectic set of my recommended reads on a variety of topics. The list is messy and I like it that way. This blog tends to contain a potpourri of posts, but here are a few of the most popular...along with a few of my faves.

I get more hits on my 2008 Standards-Based Grading: Mythbusters Edition post than anything else in my archives. Sure, I get a lot of looky-loos at my posts on Kinky Teachers and Big Double Ds, but they no doubt feel rickrolled when they see the posts. Go ahead and click the links. You know you want to. :)
Grading is a hot topic here. So is Data Visualization. If that's your bag, then you're going to want to check out Data Visualization for the Classroom Part I and Part II, as well as Building a Better Monster (excel gradebook). You might even want to have a look at my data mashup resources.
Is assessment your thing? Get an inside peek at the AP Biology Read or see how a standard becomes a test item (Part I, Part II, Part III).

So, take your shoes off...enjoy a post or two...and perhaps even a leave a comment.

Faking It

2011-01-15T18:01:00.000-08:00

from http://www.merriam-webster.com; anus? really?

There might be a lot of talk about "authenticity" these days, but I found myself pondering the word "phony" the other night for various reasons. It might have been the beer whispering in my ear, but I started thinking about concepts of online and offline identity and punditry. (This is what happens when you have a long hard week at work, kids...don't try this at home.)

I'm not one for "musts" when it comes to using social media. No one will die if they don't use a Ning. Great teachers will continue to be great, even if they never Tweet. You can be a passionate and competent leader without a blog or Facebook presence. Some will say that it is the responsibility of organizations to reach out in as many ways as possible to their constituents. There may be some truth in that---which I will get to in another post---but for now, I'd just like to focus on the individual.

I have fretted here before about the plethora of pontificating pundits out there setting down the rules about how to use/not use online tools and further preach about keeping one's nose clean. I'm sure that these well-meaning experts believe that they're providing guidance for n00b5, but in doing so, they've forgotten the most important piece: the user. They haven't asked educators what they want to do and then helped guide them to do that. It's all back-asswards.

You're killin' me, MW. Rhyming words? No link to KC and the Sunshine Band?

But what I object to most is that educators are being told that they can only be educators while online. All those other wonderful facets which make you human---from your family and friends to world view to faults and foibles is to be locked away. (It might be okay to share on FB, but don't let anyone catch you.) Be a phony, teacher. Be as perfect and pristine as you are within your classroom walls...because, if you don't, the Internet boogeyman is going to get you and your life will be ruined---not that you would have been allowed to have one, anyway. All this and more will befall you if you dare to use Twitter incorrectly. Zounds!

I am not advocating that anyone be careless with their personal information---or violate whatever Code of Conduct exists in their state. What I do want to advocate for is for people to be themselves. If you want to talk about a hard time you've just had as a parent or spouse...or create a video about knitting...or post a scree about a public policy...Thank You. It doesn't mean I will like what you do (or choose to read/listen/participate), but I appreciate your refusal to sacrifice yourself because some phony out there doesn't want you to be human and put them out of a job.

Jump On In

2011-01-11T16:14:00.000-08:00

At long last, the second round of field test materials for educational technology are available. These assessments are integrated with science, math, health, and/or English Language Arts topics for grades K - 12. We need teachers who would be willing to test drive the assessments in their classrooms and collect student samples. We also are interested in feedback from any and all stakeholders. You can find more information about the assessments, including tutorials, FAQs, and links to supporting documents for administrators and IT staff here. Even if you are not a Washington teacher, we welcome your participation. You are also welcome to leave comments here about the assessments.

We will also be offering some free professional development about the assessments for Washington educators. We'll cover costs for a sub (if you need a one) and travel. The full-day workshop and clock hours are also free. The goal of the PD is to prepare you to go back and "coach your colleagues" within your school and district with using the assessments. We hope that you will register with a buddy (teacher, librarian, curriculum specialist, or administrator) and make plans to join us. Find out all the deets here.

Please consider joining us for the field test process or workshops. These are great opportunities and fabulous classroom tools, if I do say so myself. Jump on in!

And Your Little Dog, Too

2011-01-10T19:16:00.000-08:00

This time of year always makes me crabby. I'm tired to going to work in the dark...and coming home in the dark. It's the pacific northwest---so yes, there's lots of rain (and precious little snow). Nothing is in bloom. As a state worker, I don't get time off during the holidays. So I'm weary from slogging through things by now while my teacher friends had time to play. I am quite sure that all of this leads to a sort of attitude where, if a house were to fall on me, no one would be surprised if a bunch of singing and dancing little people toasted the occasion.

There are times in my job where I can't see the forest for the apple-throwing trees. There are so many pieces to coordinate...so many timelines to manage...so many details to track. Some things made all the more difficult by having to work with people who (unintentionally) sabotage the work at hand with their inattention. I have to say that these issues, along with the already present winter doldrums, has made me run straight for an updated résumé.

And then, there are those days like today, where my old Grinch heart grows three sizes. Hooray!

I (gently) poked some people who had committed to some work earlier in the year. I hadn't heard from them. I hadn't seen any evidence that they were following through. But nearly all of them responded today that they either had work completed or were almost done. One had been on maternity leave...another on long-term medical leave---and they were still doing their part. Still another had to coordinate with a fellow teacher to find an evening to look at the work of 50 students. Every story was full of efforts to do their very best to make the project special for everyone...even if those steps have been quietly taken.

I have to say that this really restored my sense of purpose and energized me to continue on with the next steps of the project. I feel hopeful again, even if winter is here for awhile longer. Maybe the last of my wicked witch impulses will melt away in the rain this week.

You Say Goodbye, and I Say Hello

2010-12-31T08:08:00.000-08:00

Any teacher will tell you that the first day of school feels more like "The New Year" than December 31st. It seems unlikely that a new school year will ever be rung in the way we do with a calendar year. A hangover and a brand new group of enthusiastic students would not seem to be a good match. However, as the days grow longer again, so do hopes and dreams for the future.

I wish you all the best in 2011. I know it isn't easy out there---and it doesn't look like the upcoming year will bring an end to all the financial and policy strife for schools and families. As for me, I've been looking at the current situation (at work and at home) as an opportunity to pare down and figure out what is most important to me. What are the critical components of good work? What sorts of things do I need at home? Since the job market, economy, and housing situations are all catawampus at the moment, it's a good time to let anything extraneous go...and pick a spot to land.

So here's to safe landings in 2011. Raise a glass to new beginnings and the opportunities that come with change. May the next 12 months be full of hope for all of us.

A Problem Like Maria

2010-12-27T17:48:00.000-08:00

Over the years, I have spent considerable effort in developing a "poker face" for my job. This has come in handy in a variety of situations---stories from educators that would make your hair stand on end, a misinformed politician espousing a view on how to fix education, ridiculous meetings, and so forth. In all situations, I must try to be gracious. I am not always successful, but I do my best to keep emotion or reactions from showing on my face---my last resort to be furious note-taking so I can avoid eye contact or risk the chance that I am going to say something that will get me in trouble.

But I also use these opportunities to watch the other players at the table. There are some with well-cultivated poker faces of their own. You learn to find one another and perfect side glances and other signals when the attention of others is focused elsewhere. And those times where I am not a major player at the table...when what's at stake isn't mine...I enjoy the opportunity to watch body language all the more.

Awhile back, there was a meeting of mucky-mucks. A very impassioned woman---who I'll call "Maria" for the purposes of this post---attended in order to testify about her program. Also in attendance was her Mother Superior. These were not two peas in a pod. Maria had major attention-seeking behaviors. Mother was more conservative in approach, and although her verbal skills had polish, she had absolutely no poker face. Each time Maria was about to speak, you could see Mother Dear cringe with embarrassment. Maria was oblivious of anything happening around her. She never directly answered a question---instead choosing to talk about what she wanted. She never noticed how some of the people she needed to sway at the table pulled out their phones to check messages or collected paperwork together as if signaling they wanted to leave. She went on and on and on about things, and while I have no doubt she spoke from the heart, the mucky-mucks treated the end of diatribes like one might treat a random story from a toddler inserted into an adult conversation. Mother was not happy, her face wrinkled with displeasure...her body tense.

I have to wonder if Mother Superior will solve the problem that is Maria. Big Momma is good with things and stuff, but not so good with people; however, it is her job to make sure that the most competent people are working for her and represent both her and the program well. If Maria isn't doing that, then she has to do something about that. Maria likes attention---she thrives on being looked at as unique. Mother must find ways to give that to Maria...compliment her where possible and appropriate. But Mother also has to make it clear what is and is not acceptable in terms of communications. She needs to look for a seminar to send Maria or watch some video clips together that show good and not so good examples of how to behave in meetings. She must have the hard conversation about what she's noticing, what the job requires, and what she expects. If Maria can't close the gap (after some time and coaching to make the changes), then she needs to be replaced. Sorry, Mother, but you're paid to do that job. Ignoring Maria (which appears to be the current strategy) is not going to make her go away. If anything, she's just going to scream louder anytime you give her an audience.

I admit that I have my own failings. I am not always the forgive-and-forget type. I don't like people who don't follow through on their promises---I don't ever trust them again. I absolutely hate the sort of politics that have to be navigated and all of the indulgences to be paid in order to get something done...and I know it sometimes shows on my face. I just hope I never become a problem like Maria, failing teachers and kids in the process.

Muddying the Bathwaters

2010-12-22T18:47:00.000-08:00

John Hattie, the author of Visible Learning, was the keynote speaker at a recent conference I attended. The book represents years of work reviewing educational research (over 800 meta-analyses) and determine effect sizes of various factors which influence student learning. These include things outside the classroom (e.g., television, siblings) and inside the school (e.g., various instructional models, leadership styles). A couple of things stuck out at me during the presentation---and I am most anxious to have a copy of the book to read.

If it's been awhile since you had to do anything with descriptive statistics, an effect size is a number that describes the strength of a relationship between two variables in a population. This is different from the significance that might describe a particular effect. Effect size is scaled from -1 to +1.

At zero, there is no relationship between the variables. So, think about this as something like trying differentiated instruction in the classroom and seeing absolutely no change in student learning. Those things which decrease student learning (more tv) would reach toward the negative end of the scale and other things (reduced class size) would reach toward the upper end. Hattie's argument, however, is that comparing an effect to zero is the wrong comparison. Why?

Because his research shows that the average effect size---all of the ed research out there put together---is .4. So, for the most part doing something...anything...is better than nothing. But more importantly, we should eliminate strategies that are less than .4. Shouldn't we look for things which will at least get better than average results?

Hattie moved through a list of 120 variables, pausing here and there to talk about one in depth. One of these was class size. Does the graphic below surprise you?

What do we see here? Reducing class size does have a positive impact on student learning; however, it is less than average. Does that mean we shouldn't spend money on lowering teacher-pupil ratios? (Primary teachers, I can hear you screaming from here...) The answer is "sorta." As with anything, the numbers don't tell the whole story. The next question is "Under what conditions does reducing class size have the greatest impact?" or "Why does reducing class size not have a greater effect on student learning?" Basically, teachers who have had professional development in how to work with a class of students above (or below) the standard number have a greater positive impact. Others just teach the same way, regardless of the number of students in the room, and very little difference is made.

This same sort of questioning could apply to lots of things that fall below the magical .4: differentiated instruction, inquiry-based learning, problem-based learning, and so on. There may be conditions which allow them to be greatly effective, but based on what we have in the research right now---nope. I would guess this is why anecdotal evidence drives so many individual teacher decisions. This might be okay---or it could be dangerous.

Here is another example from Hattie:

This graphic compares two broad leadership styles: principals who push a vision...and principals who function as instructional leaders in their schools. (My hunch is that some of you are thinking you have a principal who is "none of the above.") I found this particular comparison interesting, mainly because those who push back the hardest against the reform movement are the ones who believe having vision trumps all. Obviously, there is something positive---you do want leadership that can inspire and bring together a school. But that is not enough to make even an above average difference in student learning. In fact, it's slightly less effective than reducing class size. Schools need administrators who understand and walk the talk of high quality curriculum, instruction, and assessment. Going on and on about your vision isn't really helping kids.

For those of you concerned that Hattie only considered test scores, he didn't. There are lots of ways to look at student learning---his task was to synthesize them. What things make the biggest difference? High quality feedback on student work, strong teacher-student relationships, among others. You would not be surprised at what makes the top 10. The surprises are all below the .4 mark. While I wouldn't advocate for throwing any instructional babies out with the <.4 bathwater, it would seem that these deserve some careful thought before further implementation. Time and resources (both human and material) are so precious. We need to make the best use of these that we can.

Mixing It Up

2010-12-19T11:34:00.000-08:00

Earlier this month, I debuted a presentation on data mashups. I have presented on data visualization tools before (and will again at the ASCD Conference in March), but this newest incarnation is really more focused on ideas for advanced users. It is a response to inquiries I've had over the past year where an administrator, district data guru, or assessment director says, "I really need a tool that will let me do x with my data." So, I've been keeping an eye out for new things that might fit the bill. Meanwhile, as I've talked to vendors about their product offerings, I've been continually disappointed that no one is putting together a package that educators really want. Sure, schools are buying stuff---but doesn't mean that they like what they're getting.

So, let's have a look at some of the collection I introduced this year...

Regulars here are already familiar with my interest in the Excel Sparklines add-in and building digital gradebooks that communicate a variety of data. You might also be interested in having a look at BeGraphic, which allows you make all sorts of visualizations in both Excel and PowerPoint. There is a free "lite version" available. Lots of opportunities here for design and communication.

We looked at a variety of tools in Google. Google Fusion allows you to take the data you upload into GoogleDocs and create a variety of visualizations. You can see a variety of applications in their Example Gallery, but for my purposes, I wanted to show the same data set in different settings. On this map, each dot represents a school district in Washington which has 10th graders. Not all districts are represented, due to FERPA restrictions. If you click on a location, the popup box will contain a variety of information about the district---all of it pulled from the GoogleDoc.

In addition, we looked at the same data as a motion graph. I am not able to embed it below (I just have a screenshot), but if you follow the link, you can play with it to your heart's content. Again, you have the same data options as in Fusion, the information is just represented differently and we can watch how things change over time.

You might also be interested in Google Refine, for cleaning data sets or even the Public Data Explorer to look at your data from a broader angle. While not a Google tool, the DataMasher also has some nice options for mixing and matching data sets.

I have shared MapAList on this blog. Here is the same data set as above, but using this tool:

There are some reasons why a school or district might prefer this over the maps Fusion can draw. MapAList will allow you to use different pins based on certain types of data (Fusion only allows for heat maps) and is much better at pinpointing location; however, it will not display as many types of data as Google Fusion. However, these are meant to be visualizations. So, if you can't adapt the appearance of the map to reflect data points, I'm not sure how useful a communication you can build.

The big winner of the day? Hands down, it was Microsoft Pivot. I showed only the first half (~3 minutes) of the TED talk below, and I swear I thought half the audience was going to sprint out the door to go try it.

The examples shown in the video are not school-related; but it is not a big leap to picture students (instead of Sports Illustrated covers), data, and the ability to sort and visualize what's happening. We're going to try getting a users group together. I find that very exciting.

Do you have new tools you're using or ideas you're implementing? Share them in the comments!

Cooking Something Up

2010-12-18T12:36:00.000-08:00

Fair warning: This post has nothing to do with education. It's the holidays and my interests seem to wander into more personal areas during these last two weeks of December when news is slow and nights are long. Unlike my classroom days, I no longer have time off during the holidays, so my moments away from work are even more precious.

I have always loved to cook. However, being single (or even a double, at times) poses some recipe challenges. Most cookbooks and cooking shows assume that you have at least 4 people in your home and that you want enough leftovers for a second meal. If this isn't you, then you either look for recipes you can cut down, make peace with food going to waste, or suck it up and eat the same thing for a week. These really aren't good options, in my opinion. So, as I look at Christmas treats and upcoming meal planning, I thought I'd pass along my own solutions.

Make the full recipe, but choose it wisely. Sure, you can make half, which save the frustration of eating the same meal over and over or dealing with food waste---but you're not saving yourself any time. Prep/Cooking will still take the same for 1/2 recipe. Pick a recipe that will freeze well: pasta, side dishes (potatoes, rice, risotto...). Prepare the whole thing, divide into individual serving dishes (I use corning ware, but foil works, too), and freeze what you don't want for later. Just pull out the portions and reheat when you're ready for something fresh.
Muffin tins are great tools for freezing individual servings. Soup? Pour it in the tin, freeze, then put the chunks in a freezer safe bag. Put your meatloaf in the muffin tin, bake, and freeze leftovers.
I just learned that you can par-bake bacon (400 degrees F for 15 minutes) on a foil-lined pan, drain and cool the meat before freezing. Later, pull out however many sticks you want and microwave them for 30 seconds to finish the cooking process.
Got a cookie dough you love and that doesn't come in a flavour you can buy in the refrigerated aisle? Do it up right---make the whole recipe and then freeze individual dough bites on a cookie sheet, then baggie them up. Pull out what you want and bake when you need. This also works with bread dough. Just portion and freeze between the first and second rise (or get frozen dough that is already portioned so you can just use one or two pieces at a time).
I know meat looks expensive, but per serving, it's a great deal. Don't want a whole pot roast, salmon fillet, or pork loin? Buy it anyway...portion it out...baggie it up...and freeze.Whole chickens are cheap. Roast them, then use the leftover meat in a casserole to freeze. You really don't have to be stuck with leftovers.

Each month, I choose 2 - 3 recipes (e.g. chicken pot pie, macaroni and cheese, risotto cakes). Ingredients usually cost no more than $50 and I spend one afternoon preparing them. For the next few weeks, I have plenty of quick meals or mix-n-match options with salads/veggies or meat portions from the freezer. I get a variety of fresh homemade food with very little investment or effort. I also end up with almost no food waste.

Now, if you'll excuse me, it's time to go make some Christmas cookies...

Wake Up

2010-12-12T06:43:00.000-08:00

I've been unloading thoughts about online safety this past week. I won't claim that this post is a Forrest Gump-like attempt to be "all I have to say about that," but perhaps I can put the topic to rest for a bit. A lot of these thoughts were pushed forward by a webinar I sat in on. It was not, as billed, about making one's "Internet Use Policy Social Media Proof." Instead, it was the most twisted promotion of an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP) I have ever seen mixed with a commercial for a web security system.

Risks of social media included "inappropriate language" (guess the presenter has never been to a library) and big screens on newer handheld devices (no explanation...not sure why size matters in this context). The "Information Security Manager" from Duval County Public Schools bragged about how every Monday, he goes to the schools to find the top 10 violators of their AUP to suspend for three days. Substitute teachers are never given access to the network. Want to allow your students to use their cell phones to capture images of a lab in progress? That will earn you a disciplinary review by HR. Teachers are also forbidden from commenting on blogs...unless they have prior approval of comments.

I could go on, but for those of you with strong stomachs, you can go watch the recorded webinar. I have several problems with the Draconian approach to an AUP---but I especially object to the district thinking that it has the right to reach into teachers' homes and tell them what they can say and do online while there.

You also have to love the conclusions posted:

I am especially fond of #1. That's Teacher with a Big T! Starting from an assumption of positive intentions is definitely not a norm in Duval County Public Schools. Apparently, we teachers go to college so we can get into classrooms and access Child Porn (there go the caps again). If you work in that district, it is assumed that children need to be protected from you and that you need to be trained on what the IT staff believes is acceptable.

The big takeaway from all of this: Teachers, wake up!

IT security has its place. There are all sorts of sensitive data about students and staff which do need to be protected. There are networks to tend. Malware is a real threat. Bandwidth is a commodity that does have to be managed. There are federal regulations to meet---but they are actually very minimal. The FCC only requires them to filter out "potentially harmful images," and that is only for students---teachers have no restrictions in terms of access (as far as the feds are concerned).

Wake up.

Your IT department should not be deciding for your students or you what "inappropriate language" is for the content you teach. Your IT department should not be the TSA of your school district---telling your school board that every teacher is a threat to be groped in a security line. Your IT department, staffed by people who likely have not had their own classrooms, should not be defining what your role is as a teacher (i.e. we're all pedophiles). Most of all, your IT department should not be developing policy that tells you which websites you can access at home, who you connect with, and how you participate in your (online) community.

Wake up, teachers, before it is too late. Wake up, school boards. Wake up administrators. Quit assuming that your IT staff knows best when it comes to curriculum decisions. Stop allowing them to frighten you into thinking their ideas are more important than the needs of student learning---or that there is a Boogey Man waiting to steal children at every Web site. It's time to quit excusing yourself from discussions about Internet security because you think you won't understand the technical part---make IT explain it to you. Your unions will not help you with this. It is up to you to stand up for yourselves and for the students in your classroom.

You can do it.

As Time Goes By

2010-12-10T16:22:00.000-08:00

Six years ago today, I started this Little Blog That Could. So far, we've had:

1510 posts
2742 comments
370,245 visitors
3 template designs (the first was a Blogger template now lost to the ether, but the original custom version can be seen here)
3 URLs

Other statistics have not been tracked---like the changes to my sidebar, profile, and minor edits to posts. I have watched the Edusphere undergo some significant shifts over the years. We tell kids all the time to mind their "digital footprint" because online content lasts forever---but the 'net really is an impermanent place. So many of my early blog friends have disappeared. Time and space have different meanings and rules in this world.

Still other attributes of this space cannot be measured, such as the support from Readers and all the ways you've pushed my thinking and helped me grow in my work as an educator. Some of you have been with me for a long time. You've seen me through all sorts of shifts in my job, challenges in my personal life, and many reasons to celebrate. Thank you for all of that.

I (and others) have fought for this space, had it celebrated and showcased, lost sleep over it---but no matter what, I can't help but return here to share my messy thoughts and learn from you in return. You can't see it, but as I write this, I have some champagne at the ready. I will raise my glass to you and all that this little thread on the web has meant to me. To "What It's Like on the Inside." Long may she live.

Space: The Final Frontier

2010-12-08T18:50:00.000-08:00

I sat in on a horrifying webinar last week---more details will be forthcoming, but I wanted to share one piece and put out some food for thought to see if anyone wants to nibble.

We could sit here and poke holes in all of these, but I really want to raise some issues around Item 4. I realize that the words "should not" leave the door open a bit. My hunch, based on listening to the tech director from Duval County Public Schools, is that he really means "must not."

If so, I have a problem with this. My beef is that the district (and many others like it) are making an assumption that an online space should have different rules from meatspace. In other words, there is likely no Board Policy that a teacher and student shouldn't have a "social" connection through church, civic organizations, summer jobs (how many of us have hired students to babysit?), and so forth. What's the real difference if I remind a student via Facebook that there's a test next week vs. bumping into her at the grocery store and reminding her? How does a district that maintains its own social media presence (Duval has Facebook, Twitter, and Flickr accounts) regulate ethical use of the same tools for individuals?

Sure, there's a risk of the Creepy Treehouse effect in the online environment...but I can think of plenty of teachers who have been a little on the eager side of being "friends" with students in the real world. I grew up in a town so small you could hardly swing a proverbial cat without having an interaction with a teacher outside of school. I might mention that this was long before Teh Interwebs were around---and I can think of several instances where the...relationships...between teachers and students would be considered inappropriate. My point is simply that you don't need the web to be social or have a questionable interaction. If you have a Code of Professional Conduct, why does an online space need a separate policy at all?

Time to Grow Up

2010-12-08T04:51:00.000-08:00

I'm a firm believer that adults are responsible for shaping classroom instruction. This does not mean that students are excused from learning or should have no voice in getting what they need to reach that goal. But at the end of the day, educators and parents need to provide direction and support to students.

If you've been around this space awhile, you know that I don't think kids should be used as teaching tools. Struggling students need the expertise that comes with a teacher's understanding of how to break down tasks, alternative curriculum materials, and other supports. Other students need direction in how to extend and deepen their knowledge. None of this is new, but I am seeing a different sort of variant these days: Let the kids be the experts for tech integration.

Like the online safety considerations mentioned in my previous post, a lot of the "Aw, just let the kids teach it" mindframe comes from adults abdicating their responsibilities. Since kids know how to text message, why should I bother to learn? Google? Kid stuff. Blogs? Wikis? Too weird sounding---not my thing. Technology is changing too fast...I can't keep up.

I will say that "technology" is fairly diverse. I'm not a luddite, but I am definitely no expert on all the tools (both hardware and software) that are out there. I choose to be ignorant of most things Apple related because I don't agree with their form of censorship...but I can use a Mac (if I have to). When I do presentations involving cell phones, I am invariably asked for help with phones I have never seen before---and often struggle with. I do think it's a benefit to the classroom to have students who have backgrounds with a variety of tools so that they can help troubleshoot (or show new tricks and hacks). I don't have any issue with drawing upon that sort of expertise from students in the classroom.

I draw the line (again) at pedagogy. When we assume that students are ready to decide how the technology serves the learning goals of others in the room, I have a problem. If you're the teacher, then you need to provide that guidance. Again, it doesn't mean you have to know every thing about every tool---but do choose two or three and learn them well. Kids can help other kids troubleshoot, but you need to make the decisions about the classroom purpose for using them.

Roles and Responsibilities

2010-12-06T18:45:00.000-08:00

I have been thinking about online safety a lot as of late. Some of that has been related to one of the assessments we're developing. Another part has been the recent experience of a friend of mine with her teen daughter and anonymous harassment from afar. I also attended a webinar about "safe" use of social media in schools last week that actually made me nauseated (my colleague best summed up the experience when she said she felt dirty afterward). And then there was a thought-provoking on how Parents Struggle with Cyberbullying in Sunday's NYT.

I'll get into the specifics of the webinar later this week, but for now, let me say that my takeaway from all of these experiences in the past week is simply that there is no common definition of what it means to be "safe" online---and this is creating a lot of strife. One of the most striking things about the NYT article is that in each case, in spite of bullies being caught/punished, nearly no one was very happy with the outcome. Some parents thought the other parents should apologize. Other parents didn't think that what their kid did was a big deal. Parents who tried to help their children solve the problem often made the situation worse.

And schools? For the most part, they stayed out of it. I find this particularly interesting. Considering the number of stories (and lawsuits) about schools stepping in to punish what students post on Facebook or keep in their cell phones, it would appear that school administration only becomes involved when it serves their own own purpose. When a family brings up something from the outside, districts are reluctant to become involved. Most Acceptable Use Policies and filtering in schools are designed to squelch these conversations. If we block kids from Facebook, blogs, and wikipedia at school...we don't have to deal with the fallout at home, right? Here, too---we do not agree about what safe use of the Internet is.

All of this is really a cover for some more difficult things to define. One of the speakers in last week's webinar kept referencing "inappropriate language" on the Internet. I kept saying to my screen, "What does that mean? Who decides? Have you never been to a library?" Ditto for "obscene images" and "pornography." Somewhere in your school district, someone is deciding what these things are---and it probably isn't you. While I find it unlikely that we would all agree on what these things mean, I don't know that we'll ever get to Internet Safety without some guidelines around these.

At the end of the day, it is the responsibility of adults to make good decisions on behalf of our students (and include their input). What I see more and more of when it comes to technology is abdication of this role by the parent. My friend described the relief her daughter felt when the child's Facebook page was completely taken down and texting removed from the cell phone. The NYT article includes a similar story of relief on the part of the child and recognition by the parent that kids are not ready for shouldering all of the responsibilities that come with an online world. They need us as adults to step up for guidance. Will our schools ever be ready?

Island Hopping

2010-12-02T18:36:00.000-08:00

A couple of weeks ago, the Washington Post reported that West Potomac High was scrapping its new grading practices initiative. The policy was "mastery-based," or to use the vernacular around here: standards-based. But teachers, parents, and students upset by the change have forced the school to go back to its former grading policy.

Parents and teachers had complained in recent weeks about the new policies, implemented this school year, that largely replaced F's on first-quarter report cards and gave teachers the option of allowing students to retake tests when they were caught cheating. Friday's reversal surprised many of those who had raised objections.

"People were shocked, elated - hopeful that finally their concerns were being addressed," said Kate Van Dyck, a leader of Real World, Real Grades, which formed in opposition to the policies. "We're pleased that there've been some changes made, but we will continue to monitor this very closely in the future and expect to see opportunities for real community input prior to the implementation of policies."

Ouch.

I can only armchair quarterback here, but my hunch is that this policy, while well-intentioned, was top-down. There are few---and perhaps no---topics more taboo in a school than grading. These things must be done delicately, as Oz's Wicked Witch pointed out.

I don't know that wholesale change at a school or district level is possible with grading---or, if it is, the process is something that evolves and becomes a norm over many years. In between, I think you get a lot of lip service to one while the old practices stay on in an underground sort of way.

What I am finding is that there are lots of highly passionate islands of practice out there. Every week, I learn about a few more teachers who are at least interested in exploring different possibilities with grading and dipping a toe in the waters of change. And as glacial as this process may be, I have decided that I'm okay with that. I think this sort of change needs to be infectious. One enthusiastic teacher in a school will no doubt find another. Again, this isn't speedy...but it is a more sustainable option than mandates.

The longer I have a balcony view of things from a state-level job, the more and more convinced I am that change is really about personal relationships...and all the better if they are one to one and face to face. And the edubeast is so large that it really prohibits these sorts of interactions---except at the teacher-to-teacher level. As much as I would love to sit down and have a beverage with every teacher in the state and kick around topics, it's unlikely that will happen. But, I can support a few who then connect with others. Maybe that's all we need.

Students Can Do No Better Than the Work They Are Given

2010-11-23T05:35:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago, I helped a high school kid with some chemistry homework. The student attends one of the top schools in the state---if you just go by test scores. It draws from a upper middle class - downright wealthy population: a place where children want for nothing.

Or perhaps I have been mistaken about that. The quality of work assigned to the student was abysmal.

There was a word search for element names. A. Word. Search. Kids were going to be graded on it. The student also had a "game" where they were given a clue (rather obscure in most cases) and had to figure out the name of the element. If you were 15-years old today, would you think that "Osmium" goes with "Donny and Marie's family"? I told the kid to hit "teh Googles" for those answers. She looked shocked at such a suggestion---as if I'd just told her to cheat. I tried to nicely state that a poor assignment---which will contribute nothing toward her understanding of the elements---is not worth her suffering. In truth, it's not worth her attention, either, but for a student who was already struggling, there was no need to avoid playing the grade game with the easy stuff.

Lest you think I had been called in because the student couldn't do the word search, I can assure you that this was not the case. There had been previous homework assigned for another chemistry concept (specific heat) and the student had not been able to grasp it. We looked at that homework, too. They were problem sets. The teacher had marked some of the ones which were wrong (the scores on the front of the paper made no sense in connection with the red x's elsewhere), but had provided no comments. Most of the problems were okay---about where you'd expect to see them aimed for student knowledge and abilities---but there were a few which were ridiculous. So, the student and I went through things as best we could. We did find some common errors on her part and made a list of "things to remember" so she could self-check along the way.

When our session was over, I was good and steamed at the teacher. I can't believe he's getting away with such crappy assignments in a school where performance is lauded and helicopter parents are de rigeur. But then, the time I spent in a similar school was no different. The vast majority of teachers were quite lazy about the quality of work they required because they could be. What I mean is, when your class is full of privileged children, a teacher doesn't have to work quite as hard. This doesn't mean that they shouldn't---or that all teachers in that situation take advantage---just that those kids have had all sorts of access to other learning experiences (relatives in a variety of professions, trips to the zoo or cultural events, etc.) that they bring with them. Their background knowledge will carry them as far as the standards prescribe. And if you're measured by test scores, it's far enough. The teacher doesn't have much of a gap to address.

But the broader issue for me is that this guy is giving homework a bad name.

There seems to be quite a bit of homework-bashing going on in the Edusphere this fall. There are some good reasons for this---especially if a word search is keeping your family from spending time together. I can think of any number of poor assignments teachers give (and yes, I've assigned them, too). But if we could strip away the stupid stuff, the need the for homework---the need for practice---would still be there. We do not expect drama students or athletes or musicians to perform solely based upon their in-class experience. Should we expect the same for reading, math, or other concepts? We need to change the focus of the conversation from "Ban homework" to "Ban poorly constructed assignments."

I couldn't do anything for the student with the word search in terms of making that problem go away. I did talk with the mom some, gave her some coaching in terms of what to ask the teacher and how to phrase things. It may or may not make a difference, but I hope it will cause the teacher to think a little bit before he pulls out the next ancient worksheet in the file to hand to students. He has great students, no doubt. They, and all students, deserve great opportunities to show what they know.

Slow Down, You Crazy Child

2010-11-21T19:05:00.000-08:00

Doyle and I flirted with the idea of putting in a proposal for Educon on the "Slow Teaching Movement." I won't attempt to speak for Dr. D., but for me, the idea was generated from a post last spring when I had more or less had it with the Tech Zealot constituency. For those of you who read Doyle's blog, you know that he is focused on experience---his own observations and interactions with the world as well as the ones he wants for students. The Tech Zealot community---many of whom flock to Educon---is not. On one hand, it would seem important to remind them that it is okay for kids to do offline things. We should encourage student explorations that involve every sense, from the way a book feels in your hands when you read it to how planting and tending a garden is not the same as a simulation. Experiencing an exhibit at a museum is far different from seeing/hearing it on a flat screen. We should really think about slowing down what happens in the classroom and give students the time they need to immerse themselves in learning one piece at a time. Maybe it's time to push back a bit on the digital revolution and put tech in its proper place---as a tool, not a goal.

I've come to realize in the last few months that the Tech Zealots have a viewpoint so entrenched that they are unable to hear anything but their own whiny echo. Therefore, there's no point in spending my time and money on Educon. There are plenty Champions-of-the-Things to deal with in my own back yard.

I was thinking about all of this again this morning after reading the NYT piece on Growing Up Digital, Wired for Distraction. The article illustrates how some students are "caught between two worlds...one that is virtual and one that with real-life demands." The student who is the main subject of the article observes that after getting a computer and Internet access, he "realized there were choices. Homework wasn’t the only option.” Hilarity ensues as technology is portrayed as a necessary evil. Parents are unwilling to encroach too much on how their children use it ("If you’re not on top of technology, you’re not going to be on top of the world."), educators want to tame it for the classroom, and kids are learning to negotiate how much GPA to sacrifice in order to gain time on Facebook.

I have not read the research referenced in the article---I can't comment on its rigor. It seems to be in line with similar research I've seen. The comments are familiar, too...although I wonder if families living in poverty would say the same things. But, I do have a couple of takeaways.

First, parents need to realize that they are the adults in the parent-child relationship. If your child is staying on the computer until the wee hours and updating their Facebook status at 2 a.m., then move the computer to a family area and insist on boundaries regarding its use. Help kids learn how to manage their attention and budget their time, if they are struggling to do so. It is your task to guide their choices. Don't use the presence of a cell phone or iPad to excuse yourself from that.

The bigger message for me is about the classroom, because educators can be enablers, too. For much of my career, I had conversations with kids about "doing the difficult thing." Sometimes it was not dropping an advanced class. Sometimes it was completing a project...or trying out for a spot on a sports team. The point was to help a student understand the power of not giving up. Maybe you don't always finish the way you dream it will be---but you live through it and learn something about yourself in the process. I wonder if our fervor to embrace the newer and faster, that we are forgetting the benefits of wallowing in experience. How do we slow things down in the classroom so that students can "soak" in the learning and put technology in a supporting role?

Non-Sense

2010-11-13T09:09:00.000-08:00

Recently, I was at a meeting that ended when one of the organizers said, "Well, I got what I needed." I immediately had flashbacks to a couple of really bad dates. All that was missing was the sound of a zipper.

I bit the inside of my lip and looked down at the table, struggling not to laugh at the sheer absurdity and abuse of "leadership" embedded in that statement. I've been thinking about this and other non-examples ever since.

I don't want to be around leaders who don't care about the personal relationships they build with others. I'm not saying that you have to be friends with everyone. You don't have to spend time together outside of the workplace. But if you have no interest in people for who they are---if you never ask about their family, hobbies, travel/holiday plans, or something---if you are all automaton and no humanity---I will have little respect for your office goals. We are not our jobs. If you can't treat the people who work for you better than that, don't be surprised when you don't get the results you're looking for.

A position of leadership can make for a very full calendar. Don't add things to it if you have no intention of following through. Don't tell people you think their work is important and you're excited about participating, only to never show up (and never apologize for the absence). Sure---unexpected events arise. Double-bookings happen. Meetings get moved in time, scope, and space. People get sick. Sometimes your boss will make the decision about priorities. These are realities that should be accommodated. But at least be gracious enough to communicate with others about your plans and choices.

Most of all, don't be the leader who thinks they have all the answers and never listens. If you really do have the answers you want, don't call a pretend meeting because you think others will feel better having "input." We can see through that. A couple of months ago, we invited a "leader" from another division to get some background about our assessment process. And after she'd moved the meeting twice (the first time to a date neither of us were available; and the second one to a time well after the end of my workday), she spent the first 15 minutes yapping at us about what she wanted and needed. So not impressed with that. There was no attempt to seek to understand---and several of the pieces of information we'd prepared went back to the office with us. It was quite obvious that her own selfish interests were all that could ever matter to her.

The problem, of course, is that most of us are stuck having to work with leadership like this at one point or another. Someone who is sterile, selfish, or lacks integrity has likely been that way for a long time. Professional development or a directive from higher up in the food chain is not going to change those qualities. What can you do? Here are my strategies:

Do good work. Do it for better reasons than what an incompetent boss provides. Do it in ways that get you noticed outside of your workspace and connect you to others with your values.
Laugh---a lot.
Be the sort of example you wish the leadership would set. It won't change them, but it will change the variety of relationships you have and create a space away from the ridonkulousness of whoever thinks they're in charge.
Minimize your contact with poor leadership. This isn't always possible---we can't ignore meeting requests just because someone is a jerk---but go with some way to occupy your hands and mind while the clock ticks away and the "leader" thinks everything is ducky. Do your seat time and make no promises---then get out and play and do something that makes you feel alive and significant. Afterward, go back and do the job you know needs to be done.

I will, unfortunately, be required to repeat my experience meeting with the organizers mentioned at the start of this post. But there is something very freeing in learning how to disconnect myself from their self-important chatter. After all, I don't work for them. I work for the teachers and children in this state. And they don't have time for such nonsense.

The Flock

2010-11-11T18:18:00.000-08:00

I'm deeper than knee-deep in assessment development at the moment---both my creative energy and the one set aside for writing will continue to be focused elsewhere for a few more weeks. If there is one point that was driven home to me more than any other this week, it is that it is even more critical to get things done right in the six months or so we have left on this project. Legislatures are fickle things: Their budget needs from biennium to biennium are never the same.This may be the one and only cycle we have time and money to create assessments.

My work is the youth at the table amongst older and more experienced assessments. It's a bit like going for tea with one's old biddy aunts---the jealous ones who are passive-aggressive in their reminders that one day, you will be just as wrinkled and saggy as they are. These sadder-but-wiser assessments developed nearly half a decade before us are starting to show significant signs of aging. Alas, there is no funding for facelifts and tummy tucks, the Legislature having turned its fickle eyes elsewhere in the intervening years. All of this a healthy reminder for me to build classroom tools that can stay toned and fit---to not just do what feels good now, but keep an eye on the future.

This is not simple. In fact, it's rather heavy. Whatever faces the outside world must be the very best it can be: meaningful learning experiences, deeply aligned to standards, and reflecting best practices in instruction and assessment (including Universal Design, interventions, and enrichment). Instructions must be crystal clear and ready to be interpreted by pre-service teachers and 40-year classroom veterans alike. Supporting materials have to be flexible enough for the range of Internet filters, bandwidth, and ability levels. Professional development materials need to be rich enough to support a single teacher in a remote district or one involved in department or PLC work in an urban area.

Can we do it? Other than having to breathe into a paper bag now and then, I'm starting to think that yes, we can. I have such an amazing group of teachers to work with. Their vision of what they want to do for their peers is breathtaking in its ambition and their commitment unwavering. We will make it happen.

I'm in this odd little space at the moment as I work over the first drafts. Each assessment is different and has its own personality. Some are easy to raise into independence. Others are real stinkers to work with and test my patience. I am sure that, like a good parent, I am supposed to say that I love them all the same...but I've never been much for doing what is expected. I am brooding the most extraordinary little flock of assessments in all the land...and am anxious to introduce them to you in a few months.

Then and Now

2010-10-29T06:45:00.000-07:00

According to Blogger, this is my 1500th post: a pittance compared to Bora, but not too shabby for a little edublog. This site contains the drips and drabs of my career and thoughts about public education. Whether they have been worthy of so many posts is a decision for The Reader. A lot has changed for me over the almost six years I've had this space, but I will save that brand of nostalgia for another time. Instead, I find myself wondering about the changes to teaching over the past few decades.

My mother is in the picture on the right. It was September 1969, just after she turned 23 and was beginning her second year of teaching. Me? I'm the barely visible bump underneath her dress. (Even as a fetus, I was in a classroom...not that I recall that particular experience.) I'm kind of a problem (yes, already). Being unwed and pregnant as a public school teacher in 1969 was "not simple," as my mother once said. She taught until Remembrance Day, then quit and stayed hidden in a local hotel until I made my appearance a couple of months later. After handing me over to the government to find a new home, she moved on with her life and career.

When I finally did meet her, she was still teaching and working part-time in her school as an administrator. I never got to see her teach (she usually had a Grade 1 classroom), but stories from former colleagues and students suggest that she was excellent.

On the left, we have my father. This picture was taken on the same outing as the one of my mother. He, too, was a teacher---elementary music. He is 30 in this photo, but also a second-year teacher. He had worked for the CBC and lived in his parents' basement for most of his 20's before escaping into a different life and career...one where he sowed lots of wild oats (although we think I am the only one that sprouted) and started a decades-long affair with alcohol. I don't know much about his skills as a teacher. I never had very many conversations with him, and his advanced Parkinson's symptoms made things even more difficult. His girlfriend at the time---who was still teaching---seemed to think a lot of his abilities. I hope that he inspired a lot of children to love music.

I have been thinking about these stories, along with those of every other former teacher I have known, as the 2010 pot swirls about educational matters. Has teacher quality changed in the past few decades---are the characteristics which now define a "good" teacher different from the 1970s...the 1950's...or the 1850's? Have teachers always suffered from the madonna-whore syndrome: at once expected by society to have no besmirches upon their personal escutcheons while carrying out the heavy demands placed upon schools? Have teachers and schools been continually vilified and perceived as not doing their jobs well? Did my mother and father feel as overworked and underappreciated in 1970 as my friends who teach today? In other words, has the world changed while teachers have remained the same?

It's not that I think there will be a resolution to the push and pull between what society thinks it wants its teachers to do and what actually happens. Rather, I would like us to realize that while the world we live in may change, people do not. A six-year old is a six-year old. Perhaps she is dressed differently from year to year...perhaps he has access to different information. But the human needs and growth remain the same. Relationships are built in the same ways. Teachers who see a new batch of 6-year olds every year may remember these things, but a society which has long forgotten what it is like to be six does not.

Somewhere behind those pictures...behind this blog...behind the at-large rhetoric about education are real people. Remembering that means that then and now aren't so different. It just means that we have to keep that important piece in our sights.

Epilogue: After my mother died last year, we found this children's book. It had originally been given to my aunt, who was all of 5-years old when I was born; however, at some point, it had returned to my mother for use in her classroom. We returned the book to my aunt, but not before I snapped a picture of the note on the title page. I think it is the only "public" piece I've ever seen where my mother acknowledged my father. I also thought the story choice was a bit...interesting. Who else but a secretly pregnant woman who can't see her family for Christmas would send a story about a woman who was in danger of losing her firstborn child? Here's hoping that pregnant and unmarried female educators have a simpler time of things now.

Memory Lane

2010-10-23T10:15:00.000-07:00

This is my new BFF. It is a Canon Pixma MX340...a replacement for my 5 year old HP all-in-one that gave up the ghost months ago.

It has been my quest the past few months to methodically go through my house and pare down my "stuff." I do this every 2 - 3 years and am always surprised at what I find. This round, I have tried to be especially thorough. There is not a single drawer, cabinet, or box anywhere in the house that I haven't completely sorted through (except for the Christmas stuff...but it's time is coming). I have looked at every book, every keepsake, every piece of clothing, dish, linen, and tool. There have been trips to the dump, to Goodwill, and items moved out via Craigslist. Yesterday, I bundled up all of my old electronics: an ancient (i.e. 7-year old) laptop, the HP all-in-one, 5 cell phones, 2 zip drives, 2 cameras, a Palm Lifedrive, and countless chargers and cables. For $10, Office Depot graciously accepted them all and boxed them up for e-cycling. And I came home with my new friend.

I need this friend. You see, it has an automatic document feeder on the top and wireless capabilities. And here at home, I have a few boxes of files that I want to digitize. Lots of paper from my career never had an electronic form. They were copies handed to me at conferences, dittos from early in my career, articles from my own schooling, and so forth. As I've been sorting this summer, I've realized that I'm not ready to put my teaching career in the recycling bin---but it is not so great that all these little treasures are starting to smell like basement. This is where my BFF comes in. Now, I can easily scan anything I want to hold onto---and across the room, no less---and it will magically appear on my computer desktop, ready to keep and share with others. I'll archive, make a backup copy, and then I can recycle the hard copies from my career.

I started with a milk crate of files this morning. I'm about halfway through, although I've already sorted what I want to scan and what I don't need to keep. It's been a fabulous little journey down memory lane: creativity tests for gifted kids...intriguing labs...interviews students did with polio survivors...projects...and so forth. Since I didn't get the fancy-dancy version of the all-in-one, I can't do 2-sided scanning. But, I can merge things with Acrobat Writer and all will be well.

I plan to upload and share some things here. Perhaps some of my old favourites might find new life in your classrooms. Maybe that little Canon can be your BFF, too.

Here's Johnny!

2010-10-16T13:38:00.000-07:00

I'm bushed. Three conferences in a week is a lot...especially after the previous week contained three separate (but informal) presentations on the new assessments, too. I am the freakin' Johnny Appleseed of EdTech Assessmentland: planting little seeds of ideas that I hope will bloom all over the state.

Things I've learned during conference season:

I don't care what content area it is, the teacher archetypes appear in all of them. You know what I'm talking about. Whether it's the jaded veteran or the person who has to bring up the same point over and over again, everyone has their role in the discussion. I know I shouldn't be surprised by this, but it amuses me to see it in such a wide variety of settings.
I will not claim that our tools are going to lead to widespread change. What I do find interesting, however, is that someone in each group I've worked with has commented that they feel like the finally have something that will lead to conversation and collaboration with another group. IT staff thought they had the basis for a discussion with curriculum...librarians have a link to CTE...and so on. The fact is, they don't need us for any of that. Catalyzing those connections is an unintentional, but fortuitous, consequence.
We're on the right track with these assessments. Sure, not everyone is going to love them and use them. And people in the room who thought our work sucked probably kept quiet and will use the anonymous survey instead. All comments---even the ugly ones---can be used for learning and improving what we have. For example, someone didn't like the arts/edtech assessment we developed because a teacher might have to teach something new---why not just have kids research a piece of tech and do a powerpoint instead? And while we won't go that direction with our work, what those sorts of comments tell me is that we have to do a better job communicating with the field about what's in our standards and why we've made the choices that we have. There needs to be more foundation built.
Because of the enthusiastic reception (so far), I am a little freaked out about our writing sessions this fall. We're going to fly without a net. Instead of building onto existing assessments for social studies and arts, we're going to create brand new pieces that integrate a variety of content. Social science and math? Math and engineering? Epidemiology? Criminalistics? The curriculum world is our veritable oyster. This is a wonderful thing...but also makes for a very big world. We can't write about everything. We need to carefully select 6 or 7 topics. How to choose these? Can we write them in a week...which is all the time we have? I'm gettin' the sweats just thinking about it. These things have to kick ass and chew bubblegum. (Kind of like this, but without bullets.) I believe in my assessment group...just gotta believe a little in myself, too.

I have the upcoming week to catch my breath from conference season. The next one will be in March (3 conferences in three states that month) and I will have a whole new set of information to share by then. This is a process which has many miles to go before I can sleep. But next year, I hope to watch the seeds I've planted grow and bloom.

STEM Dissection

2010-10-12T04:57:00.000-07:00

As I mentioned in yesterday's post, my assessment group will be focusing on constructing some classroom tools which integrate and measure STEM and Educational Technology. In preparation, I have been asking for ideas from a variety of people and looking at countless online resources. After all of this, and in spite of being a science teacher for 17 years, I have decided that I really don't know what the hell STEM is.

At the surface level, the acronym represents science, technology (but not educational technology), engineering, and math. What I can't tell is whether this is supposed to just be a broad category of subjects...or something special that integrated two or more pieces.

Most of the STEM-touting Web sites I've seen for educators are very silo-like. Science lessons here...math lessons there. You might find a resource that addresses both science and math concepts or science and engineering---but the connections are forced...the alignment artificial. (And you know how much I hate that.) And don't get me started on the technology stuff. It's all hardware.

Maybe this is okay. Maybe it's really meant to be S-T-E-M, without any fusing between the areas. Somehow, I thought the integration and connection between content pieces should be the focus. Or maybe it's all of the above: Wild STEM, refusing to be tamed.

I just find it interesting that with all the talk and money being thrown at STEM these days, there is no standard for what it is. My hunch is that a lot of groups will say that they're all STEM, all the time in order to get some funding...but they have no more clue what they're doing than any other group. Is that really what we want?

While none of this will be sorted out before my group needs to write, I am fairly certain that we're going to go with an integrated model---not simply science + edtech or math + edtech. And maybe, just maybe, we'll prove that educational technology is "T" enough for STEM.

Terms of Engagement

2010-10-11T04:58:00.000-07:00

Later this month, my assessment group will be reconvening to do some more writing. I haven't seen them since June and really have missed them. They spend time with other teachers every day. I rarely do---and their energy is restorative to me. In exchange, I try to give them rich professional learning experiences.

One of the things that I have been wrestling with---and will ask them to wade through---is some definition around two adjectives: relevant and authentic.

Education is replete with calls for learning opportunities which are "relevant" to the student. Until recently, I hadn't thought about this term much. I was part of a discussion recently where someone pointed out that adults have to deal with problems all the time which aren't relevant to them. Ever had a co-worker/spouse/child drop an issue in your lap? Suddenly, someone else's problem becomes yours. "Authentic" has its own issues. I have always assumed that authentic was interchangeable with "real world." Maybe it still is.

Both of these terms require some sort of context---relevant for whom? authentic as compared to ? Dan Meyer has been exploring pseudocontext over on his blog: "authentic" examples of math that are bastardized to create a problem for students to solve.

As much as I want to avoid this as we move forward with the EdTech Assessments, I have also been struggling to find examples of STEM concepts that aren't chock full of pseudocontext. I am beginning to wonder if this is a de facto piece, especially for younger students.

For example, are there authentic and relevant problems for first graders to solve that involve knowledge and skills from science, math, and technology? I can think of topics that integrate these. I can easily picture providing students with some materials science experience and then having them design a new home for the Three Little Pigs. I can make connections with science and math concepts (properties of materials, measurement, etc.). Knowledge of the attributes of different materials can be very useful. But I have to admit that a first grader is not going to be out building houses anytime soon. Does this make the experience irrelevant---just because it is not as applicable when 7 years old? Have we created something that isn't authentic because primary students aren't responsible for real world engineering/architecture---or is it because we might try to tie this to a literary piece that they understand? Or, is it okay to build background knowledge of materials and design in age-appropriate ways that can become relevant and authentic later in life?

Even with older students who have some additional life experience in them, I'm not sure that we ever get to "relevant." I think it's easier for them to make the bridge to "authentic," but it's still somewhat artificial. I'm not sure what that will mean as my assessment continues to build tools for the classroom. I'm hoping that we can find some peace with these terms of student engagement.

Breakin' the Law

2010-10-10T08:10:00.000-07:00

Every once in awhile, I see a piece about dumb laws (now there's even a Web site devoted to them). These are laws which were enacted at some point in the past, and as society and technology moved forward, the law was forgotten...but still left on the books. For example, in Washington state

All motor vehicles must be preceded by a man carrying a red flag (daytime) or a red lantern (nighttime) fifty feet in front of said vehicle.
It is mandatory for a motorist with criminal intentions to stop at the city limits and telephone the chief of police as he is entering the town.
All lollipops are banned.

Furthermore, in Seattle it is still illegal for anyone to carry a concealed weapon that is more than six feet in length. Let that be a lesson to you, fair citizens and visitors to our state.

These are, technically, enforceable. It takes a lot of time and effort to repeal laws, and so they stay in the code and we just pretend they aren't there. Other laws may be broken on purpose in the name of a civil disobedience cause---and society condones that sort of activity, too.

How do we know when it is okay to break the rules?

I was thinking about this after yesterday's presentation on cell phones. What I hear from teachers who are not opposed to using cell phones as instructional tools almost always goes along with this: cell phone use by students during the school day is expressly forbidden (or has many restrictions for place/time) by district or school policy. These same teachers know that when they do allow students to use the phones for instructional purposes that they and the students are not in compliance. While in my professional capacity I might not be able to condone that, I also don't discourage it.

Board policy can suffer in similar ways to "dumb laws." I've seen Acceptable Use Policies (AUP) for districts that are seven years old (and older). Think of all the ways technology and access have changed in the past seven years: increase in mobile devices (cell phones, iPads, netbooks...), wireless capabilities, bandwidth/broadband to more areas, more online tools (blogs, wikis, YouTube, Facebook). An AUP can get antiquated in a hurry. Meanwhile, at the school level, you have more flexibility---but can have the fight between personal opinions. For cell phones, this often takes the form of extremes. And really, do you want to spend your "bored meeting" time listening to the "no way no how" types vs. "teach responsible use" camps?

Instead, the path of least resistance is just to use your professional judgment and hope your administrator isn't one to be hellbent on enforcing the cell phone ban. Personally, I think a good compromise would be to include something like the one below (from the Uni High Student Handbook):

Students may have silenced mobile devices on their person. The use of Communication features on cellular devices during instructional time, or in a disruptive manner in the school atmosphere, is prohibited.

Note: Each teacher has the right to allow the use of mobile devices (e.g. cell phones, laptops, iPods, personal data assistants) during Instructional time.

The school has separate expectations for phones during regular school hours and during extracurricular activities. What I like about this policy is that it leaves the decision up to the teacher. You can set your own expectations. You choose what makes sense.

What a concept.

There are times in both society and school where a common code makes sense. But there also comes a time when we need to look carefully at our values and check to ensure that match what we communicate to stakeholders. In the meantime, this one's for all the teachers out there who are putting themselves on the line in the name of using technology in the classroom: