At the Teacher's Desk

Reflections on #EdCampStL 2012

2012-02-17T17:00:00.000-08:00


Wheel of a Handmade Cart found at Jefferson National Expansion Memorial

I wrote two posts on my experiences from the first EdCampKC: A Rather Painful Reflection and The Don'ts of Attending EdCampKC. Feel free to read them.

Attending an EdCamp is different than attending a typical conference. When you show up there is an understanding that the day's learning is supposed to be fluid. The biggest barrier to entry is not knowing the people that are in attendance. Strike that, actually going with people you know may be an even bigger barrier!

EdCamps are about sharing and learning together. A big part of your experience should be spent finding people to talk to so that you can create relationships that allow you to learn from others over years instead of hours. I strive to take time to appreciate the people that I have made friendships with online when I finally meet them face to face. If you come with others, don't spend all your time with them. The more people you meet, the better your experience will be.

I was fortunate enough to have my wife Dianna and my eldest daughter Teal also go. We didn't attend the same session because we have different interests and different needs. This is important to recognize. You are there to learn to be a better teacher, identify your interests or your deficits and go for it. Let your friends do the same with theirs.

In retrospect I didn't learn any earth shaking new tools or methods that I can employ immediately so that my students all become elligible for Mensa but I created more opportunities to learn through creating stronger bonds with my online friends. That was well worth the personal day and the 5 1/2 hour one way drive it took to get there.

How About Unconferences for Students?

2012-02-16T16:46:00.000-08:00

I am thinking about extending what I have experienced to my students. What about having an unconference for them?

My idea would be to have an evening or a Saturday where students would have the opportunity to come together to share their passions. I realize that a 50 minute time limit would probably be way to daunting for most but the eldest students, so I think we could adopt some of the times used at teachmeets. We could have 7 minute presentations, 2 minute presentations, or others of various lengths. These smaller times would also work much better for an evening (and more accessible for younger students).

I do have questions that need to be worked through:

Could the students sign up ahead of time so that they could be scheduled and have opportunities to practice their presentations? If so, would that go against the spirit of the unconference?
Would this be a student led only conference or would adults be allowed to present as well? If so, they could fill gaps in the presentation and perhaps have to wait to sign up the night/day of the conference thereby keeping some of the spirit of the unconference.
It seems like it would be easy to plan. I would need to get access to the school and advertise. Am I missing something significant?

Can You Present at a Tech Conference Without the Tech Being Your Main Focus?

2012-02-16T09:47:00.000-08:00

At the Midwest Education Technology Conference I presented a session called Differentiating Instruction Using Basal Readers. Here is a link to my presentation. As you can see it isn't very flashing (heck it isn't even what I would call engaging!) The presentation was made this way on purpose, I didn't want to make my session about tools, examples, or flash.

I think that there is way too much focus on tech tools at technology conferences. If we truly believe that the goal of school is student learning, tools would be ubiquitous (including hardware and software tools). Exposure to these tools are important, but not the most important thing we can share. While we do need these types of sessions, we really need sessions that model how learning is happening in classes with those tools.

I new that my session title would be very noticeable. There was no word in the title that suggested technology or tools. Here is the description of the session:

"Are you required to use a basal reading series in your classroom? Would you like to find ways to integrate technology and help students differentiate their own learning opportunities? Join William as he describes how his students used digital tools such as bogs, Paint, Audacity, iTunes, and iPods in reading class. Learn how to let go of teaching and have your students engage in learning."

The focus of my session was to show how I allow students to choose the tools they need, digital or analog, to help themselves learn. I did share a few tools that were used regularly by my students including Visuwords for vocabulary but I did not dwell on them. I intentionally kept the discussion on the ways I helped the students learn how to learn vocabulary, skills, and comprehension.

After the presentation I reviewed the evaluations I received from the attendees. I did receive a couple that had the technology parts marked down, including the less than engaging slides I created. Overall the evaluations were very good. I even had one comment that said it was the most useful session for their classroom they had attended. So, I guess you really can give a presentation at a tech conference without the focus being on the technology.

Are EdCamps Too Technocentric?

2012-01-13T09:40:00.000-08:00

Image by Scott Warren

As I prepare mentally for #EdCampStL next month I think about what I would like to see offered for break out sessions. I think that there is real opportunity to have conversations about curriculum, discipline, and teaching methods, but I worry that most of these conversations will somehow revolve around technology.

I understand that many of us that are aware or becoming aware of these opportunities find out about them online or from others who are online. I would suspect this skews the audience towards those that prefer to use technology in the classroom. Does this intimidate other teachers attending? I suspect we are missing very large groups of teachers because they don't know about the events yet, or they are scared off by the perceived attention toward technology.

Is this true? If so, what can we do to involve more diverse groups of teachers?

The New, Cool Tech Activity Doesn't Fit My Curriculum!

2012-01-09T05:57:00.000-08:00

Being in a classroom where there is no set curriculum I have the luxury of being able to do just about anything that I want to with my students. Having my class in a computer lab makes it very easy to use online tech tools with my students too. I am the obviously the exception, not the rule.

The strange thing is I still have goals and objectives for my students and they don't always mesh up with what is going on in the ed tech universe. There have been a lot of tech tools being adopted by my Twitter friends that I have little desire to incorporate into my classroom. A lot of the tools simply don't do anything that furthers my students understanding of concepts I think are important.

Occasionally something does come up that I find very intriguing and see a lot of great learning opportunities coming from it. That doesn't mean I will immediately jump into it with both feet though. Here are a few reasons why:

My students are usually doing projects that require at least a week to do, most take much longer. I (usually) can't stop to throw something new at them.
My goal for my class is for students to bridge the divide between using digital tools and their regular content areas. If we are working on a project for science, the "new thing" may not fit into the content area goals.
I need time to really think about using new tools/ideas in my classroom to make sure that the time they use is a real benefit to my students now and in the future. I have them for a semester one hour a day.

Do I feel guilty hearing about the students' reactions to teachers using these tools? Absolutely! Does that affect my decision making? I hope not. The time I spend with my students is their time, not mine. My job is to do what is best for them and sometimes that means not doing the new, cool tech activity.

Where Great Teaching Begins Chapter 2

2012-01-08T12:52:00.000-08:00

The title for this chapters is Objectives as the Foundation for Learning-Focused Instruction. The author spends quite a bit of time explaining very plainly how objectives should be created and what the focus of the objectives should be.

One thing that particularly stood out was that the objectives need to be decided on before the activities are chosen. This may seem obvious, but there are plenty of times where I decide I want to do an activity and shoe-horn it into an objective that kind of fits. (Actually, I confess I am a master of finding objectives to fit whatever I choose to do.)

A suggested exercise is to pretend that the students can you "I can" statements to focus on the learning objectives. Will the student be able to say "I can identify and label the phases of the moon"? If they can, then the activity probably met the objective successfully.

A great statement in the chapter is "Practice occurs during learning, while achievement is demonstrated knowledge. Objectives describe achievement, not practice." This fits with my thinking that giving grades for practice, either homework or daily work, is pretty dumb. They won't reflect what is learned, only what has been done (which are not the same thing.)

Reeves, Anne R.. Where great teaching begins: planning for student thinking and learning. Alexandria, Va.: ASCD, 2011. Print.

Student Reactions to a Semester of Team Teaching 7th Grade Science

2012-01-04T07:19:00.000-08:00

Mr. Mayher and I co-teach 7th grade science this year. We have been asked to do a quick presentation on co-teaching at our school and Mr. Mayher wanted to have some of the students talk a little about how it has impacted them.

Examples of Blogging from New Zealand

2012-01-02T01:07:00.000-08:00

Schools just been completed for 2011 in New Zealand and while I haven't personally posted here in a while for various reasons its something that I intend to rectify in the coming school year. Recently I became aware of some work that I though thoroughly deserved a wider audience and that many people could benefit from seeing, teacher, educators and students.

Allanh King, is an ICT Co-ordinator in Nelson New Zealand and a teacher. She has for some time been responsible for exceptional work in the ICT field. One of the things that she's recently complied is a list of excellence in education in New Zealand, linked with examples of each. There's some wonderful work from educators all over New Zealand from 2011, at different levels of schooling. The link to the collective work is here.

There's examples of work to inspire, work to encourage and some fantastic ideas for online work. She is also responsible for the fantastic work at Appleby School and the wonderful class blog Moturoa - if you haven't checked that out you can do so by clicking here. She also has a professional blog that you can view by clicking here.

Good Fences Make Lousy Families

2011-12-18T18:21:00.001-08:00

There has been quite the back and forth over the past month regarding the pro's and con's of awards in education and the edublogosphere. This post isn't about whether I am for or against them, it is about why this conversation resonates year after year.

When I first started going online to learn from other teachers I started looking for class blogs that I could steal ideas from. Soon I noticed others looking at my class blog and even sometimes commenting on something I posted. This was (and still is) an incredibly motivating experience, a kind of peer approval badge. In effect, someone like me liked what I was doing.

I suspect many of us have felt out of place before in our schools. We tend to be the "geeks" or "nerds", not usually the most popular (and yes, even as adults that makes a difference so don't bother protesting.) But, when we found each other online things changed. We became much more than popular, we became accepted. We became family.

I am not saying that we are sympathetic protagonists that changed from caterpillars to butterflies when we created a PLN cocoon. It is just that we now live in what we covet for our students, a community of people that truly care and share with each other. We have discovered that the real value of the internet is in how it can bring us together, not with content delivery.

So, what does this have to do with the aforementioned debate over blogging awards? The tone of the debate is more important than what the debate is about. Our community is building fences. Robert Frost understood when he wrote "something there is that doesn't love a wall" that walls are isolating. I don't want to be isolated anymore, I have lived most of my life being alone (even in a room full of other students). Good fences may make good neighbors, but they make lousy families.

Where Great Teaching Begins Chapter 1

2011-11-29T07:59:00.001-08:00

Something I don't do enough is intentionally read education books. I mean I have them and sometimes will read a chapter or so, but I have no real intention to read the whole book and really think about the concepts. So this year I decided to join ASCD, and actually do some reading. The first book I received from them is Where Great Teaching Begins by Anne Reeves.

I am committing myself to reading and (more importantly) thinking about this book and as such I am going to write a blog post for each chapter. Here are my thoughts on chapter one.

Reeves identifies the purpose of instructional design to make student learning the focus of planning. While this seems like a 'duh' statement, it really hit me. I have always been the guy that says I can link any activity to curriculum. You want to watch a movie about space pirates that become furniture movers, I am the guy that can tell you how to justify it. Obviously, this is a real problem.

I am probably changing my teaching assignment next semester and am already trying to make a plan for how I want to teach the year. Since I am a big history geek I am planning on using that as my big theme and tying in the rest of the curriculum into it. I don't think that will be very difficult, but I really have to make sure I don't pick activities that I want them to do over choosing the learning they need. My plan is to have a broad outline of the year in place before Christmas so I can start fitting in the learning my students need (see, I am already applying what I am learning from the book :).

Another thing that struck me about this chapter is the last section "So Who Are Lesson Plans Really For?" The answer is for the teacher, administrator, and the students. When I read it my first thought was about having students help write the plans. It would seem that the persons most effected by the plan should have some voice in it. What do you think?

Reeves, Anne R.. Where great teaching begins: planning for student thinking and learning. Alexandria, Va.: ASCD, 2011. Print.

The Real Value of Using Technology in Your Classroom

2011-11-02T09:27:00.000-07:00

The real value of using technology in your classroom is not:

student engagement- If you want better student engagement, design better lessons.
the "cool" factor- see above
21st century skills- Identify what that means first, then we will talk.
parent involvement- Do we really need to make more excuses for unengaged parents?
learning how to keyboard- I won't even dignify this one with a response #oopsIguessIjustdid

The real value of using technology in your classroom is:

creating connections- We learn so much through others that are different.
sharing- We are smarter than I.
conversations-A post is an attempt to start a conversation, a comment makes it happen.

Technology is not only about doing old things in a new way (although there is nothing wrong with that). Technology should be about creating opportunities for us to learn from others when that would be impossible without it.

What do you think?

How to Create Your Own Interactive Art Display

2011-11-01T08:05:00.000-07:00

Mrs. Smith (our Art teacher) and I have teamed up to create an interactive art "museum" for our students' work. This is how we are doing it.

Mrs. Smith chooses are work that she thinks best illustrates what she is having her students do. She then puts it on the "art museum" wall. I take the student and have them explain to me their artwork. He/She tells me about the work, what they did, and what they learned. Then we record the video.

After the video is recorded I upload it to Youtube. This is a real hassle because it is blocked at my school. I put the video in my Dropbox and then when I get home I upload it to Youtube. I tried uploading the video to Vimeo at school but discovered that to watch it on a mobile phone I had to use their paid service which is about $60 a year.

Here is the link to the video on Vimeo if it's blocked.

After I upload the video to Youtube I go through the settings and make sure that the video is Creative Commons licensed, that comments are moderated, and change any other settings I think is necessary. Then I get the url and put it into a QR (quick response) code generator. I use QRStuff to create the codes, but I doubt it matters which service you choose.

Here is the QR Code

Finally, I print out the QR code and put it next to the art work the student created. Now when someone comes along and wants to know more about the art work they can simply scan the code with their smart phone and instantly start watching a video of the artist explaining his/her work.

How Blogging Rocks Our Students' World

2011-10-30T18:02:00.000-07:00

I was selected by Heather Mathews to continue the #RockStarMeme. I am extremely honored that she selected me and am humbled by the nice things she said about me. The meme is supposed to have us explain how blogging has rocked our world, so here I go.

My original intent for a blog was something that I could use to showcase student work, show neat sites I wanted to share with them, have a place for them to do some self-directed learning. In effect, it was supposed to be centered around my students. It wasn't until a couple years later I started writing here.

What started out as a lark, has become something much more transformative for me and for some of my students. We are no longer bound to the small community we live in. We have exposure to virtually (see what I did there ;) the whole world. We have opportunities to share and grow with students and adults that have cultural differences, different religious beliefs, and different lifestyles.

I could go on and on about why blogging can and does change us, but I want to leave some room for the wonderful educators I tag.

@DrJohnHadley John has done amazing things with his college students at the University of South Alabama through blogging. I have been fortunate enough to spend some time with him and he is the real deal.

@DeputyMitchell David has created an amazing project called Quadblogging that allows classes to partner up and share blogging and commenting. My only problem with it is I didn't come up with it myself :)

@mr_avery Shawn has been an excellent ambassador for children blogging and commenting. There have been many times he has recharges my batteries with his enthusiasm.

@NZWaikato Myles is one of my earliest and best friends online. While many teachers have leveraged their classroom to become famous online teaching personalities, he just keeps his head down and continues to do excellent work with his students.

@IntrepidTeacher Jabiz has shown me through blogging that you can be open, honest, and engaging without being a caricature. He constantly challenges me with his insight, wisdom, and humbleness.

Award recipients, here's your challenge:

Since you have been awarded the meme, you are supposed to write a post about how Blogging has Rocked your World then:

respond to the meme and link back to this blog entry
leave a comment on this blog entry and then ask 5 more people to participate
Notify those 5 people by sending them a quick note (a tweet prob would work)

Is Your Classroom Flipped? Yes and No

2011-10-29T07:53:00.000-07:00

I was asked that question today by a teacher that I respect greatly and I replied "no". Today's definition of a flipped classroom is one where the teacher gives students a quick (usually video) lesson to be viewed outside of the classroom so that class time can be used for practice. I don't do that, my students don't have the access to technology it would require.

After thinking about the question though, I think maybe the answer should be "yes". While I don't give my students work to do outside of my room, I put my lessons on my blog. The students go there to see what activity they will be working on. The instructions, links to additional sites/materials, and any necessary explanations are found on the post itself. This allows my students to access the assignment throughout the time they are working and frees me up to be available to help.

The main reason I see this as a "flip" is that when my students ask me specific questions about the assignment I simply point them back to the post. (Of course there are times when they ask questions I have not answered which requires me to either modify the post or simply answer the question to the class as a whole.) I don't spend time "teaching" the lesson, I spend time observing and pushing my students.

Does this mean my classroom is "flipped"? I guess you can decide that. All I know is that my students have more time to practice and I have more time to observe.

It Aint' About the Tools: Bad Practices Will Always Be Bad Practices

2011-10-29T07:00:00.000-07:00

I am writing this as a follow up to @KDWashburn's post Tools Do Not Determine Qua lity

After reading Kevin's post, I wrote this comment. Since it is rather long I decided I would also post it here.

Much of educational technology is just a new way to do an old thing. For example, blog posts take the place of paper and pencil (of course the possibility for a larger audience is the real draw), drawing programs like Microsoft Paint (which I just had my students use) takes the place of real paint, and PowerPoint (or any presentation software) takes the place of hand created posters.

The things that make the new technology valuable are the same things that made the old technology valuable. You are right that we have some teachers caught up in the “cool” tools, but if the assignments aren’t much different than they would have before, the tools are not the problem.

You referenced some talking toy that was reciting words out of a textbook. Is this any different than the time honored tradition of writing vocabulary definitions? I would imagine that you will find students following this practice in every school in the United States, yet you and I both know this is a useless practice. 

Whether we use old school tools or new, shiny tech tools to have students learn it is the role of the teacher to make sure the practices we have our students use are educationally sound.

I guess to sum up I would say that it really is no surprise that teachers are using tech inappropriately when they have been been using bad practices with old school tools.

What do you think? 

When Parents Can't Access Their Child's Digital Work

2011-10-26T12:08:00.000-07:00

My students' parents don't all have internet access. This is really a shame because they are doing some really good work on their blogs. Their latest assignment is to write a story and add digital elements to it. One of the early activities was taken by Jabiz Raisdana's class blog.

On the post Episode #1-Mood and Setting the students were asked to write a paragraph that gives the setting of a story. The kicker is that they have to set a mood with the paragraph, not just identify the time and place. As you can imagine, I jumped on the assignment and had my students participate as well. They created some great paragraphs. Check out their blogs here if you want to read some.

Unfortunately, there was a lack of transfer between that lesson and their creative writing projects. I have seen no evidence that any of the students have taken what they have learned and applied it to this new project. I decided that needed to be addressed.

Today my students were told to create a picture that can be used with their story. They had to use Microsoft Paint. While it isn't the best program to draw with, every Windows computer has it and the students can add it to their digital toolbelt. Below is an amazing picture drawn by one of my eighth grade students for this project.

The pictures will be printed onto card stock the size of a postcard. The students will then rewrite the first paragraph of their stories. This time they will address their lack of mood in the setting. They will take that paragraph and write it on the back of the picture which will then be mailed to the parents as a postcard.

This will allow parents to get an idea about how the students are using their time in my classroom. They will be able to see the picture that the students created digitally and they will have the first paragraph of the story the students are writing.

Help Daraja Academy Provide Education for Girls in Kenya

2011-10-19T11:48:00.000-07:00

I grew up and now teach in very poor, rural community. In a nation of the very advantaged my students have less than most. Many of my students benefit from social programs provided by the government as well as charity provided by our local community.

As a youth pastor I am painfully aware of how a few dollars can make a huge difference in the lives of families that just can't quite make it to the next paycheck. I see the struggles families have that are always on the brink of financial ruin, with the only real safety net the kindness of others in our community.

I know many of you are also a witness to similar situations in your schools and in your communities. I understand that charity begins at home.

Over the past few years I have become very aware of the world outside of the city limits of my small town. Many of you have made me reconsider many of my thoughts and priorities. You have shown me that sharing and caring no longer should be contained in a classroom, it needs to extend throughout the world.

Now I am asking you to help out some children that live outside

of our communities, outside of our countries.

The Darja Academy is an all girls secondary boarding school in Kenya. The school offers opportunities for girls to get an education and empowers them to fight their way out of the poverty they live in. Now Darja has an opportunity to raise funds through Nike's Girl Effect. If you donate any amount to Darja you will give them a vote that may put them in the top six candidates. Not only will the money you donate be used to help educate their students, if they get enough votes they will have receive a huge publicity boost.

I am going to donate because I know that although charity begins at home it should not end there.

The Don'ts of Attending EdCampKC

2011-10-06T18:45:00.000-07:00

My first visit EdCampKC was a powerful, yet painful experience. While I am wistfully viewing all the excitement that is the anticipation of the next camp I want to share with you my thoughts. Typically I would join the other posts and give you advice on what to do while you are there, but not this time. This time I am going to tell you what not to do.

Do not attend an unconference with the sole intention of learning about new tools you can use in your classroom. Edcamps are not about tools, they are about sharing ways to become better teachers. Sharing with others will help make personal connections.

Do not attend an unconference and attend a session each time one is offered. Gather a few of the other attendees, find a quit place, and get to know each other. Make personal connections.

Do not attend an unconference sit quietly in the back. This is not a time to be a shy guy or gal. Make a point of introducing yourself to others. Join in conversations, make personal connections. Smile!

Do not attend an unconference and plan to leave immediately when it is over. Take some time and sit with others and reflect on what you have learned. Go out to dinner with them and make personal connections.

You have an incredible opportunity to become more than the teacher behind that blog, or the face behind that Twitter account. You have the opportunity to do something that most teachers don't have, the opportunity to find people that are truly passionate about what you are passionate about. This brings me to the last don't. Don't blow it.

Today Was A Good Day: Student Innovation

2011-09-28T12:32:00.000-07:00

Lakin decided to create a paper model for her Explorers PowerPoint. She sketched the idea for each slide on paper so that she could organize it and tweak it before she created her presentation. Because she had already organized her pages and received the feedback she needed she managed to put her presentation together in just a few minutes. Instead of spending time on the computer making decisions about what information to include and how she should organize it, she focused on finding great pictures to emphasize her points (to the point of not even needing text on some slides!)

This was not a technique that Lakin was taught, she thought of it on her own (or maybe she had heard about it somewhere else but forgot.) Ours students can and will learn without us (sometimes despite us). I wonder if sometimes I am more of a roadblock than an expressway on their learning journey. Below Lakin explains what she did and what she learned.

Are You Afraid to Ask Your Students What They Are Learning?

2011-09-22T09:51:00.000-07:00

When I ask my students simple questions like "What are you learning?" I often get answers I do not expect. One of the problems I have as a social person is that I tend to think everyone thinks the same way I do and at the same time. I don't seem to "get it" when I get an answer different than one I expect.

When I ask these questions below, I was expecting specific answers. At the very least I would assume the answers would be similar, but they are not. Typically my reaction is to immediately "correct" them so that they parrot back the information to me.

Is it really fair to tell students what they are learning? When we ask the question do we have the right to not like the answer? In this case, I don't think the questions are too difficult for them to understand. I do think that some of the students were trying to give me the answer they thought I wanted, but obviously not all did that. Should I try to give them the answer or at least lead them to what I want them to say?

I am not sure that me telling them what they learned will actually translate into what they actually learned. I am also not sure I have the right to discount what they are learning because it isn't what I want.

Why I Require My Students to Blog

2011-09-08T17:44:00.000-07:00

In a perfect world children would have access to all information, tools to create whatever their hearts desire, and the time to explore every whim and fancy that takes them. Unfortunately, we don't live in a perfect world. Adults have to make choices about what children must learn and (very often) how they will learn it. Because of this, I require my students to blog.

Blogging allows students the opportunity to write to a larger audience. I will not use the word authentic because I believe that students often write for their teachers, which would make that writing authentic to them. I don't want my students writing solely to me, they need to be able to communicate with a much larger, varied audience. I will not be their lifelong interpreter. While there is no guarantee that posting words on the internet will ever garner an audience, I can guarantee that the community of learners in my control will be viewing these writings and (with a bit of coaching/begging) leaving comments that are meant to create conversations.

Conversations are critical to blogging. While there are some who don't mind writing words only they will read, most of us have an inborn desire to have someone respond to our ideas. One-way conversations are an anathema to us whether they are done verbally or in writing. We need the opportunity to share our wants, needs, desires, hopes, dreams, and fears as much as we need the opportunity to have others share them with us. A blog post that doesn't create a conversation is a sad thing indeed.

Students need the opportunity, as well as the time, to develop conversations with their writing. To create online relationships that can enrich both their thoughts and their self esteem. No longer should they be required to languish in unfulfilling relationships created solely because of where they live. Their passions are shared by others who can be reached by carving out spaces online and searching for others doing the same.

As the adult, lead learner if you must, I know these things to be true and because of that, I must require my students to blog!

A Better Way to Learn and Teach Vocabulary

2011-08-24T16:51:00.000-07:00

In Marzano's Classroom Instruction That Works there is a section that explains how the use of visual representations of words help student recall them. This makes a lot of sense since it requires students to create a picture in their brain that is then attached to both the word and its definition.

The way I approach this in the classroom is to:

Write the word on the board.
Draw a picture of what the word reminds me of or means to me.
Explain why I drew that picture.

At this point the students have a reasonable idea of the definition. They have also had a picture (poorly drawn of course) that represents both the word and its definition. Then the students are expected to:

Create their own pictures which are not the same as what I drew. This requires them to use their own idea. This means they have two pictures that represents the word and its definition.
Write their own definitions in their own words. Notice I do not write a definition for them to copy. The student either infers the definition from my explanation or they may look the definition up from another source. The important part here is for the student to make the definition "theirs" by using their own words, not copying.

This is a learning activity and needs to be addressed in that way. I explain to my students that learning their vocabulary takes effort. Copying definitions or matching words with definitions will not help them learn, they need time to reflect and create using the words.

Please note, I am taking a "grade" on this activity this year. While I would much prefer the students do this activity because they see the value, my school district requires two grades from each core class each week. I do not give grades for the students' "right or wrong" definitions. If they do the work (and it is very obvious if they do) they get "credit".

Where is the proof this works?

I have to fall back on anecdotal evidence to make my case here. I was extremely frustrated for a long time with some of my students lack of success with our standardized reading tests. Many of my ESL students had a very difficult time being successful remembering what the 5-8 vocabulary words they had to study.

At some point I stumbled upon the section in Classroom Instruction That Works that addressed learning vocabulary and I jumped on it. After implementing this new activity my students that historically scored poorly on the vocabulary portion of the reading tests immediately improved.

I did some "debriefing" of these students to see why they thought they were more successful. They attributed it to extra work they were doing with the drawing and defining. They felt (best word I have to describe it) that it worked for them. The only difference in the way vocabulary was approached in my class was through this activity, the students were still required to do the traditional worksheets they had been doing.

When I reflected on the activity I decided there were three possible reasons for the increased scores on the assessment:

The new activity worked.
Having to spend more time working with the words worked.
A combination of extra time and the activity worked.

Since I wasn't writing a research paper, I decided that the reason this activity was successful didn't matter. The fact that it was successful was all the reason I needed to continue having my students use the technique.

Everybody Needs a Back-Up Plan

2011-08-09T16:26:00.000-07:00

There has been a lot of chatter about Missouri Senate Bill 54 that goes into effect at the end of this month. (I have been one of the most outspoken) but as my friend Kyle Pace so eloquently expressed; What's Done is Done. Since I am a problem solver I decided to create a back-up plan for my students this year. What do you think?

What I Learned This Year

2011-06-23T13:24:00.001-07:00

My homeroom students on the last day of school.

Here we go again...3 years later and we're still going strong. There were a lot of new and exciting changes for me this year that I have not experienced in the past. This was my first year to teach at the same school for more than one year, it was my first experience as a head coach, first experience coaching cross country, and it was also my first experience as a computer applications teacher. With this many changes in my professional career there was plenty of valuable experiences that I have learned from this year which makes this end of the year reflection that much more easy. Let's do this, here is my reflective post for year three.

Know Who Your Boss Is

As a teacher I find myself doing quite a bit of people pleasing on a daily basis...however, the major issue with this is that it becomes very easy to get wrapped up in what people think of you. If you are not careful you can become completely consume with trying to please some many individuals that sometimes your own students get left out of the picture. It is very important that remember the reason that we got in the business in the first place, the kids.

Our decision making process should always be student centered and not centered around pleasing adults.

Students always need to be our primary focus and we should really consider how are we serving those students...rather than how are we serving our administration. Furthermore, it is very important to keep in mind that whatever may be going on in your professional or personal life that your students deserve our complete attention and that we should never let the extrinsic factors affect our performance for our students.

Don't Expect Others to be as Excited About Change as You Are

I've mentioned before in my writings that I am very much an optimist and I try to maintain a positive outlook. In the past I have never seen my optimism as being a fault, but this year I was shown that it can create barriers in the teaching profession. I'm the type of person that really enjoys professional development sessions...not because of the time off from work, but rather for the quality of the material being presented (assuming it's a quality presentation). However, this year I really started to take notice to the naysayers that exist in PD session. You know the type, the ones that sit in the back of the room and constantly check their Facebook status and often mutter under their breath "this will never work". I have never understand these people and I suppose I never will because it seems that they never give new ideas a fighting chance...and I'm quite the opposite. I'm the one who is in the opposite corner geeking the new ideas that are being presented. I guess the moral of this lesson is that you cannot allow others to stifle your own excitement and joy that you experience in teaching or any other facet of life for that matter. I feel like the teaching landscape is full of individuals that once had a fire and excitement for the profession but somewhere along the way they joined the darkside. You have to embody the aspects of teaching that you enjoy and not allow others to influence or steer you away from that.

Don't be Afraid to be an Outsider

Along the same lines of the previous topic, if you are planning on being true to yourself and not falling in line with the rest of the crowd then you cannot be afraid to be an outsider. There have seldom been moments in my teaching career where I have felt like I fit in...and to be quite honest I'm okay with that. I have never been a person that excels in social situations and I tend to focus a lot of my time and efforts at school to basically hanging out with my students and not the adults in my buildings. However, I would much rather be the person that is an outsider because of my focus on my students than someone that seeks approval from other teachers in my building.

I'm very happy with the teacher that I have become.

I play my music way too loud, I eat my lunch with students and not in the teacher's lounge, I enjoy being connected to my students through blogging and social media, and I enjoy being immature. It took me a while before I was comfortable with not fitting in with the rest of the crowd but I realized that my common core of beliefs were important to me and that I needed to be myself and not worry about the perception that others have of me.

Don't Touch The Keyboard

The one teacher that I do speak to on a daily basis is Mrs. Barron...otherwise known as my classroom mom. She is the one go to person that I have for everything and this year she shared with me some excellent advice. She explained to me that while she worked for a airline as a tech support trainer, one of the main points that they instilled in their employees was to never touch the keyboard when training an employee. The idea is that if you touch the keyboard and take over the task that they are not trying to learn than they will never learn how to do it on their own and you end up doing all the work. This is very applicable in teaching as well. Often times when we are teaching a task to a student and they are having difficulties completing the particular task, it is very easy to take over and basically do the work for them...because we can always do it better. However, the major issue with this is that if we do the work for the students then they will never fully master the skills. No matter how difficult it may be we must resist the urge to take control of the keyboard.

This means that our students will struggle a little bit in the front end but it will help them excel in the end game.

Don't Get Comfortable

The biggest fear each teacher should have is becoming comfortable. Now that I'm moving into my fourth year of teaching and my second year I'm starting to realize that things are not near as hard as they use to be...planning, grading, instructing, and all my teacherly duties have become more routine as I have gained experience.

While routines are good in the sense they allow me to be more effective, they can also be bad because they can foster apathy.

This year I have really been fearful of turning into a teacher that has become very comfortable to the point of coasting through their daily work. I began to pick up new tasks that would challenge me and prevent me from developing routines. I found myself joining committees that I would have never volunteered for in the past and picking up PD sessions that sounded somewhat interesting. The whole goal here was to not become stagnant and to keep moving my professional career in a forward motion. Teaching itself is a very comfortable job that offers security...and often times comfort and security does not create an atmosphere that highly motivated individuals. However, we cannot afford to be passive in education; we need to be willing to be "movers and shakers" and be advocates for the changes that need to happen in our schools. The teaching profession needs individuals that are passionate and willing to exceed the demands of the traditional 8-3 teaching format...is this not an achievable goal?

Mr. McClung

Creating a Textbook Based Reading Class You Can Live With: Part 3

2011-03-21T17:07:00.000-07:00

This is part 2 of a series I am writing on how I modified my textbook based classroom.

With this post I will deconstruct how and why we approached vocabulary this way. Below is the section on vocabulary the students saw. Each one of these choices had been modeled extensively in the classroom before I turned them loose with this assignment. I also want to make clear that I only took two grades over this work, the written test on Thursday and the project on Friday. No other grades were given (or even necessary.)

Skill
Do pages 243, 246, and 247 in Reading Practice Book due Wednesday and do the following due Wednesday:
Got to my blog post on the Ghost Towns of McDonald County. After reading the post, click on the map of McDonald County. Make a map of McDonald County and put on it the ghost towns of Coy, Wylie, Saratoga Springs, and Erie. Write why you think those towns are no longer here.

Typically the reading skills are taught and reviewed through the story read each week. The skill was practiced on worksheets in the workbook where there were usually two pages dealing with that week's skill and a page that was a review from a past skill. I tried very hard to incorporate the skill in an activity that was not just another worksheet.

This particular week's skill was Graphic Resources. I thought it would be a good idea for them to draw a map of the county we live in and identify where some old ghost towns are/were located. I followed it with a critical thinking question that we discussed in class. We identified the main reason those towns were no longer around as they were not on a major highway.

Content Gathering
Read story on Monday and Tuesday and do following due Thursday:

Look through the first five pages of ghost town pictures on Flickr
Other: See teacher for approval __________________

I had students look through pictures of ghost towns, since their project was to draw a representation of a ghost town. I chose Flickr as a source because they were familiar with it, they had used the site to retrieve class pictures for other activities.

I also gave them a choice where they could do other types of research, they just had to get my approval. This allowed them to run with an idea they might have with some guidance from me. I don't remember any students asking to use another source, but I had several that did extra research along with the pictures they looked at on Flickr. I think it is very important that we give our students as much opportunity as possible to lead their own learning and I tried to give them the option to do so whenever it was feasible.

Note Taking
Choose one of the following to use to take notes:

Visual representations (sketch a few pictures of ghost towns)
Other: See teacher for approval ___________________________

Note taking was an essential skill in my classroom. Not only did I teach Reading, but I also had the three class rotation of science. I spent a lot of time teaching the students different note taking techniques such as webbing, Cornell, and traditional. Here I chose graphic representations since it made sense with the assignment they were doing. Typically they had a list of the different techniques they could choose from, or they could choose their own with approval.

Assessments
Comprehension test over the story will be Thursday and pick one of the following due Friday:
Use Kerpoof to create a picture of a ghost town. You choose the medium, but remember this is due Friday. Upload picture to the Compendium.
Other: See teacher for approval ________________________

The reading series assessment was a multiple choice format test. It tested the vocabulary words for the reading selection, the skills and a review skill, and a few other questions depending on the type of story. The project I gave was usually based upon the content of the story. Since this story was about ghost towns, they had to use an online program to create a ghost town. Another project they had to do that I remember well was when we read about the sinking of the Titanic. The students created a radio news broadcast describing the sinking. They then recorded the broadcast. (I place my microphone next to the aquarium for sound effects.)

As I noted in the last post, even though I in effect doubled the amount of work I expected from my students, they performed much better on the assessments. There was a palpable change in the attitude toward reading class where students looked forward to working on the projects, doing the vocabulary, and even listening/reading the stories.

Much of what I incorporated into these lessons were things that I had learned over just a few years, but I coupled that with my ten years of experience, ten years of being unsatisfied and unhappy. Don't be intimidated if you think this is overwhelming. Start with what you know and go from there. Incorporate new things when you and your students are ready. Before too long, you will be doing amazing things that make your textbook bearable!

Creating a Textbook Based Reading Class You Can Live With: Part 2

2011-03-21T09:06:00.000-07:00

This is part 2 of a series I am writing on how I modified my textbook based classroom.

With this post I will deconstruct how and why we approached vocabulary this way. Below is the section on vocabulary the students saw. Each one of these choices had been modeled extensively in the classroom before I turned them loose with this assignment. I also want to make clear that I only took two grades over this work, the written test on Thursday and the project on Friday. No other grades were given (or even necessary.)

Ghost Towns Check List

Vocabulary
Do page 244 in Reading Practice Book due Tuesday and choose two of the following due Wednesday:

Create graphic representations of each vocabulary word
Write definitions of each vocabulary word
Create a flash card with definitions for each vocabulary word
Use in graphic organizer as outlined in Skills section
Create a word web with synonyms of the vocabulary words (Visuwords is an excellent source)
Create a word web with antonyms of the vocabulary words (Visuwords is an excellent source)

The vocabulary work in our practice book (workbook) was usually a matching assignment with the vocabulary words on the left and the definitions on the right. This required the students to look up the word (if they didn't know it) in the glossary and then make the correct match. I found (no surprise) that the students did not carry this information to the written test given on Thursday. After doing some question analysis I found that there was no actual transfer from this type of assignment to the test. This assignment was done to keep my districts requirement for "using the workbook".

For the rest of the assignments I gave my students several choices. The first choice, creating a graphic representation of the word, came from Marzano's Classroom Instruction That Works where he explains that the use of visual representations of the words really help student recall them. The way I approached this in the classroom was to 1) write the word on the board 2) draw a picture of what the word reminds me of or means to me 3) explain why I drew that picture 4) have the students create their own pictures. They were required to draw a different picture than I drew. This worked very well for students that preferred visual learning/representations.

Some students preferred just writing the definitions. While I can completely zone out while I copy out of a book, this does not mean that everyone has the same experience. One in four of my students chose this as one of their learning methods. Oddly, it was usually the students with the best grasp of vocabulary that used this method.

Creating a flash card not only allowed students to carry their learning with them, it also allowed them social interaction with a partner since I allowed them to practice that way. The students would create the cards and then pair off or even work in small groups. This is great for kids that prefer to learn socially.

Creating a graphic organizer using the workbook page. I never had a student do this, and honestly I don't even remember what they looked like. I guess they were not too useful.

Creating a synonym or antonym word web worked well for several students. They would look up the vocabulary word and find the synonyms and/or antonyms and then draw a web with the original word in the middle and the others branched off. Usually the students would choose Visuwords to find the synonyms and antonyms.Visuwords is an interactive, fun site that makes connections between words very visual. This was a popular activity by my students.

The average written test score was in the mid sixties before we changed to these methods. After we changed the average moved to the high 80's. That includes the ELL student that was in my room that had a 2.3 reading level. (I also modified how she read the story by putting it on an ipod for her to listen to.)

Creating a Textbook Based Reading Class You Can Live With: Part 1

2011-03-18T07:03:00.000-07:00

A couple years ago when I was teaching fifth grade I decided to experiment with my reading program. I was not happy with the reading series schedule and my students were even less impressed. I was required to use this series, and I was expected to use the workbooks that accompanied the textbook. I knew that something had to change and one weekend came up with a plan that worked very well for my situation. Perhaps you can modify it to use in your classroom as well.

First I would like to state that this is not to replace the act of reading in the classroom. My students had 45+ minutes daily to read independently library books. Our reading series had very few reading opportunities in a week (how can we call it reading class when it is mostly vocabulary and skills that is being taught?)

This is the text from the blog post my students read to introduce this particular weeks work:

Image by mlhradio
After last years great Ghost Town moments, see post 1 and post 2, we have a high standard to meet. Since the skill this week is graphic sources you will have the opportunity to create your own. You will also look at Flickr pictures of real ghost towns to get and idea what they really look like. Then you are going to use Kerpoof to create your very own ghost town.

Here is the link to the checklist for you to use.

The reading series story was a non-fiction story about ghost towns in the west. Because ghost towns have such a visual appeal I decided that I would incorporate a visual component to the week's work. This is the checklist I created for my students to print out and use. It is linked on the post above. The students would print the list if they needed to and then precede to go through the work. I created due dates because I discovered that many students needed guidance for what to do first. This really helped my students that were not very organized and it modeled how to break down a large task, finishing all this work, into more workable steps.

Ghost Towns Check List
Vocabulary
Do page 244 in Reading Practice Book due Tuesday and choose two of the following due Wednesday:
Create graphic representations of each vocabulary word
Write definitions of each vocabulary word
Create a flash card with definitions for each vocabulary word
Use in graphic organizer as outlined in Skills section
Create a word web with synonyms of the vocabulary words (Visuwords is an excellent source)
Create a word web with antonyms of the vocabulary words (Visuwords is an excellent source)

Skill
Do pages 243, 246, and 247 in Reading Practice Book due Wednesday and do the following due Wednesday:
Got to my blog post on the Ghost Towns of McDonald County. After reading the post, click on the map of McDonald County. Make a map of McDonald County and put on it the ghost towns of Coy, Wylie, Saratoga Springs, and Erie. Write why you think those towns are no longer here.

Content Gathering
Read story on Monday and Tuesday and do following due Thursday:

Look through the first five pages of ghost town pictures on Flickr
Other: See teacher for approval __________________
Note Taking
Choose one of the following to use to take notes:

Visual representations (sketch a few pictures of ghost towns)
Other: See teacher for approval ___________________________
Assessments
Comprehension test over the story will be Thursday and pick one of the following due Friday:
UseKerpoof to create a picture of a ghost town. You choose the medium, but remember this is due Friday. Upload picture to the Compendium.
Other: See teacher for approval ________________________

On my next post I will explain how and why we approached our vocabulary work.

They Didn't Fail, They Just Haven't Succeeded Yet

2011-03-07T09:56:00.000-08:00

I just had a knock down fight with my students. They failed an assignment miserably, only one of thirty students even came close to doing it right. Ordinarily I would shoulder some of the blame for their failure, but I refused to do it this time. I think I was wrong....

My students were expected to do some real thinking. I asked them to read about the Wisconsin union troubles and identify what was going on. They were supposed to write a paragraph explaining both sides of the issue and then identify if CNN or Fox News had written stories that the students felt were biased. Here is a link to the assignment.

Today we reviewed their work, and it was not what I asked for at all, not even close. Most of the students had read articles from Fox and CNN and summarized them. Many did not even complete the project at all. After we looked at their work, I sat with them and told them I would not accept responsibility for their failure on this assignment. I went out of my way to explain what I wanted 3 days in a row. As I roamed the room I told them they were not doing the assignment correctly and would have them read me what the assignment asked for. I even told them to look at the one post that was closest to being done correctly, but still they did it wrong.

I allowed the students to give me feedback over the assignment. I got two arguments, both of which I dismissed. The first was about grades. They thought that even though they failed to do what I asked they deserved some points for effort. The second was about not understanding the assignment. This one I jumped on with both feet. What part of write two paragraphs did they not understand? Where does it say in the instructions to summarize the four articles? On an one I went. I was not a happy camper.

Now that I have had time to think about it, I think that maybe they are right. They don't know how to gather in information and think about it critically. For almost nine years they have been given small pieces of information to read and very specifically guided questions to answer. They in effect have been following a formula that all textbook companies (and most teachers for that matter) have been using for years. They really didn't understand how to do the assignment!

When I break down my "simple" assignment I can see where the problems are:

They have to find their own sources of the information instead of having it given to them.
They have to analyze that information to determine both sides of the problem.
They have to have to understand what bias means.
They have to identify if a story is biased.
They have to post their insights onto a blog.
They have to hyperlink back to the stories they wrote.

I guarantee that a very, very large percentage of the adult population of the United States would fail this same assignment.

I am resolved that this assignment will not remain a failure. We will be doing this same assignment with a different topic tomorrow. Maybe the dissonance my students are feeling over this assignment will gradually give way and we can actually start doing some critical thinking.

Reflecting on My Class Blog

2011-02-21T11:52:00.000-08:00

Mike, a student at SUNY Potsdam left a comment on my class blog. I decided that instead of writing a very long comment on that post, I would just go ahead and answer the questions here where it might be seen by more people.

How do you feel this blog improves classroom instruction?

I use my class blog to deliver instructions to my students. Because the words are static, I don't have to worry about inconsistencies in my delivery. The instructions stay on the blog and can be accessed by the students or their parents at any time. There is the added benefit of having tools right there that can be used by the student for purposes of clarification. For example the student can read the text or have it read to them by clicking a button on the post using Odiogo. If the student does not know a word, they can double click it and it will bring up a definition from Answers.com . There is the Google translator widget on the side for students or parents that need the post translated as well. You can find my contact information easily on the site too.

Not only do these tools allow students the ability to work on their own, it also allows students to have choice in how they want the content delivered to them. See this post on the Toolbelt Theory for more clarification.

Have you seen an improvement in classroom participation and interest with the creation of this blog?

The blog is a little over four years old. The students I have in eighth grade now were in my classroom when I started it. It is not a new thing to them. What I have seen is that students of varying levels of ability and interest seem to like being able to work at their own pace using the instructions from the blog. I have students that come in, sit down, and get to work very quickly. Some students take more time to process. One major benefit is I don't have to repeat instructions often. They are already there on the blog.

I don't think interest is sustainable by taking something and making it digital. The process is pretty much the same. Good lesson design and working toward relevancy for the students is much more important than whether or not you use tech tools.

Have you found any difficulties in using a classroom blog for students?

Creating posts that are not wordy, but still get the directions across can be difficult to master. If the students don't have access to tools like I have listed above, there can be a real barrier to learning. Some students don't like using technology (not unlike some adults) so they are maybe less motivated than they would be. The biggest problem I have found is when the hardware or the internet is not working properly. It is very important that you have a back up plan whenever you are using technology, just in case.

A Reflection on METC: 10 Random Thoughts

2011-02-17T11:10:00.000-08:00

Social media may be the catalyst to creating relationships, but it isn't as valuable as being face to face with each other. Yes, I know this is me being a broken record, but it still is true. :)
Seeing people I recognize (who also recognize me) shrinks the size of even large crowds. Just a nod or smile as we pass makes me feel much more comfortable in a strange situation.
There are many unbelievable people that work very hard to put on the conference. I would list them, but I know I would miss some and that would not be good. You know who you are. :)
Our community is not growing as quickly as I think it should. There are approximately 4 million k-12 teachers in the United States, but only a small fraction of a percent are connecting through social media. Are there other places where reform issues are being discussed by a larger group?
Students making connections seems to becoming a real theme among many speakers at these conferences.
I'm not sure that this is the message most attendees are hearing though.There still seems to be too much focus on tools, not on why we use them. The message isn't being picked up quickly enough by "normal" teachers.
Teachers know how to have fun.
The Embassy Suites in St. Charles is a pretty cool place to stay. If you stayed there you know why. ;)
I didn't see any students at this conference. I may have missed them, but maybe we should think about including them more in our presentations.
I know there were pre-service teachers in attendance. I think that there needs to be some presentations specifically geared to them. While all the workshops are appropriate, they might feel a bigger sense of community if they have a few that address their specific needs. Perhaps a social networking class for them so they can learn more about being an online professional or how to develop a learning network using Twitter or Plurk.

Posting and Commenting Are Only the Beginning

2011-02-10T10:46:00.000-08:00

I have been stressing over my METC presentation for next Tuesday. It is supposed to be about how to use the blog and hash tag Comments4Kids to get comments on student and teacher blogs. Think of it as Beginning Conversations 101. The problem is I don't find this conversation very satisfying anymore.

Don't get me wrong, I do think that posting and commenting are important first steps, but I really believe that these are imperfect. I want my students to develop real thinking, express that transparently, and defend it (or change it) as they encounter push back. A great example is happening now on Jabiz Raisdana's blog Intrepid Teacher.

What will it take to get my students to be as transparent and reflective as Jabiz? I don't know. I don't even believe that most of them will. But I believe the journey to get there is really useful for those than don't, almost as much as those that do. The process of thinking, writing, responding, reflecting, defending, and growing may be the most important thing we ask our students to do.

How do I move past the process of posting/commenting to something more in depth? How do walk into my presentation and talk about baby steps when they have been so unfulfilling?

Can We Adopt a Master/Apprentice Approach to Learning?

2011-01-31T07:29:00.000-08:00

In this post I make a lot of assumptions about your belief of the role of teachers education.

Assumption one: You want students to become master learners.

Assumption two: You are or are working to become a master learner.

Assumption three: You model learning to your students.

The master/apprentice model has been around much longer than the factory educational model we have been using and, it might be argued, been much more successful. The basis of this model is the master has a specific set of skills. He then contracts with the apprentice to teach him these skills in return for the apprentice working for the master.

If we apply the master/apprentice model to learning, what would it look like? Obviously we would have fewer students and spend much more time with them. We would be focused on teaching them learning skills that help them develop into master learners. We would model learning for them and encourage them to follow by example.

Just as the master printer controls what content the apprentice prints, the master learner would control the way learning skills are imparted. Just as the apprentice printer spends free time creating their own content, the apprentice learner would spend his/her free time learning what he/she chooses to learn.

Could schools be re-purposed to this end? Could a teacher take on the role of a master learner, take on a small group of apprentices (very probably of varying ages)? Can teachers as master learners help create master learners from their apprentices?

Snow Days Are Not My Friend

2011-01-24T11:25:00.000-08:00

I have a confession, I don't do work on snow days. As a matter of fact, I don't do much work outside of my classroom. That doesn't mean I don't learn or explore or design, I simply do not like to do the schooly stuff outside of school.

Due to the school schedule and the weather we have not had a full week of school since before Christmas. Honestly, this makes it really difficult to "get in the groove". I feel my brain really disengaged from my classroom which is not where I want it to be.

Typically I would find myself musing about things to experiment with in the classroom while not in the classroom. I would be planning in the shower or checking if a particular digital tool would work while sitting in front of the television.

You can all pray, wish, or even do a snow dance if you want. I want to get back to normal.

Trying a New Spin on Current Events

2011-01-07T09:16:00.000-08:00

I am teaching an elective class this semester on current events. While it would be easy to come up with stories for the students to look at and talk about, I am more interested in helping them develop critical thinking skills from the context as well as the content.

I believe too much of the news we consume is pre-packaged from a few large sources, think of it as fast food news. Are we supposed to give as much credibility to the stories written by anonymous writers working for big organizations more than the local beat reporters that write under their own by-line?

I also want my students to think critically about the importance of the news being reported. Do these stories directly effect us, our nation, or our world? Are they distractions such as sports or entertainment stories or are they really important? My suspicion is that most of the news people want to read falls into the former category.

To begin the semester I have had the students visiting international news sites (we are in the United States.) I have asked them to look for differences in word choice, and types of stories that are being reported. Thanks to the Ted Williams story, we had a chance to discuss word choices from different sources. I was actually quite surprised by my students' responses.

What do you think about the way I am approaching this subject? Do you have any advice or some different ideas?

Social Media in the Classroom as Artificial Societies

2011-01-05T06:57:00.000-08:00

Yesterday's afternoon #edchat was focused on using social media in the classroom. I have been thinking about community building and social networking with my students a lot lately. As projects I work on mature, I often see that there are limitations to the way I have set them up. While this is not usually a problem since most of my lessons are not long term, the Comments4Kids project is a long term project. Originally it was just a way to drive traffic to student posts. After conversations and time to think I have really seen the limitation of project.

My problem with C4K and social media in general is that we (teachers) are creating connections that (for the most part) are artificial and just not very useful for our students. For example, most of the time the C4K is a one shot comment on a blog post. Yes, it is social but it is not very engaging for either party. In fact, the best use of the meme happens when teachers and classes develop long term relationships through it. Even then, the relationships are usually created by the teachers, not the students.

When I started to use Twitter as a way to connect and share with other educators it was a natural process that developed over time through our shared passion. It worked for me because it engaged me on that level. There was no mandate to use it, no artificial society created by others that I was forced to engage in.

Instead of focusing on creating these artificial societies, perhaps our time would be better spent introducing the tools we use to our students and allow them the time to start to develop their own societies based upon their passions and interests. What do you think?

An Evolutionary Idea: Students Opt Out by Opting In

2010-12-09T11:11:00.000-08:00

A few weeks ago my elective class decided they wanted to work on their own projects. One group decided to create a video news show which worked very well. The other decided to do comedy skits. That one didn't work out so well. The problem was they liked the idea of doing the skits, but had no idea how to (or any desire to find out.) As you can imagine, this was a problem.

I decided to go back to the normal lessons where I direct their learning. They were instantly back into their comfort zone and enjoyed the return to normal. Tuesday the students learned about the attack on Pearl Harbor. Yesterday some of my students were expecting the same type of lesson on the death of John Lennon. I didn't have one prepared so I created one for today. When the students came in some were excited, others not so much. Really, this realization has become a game changer for me.

I realized that I could design lessons for the students, but I could also allow them to design their own lessons. So tomorrow we will begin plans to create a way for students to design their own lessons, their own learning. When a student isn't interested in a lesson I present, they will be able to pull out one they have designed (and reviewed with a conference with me) and work on it instead. Students will still be able to follow what interests them and opt out of what doesn't. We will be able to individualize learning and still get in the skills I want them to learn and because we will have set up guidelines (I am thinking a template using Google forms) they will not be left without a purpose, directions, or goals.

I will share the template and the students efforts when this gets rolling.

An Accident of Geography Won't Save Us

2010-11-15T17:38:00.000-08:00

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Ggas_human_soc.jpg

In Jared Diamond's impressive book Guns, Germs, and Steel the author ascribes the the fall of the Incan empire not to the superiority of the Spanish, but by the accident of geography. The proximity to domesticated animals shared throughout Europe and Asia as well as the shared knowledge and innovation by those people. This is a very simplified explanation of the book. I highly recommend you read the whole thing.

As I was explaining this concept to my class today I realized that this is how classrooms are today. Some classrooms are like the Spanish, of which the Flat Classroom Project is a great example. These teachers are facilitating the sharing of knowledge and innovation in their classrooms.

Most classrooms are like the Incan empire. They are isolated, not realizing what is outside their classroom. They assume they are the masters of learning using the same techniques that have worked for generations. They do not even know that they are being passed by.

Now that the problem is identified, what is the solution? I think that we must not only expose our classrooms to other classrooms, we must find ways to create learning communities with them. I am not espousing "quick hit" projects where students work together with others for short periods of time. Instead I believe we need to create long term communities that share knowledge and innovation through longer periods of time. We shouldn't rely on an accident of geography to get us where we need to go, we need to reach out and learn from others.

Gotta Stay Positive

2010-11-14T22:17:00.000-08:00

This past Friday was a horrible day for me. From my stand point as a teacher, I felt like there was nothing I did right the entire day. I was very flustered, disorganized, uninspiring, short tempered, and just not a very good teacher. I felt like I spent hours of time prepping a 50 minute lesson that looked like I took 15 minutes to plan...and the worst of all is I took my frustrations out on my students by having such a poor attitude the entire day. I was basically throwing a temper-tantrum because things were not going my way.

While I was getting ready for my cross country period, my last class of the day, I noticed something while I was waiting in the hallway. I saw a co-worker who I knew was also having a bad day, and this teacher was absolutely yelling at the top of her lungs at her students because someone had threw a bottle cap or something silly like that. While I was standing there the only thing that crossed my mind was "wow...is it really that big of a deal?" But I realized that what I was seeing was exactly what I was acting out the previous 5 hours of that day.

I have been doing a lot of thinking this weekend, mainly about how I'm going to show up on Monday and do a better job. As I think about all my short comings of one day and turn it in to a career ending event (at least in my head), I realize that in the grand scheme of things it is just one day. I know that when my students show up tomorrow the furthest thing from their minds will be how "good" our class was on Friday, even though that will be the only thing I think of. I'm not so naive to think that my 8th grade social studies class is going to be a life changing event for my students, but I like to treat my class in this manner...I want my class to be something special.

The bottom line is I want a better education for my students. I constantly think of the things that turned me off from school when I was their age and that is my motivation to try harder at my profession. I could very easily be an average teacher and just do the bare minimum but I don't want to, I want to have days like Friday where I just absolutely crush myself for having an off day. I want to be disappointed in myself from time to time because I'm not content with the job I'm doing as a teacher. As stupid as it sounds, I love being miserable occasionally because I know eventually it will lead to fantastic outcomes in my life and hopefully my students lives as well...and more importantly, I want them to be able to see that I care through my instruction.

I suppose because I'm such a gluten for punishment that makes me ideal for the teaching profession...here's to a better week.

Mr. McClung
Fayetteville, AR
http://McClungsWorld.com

Netflix is a Great Resource for the Classroom

2010-11-12T20:23:00.000-08:00

My students are watching Guns, Germs, and Steel a great documentary by National Geographic base on Jared Diamond's book by the same name. My school library doesn't have this video (I looked). My county library doesn't have it either. I could have bought it, but I didn't have to because I have a Netflix subscription. I didn't even have to have them send me the disk, this documentary is one of many that is streamed online.

If you have been thinking about getting a subscription to Netflix, now you have one more compelling reason to spend the $9!

If Your Students Posts Are Not Being Commented On By Other Students, Their Audience is Not Authentic!

2010-11-11T19:35:00.000-08:00

I had a great and very valuable discussion with Melanie McBride a couple days ago. It centered around commenting on students blog posts. Melanie made the point that students need to be creating peer networks through their blogging and commenting just like we adults do. She wrote that teachers using their social capital to generate comments is "an artificial model of how community works...peer developed networks are what kids need to learn."

This brought to the front something that has been bothering me for a while. The original idea was for Comments4Kids to be a way to identify student work that could be commented on. My plan was and still is to have my students leave comments on these posts. Of course I like to leave comments on the posts too, but the value in the process needs to be experienced by my students too.

Do you really believe that students writing for other teachers is any different than writing for their own teacher? How authentic is the audience when they are virtual teachers? For our students to write for an authentic audience, that audience has to be their peers. Peers that have no "educational" agenda. Peers that are reading the posts because they are interested in what the author has to write.

I am not saying you should not comment on student blogs. What I am saying is the students won't find the value in your comments like they will from another student. Make time for your students to comment.

EdCampKC: A Rather Painful Reflection

2010-11-10T19:24:00.000-08:00

I guess it is my turn to reflect on the unconference that was edcampKC. A few weeks before I went I wrote a post about what I wanted to get from the conference. While I really feel that my goals were realistic and that they were met, I was not ready for the let down that has happened this week.

I really wanted to meet my online friends, and I did and they are wonderful. What I didn't see coming was the letdown from going back to my building where I have no one to share my passion with. I had no idea (although in retrospect I should have) that meeting and conversing with people face to face would mean so much to me.

A couple years ago a new teacher came into my building. He shared a real interest in how I was using tech in my classroom. He was someone I came to depend on to talk about tech, tools, and how to best leverage learning from them. Unfortunately he only stayed one year. It was a tough transition to go from having someone to share with to being without, I didn't realize how much I missed him until this week.

I guess what I want to express is that online connections are not a good enough replacement for the relationships we develop off line. I really want to spend more time connecting with those I met on Saturday, but I realize that this simply won't happen anytime soon. It hurts.

I have spent a lot of time and energy trying to create relationships online and to foster others creating their own relationships. I think I need to move some of that effort back to my school district. I also need to find ways to help my students learn the same lesson. There is no more important community than the one you are with every day.

Stanley Is Flat and He is Making the World Flatter Too!

2010-11-03T07:47:00.000-07:00

In the mail Monday I had a surprise, Flat Stanley! Jason Schmidt's class in Omaha, Nebraska sent him to us.

I decided to post the letter I was writing on my class blog and sent it out on Twitter. After Jason talked to me aand Theresa Murray, he decided to create a wiki for his class and those that he sent Stanley to.

While Flat Stanley has been around and has been a successful teaching tool for years, the ability to get almost instant information back from wherever Stanley is sent is very compelling. Creating a more permanent record is also very useful. Now Jason's students have access to the information at their fingertips with all the added benefits that the internet provides with information that can be found about each place. Flat Stanley is flattening the world!

Should I Punish Students for Bad Behavior in Another Class?

2010-10-25T06:27:00.000-07:00

My school has in-school suspension for students that behave inappropriately. I am not sure if it is because of not doing homework or because of what they have said or done. As the "computer" teacher I have never given any work for those students to complete, not much of a punishment if I let them use a computer in my opinion.

Today a teacher asked me if I ever sent any work for the student to do. When I replied I didn't she implied the student was "getting off" from doing the work in my class. My reply was that it would be hard for them to do the work in ISS when we are using the computers. I could figure out some make-work for them to do, but our administration is just as capable of that as me.

Thinking back over the exchange I have a different response. I really don't think I should punish a student by giving him/her make-work for improper behavior in someone else's class. What do you think?

Journaling Using Pen and Ink

2010-10-25T06:13:00.000-07:00

In my media history class I have been having my students create journal entries detailing events that happen during the American Revolution. Here is a link to our blog where you can find the posts.

A few years ago I received a calligraphy kit to use for teaching an after school class. It has a class set of pens and points that we used to create handwritten journals entries. While the students enjoyed the activity (I may let them continue to do them that way if they choose), they did have a problem with the pens. They are extremely messy and since my students are not used to working with this new medium, there were a lot of spills.

I think that having the students use the old-fashioned tools helps them to understand a little more about the complexity of the process of writing that the soldiers would have had. Imagine having to carry around all that material just to write a journal entry!

Using a Comic Book Creator with Character Education

2010-10-18T08:03:00.000-07:00

This week my students will be using the Marvel Create Your Comic web application to illustrate this month's character education word peace.

Originally I thought I would have the students use the application to create a fractured fairy tale. That entails re-telling a fairy tale from the point of view of one of the characters. I start that lesson by reading The True Story of the Three Little Pigs an amazing story by Jon Scieszka. Unfortunately, the application does not allow the comics to be saved. The students would have to create a couple pages in class then download them. I think this would really alter the flow of the story (even if they had already written it out.) That is when I decided to go with the character ed. word.

This may sound like I am trying to fit a lesson around a web app, but that is only because I am :)

Why EdCampKC is Important to Me

2010-10-10T18:19:00.000-07:00

On Saturday, November 6 my wife and I will be attending EdcampKC at the University of Central Missouri. EdcampKC is an unconference where the attendees are also the presenters.

Many districts, including mine have focused all or a very large percentage of professional development money toward communication arts and mathematics. Unless the conference can be tied directly to either or both of those areas, there is no monetary support from the district. Obviously, this means that I must pay my own way to any conference I wish to attend that deals with technology, even unfortunately technology that can be tied into those areas. Thanks to the sponsors, this conference is free. All it will cost my wife and I is a hotel room, gas, and some money for food. When you consider how expensive other conferences such as METC or ISTE are, you can see how inexpensive this conference really is.

Speaking of METC and ISTE, are you aware that presenters are still required to pay to get in to the conferences they are providing the professional development for? While METC gives a discounted rate for presenteres, ISTE requires payment in full! If you choose to present at edcampKC it will cost you nothing. If you choose to just attend edcampKC the price is still zero!

I will be presenting this year at METC on the importance of commenting on student blogs. While I have never been to this conference before I gather it is a rather large conference. When I went to the ISTE conference in San Antonio I was overwhelmed by the number of people attending. My point is, I am looking forward to edcampKC because it will be small enough for me to make real connections with others. I went to ISTE to attend, I am going to METC to present, but I am going to edcampKC to meet people. These are people that share my passion for student learning who I will not only learn from them at the conference, but I will be able to continue to learn from them online throughout the year.

Ever since I really started to participate on Twitter, my goal was to find passionate educators that care about their students and want to focus on learning. While I have made many contacts and even a few good relationships I cannot wait to develop the types of relationships I have jealously followed others making at unconferences they attended.

I also want my wife (a pre-service teacher) to develop a few relationships to that can help guide her through the rest of college and into her teaching career as well. :)

I Got Your PD Right Here!

2010-09-30T14:35:00.000-07:00

I am receiving the best professional development I have ever experienced at school. I am "team teaching" a math class.

Math is definitely not my strength. I got through by following patterns. I am very good at identifying them. I am not good at being able to understand the "why" of math. Does it make you wonder why I was placed in a math class to team teach?

So, I find myself sitting in a class that I do not feel comfortable in. Not only am I unfamiliar with the objectives (even after reading/studying them over the summer) but with the vocabulary used. Students are expecting me to be able to help them identify why they don't "get" something. How can this be great professional development for me if I am not comfortable?

I have become a student again. I am learning the math concepts and definitions with the students. I ask more clarifying questions than they do. I am remembering my student roots, learning in a classroom.

The first full week I taught the math lessons. I wanted to pull my own weight and show that I could do the job. After teaching a lesson my teaching partner broke the lesson down for me and we talked about what I could have done to make it better. For some veteran teachers this would be a problem, but not for me. I know I am in over my head and I am grateful to have an experienced teacher help me out.

Although the team teaching has been difficult and we have not yet found our comfort zone with the shared responsibilities I would still say this has been successful for me. I am learning math and how to be a better teacher.

We had the Dragon Dance at the Cultural Festivals at our School.

2010-09-26T16:57:00.000-07:00

I offered to produce a cultural item for the school's cultural festivals. The idea of a dragon dance came out. I was very happy that my friend, Helen S who is also very creative wanted to be part of it! Together we created the item and we are very thankful to the talented children involved. We are also able to seek Garth J 's help to make the props like the dragon head. Helen and I stitched the body of the dragon together. We have also added kung fu and umbrella dance to make it more interesting.