Learning Everyday

How You Use the Tools You Have

2011-09-05T08:39:00.000-06:00

I just finished applying to be a Livescribe Smartpen Ambassador. I am crossing my fingers.

Since I recently moved jobs - from 21 years in K-2 classrooms to Intervention Coordinator - I am having technology withdrawl. Why, you ask. Well, for some reason, smartboards, slates, ipods, oh my, never came to our Title 1 intervention room. That shall change! I once heard at a conference that it isn't how many technology tools you have, but how you use them. So true! So I began to combat my tech withdrawl by applying to receive just one smartpen from Livescribe. My head is bursting with ideas of how to use this with students, teachers and PARENTS of our cherubs. It makes me dizzy with anticipation. My hope is that this model will grow and more teachers will need smartpens with their students.

I know it is important to be innovative and engaging with the tools you have and to not get caught up in getting more toys for technology sake. This girl has to start back from scratch. Stay tuned for how we use this awesome tool for student and adult learning.

You think? Collaboration Immigrants, too?

2010-09-05T12:50:00.001-06:00

So, I am taking this Thinkfinity course online - I highly recommend - and I had a HUGE AHA! Ok, maybe the rest of you already had this one, but it just hit me. The whole "digital native vs. digital immigrant" idea has been floating around for some time now. Not the big AHA, just hang on. And, we all keep talking about why all teachers aren't just jumping in to technology and collaborating online or otherwise. Well, the two just clicked for me.

"We", those of us that have jumped on in to technology integration blindly or with a hand held, can't understand why others haven't followed. There have been several ideas such as, old-fashioned, set in their ways, not knowledgeable about technology, unwilling to change, not enough time, blah, blah, blah. But, what if we are not looking at this from the right perspective? What if it isn't any of the above? What if it is a collaboration thing? A confidence thing?

This year our district implemented a Friday early release/teacher collaboration time. Many are dreading it for various reasons, others excited. One teacher says to me, "I hate these things, I have nothing to share." I didn't think about that at the time relating to tech. But...now....what if that is closer to the truth than old-fashioned? It takes a TON of time on your own to find resources, write lesson plans and be innovative. Many of us have turned to others and shared. I came out of the school system with the ingrained attitude of "do it yourself, be original, or you are cheating". Now, the attitude is, "Cool! I think I'll try that, too!" However, what if some of who we call digital immigrants are also still harboring the "I have to be original, can't copy someone's ideas" attitude. So just maybe it really isn't ALL about the technology and the time factor. Maybe it's also a bit about them (you know "them", the teachers "we" have labeled old-fashioned) thinking they have to come up with their own idea, something unique and original instead of "copying" someone's great lesson. My generation of teachers aren't just digital immigrants, we are collaboration immigrants, too. That's two hurdles to overcome!

AHA! My approach and attitude toward training, collaborating, and just being a teammate totally changed this morning. I am going to validate colleagues input more, "copy" other great teaching ideas more - and announce it (the whole model-what's-ok-and-appropriate thing), and shut-up and listen more (those who know me - HELP!).

Not everyone has to blog, be on twitter, facebook, 4square, or whatever, to learn about the benefits of collaboration and sharing together. Not only can we learn new ideas, but we can feel validated and empowered when someone wants to "copy" what we do or has positive comments about our thoughts and ideas. That can and should be done face-to-face, through e-mails, at meetings, not just online. When teachers feel empowered and validated, they are more likely to continue doing great things and try new!

Testing or Teaching?

2010-05-09T22:01:00.000-06:00

I remember the day when teaching was teaching. And part of teaching was observations of students so we knew what to teach them next, what gaps to fill, or what to back up to in order to help guide their learning. We didn't need 1 MILLION standardized tests in packet form, digital form or any other form. Our PROFESSIONAL observation was just that - professional and respected. If an administrator, parent, school board member, superintendent, or heaven forbid a politician walked in, I could tell them exactly what each child in my classroom knew and needed to work on. And guess what...they believed me, trusted me, and respected me enough to allow me to continue teaching without question, without PROOF in the form of a 20 page spreadsheet or downloaded, norm-referenced, state mandated something or other. Don't get me wrong. I am all for accountability. I work hard and expect my colleagues to work hard, too. Children's futures are too valuable to not expect the highest quality for them. Want to know how I knew what my students needed? It's because I had time to spend with them and TEACH. Imagine that! Now I feel like I get to teach a week, test a week, analyze the data for a few hours, teach a week, test a week, etc. Good grief! And if I hear the excuse, "Yes, but you are a veteran teacher. What about new teachers? How will they know how to help students?" ARRRGGG! We were all new once and we all seemed to know our students. Again, it's because we were allowed to TEACH and talk with colleagues! Teachers actually liked talking to each other because we didn't have to look at spreadsheets for hours with each other. New teachers learned from veteran teachers and administrators helped in the classrooms. Yes, I do remember that. Now they are inundated with their own pile of spreadsheets. SB191 wants to add to the piles. LET ME TEACH! Let my administrator mentor. Let my students have time to learn not take up all their time with tests.

I think I am going to create progress monitoring for politicians and test them every two weeks. If they don't improve in efficiency, and whatever else I decide to test them on, by the end of the legislative session, then they are out of there! If congress as a whole can't show improvement with my progress monitoring, then the Governor is out of there, too! Hmmm...now where to find the time and money to create the tests. Appropriations can probably help me out with that - I bet I can find more donations for my progress monitoring of them then they can for SB191!

Moon January 30

2010-01-31T15:00:00.000-07:00

Wow! Need I say more. I am not a professional photographer, nor do I own a camera over $200, however, I think this picture of the moon last night is amazing. It was so bright for the last two nights! I went outside and was looking up through the aspen trees. I didn't do it for very long because I spooked myself - kept thinking of horror movies with bright full moons. So I snapped quickly, admired it fast, and high tailed it inside to view my pic of the moon in a safe, warm house. Silly, I know, but still a cool pic.

2009-11-07T23:57:00.000-07:00

So I am finding new free "stuff" to engage kids all the time now. If you want to start getting into podcasting with your younger students, check out the SDE course for podcasting. I have been learning about audio, enhanced, and video podcasts. How fun is this quick and easy audio podcast, just listen:

Stay tuned for adding pictures and even video!

Miss Outdoors ... Sort of

2009-10-17T13:05:00.000-06:00

OK...learned something about myself lately. People who know me know that I am not "Miss Outdoors". I don't dislike the outdoors - I love to hike, and picnic (not on the ground, of course), and walk the dog. I just don't feel the need to sleep outside, commune with wildlife, or pick up "stuff"-other than rocks. I love the quietness, but not the scary animal noises (that I do enjoy after I am safe back at home). I like beds, showers, bathrooms, and electricity. Don't fault me. I am sure there are others like me.

But back to what I learned. The other evening my husband called me from the car in front of our house to tell me there was an owl in the tree. My first thought, as embarrassing as this is to admit, was, "Keep the dog inside so she doesn't get eaten!". Luckily, I didn't say this out loud so that my kids could laugh at me - we have a doberman - don't know of any owls eating dobermans. My second thought, thank goodness, was to get the camera. I still left my boys and dog inside until I deemed it safe. Oh brother! I actually walked right up to the tree, stood underneath and snapped some photos while the owl looked at me with curiosity, annoyance, disdain? AND I lived to tell about it. So, since it was safe and all, I went and got my teenage boys, who didn't show ANY fear at all. I was impressed and proud and embarrassed - I think you know why, but they don't. Neat moment. Moment over. Learned owls do not attack photographers!

But here is what I learned about myself the next morning: I learned am not above doing ANYTHING for my students, my little friends! I actually started to drive away from my house the next morning, stopped, got out and dug in the leaves looking for owl pellets. GROSS! I found two. So crown me "Miss Outdoors!" I couldn't wait to get to school to show my students the owl throw up that I found in my yard! And I just set up a new document camera so the whole class could get HUGE details on screen. WOW! It was cool. We had to skip spelling to talk about poop vs. throw up. The kids thought this was hilarious, but learned something (I hope). The assistant superintendent that was walking through my room didn't show any signs of thinking this was hilarious. I went on with the lesson anyway. They thought that was funny, too.

Then I learned or relearned or just remembered something...school needs to be fun! The fun and spontaneity has been sucked out of our classrooms. I just read Paul Bogush's blog: Having a Ball! and it inspired me to do more digging in the leaves, to remember to laugh with my little friends and gross them out sometimes, too. If we can't enjoy our jobs, how can our students enjoy their learning.

So I learned that I can be a little outdoorsy and laugh about it as I'm digging for owl throw-up, excuse me, owl pellets. I was reminded that laughter in the classroom aides learning, creates bonds, and is just fun.

Animoto.com

2009-09-07T15:24:00.001-06:00

Learned about this handy tool today. Took me a total of 5 minutes to create this Open House video and post to several locations. Can't wait for the kids to use it!

Speech or No Speech

2009-09-06T12:22:00.000-06:00

I'm confused today. I'm not even sure writing it out will make it any clearer. In past elections Presidents have won elections based on the majority of voters - not confusing. Unless I am missing something from history, no President has ever won 100% of the votes. And even though past Presidents have not won 100% of the people's votes, the country went on, sometimes a few grumbled, sometimes the media picked sides, and sometimes there was controversy, but in the end we - the voters - hoped the President succeeded because it was in our country's and our best interests. Still not confusing. I even remember other Presidents addressing the schools and children of the nation - without controversy, OR PERMISSION SLIPS! Now here is where I am confused. Whether I voted for President Obama or not is irrelevant now. He is my country's President. I hope he leads this country in the right direction. Is addressing the children and encouraging them to do well in school the right direction. DUH! Whether I agree with anything else he says or not, I agree with telling students that school is important, that hard work can better your life, and that a positive attitude will take you far. Who can't agree with that? So, WHY, WHY, WHY, are our districts sending opt out letters home with students? Why are we not allowed to watch a live address from OUR PRESIDENT? I will be honest, I didn't vote for him; I don't agree with everything he is working on right now. But if the President fails, our country fails. It is what it is. Let's support the things that are good. Focus on that - maybe he'll do more. I am confused by all the adults that are acting like children with their fingers in their ears crying out, "I'm not listening, I'm not listening!" Good grief!
Sorry for the vent. Still confused.

PS I will NOT be signing the opt out form for my children. And I am mad as I can get that they can't take advantage of technology, watch it live, and have discussion at school with many viewpoints.

2009-07-26T17:29:00.000-06:00

Tomorrow begins our tech team training. I sit here kicking myself because I had decided to pass the wand to other teacher leaders and bow out….BUT…here I am still part of the team. It’s not that I don’t like being a part, or even that I’m burned out. Neither of those is true. I love being a part of a team and I can’t seem to get burned out on tech. The reason I wanted to pass this year was because I felt like I was force-feeding teachers technology like force-feeding your kids veggies. It was like trying to make kids eat brussel sprouts and spinach because I knew how good those are for you. I felt like maybe it was me. Maybe if someone else were the leader, someone else offering the good-for-you veggies, teachers would come after school, willingly, with smiles, forks in hand ready to dig in. That may be true, but I would like to think not.

Then I read Blogush’s post, Prize the Learner. He hit the nail on the head for me. He talked about “edtechvangelists” and how we expect everyone to happily jump on the tech wagon – and eat their brussel sprouts with a yum, yum. If I modeled how to eat brussel sprouts with a smile and wanted more, then everyone should. Right? But, of course, just like our students, everyone learns and processes change at a different rate; they try new veggies at different times in their lives. As educators, we must “prize the learner” and value their feelings and opinions. DUH! How come teacher leaders forget this when we deal with adult learners? I am guilty. Sorry. Lesson learned.

So as I go to training tomorrow, I vow to listen-not judge, be understanding-not intolerant, and to encourage-not push. I will offer brussel sprouts not force them down even if they are covered in cheese. I will ask the learners what their favorite veggie is and build on that. Technology may change at the speed of light, but people don’t and shouldn’t have to. Teachers should be respected and valued even if they aren’t ready to try brussel sprouts. Maybe learners would smell, and taste new veggies if we “prized the learner” 1st.

The Education Pendulum

2009-07-11T17:40:00.000-06:00

Why does the pendulum in education swing from one extreme to the other?

When I first began teaching, I heard the “old timers” during staff meetings, PD training or workshops say things like “Here we go again,” and “Isn’t that just like…” and even, “I won’t go back to that again!” I could almost hear their eyes rolling. Being the new kid on the block back then, I thought that those teachers were just negative and set in their ways. I was sure that I would guard against becoming resistant to change.

Now I’m the “old timer” and I like to think that I can go with the flow and embrace change as it betters my teaching and engages students. However, I caught myself at a recent summer workshop saying, “Isn’t that just like…”. WOW! What an aha moment for me. After 20 years in education, you do see how great ideas are recycled and renamed. And how bad ideas are recycled and renamed. Many of those so-called negative teachers just had the insight from experience.

So why does the pendulum continue to swing? If we as educators have so much more knowledge now about how the brain works and how students learn best then ever before, then how come we can’t seem to get it right? I am baffled by this trend from government to district administration and down to the building level including teachers. Government changes standards, states and districts change assessments and teachers try to keep up. I am guilty. I thought that being on the “bandwagon” meant that I was on the cutting edge and doing the best for my students. Now…I think that having an arsenal of resources is the key. There isn’t one way or even the best way. The best way is what is best for that group that year or that individual. Maybe the pendulum needs to stop rocking and we just need to continue to learn so that we can pull what we need when we need it. No more eye rolling needed.