70 Tools 70 Minutes

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70 Tools 70 Minutes

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It's not about the TOOLS!

this was a topic... that I was SOOO going to write about, but I didn't. (I found it in my drafts!!... and just the title!)

It's sort of like the other titles that I have written down that struck chords with me ... What's so interactive about the Interactive Notebook and few other passing ideas. Oh... I so wish my thoughts on the drive home could go instantly into a blog... then... well... you'd know ME and I'd have down my rapid firing thoughts as they come into my head.

I will eventually come back to this topic of It's Not About the Tools! Because as you should know... it really isn't about the tools.

Top 50 Blogs for e-Learning Tools and Tips

Top 50 Blogs for e-Learning Tools and Tips

There's always so much to read and learn and sometimes I can just hyperventilate sitting at my computer. So... that's why I also cook, drink wine, garden and knit. This is another one of those great resources that captures many greats. It is often too overwhelming when you get the mentality that you want to get "ALL" of something. Or find "ALL" of the great resources. Infinity is a very hard concept... whether we are talking resources, books, things to learn, friends to find, etc. This is one of the reasons I have this blog. So I can talk to myself about these concepts... capture things in one place and try to live a balanced life as well. I remind myself of my 3 words for 2010: REFLECT, APPRECIATE, BALANCE now...Back to knitting.

the Fun Theory or thefuntheory

So what behaviors can we change or affect with a little fun? As I read Debbie Miller's books, Reading with Meaning and Reading with Intention... tell me that she and her students are not having fun! Fun can be so easy to do in the classrooms with children. Kids seek out fun! Adults also seek out fun. Why do we sometimes make the classrooms the last place to have some fun... it should be the first. Afterall, learning is fun and that is the message we want our kids to live life knowing. (More later...)

Twenty-Ten, MidYear Again... So What? or NOW WHAT?

We're back at school and boy what a week it was. Some highs and some lows... and some interesting twists! My big high is the opportunity of teaching electricity unit to 4th graders... on Tuesdays and Thursdays. The focus is to model a unit that I have for the science teachers and that we will together, collaborate to update, re-vise and upload into SchoolNet as a FQL Unit. Day one is always so exciting... as the kids get their materials (the aluminum wires they made from tape and foil, the bulb, and the dry cell) and they are asked to light the bulb. Oh... they so think they know what to do, but yet it shows very quickly that they don't. The discovery, exploring and open structure is such a fun 30 minutes... students are talking, questioning, helping each other... and the scream of delight (often from someone that is rarely the typical successful one). when the bulb is lit. I have a month of these exciting lessons...

Another high moment was sitting with a great friend and colleague at dinner and chatting about different schools' perceptions and perspectives at the midyear point. Where are we? What's working, what's not working? So what... or NOW What? Both of us have new roles this year and we have new perspectives within these roles. We have the advantage that often a classroom teacher does not have due to their hyper-focus on their students and their curriculum planning, assessment and instruction work. And... we understand this... we want to HELP. This week brought opportunities of working on Schoolnet to create groups, to look at lag data, to drill down to some specific analyses... and the opportunity to create a relevant midyear test draft for another team. For them to preview this coming week... looking at what they taught... making the test more relevant for their students. Twenty-ten is bringing some tighter circles and some common purposes. I see movement towards NOW what?!

Another big moment this week was the attendance of a leadership meeting at a school where the topic was midyear reviews and assessments. The waters were murky and potentially unpleasant at the start of this topic ... but alas it evolved, cleared and purpose emerged. Energy soared at the end as a pot about to bubble over! But... it is apparent that assessment literacy is weak for all of us. As a system, we still get mixed messages from leaders and colleagues that confuse us. The questions that must be guide us are these: What is the purpose of the assessment? Is the assessment relevant to... A) what we taught? or B) what we were suppose to have taught? or C) not relevant at all. Once we figure out that answer... I would just stop and not assess if the answer is C... why bother? Do we want the data to predict, to pre-assess, to reflect on our instructional practices, or to compare to the school across the highway? hmmm... important questions lead to important answers. Data should be relevant... it should be owned by the teachers. Shouldn't it? It should be relevant to the students and the teachers, I'm thinking. It should give us pause for reflection. What worked? What didn't? Who needs what? Who is exceeding... NOW what? Assessment DRIVES instruction. We say it... but sometimes it's apparent that we don't believe it. When someone tells you what assessment to give, does that make it not relevant? Are assessments final and not living documents? Can assessments sometimes simply be "kid-watching" and knowing what you see as a professional? Are assessments not indicators of what we need to teach, if we haven't? And what about AUTHENTIC Assessments? They matter most of ALL, I think. Watching the students close the circuit and explain the touchpoints this week... now that's real to me. We will continue with this as we move to series and parallel circuits. The kids will have many chances to deepen their understandings in a fun hands-on way. I appreciate that information coming straight from the student as I watch and listen and learn (about them and the topic)! Not to mention the excitement of collaborating and their demonstration of knowledge or misunderstanding... or problem-solving what works and what doesn't. Isn't that really thinking? Don't we ultimately want the child to think and problem-solve and collaborate? How exciting does it feel for the students when they read about it only in a text book or see a picture of a circuit and have to answer whether the bulb will light? Oh yes... I have some of those diagrams on the SchoolNet test I created this week... the lovely and dreaded multiple choice assessment, but won't the students smile and remember their experiences when they see that question... as they confidently choose their answer? If not... I (the teacher) has more work to do. Also... don't forget I have other evidence of learning...videoclips of the students showing and talking and explaining... that's documentation, too! Assessments... wow. Why is it such an ugly word to many teachers? "Takes too much time... not relevant... the kids know more than they show on this type of test". So... I say, "prove it! Document it! Show it!" and yes... it all takes time. No argument there. All things worth doing, takes time. But, if it's relevant and you have a real purpose, then it is time well spent. Now what?

What's Changed in 2009?

I think Darah's comment to Will resonates deeply with me as I ponder the upcoming perfect (not to be taken literally) storm in ACPS. Budget, programs, systems, hierarchies, etc. Is now the time to blow things up and start over? Did we really start with the blow-up last year with the restructuring? I love the idea of new opportunities, but I also fear the riots! Talk has started... fear is setting in? Questions are arising? People's worth and systems are being challenged. This can be very good indeed... but what comes out on the other side? Has everyone sacrificed yet? It will truly involve sacrifice if you do not embrace the challenges as an opportunity! Has everyone changed at least one thing that they've always done? Where are you? Where am I? The coaching model will certainly come under fire. I am in deep thought over the pros and cons of this model... as I work to use my collaborative spirit to influence reflection. So what's all this about reflection you say? I'm now arriving at what has changed for me in 2009. REFLECTION. Analyzing reflection based on conversation and observation... and moving toward experimentation. I know... this sounds like "bullsh!##. But it really isn't? More later... as my thoughts right now are getting deeper than the snow outside. I've had to let go of familiar spaces and people and embrace new. I've attempted to be true to my beliefs and practices within new environments. It hasn't been easy, but yet I'm aware that it looks very easy. I need to think some more on this post and the changes that I've personally experienced. But... in the meantime, I challenge you to think about what's changed for you in 2009 in your professional life as an educator? Where are you growing and which of your attitudes have been challenged?

12 TED TALKS for Teachers before 2010

Well as I sit snowed in and procrastinating about my holiday life... here are some inspirational TED Talks that I am enjoying. It's amazing what you can learn while flitting from one micro-blog to another... and how time can just pass you by. Is it wasting time or is it time well wasted? I will plow through these talks before my road gets plowed and that's for sure! Enjoy... if there's anyone out there!