1-2-1 Solutions

A well orchestrated lesson involves the movements of expansion and contraction, imagining possibilities and focusing on answers, seeking connections and drawing conclusions. The lesson becomes organic, it breathes and the students breathe with it.

The computer screen - it creates a focal point, a narrowing down. When I compare options of getting each learner access to Web 2.0, the image of students concentrating their focus onto tiny little screens makes my muscles tighten. Give them big beautiful screens; let them appreciate their work in full view with multiple windows open one beside the other. Let them sit back and view their creations and take a deep breath. It is much easier to take a deep breath when sitting straight or sitting back, arms in an open gesture, than (watch somebody on their PDA) when hunching forward, head bowed, wrists together bringing the arms into a closed gesture.

Stay open. Keep breathing.

PodCasting

Here is a podcast designed to be played by students to help a substitute teacher run my B block class. The class is a "guided study hall" or basic study skills class:



Subscribe Free  Add to my Page

One Computer per Student

If there were one computer for every elementary school student, the computers would sit around most of the day while the students are in language arts practicing handwriting which develops capacities for thinking and learning (Graham, Vanderbilt University), in social studies listening to stories and developing interest in the other, in math working with manipulatives to train their logic, in science studying living organisms and environments, in P.E. developing physical capacities, in art developing capacities to work with form, in music developing harmony, at lunch and recess developing emotional capacities, and after school when healthy children are active outside in the sunlight and fresh air.

If there were one computer for every middle school student, the computers would sit around for extended periods of time while students are in language arts reading their favorite genre and developing critical thinking capacities, in social studies creating maps of the world developing spacial capacities, in math formulating multi-step solutions developing the capacity for problem solving, in science labs developing capacities of observation, in P.E. developing physical capacities, in art developing capacities to work with form, in music developing harmony, at lunch and recess developing emotional capacities, and after school when healthy children are active outside in the sunlight and fresh air.

If there were one computer for every high school student, the students would spend much time sitting around their computers in language arts reading and writing about their favorite genre using critical thinking skills, in social studies respectfully communicating with people around the world, in math tackling real-life problem solving, in science recording research and observations, and in the creating of graphic art and music. The challenge would be to have them step away from the computers at lunch and free time to develop social capacities, and after school to develop healthy physical bodies.

Addiction

When you leave a party where you have real friends to come home to your computer and sign on to a virtual world...

When you finish a day of skiing early to come home to your computer and sign on to a virtual world...

When you chose your computer over housecleaning, stacking firewood, and decorating for a holiday...

When you are a stable, strong adult making these choices....

I worry about our young people and the powerful attraction of the computer. What percentage of kids will be interacting with a screen instead of with family and friends during holiday gatherings? What capacities is this focus on technology creating? What is being lost as the will finds expression more and more through the keyboard?

Do we have a responsibility to assure that childrens' use of information-technology is balanced with activities to develop their physical bodies? Is there an age that is more appropriate than another to give these tools (like any other tools) to children?

Second Life

A web application that "provides an online society within a 3D world, where users can explore, build, socialize and participate in their own economy." (www.secondlife.com)

"Dad, I'm in an imaginary room on the computer talking with people from the course I'm taking. Can I call you back later?"

And thus I explained SecondLife to my dad, who phoned while I was participating in our session. I said to my boyfriend that in under five minutes, I could be having a conversation with someone from Europe as normal as the one we were having at the kitchen table. It is truly a phenomena. This was also my discovery of the International Society for Technology Education (iste), in which I see myself becoming more involved.

My mind is moving faster than my fingers when it comes to putting thoughts down about my experience in SecondLife and potential ideas I've been having. Danger Karen, this feels like it could become addictive.

Eureka

There is a type of student that I find is constantly drawn to the computer. He is begging to play games, put on music, and watch YouTube. And when I've given an assignment which involves using the computer, I need to sit where I can see his computer screen because quick as a flash, he finds his way to these favorite applications. Typically, he can get to the classroom before me (I travel from room to room) and though he knows he is not welcome to log on prior to class - there he is - the attraction to the computer stronger than the consequence.

Monday morning I called in sick and was told there was a shortage of subs. I asked that someone simply get my students to the library and ask them to log in to their gmail accounts and I would conduct class from home. While I still have some practicing to make an off-site session go more smoothly, they loved it. Monday afternoon, I made my way to school. I arrive in math class to find aforementioned student on the computer. As I was about to correct him he enthusiastically said, no Ms. Payne, I was looking to see if you emailed us an assignment. Eureka!

Teacher Tools

Years ago, traveling on a plane to spring break, the woman in the seat next to me and I discovered that we were both teachers. We probably talked about subject matter, schedules, demographics at our schools.... And then she asked if I was familiar with a tool that every teacher should be using - the Pilot G-2 roller ball gel ink pen. "You must have one," she exclaimed. I believe she even gave me hers that day and I now have a set of twelve colors in the top drawer of my desk.

As I sat on a plane yesterday, traveling for the long weekend, that memory surfaced with this question: If I were to rave about one teaching tool today, which tool would that be?

Assessment

Our instructor would like us to write about assessment and Classroom 2.0. His vision is that computer use is embedded into lessons and that students reach for internet applications with the same ease that they reach for a pencil - and we do not teach or assess how one uses a pencil - or do we?

Back straight, head upright, fingers relaxed, start the letter from the top and draw downward like a hawk swooping...what teachers used to spend 45 minutes per day instructing, is now the focus for an hour or less per week (Newsweek, 11/12/07). The article sites a new study that shows that handwriting is linked to thinking and learning (Graham, Vanderbilt University). Thus, I make a case that teaching and assessing pencil use is a key part of learning. Furthermore, teaching and assessing use of any tool during the elementary stage of its use is important as it adds to effectiveness and fluidity. I am speaking of 'assessment' in its original form - to sit beside. And I'm stressing its formative use - to observe, scaffold, and reinforce.

As savy as some of our students are with Web tools, most of them need to be taught and provided with opportunities for practice. Then, like those students who we've taught to hold a pencil who can now write better or draw better than we can ever dream of, students will take off with internet applications and take them further than we can ever dream of.

Teaching in a Networked World

Imagine a struggling reader... who spends hours looking at anime... and dreams of visiting Japan...imagine him communicating with a student in Japan about school, dinner, holidays....

Imagine a reluctant reader...who races toward any conversation about NASCAR... and dreams of meeting Dale Earnhardt, Jr....imagine him communicating with a NASCAR driver about what it takes to face one's fears...

Imagine a struggling reader...who would rather be sent out of class and fail an assignment than have her peers discover that she cannot read the assignment... and dreams of people getting along instead of fighting...imagine her communicating with another high schooler who has the same frustrations...

Heck, why just imagine... Let's have them work together on a presentation about how students who struggled in school became successful adults or about how each of them celebrates their birthday.

Does anyone out there know any English speaking Japanese students that would like to work on a project about Naruto?

Personalization

"Personal Learning Environments" (PLE) is a key term in today's schools. Educators are experiencing that learning is correlated to motivation and that motivation is driven by emotions and engagement. We fool ourselves if we believe that the best learning takes place in our classrooms. Students gain great knowledge in the informal environments in which they interact throughout their day. Life asks the learner to constantly decide where to pay attention; and we find ourselves looking for the relevant.

Given the overwhelming amount of knowledge in circulation, it can be difficult determining where to focus. Other people are invaluable resources in this process. A "Personal Learning Network" (PLN - cultivated connections with other Web users), is an example of such. Finding a writer on the Web with whom you are of the same mind, is finding a north star pointing to the relevant - no matter who you are or how old you are.

Classroom 2.0 - a Link to High School Reform

"Today there are multiple federal, state, local, and philanthropic high school reform initiatives that are simultaneously attempting to address the consistent and ongoing criticisms of the traditional comprehensive high school. Despite the diligent work of school leaders and other educators, academic performance in high schools remains stagnant, achievement gaps exist along race and income lines, and low graduation rates and high dropout rates persist."
~National Association of Secondary School Principals

The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) has a vision of reforming the American high school into an academically rigorous, personalized learning environment. The New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), the nation's oldest regional accrediting association, stresses the themes of collaboration, personalization, equity, and engagement in establishing and maintaining high standards in education. Classroom 2.0 is an ideal vehicle for implementation of their key themes.

Collaboration is, by definition, the essence of Classroom 2.0 - the term used to describe the classroom in which web-based applications are used to facilitate learners working together. Individuals can no longer possess all the knowledge they will need. Siemens writes that we can collect and store knowledge through "collecting people." He stresses the idea that developing these connections is more critical than possessing content. If one knows where to find answers, the seemingly infinite amount of content of this information age becomes accessible. And when the flow of knowledge becomes too rapid and complex, a network of people can share the processing and interpreting (Knowing Knowledge, 2006). Today's youth recognize these principles and are applying them by creating networks of virtual "friends." When teachers incorporate networking into the learning process, the focus shifts from receiving and memorizing content to thinking about, creating, and applying content. These in turn lead to personalization and engagement.

"Conversation is the ultimate personalization experience..." (Siemens, 2006). In the Classroom 2.0, assignments no longer end with a finished paper (graded, returned, thrown away). Student work becomes the inspiration for the thoughts of others; it is offered as a starting point to build upon. Learners experience that their voice matters, that people are listening and responding, that their ideas count (Richardson, 2006) and they become engaged. And when the school assures that access to the Web is available to every student, this experience is equitable.

Web 2.0

Web 2.0 refers to the 'second generation' of web-based communities and hosted services — such as social-networking, wikis, and folksonomies — which facilitate collaboration among users. These new applications have brought about changes in the ways software developers, consumers, and producers use the internet. The term became popular following the first O'Reilly Media Web 2.0 conference in 2004 (Wikipedia).

In the last chapter of his book about Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms, Will Richardson points to two "unstoppable" trends in the classroom because of Web 2.0. The first is the fact that more and more content will continue to come online (with some mind-boggling statistics about this), and the second trend is that the creation of content is collaborative. Collaboration is a key concept in education today. The National Association of Secondary School Principals highlights collaboration as a key strategy for creating positive change in reforming the American high school (Breaking Ranks II,2004).

Richardson continues to uncover what this all means to the classroom by describing "10 Big Shifts." These are outlined here:

Big Shift #1: Open Content
A wealth of information on each subject area is now at a learner's fingertips rather than being presented with the limited content of textbooks and teacher-chosen supplementary materials.

Big Shift #2: Many, Many Teachers, and 24/7 Learning
The Web allows connections with experts around the world; it connects the learner with primary sources of knowledge - 24/7.

Big Shift #3: The Social, Collaborative Construction of Meaningful Knowledge
A creator's audience has changed from the classroom teacher to a "world" of people interested in the same topic. The assignment no longer ends with the finished paper; it now has the possibility of becoming ongoing "dialogue."

Big Shift #4: Teaching Is Conversation, Not Lecture
Learners experience that their voice matters, that people are listening and responding, that their ideas count. "Ideas are a starting point for a dialogue, not the ending point" (Siemens, 2002).

Big Shift #5: Know "Where" Learning
The stress on what is the right answer shifts to the importance of knowing where to find answers. Lessons move beyond memorizing facts and formulas (short-term in my experience)to discussing and applying the facts.

Big Shift #6: Readers Are No Longer Just Readers
This is a move from content being carefully checked and edited before being published to recognizing the ease of posting anything without "an eye toward truth and accuracy." Receivers of knowledge are called upon to make assessments and discern good from bad. The activity involved in reading increases.

Big Shift #7: The Web as Notebook
Paper is becoming less and less effective as a way to capture relevant information. The ease of saving notes and linking ideas now includes audio, video, photography, and more.

Big Shift #8: Writing Is No Longer Limited to Text
The web is changing the definition of what it means to 'write.' Writing genres now include audio, video, music, and photography as well as the combination thereof to create powerful messages.

Big Shift #9: Mastery Is the Product, Not the Test
Determining mastery defined by passing tests, typically not even based on what you could DO with the information, shifts to performance based learning and assessment.

Big Shift #10: Contribution, Not Completion, as the Ultimate Goal
The destination of assignments has changed from that of becoming graded, handed back, and thrown away to becoming messages added to a world-wide conversation and being content that could be used to teach others. Teachers become connectors of content and of people, content creators, true collaborators (read: learners alongside their students), coaches, and agents of change.