#Geniushour update

I know it is premature to start celebrating, but I tried some things and found a little success. No, no one said they wanted to convince the school board that we should have electric busses or turn our schools into living buildings that produce more energy than they consume but, from what I have screen, so far, nobody's passion is really dolphins.

One mistake I saw that I had made in my first day of our genius project was thant i did not help guide  my students in how to think about this project. These kids have probably never had a teacher tell them that they could learn about whatever they want. So, they went to their default mode of, what animal or person can I do a book report or trifold science fair board about. To help them brainstorm their interests i had them creat a Heartmap at the suggestion of @_mrs_bmw_69. I first had my students list out as many issues that mattered to them, issues they wish they could change, and problems they concern them. Basically, issues that were close to their hearts. Next, I had them rank these from least to most important. Finally, I passed out a paper with a heart on it and had them decorate put their topics in the heart, allowing more space for the most important and less space for the less important.  

The next activity I did was based on questions from the genius hour live binder authored by @joykirr. I took several questions from this site and plugged them into an "interest survey" I created on My Big Campus.  After the students filled them out I went back and read through their answers and was much happier with what I saw. I had one girl who talked about how she loves fashion and upcycling. Another girl was very interested in hair and makeup while one boy wants to be a marine biologist and feels very strongly about how pollution is harming wildlife in the Pacific Ocean. 

As I read through their surveys I commented on each one drawing out some major themes in their answer and tried to help suggest topics they could consider for their project.  This started a diogue with my students about their projects and the possibilities of what they could do. I could tell, from some of their responses that they were surprised that I would let them learn what they wanted. One kid was very excited at the prospect of learning how to build his own website. Another, who had mentioned cooking, liked the suggestion of learning some new resipies.

I still have a few students who have no clues out what they want to do or have a broad general topic in mind, by now that I have the majority of my class on the right track, I can focus more of my time on these kids and help them find their passion. I am very excited about the possibilities and am looking forward to what my students do and create (especially the kid who will be cooking!)

Some days you have it, some days you don't

Yesterday was one of those days in which i felt like a superstar teacher. I communicated my goals and expectations clearly, got the students working on a group project, and worked with small groups on getting them set up to on the computers and ready to use My Big Campus.  It really was amazing! Students working and completely engaged and excited about what they were doing. I only wish my principal could have seen it because I would have instantly been given the title of "Teacher of the Decade!"

Today was a different story. The students were working on their genius projects on the computers and everything seemed to go wrong. Several kids were having troubles signing on to the computers while others were having troubles getting on My Big Campus. I had several students who felt that they needed to come up to me while I was helping another students instead of raising their hands and waiting patiently for their turn.  And, in the end, I was completely frustrated with their work and progress.

I spent the summer reading, learning, thinking about, and planning for this day. The day I introduced the genius project to my class.  I had visions of students coming up with ideas that would not only inspire them and give them a drive to learn and better themselves, but would also better our community and change the word!  Students were supposed to be singing my praises in the hallways after class.  Instead, when I asked my students what they were passionate about and what they would really like to learn about they listed, dolphins, cougars, a video game website, and famous volleyball players.  Rather than students creating robots that can pass out milks at lunch, four wheelers that run on vegetable oil and gets 250 miles a gallon, or even the best tasting vegan cheese burger in the world I see trifold posters, power points, and dioramas in my future.

Reflecting on my first day of Genius project I see a few things that I didn't do well.  First of all, we didn't brainstorm as a class about ideas. Secondly, I didn't do a good job getting the kids to think about what they like to do, what they love to do with their free time, or what they would do to improve the world.  I think my mistakes could be summed up as simply asking them what they wanted to learn about and not spending time with the above questions and giving examples of what I was really looking for.  

After reviewing my mistakes I am going to spend a little time asking my students questions about their activities, secret talents, and hopes and dreams.  From here I hope to help them see that they can improve their lives through learning, and maybe even change the world.  I may not get is completely right this time, but I am going to work hard and try my best to make this a great learn experience for my students.  They don't have to write songs about how gear Mr. rooks is and sing them in the halls of the school, but I hope that when they leave my class they will say, "man, I really enjoyed that class and learned some cool stuff from that Mr. Brooks!"

Where is Page 100?

 I  find page 100 in a book an exciting thing, maybe more exciting than actually finishing the book.  Even if the book has 800 pages, page 100 is the most exciting milestone.  As I was approaching the 100th page in a book I was recently reading I starting thinking about the benchmarks I work towards in a book.  Much like when I run, I look for a landmark in the distance to give me something to focus on and work for.  After I meet that goal, I look off in the distance and find another landmark and so the pattern goes.  In a book I do the same thing.  I start by going chapter by chapter.  Then, as I get to page 60 or 70 I set my sights on page 100.  At this point, I am most likely to "hit the wall" and give up.  Once I hit that glorious centennial page, I get a renewed sense of purpose and my second wind.  I then start setting my sights on the halfway mark, then three quarters and finally, the finish line.   

I have also been reading a book on my iPad.  I love how, when I swipe the page, it turns like a real page.  I also love how I can change the font size and page color.  I even like that it tells me how may pages are left in the chapter.  It is very handy to be able to copy and past text, take notes in the book, and even post a quote from the book on Facebook straight from the app.  I can also carry multiple books with me at the same time.  Another great thing is that if I am out and want to read, I can open the book on my iPhone and pick up where I left off on my iPad.  Despite all of this, it still doesn't show me the benchmarks that I commonly look for in a book.  Even though there is the little progress bar at the bottom, I don’t get to see the bookmark move through the book.  I don't get the joy of reaching that 100th page because the page numbers change depending on the font size. 

I was recently asked which ereader I think is best.  I think they all have their pluses and minuses.  I love my iPad and my wife loves her kindle fire hd.  I have friends who have Nooks and love them as well.  These are great because they function more as a portable computer than simply an ereader but they can really strain the eyes.  The more simple ereaders such as the Kindle Paperwhite fix the eye strain issue, but lack the other functions found on the more advanced tablets.  In the end, though I love my iPad, there isn't a substitute for a real, tangible, book made of paper or the feeling of reaching that 100th page. 

A clean look at a dusty old profession

If you are like me you have always viewed librarians as older ladies with their hair in buns, thick glasses, and too many cats.  I thought this until I became one my self!  Yes, I still see this stereotype fleshed out in many libraries, but I am hoping to break this mold and creat a new, cooler stereotype. 

I kind of fell into being a librarian, or as most in the profession prefer "library media specialist."  While working as the in school suspension teacher, or as people in that profession prefer "prison warden," my colleague and friend who was the working in the library had to resign due to medical reasons. I was sad to see my friend leave, but was also excited to find this get out of jail free card.  I was given a 4 hour crash course in library media science and then thrown into the job 1/3 of the way through the school year.

I have learned a lot in the past couple of years in my new role.  I depend a lot on my local colleagues and the Internet to help me do my job.  One thing I have learned is that the library or the preferred name in the biz "library media center" is way more about technology than you might think. For one thing, we are charged with the task of teaching "cyber citizenship."  Also, the introduction of ebooks is changing the game. I find this attractive because now, we can get our books back automatically and not have to bug kids about it or charge them for lost books. 

I guess this is more like mindless rambling rather than a thoughtful blog post.  I just felt inspired to start a more professioanl blog after going to EdCamp this past week and meeting some really cool teachers and media specialists. I will admit that there may have been some older ladies with buns who treat their cats as children and who still wear their glasses on chains, but, overall most of the people I met were way cooler than me, and that takes a lot...<insert obligatory emoticon> :-)