Take time to read & write!

We live in an overcrowded age of quick sound bites and 140 character posts.  It is easy to get lost, overwhelmed, or just fed up with the narcissistic world of social media.  Even in the educational world where we pride ourselves in our PLNs and the people we follow it seems like our twitter feed gets clogged by useless tweets and retweets. Sometimes it is nice to slow down, take some time, and read something of substance and depth.    

What do you like about her blog?

I recently had the opportunity to be introduced to Amy Heavin’s blog.   While reading through Amy’s blog, one thing I appreciate is her use of imagery and connecting everyday activities and events into her main point.  She draws you in with her stories.  As an educator if find them poignant and inspiring.

I currently have a blog, which you are reading, that doesn’t really have a specific audience, or much of one at all :)  That is one thing I need to improve on.  But, thinking about a specific blog for school, it would be really cool to start one with students being the target audience.  Something that would speak to them and encourage them to be learners and readers.  

I follow several blogs that follow different patterns of posting.  Some post daily, these are the guys who do this for some form of income either as their job or as a supplemental income.  Others post a few times a week, or at least weekly.  And their are a couple others who post less often than that, but usually once or twice a month.  My current trend is to average about 4 posts a year...not a great way to gain and keep a following.  

A wise man (my wife’s grandfather) once told me, “you don’t write just to write, but you write because you have something to say.”  This is how, in the past, I have chosen what to blog about.  I wait until I have an idea, then post.  Sometimes it is a reflection on a lesson or event, other times it just comes to me.

Sometimes it is a little nerve racking to post something on a blog then share it to the world.  There is always that fear that someone is going to say something negative about it.  Though, even worse than that is the fear that no one will even click the link to read what you have written.  I have had to get over that.  I am learning to write for the enjoyment of it and to say something.  To be heard, even if it is only heard by a few.

Lost Connections to the Past

As a librarian one of the hardest parts of my job is weeding books.  I alone am responsible for looking at lists of old books that haven’t been checked out for years and deciding whether or not this book deserves another year on the shelf.  On some occasions, books may narrowly miss the executioner’s axe based on their merit as an award winning book or the fact that it is on a popular topic.  But, sadly, more often than not even these books can suffer the fatal blow due simply to their age or appearance.  The old adage, “you can’t judge a book by its cover” really doesn't apply here.  Books that are yellowed, damaged, or have dated artwork are not appealing to young readers and must be sacrificed to make room for those books that will draw students in and transport them to another world.

Recently I was in the middle of this painful process when I came across something very interesting and exciting.  I pulled a book of Poetry by Longfellow that had no computer record of being checked out.  I opened the front cover to discover a long forgotten piece of library “technology,” the book card.  If you are older than 30 you may remember these.  Before computers were used in the library, the book card used to sit in the front of the book until it was checked out.  Then, when the lucky book was chosen, the card would be removed, the patron would write their name on the line and the librarian would stamp the due date on the card and the other card inside the book.

As a child, I was always fascinated by this card.  I would study the names and dates on the card being amazed that the book had been checked out by such and such a kid 5 years before...5 years!  That was such a long time ago I thought.  So, it was no surprise that I did it again, I read through the names, a short history of the life of this book.  Tammy had checked the book out on May 30th.  Heidi must have loved this book of poems because she checked it out on October 24 and then again on Feb 3.  Then, the surprise.  The last entry on the card was a handwritten date and name 1-15-88 SPENCER 55...wait, could this have been checked out by my wife’s grandfather?  January, 1988 was the first year the school was open and Grandpa Spencer was teaching seventh grade social studies in room number 55.  This book hadn't been opened for 27 years and the last person to open it was my wife’s grandfather.  For a moment there was this amazing connection between the two of us.  I felt as though I had picked up right where he had left off.  27 years later, the same book in the same school, in the same library.  

As I stood next to the beautiful all-wood checkerboard that grandpa had built for me to keep in the library to encourage students to learn how to play checkers and chess, I began to flip through the book and found the reason the he had probably checked out this particular book: Paul Revere's Ride.  I started to imagine Grandpa starting his class taking attendance and then saying, as to get their attention, “Listen! My children, and you shall hear of the midnight ride of Paul Revere…” Then going through the rest of the poem, mesmerizing the children with the tale of Revere alerting the colonists of the impending arrival of the dreaded British.  Then, after finishing it, passing out copies and having a class discussion about how the poem conformed with and varied from the actual historical accounts of Paul Revere.

Wow, this one little card acted as my TARDIS, transporting me 27 years into the past into the social studies classroom of wife’s grandfather, watching the reactions of 13 year olds as they were hurled back 163 years to a dark New England evening and join in with a lone rider racing from town to town as

The people will waken and listen to hear

The hurrying hoof-beats of that stead

And the midnight message of Paul Revere.

With all that the advancements technology has brought to the library, more sophisticated search options, home access to the catalog, ebooks, and electronic reports and statistics, something has been lost.  No longer are we able to feel that simple amazement of seeing the names of the the travelers who have gone before us.  Those who have already been down the road that the lay ahead of us, the journey that the pages will take us on.  That connection between us and the past is no longer there.  We now must travel the path alone, not knowing who has already trod down it.

A water stain in the gutter of the book violently jerked me from my 190 year journey back to the here and now.  I thought to myself, “Grandpa was the last one to check this out, and there are water stains, I think he owes the school $6.98 to replace this book!”

OER-CIES TLC class blog post

I was looking for a more interesting way to teach students about copyright and the use of media.  During the webinar about OERs I was introduced to the PBS Media website and thought I would give it a shot.  I found a lesson called "Who Owns a Sound?"

I used this lesson in conjunction with the Common Sense Media "a creator's rights".  I chose this particular lesson because of the video resources that it offers.  It also puts the issue in a context that students understand...music, specifically hip hop music.  The lesson goes into not only the why of copyright, but also the how.  It also gives students the opportunity to look at both sides of the argument and formulate their own opinions.  

This lesson, though fits into augmentation level of SAMR, fits more into the TPACK model.  It uses technology to better cover the content.  Since the issues covered in the content focus on music, the use of the videos and sound bites reinforce the concepts.  This resource allows students to work at their own pace and covers content in several different ways.  Finally, after the lesson was over, we were able to go into the Common Sense Media lesson with confidence, an opinion, and familiarity on the subject.  

I found that, in the end, this was an interesting resource to use.  I feel that the advantage of this was that students were able to go at their own pace and really spend the time they needed on each slide. I also heard students asking questions that I had not heard other groups ask before do to the higher engagement on the topic.   

A down side is definitely the use of video on the school network.  With limited bandwidth, this could cause problems. Another issue is the need for students to create an account.  The need for accounts students to create accounts for every resource used becomes confusing to students.  I have seen, in middle school, many students forget computer logins, passwords, even locker combinations on a regular basis.  Adding one more account could become an added source of confusion and frustration to some.  A final issue I see, which we, as teachers, face with self-paced assignments is that some may need more or less time to complete the assignment.  The problem with this is that students are required to have internet access at home to complete the assignment.  

Educational Paradigms?-CIES TLC class blog post

Sir Ken Robinson’s Changing Educational Paradigms video gives insight into the current state of education and gives the historical perspective on how education, as we know it, was developed.  One of the issues that he points to is the fact that our system of education was built around the ideals and needs of the industrial revolution and enlightenment.  He sees our schools as factories pushing out a product that is developed not based on what will best shape the product, but with more concern with the ways of separating the product into similar categories such as sex or age.  

Robinson also deals with some more specifics such as the perceived differences between academic thinkers and non academic thinkers, the rise of ADHD, and how academic learning stifles divergent thinking and creativity.

With the interesting discussion he puts forth, he gives no specific answers for how to correct the wrongs he discusses.  He may be assuming that the answers are implied or maybe he just means to discuss the issues and not give a solution.  

It can be argued that the overhaul of the education system that he implies is not practical or cost effective, at least on a macro level.  The dividing of students by ability and interest can be done on a small level in the classroom, but until standardized testing is taken out of the equation allowing for ability groups, this will even be difficult on a micro scale.  

The most reasonable start that can be made, based on Robinson’s talk, is moving from the view that there is only one answer and one way to see the question to a model of collaboration.  These collaborative groups are ones in which students can work with others to find multiple routes to multiple answers to questions that they view in several different ways.  Students need to be encouraged to use their resources, and to come up with numerous ways to reach the same, or different conclusions.

There is no doubt that there needs to be reforms in education.  These reforms need to come at all levels, from the federal government, to the local schoolhouse, to the home, and everywhere in between.  It is possible that simply identifying where the issues are is the place to start.  It must be recognized that there will not be one cookiecutter solution for the whole country.  We live in a diverse country with multiple ideas, cultures, and economic situations and each area will have to address their own issues and come up with solutions that work for them.

#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.