The future?

He stared at the broken pencil tip with the intensity of someone who saw the final hope for salvation suddenly snuffed out. The graphite tip of his last number 2 pencil was laying next to the thirty-fifth row of bubbles. It was a final chance to prove himself for his teacher, one of the few women in his life that he completely respected and wanted to perform well for. Unfortunately, he had been so eager, so overzealous, that he had pressed too hard; he had doomed her. His failure would be the axe that brought her down. The tears began to flow freely, making moist spots on the rows for the other sixty-five capsules waiting to be filled with knowledge on the paper. It was too late though; in this high stakes society he had already fallen behind, there was not enough time left to make up for the mistake.

He heard sometimes, from his great grandparents, that occasionally learning had been fun when they were kids. They talked of colors and crayons, glue and felt, wooden blocks and something called recess. As they talked about this fantasy, fairytale version of school, he could not seem to put it together in any way that made sense to him. It was so different; it was so…varied and chaotic that he did not understand how anything was ever accomplished with students always talking and working together. How could people possibly, ever, get anything done when they were allowed to work on projects? How did they show understanding without answering questions with only one answer? He couldn’t comprehend it.

What he did comprehend was the fact that his teacher would be executed for his failure on the test. His great grandparents had said that when they had supported the accountability movement they had not realized that eventually teachers would be punished with execution based on the scores of their students. At one point they had talked about making teaching competitive and rewarding teachers for helping their students perform better than their peers, but over time they realized that with the push for ever increasing standards, the only way to truly get teachers to bring every student forward by leaps and bounds was to make examples of those teachers whose students with subpar performance. After the first round of executions, they found that both teachers and students were motivated to a much higher degree.

Eventually it became standard procedure to take the top ten percent of graduating classes in college and force them into the teaching profession. The bottom ten percent of the teachers in the school system at the end of the previous testing term were removed from the classroom and executed in front of the school through evisceration, racking, and eventual beheading on the first day of the new term. This provided both a reminder to the students and the staff about the importance of reliable data and the necessity of ever increasing productivity. In addition, the removal of the bottom ten percent made space in the ranks for the best and brightest coming in the door. By mandating the top ten percent of graduating classes to go into education and placing them in the areas of highest need, society and the students were best served.

He self-consciously raised his hand and waited for the cameras in the ceiling to pick up the movement. Then, he placed his hands on the top of the desk with his palms down and waited for the designated male officer to enter the room. It had to be a male; the number of students caught with notes or microchips in their clothes had made it necessary for all students to take their tests stripped to their skins. That way, cheating would be stamped out completely. Each room was monitored and taped using the best audio and video recording equipment available so that it could be analyzed at a later date by teams specifically trained in the most subversive cheating techniques. He remained completely still to make sure that there was no reason for them to suspect him of anything suspicious.

The door slid open silently and the security guard came in with his taser raised and pointed toward Blake’s back as he sat with his palms flat and his head lowered, eyes on the broken tip. The guard came around the front of the desk and looked at Blake as if he were a caged, feral animal. Blake waited until the guard motioned before looking up toward the man. The guard wore a tag that identified him as 545661 though Blake was sure that he had a name, even if society did not remember it now. The guard put a finger to his lips and motioned Blake to stand and place his hands on the pat down circles painted on the wall. Then, a group of test monitors in sterilized quarantine garb entered the room and examined the test that Blake had been working on. He heard the sharp intake of breath as the monitors saw the fine dusting of graphite dust that coated the answer bubbles for questions thirty-five to forty. They observed the broken tip of the pencil and removed it from the desk with tweezers. The tip was carefully put into a test tube and sealed with Blake’s identifier scribed across the seal.

Then he heard the gasp and the mutter as their eyes feel across the wet smears on the page. He could feel their heads turn in his direction and the weight of their stares crushed him. It was like an avalanche and finally his reserves broke. The tears began to leak out more quickly and he felt his chest begin to heave. The guard’s eyes went wide as he saw the sudden movements of Blake’s shoulders and heard the beginnings of a sob in Blake’s throat. He threw his arms around Blake and threw him out of the door before the sound was able to distract the other students in the room.

Blake tried to look back as he was shoved from the room. The guard’s eyes met Blake’s before he calmly raised his taser and fired. Blake’s last thought before the pain racked his body was how sorry he was for falling behind. The world went black.

None of the other students even paused in their test taking.

Taking Learning Online

Online Learning on Prezi

Mixed Tapes

Seeing the cassette recorder nestled onto the back shelf teased out memories of sitting in my bedroom during my teenage years spent listening to Chicago and K-Lite 106.3 and recording mixed-tapes for the young ladies I wanted to woo. Inserting the magnetic takes into the player and hitting record seemed like a magical process and I did not ever think that I would look back and describe the process in the same tone of voice my father had when he talked about eight tracks. It was a painstaking process, but that gave it an air of romance. Creating a podcast and a playlist just doesn’t say, “I love you,” in quite the same way, but technology moves ahead and some technologies must be left behind.


Of course, schools have to purchase the technologies that they can afford when they have the money and often times these technologies are held onto by school systems long after they are obsolete because schools can’t afford to get rid of every outdated technology they have without a steady influx of technologies to replace them. That is why I found myself looking at an outdated cassette recorder on the back shelf of our in school technology graveyard. We now have access to technologies that can do the same thing, but we aren’t quite ready to give up what we had.

In a world of iPods, cell phones, digital recorders, and pocket camcorders a simple cassette recorder doesn’t make sense. The fact that my iPod can store the equivalent of 120,000+ audiocassettes in a space that is roughly equivalent and has more uses makes the decline of audiocassette recorders easy to understand. Even a compact disk, another technology becoming outdated, has more versatility and more application than a simple audiocassette.

By using an audio recorder like GarageBand or an audio library tool like iTunes a user is able to create their own recordings or use another’s to make playlists and populate an iPod, the technology that signaled the final deathblow to the magnetic audiocassette. The ubiquitous adoption of MP3 players and the sheer variety of MP3 players has truly transformed the market. There has even been a move towards using audio programs on phones to take the place of the type of recorder I found in the cupboard at my school. The most recent iPod touch offers not only the capability to manage playlists, record audio, and share these creations, it also offers the ability to take photos and high definition movies. In a world like this, the good old-fashioned mixed tapes I made as a young man are a thing of the past, at least in my world.

As Thornburg points out, there is more than one definition of “emerging” that can be used when talking about technology (Laureate, 2009). In some part of the world, the technology of the mixed tapes I remember may just be emerging because it has not inundated the market and the technology that replaced it, the iPod, may not be feasible. It all depends on the perception of the market and the population that is interacting with the technology.

In my classrooms, I have tried to bring in iPods and podcasting as a way to engage my students. Having those students interact with content on tapes would make them curious I am sure as some of them have never actually seen an audiocassette; it wouldn’t make much sense though. Instead, I am trying to bring in the kinds of programs that allow them to interact with content and allow them to record with the technologies that are relevant today. When it is all said and done, maybe making a playlist or a podcast is still a romantic thing to do because the intention is the same. Regardless, I have never looked at my iPod with the same kind of smile that the audiocassette recorder brought out.

References
 

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). New and Emerging Technologies. Baltimore: Author.

Reflecting on PLNs and EDU 6714

Photo courtesy of geox.

I am only one man. This seems like an obvious statement to make, but I think that many times I forget that statement and take on more than I should. I think most educators do. That is why developing a personal learning network (PLN) is so important these days. With so many resources out there, it is important to think about how to leverage our professional relationships in order to develop networks of resources. That is one of my takeaways from EDUC 6714.

Throughout the course my fellow students and I brought together our combined efforts in a “differentiation station”, a library of resources on differentiation in the classroom. We tackled a major topic in education and the combined effort led to a much broader range of resources than any of us would have been able to develop independently. This differentiation station has provided me with a number of high-quality, practical resources to explore and share with my colleagues.

Photo courtesy of mzacha.

Each of these resources helps provide a window into how to make Universal Design for Learning (UDL) and Differentiated Instruction (DI) a cornerstone of tier one instruction in the classroom instead of an unmanageable mandate from a power on high. With access to resources like those found in our differentiation station, each of us is a more formidable force in the classroom, assuming that we use the resources. This kind of instruction is research based (CAST, nd) and is what is best for all students (Laureate, 2009), but often times feels overwhelming to the classroom teacher. Resources that make the process easier by providing tools, by providing research, or by providing examples all make this an easier process to engage in on behalf of our students.

I was already engaged with many tools in the classroom that provided students with a variety of choice, so this has only helped to clarify some of the additional options and expand on the research for allowing variety in my classroom. The biggest take away for me was the power of creating and maintaining a network of professionals that are committed to bolstering each other’s professional practice. As we move forward I plan to continue developing my PLN through resources like Twitter, Google Groups, Facebook, LinkedIn, Diigo, Blogs, Wikis, and Nings so that I can stay involved with resource sharing and the exploration of new frontiers. Even though I am only one man, I can be an integral part of a group and can benefit by giving and receiving the gift of knowledge.

References

CAST: Center for Applied Special Technology. (n.d.). CAST: Center for Applied Special Technology. Retrieved October 3, 2010, from http://www.cast.org/

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Reaching and engaging all learners through technology. Baltimore: Author. 

Designing for Learning

Photo courtesy of danzo08.

           LEGOS were my favorite toy growing up because there were a million different ways that the pieces could be put together and instruction booklets that came with each set allowed for multiple construction projects. Each time the new plastic smell drifted out of the box, my mind was filled with a multitude of ways to engage in creation. I could break down a castle and make a spaceship with the same pieces. No matter what I wanted to construct though, there were the same building blocks for each project, and what made the variety was the planning process and intent of each of the projects I embarked on. My varied interests, the pieces that I had at hand, and my prior knowledge all had an impact on the types of constructions I was able to form.  This is the same kind of process that EDUC 6714 taught me to go through when planning for a differentiated learning environment.

            Each student will approach the class in a variety of ways based on their unique backgrounds, their interests, and their abilities (Rose & Meyer, 2002).  My job as an instructor is to help them to access the content of my class. This is only possible if I know my students, and gathering information from students is something that is far easier today than at any previous time in human history. Technology has provided teachers with all sorts of tools to gather information about our students. Tools like interest inventories, learning style surveys, multiple intelligence tests, learner profiles, state assessments, and a host of different data tracking systems like EASy all make getting to know the abilities, interests, and preferences of our students easier than ever.

            Once we have all of this information, we have the ability to select from a variety of different tools and a variety of different resources in order to provide those students with the learning experiences that they desire and deserve. If we think about all of the different ways that we could differentiate from the beginning of our planning, like Universal Design for Learning says (CAST, n.d.), then we can truly begin to talk about how to differentiate our instruction. Using technology can help us to create learning environments that are inclusive of all learners and offer a variety of challenge and engagement (Laureate, 2009). This technology can be used to provide all students ways to access the content, show their understanding of the content, and choose what aspects of the content appeal to them. By allowing these kinds of choices, students’ different learning networks are engaged (Rose & Meyer, 2002).

            Of course, this kind of learning environment requires that teachers know that a variety of tools exist that learners can use and that teachers are comfortable with allowing students to address their unique learning needs. This environment also requires that teachers actively plan for differentiation using some sort of method like the Cast Lesson Builder guides teachers through (Howard, 2004). By planning for a variety of different kinds of assessments (blogs, wikis, Prezis, podcasts, videos, etc.) from the beginning, each student has the ability to contribute to the learning environment. Teachers can make this an easier task by creating rubrics for the different types of activities ahead of time.

            This type of classroom looks and operates very differently than a traditional classroom though. Teachers must engage administrators, parents, colleagues, and the community in creating a supportive learning environment where all students are provided with the access and tools that they need to be successful. A variety of communication platforms should be engaged (Twitter, Facebook, email, shared calendars, transparent online classrooms, online grading programs, etc.) so that parents have a variety of ways to access information about their children’s learning experiences.  As their children begin to expand their educational awareness, enjoyment, and experiences, parents and students can begin to explore education as a vital and meaningful part of these young people’s lives. As individual learning experiences address individual learning gaps, parents, students, and the community will find classrooms and schools to rally around.

            This can only become possible with a plan of action that values students as individuals. It can also only become possible with a plan of action that addresses current available technologies and emerging technologies. It is the responsibility of the teacher to stay informed on new trends in technology and new tools/capabilities that would meet the needs of the diverse learners in the classrooms of today. Conducting research on new technologies, using Personal Learning Networks, and joining professional communities like the International Society for Technology in Education are all ways to ensure that teachers are staying current as new technologies emerge. Taking this information and combining it with research on how the brain learns can provide a teacher with the credibility to weigh in on school and district committees regarding technology plans.

            Each piece is vital, but each piece can be viewed multiple ways. As we try to address the specific and diverse needs of our students in the 21^st century, it is extremely important that we plan to use a variety of tools that satisfy a wide range of students and allow for different platforms of communication with the entire spectrum of people served by our efforts. If we do this well, we can create a learning experience for our students that is appropriate, inclusive, engaging, and rigorous. This is a lot like opening that tub of LEGOS and looking at all the possibilities. A standardized approach to the complex task of learning does not allow for the range of experiences available in the real world of the 21^st century. A complex, varied, multimodal learning environment invites our students into a complex, varied, multimodal world and this is the world that our students already live in. 

References:

CAST: Center for Applied Special Technology. (n.d.). CAST: Center for Applied Special Technology. Retrieved October 3, 2010, from http://www.cast.org/

Howard, K. L. (2004). Universal design for learning: Meeting the needs of all students. International Society for Technology in Education, 31(5), 26–29. Retrieved from the ERIC database.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Reaching and engaging all learners through technology. Baltimore: Author.

Rose, D., & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching Every Student: Information & Ideas. CAST: Center for 
            Applied Special Technology. Retrieved October 3, 2010, from
            http://www.cast.org/teachingeve

Duty, Power, and Responsibility

Photo courtesy of br0.

It is elusive now. That moment when I knew I wanted to teach children has blended into the very marrow of my life. It has become a part of the essence that makes me complete, but I know that there must have been a specific moment. Perhaps it was the time my 6th grade teacher, Mr. Hawkins, took me into the hall to give me a lesson about what it meant to grow into a man someday. Maybe it was the moment that Mr. Lamphear made me believe that I had I needed to use my potential because I had a duty to my fellow human beings. Maybe it was the first time I heard Uncle Ben whisper to Peter, "With great power comes great responsibility." Or maybe it was the host of teachers who were Silvertounges and made the fantasy worlds in books come to life through the power of their words. They made the truth spring out of the thin air and they taught me to look for the commonalities that bring us all together. Each of those was a moment that could have been the one that made me want to recreate that experience for a new generation.

I am not sure though that it can be that neatly defined; perhaps that is the reason the specific moment I decided to enter the classroom eludes me. There are some moments like the first time I really met my wife, the birth of my children, the passing of my father, that were burned into my soul in an instant and changed my life with their vibrance and power, but the commitment to my profession has been built upon a lifetime of experiences that have brought me to where I am now...and that is part of why I am writing today...

The commitment that I made to become a teacher was not undertaken lightly. I weighed very heavily what I had to offer before going down this path. The consequences of having a poor teacher in the classroom are too heavy to play with. I thought long and hard about whether or not I would be setting students up for success better than the other people around me. I wanted to make sure that I would not be harming children by entering the classroom. I wanted to make learning come alive. I wanted to read the characters out of the book, like SilverTongue, and engage students in the world that they are living in, a world that has so much to offer. 

So, here I am writing a post about educational reform and have spent half the time talking about my past...but, you see, the past is important. You, just like my students, need to know who I am and why I am here before I tell you what I see in the future. You need to know that I am a passionate man with a family, children of my own, a lifetime's worth of experiences, and a die-hard commitment to my profession. In a time where teachers are seen as others, it is important to see the people beneath the titles, because we are all human. In a time of political ads that focus on the negatives and what the other side isn't doing, it is important to stand up and explain who you are instead of who the other guy isn't. I am a teacher, I am a parent, I am a student, I am a hero to some, and on midterm day I can be a very scary individual. I am also an idealist. 

In my graduate program we talked a lot about Universal Design for Learning (UDL). The basic premise is that our students are all individual learners. If we can accept that fact and drink in the unique strengths and weaknesses of our students, we can imbue our instruction with opportunities for all to succeed. We also talked a lot about Differentiated Instruction (DI) which is the practical application of UDL. DI is creating opportunities for students to access and demonstrate content knowledge in a multitude of ways. Technology is what allows this to happen easily within a classroom because technology can help a teacher modify an assignment for 33 students in a single classroom. 

Okay, this has been around for a while though right? The idea that learners are different, that they have different needs, and that technology can help us meet those needs, those ideas have been around for decades. So if it has been around for decades, how can we call it reform? 

Photo courtesy of edududas.

Re-form to me means to take something that has been around for decades and to make it better by adjusting the way you approach it. To some people right now, reform means going towards a standardization model...for others it means to allow for complete control by small groups...to others it means allowing corporate interests into the schools...  I think that we need something else. I think that we need a new understanding of what an educated individual looks like. We need to look at more than the content someone knows. We need to look at more than what the curriculum is. We need to look at more than what we have done in the past. We need to take education and look at what could be and stop complaining about why our dreams can't become realities. We need to re-form our schemas to allow for an optimistic future.

In that vein...here is my vision:

Imagine for a moment a classroom of students debating the nature of literacy in the 21st century. They are asking to sit in circles and talk in small groups about a novel that deals with access to information. They are debating the benefits and obstacles of school filtering systems and are discussing whether or not their blogs should be public. They are looking at what Montag stands for in Fahrenheit 451 and whether or not they can find a Creative Commons image that truly captures the essence of who he is. They are relating the struggles of this character and the conflicts of this book to the real world topics of censorship and Google and questions being raised by real people about the power and purpose of information...they are posting quotes that symbolize characters on a common wiki and then they are updating their online concept maps so that they can arrange their information in visual ways that show the connections between these various topics...They pull out computers to independently search for information that supports their opinions and they ask each other for support instead of asking me for answers...they reach across the aisle and point to each other's screens and explain how to give real world credit to a source in addition to using correct MLA citation (because this is what is on the test)...

Oh wait...I said I was going to be visionary. What I have described above is my classroom on Wednesday of last week. That isn't really reform...that is reality. So we need to move past the reality I strive for on a daily basis...the ins and outs of creating multifaceted and multileveled activities for my students...the daily balance of individual work to collaborative work to group discussion to individual reflection...the balance of real world versus the standardized testing minimums...the constant struggle between the need for and the lack of resources in my building...and we need to move into a realm where the vision I see in my head can become the future for my students. You see, what I am doing is okay...but it isn't enough...

So...let's try this again...

Education is what our students live and breathe every day. Reforming education would mean that we were making content, presentation, and production of information relevant and meaningful. Our students would be moving past the "Why do we have to learn this?" to the much more powerful, "What kinds of practical applications of this information would make my world/society/school a better place to be and can I try to address those issues for my final exam?" They advocate for themselves and seek out pathsin which to apply this information/knowledge we present to help others locally and on a global scale. They ask for guidance but more often they propose solutions in a variety of ways. The students are asked to help write the tests that measure progress so that they have a voice in making the tests meaningful and relevant to future student populations. Or better yet, the students propose that their worth as students is judged based on their ability to solve issues in the real world with their skills and knowledge.

In a world like this, the students would be held to a much higher standard and they would be making the world a better place while showing that they understand the information they are being presented with. They would synthesize the information from their various classes into a cohesive product/production that would be aimed at providing the world with model citizen scholars. The students would have something substantial that they could continue to contribute to...

And when you come down to it, isn't that what we want? Don't we want our students to contribute more than a simple bubbled in form? Don't we want them to invest in their world and give back? According to centuries worth of observation and current brain research, each student has something to offer that is unique and special, and if we took the time to really let each student give that little piece of themselves, wouldn't we all be better off? There is nothing standard in the amazing and awesome. That is part of what makes amazing and awesome such powerful concepts. Isn't that what we want our students to be?

Photo courtesy of enimal.

So...re-form...Perhaps the place it has to start is with us, the educators and parents and coaches and models...Maybe we need to remember that bucking the system is how the system got started in the first place. It is time for a revolution. It is time for action. It is time for commitment. We have a duty to our students. "With great power comes great responsibility." We need to invent the ideas to put on the page and play SilverTounges to bring them out into the real world. We need to stand up and say that accountability that loses humanity is not enough for educational reform. Our students are students with valuable contributions to make...true educational reform would imply that we were willing to give them the opportunity to help create the world that they are going to be living in. True educational reform would allow students to contribute in meaningful ways with each other to solve the real issues that they are going to be faced with. As Chris Lehman said at ISTE 2010, "What if we stopped telling kids that high school is preparation for the real world and conviced them that it is the real world?"

True edcuation reform would give students the motivation, the freedom, and the support they need to become active participants in their world. True educational reform would focus on bringing the laughter back into the classroom...because learning should be exciting, challenging, and fun.

You see, what made me want to be a teacher wasn't my test scores and accountability for my actions as a student. What made me want to be a teacher was truly believing that I could make a difference and that I could pull those ideas and characters from the pages of the books they lived in. What made me want to be a teacher was having the opportunity to apply my knowledge to the world as a student. What made me want to be a teacher was realizing that education was about people and connections, not the number that signified my knowledge base.

Last Wednesday, my students made a small impact on each other. They interacted with one another and the rest of the world with the intention of coming to a clearer grasp of the importance of words and ideas. They reformed their understanding of what a literate citizen looks like and they enjoyed the deep thinking that they were asked to do. They felt that their individual needs were being met and they felt like they were more than simply sophomores with a score on their backs. They felt involved...they felt engaged...and they felt that that day was a beginning...perhaps it was a moment that will be part of their core...and they will look back and realize that they can't define the moment they felt that they needed to be involved with scholarly conversations about real world issues...

Photo courtesy of hhsara.

Educational reform begins with the belief that we can make difference in the world. It begins with a conversation that focuses on what is possible. There is a moment that is difficult to define, but that sinks into the very core of who we are as we stand up and say that change must happen. That moment becomes one of a number of moments that changes the very course of our lives and the lives of those who must coexist in the world with us. Our students deserve a better education than the established system provides and they deserve to be participants in their own futures. Chris Lehman said it best, "Students should never be the implied object of their own education." We have a duty to our students. They deserve to be the driving force in educational reform and we have the responsibility of creating educational experiences that meet their individual needs. To do that, we need to be able to openly discuss, with complete honesty, the possibilities of educational reform with a positive, optimistic, student-centered focus. To accept the status quo would be to break the promise we made to students when we took up the mantle of educator scholars.

Stealing Fire






Picture from hadler at
http://www.sxc.hu/photo/1279067

 It wasn’t until I became a father that I truly understood the sacrifices that Prometheus was willing to make for humanity. To steal fire from the gods was a sacrilegious act that he knew he would have to pay for; at the same time, he understood that what he was doing was right. In a time of educational reform that has seemed to move further and further away from educating the whole child at a level that is appropriate to him/her, looking at the relationship and research behind Universal Design for Learning (UDL), Differentiated Instruction (DI), and technology is a welcome change. While the role of these different approaches to education are symbiotic in many ways, they are not necessarily aligned to a one-size fits all approach to education that our standardized testing culture seems to value. In this way, I feel like a modern Prometheus, in the non-Frankensteinean sense, bringing light and knowledge to my colleagues and students.

Of course, in order to bring knowledge to the masses, resources must be found and referenced. Tools must be gathered. Information must be presented. That is what Smith and Throne (2007) do; they provide information and ideas that prepare a teacher to look for the resources and tools to provide students with learning experiences tailored to their preferences, needs, and unique abilities. The purpose of DI is to allow students from a variety of backgrounds to access information and become successful learners (Smith & Throne, 2007). UDL provides the framework for a teacher to plan DI activities within a single classroom(Rose & Meyer (2002). Technology may be the best way for teachers to effectively create a DI environment that provides resources for each student’s optimal learning experience (Smith & Throne, 2007).

So, understanding that this is a valuable practice to bring into the classroom is only one step in the process. Teachers need to have tools that they can reach out to in order to apply UDL principals to their instruction. One of the best ways to find these kinds of tools is to look at a site like Tech 4 D.I. This is a resource that provides teachers with a number of different resources. The site has links to tools, links to research, links to definitions, and links to presentations on the relationship between technology and DI. Because this site is comprehensive in scope and reaches out to so many outside resources, it is a great site for teachers to learn more about these concepts. It does allow a teacher to address the needs of students by linking teachers to a variety of tools and explaining how these tools can be used for different purposes depending on the specific learning experience desired. One could argue that this resource could support the readiness, interests, and learning profiles of students by providing the teacher with the research, resources, and tools to make those experiences a reality.

Another reason that I appreciate Tech 4 DI is that it is run on Wikispaces.com. A wiki can be a great way to vary an assessment based on the readiness, interests of students, and learner profiles. By allowing the students to use this kind of multimedia platform, all students can interact with information that they find meaningful and valid, show that learning through the presentation of information in a variety of mediums, and operate at an appropriate level for their abilities. By having teachers access Tech 4 DI they are accessing a resource that can be used as a model for the kinds of products students could use.

Of course, as a teacher it is nice to see a list of tools that can be used for a variety of purposes. One of the most thorough and yet most concise list of tools I have seen is the Box of Tricks blog. On this site each tool has a description of its main function and why it might be useful in a classroom. One could find a tool for just about every learner profile, interest, and ability level. Some of the tools referenced on this site that could be used for addressing different learner profiles include Aviary (a multimodal suite of cloud based applications), Ning (an online social networking site with multimodal capabilities), and PBWorks (another site that supports a variety of learning preferences). Some of the tools that could support student interest are YouTube EDU (an educational video host) and WordPress.com (a blogging service with a multitude of content). Tools referenced that could allow for differences in readiness are Alice (a multimodal platform with easy controls specifically designed to allow a wide range of students to interact with information) and Save Skelly (an interactive flash game generator). Each of these different tools, as well as the others listed on this site, could be used to allow teachers a variety of ways to differentiate their instruction.

Technology allows for each teacher to play the modern Prometheus by bringing in tools and resources that make it possible for each student to access content at his or her level and in a way appropriate to his or her specific learning profile. Resources like those listed above are the kinds of resources that teachers can use to affect their classroom instruction in positive ways by learning how to differentiate instruction though careful planning for the inclusion of technology. By looking at the research on sites like Tech 4 DI, using tools like Wikispaces to differentiate assessments/content delivery, and using a variety of other tools with intentionality like those listed on the Box of Tricks blog, teachers can light the metaphorical fire of learning in each student.

References

International Society for Technology in Education. (2007). National education standards for students (NETS-S). Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/content/navigationmenu/NETS/forstudents/2007standards/nets_for_students_2007.htm

Rose, D., & Meyer, A. (2002). Teaching every student in the digital age: Universal design for learning. Retrieved from http://www.cast.org/teachingeverystudent/ideas/tes/

Smith, G., & Throne, S. (2007). Differentiating instruction with technology in K-5 classrooms. Belmont, CA: International Society for Technology in Education. 
Retrieved from Education Research Complete database.

Standing in the Clouds

The water was crystal clear and completely still. I was standing in awe as I saw my future wife standing at the edge of the fountain and I knew that it was a moment that would be imprinted on my mind for the rest of my life. In black and white it is a captivating site; in color it made the world stand still. What made it such a powerful moment was difficult to define or to explain to others. At that exact moment, the rest of the world was animated and spinning...it was going about the business of life. For me, the moment was frozen in time and every second was an eternity full of possibilities. 

I have often thought back to that moment as I have grown older. It seems to me now that one of the most powerful aspects of that frozen moment was the fact that I seemed to be seeing the same sight with all of the various sides of myself and I was drinking in the moment from multiple perspectives. 

At the conclusion of this course I am beginning to feel as if the same kind of awareness is beginning to dawn in my mind. For years I have wanted to be in the classroom with kids, so I see the lessons from these masters classes through the eyes of a classroom teacher. This is a view that I am comfortable with and I can see how a GAME plan can be a valuable asset to a teacher in the classroom. The fact that this kind of planning requires the teacher to set goals, take action, monitor progress, and evaluate the effectiveness of what they have done (Laureate, 2009) makes it a valuable way to approach the planning of lessons. The teacher is directly involved in preplanning and metacognition both of which can be powerful learning experiences for a teacher when considering what is best for students. 

I can also see the value of teaching students to create their own GAME plans. The whole process makes them actively think about the way that they are learning. While based on a small study, Janice A. Wiersema and Barbara L. Licklider (2007) found that this had a major impact on both the way that higher education students and instructors looked at education. I find that this is true for me as well. I think that one of the biggest changes in my understanding of problem based learning is that by having students actively engage in creating a GAME plan, they are more likely to engage in this kind of deep learning experience. 

In some ways though, it was difficult to look at the GAME plan as a way to engage with students, since I didn't have any students to engage with until four days ago and the lessons I created were for later in the year. Many of my classmates found this frustrating, but I think that it was a more powerful lesson for me without the hustle and bustle of having students in the classroom everyday. I was able to focus on each of the roles I fill and think about how the process showed up in each one of them. This was a type of PBL and allowed me to really look at what individual needs I had as a learner that might be different from those of my classmates or colleagues. Cennamo, Ross, and Ertmer (2009) point out that each of our students may need something drastically different from the others when focusing on PBL lessons.

  

And that takes us to the most massive change in my understanding of this process. This change has been on a totally different level though. I find that for the first time since entering this profession, I am seeing a totally different reflection of myself. I have never been interested in administration or professional development until this year. This class has made me reconsider my position. I started out with a plan for engaging students in the environmental impacts of humans through problem based learning, but over time I realized that the real GAME plan I was engaging in had very little to do with the lessons I was creating. The real GAME plan focused on my understandings as an instructor and involved me really taking to heart all three levels of ISTE standards. The administrative, teacher, and student standards have similarities and should all be embraced by teachers who are interested in the true power of technology in the classroom because it takes an understanding of all of these to make real change in a school or district possible. Sometimes looking at a situation through one role means that you lose the power of the overall image. By forcing myself to look at what I was doing from all three roles and through each set of standards made me really reconsider my role within my building and district.

I now see myself as being a true teacher leader within my building. A week ago, on the first professional development day of the school year I gave this presentation on 21st century skills to the staff as a way to introduce the professional learning community that will be driving staff development this year. At the conclusion of the presentation I had many teachers ask how they could use Prezi in their classroom. I then gave a short demo on Wallwisher and was pleased to find out that some of the people in attendance are using the tool to communicate with their students. I have been asked to provide professional development on technology to our fine art department in mid-September, engage with a group focused on mentorship within the building, weigh in on websites for teachers at our district, work with the professional development office for induction, and set up blogging as a common tool for members of my English department. I understand better now that a GAME plan is not just a way to plan out lessons, it is a way to really engage at multiple levels in my profession. Would I have volunteered to present to the staff before engaging in this class? Probably. Would I have been eager to do so? Probably not. But now, I see that it is my responsibility to pass on the information that I think will help make classrooms in my school more engaging for both students and teachers. Really defining my goal as a professional educator throughout this course has made me want to engage and drive change in my building. 

Reflections allow us to see ourselves in a world that might be different than the one that we think we occupy. We can see many things the way they are, but sometimes we can see more than that. Sometimes we can see the possibilities in the reflections. That is what I saw when I really started looking at myself towards the end of this class; the possibility that I could affect change on a more massive scale than simply helping my 160 students. For each teacher I reached the possibility of them affecting their students exponentially increases my potential impact. That potential is what makes reflection so powerful. When we take the time to really think about what we are seeing through all the various parts of ourselves, we can find a deeper meaning in the vision before us. I realize that this is really the same process I experienced earlier in my life. A GAME plan is all about seeing the possibilities that are out there and determining which of them you are going to shoot for. You see, those possibilities are what made me stop in my tracks at that abandoned prison in Tasmania. When I looked at that vision of my future wife standing on the edge of the fountain, I saw my soulmate and the possibility of a life shared with an angel. As I looked at her and her reflection I realized that she was standing on the stone just like me, but her reflection was standing in the clouds and yet they were the same. It was like seeing the soul and the body at the same time. In that moment I found the same truth that I found during this class: If we can allow ourselves to truly see the possibilities and are committed to taking action, we can make them realities...and after a while you stop needing to plan out every step because seeing the possibilities and making them real becomes the way you live your life.

References:

Cennamo, K., Ross, J. & Ertmer, P. (2009). Technology Integration for Meaningful Classroom Use: A Standards-Based Approach.  (Laureate Education, Inc., Custom ed.). Belmont, CA: Wadsworth, Cengage Learning.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas. Baltimore: Author.

Wiersema, J., & Licklider, B. (2007). Developing responsible learners: The power of intentional mental processing. The journal of scholarship of teaching and learning, 7(1), 16-33. Retrieved 22 August 2010, from ERIC. 

Community Chest

At the tender age of ten I bought my first house. Then I bought a hotel. I managed them, speculated on real estate, and collected rent from people who needed a place to stay. I bought a railroad and an electric company and eventually bought the bright lights of Broadway. I collected $200 every time I passed go and even got thrown in jail. It was okay though, because I had enough money in savings to post my own bail...and there was always the chance I would roll doubles. 

It seemed like an easier life back then. I didn't have to worry about my sink breaking or pipes busting in the crawl space under our slab. I didn't have to replace appliances or water heaters or carpet. All I had to do was observe the board and come up with a plan. After I had a game plan it was easy to run the board. All I needed was a little luck and a lot of dedication and eventually I owned the board. The only thing about a game plan is that in order to have any fun, and in order for your game plan to be effective, you need to play with other people. What makes the game intriguing is having other people with other game plans in place so that you can learn and share strategies. 


So here I am thinking about my GAME Plan again and I am coming to the realization that just like when I was ten, I need to share the experience with others for it to have real value. The idea of a GAME Plan can be effective for my students in the same way it is was effective for me. In fact, it will probably be even more helpful for them to create their objectives, take action, and reflect on the process than it was for me. I have spent my whole life doing this kind of planning. I have students who haven't had the benefit of my upbringing though and they might need a more explicit modeling of the process to prepare them for the demands of innovating, communicating, collaborating, and engaging with real problems. These are some of the standards for students defined by ISTE. 


The most powerful idea that I think I have come across while looking at my GAME Plan has been the crystallization in my mind of the story behind the GAME Plan. You see, each GAME Plan has a story behind it that tells you the values, beliefs, and history of the person creating the plan. Digital storytelling can be a powerful way to express an idea to your audience (Laureate, 2009) and a powerful way to cement understanding of a topic in the mind of the presenter. By telling a story we engage with others in a visceral way that creates a common bond between us. But in order to tell a great story we first need to make sure that we have done all of the work necessary to make that story powerful (Laureate, 2009). That is what the GAME Plan is, but if we know that we will eventually be turning it into a story for others, we can approach the GAME Plan on a number of different levels from the beginning. We can look at the research for credibility but also think about how we would visually depict it to others. We can think about how certain phrases might look on different scales for effect. This is part of the visual literacy described by Abrams (Laureate, 2009). 


So when I look at the NETS-S, I am thinking about all of the standards in terms of digital storytelling. I am thinking about ways to have students develop GAME Plans that specifically address how they will create a story that communicates with others in a collaborative environment the information that they have responsibly researched on their own in a problem based learning environment that they have approached with critical thinking skills. A great template should allow them the freedom to address their own self-defined issues in a constructive and thorough manner. Providing them with tools to take their research and make it relevant can make this process even more powerful. 


When I was little each game had a story to it and each story built on the last. This meant that each time we opened up the board and vied for a special piece we were really just continuing to play out parts of the GAME Plan that we had paused at the end of the previous game. That is how our students should look at their GAME Plans too. Each time they begin to look at a problem it should be with the understanding that they already have a fount of knowledge that they can build on and use. One of the best ways to get them thinking this way is to remind them that they have a story to tell and that they have the tools and resources available to make their stories both entertaining and powerful. 


References:


Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas. Baltimore: Author.

Adoption

This image was retrieved from the Geek and Poke blog - while they in no way endorse my blog you should check them out for some very funny graphics on the toils of the technologically inclined. 

When I was about 12 my family tried to adopt a little girl. We went through the better part of the process before we found out that the process itself can take an extensive amount of time. Sometimes you make the decision to adopt before you really realize how complex the process is. In many cases it seems like there are roadblocks in the way just to make it difficult, while many others are in the way because of miscommunication by people with the best of intentions. Often times, these obstacles make it difficult to really understand how the entire process works and what an individual's role is in that process. Like many families, mine never did adopt that little girl because the process was so overwhelming. 


So here it is at the end of the week, four days after I should have posted my initial response to my Game Plan progress, and  I am still not sure how to react. I am a little overwhelmed. Last week I decided that I would change the general outline of my Game Plan so that it was more in line with what would be supported at my district. I reworked aspects of the plan so that they would align. Then, on Monday, the Colorado State Department of Education decided to adopt the national core common standards in English and Math. I have been trying to wrap my head about what that means for the better part of a week (and even asked my building English facilitator) so that I would be able to modify my Game Plan yet again and align it. But, as in many cases of adoption, the answers are not easy to identify, grasp, and understand. There are conflicting statements about what this adoption means in the classroom. There is misinformation on the Colorado CDE website where the old standards are posted next to the newly adopted (and newly discarded) Colorado standards without the benefit of an explanation about how the new common core standards will be woven into, or replace, the existing standards. 


One of the NETS-T standards is that teachers should take charge of their professional growth and leadership. I have been attempting to do this by attending conferences, memorizing and mapping the standards I am supposed to be teaching, and trying to find authentic ways to assess my students by using technology. Right now though, I feel as though I shouldn't be working too hard on some of these pieces because there are changes being made without thorough public explanation on how teachers are supposed to enforce or teach standards. There seems to be a, "We'll figure it out as we go!" kind of mentality and that is frustrating to me as I am in my trench. I feel like I am running in circles without the guidance of those who know how these reforms are supposed to play out and without the power to control what I have access to and what I don't. 


I have been working toward both of my initial goals surrounding digital age learning experiences and fostering creativity. On both of these fronts I believe that progress has been made. I have created online learning environments (Laureate, 2009) and outlined various activities, but I am still not quite where I want to be. I ran into a roadblock in terms of which tools I can access from my school network. I have worked around this in a few ways, by changing the tools I was going to use in one case and identifying procedures for students to follow from resources outside of the district network. I also asked for a few sites to be approved and am waiting to hear back on those currently. I also went ahead and set up social networking sites for my students so that they would already be ready to go when we use the tools in the coming weeks. In addition to setting up certain accounts for them, I read an article about how to use screencasts for student responses and have set up my ScreenCast.com website with folders for each student. 


In this way I hope to be able to model digital age work and learning. I have been reaching out to my social network to find answers to questions that I have. I joined the ISTE Young Educator group in order to find like minded people I could learn from. I am trying to reach out to others who might have a different view of a situation, but I am finding that approaching a problem from a new angle doesn't necessarily make it seem like a different problem or like less of a problem. There are simply not answers right now to the questions that I have. 


So I am modifying my Game Plan again to make sure that it is aligned as best as I can align it right now. I am trying to make the model fit into the ambiguous shape of the standards I have access to. I am not changing the goals that I have, because I still believe that digital experiences and creativity are two areas that I can continually explore. I am, however, modifying my approach to these two areas in order to be more prepared for and aligned with the goals and standards of my district. Unfortunately, right now, those goals and standards are in a state of undefined flux. It is kind of like when I was 12 and we made the decision to adopt. Sometimes the process of adoption can leave you in a state of limbo, where you aren't sure whether to move forward or not. You can not cease acting in any case though, because life goes on. 


References:


ISTE NETS for Teachers 2008. (n.d.). International Society for Technology in Education Home. Retrieved August 6, 2010, from http://www.iste.org/Content/NavigationMenu/NETS/ForTeachers/2008Standards/NETS_for_Teachers_2008.htm


Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas. Baltimore: Author.

Forked!

I find myself at a fork in the road. Everything was going according to plan. I was planning. I was researching. I was learning new tools. I was creating professional development videos for my district on technology tools and ideas for implementation. And then...I got a phone call. That phone call led to a meeting with another teacher from my district who is involved with global communication, partnerships, and collaborative learning. 

Now, I find myself in an interesting position. I could go forward with what I had been planning. I could purchase a classroom with Taking It Global, make my own connections, and create my own plans from scratch. Or, I could learn how to use a Ning, take advantage of my district’s resources, and help roll out a program of social change that could be influential in the entire district. Of course, the details are a little sketchy about exactly what it would look like. It is interesting to note that Taking It Global is a partner in the program that my district is looking at rolling out though.

So where does that leave me? I feel like most teachers who implement PBL. I am a little worried about the planning and implementation (Ertmer & Simmons, 2006) of a program with such a public face and such large management issues. I am not sure if it would be better to continue down my own track or to take of advantage of resources that will be available (if the money comes through). If it doesn’t come through, then I am not sure what that means. Does that mean I am back at the point I am at right now? Or would the connections to the State Department be enough to assure some level of support regardless of district financing? 

I am not sure. I think I am going to change my plan though. I can still use the kinds of resources I have already been planning on rolling out a number of tools, and the assessments for those parts would not change. It is just the actual distance learning piece that might be different, but at the very least I have a connection with someone in my district who has actually been to some of the countries I would like to offer my students as collaborative partners. 

In the end though, it is about what I am willing to put out there for my students. If I am going to have to develop something from scratch, I would rather do it with someone than without someone. I need to be able to reach out and go through the same process I want my students to go through. I have identified my problem, I have begun to research the problem in order to clarify it, I have realized the need to be collaborative as I approach a solution to the problem,   and now I am beginning to formulate a solution to my problem with the help of others. These are the steps of PBL (Laureate, 2009). That is the crux of the matter, if we are to really engage our students in problem based learning, we have to be willing to put ourselves in the uncomfortable spot of defining a problem and attacking it in the same way we want our students to...even if that means we get forked sometimes. 

Resources

Ertmer, P., & Simons, K. (Spring 2006). Jumping the PBL implementation hurdle: Supporting the efforts of K-12 teachers. The Interdisciplinary Journal of Problem-Based Learning, 1(1), 40-54. Retrieved fromhttp://docs.lib.purdue.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1005&context=ijpbl.

Laureate Education, Inc. (Executive Producer). (2009). Integrating Technology Across the Content Areas. Baltimore: Author.