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"Fun Facts"

I've taken to adding in "fun facts" to my class. I'm not sure if I got this idea from Dan Meyer in the first place, or if I stumbled upon it independently and then had my habit reinforced by his enthusiasm for a little fun unbound from the "standard" curriculum. They

Pro-crast-i-na-tion: I've seen all of my students do one of these at some point. I've done most, especially the "imaginary computer games with your furniture."

Kung Fu Bear : I used it as a pep talk for my students while they were working on a presentation project. When you go to the zoo to see a bear, it's pretty impressive. Bears usually are just lying around at the zoo, so it doesn't take long to get over the impressiveness and move on. However, this bear decided he was going to take his game to the next level (here's when I started the video). He wanted people to sit up and pay attention to him. People come from all over to see Kung-Fu Bear. People will watch him for hours. He's mastered his game. I then told students I didn't want their presentations to just meet the bare (hardee-har-har) minimums. Don't just be a lazy bear. Be a Kung-Fu Bear!

21 Accents: Some classes loved it, others hated it. I was badgered by one class to play it multiple times spanning through the end of that week. In another class, I was asked to turn it off about 15 seconds in and never play it again. It's amazing how different the personalities of my classes are this year.

I Love the World (The Earth is Just Awesome): I posted on this earlier. The class that hated the 21 Accents video loved this one. Wonder if there's some psychological reasoning behind that...hmm... My other classes enjoyed it, but didn't constantly demand to see it over and over and over and over...

666: I got the information for this from a RadioLab show (RadioLab totally blows my mind). Want to grab every student's undivided attention in a class (yep, even the ones who haven't earned a single credit since 3rd grade)? Throw up a 5 ft. x 5 ft. 666 on your projection screen- the room will almost assuredly fall eerily quiet. Here's the story I told 'em about their favorite numbers: It turns out the oldest known manuscript of the book of Revelations says the "number of the beast" is actually 616. Interestingly enough, this is the area code for much of west Michigan (where I spent my undergrad years). I've embedded the section of the show below where it tells the full story. Or you can visit the RadioLab episode site.

I'll try to update you with more good finds as I come across them.

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Final Exam Projects- Day 2

I've made the switch. This year I've been using a cumulative project in lieu of a traditional written test, and at this point I believe that the projects are a better indicator of student knowledge than the old examinations.

Students have just started working on their final projects for the 3rd Trimester. So far, I'm impressed. Day 1 is usually always a bit of a waste. Students aren't sure what they want to do or how to start so they end up doing lots of email checking, Google Image labeling, Impossible Quiz taking, and other things that are probably violating their AUP's. Day 2 is when the action happens (for most). They figure out what format they're going to use for their exam, and start to frame how they're going to include the required information into that format. About 25% of the projects I've seen from students so far look like they're going to be great. I don't mean simply deserving of an "A." I mean they look like they'll be shiny monuments to mountains of knowledge!

A couple things I've learned to do as I've done more of these cumulative projects:

  • Push for more than just bulleted points of information. It's dull to read, it's dull to write, it's just dull.
  • Demand diagrams, graphs, graphic organizers, and media-rich projects. These are more interesting than text, and they generally demonstrate a student's understanding of a topic more clearly.
  • Require projects to show the student's understanding of how the material covered in the class is interconnected. We covered volcanoes & plate tectonics this trimester. I want them to show me how they relate.

If you'd like to see the project description and rubric for the 3rd Trimester final exam, visit my school homepage. There are links to the rubric and a brief explanation of what is expected. Let me know what you think. What would you add? How might it be structured differently?

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Scarcity and Collaboration: An argument for 1:1 initiatives

A couple of weeks ago Kate Olsen posted on her blog about getting hassled by one of her colleagues. Part of the hassling included a mention of her hogging the computer lab so others couldn't use it. That touched off some thoughts that had been floating around the back of my head for awhile.

Following is an excerpt from my comment on her post that briefly summarized my thinking:

Two years ago I was one of very few teachers who used the laptop carts on a regular basis. As a result, I could get them whenever I wanted (they even let me store a cart permanently in my room). Now there are 5 or so teachers that regularly use computers in their classes. While there has been a little increase in the number of available computers in the past 2 years, there is definitely more demand on the computers.

[...] The big problem I see is that the limited supply of computers with increasing demand may prevent tech-savvy teachers from sharing their expertise with those less familiar with technology to keep the demand for computer resources lower. This is simply unacceptable. Who benefits from this arrangement? It certainly isn’t the students.

One of the best sources of knowledge available to teachers who might be interested in integrating technology are other teachers who are already actively using it.  However, in schools with fewer computers available than students, for a tech-savvy teacher to share their knowledge means they run the risk of reducing the amount of time computers will be available for them to use. One of my primary concerns when planning lessons that require the internet or online tools (other than the school filter)  is that other teachers will sign out all the computers during the time when I need to use them.

Can I really be upset at these teachers for using technology? No. Should I withhold my expertise from them for selfish reasons? No, and I hope I haven't consciously done this. However, if each teacher at my school wanted to use the laptops even just once a week, there'd be a major fight over who would get them.

Aren't we in the business of supporting educators in the teaching of 21st century skills? The scarcity of computers in most schools (in my opinion) serves to prevent all teachers from utilizing technology. It seems to me the logical conclusion is to provide a laptop for each student. Known as a 1:1 program, many schools across the country are getting great results from it being thoughtfully implemented. I'm not purporting to be a 1:1 expert. All I'm saying is that if we want schools to be places where students learn to be competent citizens of the 21st century we need to provide them with the tools to do so.

What to do? I'm a bit of a lame-duck at my school (I'm moving to Connecticut this summer), so I feel my power to effect change has been diminished. However, we can all do a little to support these initiatives.

  • Teachers: talk to your principals, tech directors, school board members, etc. about the importance of teaching 21st century skills. Also, if you're not sure how to utilize technology, demand professional development time. This doesn't have to be an expensive keynote speaker, it could be a workshop by another teacher in your district.
  • Students: demand your teachers and principals provide an environment where you have the opportunity to learn and exhibit your 21st century skills. If your principals hear hundreds of requests for more technology to facilitate learning each week, then they're going want to take action.
  • Parents: talk to your students' principals and school board members about the importance of providing environments that prepare your children for their future. Again, if the school board hears several requests every week, they're much more inclined to "find" money to fund it.

For further info on 1:1 initiatives:

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Learned selfishness

A little background: This year, I essentially threw out all large tests in my classroom. I still utilize small quizzes, but I wasn't feeling the validity of large tests. Instead, I developed what I call "artifacts." Essentially I have the students create something (a book, song, comic, presentation, etc.) that demonstrates their knowledge of the content area. I give them the ability to choose the format in which they will display their knowledge, but give them a rubric (I know...not everyone's favorite) that describes what content their artifact should include.

For my second semester Earth/Physical Science class, when I started thinking about designing their final exam project (as opposed to a formal written test), I had what I thought was a great idea: I'd have them design it themselves from the ground up. I figured they'd created multiple artifacts by this point and are familiar if not comfortable with the format; why not let them design the rubric?

I put them in groups and assigned each a different section of the trimester to go over and decide which parts were important enough to be included in the final exam project. I gave them a pep talk about collaborating together to create something useful for the entire class.

Noncommunicative At best, this is how they worked.

The normally very chatty class was the quietest it may have ever been during that time of "collaboration." Quite frankly, there wasn't any collaboration. Indeed, there was very little cooperation. It was essentially groups of individuals working independently of one another.

After that class period, I had time to reflect upon the utter failure I had just experienced. I was at first upset with the students for not trying to work together, then with myself for not structuring it well enough. However, in the end I realized the problem was much bigger than any of us.

Our entire educational system is based upon individual achievement. Sure, students are exposed to group work, but in the end it's always their own grade their worried about. Grade conscious students are essentially taught to take over groups to ensure they get a good grade, while less motivated students quickly learn ride the coat tails of those who will do all the work for them. The problem in my class was that these students do not know how to collaborate. The concept of completing something for the good of the community (rather than the individual) was foreign to their school experience.

I decided to take a few steps back with them to explain why I feel collaboration is an important skill, and then explain what it means to collaborate in the classroom. I showed them the Did You Know 2.0 video. I explained how I (and a multitude of others) feel that collaboration is an important 21st century skill. I explained how I felt their lack of collaboration was as much the fault of the system as it was their own.

I then set them up in new groups, and asked for essentially them same thing, but now with a little more background and clarification. I got a little more collaboration, but it was high maintenance. In essence I felt like I had to drag the collaboration out of them. I suppose that should be expected after 10 years of being taught selfishness at school.

This opened my eyes even further to the shortcomings of our current school system. What type of system encourages people to shun others for their own benefit? To not share their knowledge base lest someone else gain from it? I don't feel like I was throwing away much of the current "schooliness" in asking students to collaborate in this way. I felt like it was just a baby step toward a better model of school, yet it took a huge amount of energy for me to communicate what is essentially "sharing."

Halfway through writing this post I happened upon Clay Burell's post attempting to define what he commonly terms as "schooliness." In it, I see much of the frustration I've been feeling towards the system that tends to punish community, collaboration, and independent thinking. Surely we can do better in our schools. Our students deserve it.

Photo credit: Bright_Star via Flickr
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As promised: Presentations Before and After

As promised in yesterday's post, I've posted my before and after presentations that I made to go over basic Earth structure with my Earth & Physical Science classes. I've already used the updated presentation, and the students seemed to enjoy it better than the overly bullet-pointed first version. You may not be able to follow the content without the narrative on the newly designed presentation, but that's somewhat the point, no?

There were several students that expressed regret at the demise of the bullet points. It's easier for them to just copy down exactly what it says (of course it is, they don't have to actually pay attention or comprehend to do that). How well they've been trained by their past experiences!

Before

[slideshare id=265122&doc=old-journey-to-the-center-of-the-earth-1202953941596173-3&w=500]

After

[slideshare id=265038&doc=journey-to-the-center-of-the-earth-12029484236194-4&w=500]

These presentation design upgrades seem to be all the rage. Since my last post I've found two new (to me) posts by edubloggers discussing (and even sharing) good design in presentations. And I thought I was ahead of the curve on this one...

Check them out:

I welcome your feedback on my presentations. I even look forward to constructive criticism!

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Design, presentations, and the power of the network

Dread! It all started with dread.

The last week or so, my classes have been covering material that I made PowerPoint slideshows for several years ago. While at the time, I put in lots of images and even embedded some video, I found myself dreading to give those presentations to my classes. I started pondering whether there wasn't a better way to utilize slideshows than what I was doing. I became discontent with my presentations

As if the heavens could hear me, wisdom rained down upon me.

Wisdom Bit #1: This fall, I happened upon Lawrence Lessig's talk on copyright at the TED conference. While the subject matter was interesting, I was enthralled (& engaged) by his simple use of visuals and high-contrast text. It made me want to go design my own presentation right then and there (it was a pretty busy time for me, so I didn't). As I became discontent with my presentations, my thoughts went back to his presentation.

Wisdom Bit #2: On a tip from Wes Fryer on his blog, I've subscribed to the Practical Principals podcast. In the first installment I was able to catch, Scott Elias discussed a presentation he gave on how to give engaging presentations. In the show notes, a link was provided to his presentation. I checked that out, and liked what I saw. The wheels were turning...

Wisdom Bit #3: Wes Fryer wrote a post discussing digital storytelling and dual-coding theory. Essentially, dual-coding theory states that when a speaker reads information off of a slide, very often the audience can become overwhelmed because there are two images to pay attention to (the speaker and the projected text). I found this very interesting, as I had previously been under the assumption that reading and projecting the text was helpful to students, as it provided both a visual and auditory pathway for the information. It's funny what information we believe that isn't really true.

Wisdom Bit #4: Clay Burell shared a presentation he gave and also wrote a bit on good design in presentations to boot. I especially liked his tip to include a "narrative thread" in presentations. It provides a something for people to grab onto, and combined with slides with relevant images (and very little text), people have to listen to hear the story.

Wisdom Bit #5: At the end of Clay's post, he provided a link to Dan Meyer's blog post on how to present. He pretty much reiterated what I had already heard and read from Scott, Wes, and Clay; but it was an excellently written post with great examples. I think what I took away most from this post was his statement: "If I can look at your slidedeck and determine the full content of your presentation, it's carrying too much information."

Direction! Finally, I had direction.

I think what struck me most about this process went far beyond my integration of a new and improved method. The online network that provided the wisdom is the big story here. Though no one whose wisdom was included in this post put their content online with the specific thought of helping me escape the doldrums of antiquated presentations, the simple task of accessing distant knowledge is pretty amazing in itself. The sources of my wisdom were located in California, Oklahoma, Colorado, Missouri, Korea, and California again. It was totally asynchronous, and exactly what I needed. I don't have a well-developed edtech network yet, but just because I can't tweet a question and get back 50 responses yet doesn't mean I can't take advantage of the network.

Yay, Network! Thanks, network. You're the best!

Stay tuned. I'll post my old presentation compared to the new one.

Photo credits: Medo/Fear by xaimex, BLESSINGS FROM THE SKY by dharmesh, Map and Compass by Inky Bob, and Be Positive by José Miguel Serrano

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Authentic learning without technology? No way!

Walden PondThere' s a school in them there Woods. Matt Schlein raised the funds to purchase 260 acres of land and open the Walden Project- an innovative high school where class is held outdoors (except for when they have it in a motley-looking tent). The curriculum is based around Thoreau's writing, but by no means is no means limited. The NPR article notes:

"There's no need to go out in the hall or grab a new book. That's because everything is related, so class discussion about the recent primary vote in neighboring New Hampshire is just another aspect of the school's simple mission. Like Thoreau, students are supposed to be exploring their relationship to self, their relationship to culture and their relationship to the natural world."

This sounds quite similar to all the edu-talk about creating authentic learning environments through the use of global personal learning networks and other technological tools. The Walden Project doesn't utilize technology (though, as a joke, their tent has a satellite dish), but yet it sounds like authentic learning is taking place. One student is managing a corner of the forest. He's selectively culling some trees to determine if he can increase the biodiversity of plant life.

Personally, I'm drawn to the Walden Project model- I love the outdoors and would love to get to spend my days teaching in such an environment. I realize this isn't a feasible solution for the vast majority of schools and students. However, I do find it interesting that while many of us edu-bloggers are talking incessantly how technology can create authentic, interconnected learning, here's an example of a completely different solution that seems to basically have the same goals in mind. Perhaps technology is just a filler for those of us who don't have 260 acres of land to teach on...

From NPR :: via Treehugger

Photo credit: Storm Crypt via Flickr