This Ain't Your 1970's Snow Day

It's been a rough winter here in the MidWest. Schools are scrambling to gather their 180 days in Indiana.  But face it, an extra day (or 4) tacked on in May is not going to make up for the momentum lost in January.  But hey folks!  There are resources out there that can help keep the momentum and the learning going.... well beyond the four physical walls of the school building. Or as we like to say...communicate, collaborate, consume and curate... anytime/anywhere regardless of the weather (unless you lose power like we did in the January 7th storm then you're pretty much just reading by paper and staying warm by fire #17thcenturylearning). 

As I like to say, "This Ain't Your 1970's Snow Day..." Or at least it certainly doesn't have to be ... although pancakes, hot cocoa and sledding are still allowed (unless it's another one of those polar vortexes in which case I highly recommend this experiment from Minnesota Cold).  

Twitter #Chats

• Simple push notifications.

Send out reminders, reading links or review questions for students.

•  Class #hashtag

Asynchronous but easily searched. Say #BJPSEng9 if you teach freshmen. No need for your students to have a Twitter account (but most do) – hashtags are publicly accessible on public accounts. You could also make a class Twitter account (in which case it would be @BJPSEng9). 

• Live #chat

Set up a time (say normal class time) letting students know you will be live and online. Send out prepared questions and expect answers.  Or just be there to answer student questions. Use a class hashtag for students to follow or read later.

Google Apps for Education (aka GAFE)

Had a small group activity in mind for room 218 period 3? Set up a Google Doc and have students answer questions collaboratively from home.  A shared Google Presentation allows students to view or view & edit materials easily.  If you have a presentation all ready for “live” class – throw it up to a shared class Folder and have students view outside of class.

Google Forms

Google Forms can be turned into a quiz simply by asking content specific questions.  Or they can be designed more like a handout where students answer/practice/reflect on topic areas you wanted to cover face to face.

G+ Communities

You can create a G+ Community for just your class.  This makes a group page where you can upload readings, videos, links and have students comment on them. Help pages for this feature can be found at https://support.google.com/plus/answer/2872671?hl=en

Try a HangOut

Feeling like a live chat?  Set up a Google Hangout on Air. The added benefit is this records the discussion for later viewing (say by students are not able to join the live feed). Regular Hangouts work too by clicking the New Hangout button in your G+. I have seen this used for quiz review, new material or discussion. Detailed how to’s can be found here… https://support.google.com/plus/answer/2553119?hl=en

***Student must be in your G+ Community to “hangout”

Other Resources

Edmodo

A favorite of Brebeuf Social Studies types… looks like Facebook but you must be an educator to make a page.  Students are invited in with a class password. Post videos, readings and links and begin the discussion.

www.edmodo.com

YouTube

Since we are a GAFE school, every student and faculty member has an AMDG account which comes with YouTube access. (Not a GAFE school? Your regular GMail account works).  You can upload a self-created video (via Camtasia or WeVideo) or edit directly into YouTube. More details at https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/57924?hl=en

Class Blog or Website

Several of our Brebeuf faculty have created their own class pages using various free blogging tools.  Check out Edublogs, Blogger and Weebly to start. 

Go For the Free Trials

Try a streaming conference product… heck, it’s a free trial.  Check out GoToMeeting or AdobeConnect.  Winter can’t last forever, right?

The Material and the Symbolic: Designing Libraries in 2014

During this arctic week in the Midwest, I am working on a keynote for the JSEA Librarians conference.   My husband lent a helping hand to the process by pointing me in the direction of communication theory of "discourse of space"… we’re a lively pair ya know.  This led to more topics, which eventually led me to the urban planning scholarship of socio-spatial transformation and the research of Ole Jensen in Denmark. 

Jensen argues any planning process (in my case redesigning a 1980's library) as a consideration of the “relationship between the material practices and the symbolic meaning that social agents attach to their spatial environments…”  For me, this means that the tension between material practices (the day to day doings of librarianship) and the symbolism we attach (the sacred cows of librarianship) effects how we arrange our physical environments.  The catch in bringing library services (particularly K-12 school media services) into the 21^st century can partially be attributed to how many of us still attach our own experiences to the school library – sitting and reading a book in a quiet, safe place. The library was a repository for books and other print (or at least tangibly physical) items where one went to sit quietly and absorb knowledge.

UC Riverside Library
http://newsroom.ucr.edu/1711

Diana Eidson recently published an article entitled “The Celsus Library at Ephesus: Spatial Rhetoric, Literacy and Hegemony in the Eastern Roman Empire.”  In the article, she looks at how the Celsus Library (probably one of the most famous images of a library out there) was not just a repository of material - it was a place where the walls told a story (allegorical carvings tell the stories of Greek and Roman convergence), people met to share experiences and hear stories, communal decision making took place.  It would have been a lively place.  In a population where only 10% were literate, the physical building spoke to patrons and passersby.  Sadly, the Dark Ages, a bit of plague and some circling of the wagons shifted the focus of libraries to silent repositories only for the elite.

2014 holds so many ways we can get back to the library as center of community where even the building can speak to passersby!

Libraries still have material practices in the 21^st century. Some look much like they have for centuries: books, magazines, maps, artwork and newspapers. Some are a little more recent: instruction on citation practices, research strategies and information retrieval. A quiet place of self-reflection in an over-stimulating school environment is needed… but do we adults let our own symbolism influence how the space functions for a young visitor?  Just because we had wood tables nestled in stacks of books, is that what our students need today? 

Face it, we need to let go of our symbolic meanings of what defines a library.  Embrace the innovations, which allow us to move beyond walls, continents and even time (have you seen the awesome collaboration between the Bodleian Libraries and the Biblioteca Apostolica Vatincana?).  Open spaces for story telling, collaborative assignments and communal discourse. 

Seattle Library Main Branch
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seattle_Central_Library

And what the heck, let the walls or floors tell stories again.

Story Surfer at Aarhus Library, Denmark
http://www.flickr.com/photos/aakb/3005626860/

Libraries can be vibrant spaces of experience.  In 2014, reflect on where your attachments to symbolic meaning are hampering progress.  Reflect on material practices that really can be let go (there is no need to keep a year’s worth of paper magazines these days).  And let’s move forward…

Update 2/5/2014... Here's the slideshow from the presentation.  The title is what happens when my husband and I get a little silly during snowstorms - but it's how we roll...

Click image to link to SlideShare Upload

Works Cited:
Eidson, Diana. “The Celsus Library at Ephasus: Spatial Rhetoric, Literacy and Hegemony in the Eastern Roman Empire.” Advances in the History of Rhetoric (2013) Vol 16, Issue 2.

 Jensen, Ole. Discourse Analysis and Sociospatial Transformation Processes. School of Architecture, Planning and Landscape, Global Urban Research Unity. Electronc Working Paper  28. http://www.ncl.ac.uk/guru/assets/documents/ewp28.pdf

, Diana. “The Celsus Librarys: Spatial Rhetoric, Literacy and Hegemony in the Eas

A Joyful Noise: An Examen for Teachers

In #catholicedchat yesterday morning, the topic of gifts was on the docket.  Gifts given and received.  Not an unusual or surprising topic given the season and the audience.  It just happens my personal Advent journey this year includes reading James Martin SJ's book Between Heaven and Mirth . Again, not terribly surprising given my day job and personality.  In Fr. Martin’s introduction “Excessive Levity”, he gives several reasons for the seriousness of religion.  He writes, “…the aim of religion is sometimes seen as one of overriding seriousness.” Basically, we don't laugh, dance or make a joyful noise to the Lord because... by goodness... Church is Serious!!  In light of recent news stories in Indiana (check out State Impact Indiana for dramatic details) and nationally (The Answer Sheet is always good for a depressing glimpse of the state of education reform), I think it’s safe to say the aim of education is sometimes seen as one of overriding seriousness. And heaven help those of us in both realms.

Lately, the seriousness has been bringing me down.

  Right now, if you are like me, the joy comes back after a day or two of 8+ hours of sleep and not obsessively checking email waiting for the other shoe to drop.  Joy is slowing down, spending time with friends and family and laughing.  I realize we don’t laugh enough in education.  We tell students to quiet down and we frown upon frivolity of Ugly Sweater Day as we busily read the state data reports to see if our school is on The Nice List or The Naughty List.  And we are unhappy. And those students we seek to serve are unhappy.  We create locked down atmosphere of serious study - every activity aligned to a standard and every classroom silent. We lose sight of the focus … children.  Broadening their horizons with messy experiences and time for reflection.  Children laugh… sometimes a lot… sometimes loudly, messily, obnoxiously and for no reason.  They are seldom full of overriding seriousness.


I found myself journalling yesterday on this concept of joy and my vocation.  The path I found myself on looks similar to what I write below and I thought some others might be interested so I offer you this Examen for Teachers.  (What's an Examen you ask?) 

• Take a few moments to sit in silence – in a place that gives you comfort.

• In this silence, see in your mind those laughing faces that made you want to be a teacher.  Bring to mind faces of former teachers, colleagues, students and parents.  Anyone who walks with you on your journey as an educator.

• Fr. Martin writes that “Joy…. is what we’ll experience when we are welcomed into heaven.”  Recall the people and places where you were welcomed.  What did you see?  Hear?  Feel?

• Reflect on what stops you from being joyful - those barriers which hinder feelings of welcome, comfort or laughter.

• Overwhelm those barriers with earlier faces of joy.  If you are so inclined - pray for strength and patience overcoming these barriers.  

• Be grateful for the faces which overcome the barriers.  Enjoy the welcoming calm. 

And with that I wish you a joyful holiday break fully of wonder, peace and laughter! 

So You've Gone 1:1... What's Next?

I remember when my husband and I brought home our first child.   We had prepared for months… reading books, building furniture, attending child birth classes, buying accessories, talking to friends… our entire lives were dedicated to the arrival of this child (and my husband’s PhD coursework so I guess we weren’t totally myopic).  The day came when she entered the world and we were sent home by the hospital staff to begin our lives as a family.  We came home, my husband put the baby (in her car carrier) on the coffee table… and we stared at her…. and we stared at each other… we stared at the cat… and suddenly all the prep was over and we asked “So.Now.What.Do.We.Do?”

Brett Clark wrote a fantastic post about prepping a 1:1 program being like prepping for the arrival of a child.  And he’s total right.  So now that you’ve gone 1:1… what do you do?

• Hint: If you happen to be in Indianapolis at ICE13 on Friday, October 11^th this is our presentation.  Join us!

Taking a page from the research of Elizabeth Heitsch and Robert Holley and their work on the Learning Commons model of library design, there are three main areas to consider in your "What's Next" reflections:  the Physical; the Virtual; and the Cultural.  Let’s try a series of reflections based on your learning environment … what it is like now and how the environment changes through the lens of 1:1.

The Physical:

1:1 will dramatically change how you see and use space in your learning environment.  There is new hardware all over the place needing be connect to a wireless network, print and create.  Also how your learners use the chairs, desks and floor changes dramatically.  We have learned that the 50’s model of desks in rows doesn’t work so well in 1:1.  Students and teachers need flexible spaces to fully engage the capacity of collaboration and access these devices create.  And speaking of creating, students will need creation spaces outside the classroom to continue their experiences. 

Reflect a moment:  Picture your classroom.  See each student with access to a personal device for learning.  What works in the space?  What doesn’t? What would help?

The Virtual:

Every time I think this is the obvious consideration BEFORE going 1:1, I read a post on the State of Indiana Learning Connections that asks for input in digital curriculum/resources AFTER a school district has gone 1:1.  The virtual considerations are more than just digital textbooks… it’s your school web presence, it’s a learning management system or content distribution platform.  It’s creation tools like Google Apps for Education or Microsoft SkyDrive.  It’s social media use like Edmodo, My Big Campus or Twitter.  It’s apps designed to drive the school calendar of events and feedback from families.  As the students of LA schools showed us, students know the power of the device … and they want to harness that power (legitimately or otherwise because they are very, very smart).  These resources will change (improve) every few months. Be prepared to be flexible with upgrades and expect change.

Reflect a moment: What virtual resources do you use now in your classroom?  How does 24/7 access change that use?  What new doors may open?  What challenges may arise within the classroom, the school building, the larger community?

The Cultural:

The most nebulous, but most important of all three, are the cultural considerations and growth possible in 1:1.   Your 1:1 program will facilitate growth in the mission and identity of your school.  That mission statement the committee wrote?  Use it!  These devices are amazing at connecting global learners, creating active citizens, developing critical thinking … all those lofty ideals posted on the letterhead.  You’ll find more opportunities for professional development in asynchronous instruction, webinars, streamed conferences and social media PLNS.  Identify the values of the community and shift those values through the access 1:1 offers.

Reflect a moment: What are the key values of your community?  What are the key values articulated in your mission statement?  How might these be developed in 1:1?

1:1 initiatives do not stop when the devices roll out!  They do not stop with the last formal training.  Arguably, the real work begins after delivery… when the rubber meets the road… when it’s not new any more.  And boy, can it be amazing! 

Click Here For Presentation Slides

Categories influenced by:

Heitsch, Elizabeth K. and Robert P. Holley. “The Information and Learning Commons: Some Reflections.” New Review of Academic Librarianship, 17:64-77, 2011

OMG We Learned A Lot (About Distractions That Is)!

In 2010, Fr. General Adolfo Nicolas, SJ spoke to a gathering of higher education types in an address called “Depth, Universality and Learned Ministry: Challenges to Jesuit Higher Education Today.”  In the address, he focused on 3 advantages modern technology allows for (I am paraphrasing here): 

• Appreciation for the depth of thought and imagination shared via technologies 
• New possibilities of acquaintance and dialogue 
• Creation of a “learned ministry” - going beyond our walls to recognize inequalities and become voices for the voiceless

All these things are still true 3 years later.  We are sharing ours thoughts and imagination, opening new possibilities for dialogue and supporting students who understand the lived ministry of becoming voices for the voiceless...But even in all this wonder - we educators are still charged with developing young, impressionable minds - with developing frontal lobes. Minds that are trying to figure out that while this world is full of possibilities … it is also full of distractions.  So how do we do this?

Fr. Jason Roll (National Director of Youth and Adult Ministries for the Greek Orthodox Archdiocese of America) recently blogged on this issue in light of parenting the next digital generation.  One can easily interpret the same ideas into education. Our roles include:

• Responsibility to keep up with how children use technology and what to look for as signs of problems (hint - same signs as depression, suicide, drug addiction: marked changes in behavior, weight loss or gain, lack or change in social group, dropping grades
• Obligation to teach our children responsible behavior and use of technology
• Taking charge of technology rather than letting it take charge of us 
• Our commitment to engage all the children in our lives with and without electronic tools

In light of all this... the Brebeuf faculty spent an hour this week in a delayed-opening PD workshop on our roles in guiding young people in a digitally distracted world. It's a lot of stuff to think about!!  And of course we ran out of time... but here's what we did...

Over the Labor Day weekend, faculty were invited to journal their personal digital distractions. I made up the handout below - but many used their own note system

Our Multi-Purpose Room was arranged for table conversations (8-9 people each). Groups were assigned (yes, broke up the nature groups). We started with a reflection via the video "I Forgot My Phone" and the distraction journals. Groups shared observations and experiences for 10 or so minutes (my watch battery died about this point so I am not exactly sure... and my phone was put away thank you very much).

Two students shared their reflections on BYOT at Brebeuf and their personal challenges with distraction. Both admitted to falling under the spell of distractions but both also confirmed that by being aware - being allowed to make mistakes and be called out for them - creates a better sense of personal responsibility. This will serve them well as they leave our halls and head into the world.

Two teachers also shared reflections on BYOT at Brebeuf and how distractions manifest in classroom, coaching and personal relationships.

At this point the clock was running down... but we managed 5-10 minutes where the tables discussed techniques for dealing with distractions. Each table jotted down some suggestions. The most frequently recorded were:

1. Walk around the classroom
2. Be clear in expectations for work submitted, classroom activities and behaviors
3. Let mistakes happen - we learn from failure
4. MODEL desired behaviors - whether it be single-tasking, leaving phone in handbag or just turning off the Outlook notifications on your laptop... model, model, model. The students are watching everything!
4. It's not a bad idea to ask for phones to be left on the desk during bathroom breaks (that's just basic hygiene there people!)

There is no silver bullet to solving the distracted behaviors. Just as we admit every child has their unique gifts, every child has their unique challenges. But if we take up the mantel of modeling responsible behavior, recognizing the signs of dangerous addiction and engaging young people in digital and non-digital experiences... I think this generation of students is going to be better at recognizing distraction and taking control of technology rather than letting technology take control of them.

OMG! Classroom Management in a 1:1 Learning Environment

We are gearing up for the first day of classes at Brebeuf Jesuit.  When the bell rings at 8:15 on Tuesday morning, students and faculty will find themselves in Year 2 of our 1:1 BYOT program.

We learned a lot in Year 1... JD writes over at Confessions of a Jesuit School CIO and I reflect here on things such as:

• Taking time to discern how any technology initiative fits into the mission and values of the school community is key.  We took 3 years from idea to pilot to full implementation.
• Having a learning objective to frame academic activity and technology initiatives is a good thing.  We used a classic backwards design process.
• Professional Development can no longer revolve around teachers watching as a trainer performs "follow the bouncing mouse" large group instruction.
• Classroom design is important.
• Students will struggle at taking control of their learning.  Teachers will struggle with letting go of control.  Struggle is not a bad word...

Those of you of the Jesuit persuasion and lovely followers of this blog are familiar with the Context-Experience-Reflection-Use- Evaluation model (Ignatian Pedagogical Paradigm for any new readers).  We are in a year of Use.  After lots of experience and reflection moments, we are living the reality of BYOT.  But as much as we talk about "Verbs not Nouns", empowering students, moving away from teacher-centric teaching, new furniture and classroom layouts... mostly what people want to talk about this August is distracted behaviors.  All that ed tech theory is all well and good until a 15 year old plays Temple Run in the back of the room - distracting herself, her neighbors and eventually the teacher. 

Discussing distractions in the learning environment is a good thing... but let's not kid ourselves... it's not new.  Puttering around on Google Scholar this weekend, I found articles (all behind paywalls...but that's another post) on students daydreaming; the evils of Tom Swift and other adventure series; the ball point pen; radio; comic books; television; video arcades; the BetaMax/VCR/DVD... and the cellphone/tablet/Internet.  Pretty sure you could plot the course of human history by looking at what distracts us from the reality in front of us. 

 

Little Interlude:

One of my favorite lines from the abstract of "Why Do Children Watch Television" by Eleanor E. Maccoby (1954), "The study reported here was an attempt to discover whether highly frustrated children seek active fantasy lives by spending more time watching television."

Answer: Yes 

So just as we teach students how to tie their shoes, wear their bike helmets, use "words not fists"... it's time to intentionally teach strategies for dealing with electronic distractions... 'Cause they aren't going away and marketing campaigns are intentionally focused on making sure we stay distracted (and don't get me started on social bots in todays NYTimes! Wow!).

So here it is... my personal Top 7 things we should be intentionally doing in our classrooms:

1.   Have Clear Expectations 

• Turning in electronic assignments?  Where?  
• Accessing electronic textbooks?  Where and how and for how long?  
• Communicating between classmates?  Which platform?  Guidelines for engagement?

All these questions and more need to be asked, answered and written out in the course expectations document.  This is old school communication of expectations folks and it is as important today as 50 years ago.

2. Be Consistent with Policy and Enforcement

Even CNN Living has been covering the empty threat concept lately.  One thing kids are really good at figuring out is which teacher is consistent with cause-effect situations and which teacher yells and does nothing.  If the ramifications for turning in an assignment to the wrong dropbox is posted "lost points for late work" then make sure every student, every time.

3. Guided-Practice for Success 

Students (especially those new to the learning environment) will succeed if given practice with expectations.  Take handing in homework electronically.... practice the first week (in class) using the dropbox.  Maybe week two is "give some room for error" week.  The week 3 the policy of lost points for late work arrives.  Students, just like adults, need time to practice new habits to ensure success.

4. Organizational Skills

Speaking of new habits, organizational skills are learned.  Guide, practice, mentor, model.  

5. Communicate with Parents

Parents are your best ally.  Remember though, most of them (myself included) went to school in the days of the 3-ringed binder.  Parents want to support their student... but if they don't understand the expectations and process the entire support network falls apart.  

6. Remember Why the Device is in the Classroom

Use the device as a reward toy and that's all it will be.  I cringe at stories of elementary students allowed to use their classroom devices only when "their schoolwork" is done.  This type of tech as prize reinforces tech as toy thinking.  Day 1 that device is for the work of learning.  Model with your own technology use that this tool can open the world (parents this goes for you too)... and occasionally reach the high score in Bejeweled.    

7. Get Your Move On

I argue the days of desks in neat rows with a teacher at the front are over.  Move the furniture to encourage collaboration.  Put yourself in the middle of the excitement and move around!  It's another classic but proximity still encourages attention and focus.  

If you are interested in reading more ideas... here is a list of articles I shared with Brebeuf faculty last week.  Round table discussions will begin on the 20th to share ideas, practices and reflections.  I'll be sure to share what we talk about!

From Toy to Tool: How to Develop Smart Tablet Habits in Class by Matt Levinson 

Managing Technology Use in Your Classroom by Karen Hume

Tech Management Tips (Forestville Schools) 

The Best 1:1 Device is a Good Teacher by Andrew Marcinek 

You’re Distracted? This Professor Can Help by Marc Perry