blogs – Page 3 – Learn, Think, Write

I can’t change the world, but…

August 18, 2010August 18, 2010 scm

I once told Sheryl Nussbaum Beach I didn’t feel moved to change the world.

We were chatting about all things education–and how some folks are comfortable presenting to large crowds (I’m not), and some feel compelled to change the world of schooling (I wasn’t).

At the time, I felt that my personal line in the sand, which I drew in the sandbox of a classroom, was enough. I could individualize instruction, buy netbooks for my kids, create an inviting atmosphere, offer a variety of ways to assess children, and focus on what worked.

I became comfortable in my own small, corner of the world.

And then last spring, I found myself taking over conversations in department meetings, dinner parties, and family gatherings. Whenever the chats turned to school (and specifically social media), I couldn’t keep my mouth shut. My frustration with how we “do” schools bubbled over. During our last week of vacation, my uncle turned to me mid-rant and said, “Ok then, how do we fix it? How do we make schools better?”

I didn’t have all the answers, but I found myself listing everything that matters to me: giving students voice; empowering teachers to work together and reflect upon their practice; offering choice in curriculum and ways to learn; allowing charter schools (with proper direction and guidance) to flourish; changing the way we sort and rank students.

Ok, so I care. Changing the system seems overwhelming at times, but it’s worth it. Our kids deserve more from us.

These are the folks I’m following these days, watching and learning from them:

Coalition of Essential Schools

Big Picture Schools

Ideal Schools

IDEA

Not perfect, perhaps. But at least they are doing the work and not just talking about it. Who else should be highlighted?

Connecting the dots

July 2, 2010July 2, 2010 scm

I finally caught up with another EdTech podcast w/ Alex, Arvind, and Vinnie on this morning’s run. My classes always seemed to conflict with the live podcasts, and lately I’ve had running partners, so it seemed rude to tune them out and listen to my iPod.

Today’s run was with husband David, and since he doesn’t talk, I listened! This morning’s podcast focused on Posterous, for which I’ve had an account for some time but could not figure out why I needed in addition to my blog.

Now I do.

Sometimes it’s just too much trouble to bring up WordPress, write the post, and publish it. Instead, I quickly post ideas, links, and photos to Twitter. Yet when I constantly link to Twitter alone, I don’t draw people here for conversations. For example, I would have loved some feedback on my assessment post.

This morning’s podcast helped me realize how simple posting to email is, which in turn updates both my blog and Posterous. So then a tweet would send people back here. Plus this gives me a record of resources I want to keep track of and tag. Make sense?

Anyway, I love my community. I would learn even more if I could get myself back up to a decent distance, as 3.5 miles goes by pretty quickly.

image: http://www.flickr.com/photos/nnenn/3903987595

Tool Geek? No, Learning Geek….

June 21, 2010June 21, 2010 scm

A recent chat with @snbeach, @baldy7, @datruss and Rob from NH on a PLP info session has me thinking. I mentioned that I got “into all this” (never sure how to categorize these huge shifts in thinking and learning anymore) because I loved playing with “tools.”

Tony said that wasn’t the case for him. But I wonder how many are more like me?

I remember the first time I put my hands on a computer. I was taking a re-certification in 1985 to teach high school again after taking off a few years with my children. A local college offered a class in Basic programming, so I signed up without fully understanding what I was getting into.

Actually, I had never touched a computer, and I was an English major (fully avoiding math and science whenever possible).

Three weeks later, I remember the frustration, the uncertainty, and the exhaustion I felt, trying to use the left side of by brain to logically determine what a loop was and how to write a simple piece of code. On my own for the most part, there was no hand-holding in this course.

3551238175_435b9f32a6_m — Uploaded on May 21, 2009 by Temari 09

By the time I finished, though, I had learned to write a short grading program that worked.

And I felt a sense of accomplishment.

That one step took me to the next: buying my own computer, figuring out how to manage DOS and Windows apps, and installing peripherals. I was having so much fun figuring it all out and learning something new, totally in the flow.

And then something amazing happened. I was given a Mac to use in my journalism class, the first computer to be used in the county for any instruction. I began to see the power of turning kids loose and taking control of their own learning. One boy learned Illustrator and shared it with the class; another became a graphics design expert and landed an after-school job. Many began finding other strengths in writing, publishing, and advertising.

In a few short years, I was online in a text-based web, texting with someone from Europe, who jumped onto my screen. The possibilities for my classroom were rumbling around in my head. By 2000, I was back in school in a M.Ed program in Instructional Tech. In 2004, I started blogging (first trying to install Manilla on our school server); then I discovered Twitter in 2007, and my world shifted.

Isn’t this what we want for our students today? To want to work through problems, concepts, or issues? To be curious enough to see how things work? To create?

My circuitous path led me to new ways of thinking about how my students learn and what I want schools to “look like” (if, indeed, we need to have schools at all). It all started with an interest in figuring out a tool, but it’s moved to how these tools–or now these online social technologies–change the way we live in this networked world.

What has changed your thinking? How can our interactions with each other and the tools make meaningful change in the life of our students?

Uploaded on January 16, 2008
by seeks2dream

On the train

June 13, 2010June 13, 2010 scm

I’ve spent a lot of time on the train lately going back and forth between Virginia and Rhode Island, where my family lives.

The eight-hour ride provides much time to think. About life. About work. About how hungry I am.

On this trip, I’ve been thinking about my blog. When I first started blogging, I was running and training for races, and updates were simple. I was all about the run.

A few years later, I shifted to an edtech blog, one I shared with my teachers to help them envision how to integrate technology into the classroom. After moving back into the classroom, the focus (on this blog) became my students and me–a time to reflect on all I was learning and doing.

So now what?

We don’t need another edtech blog. There are too many already, most preaching to the choir and saying the same old things. Oh, that sounds a little bitter, doesn’t it?

But I love blogging. Writing gives me a chance to clarify my thinking, reflect on what I’m learning. Sometimes 140 characters just isn’t enough.

A logical step for me is to write about my new work, which by the way will be done mostly from the comfort of my sofa. Or dining room table. Or comfy chair in the library. I haven’t decided yet.

And there are so many decisions to be made. What kind of monitor will I need? What’s the best way to organize my contacts and interviews? How many cups of coffee should I drink every day?

I’ll need help.

So I hope you’ll hang around (all three of you) and jump in anytime.

But is it working?

January 13, 2009 scm

Six of us, all members of the Powerful Learning Practice, have been discussing our teaching shifts and pondering these thoughts all year:

how do we know these 21st Century skills of creativity, collaboration, critical thinking, information literacy, and digital citizenship (borrowed liberally from here and here) are key for students' success? success at what? are they skills? how do we assess any of this?
what are our goals?
how do they affect our current teaching practices?
where does technology fit into all of this?

Often the conversations we spin in, around, and through each others PLN's make me dizzy. Sometimes, though, we don't talk, we act.
And when I see a group of teachers learning, sharing, creating, and living the conversations, I feel content.

Today, for example, I watched FA Blogs grow! I noticed that Carey's 8th grade classes were adding their blogs today, getting ready to reflect on what they were learning in French class. Then Jennifer opted to jump in with another, putting our creative writing magazine online. Before long, both Carey and Susanne had commented on her new blog.
I was busy teaching, but when I finished, I checked Twitter to see that they had managed to figure out all the details themselves.
A former student, studying at Georgia Tech, even chimed in to comment on the design.

Jennifer is also blogging with her seniors, though we haven't moved them to FA Blogs yet. However, as I was working on the admin side of WPMU today, I noticed another blog.
"Who is that?" I wondered…..
One of our math teachers has decided to read and blog along with Jennifer's students this semester, so she is putting her thoughts out there. Wow. I'm speechless.
Our math teacher, writing with our English students. Sharing, learning, reflecting.
Sigh. Happy sigh. Yes, it's working.