Category Archives: Thoughts

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Preparing for a Switch

Amazon com Switch How to Change Things When Change Is Hard 9780385528757 Chip Heath Dan Heath 1

http://www.amazon.com/Switch-Change-Things-When-Hard/dp/0385528752

Durham Academy has considered issuing a digital device to students for many years. Each time, the decision was made to not move forward. At this point, Durham Academy is again investigating that a device for our students but now it is seen as more important to not only the mission of the school but also as a strategic need to remain relevant.

I have been asked to present to the Middle School faculty some ideas or suggestions on how we might adjust to this change. After reading the book, Switch, I thought I would try to incorporate their suggestions into this project as indeed it will be a change.


In order to do this we need to prepare for the Switch to connected classrooms where the obstacle of not having access to technology is removed. What would we do differently if we did not have to go to a computer in order to use a computer?

I am reminded of Liz B. Davis’s post on her Plus One Challenge: http://edtechpower.blogspot.com/2011/08/plus-one-challenge.html

I like how she framed her challenge.
The Power of Educational Technology The Plus One Challenge 1 1
This is what I will be presenting to the faculty today.
Brief History:
In 2004 and 2007 I and others investigated deploying a digital device for our students. We were asked to do this by Durham Academy as part of our school’s strategic plan. For various reason, DA never acted on these suggestions, but did begin to use Moodle (2006) and other web-based tools. We have become known for our high-level use of Moodle and other Web 2.0 tools.
To get us started, I want us to watch a movie featuring David Warlick and David Jakes video: 7:25 http://bcove.me/cgmyua38

A couple typical days at DA Middle School in pictures. Over the course of 2 days, I took images of what was transpiring in the computer labs and classrooms I could get to that had students. I also took some shots of lockers and other items that caught my attention.
Take Away:

Motivate the elephant: We are being out innovated by our peer schools. Cary Academy has had tablet laptops for years. Ravenscroft is piloting Google Chromebooks with Google Apps for Education. We must change or look foolish in the comparison between peer schools.

Next Month we will discuss how to Direct the Rider.


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How Did and How Does Steve Jobs Impact Us, Our Students, and Our Institution?

Steve

http://jmak.tumblr.com/post/9377189056

Steve Jobs changed my life with his inventions and his passion for what he believed in even when he was faced with stiff opposition and failure. What can we learn from his passion and how we embrace the changes in our industry. Below are some videos of various times where Steve was talking about much more then just computers.

Steve introduces the controversial Think Different campaign. English teachers around the world hated it. I think it shows a lot about message and connecting with your customers which in our case are students and parents.

This video is from either a MacTopia or a World Wide Developers Conference about the time he came back to Apple after he was fired. I think it demonstrates both leadership in how not to react and how his focus on customers was as least as important as his focus on the design and technology. What can we learn from this in how we both react to parts of the book and the changes we are facing in our school? He admits a lot about himself.

While many folks have talked about the “Apple Tax” when it comes to the cost of Apple products. The video below shows how Steve approaches it. I remember when I told parents at Culbreth Middle School that I was leaving to teach at Durham Academy. One parent was upset and she said “they get all the good teachers”. I replied that they also understood what it cost to educate a student where as public schools struggled to fund what is needed. We don’t teach junk. A lot has changed since 1999. How do we make sure what and how we teach is still relevant?

 

The most watched and talked about speech is his commencement speech at Stanford. If you have not watched it, you should as it tells his life in 3 stories.

What are your thoughts? Add a comment.

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Consider Me a Crazy One

FlickrCC jobs

I sent this message to all teachers at my school this morning and thought I would share it here as well.

I wanted to thank Durham Academy as an institution along with Sheppy Vann and Ed Costello publicly for sending me and others to hear Steve Jobs speak at past MacWorld conferences. His company has impacted my teaching in ways I could never have imagined when I first used his technology in 1993.

I have always liked this message from one of their ad campaigns and I think it is a worthy view of how we look at our students and school.

“Here’s to the crazy ones. The misfits. The rebels. The troublemakers. The round pegs in the square holes.

The ones who see things differently. They’re not fond of rules. And they have no respect for the status quo. You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them.

About the only thing you can’t do is ignore them. Because they change things. They invent. They imagine. They heal. They explore. They create. They inspire. They push the human race forward.

Maybe they have to be crazy.

How else can you stare at an empty canvas and see a work of art? Or sit in silence and hear a song that’s never been written? Or gaze at a red planet and see a laboratory on wheels?

We make tools for these kinds of people.

While some see them as the crazy ones, we see genius. Because the people who are crazy enough to think they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

The Crazy Ones. Wikipedia. October 6, 2011. [http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Think_Different].

The world is emptier today for those of us who push the clouds.

Thanks Steve and Apple employees.

 

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Still Sparkling After All These Years

Me2yrs

Today is my birthday so I am a bit reflective. I was born in Potosi, WI 55 years ago. I have travelled many roads on my journey to where I am today. I was 2 years old when this picture was taken. I see the spark in my eyes at two. There were days, probably years when I lost the spark, but through teaching, I am reminded able to rekindle the spark when I am in the Flow.  I was greeted at work today but some very different tasks. Task 1 was to meet with my new retirement benefit coordinator to determine how best to invest my 410K funds so I could retire in 10+/- years. The next task was to go through my email. I found some gifts that sparked my day due to their thoughtfulness and the fact they took the time to create something.

Besides the sparkles I get from my wife, children and grandchildren, my students give me sparkles as well. Here are some digital versions. I also got lots of bakery and a warm bagel with fresh fruit.

Ellie P. made this for me in Skitch which is a free drawing program we have been using (spell check not included). FYI Technology is in the Fine Arts Rotation and I do not have time to explain that before my next birthday.

EllieScott H. took a different approach as he created a VoiceThread with a simple message. He knows that I see every VoiceThread made at Durham Academy so his gift would be delivered automatically. He created it sometime yesterday.


There have been other gifts and acknowledgements as today, I am the topic. With that in mind, I thought I would share the project I did as part of the NCAIS Master Teacher Project. I was to tell my story and how being an NCAIS Master Teacher has impacted me and will impact my students. Using technological tools that were not available to that little boy of two, I decided to Google it. Enjoy.

 

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Listening and Teaching

Listen

‘listen closely‘ 
http://www.flickr.com/photos/14784969@N08/2233417054

I read a blog post this summer from Steve Goldberg about this TEDx talk and added it as a favorite to my list of talks to listen to when I reconnected to the Internet. In addition, I finally purchased a set of hearing aids after going years asking my students and grandchildren to repeat what they said as my mild to moderate loss impacted me the most in these situations. Getting older and needing equipment to restore what I used to have naturally is all part of the process. I got my hearing aids at Costco and have been very happy.

 

With the equipment installed, I now am working on my intention and listening practice. I suggest that we all try to do a little bit better as our students and children/grandchildren have a lot that they are saying.

5 ways to listen better

 

4 Ways sound affects us

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Evernote and Skitch – Hey You Got Perfect in My Awesome!

Skitch is acquired by Evernote A Great Skitch Heart Love

 

Two of my favorite applications that I use on my desktop, laptop, iPad, and iPod Touch are now together. It reminds me of the old commercials where the person is eating chocolate and bumps into the person eating peanut butter. While at first upset, they realize it is a perfect match and the rest they say is confectionary history.

Skitch has been used at our school for the last 3 years and quickly became the most used piece of software next to a browser. In fact, it became a verb in my teaching as we skitch anything we need to add to documents, VoiceThreads, Portfolios, or to create a great desktop picture. It is the Swiss Army Knife of software tools. I have paid for others and know how to take a screenshot, but Skitch remained my go to tool. While the use of expiring betas did make it a source of frustration since each time the version expired, I had to blast out an update, the sheer power of what could be done with the software out weighed the 10 to 15 minute task of blasting out the latest version. When they announced Skitch Plus last year, I contacted them as I wanted to buy it for our school. Sorry, Keith said but they are working on an educational solution, but it is not ready. He then gave me a 5 year license to Skitch Plus for our school!

Evernote has become an integral part of my productivity and as I get older, the best way to remember what is so easily forgotten by my brain. As our school gets ready to pilot test iPads, I believe we need to put Evernote into the workflow for students and teachers since it will increase the efficiency of every member of the team. With the new groups and sponsored accounts, it is practical and economical to test out a new way of document workflow even within our existing systems of Moodle, Google Apps for Education, and FirstClass.

Here are two stories of how our school could use Evernote. Sixth and Eighth Grade Science Teacher from Evernote’s Blog and Montclair Kimberley Academy’s 1 to 1 program with Evernote.

I am excited to see what these two companies can do together and look forward to the day that we look back and cannot remember a time before they were together.

A side note, my granddaughter and I share our love of Reese’s Peanut Butter cups and I suspect someday, she will also share my love of Evernote and Skitch.

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Innovation and Learning Cohort – Chapter 1 Word Cloud

This school year I am co-leading an Innovation and Learning Cohort of 19 teachers at Durham Academy who are reading The New Culture of Learning by David Thomas and John Seely Brown. I shared this post there today and wanted to add it to my blog as I am excited to be undertaking this learning and discussion with fellow teachers. We are blogging at http://labs.da.org/wordpress/dailc/ where you are welcome to follow along or leave a comment.

NCoL_Chapter1_Comments

Thought it might be interesting to take all of our comments about Chapter 1 – The Arc of Learning and paste them into a Wordle to make a word cloud. The larger the word, the more times it is used in all of the comments. Good to know words like students, learning, kids, think, learn, curious, and read play such a role. I think we need to stop using my name so much though as it is used more then school!  I will add this to our VoiceThread, because, that is what I do:)

As part of our cohort we plan to hook-up with Page Lennig’s group at Wyanflete School later this year. Her school is doing a cohort that is similar and is reading the same book. I was at her group’s site and saw she had linked to this video so I thought our cohort should read it as well. I like this video as it features a message that resonates with me and my teaching as well as featuring fellow educators whom I have visited with or followed online for years. As part of my “collective” al of you continue to shape my teaching and learning. Thanks and I hope I add to yours.

Watch the full episode. See more Digital Media – New Learners Of The 21st Century.

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Learning in a Networked World – Will Richardson’s Message to Durham Academy

Networked Teacher

‘NetworkedTeacher’ http://www.flickr.com/photos/51035553780@N01/344832591

Today almost seems like a dream. Will Richardson is in our school talking to most of our faculty. The Middle School will be watching a movie we are creating as they are having Olweus training.  I have wanted this to happen for the last five years but wondered if we were up to the discussion as a school. I was thrilled when Lee Hark, Upper School Director, asked me last year for a list of speakers as he was looking for someone to kick off our school year. Faculty are participating in a back channel provided by Will where our faculty are able to discuss what he is saying. This is a whole day event that will challenge us to engage in a conversation that will help us answer the big questions facing our school and students.

I plan to weave the challenges he is into our Innovation and Learning Cohort that is discussing the book: The New Culture of Learning by David Thomas and John Seely Brown.

Bravo and thanks to Durham Academy for being willing to discuss these challenges.

His presentation is at this link.

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Google Apps for Education + VoiceThread = Transformative

Transformative

I have spent the morning working in a computer lab and a classroom with 5th grade students and 7th grade students who are working on culminating projects. The groups have research in the library or in the field and are now working on presenting they’re learning to classmates and teachers. Both start in a Google Presentation which will be converted to a PDF when done for use in VoiceThread. I watched as students collaborated on the presentations in various ways:assigning jobs, adding images and text, or writing scripts in a Google Doc. The goal of both of these projects is to tell the story of what they have learned. We are fortunate to have desktops, some laptops, and some students who bring their own laptop so access is not an issue. In the past, students could not easily collaborate and create simultaneously as they can now. This lack of creation friction has allowed one group to create the PDFs, upload to VoiceThread and record it in only 4 classes. It took much longer in the past since we had to many, many more steps to arrive where we are today. Other groups are well on their way to creating deeper learning while learning how to work collaboratively.

The 7th grade science students will be teaching their fellow classmates on topics of the river study unit during exams. This brings the role of teacher into the life of a student in meaningful and real ways.

If your school does not use these web-based tools, Google Apps for Education and VoiceThread, please consider it, as they will transform your learning community into a frictionless environment where the technology supports the learning goals instead of limiting.

I am very happy and proud to have helped bring this transformation about. Now it is time to eat my lunch as I have used it to write this short post.