Anywhere, Anytime

Recently, I was reminded of the changes in information access, which was either not easily unavailable or clean access online than what exists today. While driving my kids to school, my daughter realized she’d left her notes on the three Laws of Motion on the kitchen table. Her test was that morning, and the trip to school was an opportunity for study. Hmmm, no time to turn around as we were 10 minutes into a 30 minute drive.

After a moment’s thought, she took my smartphone and used a website with the information to review for her test. Cellular and wireless technology has come a long way. While internet access via phone has been around for awhile, the speed and page view quality are recent improvements. My son routinely asks for the computer, my phone, during drives for research or to find his favorite program online. Video streaming isn’t too bad, depending on cell tower proximity. iPads, e-Book readers like the Nook and Kindle, are just some of the gadgets available that offer excellent portability and internet access anywhere, anytime.

Outside of schools, adults and children are plugged in using these tools. Information, both acquired and created, are so integrated into our culture because of widely available access, schools must seek ways to incorporate them into the students’ academic world far more pervasively than currently exists. Universities and post secondary institutions have heeded the call several years ago. There are k-12 schools that have also made the shift, fully embracing the possibilities such as High Tech High, New Tech High, and Holland Christian Schools. Yet the trend in k-12 continues to be slow. Either schools maintain a comprehensive ban on students bringing phones and other electronics into classrooms, or if allowed, the usage is held to a minimum.

Bans exist because of fear that students “might” commit serious abuses from academic dishonesty to not paying attention to instruction. The former happens regardless of such tools and the latter is an indication that instructional practices may need to be restructured for engagement. In either case, how can students learn responsible use when they are denied the opportunity?

Minimal use of such tools in the classroom is often due to an educator’s lack of experience with using the tool in the educational world. One solution is to recognize that students are an important resource to channel their expertise with the tools. Provide clear academic criteria for work, and allow students to innovate ways to use their gadgets to accomplish the learning targets. Students are amazing creative people when given the chance to use what they understand. A second solution is for educators not to dismiss their own innate strengths with these tools. More adults use social networking sites, research online, and use such tools as digital multimedia, e-Readers, and cell phones. How can communication, research, collaboration, and critical thinking be incorporated into an academic assignment or unit? Then embed the gadgets.

K-12 needs to get on the bus, and then drive it to newer innovations, and not be left at the corner or sitting firmly in the back. The tools continue to evolve. As I sit on a plane more than 10000 feet up, the airlines provides wireless internet access, truly,

Anywhere, Anytime...

Choice 3.0

A common learning tool that's part of the teaching craft is student choices. Here's a look at the levels that choices are used for student engagement and empowerment.

Choice 1.0

When students are working on artifacts, options is an obvious strategy that is commonly used. Choices encourages student buy-in. When they select an option they're saying, "This is what I want to do."

Choice 2.0
One way to deepen options for students is to incorporate learning profiles, such as multiple intelligences (Howard Gardner and/or Robert Sternberg, Thomas Armstrong), brain-based (Jensen), or other approaches (4-Mat, Meyers Brigs(test), True Colors (test), etc.). If we know how our students think and process problems, learning can be structured to suit those needs. For example, when the objective is to contrast diet programs (Adkins or Weight Watchers) in terms of effectiveness, students could demonstrate understanding through an essay, podcast, video, or presentation using posters or digital slides.

Another example, during a lesson, students need time set aside to process the blocks of instruction as a transition to the next activity. This can be accomplished by summarization--journaling, talk to a partner, outlining or webbing ideas or think-pair-share. We use a strategy or combination that suits the ways our students digest comprehension.

Choice 3.0

Have one option be "Student Created." The ultimate buy-in approach is to have students help structure their learning experience. I call it: Doing the Heavy Lifting. It can be too much to ask teachers to develop a customized version of a product for a small groups of students and individuals. There is lots to plan and keep track of. Time becomes a nemisis. When done, the investment of time can be well spent as student engagement rises, along with a belief that "I can do this."

These requirements need to be filled for success of Choice 3.0.

1. Establish clear criteria for a successful outcome.

2. Provide 1-2 options.

3. Allow students opportunity to revise proposals with a deadline for student proposals.

Clear criteria is important for the teacher as to what are the critical learning points that lessons must address, and assessments need to track for student growth. For example in building understanding of persuasive communication, criteria might include:

• Main focal point
• Word choice
• Details, examples, and/or anecdotes
• Counter arguement
• Tone
• Illustrations/Visuals

Clearly articulated criteria can be turned into an effective rubric, and used as part of a coaching conversation with students to guide their reflection on their learning. Students use the criteria as sign posts to keep them on a good path, without getting lost. There's nothing wrong with students wandering off the paved roads to trailblaze a new or innovative direction. The criteria allows for this, but also gives them guidance for how to get back on the main road if learning runs into a dead-end. Perhaps most important is that criteria allows for consistency with evaluation for the teacher and other judges to make effective assessments regardless of the product. Using the criteria for persuasive communication, students could explore use of media in governmental politics, product/services advertisements, or social issues. The final product might be an op-ed article, commercial (video or podcast), photo essay, protest music, or graphic novel. The teacher developed option might be the article. Students could propose alternatives that include ideas from this list or something else.

Teacher develop options provides students with choices that the resources are available in the classroom. Students may want to go along with these fixed choices ready-made for immediate use. These options also provide a model or template for students who want to create their own proposal. Criteria is tightly aligned with the models so that students can understand how their proposal must fit the requirements. A student proposal should be based on the resources that she has access to, which may or may not be available at the school.

When students develop their own proposals, teachers evaluate the pitch to accept, revise, or send back to start over. This development and revision process is an effective learning experience for students. The deadline helps students manage their time, and by when a proposal is approved. Otherwise they must choose from one of the teacher options to ensure enough time to complete the work.

A Lesson on How it Should Have Ended...

In the Michigan Curriculum for English Language Proficiency Standards for K-12 (pdf) there are two standards for Reading that form the basis of a common learning activity:

• R.8 Make inferences, predictions, and conclusions from reading
• R.9 Analyze style and form of various genre

In many classrooms students get assigned the task to create an alternative ending to a story, play, or other form of literature. Sometimes there is the restriction to maintain the integrity of the genre for the story; other times students are free to transform the story into another genre while maintaining the integrity of the story. R8 and R9 have their fraternal twins in other states, and perhaps other countries. The task for alternative endings equally has its familiar incarnations.

As with any concept, students learning effectiveness increase when they find connections to the task, and/or are given options from which a student finds a pathway appealing. I saw this represented in a high school class studying Shakespeare's Othello. In one pivotal scene, Othello spies Iago conversing with Cassio. The two men talk of Cassio's romance with Bianca. Othello believes that the woman spoken of is not Bianca, but his wife Desdemona, which inflames Othello's jealousy and steers him towards a dark and tragic path.

The assignment for the students was to collaborate in teams and come up with a modern version of that scene.

• One team had Iago sitting before a laptop using Skype (See VoIP Software) to talk to Cassio who's face is on the screen. Iago wears headphones so that Othello, hiding out of sight of the webcam, can only hear Iago's part of the conversation. With Iago's ill intent, you can imagine what he says that will ignite Othello's jealousy.
• Another team set the scene at a basketball game. Cassio and Iago talk adamantly in the stands, as Othello sits in the stands directly across the court from them. Iago and Othello text each other regarding the conversation. Once again, Othello is seething.

A different approach is having students write alternative endings. Or as the following option demonstrates, let learners produce them. Here are two examples from Twilight and Lord of the Rings. Both not only change the ending while staying within genre, setting, and situation, they incorporate a humor that enhances the changes while staying true to the story. What literary analysis might be included to mine the thinking of students if they made similar learning artifacts?

How Twilight Should Have Ended

How Lord of the Rings Should Have Ended

Here's one more to make the point (More found at How It Should Have Ended):

How Star Wars Episode IV Should Have Ended

What's great about these tasks is that those students or communities with the resources can choose these tasks. If there are students who do not have the resources, nor a manageable way to get access to the resources, a low tech or no tech option is provided as a choice for everyone.

I'm curious about other ways students are encouraged to be innovative in their thinking. What, perhaps, have some seen or heard about...?

What gets monitored...Gets done

Going to Disney for vacation, it becomes immediately clear that tourist are made to feel welcomed, relaxed, and promised a wealth of memories to treasure when they leave. There are, of course, exceptions. Speaking purely from my experiences (2 visits in 4 years) and that of those who I've swapped stories, positive memories was common. I have no insider knowledge for how this phenomenon is successful. But, an educated guess would be that the training is a major reason for such success and consistency. Another critical component would be monitoring. I'm not talking Big Brother 1984 style, although that is a possibility; rather, it's the idea that consultants, coaches, and/or leadership observes, gathers data, and provides ongoing support to the employees to maintain the Disney experience.

Classrooms and school districts focus are similar. With so much pulling at educators, identifying and implementing systems for supporting student achievement is high stakes in an intensely pressurized environment. What I've noticed in successful schools and poorly performing schools is that what gets monitored, and supported, gets done.

In a classroom, students learn early on what work is important by what the teacher reviews and returns with feedback. Notice, I did not say "by what's collected and graded." One can argue the point, but when we look at quality levels, what gets returned with feedback carries more value. It sends the message, "This work is so important that I've taken the time to review it so as to support your growth and continued success."

Sound strange? Consider the messages transmitted in a building. Staff receive professional development on writing strategies or a character program. PD takes one to three days to complete prior to the start of school. The principal informs the staff that on submitting lesson plans, the PD focus must be included somewhere, "x" amount of times. A recipe for success or failure could turn on what happens next. If the collected artifacts is put into storage, a vague message of "Nice Job" is returned, and/or feedback comes a week or more later if at all, not much will take hold. What was learned in PD will not take root in a systemic format. Veterans will teach the rookies the adage, "This too shall pass." Another PD checked off, and forgotten.

If instead, the leadership team reviews artifacts and provides timely feedback--written or verbal. If time on a regular basis (can we strive for weekly) is used for sharing of successes, assisting frustrations, and next steps, the focus has greater chance for embedded success. The message is that the system focus is so important that leadership provides time and direction for shared learning and collaborative support. The expectation is that staff implement the initiative with support of colleagues and leadership through reflective dialog.

In successful classrooms anywhere, where students are largely experiencing consistent success despite struggles, the teacher(s) monitor, coach and facilitate feedback support so that students' experiences meet set expectations. Schools where staff by and large are having consistent success with student achievement, share experiences, ideas, and support for themselves and their colleagues, which leadership (administrative and teacher) monitor, coach and facilitate feedback based on their efforts.

Wouldn't it be great if you could walk into any school and feel the electric excitement for learning success in a community of stakeholders (inside the building). The demographics, pedagogy, and culture would be widely different; but there would exist a common sense that all students can and will be successful and prepared for their future. There are schools in diverse settings and challenges that have this kind of success--through monitoring what needs to get done.

So how do we spread the Disney Magic? What's Best 4 All...

Authors to Study
Robert E. Quinn, Stephen Covey, Susan Allan & Carol Tomlinson, Richard DuFour, John C. Maxwell, James Kouzes, Carolyn Downing, and Michael Fullan

Thing 23: Administrators - Reflecting on Leadership

21st Century Skills: How do we get there?

In education, a plan for success is rooted in the kind of person we want to see when they graduate from our school, our district, our post-secondary institution. Keeping the End in mind, what do our students need to be successful in the next stage of their educational and life journey? Once those qualities are identified, we need to analyze the structures, resources, and people expertise available to ensure that our students achieve those end goals. It takes ongoing reflection on practice by all school stakeholders to identify and provide support so that students become successful.

23 Things for Administrators offers, not necessarily tools--though those are in plenty, rather a look into the culture that is the lifestyle of our students, including the tools they take for granted like those of us who think nothing of a VHS machine, cassette player, refrigerator, or the pre-personal computer era. While there is a diversity, often disparity, of experience and access to resources that are continually expanding and growing--to some--more complex, there is one constant...

Development of a learner's mind is crucial to the individual and society. Growth in critical thinking, problem solving, creativity, innovation, communication, and collaboration are the coin for success and survival. While these skills do not require use of technology, it is the social networks, multimedia, and participation in the knowledge explosion that is the world we live in. Classrooms or schools that "close" the door to these realities, are frozen in time, walled out and left behind the common practices and usage in the real "real world."

Leadership, in part then, is about guiding staff to communicate, collaborate, critically reflect, problem solve, create, and innovate ways to let in the world as the students understand so as they might more effectively learn curriculum. The adage applies here: practice makes better skilled. Teachers model to students what they do themselves. As leaders, then how do we model to our administrators and teachers?

Here are some ideas, some in addition, to the tools offered in 23 Things:

• Back Channel
  Example: Todays Meet
  During instructional talk or video viewing, participants post comments and resource links on a website as a way to allow learning and conversation to be non-linear. It's a back channel to the main conversation. Have you ever been to a session where the speaker sparks an idea or mentions an article or resource? You look for it and then post it along with your thoughts for the benefit of the other participants.
  
• Slideshare
  This was addressed in Thing 18. Maintain an electronic portfolio of documents and presentations that tracks progress, thinking, and support for staff. Include resources for conversations. Here's one from a Dell presentation about Connecting students to learning:
  
  Connected Presentation

  View more presentations from Adam Garry.
  
  
• Pageflakes
  Create your own portal for where information comes to you. Include sites and information you'd like to have your staff get resources. If staffs have their own Pageflake, they could RSS your Blog or Wiki or news sites or school resources. iGoogle is another one that does the same. Here's an example.
  
• Google Wave
  This will be a great innovative tool for collaboration and development of resources with all tools at your finger tips. Great for building and district committees. Let's not forget collaborative teams on a state, national, and international level.

Keeping the End in Mind is crucial. Communicating and collaborating in a reflective process around problem solving, creative synergy, and innovation is how we use Web 2.0 to meet the needs to supporting staff who in turn help students develop themselves.

Thing 23: Teachers - Reflecting on Practice

I've been thinking a lot about this Web 2.0 journey, and the resources that are available to teachers and students. There is so much to access, which can feel overwhelming with the choices--but using the lens of 21st Century Skills, it's less about knowing what all or most of the tools are out there. The students can help in that area. I'm thinking it's all about how as educators we use and teach 21st Century skills to our students.

Communication and Collaboration come to mind as a vehicle to getting rolling. Learning new ideas and creativity can grow from exchanging ideas and working together to discover new perspectives. I attended a Dell Computers sponsored event where the topic was on how do we support student learning. Consider that this is a Dell event without a sales presentation. Instead, the presenter Adam Garry, who has lengthy experience as an educator and user of instructional technology, facilitated a conversation about what best supports student learning based on the kid culture in the cyberverse: Connected. Participants were encouraged, sometimes prompted, to share their opinions, stories, and resources. By the end of the session, no Dell products were sold, yet Dell as a business that gets the important message that teachers need to focus on academic achievement, and Dell is committed to involve themselves in understanding this focus, and thereby intelligently share how their tools will help academic learning. Engagement is no longer acceptable as "the" reason to have technology. Here's Adam Garry's presentation slides from Connected:

Connected Presentation

View more presentations from Adam Garry.

From the presentation, I left with some great instructional tools and a deeper understanding of how kids through their online world connect with learning, collaborate, communicate, create, work independently, problem solve, --oh, and are engaged.

• Back Channel
  Example: Todays Meet
  During instructional talk or video viewing, participants post comments and resource links on a website as a way to allow learning and conversation to be non-linear. It's a back channel to the main conversation. Have you ever been to a session where the speaker sparks an idea or mentions an article or resource? You look for it and then post it along with your thoughts for the benefit of the other participants.
  
• Trailer Mashups
  Create a trailer using snippets of a movie to present it as a different genre. How does this lend itself to study the power of media, changing voice, or organization and details? Many possibilities...
  --Shinning (Classic Horror) presented as a Romantic Comedy
  
  --Lord of the Rings (Fantasy) using Transformers (Science Fiction)
  
  --Avatar (Science Fiction) using Pocahontas (History+Disney)
  
  
• Google Features
  Google has a number of tools and features that are best explored than for me to go into a lot of detail. Suffice to say that these tools can lead to assignments that allow students to spend more time with critical thinking and collaboration, because the fact organization is done. Think of the possibilities. Explore at your pleasure:
  Squared
  Wonderwheel
  Timeline - Dipity - General - News
  
• Wolfram Alpha
  Ever have a student who struggles with understanding a concept. Abstract explanations just do not work. This site takes such ideas as Math concepts and breaks down answers in a way to show the steps and mechanics. Opens possibilities on how to help students understand what their learning, and not just "do it" without lasting comprehension.
  
• Pageflakes
  Create your own portal for where information comes to you. Include sites and information you'd like to have your students get resources. If students have their own Pageflake, they could RSS your Blog or Wiki or news sites or school resources. iGoogle is another one that does the same. Here's an example.
  
• Google Wave
  This will be a great innovative tool for collaboration and development of resources with all tools at your finger tips. Great for student teams in a classroom, multiple classrooms in the building, across district, across the state, country, or internationally.

These ideas for the classroom were sparked by the opening of doors of RESA 23 Things. 21st Century Skills are necessary for everyone to navigate the constantly expanding realm of information, knowledge creation, and collaboration. Kids and adults are already using the networking tools out there for personal use. How we help students harness the experience and navigate the information flow and creativity is critical to their success...and ours.

Thing 22: Admin & Teacher - My Wiki sites

I use PB Works for 2 professional development areas.

• Leading Project-Based Learning
  This is for a Michigan initiative to develop PBL skills by classroom teachers. I co-developed this site for the facilitation work that a colleague and I do.
• Differentiated Instruction
  I developed this site based on the extensive work in Wayne County, Michigan, and for use by anyone who is looking for online support in Differentiated Instruction.

Wikis allow for non-linear navigation more easily then Blogs. Although there are blogs like Wordpress that allows you to make pages similar to a website with navigation links. Nings are another way to combine Blogs with non-linear functionality. Blogs are good for sharing ideas and having conversations through the comments option. As 23 Things for Teachers and Administrators are examples of a tutorial build on a blog platform, Wikis are easier to develop for such a purpose. Wikis are not as intuitive for conversations as a Blog or Ning.

So many great choices!