It's 9:30. Do you know where your grandparents are?

The other night we were able to enjoy a wonderful touristy/traditional meal near the Warsaw Old Town.  I went into the Old Town area a bit early and poked around - refreshing my memory of the area.  I wandered until I found the hostel that we stayed at when I was here four years ago.  It was nice to wander and think about the fact that I didn't have to rush, and wasn't looking for tourist gifts or things to purchase. I am going to be here a while, and that is nice to think about.  Though I wasn't in search of souvenirs at this point, I was tempted by ice cream several times.  

As we finished up dinner, I opted to take the bus home.  Though still new to the area, I feel good about navigating the area at this point, and I know it'll only get better with time.  I waited for the bus with an older man, and when we got on the bus, I felt as if I was one of the younger people riding.  This struck me because it was 9:45 at night.  There was a slew of blue hairs chatting, laughing and enjoying themselves - even this late at night.   

I am excited to be in a city with life - even if that means that MY life is the equivalent of people twice + my age.  

The clothes make the man...?

One of the things that I find to be quite interesting in Europe is the fashion.  I knew transitioning from my plane in Paris that I wasn't in Kansas anymore.  The men in capri pants crack me up, ladies and their high heeled shoes, nylons with shorts, see through shirts, it's all fascinating to me.  Though in the grand scheme of things, who am I to judge?

image source

Well, actually, I'm one of the biggest people watching judgers of clothing the world has probably seen.  In my head I make up stories about where the people come from, what they do for a living, why they bought that outfit, and where they are in route to.  While in Hungary I learned that literally anything goes in Europe.  AN-Y-THING.  But that isn't always bad.

Upon arrival to Poland, I was walking through the exit of the customs area to where I was to meet my ride, and I saw an American? burst with joy as he met his family? waiting for him at the exit.  The man had on dress pants, nice shoes, a collared button down shirt - looked very business class American.  He was talking to his travel partner on his way out of the customs area... in flawless accent-less English.  When he saw his family (three of whom were men wearing capri pants) his register switched immediately without a hitch to Polish.  I thought to myself how impressive and awesome it was that he in some ways had a dual life he was living.  I showed up to Poland wearing jeans, a t-shirt that announced that I was from Minnesota, flip flops and a crossfit sweatshirt.  And when I met my ride, though equally joyful since I actually made it, and made it alive, I continued to speak in English.


I spend quite a bit of time thinking not only of this upcoming presidential election, but of the makeup and fabric of our country as a whole regarding immigration.  I was lucky enough to teach many classes in Burnsville which not only were explicitly ESL - full of students from many different countries, but I also had multiple countries represented in mainstream classes.  When I was interviewing for this job, it stuck out to some at ASW that I had taught at a Hungarian school, but they were all Hungarians.  There was a concern that I had not taught in an international environment - for many reasons - not least of which was that I had no experience juggling the multitude of cultures they have in one building.  After the conversation I began to reflect on that a bit and I thought to myself, "shit, I had that many cultures in one class in Burnsville" which allowed me to grow in ways I had never envisioned as a teacher.  

At any rate, I have a great admiration and a large amount of envy for people who possess the ability to return "home" to their culture which they tend to be immensely proud of.  As an American am I proud of what our country is?  Definitely.  Am I concerned at the way immigrants are treated?  You bet.  I don't know if I will ever be able to blend in here in Poland like the American in the airport did, but I am going to give it my all.  How can we learn to better balance the beauty and contributions of others who move to our country?  How can we as Americans reach out and better connect to those who have dual "homes" or cultures which infuse their lives?

I know that there are people reading this thinking about those who have gotten to America illegally, perhaps overstayed their visas or for whatever reason did not enter legally and I don't know how to solve that problem.  I do know however, that I am incredibly impressed with the multitude of folks who move to another country, take on the culture and language, and contribute to society in a meaningful and productive way.  I hope to be one of those people in Poland- who will return to my family out of the customs area in the airport with joy and switch from Polish to English upon arrival.  Wish me luck in this endeavor!

Here we go again!

Welcome aboard a new adventure.  I have just moved to Warsaw, Poland to begin work as a Co-Director of Digital Learning a the American School of Warsaw.  It is never an easy decision to move abroad and start a new chapter in life, but I am thrilled I took the leap and hope you will enjoy living along side me through this blog.  If you missed my Hungarian adventures, you can check out that blog here.  It was a great way to communicate the things I was experiencing to people around the world.  I hope to do the same in this space.

I first learned about this position opening from a friend (Amy K.) on Facebook.  It seemed like the pairing of two things I love, Eastern Europe and tech integration - a perfect position for me.  I applied, interviewed with two admins and the team I'd be joining and sat back and waited.  It so happened that at the same time I was in the midst of two additional job offers which was surprising and wonderful at the same time.  It's always nice to realize that there are folks out there who appreciate your skill set and abilities- and to be recognized for that.  When offered the job at ASW, I had to think about it as compared to the other two offers I had, and it just seemed like the best fit.  I am excited about the team I am joining- four of us doing digital learning coaching in one K-12 building? That is unheard of in my experience.

So I am here now, not without some blips in the process, but I am here.  I arrived yesterday afternoon and was able to attend a welcome dinner at the Middle School/High School Principals home.

Emily the orientation leader greeting us

a great spread of sushi - I didn't eat any of it, but it looked amazing!

It was a group of new to the school teachers coming from the US, Switzerland, Spain, China, India, Venezuela, Turkey, the Caribbean and so many more places.  What a wealth of experience we all bring.  I noticed when talking with teachers that there are a lot of support positions at this school as well.  Not only the technology aspect that I bring, but reading and learning specialists on top of support staff for all levels.  Everyone is very excited to be joining ASW and we all seem cool, so we've at least got that going for us.


Today we went to the mall to get sim cards for our phones and took a driving tour of Warsaw with Emily, one of the orientation leaders.  We're all in the midst of trying to secure housing, which has been no easy task so far.  There are cultural things that come into play here, but that's a different post :)

EdTech conferences drive me into an uncomfortable place, but I go anyway.

In the last week, I have had the opportunity to attend and participate in two different instructional technology conferences.  The Ed Tech Team MN Summit featuring Google Apps for Education at Fridley High School in MN and the Ed Tech Teacher Summit in San Diego.  While drawing in similar crowds of attendees, both experiences had a distinct feel and both were awesome!

I began the weekend with the opportunity to facilitate some sessions around the growing concept of Breakout EDU.  Breakout EDU is the brain child of some of the most fascinating people in the world of education (in my opinion.)  To paraphrase the story, the genesis of this came from the idea of the breakout rooms which are growing in popularity worldwide.  If you're unfamiliar with the breakout or escape room concept, enjoy this clip:

Essentially, the idea is that participants collaborate to solve problems that will allow them to "breakout" of the box.  The creators of Breakout EDU took the escape room concept and worked to modularize it so it could be replicated for the classroom.  The experience involves making gaming in the classroom meaningful using critical thinking, collaboration and creativity - and is useful in a k-12 student situation as well as with adults.  One of the founders James Sanders (@jamestsanders) explains it much better than I can:   

I facilitated two sessions using the "Dr. Johnson's Lab" game.  The clues and pieces of the game were set up before participants arrived in anticipation of conference goers experiencing something quite different than many of the other sessions.  I was fortunate enough to be able to pull in the student technology helpers from Fridley High School into the game as well, adding a different level of uncomfort to the room.  Going through the process is invigorating, frustrating, humbling and exciting all at the same time.  Facilitating other people doing a Breakout EDU game is where I get out of my comfort zone though.  

As a teacher, I've wanted the kids to get the right answer, and to not have to struggle through the material.  This experience embodies the exact opposite of that. While I'm encouraging the attendees to get out of their comfort zone and explore, aim for new ideas that might result in failure, I have to remember to do the same thing.  I am in an uncomfortable place as I sit back and watch this all go down.  Participants can use "hint" cards when they get stuck, but it is hard to sit on my hands and not prod them while they try to uncover the clues.  It's a wonderfully uncomfortable session to facilitate as I am equally excited as the participants while they uncover each clue and begin to put together the pieces.  In these particular sessions where we mixed students and teachers, the students ended up solving some of the clutch clues were able to really thrive in the experience.  In terms of a social experiment, it was fascinating to watch.

I ended the session by stating, and believing in my heart of hearts, that this is where effective education will be going.  We need to provide these experiences for our students so they can break away from the text book and truly incorporate some of these soft skills of communication, collaboration and creative thinking in order for them to be truly real world ready.  

If you haven't jumped on board yet, you can learn more on the Breakout EDU website and in the Breakout EDU Facebook group.       

The GAFE Summits are some of the most invigorating professional development experiences one can be involved in.  They leave you armed with the knowledge and tools to implement new best practice lessons using a myriad of the Google apps.  For more information on the GAFE and iOS Summits put on by the Ed Tech Team (@edtechteam), visit their website.  

 

Following the summit in Fridley, MN I hopped a plane to San Diego.  No offense to my homeland of Minnesota, but everything is better in San Diego :)  Maybe not everything, but February weather sure is.

I tend to thrive in environments that both Ed Tech Teacher and Ed Tech Team provide, which is weird as a self-proclaimed introvert.  I am introverted by nature, but extroverted by profession if that makes sense.  I've heard people say it before, but it's true - this is my tribe.  At conferences like both of these, I like to be an observer and take in as much as I can to improve what I do as an educator.  I engage digitally, and when forced, in person.  It's funny because I'm a front row sitter, an eager beaver and love to be in command of my classroom.  However, when it comes to situations like these, I'm a bit more shy at first and generally wait until someone addresses me before seeking out new EdTech friends.  At any rate, both environments were safe and welcoming and I took home a wealth of information...

One of the interesting pieces that I got to experience at the Ed Tech Teacher Summit was meeting Amy Burvall.  I spent 13 years as a secondary social studies teachers and used video quite a bit in my classroom - (go ahead and judge- showing Gandhi was one of my favorite weeks of the school year, but this is in reference to shorter video clips to show in class).  I knew Amy Burvall from the interwebs, but didn't know her name until San Diego.  She has created several creative history videos (historyteachers is their YouTube channel) that I used in class, my favorite being this French Revolution one:

Before my arrival in San Diego, I decided to attend a session titled "Image is Everything: Exploring Critical Thinking with Visual Literacies" and Amy Burvall was the presenter.  It wasn't until partway through the intro that I realized that she was the creative behind the awesome history videos. She gave us a wealth of resources to encourage and drive visual literacy and using images to spark critical thinking.  This is just one of the awesome sessions I was able to soak in while in San Diego - not to mention the vitamin D :)

Ed Tech Teacher provides professional development and online resources that are a great resource for any level of educator out there.  Check out their other offerings on their website.


SO - the moral of my blog post is this:  If you are an introvert, it's okay to lurk at these conferences.  Its okay to see one of your teaching icons and tweet her, rather than engage with her in person.

BUT, as I'm becoming more and more comfortable attending conferences like these, I've found it's in your best interest to get out of your comfort zone and meet people.  Get out of your comfort zone and learn new things - just as you want your students to get out of their comfort zones in order to grow. Get out there and do it.  Who knows the connections you will make when you do!

ISTE 2014 - Top 10. Real creative -- I know.

This is funny to me… writing a blog about an event I attended, when there are far more well known “bloggers” and “Edu-celebs” out there perhaps reflecting on the exact same things I am — but I’m going to do this anyway.  Keep in mind that I don’t teach English, and I had to take a remedial course in college about when to use punctuation - so I have a lot of random dashes and commas and such.  It’s how I roll :)

I was challenged by another ISTE-goer to write more because “I care what you have to say…” After all, reflection is a huge part of what we do in our field - so, if she and my mom - (who is an avid fan of all blogging I’ve done, mostly about traveling (http://teachinginhungary.blogspot.com and http://weteachenglish.blogspot.com) are the only ones who read this, then they will know my experiences from ISTE 2014. 

This was my third year at ISTE, and I feel like I am finally understanding the many different ways to take it all in.  I’m at that point where I’m a bit more discerning about the info that I take away from vendors.  I understand that though I mainline Diet Coke to get me through the school day, if I want to make it through an ISTE day I have to truly hydrate with water.  I know that even though I’d love to wear Amanda Dykes style gorgeous shoes, I can’t pull it off and I wind up packing the “comfortable” shoes to save me the pain.  I understand that there are both times where the introvert in me needs to reach out and open up a bit more (even though it’s uncomfortable) and also that I can take time away from the conference to get some peace and quiet alone time in.  All of these have come through experience - and I hope to hone in on these skills as I continue my ISTE adventures in the future.

At this ISTE conference, I had some very specific take aways, more than just being overwhelmed and exhausted, and I’d like to share them with you (and my mom).  

These are my “ISTE Top 10” in no particular order.

10.  I did my first ISTE poster session.  There was something a bit intimidating about peeling the protective strip off that sticky part of the “presenter” ribbon to attach to my name badge.  Really?  I’m a presenter?  Adam Bellow and Nicholas Provenzano, Angela Maiers and Tech Ninja Todd had the SAME ribbon.  Was I really doing this?  Sure, it was a poster session - not a keynote or an ignite or a workshop, but I felt as if I were finally swimming with the big kids - in my own way.  I had something to say, and I’ll be damned if people weren't interested in what I was saying.  Not only that they were listening to what I was saying, but other educators were validating an idea that I implemented in my classroom (albeit stolen from others and adapted)- and that my students ran with.  I beamed with pride as I explained my students projects and showed the poorly filmed YouTube compilation of what my students did as their final presentations.  I listened and engaged with other educators who were thinking of ways to implement similar projects in their classes - and watched as THEIR wheels started turning and they were energized by my students’ experiences.  I talked for two hours straight about what my kids did and listened to others who have done similar projects.  They were great conversations and I have new ways to think about the project moving forward thanks to engaging with a bunch of strangers.  

My poster - you can tell it's mine because of the Diet Coke

These are some of the people who cared to stop and talk about my poster :)  -
and they didn't just scan my QR code and leave!!!

9.  OTHER people’s poster sessions.  Holy cow.  What a talented, inspiring group of people ISTE brings together.  I learned about elementary students doing exchanges from students across the world.  I heard stories of videoconferencing with people in the field the students were studying.  I watched as talented teachers app-smashed the crap out of things to make projects so engaging that I wanted to be in their class too.  I learned about how PD can in fact be interesting.  I was struck by new ideas and concepts I’d never heard of, and ones that I was really familiar with only there were new ways to use them.  I watched as passionate teachers, Library Media Specialists and administrators shared their stories with other people who cared - just like I had.  I stood in awe of the creativity, innovation and forward thinking that permeated each different session.  And I met Diego.  

He had me at “Hello…”

@Teach1tech talking to Diego. 

And he followed up with “…would you like to hear about my project?”  I got down on one knee, and said “Why yes I would Diego.  You BET I want to hear about your project."  This 6 or 7 year old kid was engaging with me, NOT in his mother tongue - in a foreign language-  about using apps to create a story about lizards.  This, my friends, is the reason we come to ISTE - to see how our hard work impacts students.   To see the excitement in their eyes as they get to share THEIR story and realize that people care what they too have to say.  Thank you to all of you who shared your story through your poster sessions - I think they were the best things I saw the entire conference.

8. The Expo Hall.  If you’re anything like me, you dive at the chance to get something free.  Teachers.Love.Swag.  It doesn’t matter if it’s a pack of post-it notes with some company’s name on it that you’ve never heard of, or the latest and greatest in the world of ball point pens.  If it’s free, we want it.  Sidenote: I’ve decided that we can really get rid of all the teacher eval systems that are currently in place.  No need for quantifiable data on how our teachers are doing in the classroom.  You judge a good teacher by the number of tote-bags they have.  Period.  No joke - count yours.  10+ over a career of teaching is nothing.  That’s the “meet’s standard” level.  By the time you retire - you’ll have more tote bags than you can imagine.  You could make one of those quilts like those pinterest super moms do with old soccer team t-shirts their kids have collected over the years - you know what I’m talking about.  Though tote bags these days aren’t what they used to be, so that’s getting harder.  

I digress.  Sorry.  Back to the expo hall.  Sure it’s great that so and so company has a two story flying trapeze that shoots off fireworks in their city block by city block space in the middle of the expo.  That doesn’t impress me.  I really like those teeny tiny booths that line the perimeter of the hall.  The booths that have one dude - who probably is a teacher - who came up with this idea and is pedaling it with all his heart while in competition with the fireworks happening in the center of the hall.  Those companies, if you stop and talk to the people who are the representatives there, MOST are education stakeholders who are driven by passion.  I love engaging with them and hearing why they came up with the product they’re presenting, and having them convince me that it will revolutionize teaching — even though I know I probably won’t buy it (let’s be real, I’m here for the free stuff).  Make sure you talk with the perimeter folks next year - they are working hard to spread their message, and you can help. 

7. Volunteering at ISTE.  This is my third year attending, and my third year volunteering.  A lot of people scoff at the idea of giving up part of their precious ISTE time to hold one of those dang “Ask Me” signs, or fold the t-shirts at ISTE central.  BUT - what an opportunity to engage with people and (for the introverts like me) get out there and meet new people.  Sure, the networking game was one way of doing it, but that still required a lot of gumption and the awkward forcing of yourself onto other people without them necessarily asking for you to do so.  As a volunteer, I was given a task, and because of that task, I am expected to reach out and engage with those I encounter.  Keep in mind, that a lot of volunteers don’t know any more than you do, we just have the special shirts and know who to ask when we have questions posed of us :)  I really wish they had the “traffic jedi” role still in place - that was THE BEST!  Shout out to those two guys who run the volunteers every year - you know, the ones with the vests and matching t-s every day.  They run a good show.  Think about volunteering next year - it won’t be a waste.  And you get a free t-shirt.  (see #8 - free swag)

@techyturner handing out the delicious popsicles 

6. EdCamp at ISTE.  I embarked on a new adventure this year of being part of a team who hosted an EdCamp for the first time. (EdCampTC - www.EdCampTwinCities.com shout out).  SEVEN different districts were represented on our small core planning team and we worked together to bring an EdCamp to our area - and it was loads of fun.  To top it all off - we had the brains behind EdCamp - Kristen Swanson at ISTE who hosted a mini-EdCamp in EdCamp fashion.  If you aren’t familiar with EdCamp and the idea of the un-conference, check it out and find one to go to - it will blow your mind.  We took away nuggets to help us in the coming year as we plan our second event and thoroughly enjoyed talking with others who had trod the same path as we had.  What a great way to network, meet new people, and share best practices for this new way of experiencing PD.  

5. Jerry, and friends.  My first time at ISTE, I was really overwhelmed by all that was happening.  It was San Diego, there were 18,000 teachers, I knew one other person… it was all a blur for me.  It was there though, that I truly started to build my Twitter PLN — as a full time lurker.  I began on Twitter as one who read… a lot.  It took me a long time before I even re-tweeted something.  It was a process that took a lot of practice and coaxing for me to get involved.  What I DID excel at, was following other key people.  Jerry Blumengarten was one of those first people.  Why WOULDN’T you choose Jerry as one of the first people you would follow?  After all, he’s got a page for EVERYTHING.  Cybraryman was like a Twitter god to me.  He was active in so many different chats, he shared out resources to everyone and anyone- he truly models the power of Twitter.  Last year, at the pre-ISTE unconference, I introduced myself and had a short conversation with Jerry.  It was incredible - Cybraryman was talking to me IN PERSON!  He was so down to earth and friendly, it was a once in a lifetime experience.  Until it began to happen with many of my other Twitter PLN’ers.  Really?  Kyle Pace is right there?  Nicholas Provenzano tweeted me back?  Elana Leoni is right there in person, I’m going to go talk to her!!!  (Later that day, she started following ME!  I don’t even go anywhere!)

I walked into Hack Ed this year and right away I saw Jerry and said “Jerry, where’s the cape?” as if we were life long friends.  I was in small groups and conversations with many of the people I go to for guidance on a daily basis.  Eric Sheninger was out and about- Jimmy Casas was engaging with everyone he saw as if he had known them for years - each encounter starting with a hug.  Tech Ninja Todd, Dean Shareski, Rafranz Davis, Erin Klein, Kathy Schrock, 2FootGiraffe, Jennie Magiera, Web20classroom and Teachercast - all engaging with their followers- many of whom will become their friends, if they aren't already.  It’s so much fun for me to see the people that I consider leaders, being real people with the rest of us. I’m sure, if I’d asked any of my PLN that inspire me if they wanted to meet for coffee or a short chat, they would.  It’s wonderful. My point is this- many of us who started as lurkers and are not as active on Twitter, recognize many of the edu-celebs out there.  Thanks for being an inspiration, for being leaders, and for being good people who build and develop those relationships from miles away.   BTW - Tweet me if you have additional people I should add :) @staffination

Love the photo bomber in the back!!

4. MN Tweet up.  I’m from Minnesota and I’m connected, but not as well as I’d like to be.  While out after Ashley Judd’s keynote, two other Minnesotans and I decided we’d try to have a MN Tweet Up while at ISTE to try and bring together as many of us as possible.  Seems weird since we’re all in MN- why didn’t we do it there sometime?  We put the word out on Twitter and sure enough, we had a great turnout.  Sadly, it didn’t include all the Minnesotans who were at ISTE, but we tried…  It was a great chance for me to deepen relationships I had started already, and to meet other new people from our great state.  I am so inspired by the people in my own area who are teacher leaders and bring creativity and innovation to their students each and every day.  Grow your PLN - connect with those around you.  Collaborate and share and spread the great things that you are doing in your classrooms — whether in Minnesota or not. 

WHOOP MINNESOTA!!!  They were all too busy engaging, they had no idea I took a pic.

3. #ISTE2014.  Or #ISTE14 - whatever the hashtag was.  Using a hashtag to communicate is a bit of a double edged sword for me.  I'm in a session trying to listen and engage with the speaker.  But, I'm also missing a bajillion other things going on at ISTE.  So - what do I do?  Pop out my iPhone and follow the hashtag.  Where is that?  Who is speaking now?  What was the quote that got everyone talking?  Which escalators are closed off?  Refresh.  Who is in the bloggers cafe?  Where can I get free swag?  How did those people end up in a loading dock?  Refresh.  When did that happen?  What?  Retweet. Find Jerry - what's he tweeting about?  Scroll.  Refresh.  Oh yeah - the session I'm in.  Look up.  What's he talking about again?  Refresh.  

Overwhelming, but awesome to have so many connected educators communicating their take-aways and powerful edu-messages... and karaoke pics.  Thanks for helping me truly attend the conference even when I was not able to physically be in each place every day.  

2. The theme of passion.  I've really taken the concepts of passion, and focusing on developing students' passions to heart this year as I dabbled with Genius Hour in my room.  

I checked in to the Westin on Thursday, and on the name tags of the employees underneath the name it reads: I'm passionate about____________  Our concierge was passionate about mythology.  Cool huh?  

This seems to be a theme or concept that goes hand in hand with innovation and engaging learning - I hope we continue to explore as educators how to incorporate this into our daily work with students.  Passion driven educators are the ones who drive and inspire passion driven learners.  

I saw this woman today with a shirt that allowed for wearers
to fill in their passion.  How did I miss this swag?  #fail.

1. Education Revolutions.  I'm going to keep this last one short - mostly because I'm really tired, but also because I want to do some more thinking and write something longer about it later.  BUT - there were several conversations I had with various ISTE goers about "taking the classroom back" or "revolting against the system."  There were many conversations about how we, as classroom teachers, are looking to change the system.  It's like trying to turn the Titanic, so people automatically think, "it's not going to have an effect, so why bother?"  But really, it's up to us to take the system under control to continue to do what is best for kids.  Again, I'm not going to get in to my thoughts on this right now, but the revolution is coming -- I can feel it in the air - and I want to be a part of it.  So make sure you tweet me and let me know when it's going down.  Also, can we get t-shirts for the revolution?  You know how teachers love their t-shirts and free swag. ;)

Thanks for reading.  See you in Philly.

Would you want to take your class?

I had the pleasure of attending the TIES 2013 conference this week in Minneapolis, Minnesota.  It's an ed tech conference that drew over 3800 attendees to gather, share and exchange ideas about educational technology in the schools.

I have only experienced a handful of these types of conferences, but it's some of the most exciting days of my year.   The energy and enthusiasm for teaching and students is palpable as you make your way from session to session fueled by massive amounts of caffeine and the desire to take in as much as physically possible.

Something was different this year though.  I went in with a HEIGHTENED level of excitement and anticipation as I was going to be sharing instead of just taking in.  I was prepared and ready to go -- knowing that I was finally playing a more significant role in the conversation as presenter (though only a couple of poster sessions).  I felt as if I was playing with the "big kids" now, and actually had something to say that was worth listening to.  Even though I had great conversations, met awesome people, shared my students' stories, had successful sessions and learned a ton, I left disheartened.

While sitting in a break out session, we were charged with the question "would you want to spend the whole day learning in your own classroom?"  Immediately I thought to myself, "pfffttttftfttft, duh.  Of course.  I'm awesome."  But, after giving it some significant thought, I decided that there definitely were days where I'd love the things we were doing.  The thing that put me off is that I also answered the question with "no."

How is this possible, that after 13 years of teaching, I am doing things in my classroom that I wouldn't want to have to sit and do?  What kind of message is that sending to my students?  Obviously I don't sit at a desk in the corner and think "Ha, suckers! You have to do this thing I wouldn't want to!"  I think I have developed more engaging lessons through those 13 years, but there are some things we still do that are just getting the job done.  This year, the students did the same "Civil War Timeline" activity that all those who came before them did.  I guess a timeline is a timeline is a timeline, but do they really need to know this information?  If they can google the number of states in the Union prior to and after Lincoln's election, why do I have them write out this event in its own box on this activity?  Is this really getting the job done?  

Don't get me wrong, I've worked hard to change a LOT of the things I've done in my classroom over the years, but I can't seem to find the magic bullet.  I psuedo-flipped for a while, I've used the LMS systems to put it all together in a nice package, I've allowed the students to choose projects to work on that have nothing to do with my class but more what they are interested in, I've built relationships with students to the point that I am the mother of hundreds of students despite never having given birth.

Despite my continuing efforts on all fronts, I'm currently facing the fact that 51% of my students are getting D's or F's.


So now, I am contemplating (and losing sleep over) two questions: Why am I teaching the way I teach?  & What exactly am I charged with teaching students?


We had our weekly collaborative team meeting this afternoon, and I posed the same question to my colleagues, which was met with silence.  We were in the middle of identifying the "real world significance" of each of our units.  At a pre-observation meeting that day, my colleague was asked the question "what is the real world significance of your lesson and learning targets?"  Which made me think, wait - why is the real world importance the LAST thing we identify?  Why aren't we starting there and building from that as the base of the unit?  Wouldn't that make sense if I could couch all the 'other stuff' (meaning standards and benchmarks and yadda yadda) in the pieces that we deemed important to connect to the real world?

In education, we have seen a push to connect the things we do in classes to the real world, but is that really possible under the current system we have?  Quite honestly, being able to fill in a timeline on the events of the Civil War doesn't make you any more ready for the world in my opinion.  Now, is there a skill to understanding chronology and cause and effect of events?  Sure, but that's not necessarily what I taught them with this activity.

I know there is always ways to improve the lessons we are teaching.  My conundrum at this point is that I don't necessarily want to teach them the lessons the state wants me to teach.  I want to teach them to be creative thinkers, problem solvers and curious beings.  And I hand them a Civil War timeline?  I know that we have to get through all the material in the social studies curriculum, but as it stands (in my room) it's coming at the cost of them engaging in inquiry rich activities.  BUT, I wasn't hired to be a curiosity teacher, I teach social studies (albeit poorly evidently).

We are nearing the tail end of a "20% or Genius Hour" project in my class.  The students have been given about 20% of the time in my class to learn about something that is of interest and value to them.  It's been an interesting journey with varied results.  It's been met by judgement and criticism from colleagues, "How are you assessing them?  What is your benchmark for measuring success? What does your administration think about this?  How are you fitting in all the material when you just give away this time?"

I don't have good answers for any of these things.  It DOESN'T fit into the curriculum - it's totally dependent on what the student wants to learn about.  I have no rubrics at this point really.  If they're participating and moving forward in whatever it is that they are doing, they get points.  I have basically taken it upon myself to decide on curriculum I can get rid of to make room for this-- thinking that if they can google it, why would I "teach" it?  Am I still following the standards and the units and such?  Yes.  I have only given a couple of quizzes though, and on small amounts of information.  I haven't given a multiple choice unit test all year, we've done different forms of assessment.  Will they leave knowing as much history as my students did 10 years ago?  Better yet, does it matter?  Won't they be better served showing that they have skill at presenting, research, inquiry and collaboration?  Then why isn't my time spent teaching things like this all day?  Is this my job?  Am I currently NOT doing my job since I'm not doing as many of the typical assessments with each unit?  Is this why 51% of my students have F's?

I guess it's back to the drawing board over the break, because I still have yet to find the answer to any of these questions.  Will I rethink the activities I have my students do with a more discerning eye from here on out?  Yes.  Will it reduce the amount of D's and F's I have in my classes?  Who knows.

I guess I've got to just keep trying...

Any ideas out there?

"You've Come a Long Way Baby"

I had the opportunity this week to attend the TIES 2013 conference in downtown Minneapolis.  It's a large gathering of teachers, media specialists and administrators who are leaders in innovative teaching and using technology in the classroom.  This year was a bit different for me though, as I had a chance to deliver two poster sessions and moderate a third session at the conference.

I've come a long way, as three years ago at my first TIES conference, I started my Twitter account. The long way is not to suggest that now I'm a Twitter all star, but I've come a long way in my interactions with people at conferences like this (and on Twitter).  The reason I started my Twitter handle (@staffination) was because everyone else at TIES was on their devices, and it seemed (to me) that no one was really engaging with each other in person.  It was my first tech conference and I didn't know the protocol-- that it was okay to walk and tweet at the same time.  That it was commonplace to have two or three devices going while you're listening, engaging and learning.  That the prime spots in breakout sessions are near outlets so you can charge, tweet and take notes and not skip a beat.  That it was okay to walk around with a QR code around your neck that identified your name, role and school system-- that it wasn't in fact (as I had interpreted) yet another way for men to reject me.  Sidenote: I panicked about some strange man coming up to me, and instead of talking to me face to face, he'd scan my QR coded nametag and decide "nah... that's not the type of gal I'm looking for." 

Since then, I've attended the ISTE conference twice and TIES twice more.  I've found that at these gatherings, I'm surround by like minded geeks who are willing to take risks and try new things in their classrooms like I am.  That they are people who value the pedagogy more than the device, and experiences over standardized lessons or tests.  I've found a wealth of information and ideas that I've stolen and applied in my classroom, and friendships that I continue over Twitter and in person whenever possible.  It's refreshing professional development, and a highlight of my year to meet up at these tech-geek gatherings and stretch my brain when I can. 

I'm not sure what was different about this year, but I decided to submit to be a presenter at TIES.  I filled out applications for two different poster sessions, each to share what I'd been doing in my classroom this year.  Funny that when I submitted my proposals, I'd done neither activity in class- they were just ideas.  I had seen other examples of what teachers had shared, and I felt that my ideas were interesting enough to not only execute in class, but to share with others.  Both proposals were accepted, now I just had to walk through the process with my students.  

Both of the topics I presented on (using TED-Ed and the Genius Hour/Google 20% Project) brought the students to different ways of learning.  They engaged the students in asking and answering questions they had never experienced before.  They had to put up with obstacles right and left, with a teacher who wasn't exactly sure what she was doing, with flexible deadlines as sometimes things just flat out failed, and with an end result that has yet to be modeled by the teacher or understood by the students.

Prior to this year, I'd merely been a sponge to soak in new things.  I'd found out though, that many of the presentations I'd seen involved pieces of things I'd tried or read about and considered trying in my class.  Why not give it a whirl and see if other people value what I have to say?  Well, it turns out that they do-- at least some do :)

I had a great time sharing what my students are doing, the successes and challenges of every step of the way.  There were great questions from the people I engaged with, both that caused me to question my own approach and mentally make changes for the next year.  I (hope) I gave other teachers tools to start taking similar risks in their own rooms, to give it a whirl and see where it takes their students.  I worked to explain things that other teachers may have heard about, and that I had slightly more experience with, thus making it accessible for them to experiment with or at least think about.  It was loads of fun.  

This post is not so much to laud my own practices as these ideas and approaches were all stolen and adapted from other people's stuff.  It IS meant to encourage you to share what you're doing with your peers and others who could take your lead and try something new.  It is meant for all teachers, even the quiet girl in the corner hiding behind her newly downloaded Twitter app that she doesn't even know how to use, to find value in what you're doing in your classroom.  If you have something you think is cool and has worked with your students, share it with other people.  If you have taken an innovative approach to pedagogy and worked hard to engage students in what you are doing, let others know how it worked (or didn't) in your classroom and school.  We need to know that it doesn't take a tech conference to learn from each other, and to support one another in trying new things.  

And for the record, I just got the word that I'll be sharing a poster at ISTE 2014.  I have indeed come a long way, baby.  Where are you going?

Photo credit: Rachel Gorton :)

FYI:

The resources I shared about using TED-Ed to flip your class:

http://bit.ly/1dnEvOo

The resources I shared for our version of the Google 20% Project / Genius Hour:

http://bit.ly/1cBrSgZ