The Fischbowl is a Blogger blog and, because Blogger has recently come out with a new version, I will be moving it over to the new version within the next week or so (probably January 2nd or 3rd). Theoretically, that won't cause any problems, as the URL and RSS Feed address should remain the same. But if you read this blog in your RSS aggregator, you might make sure you are still receiving feeds after the changeover. Also, from watching other converted Blogger blogs in my aggregator, it's likely that some posts you've already read will come through as new again (hopefully just once).
As a side note, I started this blog in September of 2005, so it's a little more than 15 months old. (I guess that makes it a toddler, just learning to get around and finding its voice. Please, no comments about potty training.) If you'd asked me back in September of 2005 about whether I would be worried about converting my blog to a new version of Blogger and possibly losing posts and/or comments, I would've laughed. Really hard. But it's funny, I am a little worried about losing stuff. This blog has helped start and continue conversations not just in my building, but beyond, and I find myself not wanting to lose the record of those conversations. I really don't know how many people read The Fischbowl, since I didn't know enough to setup something like a Feedburner RSS feed when I started this. Bloglines tells me that 238 people are subscribed through Bloglines, but there are many other RSS aggregators out there, as well as pretty much all the modern web browsers have RSS built-in to them now (and, of course, some people actually visit the blog itself). With a little luck, the transition will go smoothly, and the conversations really won't be affected if The Fischbowl gets flushed, but wish me luck anyway.
Saturday, December 30, 2006
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Are Final Exams Meaningful?
Because of the blizzard we had on December 20th, school was called off for the last two days of school in my district before winter break. In my building, the second day was an in-service/work day, but the first day was our last day of final exams. Students could have had anywhere from zero to three final exams that day, with most students probably having one or two. My school has decided to make those finals "opt-in" for students, meaning they can simply use the grade they had going into finals as their semester grade, or can choose to take the final the first week we're back in January.Let me preface the rest of this by saying that I'm not disagreeing with the decision to make those finals opt-in. Given the circumstances, that probably is the best way to handle it. But it does make me think a little bit about the final exam process in general. In my perfect, utopian world, the final would be an integral part of the course, a chance for students to demonstrate all that they had learned in the course. A chance not only for them to "prove" what they know, but to also share that knowledge with others to help them learn (whether that's with other students, their teacher, or others around the world). In that world, it would be unthinkable to cancel any finals due to weather because that would be invalidating all the work that had already taken place in the course.
So, that makes me think about our current final exams and whether they are about learning, or more about the grade. I think at this point, they are mostly about the grade, and I think that's a bad thing. It's another hoop to jump through, another stick we use to coerce them to learn something that they don't find meaningful just to get the carrot of the grade (and then many promptly forget it when the exam is over). How many of us - teachers and students alike - actually use the results of the final exam in any meaningful way to further our students' learning? I would like to see our final exams - and my definition of "exam" would be fairly broad - be much more meaningful for students, much more of a culmination/demonstration of their learning process in the course, as well as a starting point for further learning (for themselves and for others). I'm not sure exactly what that would look like in my building, but I'm pretty sure it would look very different than four consecutive days of three 85-minute exams.
As always, my thoughts are a work in progress. I would love to hear your ideas - whether you disagree and think our finals are meaningful, or whether you have ideas of how to structure more meaningful "finals."
Image Citation: Exams to grade, originally uploaded by Chris Lawrence.
Sunday, December 24, 2006
Five Things
I was tagged by Bud for the five things meme. Basically, in its current form, I'm supposed to list five things about myself that most readers of this blog wouldn't know. (Although I tried to trace the meme back and - at least one path - led to a writer in England that wanted people to list items about themselves so that other writers could use them as a resource.)
I'm not sure what I think about this game of tag. I can see where knowing more about each other can help us connect, which helps further the conversations. But it also feels a little bit like we're just looking for a reason to link to others' blogs (and have them link to us). But, I've decided to focus on the former and not the latter, so here goes.
I'm not sure what I think about this game of tag. I can see where knowing more about each other can help us connect, which helps further the conversations. But it also feels a little bit like we're just looking for a reason to link to others' blogs (and have them link to us). But, I've decided to focus on the former and not the latter, so here goes.
- I loved playing sports growing up, even though I was "athletically challenged." My favorite sport was probably baseball, and my nickname was "Fischnet" because I was a pretty good fielder. But, as my coach actually said at one of our end of the year banquets, "Karl is the best fielder we've ever had. But he couldn't hit the broad side of a barn with a bat." I'm still in therapy.
- I earned a high school letter in table tennis. I'm not making this up. My high school was grades 10-12, and I played my sophomore year. Our coach was also the soccer coach, so I'm pretty sure we were the only high school table tennis team that actually ran in practice. We ran forward, backward, and sideways through the halls of our high school (this did wonders for my already tremendous social life). I played #6 and we were state runners up (lost to Wolfe County). My mom still has my letter jacket.
- We bought a new 2006 Toyota Prius in April (replacing a 1991 Honda CRX - because it didn't have a back seat so my daughter couldn't ride in it). We love it. We averaged over 50 mpg until the weather turned colder, and are getting about 46 mpg in the colder weather. My guess is that we'll average 48-49 mpg year round (not bad given our weather, altitude, and oxygenated fuels). It's also just a nice car to drive.
- My wife and I met in 7th grade, became good friends in 10th grade (despite my being on the table tennis team), and started dating senior year. We continued dating even though I went away to college and she went to our hometown university. We've been married for just over 21 years. (Coincidentally, tomorrow - Christmas day - is the day when I will pass the mark where I've been married for more of my life than not - my wife already passed it about two months ago).
- Our daughter Abby was born in China and is adopted. If you're interested, you can read our travel story.
Thursday, December 21, 2006
Wish You Were Here
We interrupt the regularly scheduled content on this blog for a brief update on the blizzard. We have about 28 inches (they're now saying) 33 inches of snow on the ground at our house, with drifts of four to six feet (mostly in our driveway).
I know this is probably just business as usual for Darren or Clarence, but for me (and Bud), this is a little more than we are used to on the front range of Colorado. Let me give you some perspective on this picture. Even though on the Internet I'm about 6' 2", 180 lbs, and am often mistaken for Brad Pitt, in real life (and this picture), I'm 5'7", 135 lbs, and often mistaken for a hard-working high school teacher. At the moment, this hard-working high school teacher is a little tired of shoveling . . .
I know this is probably just business as usual for Darren or Clarence, but for me (and Bud), this is a little more than we are used to on the front range of Colorado. Let me give you some perspective on this picture. Even though on the Internet I'm about 6' 2", 180 lbs, and am often mistaken for Brad Pitt, in real life (and this picture), I'm 5'7", 135 lbs, and often mistaken for a hard-working high school teacher. At the moment, this hard-working high school teacher is a little tired of shoveling . . .
Tuesday, December 19, 2006
Season's Greetings
This time of year in the United States is a time when many folks celebrate various holidays. A tradition that sometimes goes along with that is sending cards to your friends and - if you have children - to include pictures. Since I don't know most of your mailing addresses - and because the postage would be a little steep - I thought I would "send" my card through this post.
So, if you celebrate a holiday this time of year, I hope you have a good one. If you don't (and even if you do), then I wish you peace and happiness. The "card" below is my six and three-quarters year old daughter. Let's continue to have the conversations we've been having in order to change education for the better - and make the world a better place - for all of our children.
Let's change the world.
So, if you celebrate a holiday this time of year, I hope you have a good one. If you don't (and even if you do), then I wish you peace and happiness. The "card" below is my six and three-quarters year old daughter. Let's continue to have the conversations we've been having in order to change education for the better - and make the world a better place - for all of our children.
Let's change the world.
Maybe A Google Shuttle?
Just a quick post to note the teaming up of Google and NASA. I'm thinking that maybe the GCar was aiming too low (pun intended). I think a GShuttle would give a whole new meaning to the phrase "pulling a few G's" . . .
Monday, December 18, 2006
I'm (We are) TIME Magazine's Person of the Year
TIME Magazine has had a good couple of weeks in terms of advancing the conversation we've been having on this blog for the last couple of years. They named me (you, us) Person of the Year:
And for seizing the reins of the global media, for founding and framing the new digital democracy, for working for nothing and beating the pros at their own game, TIME's Person of the Year for 2006 is you.I suppose if I was cynical, I would say this was just an attempt by the mainstream media to sell a few copies of their magazine in a web 2.0 world. But, considering it's all free online, I imagine most of "us" just might read it there. And they had some interesting lines, both in the main story and in the message from the editor (I haven't had time to read all the other stories yet).
But look at 2006 through a different lens and you'll see another story, one that isn't about conflict or great men. It's a story about community and collaboration on a scale never seen before. It's about the cosmic compendium of knowledge Wikipedia and the million-channel people's network YouTube and the online metropolis MySpace. It's about the many wresting power from the few and helping one another for nothing and how that will not only change the world, but also change the way the world changes.Hmm, "change the world", I think I've heard that somewhere before . . . But I also think the idea of "change the way the world changes" is an interesting one to consider. It makes me think of exponential growth and second derivatives (sorry, but I used to teach math). We live in a time of rapid change, where the pace of change itself is increasing. If we live in exponential times, then how can the world not change?
We're looking at an explosion of productivity and innovation, and it's just getting started, as millions of minds that would otherwise have drowned in obscurity get backhauled into the global intellectual economy.Friedman's flat world meets web 2.0.
This is an opportunity to build a new kind of international understanding, not politician to politician, great man to great man, but citizen to citizen, person to person. It's a chance for people to look at a computer screen and really, genuinely wonder who's out there looking back at them.As I mentioned, I used to teach math, not history, but I wonder what social studies teachers think about this? Citizen to citizen is a powerful idea and is a step beyond our current representative government. I vaguely remember discussions about how true democracy could never, ever work - and I wonder about the implications of this. Is there a point where we could be too democratic?
There are lots of people in my line of work who believe that this phenomenon is dangerous because it undermines the traditional authority of media institutions like TIME. Some have called it an "amateur hour." And it often is. But America was founded by amateurs. The framers were professional lawyers and military men and bankers, but they were amateur politicians, and that's the way they thought it should be. Thomas Paine was in effect the first blogger, and Ben Franklin was essentially loading his persona into the MySpace of the 18th century, Poor Richard's Almanack. The new media age of Web 2.0 is threatening only if you believe that an excess of democracy is the road to anarchy. I don't.Now if I could only find Thomas Paine's RSS feed . . .
We chose to put a mirror on the cover because it literally reflects the idea that you, not we, are transforming the information age. The 2006 Person of the Year issue—the largest one Time has ever printed—marks the first time we've put reflective Mylar on the cover. When we found a supplier in Minnesota, we made the company sign a confidentiality agreement before placing an order for 6,965,000 pieces. That's a lot of Mylar.Almost seven million pieces of mylar. How much does that cost? What effect does it have on the environment? And I've read the story before any of those pieces of Mylar have even been delivered . . .
Friday, December 15, 2006
This Is Not Education As Usual
It's always interesting when other folks come observe some of the things we are doing in our classes. Not only to see and hear their reactions, but to see how our students respond to them. On Monday we had a school board member, the Director of Elementary Education, the Assistant Director of Instructional Technology, and several elementary teachers come visit Anne's fourth period English World Literature Class and Brad's fifth period AP Government Class (both classes using laptops as part of their lesson). This was the first time that visitors had really seen upperclassmen using the laptops - it has usually been freshmen classes - so I was curious to see how it would go.
Well, our visitors were suitably impressed (as they usually are with our students, with or without the laptop piece). I think the best part was at the end of fourth period when there was about a minute left and the school board member asked the students what they felt was different about their class this year. She said later she was expecting maybe one or two hands to go up, but about 15 went up instead. There was no way they were all going to get a chance to voice their opinion, so the immediate response by the class was "blog it!" You should really take the time to read through the 23 thoughtful comments by the English World Literature students regarding the changes they have seen due to constructivist teaching/learning, fishbowl technique, and technology.
Anne also asked a couple of her freshmen classes to basically address the same question by reflecting back on their learning this semester. Check out the 25 comments in Period 2 and the 25 comments in Period 5, it will be well worth your time. I'll excerpt just a few of them here (it was hard to pick, there were so many thoughtful comments to choose from).
Well, our visitors were suitably impressed (as they usually are with our students, with or without the laptop piece). I think the best part was at the end of fourth period when there was about a minute left and the school board member asked the students what they felt was different about their class this year. She said later she was expecting maybe one or two hands to go up, but about 15 went up instead. There was no way they were all going to get a chance to voice their opinion, so the immediate response by the class was "blog it!" You should really take the time to read through the 23 thoughtful comments by the English World Literature students regarding the changes they have seen due to constructivist teaching/learning, fishbowl technique, and technology.
Anne also asked a couple of her freshmen classes to basically address the same question by reflecting back on their learning this semester. Check out the 25 comments in Period 2 and the 25 comments in Period 5, it will be well worth your time. I'll excerpt just a few of them here (it was hard to pick, there were so many thoughtful comments to choose from).
Hannah J said . . . I also think that my education has definitely been strengthened by the use of the laptops and doing the fishbowls. You get to hear other people's opinions about situations in the book we're reading or connections they've made that you might have not even thought about. In normal classes, you hardly ever get to hear someone else's opinion or sometimes you might not even get to make your own. What you need to think is fed to you from the teacher and you don't have a choice of whether you want to believe that or not.Like most teachers at this point in the semester, I sometimes get a little discouraged. We're all tired, it's crunch time, and we tend to focus on the things that aren't going well or the students that we haven't been as successful with as we'd like. Sometimes, though, we need to step back and focus on what has gone well. And listening to our students voice their opinions through these 73 comments - even though not all of them are positive - is a powerful thing. Because even those students who express concerns are actively participating in their own education, trying to make it better for themselves, their classmates, and those that follow. And that's a good thing. So, thanks guys , 73 times.
Brian G said . . . One huge change I saw in my learning this semester in my education was the ability to direct my own learning. In this class, we were given many freedoms that other classes did not allow. We directed where we were going and we decided how we were going to do many things, not only as a class but as individuals as well. In this class there was no rubric, and there wasn’t someone there to hold your hand and help you through everything. In this class, we had to responsible for our assignments, and had to do many things on our own . . . The technology gave us more independence and put more responsibility on us.
Endsley E said . . . Using the laptops also helped me to become more of a producer of information instead of a consumer. In previous years I would rely on the teacher to provide me with all the information. But now I take more and more of my learning into my own hands. I don’t think I would ever be this independent with my learning if it hadn’t been for the laptops.
Kathryn T said . . .Over the semester I have found that my education has changed a decent amount, partially because of the technology, and mostly because of the way we run this class. As producers of information, I feel that I have become more outspoken and it is easier for me to talk to a group. In class, with the technology, we have more freedom and we have learned to take control of our learning. With the fishbowl discussions, we use our own knowledge and do not rely on everyone else to lead us. I tend to take more of a leadership role now than I ever had in the past, and it is showing up in my everyday life. With the freedom we have, it is a lot easier and a lot more fun to take control of the classroom, instead of just following a regular routine of just listening and answering questions that the teacher asks. We ask our own questions and seek to answer them ourselves.
Zach F said . . . This semester I have changed the way I go about my education, if there is something I want to know I don't wait for someone to teach it to me. I now take the initiative of finding the information I want to know about. . . The constructivist philosophy made me more interested in the things I was learning in class. I found myself wanting to know more, not only for my benefit but for the benefit of my classmates. I was able to present the information produced to my class and my classmates were able to do the same thing. When we are able to collaborate on all the information we gather it makes all of us smarter.
Riley S. said . . . Along with the technology learning piece of my education so far, I can take charge of my education more and receive what I put in. As a class, fifth hour, Mrs. Smith likes to say that we teach ourselves most of the time and I have to say that it feels good knowing that I am learning and growing. . . Now, with the need to study and take charge of my education I feel I am actually creating a future for myself. After all, technology will be a huge part of the future when the time comes and I intend to be ready.
Tom R said . . . open-ended assignments and (somewhat) less emphasis on grades decreases stress and makes me not dread school quite as much. I still hope for more opportunity to pursue what I want to pursue and learn what I want to learn in the future, for certain. . . I want every classroom environment to be as flexible and comfortable as this one, more than anything.
Ty C. said . . . This class has been the hardest of any of my classes so far, but it is also the best one.
Kenna D said . . . The laptops have been such a gift. We have been able to do so much more in class research and discussion because of it. Learning has been much more hands on, and as students, we have learned how to teach each other in the best way fit for the whole class. I have learned so much not only from Ms. Smith, but from my fellow classmates. And the technology that has been provided for us has made learning so much more fun. We have been taught how to teach not only each other, but ourselves. This is NOT education as usual.
Emily L. said . . . What really amazes me is that I taught myself these things. The situation arose and I found myself ready to come and meet the challenge head on. I was used to being walked through the process of learning something new and know I can do it myself.
Thursday, December 14, 2006
What Are Our (or Your) Core Values?
Science Leadership Academy Sign, originally uploaded by willrich.
Will Richardson blogged about his visit to the Science Leadership Academy and also kindly included a link to his Flickr photoset of the visit. This photo caught my eye and made me wonder why we don't have similar signs posted around our building. Then I got to wondering if our students could even identify our core values. Of course, then I wondered the same thing of our staff. Which then reminded me of this earlier post on The Fischbowl and I got frustrated all over again (yes, I do this a lot to myself).
I've blogged before (here and here) expressing my doubts about whether we as a faculty "have a vision of what a well-educated student looks like after four years of study" at AHS. But I think the author makes an important statement when he says "A good test of the degree to which a school has such a vision framing its instructional program is the number of students who can articulate the vision . . ." - emphasis is mine. This goes back to some of the ideas in The Power of Their Ideas book that I excerpted previously. If you randomly stopped 10 students in the hall at AHS, what kind of response do you think you would get to the question "What's Arapahoe's vision and describe how your current, previous, and future classes are contributing to achieving it?"We've talked a lot about Essential Learnings for courses in our school, and that's not a bad thing, but I still think we have a long way to go if even we as a staff can't articulate the vision and identify our core values. I think we (and that includes me) need to do some hard thinking about this and clearly identify our core values. What do we believe about education? Learning? School? Students?What do you believe?
My opinion is that if we were a great school, not just a good school, at least 8 out of the 10 students (and 9 or 10 on a good day) would give a pretty good answer. Do we not think this vision is important enough to communicate it to our students? Or do we not think they are capable of grasping it? I worry about how many of our staff would answer yes to both of those . . .
Monday, December 11, 2006
It's About Time
Hold on to your horses, the venerable mainstream media is starting to talk about what we've been talking about in our staff development. Here are some excerpts from the cover story from this week's Time Magazine (via Christian Long - here's the free summary, or you can read the entire article if you're a subscriber or if you watch a short ad):
Are you ever going to be 18 again?
Are your students ever going to be your age?
Should we be preparing them for the world as it was when we were 18, or for the world as it's going to be when they are our age?
For the past five years, the national conversation on education has focused on reading scores, math tests and closing the "achievement gap" between social classes. This is not a story about that conversation. This is a story about the big public conversation the nation is not having about education, the one that will ultimately determine not merely whether some fraction of our children get "left behind" but also whether an entire generation of kids will fail to make the grade in the global economy because they can't think their way through abstract problems, work in teams, distinguish good information from bad or speak a language other than English.Gee, where have I heard this before? And this is exactly the conversation I've been arguing that we must have with the LPS community, and we need to have it now.
This week the conversation will burst onto the front page, when the New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce, a high-powered, bipartisan assembly of Education Secretaries and business, government and other education leaders releases a blueprint for rethinking American education from pre-K to 12 and beyond to better prepare students to thrive in the global economy. While that report includes some controversial proposals, there is nonetheless a remarkable consensus among educators and business and policy leaders on one key conclusion: we need to bring what we teach and how we teach into the 21st century.I'm sure that this report will include some things that I completely agree with, as well as some things that make me say, "No, no, that's so wrong." (Like the well-intended but misguided recommendations of the Colorado Commission on Higher Education, which not only take a one-size fits all approach, but equate "more of the same" with "better.") But in any event, I think it has the potential to broaden the conversation significantly, to expand the number of folks who are talking about these ideas - and I think that's a good thing.
Right now we're aiming too low. Competency in reading and math--the focus of so much No Child Left Behind (NCLB) testing--is the meager minimum. Scientific and technical skills are, likewise, utterly necessary but insufficient. Today's economy demands not only a high-level competence in the traditional academic disciplines but also what might be called 21st century skills. Here's what they are:Again, what we've been talking about in our staff development. Yes, "basic skills" are still necessary, but not sufficient. We need to be asking more of our students. Not more of the simplistic "rigor" that we hear so much about, not more of the same industrial-age education, but more thinking and active participation and construction of knowledge by our students. More collaboration and learning in context, with meaningful and relevant topics and assignments. And, yes, more use of technology so they are comforable using the tools necessary to live, learn and work in the 21st century.
Knowing more about the world . . . needing workers who are "global trade literate, sensitive to foreign cultures, conversant in different languages" . . .
Thinking outside the box . . .Kids also must learn to think across disciplines, since that's where most new breakthroughs are made . . .
Becoming smarter about new sources of information . . .kids need to rapidly process what's coming at them and distinguish between what's reliable and what isn't . . .
Developing good people skills . . . "We have to emphasize communication skills, the ability to work in teams and with people from different cultures."
. . .Many analysts believe that to achieve the right balance between such core knowledge and what educators call "portable skills"--critical thinking, making connections between ideas and knowing how to keep on learning--the U.S. curriculum needs to become more like that of Singapore, Belgium and Sweden, whose students outperform American students on math and science tests. Classes in these countries dwell on key concepts that are taught in depth and in careful sequence, as opposed to a succession of forgettable details so often served in U.S. classrooms. Textbooks and tests support this approach. "Countries from Germany to Singapore have extremely small textbooks that focus on the most powerful and generative ideas," says Roy Pea, co-director of the Stanford Center for Innovations in Learning. These might be the key theorems in math, the laws of thermodynamics in science or the relationship between supply and demand in economics. America's bloated textbooks, by contrast, tend to gallop through a mind-numbing stream of topics and subtopics in an attempt to address a vast range of state standards.Fewer concepts taught in depth. Less is more. Essential learnings. Focus on the "big ideas." Go deep. Has this commission been sitting in on our staff development sessions?
. . . Teachers need not fear that they will be made obsolete. They will, however, feel increasing pressure to bring their methods--along with the curriculum--into line with the way the modern world works. That means putting a greater emphasis on teaching kids to collaborate and solve problems in small groups and apply what they've learned in the real world.Well, I'd say this fits pretty well with what we've been talking about in our staff development. Bring our schools "into line with the way the modern world works," not stick with a system that was designed for an industrial age that no longer exists. But I'm not sure I completely agree with the line "Teachers need not fear that they will be made obsolete." I think that teachers who refuse to think about this, who refuse to consider that the world might be changing and they need to change as well, that refuse to consider that what the students they are teaching today need might be different than what students needed 100, 50 or even 20 years ago - I think those teachers should be a little afraid. And I'm not saying that everything we've ever done is bad, or that everything we are doing rignt now isn't worthwhile - we do a lot of good things, but I am saying that we better take a hard look at what our students are going to need in their future, not what they might've needed in our past. I'll go back to the questions I've asked teachers before (stolen from somebody, but I can't remember who):
Are you ever going to be 18 again?
Are your students ever going to be your age?
Should we be preparing them for the world as it was when we were 18, or for the world as it's going to be when they are our age?
Friday, December 08, 2006
The Fischbowl "Trilogy" Link
Several folks asked me to create one location where all three of the presentations (Did You Know, What If, 2020 Vision) that have been posted on The Fischbowl could be found. I resisted at first, because I think the context of the posts and the comments are very important to the presentations. But, after thinking about it, I decided maybe I was making decisions about the "right" way to view them that maybe weren't my decisions to make. (Plus, one of the people asking was one of my school board members!) So, I've created this page that has all the presentations in one place (I've also created a link titled "Fischbowl Presentations" on the right side of The Fischbowl). The page still links to the original posts, and I still recommend that folks read the post first, then watch the presentation, then go back and read the comments, but at least this gives one URL that folks can direct others to. I hope you find this helpful.
It's An Honor Just To Be Nominated
Well, this feels a little awkward, but I'm always telling my staff that they should blog about things that will help further our thinking and the conversation, so here goes. I noticed last night that The Fischbowl has been nominated for Best Group Blog. No, really, I'm not making this up, head over to this The Edublog Awards post. This post describes the idea, and you can view the nominations in all the categories on the blog's main page.
At first I was feeling pretty good about this. Okay, so I'm still feeling pretty good about it, but not quite as good after I checked out the other nominations in my category. Ummm, I don't want to influence the voters or anything, but the other nominees seem to be at a slightly different level than we are. As in, a higher level. Don't get me wrong, I'm very proud of what we're doing at my school - and through this blog - but the other four blogs nominated are pretty amazing. The sad thing - or maybe it's a great thing (more on that in a minute) - is that I don't think I've ever visited three of these blogs before. I've been to Teachers Teaching Teachers quite a few times, but how could I have missed these other great blogs? The great part is now I know about them and will add them to my learning network. Of course, I can't get through my Bloglines reading as it is, so maybe it's not so great . . .
Anyway, I would highly encourage anyone reading this to check out the other blogs, as well as the blogs nominated in other categories (I haven't even tried looking at all of those yet).
Digital Chalkie - "The purpose of Digital Chalkie is to provide a hub for Australian educators using ICT to engage and facilitate the best educational outcomes for their students. The domain name uses the word ‘chalkie’ as an affectionately defunct Australian term for teachers. The goal is to establish a hub/magazine/think-tank for teachers to support each other and to collaborate in the use of ICT."
Infinite Thinking Machine - "The Infinite Thinking Machine (ITM) is designed to help teachers and students thrive in the 21st century. Through an active blog, an Internet TV show, and other media resources, the ITM shares a "bazillion practical ideas" for turning the infinite universe of information into knowledge. We showcase examples of innovative instructional methods, talk with leading experts, and share real stories from the classroom to improve how we think, learn, teach, and live. And we try to have a little fun along the way."
Polar Science 2006 - "It is with great pleasure that we welcome the Yes I Can! Science family and participating schools to join us on our Antarctic expedition. We are all very excited to have you along as we try to answer the question how do the skeletal muscles of seals develop to work during diving even when the animal is not breathing. We believe the answers to this question may have tremendous implications for human medicine. By understanding how another mammal has successfully overcome the debilitating effects of working under low oxygen conditions, we may be able to learn new therapeutic approaches to assist humans with heart or lung disease."
Teachers Teaching Teachers - "Paul Allison, Lee Babar, Susan Ettenheim, and Thomas Locke are mainly responsible for this blog and podcast. Toward the beginning of 2006, a few of us began to meet via Skype. In the spring of 2006 we began webcasting with the help of Jeff Lebow and Dave Cormier of WorldBridges. Every Wednesday evening at 9:00 EST (Americas) we get together and talk about our teaching. These conversations are archived as a podcast on this blog. Together we are searching for the most effective practices in technology, studying research, and improving our knowledge of new media by using it oursleves. We have two purposes: developing teacher knowledge and leadership in our own schools and districts and putting this knowledge and leadership to work to improve student achievement through the use of technology."
Vote early and vote often in all the categories. Oh, and thanks to all the folks that nominated The Fischbowl, whomever you are.
At first I was feeling pretty good about this. Okay, so I'm still feeling pretty good about it, but not quite as good after I checked out the other nominations in my category. Ummm, I don't want to influence the voters or anything, but the other nominees seem to be at a slightly different level than we are. As in, a higher level. Don't get me wrong, I'm very proud of what we're doing at my school - and through this blog - but the other four blogs nominated are pretty amazing. The sad thing - or maybe it's a great thing (more on that in a minute) - is that I don't think I've ever visited three of these blogs before. I've been to Teachers Teaching Teachers quite a few times, but how could I have missed these other great blogs? The great part is now I know about them and will add them to my learning network. Of course, I can't get through my Bloglines reading as it is, so maybe it's not so great . . .
Anyway, I would highly encourage anyone reading this to check out the other blogs, as well as the blogs nominated in other categories (I haven't even tried looking at all of those yet).
Digital Chalkie - "The purpose of Digital Chalkie is to provide a hub for Australian educators using ICT to engage and facilitate the best educational outcomes for their students. The domain name uses the word ‘chalkie’ as an affectionately defunct Australian term for teachers. The goal is to establish a hub/magazine/think-tank for teachers to support each other and to collaborate in the use of ICT."
Infinite Thinking Machine - "The Infinite Thinking Machine (ITM) is designed to help teachers and students thrive in the 21st century. Through an active blog, an Internet TV show, and other media resources, the ITM shares a "bazillion practical ideas" for turning the infinite universe of information into knowledge. We showcase examples of innovative instructional methods, talk with leading experts, and share real stories from the classroom to improve how we think, learn, teach, and live. And we try to have a little fun along the way."
Polar Science 2006 - "It is with great pleasure that we welcome the Yes I Can! Science family and participating schools to join us on our Antarctic expedition. We are all very excited to have you along as we try to answer the question how do the skeletal muscles of seals develop to work during diving even when the animal is not breathing. We believe the answers to this question may have tremendous implications for human medicine. By understanding how another mammal has successfully overcome the debilitating effects of working under low oxygen conditions, we may be able to learn new therapeutic approaches to assist humans with heart or lung disease."
Teachers Teaching Teachers - "Paul Allison, Lee Babar, Susan Ettenheim, and Thomas Locke are mainly responsible for this blog and podcast. Toward the beginning of 2006, a few of us began to meet via Skype. In the spring of 2006 we began webcasting with the help of Jeff Lebow and Dave Cormier of WorldBridges. Every Wednesday evening at 9:00 EST (Americas) we get together and talk about our teaching. These conversations are archived as a podcast on this blog. Together we are searching for the most effective practices in technology, studying research, and improving our knowledge of new media by using it oursleves. We have two purposes: developing teacher knowledge and leadership in our own schools and districts and putting this knowledge and leadership to work to improve student achievement through the use of technology."
Vote early and vote often in all the categories. Oh, and thanks to all the folks that nominated The Fischbowl, whomever you are.
Canterbury Tales Campaign Ads
Michele and Lauren's English Literature classes recently completed an assignment where they created campaign ads for characters in the Canterbury Tales.
David, Bryon and Zane - Doc, Monk, and Squire
Wes - Yeoman and Monk
Amanda and Jenna - Bob, Chris, and Susan
Courtney, Jordan and Katie
Lauren, Lauren and Sarah
Nikki, Katherine and Lindsay
After viewing these, feel free to leave constructive comments for these students on this post.
Their objective was to make a movie featuring three political ads for three separate pilgrims, each representing three different social classes. The pilgrims were to “compete” against one another for the same governmental office. Their movies were to reveal comprehension of Canterbury as well as the social commentary Chaucer represents. Students were also asked to carry that commentary into a 21st century context.Here are some examples to look at. These are in Windows Media Player format, created in Photo Story so, unfortunately, I believe they only play on Windows machines (requires a codec that is only available for the Windows version of Windows Media Player).
David, Bryon and Zane - Doc, Monk, and Squire
Wes - Yeoman and Monk
Amanda and Jenna - Bob, Chris, and Susan
Courtney, Jordan and Katie
Lauren, Lauren and Sarah
Nikki, Katherine and Lindsay
After viewing these, feel free to leave constructive comments for these students on this post.
Wednesday, December 06, 2006
There's Skype In My Fishbowl!
Well, okay, actually there's Skype in Anne's fishbowl. Over on Learning and Laptops, Anne has posted about trying to use Skype as an alternative to live blogging as part of her fishbowl discussion technique.
At first it was truly mesmerizing to see how fast they were posting. However, it raised some interesting pedagogical questions regarding depth and quality of insight. My hope of using Skype versus Blogger was to use multiple online conversations with the outer circle in tandem with the inner circle conversations of the fishbowl.I was able to watch these classes the first two times they tried this and it was very interesting. The first time they used Skype I, like Anne, felt like they were too excited about Skype and didn't do as good a job at discussing (and learning) as they did when they used Blogger. I also felt like they had more trouble paying attention to the inner circle discussion than they did when they used Blogger. But the second time they did fishbowl with Skype they were simply amazing - I had to keep reminding myself that these were freshmen. You really have to see it in person to get the full effect, but you can get an idea by reading the Skype transcripts that Anne has linked to as part of her post. Also look at the 22 comments on the post (so far) by her students to see their thoughts about Skype, Blogger and fishbowl. It would be be great if you added your comments to the conversation.
. . . As for me, the verdict is still out on Skype. I am impressed by my students’ abilities with multi-tasking and the quality of conversation available to them through Skype. I agree that it is much faster paced allowing for their conversation to develop as fast as they want; but at the same time, I appreciate it more when they slow down and listen to one another. It was really important to have a conversation with them about the purpose behind Skype and more importantly, behind fishbowl.
. . . Regardless of either using Skype or Blogger, the growth in my students’ learning with the use of these technological pieces and fishbowl has been tremendous. They connect every piece of text we have studied this semester to each other as well as see connections with themselves as learners and with the world around them. They can produce interesting, captivating thoughts and are learning to value one another’s opinions and insights. They are learning and teaching one another!
Tuesday, December 05, 2006
If You Build It, They Will Learn
In response to the 2020 Vision presentation, I received an email from Cindi Hopkins, Executive Director of Instruction for Bloomfield Hills Schools in Michigan.
Now, I have lots of ideas (big surprise) that I will share with her, but I asked her if I could blog about it so that I could solicit ideas from a few more folks. It would be great if not only students and staff at my high school gave some suggestions in the comments, but also if all you other folks out there who read The Fischbowl (dozens and dozens of you) chimed in as well. And I would boldly suggest that if any of the more prominent edubloggers happen to read this, this might be worthy of a post of your own. Here is a school district that is building the high school of tomorrow (literally) and wants our input. I think we should take advantage of that and offer up our best thinking about what high school should look like in the 21st century (well, at least in the 2010's).
While I'm still thinking about the ideas that I'm going to send to Cindi, I will emphasize - as I'm sure many of you will - that the most important decisions about the schools aren't necessarily related to building design. They would be about curriculum (however you define that), and mission, and goals, and expectations, and mindset, and hiring the right staff, and setting a vision with and for the students. The most important decisions will revolve around students taking charge of their own learning, being passionately involved in their own learning, and making a difference in the lives of those around them - as well as those (physically) far away from them. About being adaptable and flexible and knowing how to learn how to learn (all that "flat world" stuff). It will not be about "education as usual." In my opinion, all those things will far outweigh just about any building design choices. And those will be the hardest choices to make and implement.
Having said that, Cindi indicates those things are all being talked about in her district and she is asking for building design suggestions that will help support that type of education, "a space that can facilitate flexible, independent learning," so I will give some of those as well. You are welcome to submit comments of either type (learning design or building design) and Cindi will be following along. Let's reward her initiative in asking these questions and give her some really good advice.
If you were designing a new high school today - $75,000,000 and a size of 275,000 square feet for about 1,000 kids, how would you use your thoughts to design the school differently than the one you have today?Bloomfield Hills is hoping to build two new high schools - Andover and Lahser - that would open in 2010 if the voters approve.
Now, I have lots of ideas (big surprise) that I will share with her, but I asked her if I could blog about it so that I could solicit ideas from a few more folks. It would be great if not only students and staff at my high school gave some suggestions in the comments, but also if all you other folks out there who read The Fischbowl (dozens and dozens of you) chimed in as well. And I would boldly suggest that if any of the more prominent edubloggers happen to read this, this might be worthy of a post of your own. Here is a school district that is building the high school of tomorrow (literally) and wants our input. I think we should take advantage of that and offer up our best thinking about what high school should look like in the 21st century (well, at least in the 2010's).
While I'm still thinking about the ideas that I'm going to send to Cindi, I will emphasize - as I'm sure many of you will - that the most important decisions about the schools aren't necessarily related to building design. They would be about curriculum (however you define that), and mission, and goals, and expectations, and mindset, and hiring the right staff, and setting a vision with and for the students. The most important decisions will revolve around students taking charge of their own learning, being passionately involved in their own learning, and making a difference in the lives of those around them - as well as those (physically) far away from them. About being adaptable and flexible and knowing how to learn how to learn (all that "flat world" stuff). It will not be about "education as usual." In my opinion, all those things will far outweigh just about any building design choices. And those will be the hardest choices to make and implement.
Having said that, Cindi indicates those things are all being talked about in her district and she is asking for building design suggestions that will help support that type of education, "a space that can facilitate flexible, independent learning," so I will give some of those as well. You are welcome to submit comments of either type (learning design or building design) and Cindi will be following along. Let's reward her initiative in asking these questions and give her some really good advice.
Monday, December 04, 2006
PowerPoint for Setting Up Class Blogs Presentation
This post is for those of you who attended Anne Smith and Kristin Kakos' Monday Models presentation on blogging today.
Here is their PowerPoint
Here is the link for exploring more about blogging.
Here is their PowerPoint
Here is the link for exploring more about blogging.
More "This I Believe" Podcasts
A while back I posted about Anne's freshmen recording "This I Believe" podcasts in the style of NPR's program of the same name. She now has two other classes that have posted their podcasts, so you should head over and check them out. After you listen, please leave some constructive comments for them.
Period 2 This I Believe Podcasts
Period 5 This I Believe Podcasts
Period 2 This I Believe Podcasts
Period 5 This I Believe Podcasts
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Isn't It Romantic?
Kristin recently posted some student work over on Learning and Laptops:
I gave them the following objective: Develop your own understanding of American Romantic poetry based on the resources in your book; select and incorporate at least one extension, such as Romantic art, Romantic music, British Romantic poetry, or your own, original Romantic poetry. Use Photostory to present your findings.It would be great if you head over there, watch their videos, and give them some constructive feedback.
Friday, December 01, 2006
You Say You Want A Revolution
This post is mainly for cohort 2 of my staff development.
This post is a result of both the morning and afternoon cohort 2 sessions yesterday. I was both encouraged and somewhat frightened by the sessions yesterday and wanted to touch base with you virtually to see if what I thought I observed actually took place. My impression from both groups was that you have suddenly taken about 3 or 4 giant steps forward in your thinking regarding constructivism and some of the changes in instruction here at Arapahoe that we've been talking about. I'm not suggesting that we are all in total agreement or anything, but it sure seemed to me that the discussion has shifted significantly from focusing on whether these ideas have merit to how do we overcome the obstacles. While we still have lots to read and think about, and still have significant questions about how to actually do this effectively in our classrooms, is this a fairly accurate assessment of where many of you are at?
This post is a result of both the morning and afternoon cohort 2 sessions yesterday. I was both encouraged and somewhat frightened by the sessions yesterday and wanted to touch base with you virtually to see if what I thought I observed actually took place. My impression from both groups was that you have suddenly taken about 3 or 4 giant steps forward in your thinking regarding constructivism and some of the changes in instruction here at Arapahoe that we've been talking about. I'm not suggesting that we are all in total agreement or anything, but it sure seemed to me that the discussion has shifted significantly from focusing on whether these ideas have merit to how do we overcome the obstacles. While we still have lots to read and think about, and still have significant questions about how to actually do this effectively in our classrooms, is this a fairly accurate assessment of where many of you are at?
Monday, November 27, 2006
2020 Vision
Many of the links are broken because my district changes its web server configuration. Here's a quick link to a wmv version. If you want any of the other files (source files, etc.), just contact me.
Update 4-14-07: For more thoughts about this, read 2020 Vision on DesignShare
This post - and resulting presentation - has been kicking around in my head for the last month or two. One of the difficulties I've encountered with our staff development efforts is being unable to define a specific vision for what the future is going to look like. While I have many ideas about the changes that are occurring - and are going to occur - and the general direction we should head, I can't nail down specifically what school - or the world - is going to look like 5 or 10 or 15 years out. The pace of change is so great that it's nearly impossible to predict what's going to happen. And, for teachers that are used to the seemingly endless pendulum swings in education, that makes them hesitant to commit.
So what I wanted to create was some kind of plausible "vision" of the future that they could ponder and discuss. As I write this, I realize that I've created a trilogy of sorts. The "What If" presentation was a look at the past, at the resistance to change in education. The "Did You Know" presentation was mainly a look at our present, at the incredible changes that are happening due to "flat world" factors and technological change (with a dash of prediction thrown in). And now "2020 Vision" is a look "back" at our future from the year 2020. (Ummm, yeah, sure, I planned to create a trilogy. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.) Maybe by having one possible version of the future to consider we can get past the natural resistance to change. If nothing else, I hope it's another example of David Warlick's "telling the new story" to get those conversations started.
I've thought about this for a couple of months because I never felt like I had all the pieces of the story to create a really good "future." I still don't, but I decided I was never going to have enough time - or enough creativity - to get exactly what I wanted, and I didn't want to wait any longer because I think this conversation needs to take place now. (Plus, things kept happening - like Google buying YouTube - so I kept having to come up with new ideas!) So, the presentation includes some "predictions" about technology, and some "predictions" about changes in my school, as I speak at the graduation for the class of 2020 (hey, it's my future, I can pretend can't I?) - who will be starting Kindergarten next fall. But let me be clear that I am not predicting that these things will actually occur. While I think they are generally plausible, things are changing so quickly that it's next to impossible (for me, anyway) to predict with any kind of accuracy. And I think this is a case of where the truth will end up being stranger than fiction. Let me also be clear that this "future" is not necessarily what I would like to see happen, although there are pieces of it that I would certainly be in favor of. The goal is not to debate the plausibility of any specific predictions, but to envision a time in the not-too-distant future when the world is significantly different - and hopefully schools are as well. Then, based on what that could look like, what should we be doing now to help prepare for and transition to that future. Hopefully this "2020 Vision" will help get those conversations started.
This is intended for my staff development efforts but, of course, anyone is welcome to use it (or, better yet, create your own). While I don't have any sources for this (since it's made up), there were lots of influences. The three most prominent ones would be the EPIC video , Will Richardson's Morning at RSS-Blog-Furl High School Redux post as well as his book , and Ray Kurzweil's book.
Download 2020 Vision (Windows Media Player format - 17 MB) - the volume kicks in on the third slide.
Download 2020 Vision (Quicktime format - 97 MB).
Be forewarned, it's a little long, but that's a small price to pay to see the future . . .
Update 11-28-06: I had a request to post this to Google Video, so I did. That also allows me to embed it in this post. This is the first time I've tried this, so we'll see how it goes.
Now that Google Video is no more, here it is on YouTube:
Update 4-14-07: For more thoughts about this, read 2020 Vision on DesignShare
This post - and resulting presentation - has been kicking around in my head for the last month or two. One of the difficulties I've encountered with our staff development efforts is being unable to define a specific vision for what the future is going to look like. While I have many ideas about the changes that are occurring - and are going to occur - and the general direction we should head, I can't nail down specifically what school - or the world - is going to look like 5 or 10 or 15 years out. The pace of change is so great that it's nearly impossible to predict what's going to happen. And, for teachers that are used to the seemingly endless pendulum swings in education, that makes them hesitant to commit.
So what I wanted to create was some kind of plausible "vision" of the future that they could ponder and discuss. As I write this, I realize that I've created a trilogy of sorts. The "What If" presentation was a look at the past, at the resistance to change in education. The "Did You Know" presentation was mainly a look at our present, at the incredible changes that are happening due to "flat world" factors and technological change (with a dash of prediction thrown in). And now "2020 Vision" is a look "back" at our future from the year 2020. (Ummm, yeah, sure, I planned to create a trilogy. That's my story and I'm sticking to it.) Maybe by having one possible version of the future to consider we can get past the natural resistance to change. If nothing else, I hope it's another example of David Warlick's "telling the new story" to get those conversations started.
I've thought about this for a couple of months because I never felt like I had all the pieces of the story to create a really good "future." I still don't, but I decided I was never going to have enough time - or enough creativity - to get exactly what I wanted, and I didn't want to wait any longer because I think this conversation needs to take place now. (Plus, things kept happening - like Google buying YouTube - so I kept having to come up with new ideas!) So, the presentation includes some "predictions" about technology, and some "predictions" about changes in my school, as I speak at the graduation for the class of 2020 (hey, it's my future, I can pretend can't I?) - who will be starting Kindergarten next fall. But let me be clear that I am not predicting that these things will actually occur. While I think they are generally plausible, things are changing so quickly that it's next to impossible (for me, anyway) to predict with any kind of accuracy. And I think this is a case of where the truth will end up being stranger than fiction. Let me also be clear that this "future" is not necessarily what I would like to see happen, although there are pieces of it that I would certainly be in favor of. The goal is not to debate the plausibility of any specific predictions, but to envision a time in the not-too-distant future when the world is significantly different - and hopefully schools are as well. Then, based on what that could look like, what should we be doing now to help prepare for and transition to that future. Hopefully this "2020 Vision" will help get those conversations started.
This is intended for my staff development efforts but, of course, anyone is welcome to use it (or, better yet, create your own). While I don't have any sources for this (since it's made up), there were lots of influences. The three most prominent ones would be the EPIC video , Will Richardson's Morning at RSS-Blog-Furl High School Redux post as well as his book , and Ray Kurzweil's book.
Download 2020 Vision (Windows Media Player format - 17 MB) - the volume kicks in on the third slide.
Download 2020 Vision (Quicktime format - 97 MB).
Be forewarned, it's a little long, but that's a small price to pay to see the future . . .
Update 11-28-06: I had a request to post this to Google Video, so I did. That also allows me to embed it in this post. This is the first time I've tried this, so we'll see how it goes.
Update 11-29-06: I added a Quicktime version since someone pointed out that the Windows Media Player version requires codecs that are only available on the Windows platform (although I believe the Google Video version embedded above - which is in Flash - should work on most platforms). Sorry about that.
Update 6-21-08: Here's the script I used (Word, PDF). No guarantees that I stuck to it exactly, but it should be close.
Update 6-21-08: Here's the script I used (Word, PDF). No guarantees that I stuck to it exactly, but it should be close.
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
Flat World Update
Just a quick post for your consideration.
This video mentions an interesting fact:
Even though in some respects these almost contradict each other, I think the underlying message is the same - the playing field is getting more and more level every day.
This video mentions an interesting fact:
Last year more students in China took the SAT in English than did so in the United States.And this video demonstrates a prototype of real-time language translation - you speak, it transcribes, then translates, then reads the translation. Within the next 10 years this will be fully functional and built into your cell phone.
Even though in some respects these almost contradict each other, I think the underlying message is the same - the playing field is getting more and more level every day.
Saturday, November 11, 2006
Trust But Verify
In our Cohort 2 staff development session on Thursday we had some very interesting conversations. I thought one discussion in particular was very helpful to me, when in the morning session we discussed the relative merits of allowing students to have more control over what they learn versus making sure they are exposed to a variety of ideas. I think most of us would agree that allowing students to have more of a say in what they learn is empowering, and is more likely to engage them and therefore they are then more likely to be successful learners. I also think that most of us would agree that our students need exposure to lots of different ideas, even topics that don't necessarily appeal to them, at least not initially. That they need to engage the world of ideas around them, not just the specific areas that interest them, and that our passion as teachers can help facilitate their engagement in areas we deem valuable. As with just about everything we discuss, I think there is a balance to be had, it's just somewhat tricky to figure out where that balance is.
There was one point that was raised that I've been thinking about a lot since the discussion. When talking about giving students more choice the issue was raised that students would often (or possibly always) choose whatever choice they perceived to be easier. I'm not sure if I disagreed at the time or not, but I don't think I do agree with this. I think that to the extent this is true, it's because we've trained them to do this. Since very early on in their school careers, we've drilled into them how important grades are. By the time they get to high school, my fear - as we've discussed previously - is that they begin to believe that grades are the goal. That learning becomes subservient to, and sometimes completely overwhelmed by, grades. Therefore, if getting a good grade is so all important, then isn't choosing the easier assignment the logical choice? Instead of condemning them for it, shouldn't we be rejoicing that they've learned their lessons well?
I believe that if we can remove the emphasis on grades and refocus on learning, students more often than not will choose the most interesting and personally relevant assignment, not necessarily the easiest. I know this may be somewhat naive (or possibly "hopelessly naive") on my part, but I think we need to start trusting our students more. I think they are more than capable of making good choices for themselves and - when they do not - that it's our role as teachers to help them make a better choice in the future. That our role needs to be less about making choices and decisions for them, and more about helping them become good decision makers for themselves. Isn't one of our goals that when they leave high school, they are well prepared to move into the "adult" world? If so, shouldn't we give them some practice in making those decisions in the relative safety of high school? After all, that's one of the main arguments we give for our variable schedule, so why do we seem to shy away from it in our classrooms? (As a side note, maybe if we do this a lot fewer of them will move back in with Mom and Dad for most of their 20's.)
As I've stated several times before, I think this is their education, not ours. If that's true - and if we want our students to really and truly believe that - then we are going to have to start trusting them. Yes, the level of trust and freedom will vary depending on age and individual maturity level, just like it already does (or should). And yes we still have the realities of curriculum and mandated testing. But I think that if we truly want them to be self-motivated, life-long, successful learners in the 21st century, we are going to have to give up some of the control and trust them to make more of their own decisions - with our guidance, of course. Trust - but verify. I fear that if we don't, if we insist on adhering to an industrial age schooling model, we risk losing all relevance whatsoever. And, given the learning choices that students are beginning to have in whatever we are going to call this current, post information age, I think we need to keep in mind that we no longer have a captive audience. We need to continue to give students reasons to choose to learn with us - or they will learn without us.
As usual, I'm thinking out loud here so I'd love to hear your thoughts on these ideas. Anything you can add that will help push my thinking along will be greatly appreciated.
There was one point that was raised that I've been thinking about a lot since the discussion. When talking about giving students more choice the issue was raised that students would often (or possibly always) choose whatever choice they perceived to be easier. I'm not sure if I disagreed at the time or not, but I don't think I do agree with this. I think that to the extent this is true, it's because we've trained them to do this. Since very early on in their school careers, we've drilled into them how important grades are. By the time they get to high school, my fear - as we've discussed previously - is that they begin to believe that grades are the goal. That learning becomes subservient to, and sometimes completely overwhelmed by, grades. Therefore, if getting a good grade is so all important, then isn't choosing the easier assignment the logical choice? Instead of condemning them for it, shouldn't we be rejoicing that they've learned their lessons well?
I believe that if we can remove the emphasis on grades and refocus on learning, students more often than not will choose the most interesting and personally relevant assignment, not necessarily the easiest. I know this may be somewhat naive (or possibly "hopelessly naive") on my part, but I think we need to start trusting our students more. I think they are more than capable of making good choices for themselves and - when they do not - that it's our role as teachers to help them make a better choice in the future. That our role needs to be less about making choices and decisions for them, and more about helping them become good decision makers for themselves. Isn't one of our goals that when they leave high school, they are well prepared to move into the "adult" world? If so, shouldn't we give them some practice in making those decisions in the relative safety of high school? After all, that's one of the main arguments we give for our variable schedule, so why do we seem to shy away from it in our classrooms? (As a side note, maybe if we do this a lot fewer of them will move back in with Mom and Dad for most of their 20's.)
As I've stated several times before, I think this is their education, not ours. If that's true - and if we want our students to really and truly believe that - then we are going to have to start trusting them. Yes, the level of trust and freedom will vary depending on age and individual maturity level, just like it already does (or should). And yes we still have the realities of curriculum and mandated testing. But I think that if we truly want them to be self-motivated, life-long, successful learners in the 21st century, we are going to have to give up some of the control and trust them to make more of their own decisions - with our guidance, of course. Trust - but verify. I fear that if we don't, if we insist on adhering to an industrial age schooling model, we risk losing all relevance whatsoever. And, given the learning choices that students are beginning to have in whatever we are going to call this current, post information age, I think we need to keep in mind that we no longer have a captive audience. We need to continue to give students reasons to choose to learn with us - or they will learn without us.
As usual, I'm thinking out loud here so I'd love to hear your thoughts on these ideas. Anything you can add that will help push my thinking along will be greatly appreciated.
Wednesday, November 08, 2006
Photo Story 3 Tutorial Screencast
Several of our teachers are having students use Photo Story (or something of their own choosing) to create digital stories. I developed a quick overview handout for Photo Story and then did a couple of quick training sessions with classes. After repeating myself a few times, I decided maybe it was worth it (and good practice for me) to create a screencast that our students (and teachers) could watch if they wanted to learn the basics of Photo Story. It turned out okay, other than being a little too long (it's 11 minutes) and a little rough around the edges. It's also a very large file, so it takes a couple of minutes to load the screencast, even over broadband, but I thought I'd share it in case anyone else could use it.
Flash Version (better quality, but takes a while to load).
Windows Media Player Version (13 MB, quality is not as good, but it is downloadable).
Flash Version (better quality, but takes a while to load).
Windows Media Player Version (13 MB, quality is not as good, but it is downloadable).
Monday, November 06, 2006
This is Montag's Brain on PowerPoint
I sometimes forget how creative our students can be using software that us older folks think of as "productivity" software. Take a look at these examples of student work using Microsoft Word and PowerPoint to illustrate their understanding of the characters in Fahrenheit 451. I especially like these examples because they received no "instruction" on Word or PowerPoint. They were just given the assignment and could decide how best to complete it - they took it from there.
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
A Math Teacher's Experience
“Stand up if you have a cell phone with you today,” I announced last Wednesday in my algebra class. The excitement was visible. “Sit down if your phone does not have a camera,” I continued. Their disappointment was manifested in groans of various pitches and duration. I quickly paired them up – over half the class had phones with cameras – and sent them on their way. Their mission: to find as many examples of circles and take pictures of each one. They had ten minutes to complete the job, and they were not to disturb other classes.
“I got 56 pictures Mrs. Stahlhut!” one student exclaimed as he returned to class. “Well I got a picture of Serniak’s watch!” countered another. The class shared their findings for approximately five minutes with an amazing zealousness. While they were taking photos, I had set out examples of circular objects (more than ten items) I had gathered from my kitchen that morning. I also handed out a piece of string and a CSAP ruler (they are paper and therefore bend) on each desk. Students were in a circle (pun intended), and they were told to make a table of measurements, in millimeters, of the diameter and the circumference of each circular item. They passed the item to the right when they had finished measuring. They eagerly explained to each other what a millimeter was and helped each other find the circumference by holding the string around some of the objects. Another ten minutes passed.
Equipped with a table of values, our discussion progressed to which value depended on which value. “Does the length of the circumference depend on the length of the diameter, or does the length of the diameter depend on the length of the circumference?” I questioned. They agreed upon the first choice. “Therefore,” I explained, “the vertical axis should be labeled circumference, and the horizontal axis should be labeled diameter.” They drew their axes and plotted their points.
“Who knows what ‘a line of best fit’ is?” I asked and waited. No response. “OK, it has to pass through at least two points and the remaining points should be equally distributed above the line and below the line. Use your ruler to make the line straight!” I clarified. After they drew their line of best fit I went on to talk about the slope of a line. When we looked at everyone’s slope, it was easy to see if they had made a mistake. Most had a slope near 3.14 (pi). We then used this to write an equation (C = 3.14 D where C=length of circumference and D=length of diameter) and make predictions about other circles.
When class was over, I thought about what was important. Did they understand slope? Did they understand ‘line of best fit’? No, not fully. But I had hooked them by using the cell phones and a concrete example of linear data. What surprised me was the fact that this was my all male class. When my all female class began, the very next period, I was asked “Do we get to use our cell phones in class today?” I was not expecting this activity to be something that both genders would get excited about, but it was!
The next day we did squares. We took pictures, and collected data by drawing and measuring five different squares and their diagonals on graph paper. The equation we came up with was D = 1.41 S where D=length of the diagonal and S=length of the side. Again we talked of slope and lines of best fit.
Next, we will be using the cell phone as a stop watch. Each pair of students will be given a short and a long tongue twister. They will collect data by timing each other saying the tongue twister once, twice, three times, etc. They will plot the data (both lines on the same set of axes) and calculate the slope of both lines. Also, they will write the equation for each line and use the equation to make predictions.
My plan is to follow up with a discussion about y-intercepts. All the examples thus far have passed through the origin. To create an example where the y-intercept is not zero, I plan to find an advertisement about the price of CDs and DVDs. I will tell them they have been given $50 as a birthday present, and they must spend it all on CDs and DVDs. The question is how many of each can they purchase? After exploring this question, we will follow up with linear inequalities, where the solution is the half-plane of points above or below the line.
As a seasoned mathematics teacher, I recognize none of these activities are new. What is new is the fact that I am using these activities. Also, the fact that I am willing to post this on a blog is new. I am the shy introvert who usually prefers to journal my reflections instead of putting them out to the “flat” world. Well, I have now emerged from my cocoon and spread my wings, thanks to encouragement from my colleagues.
Update 11-2-06: I had a request to explain my reference to the all male class and the all female class, so here goes…
Arapahoe High School began offering single-gender classes in swimming, personal survival (health class), and algebra during second semester of the 2003-2004 school year. They were in addition to co-ed classes; they did not replace co-ed classes. The teachers who taught the single-gender classes, administrators, and other interested staff met monthly to share their observations. They also discussed research pertaining to gender-specific education. Students were surveyed about their experience in a single-gender class, and it was favorable. Likewise, the teachers enjoyed the experience although at times found it challenging.
Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies began offering single-gender sections in addition to co-ed sections during the 2004-2005 school year. We have expanded our offerings each year. Students (and their parents) choose whether they want to be in a single-gender section, although we do end up asking some additional students to sign up to "fill" the sections. For the most part, the response has been favorable (hence the expanded offerings each year), but it's still a small portion of our classes (for example, we have 16 sections of co-ed Algebra, 1 male section, 1 female section). Our students have a fair amount of choice in their schedules and this gives them one more option. Teachers, administrators, and interested parents continue to meet regularly and have many discussions about what has worked and what hasn’t in the single-gender classes. They also share their opinions on published articles about single-gender education.
One of our goals this year is to gather data to support our decision to offer single-gender classes. Professor Susan Harter from the University of Denver (DU) and doctoral candidate Shauna Riecks are going to pretest and posttest our classes in an attempt to measure the academic success and affective attitude of our students. We also have implemented the Measure of Academic Progress (MAP testing) for freshmen and sophomores in reading and mathematics. This will facilitate gathering documentation of what we already believe to be true: single-gender classes provide the opportunity for some students to be more successful than in co-ed classes.
“I got 56 pictures Mrs. Stahlhut!” one student exclaimed as he returned to class. “Well I got a picture of Serniak’s watch!” countered another. The class shared their findings for approximately five minutes with an amazing zealousness. While they were taking photos, I had set out examples of circular objects (more than ten items) I had gathered from my kitchen that morning. I also handed out a piece of string and a CSAP ruler (they are paper and therefore bend) on each desk. Students were in a circle (pun intended), and they were told to make a table of measurements, in millimeters, of the diameter and the circumference of each circular item. They passed the item to the right when they had finished measuring. They eagerly explained to each other what a millimeter was and helped each other find the circumference by holding the string around some of the objects. Another ten minutes passed.
Equipped with a table of values, our discussion progressed to which value depended on which value. “Does the length of the circumference depend on the length of the diameter, or does the length of the diameter depend on the length of the circumference?” I questioned. They agreed upon the first choice. “Therefore,” I explained, “the vertical axis should be labeled circumference, and the horizontal axis should be labeled diameter.” They drew their axes and plotted their points.
“Who knows what ‘a line of best fit’ is?” I asked and waited. No response. “OK, it has to pass through at least two points and the remaining points should be equally distributed above the line and below the line. Use your ruler to make the line straight!” I clarified. After they drew their line of best fit I went on to talk about the slope of a line. When we looked at everyone’s slope, it was easy to see if they had made a mistake. Most had a slope near 3.14 (pi). We then used this to write an equation (C = 3.14 D where C=length of circumference and D=length of diameter) and make predictions about other circles.
When class was over, I thought about what was important. Did they understand slope? Did they understand ‘line of best fit’? No, not fully. But I had hooked them by using the cell phones and a concrete example of linear data. What surprised me was the fact that this was my all male class. When my all female class began, the very next period, I was asked “Do we get to use our cell phones in class today?” I was not expecting this activity to be something that both genders would get excited about, but it was!
The next day we did squares. We took pictures, and collected data by drawing and measuring five different squares and their diagonals on graph paper. The equation we came up with was D = 1.41 S where D=length of the diagonal and S=length of the side. Again we talked of slope and lines of best fit.
Next, we will be using the cell phone as a stop watch. Each pair of students will be given a short and a long tongue twister. They will collect data by timing each other saying the tongue twister once, twice, three times, etc. They will plot the data (both lines on the same set of axes) and calculate the slope of both lines. Also, they will write the equation for each line and use the equation to make predictions.
My plan is to follow up with a discussion about y-intercepts. All the examples thus far have passed through the origin. To create an example where the y-intercept is not zero, I plan to find an advertisement about the price of CDs and DVDs. I will tell them they have been given $50 as a birthday present, and they must spend it all on CDs and DVDs. The question is how many of each can they purchase? After exploring this question, we will follow up with linear inequalities, where the solution is the half-plane of points above or below the line.
As a seasoned mathematics teacher, I recognize none of these activities are new. What is new is the fact that I am using these activities. Also, the fact that I am willing to post this on a blog is new. I am the shy introvert who usually prefers to journal my reflections instead of putting them out to the “flat” world. Well, I have now emerged from my cocoon and spread my wings, thanks to encouragement from my colleagues.
Update 11-2-06: I had a request to explain my reference to the all male class and the all female class, so here goes…
Arapahoe High School began offering single-gender classes in swimming, personal survival (health class), and algebra during second semester of the 2003-2004 school year. They were in addition to co-ed classes; they did not replace co-ed classes. The teachers who taught the single-gender classes, administrators, and other interested staff met monthly to share their observations. They also discussed research pertaining to gender-specific education. Students were surveyed about their experience in a single-gender class, and it was favorable. Likewise, the teachers enjoyed the experience although at times found it challenging.
Language Arts, Science, and Social Studies began offering single-gender sections in addition to co-ed sections during the 2004-2005 school year. We have expanded our offerings each year. Students (and their parents) choose whether they want to be in a single-gender section, although we do end up asking some additional students to sign up to "fill" the sections. For the most part, the response has been favorable (hence the expanded offerings each year), but it's still a small portion of our classes (for example, we have 16 sections of co-ed Algebra, 1 male section, 1 female section). Our students have a fair amount of choice in their schedules and this gives them one more option. Teachers, administrators, and interested parents continue to meet regularly and have many discussions about what has worked and what hasn’t in the single-gender classes. They also share their opinions on published articles about single-gender education.
One of our goals this year is to gather data to support our decision to offer single-gender classes. Professor Susan Harter from the University of Denver (DU) and doctoral candidate Shauna Riecks are going to pretest and posttest our classes in an attempt to measure the academic success and affective attitude of our students. We also have implemented the Measure of Academic Progress (MAP testing) for freshmen and sophomores in reading and mathematics. This will facilitate gathering documentation of what we already believe to be true: single-gender classes provide the opportunity for some students to be more successful than in co-ed classes.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
A Superintendent Wants Your Input
As I posted about last time, my superintendent is really reaching out to schools trying to learn more about what we do day-to-day, as well as what we could (and should) be doing in the future to help prepare our students to be successful in the 21st century (successful in both the professional and the personal sense). Today he sent me an email asking about ways we could solicit input from our stakeholders. He is thinking of different ways to organize face-to-face conversations with students (and others), but also wants to utilize some of the technology he has seen us use with students to further the conversation between him and our students, staff, parents and community.
I have some ideas on this (I always have lots of ideas, occasionally even a good one), but I wanted to pose this question to my “learning network” through The Fischbowl. So I would love to hear not only from students and teachers in my building and district, but from the rest of you out there. What are some good ways that our superintendent can use technology to carry out this conversation (in addition to the face-to-face meetings, not replacing them)? A Blog? A Wiki? A Podcast? Skype? Others? And not just the tech tool, but how would we organize and structure it? How do we make it useful to all involved without being too wide-open and free-wheeling? How do we supplement the face-to-face discussions in a way that doesn’t become overwhelming, repetitious or unhelpful? As we’ve seen with other superintendents who’ve tried something like this, things can get out of hand quickly if this isn’t structured well and the norms laid out in advance. And, like all superintendents, he’s incredibly busy, so this also needs to be as defined and efficient as possible.
So, if you’re a student or a teacher, a principal or a superintendent, a school board member or a parent, a web 2.0 guru or a newbie, or just somebody with a great idea – I’d love to hear your thoughts. Please keep your comments focused on the method, not on actually providing feedback.
I have some ideas on this (I always have lots of ideas, occasionally even a good one), but I wanted to pose this question to my “learning network” through The Fischbowl. So I would love to hear not only from students and teachers in my building and district, but from the rest of you out there. What are some good ways that our superintendent can use technology to carry out this conversation (in addition to the face-to-face meetings, not replacing them)? A Blog? A Wiki? A Podcast? Skype? Others? And not just the tech tool, but how would we organize and structure it? How do we make it useful to all involved without being too wide-open and free-wheeling? How do we supplement the face-to-face discussions in a way that doesn’t become overwhelming, repetitious or unhelpful? As we’ve seen with other superintendents who’ve tried something like this, things can get out of hand quickly if this isn’t structured well and the norms laid out in advance. And, like all superintendents, he’s incredibly busy, so this also needs to be as defined and efficient as possible.
So, if you’re a student or a teacher, a principal or a superintendent, a school board member or a parent, a web 2.0 guru or a newbie, or just somebody with a great idea – I’d love to hear your thoughts. Please keep your comments focused on the method, not on actually providing feedback.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
Learning at the Speed of Thought
Monday was an interesting day around here. First, we had two visitors to one of our classrooms using the wireless laptops. They observed a fishbowl discussion with live blogging in the outer circle. (For those of you not at Arapahoe, fishbowl is a discussion technique we use that works very well - with or without laptops.) Both of the visitors were very impressed with the discussion students had (they were discussing Fahrenheit 451). They were impressed not only with the level of discussion, but the level of student engagement as well. They were also impressed with the use of the laptops - the way the outer circle was able to merge in and out with the inner circle through live blogging. Where ideas and questions they posed in their blogging were both integrated into the inner circle discussion, but also allowed the outer circle to extend the discussion in different directions.
One technical issue arose, however, as it appears as though Blogger temporarily blocked our computers from commenting on the blog - via IP address. After 152 or so comments, suddenly commenting was blocked from our computers - but not from outside. We think Blogger automatically suspected an attack was occuring on the blog, with 150 or so comments coming from one IP address (we funnel through a proxy server) in a short period of time. It's actually pretty cool that it could do that, even if that causes problems for us. It's unblocked now, so we'll see if it happens again (we've reached 200 comments before in a live blogging session without getting blocked, but maybe they've added a new algorithm to detect potential abuse).
The first visitor was Dan Maas, our district's CIO. This was his second visit - which we very much appreciate - and he participated in the fishbowl - submitting questions and thoughts via the live blogging. Very cool. We're thinking that in the future we'll try notifying parents of when and where (URL) the live blogging part of the discussion is taking place so that they can attend - and possibly participate - virtually. Even though they won't hear the inner circle discussion, they can still get the flavor of the discussion through the live blogging. (I even have thoughts of "broadcasting" the audio of the fishbowl live via Skype, but that will have to wait for a while.)
Our second visitor didn't participate in the live blogging, but shared his thoughts later.
But wait, as if that wasn't enough, I received an email from Stan Scheer - our previous Superintendent - later that night. Stan is now Superintendent in Murrieta, California, and sent me this note:
One technical issue arose, however, as it appears as though Blogger temporarily blocked our computers from commenting on the blog - via IP address. After 152 or so comments, suddenly commenting was blocked from our computers - but not from outside. We think Blogger automatically suspected an attack was occuring on the blog, with 150 or so comments coming from one IP address (we funnel through a proxy server) in a short period of time. It's actually pretty cool that it could do that, even if that causes problems for us. It's unblocked now, so we'll see if it happens again (we've reached 200 comments before in a live blogging session without getting blocked, but maybe they've added a new algorithm to detect potential abuse).
The first visitor was Dan Maas, our district's CIO. This was his second visit - which we very much appreciate - and he participated in the fishbowl - submitting questions and thoughts via the live blogging. Very cool. We're thinking that in the future we'll try notifying parents of when and where (URL) the live blogging part of the discussion is taking place so that they can attend - and possibly participate - virtually. Even though they won't hear the inner circle discussion, they can still get the flavor of the discussion through the live blogging. (I even have thoughts of "broadcasting" the audio of the fishbowl live via Skype, but that will have to wait for a while.)
Our second visitor didn't participate in the live blogging, but shared his thoughts later.
I want to thank you and your students for a fantastic learning experience. The multiple iterations of question/inquiry/response gave me insight into the depth, sophistication and intelligence of the class. Well done by all!And:
It was learning at the speed of thought.Who was that second visitor? Scott Murphy - our Superintendent. He posted some questions of his own on the blog later in the day and the students have been responding to them since.
But wait, as if that wasn't enough, I received an email from Stan Scheer - our previous Superintendent - later that night. Stan is now Superintendent in Murrieta, California, and sent me this note:
Karl--I recently connected with the Fischbowl and that wonderful future's presentation [Did You Know] you provided. I sent the kindergartners of the Class of 2019 here in Murrieta a letter recently with the point being, we need to take it up a notch for these kids given the facts provided in your presentation.So, I guess it was a two-Superintendent day here at Arapahoe. Not bad for a Monday.
. . . Nicely done. I plan on making your media presentation a part of my superintendent's remarks at my next board meeting here in Murrieta. Thanks for giving permission from the blog to use this.
Exciting but challenging times. Sounds like you are well on your way at Arapahoe . . . I am so pleased that you all are carrying on with this important work. You are having such a wonderful impact on students there. Thank you.
Have a great year. Stan
Tuesday, October 17, 2006
Blogging in Biology
Cara recently sent this email to her students - and their parents:
The comments have already started on the first post, so head over to Cara's class blog and follow along.
Dear Students & Parents:It will be interesting to see how many parents take her up on this. My guess is that quite a few will choose option 1 - to follow along on the blog. But my guess is that some of them won't be able to help themselves (I suffer from this malady) and will comment on the blog as well. I think this is a great way to invite parents in to the classroom - virtually. I also think it will make the students think a little bit harder about their comments knowing their parents may be reading along. I think our students are very aware of the wider audience that might be reading any of their blogs/comments, but there's something about your parents reading your work that takes it to another level.
Today in class we started our study of genetics. During the course of this unit, we will look at many topics including the basics of genetics and heredity, as well as more controversial topics such as cloning, genetic manipulation, and stem cell research.
One of the most effective ways to discuss and share opinions surrounding these issues is through a blog. The web address for our class blog is http://www.syersbio06.blogspot.com. A new scenario/question/issue to discuss will be posted on the blog each week. Students will be required to share their views on at least two of these posts but are welcome to comment as many times as they want. I would also encourage parents to get involved in one of two ways...1) Go to the blog and follow along. It's always interesting to see what students really think! 2) Create a blogging account and comment along with the class. We'd love to hear from you as well. Since some of the scenarios involve decisions made as parents, your insights will be very valuable!
Many students have prior experience with blogging in other classes. If this is the case, I will assume that you know how to access the blog, log in, and add your comments. Just make sure that your username is only your first name and last initial. No last names!
If you have never blogged before and need further information about what exactly a blog is, how to create a username and password, and how to add comments, I have attached a tip sheet to this e-mail. Just open it, print it, and follow the step by step instructions.
If you have questions or concerns, please let me know. I look forward to some great discussions involving students and parents alike!
The comments have already started on the first post, so head over to Cara's class blog and follow along.
Monday, October 16, 2006
Students as Producers of Information - An Example from the College Level
I’ve posted about several examples (1, 2, 3) of student work lately, and we have others that I haven’t posted about yet (4, 5, 6). And we’ve talked a lot in our staff development about “students as producers” of information or, as Alan November refers to it, students “leaving a legacy” that outlasts the assignment. Well, last night I ran across this post from Barbara Ganley that I think should be of interest to all of us, but particularly our social studies teachers:
A couple of other quotes (not exact, but I’m paraphrasing) that leapt out at me:
I think we’re seeing a real shift (yes, I’ve mentioned that word somewhere before) in what students are being asked to do. And it’s not just techies that are pushing this, but history professors at the University of Virginia and University of Nebraska. If all we ask students to do is find answers that we already know, then what’s the point? Instead, maybe we should be asking them to find new questions – and then go about attempting to answer those questions in a collaborative fashion and publish their results for others to learn from.
One other interesting tidbit – they mention that next fall a new major will begin at UVA – Masters in Digital Humanities.
In "Time, Space and History" prominent historians Edward Ayers of The University of Virginia and Will Thomas of The University of Nebraska showcased their Aurora Project (watch their presentation here). Daring to consider historical scholarship in four dimensions through digital means (GIS, xml, coding, visual patterning, etc.), and inspired by the work of weather visualization and analysis, these two noted scholars are portraying the individual and community stories of Reconstruction and the expansion of the railroads against the larger sweeps of history, showing time as well as space as they "weave together the patterns of a multidimensional history" instead of continuing solely with monograph-based historical scholarship.The entire presentation is about 50 minutes long and I’m not sure I understood everything they said, but nonetheless I think it’s an excellent example of the changes that are taking place at the college level. While the use of technology in the humanities is worth noting, it’s really the changes in what they are asking students to do that stood out to me. These professors are leveraging the “temporary community that is a classroom” to “harness the energy” of their students to create a product that is not just turned in, but published. A product that is not just an assignment, but that results in something that others can use to help understand the world. These students are learning, but they are also truly leaving a legacy with their work.
Students in Ed Ayers' classes contribute to the project in real ways, including examining historical primary source documents, county by county, and writing brief historical narratives from the documents.
A couple of other quotes (not exact, but I’m paraphrasing) that leapt out at me:
[Eventually] we’ll be able to look at all of American History built by students doing collaborative work – not just turning in papers.And:
The students all say “Show me an example,” and I say, “I can’t – we’re making this up as we go along.”They talk about the tension that creates for students but how important it is for students to understand that they can’t just do what they’ve always done, that they must become adept at doing what no one has done before. One of the professors jokes that he:
Creates a deep resentment that is at the heart of all good teaching.While he was joking somewhat, I think what he’s really referring to is the “cognitive dissonance” that we’ve talked about in our discussions of constructivism. But in this case the dissonance is in the form of students’ pre-conceived notions of what school and learning is “supposed” to be like, and what these scholars believe it truly is. One of the professors then talks about the final paper that students do where they have to use all of each others’ work – and how they are all therefore forced to depend on each others’ work - another example of collaboration.
I think we’re seeing a real shift (yes, I’ve mentioned that word somewhere before) in what students are being asked to do. And it’s not just techies that are pushing this, but history professors at the University of Virginia and University of Nebraska. If all we ask students to do is find answers that we already know, then what’s the point? Instead, maybe we should be asking them to find new questions – and then go about attempting to answer those questions in a collaborative fashion and publish their results for others to learn from.
One other interesting tidbit – they mention that next fall a new major will begin at UVA – Masters in Digital Humanities.
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