My Principal Needs to Tweet!

It's Ontario, we elementary teachers were in a work to rule situation in the public boards during most of May and all of June. We've had no staff, divisional or group meetings with our administrators. Personally, I haven't missed them. I know many educators feel the same way and wonder why we would go back to them. There are so many ways to communicate digitally. What do we need to know on a regular basis from our leader? After some thought I've decided that a leader who uses Social Media to connect with their staff will find they are accomplishing much more than any meeting would.

         http://bit.ly/1IHx7Ma

Why my leaders should use Social Media....

 it will show they are in the 21st century - leaders should be current

 provide a place for followers - we need a 'go to' place for discussion and questions anytime

 sift through and share pertinent info - so much out there, they can prioritize it

 keep us appraised of what's going on - it's easy to get out of the loop if you miss a meeting or are away for a bit

connect our school to the community and beyond - saves teacher's time and has positive impacts

 show us they are interested in us - can 'follow' our class Media

Here are a few aspects of traditional meetings that I would not miss!

 face to face can lead to too much emotion and rash decisions

no live discussions that go on and on - no waste of time

have to be there at a certain time, not equitable to part time staff or if you are ill

So I am making a challenge to all admin in Ontario, find a Social Media you like and start using it next September!

Shout it Out!!

End of June. Perfect time to look back and reflect on the great leadership in my board (WRDSB) that led the way to another successful, growing, exciting technology year. 

First shout out goes right to the top. Mark Carbone is our Chief Information Officer. He has been leading, initiating, analyzing, enabling, promoting and most importantly, embodying technology for years with our board. How do I know this? He has been visible with his use of technology. Whether he's Skyping in to our meetings, tweeting from conferences, or 'Liking' posts, he is always present in social media. His most regular form of contact with employees of the board is through his blog, Mark's Musings. He has been writing this one for 6 years and it is a wonderful compilation of progress in our board. He shares, promotes, reflects and connects with his audience in a very professional yet so easy to read style. His most recent entry, 'We Dared to Dream' demonstrates his respect for his colleagues as he pays tribute to the retirement of one of our integral technology support teacher leaders. This type of modelling from the top down is inspiring. It sets an example and gives a sense of importance to anything we do in our classrooms. Most importantly though, it is effective. He wanted to share what is happening in our board and provide a place where every staff member can connect with him. A lot of money has gone into technology in our board and because of his leadership I know how, why, and what to use to make the most of it. Thanks Mark!
My second shout out goes to Silvana Hoxha, a principal in our board. This is someone that I have never formally met and maybe only seen in person once or twice. Yet I know that I would be lucky to work at a school where she is an administrator. Her online presence is incredible. One look at her Twitter feed and you instantly know that she is forward thinking, inspirational and always looking for ideas to support her staff. She also uses Instagram to share activities from her school and it is widely viewed by the parent community. Colleagues speak highly of her technology use and enthusiasm. Does it make a difference? Sure does. It is no coincidence that the schools she has been associated with are at an overall high level of technology use. I have been fortunate to have administrators who have been very supportive for my technology passions, but to have had a leader in my school who appreciates and pushes me to try more....well I guess that's one of the reasons I took an AQ course in the technology area. Leaders matter!

'Aaaand We're Back!'

Well those past 3 weeks felt like 3 months!  These are not simple times in the education field!

June certainly is a time of endings and beginnings. Teachers and Admin coming and going. Bidding farewell to my Grade 5's and now thinking about my Grade switch to 3 and 3/4.  I will be teaching the English half of two French Immersion classes.  I thought I was in pretty good shape at year's end, feeling organized and yet I still couldn't avoid that exhausted feeling that comes with closing your classroom door for the final time before summer.
And now back to my own Professional Learning!  I'm very excited to be jumping right into the Specialist portion of this year's endeavour. I've got some "Learnin' and Leadin'" to do!  And as I start back at it I can only hope that the Government, OBSPA, and the Unions do so as well. These are valuable, important weeks this summer, I hope to accomplish something big and I hope they do too!

Hello? Hello?? Anybody there?

What a reputation cell phones have in the education world! A random sampling finds that some educators love them, some hate them, some don't understand them, some are afraid of them. Why is there such a varied reaction? Why hasn't every teacher naturally embraced this technology? What's all the fuss about? Why are there so many signs in schools saying "No Cell Phones Allowed" I love these devices! Is there something about the mobile phone that I am missing?Feeling a little defensive, I set out to research the history of this intriguing phenomenon. What a surprise when I came across this 1926 Karl Arnold magazine comic out of Germany! Look closely and you will see men and women wearing and using a mobile phone complete with a little bell.

It must have been thought of as a 'Wow, if only it were true, idea!' 

Seems to me like it was a hopeful goal and seen as a good thing. 

So when did they arrive? We have Martin Cooper to thank for first use of cell phones on April 3rd 1973. That's over 40 years ago! Although with Karl's inspiration I wonder why it took so long?  

Well they arrived, finally. How long before they were in schools? Thankfully Lisa Nielsen has a wonderful timeline blog post that depicts and details this movement. While it is based out of the U.S., it is very interesting reading. Particularly quotes such as this one by student Travis Allan 'when they are not allowed to used cell phones for learning, they feel like their teachers are keeping them prisoners of their past.'  Most telling is the fact that this post was written 4 years ago.  Surely now that 4 more years have gone by since that post the message is changing? I kept searching.  A 2015  article by John Giambalvo caught my attention.  Mostly because of the title, "Yes, it’s time to embrace cell phones in class".  This was not what I hoped for, where was the progress!?! After reading through it I found the inevitable concerns by teachers. 

1) For many, it is because they understand just how complicated it can be to effectively turn a new technology into an actual tool for learning. 2) one teacher delineated a hypothetical scenario where a student simply stopped paying attention to the lesson so that he or she could return a call. 3) if cell phones were allowed into the classroom, his picture would be all over Instagram and Facebook. 

While there are more, these concerns seem to be the 'go to' reasons not to allow phones in the classroom. Running a close 4th is the issue of equity. The rationale is that not every student owns or can afford a phone. Statistics are eating away at that one.  I was encouraged to read John's response to these issues. 'While these are legitimate concerns, we should try to avoid allowing solvable problems get in way of progress altogether.'  Here, here! I say. And two more words....Digital Citizenship!

Enough of the reasons not to use them.  How about some ideas for using them. Try these sites for starters:  TeachHub.com  LovetoKnow  Vicky Davis 

Or how about this great image....  I love to show teachers this message, but unfortunately this is the same one that sometimes scares them. I guess it makes some educators feel like they are literally expected to be rocket scientists. That certainly isn't the intention of this picture. It should make us think about progress and potential. In fact every piece of technology should produce that reaction from educators. At one point during my thinking about this post I thought I could make some comparisons to the introduction of calculators and how much that has been a wonderful addition to the classroom. While I found a few articles stating how crucial they are in secondary schools, I was dismayed to find an article published today in Education World that debates their use. It seems there are also pros and cons for this technology even now. Why when technology progresses so quickly do we debate at a snail's pace? It seems to be the same arguments over years of time. Looking for solace, I reread John G.'s above mentioned article and came across these words, 'I’m fairly confident that the issues that arise from cell phone use can be resolved by the highly trained professionals that operate and teach in New York City’s schools.'

I hope so John, I hope so.

Aren't They the Same??

I can't remember when but I'm sure that sometime this past year during a staff meeting we discussed "Something" Based Learning. I do remember that it led to an impromptu discussion at my table about 3 types of Learning. Inquiry, Project, and Problem based learning. It took quite a while to sort them out. Especially if you are asked out of the blue. I do remember that we eventually found some definitions that made sense to us. However an early question in the conversation of 'Aren't they basically the same?" was valid. I recall that we concluded that all the types of learning are reality based. No made up questions. It is an important point and does indeed tie the 3 together. But how are they different?

According to Wikipedia;

Inquiry Based - starts with a question or scenario

Students can follow this path:
Create questions of their own
Obtain supporting evidence to answer the question(s)
Explain the evidence collected
Connect the explanation to the knowledge obtained from the investigative process
Create an argument and justification for the explanation

e.g. in science - What is inertia?

More ideas......try here.

Project Based - involves a real world problem

is organized around an open-ended driving question or challenge.
creates a need to know essential content and skills.
requires inquiry to learn and/or create something new.
requires critical thinking, problem solving, collaboration, and various forms of communication
allows some degree of student voice and choice.
incorporates feedback and revision.
results in a publicly presented product or performance

e.g. What would be a good design for the new school playground?

More ideas.....try here.

Problem Based - students develop flexible knowledge, effective problem solving skills, self-directed learning, effective collaboration skills and intrinsic motivation. Problem-based learning is a style of active learning.

e.g. What are the causes and effects of water pollution?

More ideas.....try here.

Time for a Change

I'm making a grade change for next year. I didn't actually ask for it but when someone had to move grades I volunteered. I switched from my Grade 5 class which I have thoroughly enjoyed, to the English half of two French Immersion classes. One is a Grade 3 and the other a 3/4. I will have a 'partner' teacher, two curriculums and fewer subjects to teach. It's been a few years since I've done these grades and never an 'English' half before. So I consider it a somewhat significant change. It's been awhile since I've looked at those curriculums so I am curious to see how technology is referenced. I have chosen to look at Language Arts, Science and Health for Grade 3.

Language Arts

Well that was disappointing.  I just read every word of the Oral Communication strand and was sure I would find lots of referenced examples to enhance the expectations. Not even one!  So here you go.

1.4 demonstrate an understanding of the information and ideas in a variety of oral texts by identifying important information or ideas and some supporting details    My idea: After listening to an oral presentation, create a Word Cloud, Wordle, or Tagxedo - remember to emphasize important ideas by repeating those words in order to make them more prominent.

Science and Technology

Ok this should be better.  Uh oh.  It's a 2007 document. Sigh.  Here's one of a hundred expectations I'd like to update.

2.4 investigate ways in which a variety of plants adapt and/or react to their environment, including changes in their environment, using a variety of methods (e.g., read a variety of non-fiction texts; interview plant experts; view DVDs or CD-ROMs) 

Let's add in a few things here. My ideas:  Investigate adaptations using a variety of online resources such as Learn360. Search for and reply to blog posts about plant adaptation. Search for a plant expert with an online presence and connect through Social Media (Twitter, email, blog post). Use an iPad and time lapse photography to film a plant reacting to light sources.

Healthy Living

Okay one more try.  2010. There must be something already there. 

C2.2 apply their understanding of good safety practices by developing safety guidelines for a variety of places and situations outside the classroom (e.g., guidelines for water safety; safe routes and practices for going to school; home fire safety and emergency plans; safe camping checklists; guidelines for safe Internet use;

Well, at least I found the word 'Internet'.  My idea: Create Safety themed podcast commercials to be played during morning announcements. Create an online comic (Bitstrips) that demonstrates some Internet Safety rules.  Share these on a class website or blog.

Well this little researching project has produced a few questions.  Or maybe some answers.  No wonder so many teachers have a hard time integrating technology into their lesson plans.  There are very few prompts or examples to be found in the actual curriculum documents. Hmmm, time for a change perhaps?