Engaging Parents, Students Presenting...A Rewarding Friday

Today was the culmination of a 4-week project. Animals in Literature is a novel study that my class and I have been making a journey through for the last month. There were three reading groups, each reading a different novel that involved an animal; Shiloh, There's An Owl In The Shower, and Abel's Island. As a post-reading summative project students had to work in triads, with one person fro each reading group, to examine the roles animals play in literature. During the reading period students communicated with each other via our class wiki and then spent the majority of class the last 4 days completing their project. All of this isn't too far from territory I've tread with students before, but there was something today that was.

Last year I read a lot. And one of the things that I read, that just made me so despondent was this idea of presenting. Not just presenting to the teacher or the class, but to a larger audience. This is where I got discouraged, because where do these audiences come from?

Well, this go round, I had an urge. On Tuesday I sent student home with invitations to their parents to come and watch the students present. I also gave invitations to our school administrators, reading coach, and library/media specialist. I thought, surely this would be a bust. Right? I mean during last year's parent luncheons I averaged one set of parents every time, the same parents, every time (by the way, those parents and I still keep in touch). I was quite wrong however! A total of 12 adults came to view the presentations, and our school reading coach did as well. It was amazing! I was so thrilled and then realized that I've never done any thing like this before and had no idea what to do. One thing I didn't have was food, I feel like next time I should have some refreshments.

Anywho, in my pride I wanted to share the students presentations with you. This is their first of this sort, and I was pretty pleased. Please share you thoughts, experience, and any other things you might want!

Animals In Literature

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Animals In Literature

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Flex

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Animal In Literature

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Animals In Literature

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Animals In Literature Report

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And the Oddity Has Begun

I agreed to take on a student teacher today. Really. It's not that I feel unqualified, its just that I don't feel capable of putting into words what it is we (have to) do. Just writing that seems funny, but its true isn't it? Can you really explain to an outsider what being a teacher really means? No, there is no amount of words that really suffices.

So accepting a student into my room, being maybe the last model they will see before heading into their own classroom is a bit daunting. I mean, there is still so much I am trying to figure out, so much I haven't taken the time to put into words because it is part of the grander mystery of how to adequately prepare students for their lives.

Well...here goes nothin'

P.S. Any and all advice will be accepted with humble gratitude.

Reading Print Material, Who Knew?

I did, or maybe I used to.

In this great disconnectedness (I'm not sure if that's a word) I have immersed myself in print material, mostly children's literature. I whipped through those Harry Potters and those Series of Unfortunate Events like it was nothing. I guess I should mention that the edtech part of me went out and found the Kansas State Library catalogue of "audiobooks and more!" Which means that I really listened to about half of those books, and read the other the old-fashioned way. Mentioning this is actually going to take this post a different direction.

Left turn.

I've been reading so much because my colleagues and I have challenged our entire 5th grade class to an Accelerated Reader contest. Approximately 12 teachers versus 67 fifth graders. Knowing that reading takes me a long time, and that I have three kids who aren't exactly independent, I found these audiobooks to be an excellent resource for me to be able to keep up with a whole slew of students. I can listen when I'm doing chores, driving, rocking babies to bed, etc. These are all things most of the students don't have to do, so for all intensive purposes, they could be reading during those times. So I see it as fair.

My colleagues, for the most part, disagree. They say something like, would you let a student do that? My reply is usually something like how could I stop them? And then someone says something like that's not the point, would it be okay for a student? And I reply something like how could I stop them?

As you can see we don't get very far, but yes, I would let a student listen to audiobooks. The silly thing here is that our school library even has audiobooks, albeit on cassette, but it's still an audiobook. Regardless, I would allow any of my students to listen to the audiobook form of a printed text, the AR test would be the same, so why does their manner of consumption matter? In reality, however, I don't really need to give my students permission to do that, if they want to they can. The choices they make outside of school are their own, and if they have mp3 players and an internet connection they can get access to the same things I can. In fact, I would think that having a fifth grader go out and download an audiobook would be pretty impressive, and a building block for their future (as so many colleges are adopting podcasting of lectures and whatnot).

Two rights and another left.

I like books, why haven't I been reading them?

P.S. Is audiobook two words?

Disconnected

So, for all intensive purposes, I've disconnected. And I just feel like there is some wierdness every time I try to come back here and share a thought or the like. Why is that?

When I first started college I wanted to join a fraternity, because all my friends already had. I found a fraternity, moved in, and soon decided it wasn't for me. I moved out and on. However, in my short time there I felt as though I had made some pretty good friends. I was wrong about that, as I turned my back on the fraternity, they turned their backs on me. It took me a while to realize that, but once I did it seemed like every time we ran into one another, we were enveloped by awkwardness.

Even though no one has turned there back on me here in the ed-tech-whatever-you-call-it-because-it-has-surely-changed-by-now, I still feel enveloped by awkwardness. Maybe its because I have figured out the difficult way that some eyes find their way here for nefarious purposes. And maybe I just don't feel so sure of myself anymore, which I think turns out to be kind of funny.

As with any new thing the newness has probably just worn off.

This is not to say that I have abandoned technology in the classroom, nor attempts to prepare my students for today's world (I wanted to type something about the 21st Century, but I'm sure that is so not cool now). Its this billboard for thoughts and actions that has fallen by the wayside. I wonder what it will take to get it up and rolling again?

During this quiet period I was able to read. A lot. The entire Harry Potter series, the Series of Unfortunate Event series, and a handful of short non-fiction pieces.

Feel free to check in on my class and their projects at our wiki. I've actually got more wiki interaction this so far this year, than I did all of last year!

RiP! A Remix Manifesto

I am excited to bring together two things I love with this post, music and edtech. Well, edtech might be pushing it, but I think there are definitely implications in the world of education. But before we go any further let me state that the film I am about to discuss is definitely not for children and most likely R-rated, due to graphic language.

The film is RiP! A Remix Manifesto. It is currently up for your viewing pleasure at Pitchfork (for one week only) or at Open Source Cinema.

This film really got me thinking about copyright and intellectual property, when it comes to mash-ups and remixes, both in music and elsewhere. Before I go into my ramble of a thought, I do want to make something clear: I, in no way, think it is okay to acquire music or any other media illegaly simply because the internet makes it possible. To me, downloading a movie through something like Limewire is the equivalent of stealing it from Wal-Mart, neither are acceptable. This is not the copyright issue I am talking about.

I'm talking about the use of copyrighted material in remixes and mash-ups, which from now on I am going to refer to only as mash-ups. Here are my thoughts, and I will be using music for example, but this could really be any media (video, text, picture, etc.).

Bruce Springsteen writes a song. The song becomes very popular and get's played on the radio station you listen to on the drive to and from work. He releases the song on an album that you purchase. Bruce visits multiple late-night television shows playing this song, live for the studio audience. And when you go see him in concert later that year, he plays that song.

For all intensive purposes you have just been pummeled with this song. You have listened to it on the radio countless times, paid for the album, even went to see the artist in concert. But guess what, you have no more ownership of this song than you did before it was even written. This is what I don't like. You see, Bruce has, quite honestly, given the world his song. He needs us. For him to make any money, we need to like his song, so he releases it on the radio. Once we realize that we like his song, he releases his album. And then he really cashes in and goes on tour. By this time you could sing that song in your sleep. In fact, in times of high stress you do hum it, to help you calm down and relax. The only difference between you and Bruce; he created it, you (and others like you) made it famous.

Of course, Bruce has options. If he didn't want to give the world his song, he could keep it all locked up, and never release it. Like Emily Dickinson, he could just write and write, keeping it all to himself.

But speaking of Emily Dickinson, let's say I write a book. And as an introduction, I want to use this:

Let us deport—with skill—
Let us discourse—with care—
Powder exists in Charcoal—
Before it exists in Fire.
Emily Dickinson, A Man may make a Remark

Would anyone have a problem with that? Nope. They wouldn't. Author's quote from other pieces of writing all the time. So why is it that if I want to use a piece of Bruce Springsteen's song at the beginning of my podcast about how to make macaroni and cheese, I am violating copyright?

In my opinion, artists, by releasing their intellectual property to the world, really are giving it to us. Because if there was no us, to consume that song or piece fo art, the piece of art would never be released. And artists always have the option to keep their art to themselves.

It's late. Do me a favor, see the film. Let me know what you think.

Painting The Picture

This morning our whole district got together for a keynote from Monte Selby before embarking on a full day of professional development in a couple different areas.

A big part of Selby's keynote was about painting the picture. His website states that he is "The World's Foremost Musical Comentator on American Education." That being said, he plays guitar and sings. And using this idea of painting the picture he related songwriting to teaching. As a songwriter one thing you must do to have a successful song is create an image in the listener's mind. Without that image, the listener will most likely be moving on to something else.

As educators we have that same job, painting the picture. We paint for ourselves and our students. And here's where I really liked what he started saying. On the top, painting the picture seemed to be just about engaging the learner and getting them to retain the content. But it started to become much more than that and I think it came through in his songs much more than his dialogue. Because painting the picture also has to do with envisioning our future selves, and making that future occur. Well, not just our future selves, but our students' future selves too, and the part we play in that.

I think most teachers, at one time or another, ask their students what they want to be when they grow up, or some variation. But how many of us actually take specific steps to help paint that kid's picture? Not just teach them the standards, benchmarks, and so on, but actually figure out how we can help add paint to the canvas. And where does the time to do that come from?

Selby also spoke about turning the mirror on your students (and colleagues). Acknowledge every student's areas of strength, just let them know you see it. I think that play's a big part in painting the picture. And I think this ties right into my last post about the FISH! philosophy. Painting the picture and turning the mirror sound a lot like Choose Your Attitude and Make Their Day.

This was a fair bit of rambling, I know...but to conclude...I think I am taking my guitar back with me into the classroom....

Be(ing) There

Last year we got, what I think is, the very first back channel up and running at my school. During a number of professional development days we had up to 4, maybe 5, participatiing in a discussion using CoverItLive. For the most part the conversation stayed on topic and I always felt that I had gained more by being a part of that conversation. However, having a back channel discussion online, with eyes glued to computer screens and fingers typing while others are talking, is not always recieved well.

Today was our first day back in my district. At my school we were introduced to the FISH! philosophy, which also happens to be the same philosophy the DJ company I work for adheres to. You probably know it, it seemed to be old hat for most, but here are the 4 pieces:

• Be There
• Play
• Make Their Day
• Choose Your Attitude

As we watched short video clips about what each one of these pieces mean and I thought about how I apply them when I am DJing a wedding reception, I began to get a better understanding of why people have problems with back channels, its all about be(ing) there. With our faces behind computer screens we give the impression that we are not emotionally and/or mentally present. However far from the truth this may be, it is still the impression that we give. I for one feel much more engaged and that I gain more when I can interact and discuss the content coming at me. If the activities offered by the presenter incorporated more of those things I would definitely not find myself looking at my computer screen. It's not that back channels are perfect, they just offer the least disruptive way to engage in this activity. I for one, would much rather have an actual discussion.

But this really isn't about how the audience makes a presenter feel. In a lot of cases those people are paid to be there and should present their information regardless. No, I'm thinking more about the impression we give to our colleagues. These are the people we work with everyday. The people we rely upon, or the one's who rely upon us. What kind of impressions are we giving them when we are typing away? That we don't care about what we do or we're too good for this stuff? I'd like to think not, but unfortunately this may not be the case. And what kind of implications would giving that impression be?

I don't like the answer to that question. School culture is so very important, but a good culture would not result from giving this impression. The hallways, assemblies, etc., would become places of tension, and not the type of tension that brings about success.

We were asked at one point to brainstorm things we could do to help us accomplish these four pieces of the FISH! philosophy. I think I am pretty good at a couple of those pieces, but have some work to do on Be(ing) There. How can we go about showing our colleagues, even our students and their parents, that we are there?

Photo Credits: Hvnly