Friday, July 29, 2011
Thursday, July 28, 2011
Wednesday, July 27, 2011
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
The New AT RISK Student
But now there’s an all new At-Risk student--and many teachers and schools are comfortable with that student NOT succeeding. That new and improved At-Risk student is represented in classrooms around the country, and some schools have entire populations that represent the faces of the new At-Risk kid. There are issues of tradition, conformity, and pure bull-headedness that have thrown up a major roadblock to the success of the new At-Risk student, but something has to give. Something has to give now.
I’m talking about the 21st Century kid. I’m talking about the students who live and play and learn and interact in a 21st Century world. Except when they are in school. In fact, school is starting to become the primary place where learning is blocked instead of engaged because of misinformed or misguided attempts at protecting students from inappropriate materials. Districts have a responsibility to protect kids, I understand that, but they should not be setting themselves up as a primary factor for real-world failure.
I recently posted a provocation on Facebook about the possibility that museums may soon be the only place to see a physical book. The adults that I interact with had a big problem with the statement and firmly held to their opinions that a) books weren’t going anywhere, b) holding a physical book is part of the love of reading, c) classics are classics for a reason, and not a construct of the adults that value them, and d) I must be mad to say such things. That said, former students of mine and young people that follow me on Twitter all thought the statement was reasonable, in fact, they thought it was plausable as many of them regularly interact with digital texts.
A recent article on NPR’s Mindshift discussed what CIPA rules were all about, and that a district won't lose it's E-Rate funding if somebody watches a Youtube video. You can read the article here. The most interesting thing I found in the article is that while students have to be blocked from inappropriate sites, teachers do not. The article alludes to the fact that teachers might be the better filter. But instead, the blocks are on for everyone.
The blanket blocking of Internet sites has to stop. We trust adults with children but not with the Internet. What a sad state of affairs.
The Common Core is demanding that the college and career ready student use digital media and resources strategically and capably. How are they going to do that in the environments we are currently imprisoned within? How are they going to do that with teachers who believe that they are doing the right thing by NOT using technology?
A teacher told me the other day that they didn’t like technology and saw no reason for using it in class. “The kids need to learn facts,” this teacher (actually) said.
I said, “Any fact can be looked up on Google, how are your kids connecting those pieces of information? How are they evaluating the truth behind the information they discover? How are they creating new things from what they are learning?”
The teacher’s response? “They can’t use Google in my classroom, we only have time for our word games during computer lab time.” Seriously.
In this day and age, “computer lab time” is about as ridiculous as having a “crayon lab.” I’ve said it before--if the technology is not ubiquitous, like air and water and pencils, then we aren’t really preparing kids for the world that they are graduating into.
We are creating a new At-Risk child. We are creating opportunities for our kids to fail. We are suppressing their learning and preparing them for a lifetime of remediation and skill deficits.
We’re getting to critical mass. This is an emergency. Digital tools are not going away. School cannot be a time machine that doesn’t represent the real world.
You’re either on the bus on under it. We can’t just sit around and wait for everybody to agree that technology isn’t evil. We gotta move and move now. We need to switch it up and flip the game: school needs to be THE PLACE for students to MAXIMIZE opportunities, not be LIMITED by them.
#SteppingOffSoapboxNow
#NecessaryRant
Monday, July 25, 2011
New Web Stuff 07/26/2011
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A "Top Ten" Teacher's Guide to being a "Cyber Hero"
"Top Ten" Teacher's Guide to being "Cyber Hero" http://bit.ly/rsTSev < all @dkapuler's top 10's in a livebinder #edchat
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90 Beautifully Delicious Coffee Website Designs | Inspiration | instantShift
90 Beautifully Delicious #Coffee Website Designs http://dld.bz/2vkq #WebDesign
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Web restrictions draw ire of some educators - USATODAY.com
Web restrictions draw ire of some educators - USATODAY.com: http://t.co/j7M2vA0 via @USATODAY
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ALA | Social Networking Resources
Resources for Librarians about Online Social Networking http://www.ala.org/ala/mgrps/divs/yalsa/profdev/socialnetworking.cfm
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How Khan Academy Is Changing the Rules of Education | Magazine
RT @FableVision: Who needs social, constructivist learning when you can get pre-packaged "Education-in-a-Khan"? http://bit.ly/qeJ6RL
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Social Media Makes Students Terrible Writers | edSocialMedia
Social Media Makes Students Terrible Writers....Or Does It? http://bit.ly/roAl92
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SideVibe read about their update! http://bit.ly/rgRGzs
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Digital Story Telling Free Webinars | MrsBitar
Summer Professional Development- FREE- Digital Story Telling Webinars http://bit.ly/neGOzy
Sunday, July 24, 2011
New Web Stuff 07/25/2011
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Edublogs is getting a tweak...
New additions to "The Best Sources Of Advice For Making Good Presentations" http://bit.ly/cHKL1L
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Dropbox Intro Video - YouTube
Intro to Dropbox http://youtu.be/w4eTR7tci6A 2GB account is free! http://db.tt/804L1Qx Ideas for using it: http://bit.ly/oJd5sQ #tlchat
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Chicago Tribune - The big question: Raises
Honestly? "Library hour" in this article means NOT communicating with others? http://flne.ws/26895966 on Fluent News
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2d Do It Myself Blog – Glenda Watson Hyattdf » When Disabilities Collide…Whip Out the iPad
When disabilities collide (literally), whip out the iPad! http://t.co/dEGRr8N
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ASCD Express 6.21 - World's Education Leaders Offer Lessons on Teacher Quality
World's education leaders offer lessons on teacher quality: http://bit.ly/nTS9ga
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Add a Global Perspective to your Google Search - YouTube
Inspired by @globalearner 's keynote at #cmi2011 - Add Global Perspective to your Google Searches http://youtu.be/92D6gKA5ah8 (short video)
Saturday, July 23, 2011
New Web Stuff 07/24/2011
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http://eskillslearning.net/uploads/Mobile%20Technology%20Response%20RTI_Layout%202.pdf
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12 Most Overlooked Details Your Blog May Be Missing | 12 Most
12 Most Overlooked Details Your Blog May Be Missing | 12 Most http://bit.ly/oZvAty /via me
Friday, July 22, 2011
New Web Stuff 07/23/2011
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@pammoran @blairteach My PLN Stars page also lists Administrators to follow: http://tinyurl.com/6l7luwj
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TEDxKids@Sunderland - 5/27/11 - YouTube
TEDx talks from 8 and 9 year olds from Sunderland, now appearing on the TEDxYouth channel http://bit.ly/oFEE7p please take a look and RT
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50 Beautiful and Creative Business Card Designs | Web Design Blog, Web Designer Resources
50 Beautiful & Creative #Business Card Designs http://bit.ly/kvaaKV (rt @2experts @cindyvriend) #Design
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The GPlus Info: Google+ and Teaching Social Media
The GPlus Info: Google+ and Teaching Social Media http://bit.ly/oPZwzU
Thursday, July 21, 2011
New Web Stuff 07/22/2011
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iPad Animating with DoInk Animation & Drawing App and Wacom Bamboo Stylus - YouTube
Cool YouTube video: Creating on the iPad http://bit.ly/q615Jb Could watch this for hours! #ipad #edapp
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Common core has a new adopter - Thought you’d enjoy an article I found on Trove: http://tinyurl.com/3ukglt2... http://tumblr.com/x6x3lzttul
Tuesday, July 19, 2011
New Web Stuff 07/20/2011
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WeatherSpark | Beautiful Weather Graphs and Maps
If you're exploring weather, check out http://t.co/e6Mxuct for charts & graphs. Cool! #scichat
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Fat-to-Fit: 50 Easy Ways to Lose Weight - Part 1 - National fitness | Examiner.com
Fat-to-Fit: 50 Easy Ways to Lose Weight by @stefanpinto| http://bit.ly/cmqIa4 #Health #Fitness
Sunday, July 17, 2011
New Web Stuff 07/18/2011
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the root zone database is key to student research in gaining global perspectives http://bit.ly/3yY9Sk #cmi2011
Saturday, July 16, 2011
New Web Stuff 07/17/2011
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First grade class blog from Canada with great student videos http://bit.ly/3t5MP #cmi2011
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How about using the Google Lit Trip model for learning about the 50 states #cmi2011 http://moby.to/xsffnp
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Students creating tutorials...explaining how things work.take a look at Kathy Cassidy 1st grade blog. #cmi2011 http://moby.to/xww71c
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A Media Specialist's Guide to the Internet: 20 Places to Find Rubrics and Rubric Templates
RT @cmt1: RT @AuntyTech: 20 places to find rubrics and rubric templates http://is.gd/WEtv9I #tlchat #edtech @karinhess #cmi2011
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What did Harry Potter learn at Hogwarts? - The Answer Sheet - The Washington Post
Here's some magical mapping for all conference attendees! http://wapo.st/riCEtg #cmi2011
Friday, July 15, 2011
New Web Stuff 07/16/2011
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Apps, Ideas, & Advice for Using Tablets (Android or iPad) - Classroom 2.0
Join the discussion: "Apps, Ideas, & Advice for Using Tablets (Android or iPad)" on Classroom 2.0: http://ning.it/qjrp08 @fisher1000
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
New Web Stuff 07/13/2011
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Free Technology for Teachers: PadCamp - An EdCamp Dedicated to Tablets
New post: PadCamp - An EdCamp Dedicated to Tablets http://goo.gl/fb/MJaDY
Monday, July 11, 2011
New Web Stuff 07/12/2011
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"Message From a Charter School: Thrive or Transfer
"Message From a Charter School: Thrive or Transfer" NY Times http://nyti.ms/oO98qt
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49 Why “I Don’t Do Technology” Isn’t Acceptable | 1eConnected Principals
Connected Principals: "Why "I Don't Do Technology" Isn't Acceptable" http://t.co/rrlBpYP #npspanthers
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Blog Bites
I’ve had several ideas on my mind these last few days and rather than develop all of them into full blog posts, I thought I’d do snapshots of all of the ideas. I’ll have quite a bit to share this coming week, though...hopefully with a bit more depth than what is represented here! Hope everyone has had a great weekend.
CMI 2011
I’m heading to Saratoga Springs this week for the International Curriculum Mapping Institute. We have so many excellent sessions this year around Mapping, Common Core, Digital Literacy, Leadership, and more! I am so looking forward to seeing everyone and exploring the intersection of curriculum and the 21st Century. I love that all of our sessions this year are collaborative and allow for modeling the practices we’re asking teachers to engage in when they return to their respective schools. I also love that we’ve already had interactions through the Curriculum 21 Ning and on Twitter from international participants who are attending. I’m especially excited that our friend, Stephen Wilmarth, is bringing a contingent of Chinese students who are in the US exploring universities. He’s dropping by the Mapping Institute with the kids, and I can’t wait.
Transformers: Less Than Meets The Mind
My wife and I went to see Transformers 3 last night. Yawn. I’m usually all for the smash ‘em up / blow up everything movies but this one was REALLY bad. The story was so thin, the acting just terrible--the only thing holding the movie afloat were the special effects, and sometimes, they were a little too special...and messy. I don’t mean to deconstruct popular media every chance I get (my wife would disagree with that statement--and I still have bruises from seeing the last Star Wars movie). But this movie had me thinking that it was the perfect visual metaphor for what technology looks like in many schools today. ALL FLASH but NOTHING UNDERNEATH. I thought (out loud in the movie theater to my wife, which apparently is a greater crime than making a shoddy movie) that it was a shame that so much thought and planning go into the effects but not into the story. Does this make anyone else think of interactive whiteboards? Maybe it’s just me. (Unless Bill Ferriter from the Center for Teaching Quality is reading this...I bet he’d agree.)
Grow or Go
In New York State, everyone is up in arms about the Race to the Top’s new Evaluation component, which I’ve lovingly renamed “Grow or Go.” There are many components and nuances that are still being explored and I think it’s time to just step back and look at the big picture, which is that 95% of teachers will have no issues. The teaching standards that are being used as a large chunk of a teacher’s evaluation are based on Charlotte Danielson’s Frameworks and/or INTASC standards. We’re not talking about a complete deconstruction of the familiar and replacing it with the unknown. To the 5% that will have to do some major paradigm shifting--I hope they can see the value of educating today’s kids with tomorrow’s methodologies and resources. We’re preparing these kids for the world THEY are graduating into, not confining them to our experiences and/or comforts.
Text Complexity Audit
In the last few workshops I’ve done, there have been many conversations about literacy and text complexity, specifically in relation to the Common Core. As I prepare for upcoming workshops and conferences, I thought it would be a good idea to capture the complexity of the texts I’ve been reading lately. Using a web service called Lexile.com, I searched for authors that I’ve read in the last month as well as found lexile levels for newspapers I read. I wanted to know if my actual everyday reading was matching what the research was saying about text complexities and at what levels readers in the real world should be reading. I’m sharing the visual with you and you can draw your own conclusions from it. I will say, I’m pleasantly surprised by what I found. Additionally, I thought it would be a great idea to have students visualize this as well, perhaps as a foundational activity at the beginning of the school year from which they can grow...perhaps adding to the visual over the course of the year? (Maybe using Glogster?)
Saturday, July 9, 2011
New Web Stuff 07/10/2011
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Photo: Make a Thumbnail.com turns any photo into a thumbnail so you can share it online. Simply choose your... http://tumblr.com/xtl3ee9p2b
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Twitter begins promoting content longer than 140 characters - TNW Media
Friday, July 8, 2011
New Web Stuff 07/09/2011
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ipodtouchclassroom [licensed for non-commercial use only] / FrontPage
@mrsbocchinoTIS @ASCD @fisher1000 Also this: http://t.co/SIpfIE2 which is initiated by my colleague @PCSTech
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Apps in Education: How to Design a Beautiful iPad Lesson:
How to Design a Beautiful iPad Lesson: http://zite.to/lf0fmZ via @zite
Thursday, July 7, 2011
New Web Stuff 07/08/2011
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Incompatible Browser | Facebook
Common Core Fan Pages on Facebook (Yes, REALLY!) http://on.fb.me/pvFWLx ♫ http://blip.fm/~15x6f0
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Wiki Summarizer: A Google Wonder Wheel Substitute - The Tempered Radical
Wiki Summarizer: A Google Wonder Wheel Substitute - The Tempered Radical - http://shar.es/Hwq5U
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23 Parent & Teacher Guide | Toontastic1c | Launchpad Toys
Cool that Toontastic has a parent/teacher guide http://launchpadtoys.com/toontastic/parent-teacher-guide/
Wednesday, July 6, 2011
New Web Stuff 07/07/2011
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Just Free Books - A search engine to find only free ebooks.
The Ultimate eBook Search Engine-Just Free Books: http://bit.ly/h06FmT
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Information Is Beautiful | Ideas, issues, knowledge, data - visualized!
Data as Art - http://bit.ly/2FzLSD Ideas, issues, knowledge, data, all visualised ... beautifully! Great for classroom discussions!
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My Edmodo page (for those not familiar with it): http://tinyurl.com/4jcrzaz #sschat
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RT : New learning environments in the 21st century
RT @missnoor28: New learning environments in the 21st century [PDF] http://bit.ly/k3LjcI #edtech #elearning
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2b100 Essential Web 2.0 Tools for Teachers | 37Online Degree
100 Essential Web 2.0 Tools for #Teachers http://bit.ly/lDIgAk #edchat #edtech #ukedchat #eduswe #finnedchat #addcym #teachertips
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S.C.O.R.E. Language Arts Tools and resources http://t.co/7kWjUVD via @Diigo
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Snap Bird - search twitter's history
RT @AngelaMaiers: Checking out: http://snapbird.org/ nice way to capture tweet histories
Tuesday, July 5, 2011
New Web Stuff 07/06/2011
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iPad Helps Little Girl See More Clearly, Improve Reading And Study Skills -- AppAdvice
iPad Helps Little Girl See More Clearly, Improve Reading And Study Skills -- AppAdvice http://ht.ly/5wk0u
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Free Printable Graphic Organizers - Freeology
http://bit.ly/kPi2ck a whole bunch of free graphic organizers. #ascdsc11
Monday, July 4, 2011
New Web Stuff 07/05/2011
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22 Mind-Blowing Infographics on Education | Socrato Learning Analytics Blog
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10 Jaw-Droppingly Awesome Infographics on Education | Socrato Learning Analytics Blog
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LOVE this....SuperLame! Take your photos and add word bubbles to them. Easy to share too. http://ow.ly/5vJHU
Sunday, July 3, 2011
New Web Stuff 07/04/2011
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Free Technology for Teachers: 3 Free Android Apps for Recording Oral History
Free Technology for Teachers: 3 Free Android Apps for Recording Oral History http://flpbd.it/Gios
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KB...Konnected - Jed-iPadMaster!: Article: The 6 Best Online Writing Resources for Teachers
Jed-iPadMaster!: Article: The 6 Best Online Writing Resources for Teachers - teachersharetp: http://tumblr.com/xtl3ap2j37
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Socrative | Student response system | Engage audiences
Bill Sheskey demos "Socrative" http://bit.ly/jHI4ro during his session on upgrading curriculum maps with digital tools #ascdsc11
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Catch up on photos and video footage of #ascdsc11 in our Conference Daily here! http://bit.ly/joUkcY
Saturday, July 2, 2011
New Web Stuff 07/03/2011
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@heidihayesjacob would approve - BHS Invited Educators Textless Resource Collaborative http://bit.ly/mv5CGt #ascdsc11
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Global Virtual Classroom Cool Tools: Store and Share Files
RT @jbarnstable: Great collaborative storage space. http://bit.ly/lR6dYt #globaled #flatclass #edtech
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PHD Comics: What year are you?
What year are YOU in http://ping.fm/En5lt