Okay, so this blog has been a lot more "intermittent" than I had planned! I suppose I shouldn't be surprised at how easily I got sidetracked. Such is life. But even so, I've been learning and learning and learning since last I reflected here.
The National Educational Computing Conference that I spoke of in my last post was wonderful and, as usual, caused me to once again think about things in new ways. The focus was on innovation and creativity, not on technology. That may sound odd for a technology in education conference, but the point is that we need to move our thinking beyond merely what technology we use or don't or how well we use it. Yes, technology allows us to do things in different ways, faster, more easily sometimes, and to share it with the world in a split second. However, what is the content that we are sharing? One of the speakers, Tim Tyson, principal of Mabry Middle School in Marietta, Georgia, said something that really stuck with me. His students participate in an annual film festival, the theme being "Making the World a Better Place." When he is working with students his first question to them is "what is it that you want to say that is so important the whole world should know it?"
As I move forward in a school year that is already so incredibly busy that I can't seem to come even close to catching up, I try to keep reminding myself to reflect on that question.
Tuesday, October 23, 2007
Tuesday, June 19, 2007
National Educational Computing Conference
On Saturday I'll be on my way to Atlanta, GA to attend the National Educational Computing Conference (NECC), sponsored by the International Society of Technology in Education (ISTE). This is the 4th year that I've attended this annual conference and it is always a rich experience. It is one of the main sources of personal professional development for me and offers me a chance to learn from and collaborate with experts and novices from all over the world.
I will be posting information from the sessions I attend here on my blog. Along with some of my colleagues from BOCES I will be producing podcasts about our experiences as well (In the NECC of Time 2007). I will also be a volunteer conference correspondent for eSchool News Online. So, there will be many opportunities for me to share with all of you about what I'm learning.
Check back here for posts and links. I'll try hard to keep things updated in a timely fashion.
I will be posting information from the sessions I attend here on my blog. Along with some of my colleagues from BOCES I will be producing podcasts about our experiences as well (In the NECC of Time 2007). I will also be a volunteer conference correspondent for eSchool News Online. So, there will be many opportunities for me to share with all of you about what I'm learning.
Check back here for posts and links. I'll try hard to keep things updated in a timely fashion.
And a Baby Shall Teach Me
Another event that has caused me to once again really think hard and reflectively about teaching and learning is one that you might not expect. Last July I became a grandma for the first time. It's absolutely the most glorious thing that has happened to me since the birth of my own children! On a personal level, I knew this would be a wonderful experience. I didn't expect it to have an impact on me professionally, but indeed it has.
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As I sit with my granddaughter (11 months old) and she plays with the plastic ball that you put the shapes inside, I tell her the name of each shape that she picks up, turn the ball so that correct hole for that shape is on top, and help to guide her hands as she tries to put the shape inside. Then I praise her for doing a good job. Next shape, next shape, next shape and so on until all 10 blocks are inside the ball. Then we dump it out and do it again. Sometimes she wants to play over and over and sometimes she moves quickly on to a different endevour. Who determines when we play this game? Brianna does. Who determines when we are finished? Brianna does. As I was playing the shape game for the 10th time one day, I started thinking about the teaching and learning that was happening and how that connects to what we do or don't do in schools.
How did Brianna become interested in this game? I showed it to her one day (Teacher introducing new content). She was curious and wanted to do something with it (Student interest in new content - the proverbial "teachable moment"). That determined when we began. I didn't wait until a previously determined time in the "baby curriculum" when I knew that it would be good for her to learn about the shape ball. There is no scope and sequence to this. I didn't wait until a list of prerequisite skills in isolation was learned first. Brianna can't name the shapes. She can't even talk yet. But still I tell her the name of each shape as we play. I have an expectation that she will be able to learn the names of the shapes when she's ready, so patiently I say them over and over again. There is no test. I don't say the names 3 times and then stop, deciding that her time is up and she's failed to learn them. I know in my heart of hearts that I'll keep saying the names and some day, she'll start saying them back. She can't find the correct holes for each shape on her own. This is not an independent skill for her yet, so I provide the scaffolding she needs in order to be successful. Again, I have an expectation that some day she'll be able to do this on her own and until that time, Grammy will provide the help she needs, whether it takes weeks, months or even years. I think that we, as teachers, understand the need for scaffolding, and we do provide it initially, but do we provide it as long as a child needs it or do we take it away at a predetermined time when we "think they should know it by now?" Repetition after a point seems to drive adults nuts, but not kids. Brianna will play this same game over and over and over again with me. Brianna decides when we play this shape ball game and how long we play it (child centered learning). Brianna is in control of her own learning. And there is no fear of failure, no negative and positive. She'll make mistakes and I'll show her how to fix them and neither one of us will be sad or discouraged or upset. As a matter of fact, we'll rejoice in each tiny step Brianna makes towards doing this on her own.
So what is the result of all of this? Brianna loves to learn. She understands that this game has a purpose. There is something you are supposed to do with those shape blocks. She's learned that they go into the holes and that you keep doing it until they are all inside. Then you start over again. She rarely stops before all the shapes are inside the ball. She seems to understand that the game has a beginning and an end. She knows Grammy will be there to help. She gets the ball, brings it to me, watches my hands and my face as we play. She "studies" me and the ball and the shapes. She knows there is something to learn and she wants to learn it. And observing all this in her, and participating in the process, is grandly exciting and rewarding for me. Brianna has a whole world of content to learn, but I'm learning too, as I take the opportunity to reflect on my own practice.
Why are we so infinitely patient with babies? Why do we so eagerly and freely model and teach and guide, never worrying about how many mistakes are made or how long it takes? Why do we lose this when we go into the classroom and are faced with students who can walk and talk? Being a grandma and getting so close to the core of teaching and learning definitely gives me a renewed perspective on what it means to be a learner and what it means to be a teacher.
This album is powered by BubbleShare - Add to my blog
As I sit with my granddaughter (11 months old) and she plays with the plastic ball that you put the shapes inside, I tell her the name of each shape that she picks up, turn the ball so that correct hole for that shape is on top, and help to guide her hands as she tries to put the shape inside. Then I praise her for doing a good job. Next shape, next shape, next shape and so on until all 10 blocks are inside the ball. Then we dump it out and do it again. Sometimes she wants to play over and over and sometimes she moves quickly on to a different endevour. Who determines when we play this game? Brianna does. Who determines when we are finished? Brianna does. As I was playing the shape game for the 10th time one day, I started thinking about the teaching and learning that was happening and how that connects to what we do or don't do in schools.
How did Brianna become interested in this game? I showed it to her one day (Teacher introducing new content). She was curious and wanted to do something with it (Student interest in new content - the proverbial "teachable moment"). That determined when we began. I didn't wait until a previously determined time in the "baby curriculum" when I knew that it would be good for her to learn about the shape ball. There is no scope and sequence to this. I didn't wait until a list of prerequisite skills in isolation was learned first. Brianna can't name the shapes. She can't even talk yet. But still I tell her the name of each shape as we play. I have an expectation that she will be able to learn the names of the shapes when she's ready, so patiently I say them over and over again. There is no test. I don't say the names 3 times and then stop, deciding that her time is up and she's failed to learn them. I know in my heart of hearts that I'll keep saying the names and some day, she'll start saying them back. She can't find the correct holes for each shape on her own. This is not an independent skill for her yet, so I provide the scaffolding she needs in order to be successful. Again, I have an expectation that some day she'll be able to do this on her own and until that time, Grammy will provide the help she needs, whether it takes weeks, months or even years. I think that we, as teachers, understand the need for scaffolding, and we do provide it initially, but do we provide it as long as a child needs it or do we take it away at a predetermined time when we "think they should know it by now?" Repetition after a point seems to drive adults nuts, but not kids. Brianna will play this same game over and over and over again with me. Brianna decides when we play this shape ball game and how long we play it (child centered learning). Brianna is in control of her own learning. And there is no fear of failure, no negative and positive. She'll make mistakes and I'll show her how to fix them and neither one of us will be sad or discouraged or upset. As a matter of fact, we'll rejoice in each tiny step Brianna makes towards doing this on her own.
So what is the result of all of this? Brianna loves to learn. She understands that this game has a purpose. There is something you are supposed to do with those shape blocks. She's learned that they go into the holes and that you keep doing it until they are all inside. Then you start over again. She rarely stops before all the shapes are inside the ball. She seems to understand that the game has a beginning and an end. She knows Grammy will be there to help. She gets the ball, brings it to me, watches my hands and my face as we play. She "studies" me and the ball and the shapes. She knows there is something to learn and she wants to learn it. And observing all this in her, and participating in the process, is grandly exciting and rewarding for me. Brianna has a whole world of content to learn, but I'm learning too, as I take the opportunity to reflect on my own practice.
Why are we so infinitely patient with babies? Why do we so eagerly and freely model and teach and guide, never worrying about how many mistakes are made or how long it takes? Why do we lose this when we go into the classroom and are faced with students who can walk and talk? Being a grandma and getting so close to the core of teaching and learning definitely gives me a renewed perspective on what it means to be a learner and what it means to be a teacher.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
Excited About Teaching Again
I've been a teacher for 22 years. Gosh, that makes me feel old! When you've been doing anything for a very long time, you risk becoming complacent, becoming "ordinary," even of becoming "stale." While settling into a familiar groove can be comfortable for a while, in time I find it lacks fulfilment and satisfaction for me. When I find myself in this situation, I begin to reexamine what I do and look for something that will relight that spark that gets me really excited about teaching and learning. Several "events" in my life and career lately have relit that spark for me and have gotten me to reflect on my practice and become really excited about the process of teaching and learning once again.
One of those events has been creating and teaching my first online course using Moodle. If you are not a participant in this course (Issues, Trends, and Tools in Education and Technology in a Web 2.0 World) but are interested in finding out more about it, email me and I'll be happy to tell you more. This activity has caused me to be:
Additionally, I took an online course not too long ago. As an online class student myself, I formed definite opinions as to what worked well, what didn't work well, and what I would do differently if I ever taught an online course. Now it's time to put my money where my mouth is and apply what I learned about taking and teaching an online course from a student's perspective.
One of those events has been creating and teaching my first online course using Moodle. If you are not a participant in this course (Issues, Trends, and Tools in Education and Technology in a Web 2.0 World) but are interested in finding out more about it, email me and I'll be happy to tell you more. This activity has caused me to be:
A Learner
At a very basic level, I needed to learn how to use Moodle in order to put the course together. I'm still learning how to use it as my students and I move through it together over the life of this course. It's a constant learning experience for me. And knowing that taking this course is a stretch for some of my students who do not consider themselves to be very "tech savvy," I think its really important for me to be stretching myself as a learner as well.Additionally, I took an online course not too long ago. As an online class student myself, I formed definite opinions as to what worked well, what didn't work well, and what I would do differently if I ever taught an online course. Now it's time to put my money where my mouth is and apply what I learned about taking and teaching an online course from a student's perspective.
A Communicator
One of the things I enjoy most about teaching is the interactions you have with your students. These teaching, learning, and communication interactions are critical to creating a classroom environment where learning can occur and is valued. When you are teaching online I think it is still just as critical for the teacher to have ongoing interactions with his/her students. However, since the environment is different, I need to rethink the process and methods by which I do interact with my students so that they feel supported, encouraged and valued.
A Teacher
Much of what I'm teaching in this course I've taught or presented in one form or another in the past during in-person classes or meetings. However, putting this content online has caused me to need to rethink my teaching practice. I need to make the content engaging, clear, "just enough" information, not too much so that it's overwhelming or too little to be valuable. I need to anticipate the questions, concerns, misconceptions, confusions, etc. and try to plan for those things in advance since students won't be able to just raise their hands and ask. And I need to be able to provide content that will be interesting and accessible to a range of students - those who are fairly technology savvy as well as those who feel less knowledgable or who are less comfortable with technology.
All of this has caused me to really examine and reflect upon own teaching practice, to challenge my usual routines, to "clean up" my pedagogy. This takes me a bit out of my comfort zone as a "seasoned" teacher, but I find opportunities like this exciting and rewarding. I think stretching my thinking and my practice ultimately helps me to grow and improve as an educator, no matter what environment I'm teaching in.
All of this has caused me to really examine and reflect upon own teaching practice, to challenge my usual routines, to "clean up" my pedagogy. This takes me a bit out of my comfort zone as a "seasoned" teacher, but I find opportunities like this exciting and rewarding. I think stretching my thinking and my practice ultimately helps me to grow and improve as an educator, no matter what environment I'm teaching in.
Monday, June 4, 2007
Welcome to My Blog
I've been a blogger for some time, but usually I'm facilitating school-wide blogs for students (Village Poetry Portal, Respect Week Blog, Burch Blogosphere, Terrific Tales) or helping teachers in their classroom blogging efforts. I also facilitate a technology study group blog for teachers (EdTech Buzz) and also one for my instructional tech specialists group at BOCES (Digital Illuminations). I don't really have a blog of my own that I can use for reflection and exploration. That is, until now.
My goal for this blog is to do just that - to reflect on teaching, learning, technology and more. Right now I'm teaching my second online class, the first one I've done using Moodle, so I'll be reflecting a bit on that experience to begin with.
In my sidebar, you will see links to the blogs of the students in my current online class. Please feel free to read their blogs and comment also.
My goal for this blog is to do just that - to reflect on teaching, learning, technology and more. Right now I'm teaching my second online class, the first one I've done using Moodle, so I'll be reflecting a bit on that experience to begin with.
In my sidebar, you will see links to the blogs of the students in my current online class. Please feel free to read their blogs and comment also.
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