Mr Bass Online

About a week ago I had a somewhat heated conversation about how technology is affecting students and their attention. Our biggest point of disagreement surrounded social and communication skills of “kids these days.” I’ll spare the details and get right to the point. Yes, kids communicate differently than many adults. Yes, there is some disconnect between the virtual and the real in some cases. However, a blanket statement about how Facebook and texting is the fall of communication isn’t just wrong… it’s ludicrous. Students today are reading, writing and communicating more than any other time in history but their communication is different than our own. I remember being in college as email was being introduced. I have to say, I was resistant. I saw email and text chat rooms as a waste of time but now it’s one of my primary forms of communication. At one time I made calls on my cell phone, now I do far more texting than talking. My communication has changed as technology has advanced and given me new ways to communicate. Yes, I want my children to be able to talk to real live people and have good social skills but I also understand that they will be tools that haven’t even been invented yet for their communications as adults.

So where does that leave us? Right now it seems that the most common approach for schools and educators is to ban the tools from use in the classroom under the guise of “removing the distraction” for students and focusing on more traditional classroom instruction. This practice makes students very successful at hiding their technology and communications and gives them great practice at playing the game of school and then going home to learn. Does that seem wrong to anyone else? By limiting their access to tools, they’re getting their education out in the world rather than in school. So, what becomes our message? Do we think that they will somehow magically figure out how to use resources safely? What about how to effectively write online? Will they know anything about copyright and ethical use? Ignoring these communication tools and processes just does a disservice.

Interestingly, I just read an article in Slate entitled “Don’t Touch That Dial!” which addresses the fact that this fear of advancing technology is not new. Anxiety has always existed, but, in this age of information and change, we as educators must also adapt.

21st Century Education, Reflections, leadership communication

As I was perusing my Google Reader, I ran across Seth Godin’s talk at 99% called “Quieting the Lizard Brain”. The question is poses is “why do human beings sabotage their work so often?”  As I watched his talk, I began to wonder h0w we can help students to avoid self-sabotage in the classroom and in their work.  As more students create their own experiences and begin to publish, how can we give them (and teachers as well) the freedom to put their work out there and get beyond the excuses as to why they can’t or shouldn’t.  I don’t have answers, but I did want to share.

As seen at Vimeo.

Education, Reflections, teaching

Over winter break I took advantage of a little time off to upgrade one of my laptops and one of my desktops to Windows 7, Microsoft’s newest operating system.  Both of these computers were running Vista prior to their upgrade and I must say that I do like the new OS.  During the same time period, I installed Google’s Chromium OS onto a 4 gig flash drive and boot my eeepc from it.  Showing my true inner geek, I thought that it might be fun to have a 5 computers running 5 different operating systems all at the same time just to see what I thought of each one in a side by side comparison.

I booted up my eeepc with Chromium OS, started up my work XP laptop, brought out my laptop with Windows 7 installed, dug out a MacBook with OS X and set all of these up beside my desktop with Vista running.  Granted, my wife and kids looked at me like I was a little insane, but I wanted to see the differences.  What I found is that I simply don’t care.  Sure, I like having Windows 7 and the new features that accompany it, but I also like the tried and true nature of XP. OS X has some great features but, as I said, I had to dig out that computer so it’s not one that I use all the time.  Then there’s Chrome OS. As it’s in beta and really hasn’t been released, I’m sure there will be more coming in the future, but right now, I don’t see that as my primary operating system.

As I was looking at all these systems and computers, I started wondering about the operating systems that my kids will use in their futures.  Will they beg me for a Mac in the future or will they just want a computer and an internet connection?  I imagine it will be the later. Thinking about my computing habits, with the exception of some specialized software, almost all of my work is now done online. Sure, I still want to be able to launch Photoshop or do some higher end video editing, but I think that for the most part I could do 90% of what I want to using online tools. Maybe Google is onto something with their OS that’s really just a browser. Regardless, I think it’s time that schools start thinking about their computing needs differently. License fees for software and operating systems may heed way to inexpensive hardware allowing for a more integrated experience. Regardless, the idea that students or teachers NEED to have a Mac or a PC may be on its way out. Instead, they need a computing device and a broadband connection so that they can complete projects and access information at will. That may be a tablet, a phone or an ipod touch, who knows?

I’m running Windows 7 and I like it, but the more I (as an adult and an educator) don’t care about what’s running on my computer, the more I wonder how important it is to students. Mac or PC, I don’t care, just give me the web and I’m all set.

Reflections, Technology, Tools, testing chrome, operating system, OSX, vista, windows 7

This post is by my colleague, Christian Goodrich, a former high school math teacher turned Technology Integration Specialist who is responsible for creating the tool which powers the Film Festival that we do in the district. I hope you enjoy his insight.

My job as a Technology Integration Specialist has taken me into some wonderful classrooms, blessed by provocative and dedicated teachers.  It pains me to say this is a rare occurrence.  Going into classrooms, no, but encountering a truly innovative teacher, far less often then I would like to speak of.  No names are required, but to preach and praise these amazing teachers does not happen nearly enough.  This is the only positive spin I can put on the solemn reality that many ‘teachers’ either don’t understand what it is to teach or are blind to the fact that I am talking about them.  Think… think hard, about the last time you felt good about what happened in your classroom.  If the first thought that comes to mind is that finals week has started, there is a very seriously problem.

How do we change this mindset?  I am not an expert by any means.  I can only call upon personal experience.  I felt that, while I was in the classroom, I did a fairly good job of reaching out to my students in an attempt to keep mathematics as engaging as possible.  I have learned now, this probably wasn’t the case.  What changes would I make?  What support would I want?  How could I grow as a teacher in an effort to better my students and not just myself?  If you have the answer, be prepared to make millions.  I don’t think I am unique in having these thoughts, but I fear there are far too many who don’t.   Finding a reflective teacher can sometimes be a chore, but ask the great ones what makes them great.  Again, I have no basis to claim this other than personal observation and discussion.  It all begins with reflection.

Understanding that you probably can’t do it all alone is another key.  Who out there really compliments you, both personally and professionally?  Too many times we find ourselves on an island, whether it be as a teacher, or department, or school.  I promise things are much easier, much more rewarding, and ultimately much more effective when built through collaboration.  I am lucky enough to be part of a department that embodies this characteristic.  Am I the strongest member of my team?  The answer is yes, and no.  Speaking with elementary students or elementary teachers, for that matter, is like Greek, not understandable and increasingly tedious.  Am I capable?  Absolutely because I am equipped with four or five people who can brilliantly weave their way through every facet of the elementary setting.  This is only one example, but if given the time I could recite example after example of how I have benefited by working in a team setting, and where the team has benefited from what I have to offer.  You are not alone in this.

As teachers, a byproduct of our message is accountably.  The word may never be uttered, but if you have ever asked your students to return homework or a permission slip, than you are ultimately teaching accountability.  We ask for/require it nearly everyday, and yet we as practitioners do not live by the same rules.  The benefit to living on the proverbial island is that we are only accountable to ourselves.  It is understandable that people would enjoy living this lifestyle; hard to screw up, especially with the warm blanket of tenure.  Even if it is not required, become accountable to someone, only your students will benefit.

If you take nothing from this, please just note I think we can all be great.  We can all learn to be reflective, collaborative and accountable, but as someone much smarter than I once said.  ‘You can be anything you want; nine times out of ten you just have to work stupid hard to get there.’  Look to your neighbor, they may be already.

– Christian Goodrich

Uncategorized

I work with teachers.  I work with A LOT of teachers. The work we do together encompasses many things, but mostly, I help them integrate technology into their classrooms, their lessons, and probably most importantly, I help them figure out how to help their students learn through technological tools. This morning I lost my mind for a little while due to some frustrations that I’m having around examples that are being set for teachers. Allow me to explain.

In my district we have a web-based, website authoring tool that we has been developed by our technology department for the purpose of providing teachers with a tool to make classroom websites that are hosted on district servers.  It’s not perfect, it’s still a work in progress. Sure, there are lots of tools out there that do the same thing, but the district provides this as a free place to keep parents and students updated on assignments and the daily classroom events. Teachers can even embed video from another in-house video hosting service as well as include all the embeddable tools that litter the internet these days. Basically, it’s a pretty good system.

I recognize that this is not really the norm. Many districts don’t have these resources for teachers and I’m glad that I can provide instruction on the best use of these sites so they are not simply document repositories, but that they also include instructional components.  What bothers me is that so many times, technology people (and this is not unique to my district), because they have more technical skills, create sites and structures using tools that are not available to the teachers that they are supporting. I’ve been guilty of this in the past and will probably do it again in the future, but I’m working on making sure that, as someone who supports teachers, the tools that I demo and the sites that I create can be used by them. It’s great that I know how to program Flash and HTML, but because I support teachers, I need to use tools to support them that they can actually use. Everything I make, demo or talk about is potentially something that a teacher in my district will want to use as a tool in their classroom and with their kids. Just because I have the technical ability, doesn’t mean that I should be free to create things that are unreachable for my teachers. By doing that I’m setting an an undoable example. Those of us who work with teachers need to be mindful of what our role is in our schools and districts.

It’s fun and easy to say “look what I can do” with a piece of software. Yes, it’s fun to make pretty pictures, but when teachers ask me to help them create the kinds of opportunities for their students and their classrooms using tools that they’ve seen me use, I need to be ready to help them make their goals into a reality. I don’t want to have to tell them that a higher end tool isn’t available to them because “they’re just a teacher” and it isn’t in the budget for you.

All of us who are involved in instructional technology and supporting teachers either at the building or district levels need to be cognizant of the tools that we use. We do set and example that is in fact doable.

There, rant over.

Education, Professional Development, Reflections, Technology equality, Tools

This morning I woke up at about 5 AM and wasn’t really interested in getting out of bed yet.  Everyone was still asleep so I rolled over, grabbed my iPod and proceeded to half watch, half listen to a TED talk by David Logan on Tribal Leadership. For the last two years, I’ve been thinking a lot about leadership and how it pertains to different groups both inside and outside of education. This was my first exposure to David and his book Tribal Leadership: Leveraging Natural Groups to Build a Thriving Organization. (Incidentially, Zappos is currently offering a download of the audio version of the book for free on their site.) In the book, David and his colleagues outline five different levels of tribes.

• Stage one – “Life Sucks”
• Stage two – “My Life Sucks”
• Stage three – “I’m great, and you’re not”
• Stage four – “We’re Great”
• Stage five – “Life is Great”

He goes into all of these levels and explains them individually, but I think that he makes some excellent points in his explanation.  When he addresses stage three, he talks about the idea of competition and that while it’s healthy and that we should be proud of accomplishments, there is a sense of individuality and participants of a group trying to outdo each other. As I read this I thought about my work and the students and teachers that I see everyday.  Teaching is a solitary profession.  That’s no secret. However, because of this solitude, there is a sense (especially at the secondary level) that the most important work being done is being done in my classroom. Because of a lack of collaboration across classrooms and outside of buildings, it’s easy to only look inward and focus on what I, as a teacher, can control. With that approach, moving to stage four is really difficult.  Logan acknowledges that often this is where tribes get and then stop.

In stage four, the participants recognize that they are a part of a group and part of the greater good.  They are a small piece of something that is makes a larger whole.  However, the focus is still inward on the group. I think that this is an important place for us to get in the world of education. It’s important that we see our student’s educational journey as a whole and recognize that there are many facets to this. As an English teacher, I often got caught up in my classroom and my building.  Now, I often fall into focusing on my buildings or my district instead of education as a whole. I’m not suggesting that this is easy but I am suggesting that this is worth it.

Finally, Logan talks about leaders of tribes and their role in change. One of his statements, and truly the reason that I decided to write about this, was about how great leaders who make change happen are fluent in all of the stages. He cites the Declaration of Independence and Ghandi and Martin Luther King as examples and notes that there are conflicting messages in their messages, but that those tribes who actually reach stage five are the ones who change the world.

As I think about the people that I follow in the world of education, it occurs to me that, although they may have differing messages, the ones who are really making strides and making people think are those who can address all these different stages in which tribes exist. When I hear them speak at a conference, they address all those different areas and help teachers wherever they are in their careers.  When I teach a class or give a talk, I want every single person to be able to walk away with something. I don’t pretend that I’m fluent in all stages, but I now have another context in which to think about where people are in their work. Not bad for 17 minutes of groggy watching.

If you’re not familiar with TED talks and you like to listen to really smart people, I highly suggest a visit to http://www.ted.com.

Education, Reflections, leadership community, TED, tribes

One of my favorite tools in the Google arsenal is that of Google Alerts. Essentially, Google Alerts is a tool that will do an ongoing search for you automatically and then email you the results on a regular basis.  So, imagine that you are in the market for a new netbook (as I was last summer).  Asus had just come out with the eeepc 1000HE and I was interested. However, I wanted to let some of the early adopters get one and make their recommendations as to the feel and workings of the machine.  Instead of going everyday and doing a blog search looking for reviews, I set up a Google Alert to do a comprehensive search on the term “eeepc 1000HE” and to email me the results once a day.

From then on I got a daily email anytime there was a website that would have shown up in my search results.  I love Alerts for the same reason that I love RSS, it saves me time and energy. My searches come to my inbox automatically and I can use my time in other ways.  Give it a try.

Google Tools, Online Apps, Tools alerts, search

I just spent a few days at the National Staff Development Council’s Annual Convention that was held in St. Louis this year. Overall the conference was really good. I got to hear Michael Fullan and Geoffrey Canada speak so I now have two more people who’s work I need to follow. However, there was one conversation had with another conference goer around the topic of student behavior online that I can’t seem to shake. Our conversation took place in a hallway and basically went like this…

Conference goer: What we need in my school is a better way to monitor student behavior online.

Me: What do you mean?

Conference goer: You know, when students are on the computers, I want to be sure that they stay on task. I don’t want them playing games or checking their email.

Me: How do you handle it now?

Conference goer: Basically, I kick them off the computer if they’re doing anything that what I’m asking them to do.

Me: And how’s that working for you.

Conference goer: It’s not.

Ok, so obviously, I don’t have the exact words, but I think you get the gist of it. This isn’t a new conversation, I’ve had it with many teachers and administrators in the past, but this time I’m still thinking (dwelling) on it.  So, I’d like to outline a few strategies.

1. If you really feel as though you must monitor your students every move online, get out of your chair, walk around the room and interact with students as they do their work.  Sitting at your computer checking email and surfing the web while your students work is not the answer.  Even though you can use software allowing you to “spy” on their screens, this doesn’t mean that the interaction that you have with your students should end.  Stand up and be “on task” yourself.  Your task is teaching.
2. Design lessons that are compelling enough that students will be engaged.  If they’re engaged in what they’re doing, they probably won’t feel the need to get “off task”.
3. Create opportunities for students to make connections.  If you see them as “off task” because they aren’t on the specific website that you started them on, consider that maybe the nature of the web has come into play and they’ve followed a link and are making new connections.
4. Finally, and I think this one is the most important one, instead of banning them from the use of technology, follow the code of conduct for your building.  If a student isn’t on task when they’re writing a paper, should their pencil be taken away?  No, instead, expectations are set and then there are consequences for not following through with those expectations.  Taking the tool away is not helping, it’s hindering.

This reminds me of a column I read in T.H.E. Journal entitled Don’t Filter Out Responsibility from June 2008 regarding filtering.  I think the premise is the same, as teachers we must be responsible for teaching our students how to be responsible themselves.

Education, Reflections, Technology, cyberethics

This morning I did a round table sessions at the NCTE Annual Convention on the use of various Google tools in the classroom. The session itself went very well and I had the opportunity to meet a number of teachers from around the country who are doing amazing things.  In this session I talked about a variety of Google tools, some common, some more obscure, but as I talked about each tool, I tried to give specific examples as to how it might be used in the classroom on a daily basis and, more importantly, ideas on how they could start using it immediately.  I made my best effort to give and overview of each of 8 tools in a 20 minute time period and, while I know I didn’t do any single tool the justice that I would have liked, I think I did bring an awareness of some possibilities of each tool.  As I now sit and reflect on the session, I think that was my overall goal.  There are thousands of how-to’s on all of these tools online and, truly, is a conference really the best place to show people what to click on?  I’ve seen too many conference presentations in which a presenter goes through a process of showing how to create a wiki or podcast. Luckily, at NCTE, Kylene Beers brought in Tech-to-go kiosks where people can learn about the specifics of a program or the process of a project. With the introduction of these kiosks, that really should limit the need for the how-to and give presenters far more freedom to explore possibilities and frame the content in theory and real world examples.  Now, whether I did that or not, I’m not completely sure, but I think that everyone walked away with something new, either a tool or an idea.  At least that’s my hope.

This brings me to why I present at conferences, blog and teach teachers about technology integration.  Basically, I remember being in a classroom. I remember what it was like to be so overwhelmed with grades, grading and discipline.  I remember the frustration I felt when I was told “No!” by my technology department. But I also remember coming to NCTE for the first time and feeling like my world opened up as a teacher.  I also remember trying something new with my students using technology and having it work.  I also remember how my students reacted when I told them I needed their help to try something new and how willing they were to give me feedback and help me change my practice.  All these things I remember have made me the educator that I am.  I try not to say “no” very often and I try to share my knowledge.  When I have the opportunity to present content to teachers, I want it to be worth their while, regardless of their technology proficiency, age or content area.  I want them to know the “why” as well as the “how.” And I want them to be successful so they will be willing to continue to grow in their journey. That’s why I do what I do.  It’s not groundbreaking or all that innovative, but I do believe that it’s real and that, in a small way, it helps.

21st Century Education, Education, Google Tools, NCTE, Reflections, Technology

For the last year or so I’ve had a little application called Dropbox installed on my main laptop.  I hadn’t used it much for no reason other than I just never really got to it.  For those of you that aren’t familiar with Dropbox, here’s the description from their website
“Dropbox is software that syncs your files online and across your computers. Put your files into your Dropbox on one computer, and they’ll be instantly available on any of your other computers that you’ve installed Dropbox on (Windows, Mac, and Linux too!) Because a copy of your files are stored on Dropbox’s secure servers, you can also access them from any computer or mobile device using the Dropbox website.”

On any given day I use up to four different computers for various purposes and it’s nice to have my commonly used files (mostly pictures and a few documents) on any of those computers.  While there are many cloud services that will let me access files online, this one actually copies them to the server as a backup and syncs them to all my computers.  Bottom line, I think it’s fabulous.

Tools