Tag Archives: blogging

“Out of the Egg Crate” Guest Post: Jennifer Lalley

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Last spring, I “offered my blog” to any and all Junior High faculty who might want to guest post. I thought it might be one small step on the journey of trying something new and thinking out loud with a public reflection – for some, like trying on clothes before deciding what to buy. Then, I waited. And waited.

Wait time is an invaluable tool in the educator’s tool kit, eh? (pronounced “A” and in honor of @gcouros). Since I extended the invitation, 112 days have gone by.

But learning is the constant – we should guarantee that people will learn…at high levels. Time and support should be the variables.

Thanks to the support offered at Faculty Forum, and perhaps some other support I am unaware of, a Junior High faculty member has submitted a guest post. Many thanks to Jennifer Lalley for taking this opportunity.

It’s the beginning of a new year, and we are all frantically trying to keep track of the influx of information coming our way. However, something about this year feels different for me (Jen Lalley). At the moment, I feel more energized than overwhelmed. Yesterday in the faculty meeting, I felt thankful for the time and space to speak openly and honestly about the changes here at Westminster. Although it’s hard, it’s valuable to have differing opinions on how technology is affecting our students and our classrooms. I left our meeting wanting more discussion. Can we continue it here?

Some of the themes thrown out…

– How do we find balance with screen time/non-screen time?
– How do we communicate to parents what we are doing in school?
– What is valuable about “traditional” teaching, and what needs revision?
– How is technology transforming pedagogy?

As said in the meeting, I echo how all of this boils down to “learning and sharing.” To me, that’s the reason we blog, MOODLE, tweet, journal, etc. Honestly, there are times when I’m working with other teachers when my individual spot in the “egg crate culture” seems nice and cozy and warm. It’s safe there, and I can move at my own pace.

There’s a problem with that statement, ”at my own pace.” It’s not really about me. It’s about the students. The moments I venture out of the egg crate have made me sharper, and most importantly, have engaged my students on a deeper level.

Great NYT Piece: “Education Needs a Digital-Age Upgrade”

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Thanks to colleague Mary Cobb, who shares with me what she is reading, I explored this “Opinionator” commentary from Virgina Heffernen (click or tap on image below). I thought Heffernen’s piece provided a strong summary of the 21st-century-education argument. [Also, I was reminded of a post I wrote a few months back, and I was thankful to have that reflection recorded (one of the reasons “Why to blog?” discussed at yesterday’s Blogging as Digital Portfolio session).] With appreciation on my part, Heffernen captures that the industrial model of education is not necessarily working for many; however, 21st century education resembles classical education and a return to the past, as much as a forecast to the future. What we hope for students is a blend of the traditional methods that have proved effective, combined with innovative learning that can reach a developing brain being reared and “envionmentalized” today.

FedEx Session: Blogging as Digital Portfolio

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Today, as part of Westminster’s Faculty Forum, we are working in a “FedEx Day” format. Several faculty created workshops for which people could register. Various other faculty organically gathered into groups to co-labor on particular projects. Here’s a small sample of the workshop titles:

Jill Gough and I hosted a session on “Blogging as Digital Portfolio.”* Our framework plan looked like this:

  • Why to blog?
  • What to blog?
  • How to blog?

We began with a post-up gamestorm in which people recorded reasons why to blog. Each of these ideas was recorded on a Post-it note, and we posted the notes to our idea wall.

Then, we used an affinity map gamestorm to gather related Post-it notes and categorize our thinking.

Next, we used Poll Everywhere to gather some data and assess our participants:

The discussion was great, and people contributed mightily to our collective understanding about why people might blog…and what can get in the way.

In order to dive into the “What to blog?” section of our game plan, we used a Google Doc for collaborative brainstorming: http://bit.ly/py3yvb.

Finally, we walked through the steps of actually establishing a blog on our WordPress Multi-user Domain. We encountered some technical difficulties with the confirmation-email process, but our group found ways to positively engage. Some wrote practice drafts of blog posts using Word and Pages. Others drafted a directions/instructions document about what we had done in the session. A few others even split into teams for a cooperatively competitive contest about taking the “30 Day Challenge” for posting once a day for a month…to get in the habit (posts might be as short as a sentence or an image-and-question combo).

Of course, with @gcouros here, we had access to a great resource from him, too: http://bit.ly/hlmym9

Now, as I wrap up this post, there are some stragglers here still working…still learning. It’s 11:55 a.m., and we are having fun learning and working together.

* FOOTNOTE: Interestingly, Jill and I had planned a session on PBL. On Thursday afternoon, we realized we had a small list of registrants. Because of the enthusiasm over digital portfolios – generated the day before – we decided to use this formative assessment to shift our workshop plan. Our three, original registrants were very understanding and flexible, and we ended up with a full house – about 24-25 folks.

Unslumping Myself

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For the first time in my life (hyperbole, but it seemed like a good intro), I disagree with Dr. Seuss. In Oh, the Places You’ll Go, he wrote, “unslumping yourself is not easily done.” I think it can be easily done. Just do something. This post is my “something.” And…I tweeted a few “somethings” this morning (early!).

I have felt that I am in a “blog/twitter slump” for a couple of weeks. Here are some of my excuses. Do any resonate with you about something you feel slumped about?

  • I am too busy. I can’t prioritize blogging and tweeting right now.
  • I don’t have time to write. I need to work on all the close-of-school and 2011-12 opening-of-school stuff.
  • I can’t think of anything good to write. I don’t want people to be disappointed in my posts or tweets. I want to say something profound.

Then, it hit me. I was slumped, at least partly, by a fixed mindset. If even a fraction of why I did not feel like writing was because I was worried what other people might think, then I had slipped into a fixed mindset versus a growth mindset [see Carol Dweck’s Mindset]. Hey, it happens to all of us. So…what to do? Just tweet. Just write. Don’t do it for any recognition, and don’t not do it for fear of failing. To quote the famous Nike adage, “Just do it.” So…this is my swing at the ball for this morning. I might miss. So what. I am writing. I am unslumping myself. Is there something you need to unslump yourself about? Pick one actionable item, and try. Ignore all the reasons not to try, and just do something. 

Some folks might say, “Bo, it’s just blogging and tweeting. What’s the big deal?” (Of course, few if any of those folks probably read any of this.) The big deal is this (for me) – blogging is a great way for me to think out loud. I get to see what I am thinking by reading what I am writing. And if that’s all that happens, it’s worth it. But sometimes, someone reacts or responds to something I have written. Then, a conversation can happen. And I can do this for others on their posts and tweets. A seed can grow roots and stems. For me, blogging and tweeting (tweeting is just blogging in shorter bursts)
has connected me to a community, a network, of learners for which I am very thankful. I have felt disconnected from this network for two weeks. I want to reconnect. This will help me get started. This may just unslump me. It’s worth a try. Excuses got nothing on the screen. Taking 10 minutes and a risk produced something so that I could see what I am thinking. And, who knows…maybe a conversation can start.

TEDxKids@BC and a dollop of Synergy feedback!

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Assessment comes in so many shapes and sizes! Recently, I received some unexpected feedback about Synergy 8 – an interdisciplinary, community-issues, PBL class that Jill Gough and I created and piloted with eighth graders this past fall semester.

Earlier this week, as I was reading in my GOOGLE RSS feed reader (I use Feeddler on iPad), I discovered a call for speakers for TEDxKids@BC. Being a huge fan and supporter of TEDx and David Wees, I tweeted the blog-post-call-for-speakers. Thinking specifically of two or three Synergy “grads,” I called their attention to the tweet with a mention. Via direct messaging, two of the Synergy team members scheduled a face-to-face to discuss possibilities, and then one followed up with an email showing her initial brainstorming about a proposal to speak at TEDxKids@BC. I am pasting the email below, with permission:

Sent: Thursday, May 12, 2011 11:09 AM
To: Jill Gough; Bo Adams
Subject: tedx kids ideas:
tedx kids ideas:
What should school look like?
(use synergy experience as example)
– discussion and question centered
– students as teachers too
– self assessments
– improvement and retention vs. Grades
– technology integrated
– find out what students and teachers think school is and what it should be/what they want it to be
Class room environment:??? (don’t rly know, this might be a totally irrelevant or repetitive tangent…)
– respect
– student involvement instead of teacher lecturing (students as teachers too)
– using technology to appeal to all kinds of learners and learning styles
– teach how they learn, and what they want to know not just for test
– cultivate a love of learning and subject (may be far out there)
Bisous 🙂
Live, Laugh, Love
Sent from my iPhone
“Ideas worth spreading” indeed! Fourteen years old, this Synergy thinker is. Can you feel the ripples she might be causing in the way we think about education and school in the 21st century?! Whether she makes it all the way to a TEDxKids@BC talk this go-around or not, “BRAVA!” to her for taking the risk and forwarding her thinking. Ms. Gough and I are behind her all the way!