Inspired by "Why School?" (A Beginning)

Or... How I Introduced Edmodo!

“Connecting and learning with other people online, distinguishing good information from bad, creating and sharing important works with the world: None of that (and a whole bunch of other stuff I could mention) is on the test.”

Richardson, Will (2012-09-10). Why School?: How Education Must Change When Learning and Information Are Everywhere (Kindle Single) (Kindle Locations 174-176). TED Conferences. Kindle Edition.

I’m currently reading “Why School?” and I’m completely over-using the high-lighting feature on my Kindle!  One of my favorite notes: “No matter how often we dub our kids “digital natives,” the fact is they can still use our help to do those things and more if they are to thrive in the abundance of their times.”  While I consistently try to learn and grow with my students, especially with integrating technology, this book has provided me with a clearer picture of how I visualize my teaching.

I’m leading the Reading Olympics for fourth grade at my school.  I wanted to find a way to have the participants feel not only motivated, but connected as we prepare for our event in May.  To that end, I introduced Edmodo.  At our weekly meeting, I told them that it reminded me of Twitter and Facebook, and instantly these two words were all the anticipatory set I needed.  They were attentive and eager to learn.

I told them that I love Twitter and use it as a way to connect with other educators around the world.  Edmodo reminded me of it and I thought it would be a great way for all of us to discuss the books they were reading.  My typically rambunctious and energetic group was mesmerized as I displayed Edmodo on the Smartboard.  I set up a student account for myself so that the displayed screen would replicate what they would see.  I modeled how I picked my profile icon, joined groups, and connected with our school district.  I shared that we would learn together since Edmodo was new to me as well.

Next, I showed them my teacher account.  They thought this was particularly fascinating.  It was as if they were getting a peak into the teachers’ lunch room.  Again, they were completely focused and mesmerized.  I quickly gave reminders about appropriate posts.  Basically, I reminded them not to post anything they wouldn't shout in front of their parents or teachers.  I have found this is the quickest and easiest reminder to provide.

By dinnertime that night my notifications on my phone and laptop were out of control.  All the students had signed up and were posting.  At our next meeting, we talked about not just saying hello or as they say, “sup,” but composing posts that focused on their reading.  I also congratulated them on the ease at which they learned how to do more than what I introduced.

When we met yet again, I told them I had an idea.  I suggested that we put images of the books we were reading next to our posts.  I said I wasn't sure how to do it and I needed their help.  Within seconds, the  group figured out how to navigate to Google images, copy/past using their right click and paste the images.  The speed at which they worked together and listened to one another was breathtakingly fast and efficient.  Then, since we were working on PCs, I asked about doing it on Macs.  I wanted to make sure they were cognizant of different operating systems.  As I stood back and watched them, I was in awe of their almost innate collaboration skills.  

One of my favorite quotes from “Why School?” is, “Students are encouraged to connect with others, and to collaborate and create with them on a global scale. It’s not “do your own work,” so much as “do work with others, and make it work that matters.”

I think we are off to a good start.

Am I so busy teaching I forget to listen?

I’m constantly looking for ways to improve my teaching. I’m always searching for new techniques to motivate and inspire. I enjoy learning new methods that I can share.

Notice all of the sentences start with the pronoun “I?”

Maybe I need to revise my thinking and explore more about the way my students are receiving my instruction.

Recently, I had an interesting experience that made me stop and reflect. I’m a never-ending beginner quilter. It is a hobby I love and helps me unwind and slow down the pace of my life. I’m not very good at it, but I make up for it with enthusiasm. Long ago, I decided that I would enjoy the process, not the product, as well as not give anything as gifts.

As part of my hobby, I take classes to learn new skills. Recently, while sitting in a class, I became confused. I didn’t understand what I was asked to do. I just couldn’t wrap my brain around the technique. It seemed backwards and overwhelming. A quick look around the room showed me that everyone else was grasping it. The class was moving on to the next step and I was completely lost. Suddenly, the room felt overly warm and I had the urge to scream, “Slow down. Wait a minute. I’m lost.” Instead, I struggled on and lost my momentum for learning.

Driving home from the class, I reflected on the experience. I was a bit annoyed with myself for not speaking up, but during the class I felt defeated, anxious and confused by the way everyone else was learning the technique. I was timid about admitting I was lost. I didn’t want the class to slow down on my account. I didn’t want my classmates to see that I was totally confused.

I didn’t raise my hand and ask for help.

I began to wonder how often this happens in my own classroom with my students. I like to think I’m in tune with my students and ask the correct questions to insure they understand. Is it possible that in the business of the day, I have students who are afraid to speak up for fear of embarrassment? Am I being as aware as I think I am? I know I use a variety of cues and lists and strategies when I teach, but am I so busy teaching I forget to really listen?

When I go to school on Monday, I’m going to remember what it was like to sit in a classroom and feel afraid to speak up. I’m going to give my students a reminder that I always want them to say, “I don’t understand. I didn’t get that. I don’t know what you mean. I need help.” I want them to feel safe enough to reach out to me.

I want to see things from their point of view and remember that they are what is most important -not a new technique, method or project.

My goal is to listen more!

I had another idea...

Recently, my students wrote essays about their hopes for their future families, jobs and how they would contribute to society. These essays were a result of my reading Fever 1793 where the main character had big dreams for her life. Their essays were so wonderful that they precipitated the creation of “The Academy Awards for Academic Excellence.” We just had to show off their essays and turned them into speeches. I love when one idea leads to another and great learning occurs spontaneously.

Then, I had another idea…

When I listened to the students’ speeches and how they would contribute to society, I felt they lacked some vision. There were lots of ideas for recycling, taking care of animals and the earth, but did they truly understand how to contribute? Did they know what it meant to “give back?”

Coincidentally, as I was reading the next chapter of Fever 1793 to the students, an opportunity for discussion arose. The main character survived the yellow fever illness and the nurse asked her, “How will you pay back the kindness and help that you received?” This led to my new idea.

I decided my students would research humanitarian organizations on line.

I began with an exploration of the word “humanitarian.” Once we defined it, we brainstormed organizations that they had heard of, but they didn’t necessarily know what they did to help people. Next, the students moved to the computers. I had bookmarked at least six sites that the students could explore. Their task was to explore the sites and choose the one that interested them the most.

I was worried that the text might be too challenging or too sophisticated, but I still plowed ahead to see what would happen.

Each student had a clipboard with an outline of areas to explore. (I found giving the students a clipboard to be an effective way for them to manage using the keyboard, mouse and still have a place to write their notes.) Once the students chose the humanitarian organization that interested them the most, they had to find and record its mission statement/goal, statistics, how they helped, as well as slogans and advertisements. We had previously spent time defining and exploring these concepts.

Initially, the students wanted to jump right in and start recording information. It seemed as though they were focusing on finishing tasks rather than learning, so I took away their clipboards. They were missing the point!

The new rule was they had to read and explore the site without doing any writing - at least twice (different days) to insure they were focusing on the importance of the organization and NOT FINISHING an assignment. I spoke about this at great length. I also required them to discuss what they discovered with peers. I wanted them to process the information! I wanted them to reflect.

Currently, I have allowed them to start taking notes while they research. Once they finish this, the next step will be persuasive essays to convince others to support the humanitarian organization that they chose.

I love that through reading this amazing novel to my class, another idea was born that led to a meaningful integrated assignment.

More importantly, my students may become humanitarians who give back to the world.

The Academy Awards for Academic Excellence

In honor of this year's Academy Awards...

A return to one of my favorite posts!

This year my classroom theme is “Hollywood” where every student is a star. With the Academy Awards approaching, I was looking for a way to integrate this theme in a meaningful way. Boy, did I find it!

As a way to model and reinforce comprehension strategies, I am reading the novel Fever 1793 by Laurie Halse Anderson to my class. This historical fiction book is one of my favorites and provides a wealth of information about Philadelphia during the yellow fever epidemic that decimated the city in 1793.

As I read the novel, the students complete a variety of collaborative tasks and project based learning activities. Most importantly, this novel inspires even the most reluctant readers to read more.

The main character has big dreams for her future. She yearns for a life that is filled with excitement, travel, and she describes how she will change the world. Of course, this segued to the students composing multi-paragraph essays that described their hopes for their future jobs, families and how they would contribute to society. We spent a great deal of time on their essays with lots of peer editing and revisions. The end results were astonishing: an idea was born.

Since these essays were so amazing, I wanted the students to share them. What better way than to turn them into speeches? I was so proud of their writing that I decided the students would share their work with the other students in our school. We would have the Academy Awards for Academic Excellence. This wasn’t a competition, but a celebration of their hard work and their dreams.

Once I shared the idea with my students, it snowballed! Suddenly, we were decorating and creating our Oscar stage, planning a banquet, making wardrobe decisions and discussing the importance of speaking slowly and making eye contact during a speech. Then, the big day arrived!

The end result far exceeded my expectations. We invited younger grades to come to our special ceremony. Many of the students’ former teachers needed tissues to dab their eyes as they observed the students giving their speeches.

I love when a spontaneous idea develops and the end result is a meaningful experience that the students will remember.

Here's a look at the introduction and our first speaker.