guest written by Okema Sandlin-McMillan

This blog post is inspired by this question, taken from #edchat: “If collaboration is high on everyone’s list as a needed skill; how do we work it into every aspect of our education system?”

Growing up in a small parochial school, we were taught the foundation of ourselves. Essentially, the sense of working together, honing the positives of each other, and teamwork were all values taught in our small village. Albeit those blue plaids, long socks, and strict rigor of no makeup or nail polish was annoying and embarrassing during the weekend out with your public school pals, however, I can truly say that our sense of community was strong. So strong, many of those same people today, I am sure, hold dear these memories as much as I.

Collaboration in any entity is necessary not merely for a better outcome, but for the sustanence of our society as a whole. Collaboration to me simply means working together to accomplish a shared goal. Though we often stray from traditions of the past, the basics always last. The old cliché of “…it takes a village…” will certainly foster the realities of life through and through. Take for example the old TV show – “Little House on the Prairie” – while it is undeniable, we will never, generally, as a society again live in this manner, it is safe to say a few of those values will never die.

1. Watch out for one another.
2. If you say you are going to do something, then do.
3. You do not have to agree to work together.

WATCH OUT FOR ONE ANOTHER.

I see you. Merely the vision of noticing your fellow man with a simple head nod, a gesture of affirmation, is necessary across most platforms. In education, all sectors from elementary, middle, high school, and the higher education years necessitates cultivation more than ever with strained resources. We all clearly are not delusional; Money will always be power.

The chains of communication in all sectors of these nonprofit areas of education are not consistently linked. Think of the intrinsic benefits reaped if there were a contact point available to make connections for each student and their families consistently at every educational stopping point. Not just connections, but unassuming ones knowing that no matter the student – gated community or ghetto, we all breathe and bleed; Notice the advantages of cross-educational communication? For example, a former local public school one of my children attended always held a career fair, same time every year for kids on the elementary level.

While this was done for PTA rights I later learned, how great this is, highlighting careers available, at least to spark interest in the world beyond nurses, lawyers, firefighters and the like. Not to say these careers are lesser, however, with today’s technology moving faster than the speed of light, it is crucial that we unearth to our children the positives of the world before the entertainment industry does.

What would be better to string this concept along would be to watch out for them and push them into Middle School, having that same career fair. These sessions could be onsite at a local company, possibly at a local higher education institution, local city/government facility. Then think, these would open windows, doors, even gates for internships and like opportunities. Networking people – Follow me here.

Family night that involves every member, from Uncle Spot to Cousin Dot – possibly sharing personal development opportunities that may in fact increase literacy in their household, trickling down into the community chords. Do you hear music? Involve the career counselors at each level with the high school counselor, communicating to them that hey, I have this family with these interests/advantages what can we do to help them. This alone is what networking is all about. Never lose touch, watching out for one another. It is all about planning. If we only watched out for each other, our education system would not be in such peril. I mean, the outcome is graduation right? I could be wrong.

IF YOU SAY YOU ARE GOING TO DO SOMETHING, DO IT.

Do it or zip it. The possibilities of the should have, could have never really mattered. In fact, it is essential to speak only of things that will push our educational sector along. Making false promises lets our children down on the lower educational totem pole and in higher education, drops the adults’ educational ball that is often deflated or non-existent. I mean, these will be your Pilots, Practitioners, and Palm Readers one day.

While we understand that no one is perfect, collaboration involves sharing – so if you make a commitment, it is pertinent to know that while your role may seem small to you, it is a rather large drop in our educational bucket. Every drop counts and if you promise a small one, even a millimeter, do it, or find someone that will. Think about it like this, collaboration with the local store allows the store to have a relationship with education, this small relationship allows both parties to rely on one another and goes back to my first point – WATCH OUT FOR EACH OTHER. Knowing your neighbor allows for simple collaboration (working together) and accountability (being responsible for another). Look at your community, the people around and beside you that you pass daily and have no clue who they are or what they do. This relationship does not mean schmooze city, it simply means, no [wo]man is an island.

YOU DO NOT HAVE TO AGREE TO WORK TOGETHER.

Playground rules apply to adults too. Just because you don’t agree on who should be on which side of the see saw, know that you’re both going to get a chance to be up and down, and (I’ve found), most of the time equally. Collaboration across educational sectors, in even just the building you work in is pertinent. Holding even the smallest grudge when there is disagreement certainly means stale air. Who likes anything stale?

Even your best friend, you do not do everything just alike. She may enjoy warm colors, you cool. They may like adventure, you enjoy your toes touching the ground, whatever the case, and you still find a way to work together. All relationships, especially in education REQUIRE consistent collaboration. Every day.

Look at the classroom next to you. You are going through the same fight wouldn’t you say. You deal with a parent that annoys you. A kid who is lethargic daily. An administrator you would rather entomb than become supporters with. Nevertheless, at the end of the day, coming together works.

Look at it like this: if in elementary you realize there is the kid that will not shake what you are trying to break, know that that is probably their temperament. So why not pull out the best traits. Alert the middle school that hey, this kid will not stop playing video games, steer his career plan through that path. On the other hand, hey, this kid, in middle school, is ALWAYS talking – there is a career for that. While you may not agree with each other, there is a way to help each other, minus the eye rolling, water cooler gibberish, and PTA politics. In the end, it is not about the cupcakes, personality clashes, it is about the students – whether they are children or adults.

In summary:

1. Watch out for one another.
2. If you say you are going to do something, then do.
3. You do not have to agree to work together.

Growing up in that parochial school with my little beaver teeth, those little black & white bullet shoes, and that paddle constantly on my rump for talking taught me all about collaboration. We watched out for one another. We never let another get lost on the playground in that metal tunnel. We always made sure we were all in together. If we made a promise to one another to do something, we did it. If we did not do it, then we communicated with each other that you have messed up, what we could do to fix it. In addition, most of all, we worked together. If this month one person was not able to do something, we surely went to another person to get it done. I never remembered us not having a thing. Our educational system can surely start today collaborating. I’m excited about the possibilities.

About the author: An avid lover of all things creative, Okema Sandlin-McMillan is a native of Greensboro, NC with a substantial customer service background in the luxury goods and education industry. Pin with her on pinterest www.pinterest.com/iamokema or tweet about issues that affect business and education at www.twitter.com/iamokema.

guest written by Tracy Schutz 

As probably many veteran educators do, I dream of the perfect school — the precise balance between properly aligned curriculum to meet the needs of every child, parents who are supportive and involved, and a faculty properly resourced and always eager to challenge and ask “what if…?”

So, what does The Utopian School (herein called U.S.) look like?  I’ve arranged these rose-colored visions into the ABC’s of course.  Naturally — how else would a teacher organize her thoughts?

Academics, Books, Curriculum — Oh my:

Ah, the thoughts of old social studies books come to mind.  “Why do these books only show 13 stars on the flag, Ms. Teacher?”  Ok, I’m exaggerating, I know!   Our new U.S. will have all it desires to meet the needs of all students.  Our academics are structured around students’ interests with ties to real life and are not cookie-cutter in design.  (Think: online memberships for virtual fieldtrips, science experiments, nature walks, reading and writing cafés…) Textbooks will be available in multiple formats (online, audio, large print, etc.) and will also help students understand the value of the subject — not simply regurgitated information.  Students in today’s society need a clear understanding of why their learning is important and how this will help them be successful in life.  Students cannot compete as adults with explanations such as “because it’s in the curriculum.”  Children are inquisitive by nature and need to know why.

Discipline, Families, Guidance — Yes, please:

The U.S. will discipline students swiftly, fairly, and without regard to academic standing, parent complaints, or special needs (not related to behavior).  Discipline will also follow a strict matrix of increasing consequences so that students understand that their actions are not acceptable and it will not be tolerated.  We all know that, as great as our administration may be, there are certain students who are catered to… (Think: the squeaky wheel gets the grease).  Next up, parents will be REQUIRED to be involved in their child’s education.  Consequences and fines shall be in place for those who repeatedly bring their students to school tardy, promote truancy, and those who generally skip out on any school-to-parent contacts.  In addition, this U.S. will have guidance counselors who will, in fact, provide guidance.  I don’t mean the occasional personal hygiene story, but true lessons about respect, the importance of an education, and proper school conduct.

Money, Omniscience, Politics — Take away the “ugh” factor:

The U.S. will have the foresight to see where the budget can flex and advocate dollars where necessary.  Teacher supplies will flow from the district office like rain on a spring day.  Politics will not be an issue since everyone is FOR the greater good of students’ and teachers’ needs.  Those involved with the school board will have distinguished knowledge and a genuine interest in education and how the community can be further engaged — and not an interest in how to skim a buck or two at the cost of our students’ futures or how to further their campaign.

Resources, Special education, Technology — Absolutely:

The U.S. will provide ample resources for parents, teachers, and students.  Professional Development will be designed around teachers and administration working together to decide what is best for the school.  Afterwards, there will be workshops and communication with parents about these new school trainings and initiatives.  Special education students will be given access to support for continued success outside of school (Think: external academic support, coping strategies, behavior assessment and management tools, etc.)  All students and teachers will have access to current technology, including  student laptops, Smart Boards, smart phone app’s (Think: BYOD—“Bring Your Own Device” ), and other electronic devices that help engage students in the 21^st century.

UDL, Virtual, Worldly — Yes, and this too:

The U.S. focuses on the individual student, yet with a global approach.  Education at U.S. follows a Universal Design for Learning model (Think: one size does NOT fit all) and offers scaffolding and multiple levels of engagement along with online courses to better reach all learning styles.  There is a worldly feel at U.S. to help students understand life on a global level and to help students grow up appreciating and understanding what living in America means.

Zeal — Can’t leave this out:

With all The Utopian School has to offer, of course all of our students, parents, and school staff have a passion and drive to challenge and say “What’s next?”   The U.S. recognizes the need to strive for perfection in education to help our students become competing members in the world economy.  Finally, U.S. educators know that mediocrity in American schools is not the answer and to consistently raise the bar in academics for our future’s sake.

Hooray for Utopia!  How do YOU envision a perfect school?

About the author: Tracy Schutz is a veteran middle school educator currently transitioning from brick and mortar to online education and Social Media Management.  She is passionate about at-risk and online students, ed technology, and Social Media.  Chat with her here: http://dedication2education.com, Twitter, Facebook, or on LinkedIn.

Last year, I wrote a guest post for the Grammarly blog about writing, and how it is one of the most important skills you can develop. Today, this post on Iserotope (one of my favorite teacher blogs) inspired me to write a sequel about the importance of reading.

Specifically: the importance of reading fiction.

You might think that I’m a big fan of reading because it makes you a better writer. Or that it allows you to explore parts of the shared human experience that may be difficult to explain in a non-fiction format. Both of those things are true. But they’re not the reasons why I’m such a big fan of fiction.

The internet has made readers out of many, many people that almost never pick up a book in their entire lives. They read blogs, they read the news, and they read pithy little status updates from their friends. It may not be heavy duty stuff, but it is reading.

Without the kind of brain that sorts through the incredible amount of information we take in every day (174 newspapers worth, apparently) and makes connections between the relevant bits, we’d be no smarter on Tuesday than we were on Monday. And we would be getting quickly left behind by our friends, our family, and (most important, job-wise) our colleagues.

The ability to build mental bridges between all the random things we read and organize it all into a coherent network is a skill that is vital to a knowledge worker — and we’re all knowledge workers to some extent. This is what allows us to learn a lesson in one context and apply it broadly to other aspects of our life.

Nowhere is that kind of a talent development more naturally and organically than through fiction.

When a child reads the Chronicles of Narnia, for example, he is learning about the importance of exploration, of honesty, and of virtues like courage and forgiveness. He isn’t reading a pamphlet that spells it all out in bullet points. It’s not a blog post or a self-help book, but it is something that has the potential to stick with him for the rest of his life. And it’s a foundation upon which many of lessons can be based.

The more fiction we read — and the more great English teachers we have — the more we see that these works of fiction are more than simple stories or diversions. And we begin to connect the lessons we learn in one book with those we learn in another. We draw parallels, create connections, and build mental bridges.

The better we get at that, the more suited we are to dive into our modern world, where more information is created every year than the year before it. Understanding how to make sense of it all is not just a nice bonus. It is an essential element to being employable and staying relevant.

Sure, we can create high-level college courses to teach kids how to connect seemingly unrelated thoughts and build functional databases in their brain. We can call it “Mental Data Filing 101″ or something, and claim it’s a new science.

Or we can give them some great books to read as kids and they’ll start doing it on their own.

Don’t let an obsession with The Test strip fiction from our curriculum. There are cheap, online flashcards to help with test prep. (Did I mention we make those?) And there are excellent tutors out there to fill in the gaps. Teachers have skills that go far beyond preparing students to take a test. Let’s make use of them.

guest written by Justin Ballou

Earlier this week, I had some time to catch up on current happenings in the business sector while waiting for an appointment to begin. From time to time, I find some really good links between the so-called “Real-World” and the one that is currently the standard for education.

While reading, I came across a great article entitled: Netflix’s Unlimited Employee Vacation Policy: Why It Works and was pretty impressed with what I saw! Looking at major business models, perks to employees, and keeping productivity and responsibility high, Netflix went to UNLIMITED VACATION!

Yes, you read right….UNLIMITED! Meaning….um…..no limits on the amount of time that one can take “off” from work. As I read the article, it became apparent that with strong guidelines and staff responsibility, Netflix, (along with some other companies that are pushing the limits on workplace expectations) are taking more of a cavalier approach to how the employees are responsible for their actions.

I got to thinking about this, and as an effective practice, it makes sense! Give your employees freedom and the ability to be motivated and self-directed, and they will get the job done. Heck, with an unlimited vacation policy, I would imagine with the personal responsibility factor that some employees continue to work, (albeit in short spans) while on vacation to make sure they are pulling their own weight.

So, the question is…..why not the classroom? Why do we force kids, (especially at the high school level) to sit in a classroom, at a desk for ninety minutes at a time, moving from class to class and calling that education? What would happen if we, as educators said, “Here is the expectation…..I will be here to assist you in this if needed…” and then allowed for students to rise to the level of expectation, personal responsibility, or rigor?

Some states, (New Hampshire for example) has done away with seat time and moved to a competency based model. Students prove proficiency in their education and can, within reason, pace their education according to strengths and weaknesses. And, in this transition, we have seen some good, bad, and ugly results.

For the positives, it can be clean cut and a high motivator for students. When they are responsible for their own education and have a “choice and voice” in what they do, more often than not, there is authentic learning that occurs; both structured and implied lessons alike, as failure can be just as strong if not a stronger influence on education than success.

We do see some issues emerge as well. One is that there is ALWAYS a learning curve to any action. It is part of human nature to want to manipulate and our environment for gain, and students are no different. What we found is that with teacher consensus, organization, and careful implementation, the change can alleviate some of the transitional pain if the bar is set and understood.

As for the “ugly,” there may be instances where the old system is so ingrained into the community that the scrapping of seat time is seen as a “dumbing down” of education… which then, in turn, can be used against the teachers. Also, with terms/semesters/quarters still the “go-to” for assessment practices, what do we do with those that complete the work in half the time? How about a quarter? Theoretically, we could have 30 different students in 30 different locations….a NIGHTMARE for any educator.

Either way, if planned out and supported….we may be onto something that can benefit students. What are your thoughts on possible successes and pitfalls?

About the author: Justin Ballou is a high-school Social Studies teacher in New Hampshire. Besides teaching, he is active running an education startup called EduTech and enjoys spending time with his beautiful wife. With edtech and authentic learning as his go-to topics, you can reach him at jballouteaches@gmail.com to ask questions or leave comments and follow him on twitter (@nhjbteach).

guest written by Justin Ballou

One of the tell-tale signs that spring has arrived here in New England is the beginning of baseball season. The idea of Spring Training, the warm nights that are on their way, and the games at your local stadium really define (at least for New England) the great warm months of the year.

Now, I am a big of a baseball fan, but one thing I do is keep up with the Red Sox. Where I’m from, it is almost an act of blasphemy to not be paying attention to the hometown favorite as they begin their march towards October. In this focus, Spring training and the buildup of opening day allows us to reflect on Americas past time. And hidden….deep down in the pits of the fundamentals of sports and events like these….are the life lessons that we must appreciate to make progress. So…I began to think….

Taking the pitcher for example, how many of the pitches that they make the week before opening day do we have counted for or against them on game day? Do we look at the rating of the pitcher based upon the 275 throws in the past 3 days, or the 7 fantastic, (or poor) innings on game day? Other sports like football, (with a quarterback rating…) golf, (with the final score on the match), etc….all of them are based upon the ability to be assessed only at the proper time.

Transfer this to the professional world, and we see a pattern emerge that is older than the organization of traditional formal education itself. Are surgeons bad surgeons if they make a mistake on the operating table? Or, do they have the ability to make mistakes, learn, and re-apply knowledge and skills until they have shown mastery in order to get their license? How about the pilot? Or even something as universally accepted in the United States as a driver’s license?

And lastly, at the end of the feedback loop process…. Do those surgeons, pilots, and drivers get a credential that limit what they can do because of how long it took or how many times we had to reapply?

Education should be no different. Students all learn at different levels and with different methods…..but our system, (which has not really adapted in the last 100 years or so) still does the same thing. Students walk out of a class and are given a grade….not on what they know or are able to do….but on every small step of the way. So, in actuality, a student could have mastered EVERY concept, and can perform ALL tasks at the end of a semester. But, due to an antiquated method of ensuring mastery, could technically be turned away from the next step because of the number that is besides their name. This number is not always accurate. And it is this number presently, which has some of the strongest influence on their future. Pretty scary, huh?

So what do we do? We need to start taking a look at how we grade and what the purpose of the grade actually is. As teachers, parents, and self-advocating students, do we not want an educational system that can verify the skills, knowledge, and abilities of the student population? And if a student has proven they can perform the tasks put forth, should they not get ALL of the credit they deserve, rather than an outdated and lacking average that often serves to misrepresent the true student?

What are your thoughts? Would love to hear them!

About the author: Justin Ballou is a high-school Social Studies teacher in New Hampshire. Besides teaching, he is active running an education startup called EduTech and enjoys spending time with his beautiful wife. With edtech and authentic learning as his go-to topics, you can reach him at jballouteaches@gmail.com to ask questions or leave comments and follow him on twitter (@nhjbteach).

guest written by Justin Ballou

I am a sucker for stupid comedies. There is something about 90 minutes of raw laughter that can just turn any day on its head. This past week, I was able to get in sections of a movie that some of you may (or may not have…) seen: Office Space.

If you haven’t seen this movie, I will give you a brief rundown of the premise…all without letting you know how it is going to end! Centering on the main character, Peter Gibbons, the movie paints a picture of a group of employees that resent their work and attempt to bring down the company and middle-management boss. Throughout the movie, we see the stereotypical office, lined with cubicles, desktop computers, and traditional office wear. The boss, walking around, touching base with his employees to make sure their monotonous, menial tasks get done. It’s an environment that drains the humanity out of the actions of real people in order to get the most physical production out of them as possible. Sound familiar?

Why do I bring up this movie in an educational blog?

Because presently, this is what we have in our educational landscape. Take a look at the stereotypical educational institution and you find the same, rigid setup spanning our landscape.

Bell rings. Class starts. Teacher gives info. Teacher gives reinforcement activity. Brief review. Bell Rings. Repeat.

The same repetition of pandering to the middle has created a cookie cutter institution that came about when we were a production-based society. But that is now passé. Our systems are COMPLETELY different now. And what do we have to show for the change in the times but the same system replicated? We’re just hoping to produce more and certify in the end that the students who walk across the stage are ready to tackle life’s great opportunities.

The question still remains, are we truly preparing them for those opportunities?

Look at the workplace now. With technology at the state it is in, we can conduct business, on the fly, 24 hours a day with teams spread across the globe. Businesses are attempting to create solutions to real world problems, as many of the tasks associated with menial work are being conducted using smart technologies and systems to free up valuable human capital to provide the commodities that the market needs.

Yet, we find our classrooms still preparing students for the jobs that are no longer in abundance. Just as in the movie where the employees get bored, unmotivated, and start to rebel a bit, students are becoming more and more disenfranchised by an old system that does not fit the present schema. They are pushing back. And doing so not because they are any worse than we were when in school….rather they have more possibilities in front of them and do not sense value in what they are doing.

Does this mean that we totally revamp what formal education looks like? YES!

Do I have the master plan? No.

But, if we do not prepare them with the skills and technologies they will need in the “real world” while they are being educated, we cannot expect them to exhibit those traits in the future. And, as the landscape has changed so very much in the recent past, if we do not create an environment that fosters the knowledge and skill-sets needed, we find ourselves in a more serious situation the longer we wait.

How to start? That’s a whole other blog post for another day. I do know that we need to begin the transition of revamping our schools to reflect the new “real world” sooner than later or we really are not fulfilling our obligations as teachers, parents, and communities of providing the foundations for students as they become productive members of society.

Have some ideas? I would love to hear them! Leave a comment!

About the author: Justin Ballou is a high-school Social Studies teacher in New Hampshire. Besides teaching, he is active running an education startup called EduTech and enjoys spending time with his beautiful wife. With edtech and authentic learning as his go-to topics, you can reach him at jballouteaches@gmail.com to ask questions or leave comments and follow him on twitter (@nhjbteach).

About a week ago, I graduated from level one to level two in my Rosetta Stone software. Around the same time, I crossed off the last item on a list of blog posts I wanted to write for my personal blog and started a new sheet. I also finished a book that I had been meaning to read for some time and set up a meeting with a videographer friend to film a short intro for a side-project I’m working on.

I’m not bragging. I’m actually wondering out loud how I ended up this way: unable to relax unless I’m “taking care of business.” Why is it that I don’t feel like I can’t just enjoy a nap in the middle of the afternoon if there’s nothing essential going on?

There is probably a whole list of reasons, but I think the most profound and important one is that I was raised to be “a doer.” I was always encouraged (but not forced) to push myself and to achieve something. I didn’t feel pressured, as many “high-achievers” report feeling during their childhood. I just felt like my natural curiosity was helped along during the crucial developmental days of my youth.

How can we pass this kind of questing and productive spirit onto our children and our students? Here’s a short list of lessons that stand out to me from my up-bringing that I think might serve as a good base for that discussion:

1) Encourage curiosity. Kids ask a lot of inappropriate questions, and we don’t really stop as we get older. Instead, we just push the boundaries on what “appropriate questions” are. But if we discourage questioning from an early age then we will wind up with older students whose first impulse is to wait for instructions rather than seek them out. It might make our job as a parent or a teacher a little harder, but we need to work on helping kids find answers to their questions as often as possible.

2) Expose students to the joys of creating something. This is why I’m a big proponent of student portfolios. Students should learn the joy of doing a job well and that seeing a completed project shine can be a reward unto itself. I enjoy looking at an error-free and well-done piece of work, regardless of whether it’s a blog post or a new set of brake pads on my car. I think that’s a sort of base-level emotion that everyone can tap into if they are taught how.

3) Teach kids to take initiative. I remember my mother once telling me, “I shouldn’t always have to remind you to do your chores or tell you what to do.” After that, I started looking at the world differently. I recognized that I didn’t always have to wait for instructions. I could seek out my own path and follow it (as long as I took care of my chores first!). I’ve never been a procrastinator, and I often catch myself wondering how different the world would be if more people could say that.

4) Show kids that it’s okay to pursue their own interests. What do all those things that I listed in the first paragraph have in common? They’re all things that I chose to do. Some people might consider them unproductive wastes of time (I’m not getting paid for any of it), but I know that there is value in doing something purely for myself to satisfy my own curiosity. Everyone should feel that way. It doesn’t have to be profitable to be productive.

5) Help kids make connections. My elementary and middle schools had a few programs that allowed us to communicate with kids or adults outside of school, but not too many. Nowadays, the opportunities are endless. Allowing kids to follow their curiosity outside the walls of a school and connect with others around the world is a spectacular way to motivate them and encourage them to grow and develop.

I’m sure I’m missing quite a few other important ingredients to raising a generation of self-motivated and inquisitive kids. Any ideas?

Topic: With the need to leave comfort zones for relevant professional development to take effect, should teachers continue to control their own learning for PD?

This week’s #edchat was the third in recent memory about effective professional development in the education sphere. This seems to be a topic that teachers, administrators, and technology specialists alike are really fired up about. And I can understand why.

#Edchat is a special group. Those who participate in #edchat are the exception, not the norm. They are the stand-outs; the connected (and highly-motivated) leaders in their schools – even if they don’t know it. And they want to help the rest of their colleagues become exceptional too.

I realize that might sound elitist, but the truth is that some teachers are leaps and bounds better than others. In some cases, that’s simply a question of experience. In others, it’s burn-out or stress. Good PD can help with both, because good PD both teaches and energizes. I know that’s why a lot of #edchat participants come back each and every week.

Realistically, though, #edchat is not for everyone. Neither are conventions. Nor are online webinars. Different lessons, presented in different ways, will appeal to different people. Different strokes for different folks, as they say.

The question is: how much autonomy can and should we allow teachers in directing, choosing, and pursuing their own professional development? What’s the optimal mix of empowerment and guidance?

While I will freely admit that I don’t have any hands-on experience with this, I think there are two things that we should be working on implementing in schools right now. They are…

1) A teacher PD “curriculum,” with requirements placed on subjects that all teachers must explore, but options left open for how they learn about them. This should be developed by representative teachers, administrators, and tech specialists for each district. I am hesitant to go any broader than that, because we know how disjointed decision-making becomes the higher it goes.

2) Teacher authorities in every niche of professional development that can mentor teachers learning specifically about that subject. Example: there can be a resident social media guru to help guide teachers towards better use/implementation of social media into their classroom practices. Or a wiki-building specialist to help other teachers start using wikis with their students. The bottom line is that we need some other “go-tos” in schools. Dozens of teachers, one or two tech specialists, and a single principal just doesn’t work. It takes too long for change to be made in a system like that.

But those are just my own hare-brained ideas. I would love to hear yours!

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If you’re interested in reading summaries of the previous two discussions, here’s a link to the more recent one about providing relevant PD in schools/districts and here’s a link to the one from last November about EdCamps and TeachMeets. Enjoy!

Main themes from the discussion:

• Again: traditional PD is often either non-existent or totally ineffective. What discussion of PD would be complete without a healthy dose of complaints about how bad the current offerings are? Common complaints: it’s boring, it’s irrelevant, there’s no follow-up, it’s completely rigid and inflexible, and it’s been cut from the budget. The teachers that are pursuing their own PD often aren’t recognized and in some cases may even be penalized for it. Meanwhile, those that just go through the system seem to be rewarded. Clearly, we are placing our emphasis on the wrong things. And that needs to change if we want education to change.
• We don’t seem to apply the same lessons of education to teaching teachers. This has two very important implications.
  • Implication number one: We seem to forget that crowding a whole bunch of people into a room and talking at them for a couple hours isn’t the best way to get your point across. I guess we assume that, since they’re teachers, they’ll fill in the gaps on their own. But most don’t because they’re tired and overworked as it is. David Wees rightly wonders: what does it say about an education system when the teachers are too burnt-out to learn?
  • Implication number two: We are not following up with teachers the way we follow up with students. In fact, it seems like we’re often just winging the entire process. When teaching students, we first lay out a broad plan of what we want them to learn. Then we make lesson plans for how they’re going to learn it. Then we teach it to them, often reinforcing the lesson with homework. Finally, we test them on it to make sure it all stuck. Do we do any of that with the stuff we want teachers to learn?
• We need to simultaneously broaden what we accept as PD and narrow the focus of the PD that some teachers pursue. I find it amazing that #edchat isn’t considered viable PD in every school district around the world. I’m not even a teacher, but I learn so much from #edchat that I’m actually considering becoming one just so I can use some of these ideas! If that’s not good PD then I don’t know what is. But, lest we forget: “Different strokes for different folks.” Not everyone is going to be an #edchat type, and that’s okay. The point is, we need to help all teachers find the way they learn best and encourage/challenge them to push the boundaries. This means tightening certain requirements that have allowed teachers to not really do anything (but still technically satisfy the requirements) while simultaneously recognizing some “unofficial” but nonetheless valuable PD channels.

My favorite tweets from the discussion:

tomwhitby Teachers selecting to choose a path of PD that isn’t relevant to education is always a problem. Too many things are considered PD.

juliawilson89 Teachers should design and run their PD and  schools should fully support them. Lack of school support is preventing the best PD.

CTuckerEnglish Those educators using social media like Twitter should be recognized for seeking out learning opportunities. Often social media is not recognized PD.

cybraryman1 Yes, PD is important but it does not have to be expensive as there is so much available from webinars etc. for free

tomwhitby Admin comfort zones may be even more of an obstacle to reform in Education. Many admins view PD for teachers only!

cybraryman1 How many times have you left a mandated PD session and could not use anything you heard with your students?

teacherdebra Has anyone ever asked where the districts get their topics for PD? Do they come from mandates, their needs, or what they perceive as teacher needs?

rickarcher1959 The biggest problems with PD, in my opinion, is the lack of time to follow-up and lack of funding.

sanmccarron Admin should look at PD as “what will help our students?” rather than “what is the latest edtech thingy?”.

cdsmeaton People would rather do the wrong thing competently than the right thing incompetently. Remember that when asking for change.

tomwhitby Teachers must be supported with PD and not bludgeoned with it. But there must be a path or a plan from the leadership.

RabbiRoss We still need some quality control on teacher-led workshops. Presenting is a skill as well!

vpigreenie  Big fan of the train-the trainer model: train a few, they then become the experts in house to support and model the best practices.

jlubinsky We are finding that with our budget cuts, using a cohort of motivated learners has helped to bridge the gap.

tomwhitby Teachers need some direction for PD if we are planning relevant development to coincide with where we want schools to go.

A couple resources tweeted during the discussion:

NikkiDRobertson I use Coffee Chats to lure teachers into my new tech PD lair..donuts, coffee, and light friendly conversation. My teachers love it! Example: http://t.co/ekKobN8E

mbteach Here is my obligatory @EdcampBoard tweet for this afternoon’s #edchat: http://t.co/vrnjdWpc

cybraryman1 Please listen to recording of the Connected Superintendents webinar:  http://t.co/CCnfx35Y We need more leaders like these.

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To follow the complete discussion, look for the full archive here.  They’re usually posted up by the end of the week.

Looking to discuss #edtech in depth? Check out the LinkedIn group: Edutech Trends, Visions, Passions.

New to #EdChat?

If you have never participated in an #Edchat discussion, these take place twice a day every Tuesday on Twitter.  Over 400 educators participate in this discussion by just adding #edchat to their tweets. For tips on participating in the discussion, please check out these posts:

• Edchat: Join the Conversation
• Using TweetDeck for Hashtag Discussions

More Edchat

• If you would like to join others in transforming the discussion into action, please feel free to join the Edchat group on the Educator PLN ning.
• Jerry Swiatek does an incredible job of posting each archived transcript on the #edchat wiki created by Steve Johnson. This way you can look back at your favorites!
• Find previous summaries here on this blog – see #edchat category on right sidebar
• Follow other Edchatters and make sure you are on this Twitter list if you participate in #Edchat!
• Read summaries of the 7pm EST/1 am CET Edchat discussions.

Challenge:

If you’re new to hashtag discussions, then just show up on Twitter on any Tuesday and add just a few tweets on the topic with the hashtag #edchat.

What do you think? Leave a comment! We would love to hear from you.

guest written by Karen Greenhaus

There are a lot of resources and advice out there these days to support teacher’s use of social media in their classroom.  From creating classroom blogs, wiki’s, Facebook accounts, and podcasts, to how to incorporate Twitter into formative assessment – you name it, you can probably find it. However, for many teachers, the thought of using social media is an overwhelming task, especially trying to incorporate it effectively into instructional practice, particularly with the controversy surrounding student safety and privacy issues. What I think is more prevalent, (keeping in mind my only proof is my personal observations and anecdotal evidence), is that there are a handful of teachers in any given school that might be using social media in some form in their classroom, but for the most part, teachers are not using social media in any consistent, pervasive way.

Is this a bad thing? My feeling is yes, because social media offers so many opportunities for students and teachers to collaborate with others, learn and connect globally, and instill communication and creativity into learning. Which leads to another question – how do we get teachers using social media as an instructional tool? There are, of course, probably several answers to that question, but one thing that won’t work is simply telling them they must use social media and offering a day or two of training on specific social media tools and expecting them to change their practice. That doesn’t work with anything (if you haven’t already figured that out). My suggestions – start small and start personally.  This means make social media a learning tool for the teacher first, allowing them to see and experience the power of the medium for them personally, and then build from there into classroom integration and use with students.

What do I mean by making social media a learning tool for the teacher first? As in any profession, teachers must and should be continuing to learn – learn more about content, new technologies to improve instruction, new instructional strategies.  Teacher professional development is a requirement for recertification but also an obligation of any teacher to improve their practice for the benefit of their students. Just as we wouldn’t want a doctor using an outdated method of surgery when there are new and better methods, we shouldn’t want our teachers using outdated instructional tools and strategies when there are new and better ones available. Teacher professional development is an important need for all teachers, but unfortunately, especially in this era of budget woes, professional development is one of the first things eliminated or reduced. My suggestion therefore is to use social media as a tool for providing teachers with professional development to improve their own knowledge about their craft. This will allow them exposure to the power of social media while providing a cost-efficient resource to support continuous teacher learning – learning about their content, their practice, and how to enhance their practice to help their students.

How to start? Start small and start personally. Choose only one thing (start small) – i.e. a blog, a Twitter account, department wiki, etc. to begin. Make it personal for the teachers (start personally) – relevant to their needs (content, instructional, time) and relevant to their technical ability and interests.  Below are some of my suggestions from both an administrative view, for leaders who are trying to get social media into your school as a whole, and from a teacher view, for individual teachers who want to get started in social media but are not quite sure where to begin. (Note: My suggestions are not necessarily recommending specific tools or services, but more from an overall perspective, focusing on trying to create a culture of use and a beginning point.  Any specific social media I do name is based on my own personal experience with social media, which is still in its infancy – I am a novice, starting small and finding my own personal meanings as well).

Getting Social – School Wide/Administrative Suggestions

1. Start a school blog (or Facebook or wiki). Post events that are happening at the school or great things you are seeing in classrooms.  Have each department contribute a post each week or assign a week to each department where they post what topics are being covered or things that students will be learning in the next unit.  Ask specific teachers who are doing interesting or innovative activities with their students to share, including pictures of the classroom.  The blog can be a place where parents and students go to find out what’s happening at the school but also a place for teachers to share what’s going on, develop a culture of celebrating and valuing the great things that are occurring in your school.  It will encourage teachers to support and be interested in their school and colleagues.
2. Start a school Twitter and ask all school personnel to create a twitter account and follow the school.  Create a school hashtag so that all postings by anyone use the hashtag and it creates a record of activity specific to your school.  Much like the blog, post daily events happening at the school.  Tweet about classrooms you observe – mention your teachers.  Again, ask each department to post a weekly tweet or two about what’s happening in that department. Encourage teachers to tweet on a weekly basis about what’s happening in their classroom.  Make this be a place for sharing with teachers and the community – connecting the school, teachers, parents, and students.
3. Encourage each teacher to create a Twitter account and provide each department with a specific hashtag to follow relevant to their content (i.e #mathchat, #sciencechat…there are most likely hashtags specific to each content area). Encourage each department to check in with the hashtag at least once before the department meetings and bring an interesting article/blog/posting to discuss to their department meeting.  This sharing and reflecting on content related topics will foster collaboration, reflection on practice, bring new ideas or create topics for debate to help teachers learn and grow in their knowledge and support each other.
4. Find relevant webinars or live conferences or live tweet chats and provide the time for teachers to meet and participate in these. Everyone could be on their own computer and participate and respond or you could have them in smaller groups with a designated computer person who responds (usually these live events provide avenues for responding via chat panels, twitter responses, etc.)
5. Create an online community, such as Moodle, where resources are shared, discussion topics are posted and teachers can respond and reflect, ask questions.  Post a weekly discussion and give teachers time to respond asynchronously. Provide ‘live chat’ times where you or another teacher leads a topic of discussion relevant to content or education or strategies or new tools, etc.  This provides a non-threatening forum for participation and collaboration.

Getting Social – Teacher Suggestions

1. Start a Twitter account and choose one hashtag relevant to what you teach (for example, #mathchat, #edtech, #edchat, #science)  Once you do, simply read posts and click on links and read the articles/blogs that the links direct you to.  If all you do is read some interesting things related to your topic of interest, even if you never tweet yourself, you are learning.  And, as you read you will notice some of the same folks posting really interesting information on a regular basis, and these then become the people you start following.  Once you find some interesting, relevant people to follow, look at who they follow and slowly build your network.  Eventually, start tweeting yourself – reply to someone’s interesting comment, or thank them for providing the link, or ask a question.  You will begin to find more people with great ideas.  If nothing else, you will be informing yourself and learning and getting ideas. Eventually, try to participate in a live tweet chat (times and topics for these are usually posted by hashtags you follow – for example, #edchat has a live tweet chat every Tuesday at 11 pm Central).  The first time is a little overwhelming, but reading the reflections and thoughts of everyone participating really gives you ideas, things to think about, relevant links and posts, and when you start contributing to the conversation, you then make connections and find others who can become part of your learning network.
2. Find some relevant content-related blogs to follow.  Do content blog searches – read some posts.  Set aside time every day, even if it’s only 10 minutes, to read one post. Eventually start responding and leaving comments – participate in the discussions.  It provides again, links to others who can support your own professional learning and in turn, connect you to others.
3. Join a community forum, such as Linked In, or The Math Forum, or Learning without Frontiers.  Within a forum, there are usually group discussions – find a discussion of interest and read what people are saying.  Contribute your thoughts and ideas to the discussion.  Begin a discussion topic yourself.  This will again, let others out there hear and see your ideas and provide you with a network of peers who can challenge you, provide you with strategies, and help you with struggles.
4. Start your own blog. For professional learning, you want to focus on posting ideas relevant to what you are teaching – so content, strategies, technology, etc.  Start small and just post maybe what’s happening in your classroom.  Or, perhaps after reading an interesting article or viewing a great video on YouTube, write a reflection on that.  Comment on something happening in the educational arena, like teacher layoffs or the Common Core standards. Any article/video/blog you reference, link to it and let whoever wrote it know you are mentioning them – this begins a relationship and connections and helps get other followers.  If you respond to someone else’s blog posts, reference your blog so they can find you. It’s about building a community and networking.  But, even if you don’t have a single person following your blog (which, if you post consistently, you will eventually have folks reading you), if you are posting reflections about what’s happening in your classroom, or thoughts on things you have read or tried or seen related to your teaching or content, you are learning.  You are reflecting and considering your approaches and strategies and beginning a process of improving your practice.

Clearly, this is only a few suggestions on how to get started – I know there are so many other things that someone can do to start using social media.  The key is to start – start small and personal. You will find it leads to some amazing learning opportunities and connections.  Those of you out there with other suggestions please share them – I want to learn myself, as I am still just beginning this journey of being social.

About the author: Karen Greenhaus is currently the Director of Education Technology Outreach for Key Curriculum (http://keypress.com), a math technology company that sells The Geometer’s Sketchpad (http://keypress.com/gsp), TinkerPlots (http://keypress.com/tinkerplots) and Fathom (http://keypress.com/fathom).  She provides professional development for teachers all over the country via face-to-face workshops, blended learning, webinars, and online courses. Karen taught in public schools for over 17 years as a math teacher and math administrator at the middle and high school levels.  She has a BA in math from Virginia Tech, MA in Curriculum & Education from Virginia Commonwealth, and is currently working on her Ed. D. dissertation on professional development in education technology at The College of William & Mary.  Her passion is helping teachers integrate technology effectively into classroom instruction. Karen blogs at http://greenhauseducation.blogspot.com

guest written by Nicola Petty

Lectures were invented before print was available for the dissemination of information. One person talked and other people listened. It was the best they could do at the time.

However, today we can do better. Lectures are a cost-minimising way of presenting information to a large group of people. Note I didn’t say cost-effective. The universities of the world love lectures, and their buildings reflect that. However all the research I have ever read says that lectures are not an effective way to teach. They can do a wonderful job of inspiring and even converting, and sometimes entertaining, and they can be really fun to give if you enjoy that sort of thing. (Which I do.) But sadly, they are not really a very good way to teach.

When I first started work as a “Lecturer” of Operations Research, I read up about the whole process of lecturing in order to do the best I could. I was an experienced highschool teaher, but knew that a class of 250 differed from a class of 33. I was a trifle dismayed to find that the method that I thought had served me just fine as a student wasn’t really very effective. I read that you shouldn’t talk while people are copying notes down. So I prepared my overhead transparencies (which were modern and innovative back then) and worked out my timing. Within two or three lectures I realised how boring this was for me. I would talk a bit, expose some notes, and wait for the students to copy them down verbatim. This was self-delusion – the copying process leaves much to be desired, and is especially fraught when involving mathematical formulas. In fact I brought in an unnecessary level of error.

I started to photocopy my transparencies and distribute them at the start of class. I left gaps for working problems. This definitely left much more opportunity for interaction and participation from the students. But it was still “statistical methods as a spectator sport.”

Fast forward a bit over a decade and things have changed with regard to what is available. Let me tell you about my course now. Thanks to a natural disaster, last year I have been able to abandon real-time, face-to-face lectures entirely. The course is delivered using a learning management system known a Moodle. There are eight sections, with material in various forms. Each section has open tests which the students take repeatedly until they master the material (defined as 80%). There is a bank of questions so that the tests are different each time. Then they sit through a similar test in a supervised setting, to ensure the student has done the work. Again they must gain a mark of 80% or better, but may have multiple attempts.

The most important part of the course is the tests. This is where the learning takes place. The support materials include lecture notes with audio (podcasts), lessons with step-by-step instructions, links to outside material, notes, videos of lectures from pre-earthquake, and carefully made videos which are hosted at www.youtube.com/creativeheuristics. You can read more about how the videos are made at www.learnandteachstatistics.wordpress.com. We provide daily opportunities for students to get one-on-one help, though surprisingly few take it up. The material is very carefully designed to build skills, confidence and learning strategies as the students progress through the course, so that at the end they are tackling difficult material that they would have balked at at the start of the course.

I could write much more about this course, and the success it has had, particularly for students who are not mathematically inclined. And I will – soon!

About the author: Dr. Nicola Ward Petty has taught business statistics and operations research at the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand for over twenty years. She was awarded a university teaching award in 2006 and has mentored other faculty, and developed innovative and successful courses to help people who find quantitative subjects difficult. You can read her blog here and follow her on Twitter here.