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ISTE Travels

July 4th, 2011 · conferences, UDL

During the ISTE 2011 Conference this past week, the students gave out some postcards containing a QR Code that linked to a survey we all created as a group.  The survey tied into their project about numbers in their lives – they decided to ask the ISTE crowd for some numbers that they could look at as well.  So –the theme “We All Count” was carried through into the crowd made up of people from all over the country and the world.  Here’s a link to the original survey: http://www.tinyurl.com/paiste11 The questions asked the crowd about their travels and posed some comparative math questions.  Here’s ISTE’s responses:

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Yes, people travelled a long distance to the conference, and many did come alone.  The potential is there for deeper analysis of ISTE folks; the point of the presentation and this survey is to show students that math is relevant and can tell interesting stories.  Students think deeply about math and can problem solve and analyze a whole lot better when the math relates to something real.  It’s everywhere –classrooms can foster and strengthen math skills and knowledge if students structure and analyze problems and information in a relevant manner, not just in a textbook.

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UDL and ISTE 2011

May 30th, 2011 · Random Posts

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In June, I will be accompanying a group of students to present a student showcase at the 2011 ISTE Conference in Philadelphia. Preparing for their presentation has been an enlightening learning experience for all of us. The kids are from a class that has been funded by a NJDOE INCLUDE Grant which trained teachers and school leaders to infuse Universal Design for Learning (UDL) principles into the learning environment.  My hope is that the students’ showcase will bring those very principles to life for professional education audience who stops by our booth on Monday.

Students will be discussing how math is a part of their lives by analyzing their daily habits using some open source tools.  As ISTE approaches, I am delighted to see that the projects truly reflect the individual child.  The technology available to them, gave these kids a myriad of choices to express their findings and ideas.

As project director for the grant, it has taken me this long to really “see” UDL up close.  The grant has given us the resources to design learning spaces that offer choices to both teachers and students.  In working directly with the students, I had the opportunity to better understand the critical role that teachers play in classroom design.  They must offer kids freedom and confidence to explore and make proper choices for their own learning.  I have had the luxury of working with these students in an “after school” model, so we have had the freedom of choice and experimentation.   The question remains –how do we train teachers to take some risk and build learning choices into their classroom culture?  I must admit, the project began with a template type presentation plan, where each student would collect, analyze and visually present their individual data.   As the kids discussed what numbers mean in their lives, it became clear that each visualization of their ideas and findings would be as unique as they are. The showcase truly will be about UDL and the uniqueness of learners and their approaches to gaining understanding of concepts.

A couple of years ago, during a NJDOE state meeting someone asked the grant program director what a UDL classroom should look like.  We were all struggling with infusing the needed change into our school.  She answered, “I can’t explain it, but I’ll know when I see it”.   Back then, the answer made us all a bit frustrated and wondering if we would ever be able to satisfy the grant principles if the State leaders could not give an example of what the classrooms should look like.  She was right in her answer, you can’t  describe what a UDL classroom environment should look like, because the learning environment should be created by its users.  It’s comparable to Web 2.0, where the growth and vitality lie in its users.

I have seen such a model in these students.  One student is a wizard at Mathematics but struggles with writing.  He explained his data story beautifully using a free app on an iTouch that transcribed his words into text.  He’s now proud and excited to present his work, not written for him by a scribe or teacher paraprofessional, but created using his own words.  Another student was shy when recording her story orally, so she expertly typed it into a laptop and let the text to speech program speak for her.

After diving into professional development strategies, readings, lesson plans and a myriad of  meetings for four years,  these students have quietly led me to the understanding of UDL.

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It Takes a Blizzard

December 29th, 2010 · Random Posts

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December 28, 2010 – 4 days since Christmas Blizzard:

My town has not yet plowed my street; our dead end section tucked up on a hill always seems to be last on the list.  This blizzard of 2010 was a whopper, so here we are stuck in the house for four days straight.  I don’t mind being home, welcome it actually – we have lots of toys, plenty of Holiday leftovers, movies to watch, books to read, and I’ve taken advantage of the time to do some deep closet organizing.  However,  I can’t help but reflect on the concept of choice.  The reason we are stranded is understandable – there were tons of emergencies on the road, plows broke down, and budget cuts.   What I am feeling is the lack of choice for my day.  I could walk down the hill, but the snow is at least 2 feet, so it would be difficult and slow going.  This presents a huge barrier for my activities.

As educators do we give our students enough choice in the classroom?  We have a standards based curriculum, pacing guides, and lesson plans to plow through (no pun intended) during the school day.   Is there any choice in learning activities and environment offered throughout the day?  Do we let students choose to present knowledge according to their own learning style?  Are cognitive issues addressed?  My lack of choice over these four days has given me time to relax, play, read, and reflect.  The choices are what they are – but I have no freedom to expand on them.  That’s what is different and unsettling for me.  Do our students feel that way in class when they are given pages in a book to complete, or a PowerPoint template to fill in about a certain country or state?  A good rule of thumb as teachers start 2011 next week – make sure students do not feel snowed in and just settling for what you give them to do.  Make sure they learn to make choices about learning paths and how to personally reflect along the way.

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Success

May 3rd, 2010 · Google, Random Posts

As a teacher, of both middle school students and adults,  there are always “aha” moments which bring a smile to my face. Students’ unpredictable natures and honest conversations can teach us a great deal and always bring about countless “aha” moments to remember.   It’s one of the benefits to blogging…..we can “aha” catalog.

I often write here about my grandsons and their learning as well, but for this entry, the smile came to my face with a simple visual message from an adult who was in a training session that I taught last Saturday.   The topics included using Google tools to enhance school leadership and collaboration. Part of the time also focuses on using web 2.0 tools such as Twitter and Diigo to further examine implications for networking within school communities.

For most participants, the whole concept of online document sharing and social networking in schools is foreign, not because they do not think it’s valuable, but because of firewall and IT concerns.   However, they were open to learning and exploring the value of the collaboration features and possibilities for personal learning growth.

My aha smile came after the class later that day as I was cleaning up some test documents in my google docs from class, and reading some recent tweets.   I’ve embedded the screen shots here to give you a sense how I felt when I saw them.  It may seem silly, but these two online communications from the same person simply made my day.

During Class 10:34 AM some practice with google docs:

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and later that same day……

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Sleep Talking

April 21st, 2010 · HOME, Kids, Random Posts

Several months ago I had a talk with my 6 year old grandson that I may never forget.  It was during those treasured few minutes between a child’s bedtime story and sleep, where innermost thoughts are sometimes shared.  I always read a book to Patrick and his younger brothers Jack and Owen, then chat about school or plan projects together, That night I casually asked Patrick how 1st grade was going – his answer was clearly insight into the stuff that most educational experts, bloggers, researchers, and the rest try to grasp.   Patrick said, “ I don’t like that my teacher gets to do all the talking – I wish I could talk more to the other kids during class.  I like to learn things, but I want to do it in a fun way.  Kindergarten was much better for me.  I wish 1st grade was like Kindergarten, I learned in a fun way last year.”
As his heavy eyelids fluttered and then closed, I knew this conversation had been a rare treat that may not come around again.  He’s starting to read his own books before bed now while I read to his two younger brothers.  The next time I saw Patrick he was busy playing with those little guys, very occupied in his 6 year old world.  Our next sleepy conversation may be about something else – perhaps baseball practice, or some questions about a trip he wants to go on.  That particular Saturday evening sleepy time moments, however, will stay with me.  Will Patrick just fall in line with school and classroom structures because that’s how things are done?   What can schools do to keep the Kindergarten atmosphere of discovery and fun in learning?  What can families do to supplement what isn’t happening in schools that motivate their children to be creative thinkers and learners?   How should schools change in order to sustain creative thinking?   As grandmother, educator, and lifetime learner, I worry.

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Six and Four

September 7th, 2009 · HOME, Kids, Random Posts

DSC_0693My grandsons are a constant amazement to me and the best teachers I’ve ever had.  Whenever I attend an educational conference or stumble on an insightful blog entry about learning I end up in conversation with them about it.  After all they are the blank slates that we as educators are looking to build upon.   They are students of tomorrow, the digital learners and other terms being thrown around in ed publishing these days, so I feel lucky to have this opportunity to learn from them.  The photo seen here is from the water park in Asbury Park;  they were very interested in the inner workings of the system – how the huge teacup was timed to dump onto the crowd,  how the water pumped into the various gadgets.

I’d like to begin a series of blog entries about my learning experiences, so here’s entry #1.

What Patrick and Jack taught me this week:
(oh, by the way, they have a little brother who is 2, we’ll bring him into the mix soon)

1.  Don’t be afraid to keep going onto the next level when learning something new, even if it is labeled outside of your age group or ability level.

2.  Ask alot of questions – some examples from this week were  – why aren’t cars made of wood?  why do clouds disappear?

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Binder Transfer

September 6th, 2009 · Random Posts

bindersIn my frenzy to tidy up my home workspace before the school year starts, I was faced with a pile of plastic binders containing some valuable “handouts” distributed at conferences, meetings,  classes, and other f2f experiences over the past year.  I decided to transfer the best of the bunch onto the web.  One rule of thumb, NO SCANNING.  I’ll only transfer the information into my online stuff if it resides somewhere already.

OK, here’s the process:

  • All links will be organized into my Diigo Account and/or Google Reader (I’ll be sure to do some smart tagging and lists)
  • Things worth blogging about or additional reflection will appear in this blog, simple enough.
  • Anything which presents itself as attachments I’ll post to the teacher resource area if appropriate, or to one of my google sites that fits the topic.

How did I end up with so much paper?  Much of it is from conferences and workshops (yes even ed tech ones!),  but the bulk of the pile is from my educational leadership program which I just finished.   If/when I do assume a leadership role,  a paperless working environment will be a priority goal from day one.

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Conference Faves – Virtually and Live

July 28th, 2009 · conferences

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BLC is one of my favorites conferences, so I’m happy that I can check into it now and then virtually from NJ.  (With the help of hashmarks on twitter (#BLC09) and RSS feeds, it’s a snap.  Some of the best finds so far for this virtual lurker has been this web 2.0 toolkit wiki and the digital backpack netvibes collection by Lindsey B (updates constantly).   Amazing stuff !


I attended a few live conferences recently – thought I would list some favorite sessions and “a ha” moments here:
(Please be sure to check out my del.icio.us feed for additional resources that were found)

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GOOGLE!
Google Certified Teachers Day – Google New York Offices. Hands down this one wins!  The a ha from google GCT day is the amazing community of professionals in the google certified teacher online group who continue to share ideas and support one anothers learning each day.  I encourage anyone who doesn’t have a google account to grab one, and try out the apps and tools!  They apply for the next Google Teacher Academy!

nctm_logo4April 22-25 Washington DC
National Council of Teachers of Mathematics
Some worthwhile presentations, but I was frustrated with the lack of connectivity in the hall.  This was in DC, same spot as NECC, so we know it’s doable.  There were some hands on workshops that needed internet, where the presenters just had to present offline.  Not fair to people who prepared so well for big conference appearance.  Anyhew – a couple of my faves……The Washington International School Parent Math Night Presentation, complete with the hands-on activities used and the children.  Truly inspiring kids.  Students always draw the biggest crowds and present so openly and honestly about their learning.

Another excellent preso was by Dr. Robin Angotti from The University of Washington, Bothell.   She and 3 undergraduate students preparing to be teachers presented ways they were using “Math 2.0″ as student teachers.  It was a practical and useful display (and without internet connection they pulled it off beautifully.



(Some Very Random Reflections)

Computational Thinking Resources provide program guidelines for teaching computer science.
Here’s another gaming design preso – specifically for middle schools.
More science here at the NASA Digital Network.

In the Open Source Lab, the audience was given an introduction to Information and Communication Technology (ICT) by Vern Ceder, Jeffrey Elkner and two very impressive high school seniors.  The group presented Computer Programming for Everybody:  Python in the Classroom.  I must say, this is a foreign language to me, but I’d love to jump onto the ICT highway and see where programming classes would take our middle and high school crowd.  The Scratch Program is a great introduction to ICT for the younger set…. I’ve  joined the Scratch Community site;  Python language learning is definitely worth exploring.  Looking forward to designing some lessons and some student interaction.

Also presented in the Open Source Lab Python Session was The Open Book Project, which is “aimed at the educational community and seeks to encourage and coordinate collaboration among students and teachers for the development of high quality, freely distributable textbooks and educational materials on a wide range of topics”.  Awesome.

Picked up a Demo CD in the vendor area which peaked my interest from the Mind Research Institute.  I’ve already tested out the software on a tough audience (my 4 year old grandson Jack).  The unique visual content paired with multiple step math concepts engaged him thoroughly.

The bloggers’ cafe, as always, was a comforting centralized meeting place where you could always find good conversation and f2f reflection on conference finds.

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Ted Talks/The Formula for Changing Math Education

July 13th, 2009 · Math, Random Posts

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Retiring

July 1st, 2009 · Middle School

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Since May of 2005, our middle school has partnered with Kean University for a groundbreakng research based 1:1 laptop intiative, where a team of 7th and 8th graders have his or her very own Apple laptop computer with wireless capability for classroom learning.  I grabbed this image as a souvenir from the last 4 years of this initiative.   The mac homepage has been a good friend to us, so as it retires (officially on July 7th) we are grabbing this image to remember the hit counter that grew over the years.  We’ll move over to another homepage, but will park the counter here as a memento.

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