Happy Anniversary!!

So.  Once again it is time to drag myself out of the abyss of non-blogging.  It's been about a year without a post.  Let's get to it!


Quick Back-to-School Thoughts

After a few weeks off, it usually takes a bit longer than I would like to get back into things.  However, this year felt... different.  I suppose that in a way, I felt a lot less in control than I would have preferred to be.  And I don't mean that as a complaint, but it definitely had an impact on my mindset as I started to put plans together for the upcoming year.

Among the many changes taking place at our school and within our district is a huge re-evaluation of our assessment practices.  There are and have been a great many educators the world over who have been looking at how we grade our students and that discussion has been going on in a big way right here.

'Oh Arrested Development'...

It's difficult to really sum up some of my feelings because I think I'm still processing a lot of stuff.  It's a combination of wanting to retain things that have worked for me as a student and a teacher, a genuine desire to make needed adjustments and changes, and skepticism at some of the things I'm seeing.  And it sometimes feels very personal because it cuts to the core of how I teach and how I operate in my classroom.  It's... very complicated and that feeling grows when you realize that so many within education are going through the same process of trying to figure it out.

Here's a couple points of what I know about what will be happening this year, no doubt grossly over-simplified:

• we will be emphasizing clearly worded outcomes from the provincial curriculum
• we will be shifting towards using a 4-point scale to evaluate performance based on said outcomes
• we will be moving away from practices that don't address actual achievement (i.e. participation, no late marks, etc) 
• we will continue to look for ways to provide community-based support to students through CRM and greater teacher collaboration

There are a host of other changes that will be a part of this whole process.  I expect there will be some bumps along the way but I am always humbled and encouraged to work with the teachers that I do who share many of the same questions but also the same passion for teaching.

More to come...


I Tried Something New!

The first couple of days of can sometimes be a bit of a slog.  For a decade, I began my classes in the same way I imagine most teachers did: we went through the course outline.  However, I really wanted to be able to go over the same material and classroom setup in a more engaging way.  But what could I come up with on my own?

Enter Twitter.

I think I was perusing my feed late one evening when I came across a post from John Meehan (@MeehanEDU) that really piqued my interest.  In essence, he turned his course outline and syllabus into a welcome back game.  He took a lot of the clerical elements that would have been normally addressed and divided them up into separate stations where kids would assemble the supplies that they would need to begin their journey... things like getting signed up on Remind, Google Classroom, and completing introduction surveys.  It was awesome!!

It didn't take too much effort to adapt his great work to what I needed.  When the first day came, I was able to spend WAAAYYY less time going over the important but sometimes boring details and get to some actual fun.

Students busy completing their character sheets.

Some students worked on their own and others formed into groups based on the activity.

I was grateful to be able to bring in some more gamification into my instruction at such a crucial time: that first impression can really set the tone for what the year will be.  Thank you, John Meehan.


My New Ear-Worm

I went with my family to Edmonton over the Labour Day weekend and got to spend some time with one of my best friends who also works in education.  While there, I was introduced to a channel on YouTube that has become quite popular in our home since returning.

Pomplamoose Music.

This one has been one of our favourites.

~Mr.T

P.S.  Obviously, I'm going to try to do a better job posting regularly.  I'm going to try twice a week and see how things go.

P.P.S.  Hi, Mom...  =)

Mom, Distractions and Technology, and Doctor Who

I have a deep love and appreciation for my mom.  She has always been a great sounding board for my plans and schemes and a tremendous support for me personally and professionally.  On occasion she will send me links to articles or other cool ideas that she thinks might be of interest to me.  Today she sent me a link to a Master's Project by Patrick Tolman that examines the issue of technology usage and how it can be used to help at-risk high school students.  Coming in a hefty 198 pages, the whole thing might not pique the interest of every reader but there were a few points that stood out to me that I will attempt to describe a bit below.

Teachers have to deal with some sort of distraction on a daily basis.  This is increasingly true of the mobile devices that have become so essential in our society.  I've struggled with this a great deal in recent years.  While I LOVE using technology and the cool things that I can do for myself or with my students, there will always be those who are more interested in the games and social media interactions that are all around us.  Many of my colleagues and I regularly discuss the challenges that we have in restricting or even removing devices.  Tolman argues, though, that "removing the devices only gives ... students an additional reason to detach from their educational experience."

In an effort to avoid confrontation, I've tried to find some sort of balance: all devices must be put away when I am giving instructions to the group.  (Edutopia recently put out a video referring to this as 'professional courtesy.')

Once instructions have been given, students are free to work AND use their devices provided they aren't being a distraction for others or themselves.  Those students who choose to remain off-task will have devices taken away.  I'm not perfect at this but many students have begun to at least be aware of the need to regulate what they are doing while in class... at least when I can see them.

Perhaps one of the biggest points that grabbed my attention what what Tolman referred to as FoMA or the fear of missing out.  Social media has created a platform for people to share the experiences that they are having with a much larger audience than just their immediate circle of friends.  Many get hooked on being a part of the action, even if only through a text, Snapchat, or video.  The idea that someone else might be doing something fun or exciting without them is one of the biggest reasons that I see for people 'needing' to be on their phones.  Even when I have claimed a phone or two for a class, some students have really struggled with the thought that they're missing out somehow.  This goes back to the whole distraction piece mentioned above.

So. How do we turn this challenge into an opportunity?  In short, Tolman points out that teachers need to consider a few things:

• we should not have technology use for the sake of technology use; we cannot assume assume that simply using technology will lead to further learning
• students should be able to have some input into how their devices are used; they want to use their devices and having a sense of ownership over their education may lead to greater engagement
• technology use should be targeted to specific purposes within the classroom; there should be a goal in mind and students should be exposed to different programs and apps that might be helpful

He concludes his project by providing a number of lesson plans that have been tailored to include more specific uses of technology.  Tolman argues that by changing his perspective, he was able "to turn a classroom frustration (distracted cell phone usage) into a benefit.  I'm looking at this more in the same way that I will be considering presentational hooks... instead of fighting it, I can be looking for ways to incorporate mobile phones meaningfully into our learning activities.

My summary above might not be the most clear or helpful, so again I recommend skimming looking through the article on their own.

Thanks, mom.

Doctor Who

I don't always follow sports religiously during the regular season but playoff hockey has become a bit of an obsession since I was in Edmonton for the last Oiler's run in 2006.  That means that I'm behind on one or two shows (thank you, PVR) including this one.

I've been encouraged by early reviews so far as I was a lot more confused by the last season than I would have liked to have been been.  I suppose this can be my last hurrah before returning to the regular routine tomorrow.

No spoilers.  ;)

~MrT

Getting More Writing from Students, and A Return to ClassCraft

At the beginning of the school year, I decided to focus on increasing the amount of reading that my students did in class.  While I have to occasionally remind some students that they shouldn't be catching up on other school work, the majority of my students have indeed read more books than they had originally planned on.  I'm still working on incorporating some of the ideas from "The Book Whisperer," mainly on dealing with reporting and accountability, but I've been happy with what I've seen.

Student writing, though... well.  There's still some room for improvement.

About this time every year, thoughts turn to final exams and on whether or not we have been adequately preparing our students for the writing that they will be expected to do.  This has often led to a frantic rush in the final months to practice some of the structured writing required of them.  I'll also do quite a bit of thinking about how I could have been using writing more seamlessly earlier in the year.  And so... here we are again.

I came across an article from Edutopia that I'm curious to try out.  If the headline is to be believed, I can "increase engagement and lessen anxiety" when it comes to writing.

"Fire writing" is simple enough: don't stop to erase and fix the mistakes.  Just keep writing.  Rebecca Alber encourages teachers to provide written prompts that are designed to encourage fluency and stamina.  Where I haven't always followed through is in the act of providing a space for students to share their work with others.  The act of sharing with others and providing feedback helps to provide experience and comfort with the revision process.  I was also intrigued by the idea that I have already implemented with my reading program: just as students can choose what book they're going to read, they should have the same freedom to decide what they're going to write about.  Working with specific structures doesn't always have to be so restrictive.

Alber also introduces (at least to me) a strategy for assessment called GRASPS.  You can read more about it here but the acronym itself represents:

G... What is the real-world GOAL?

R... What is the real-world ROLE?

A... What is the real-world AUDIENCE?

S... What is the real-world SITUATION?

P... What is the real-world PRODUCT or PERFORMANCE?

S... What are the STANDARDS?

It should go without saying that having students help to craft at least some of these statements would be a helpful exercise in helping to increase student relevance and buy-in.

More to come on this one, methinks.

Classcraft Returns

Character or 'Avatar' creation remains popular.

After playing Classcraft for the better part of last year, I decided not to use it this year.  I enjoyed the game, but I had some issues with how seamless the entire thing was with my existing structures and routines.  I even had some students complain that it was taking far too long to deal with some in-game elements and that they would be much more interested in moving forward with what we should be doing.  

When a colleague approached me a few weeks ago and told me that he had discovered this amazing new game called Classcraft, I was able to answer some questions and give my take on a few things.  Soon, though, I started asking questions of my own.  It was becoming clear to me that many aspects of the game had been changed and improved from when I had last played it.  I found my own excitement building again and it wasn't long before I took the plunge and signed up once again.  

Classroom pitches proved to be pretty successful and I very quickly saw kids perk up as I described what would be happening with this game.  We are a little more than a week into things and already kids are coming in and asking about our Daily Events or how they can be using their powers and abilities to help out their teams.

I still have a few kids who aren't sure about the whole process, but I've felt better about the product being offered and how I can use it more effortlessly as a teacher.

I'll report on my progress later.  

~Mr.T

Back-To-School Blogging, Summer Recap, and "The Book Whisperer"

The return to classes can be an exciting and overwhelming time.  I imagine that like many other teachers I have spent a good deal of time thinking about the new things that I can bring to my classroom.  I'll get to some of those things in a minute, but I must, once again, acknowledge my failures to be a regular blogger.  It seems that in addition to the new, I must continue to work on some of my previous commitments.

Here we go...


How I Spent My Summer

I'll keep this brief, but I can't help but take a moment and reminisce about the exciting adventure that I was able to embark on with my family.  It was something that my wife and I had been planning and looking forward to for years and I was so grateful to be able to share so many memorable experiences with my children.

Without going into too many details, here are a couple of highlights:

• Driving around 6000 kms through the western United States
• Spending a week on the beautiful Oregon coast
• Enjoying 5 glorious albeit exhausting days at Disneyland
• Travelling to Calgary for a family wedding; we will be travelling to Edmonton for a second wedding in a week
• Other trips back and forth to Calgary to spend time with family, enjoy the zoo, and a day at Calaway Park

Much has been said about how good teachers have it when it comes to summer.  All I can really do is express my gratitude for having a career that allows me the freedom to spend this time with my wife and children.  I'm no busier or more special than a lot of other people, but it feels really good to unplug after what has often been a very busy school year.

Here are a few pics for good measure...

Liam exploring the trails near our condo in Oregon.

The tidal pools along the beach were always neat to see.

Our second go on what became our favourite ride at Disneyland.

Hard to beat a picture with Oswald.

"The Book Whisperer"

My wife has been encouraging me for years to read "The Book Whisperer" by Donalyn Miller.  She kept telling me for years that it might give me some ideas about how I could help give reading a jump start in my classroom.  I was genuinely interested in the concept, but often told myself that I was too busy during the school year to really have a look at it and I could maybe check it out in the summer.  I finally caved... and I'm glad that I did.

I won't give a detailed review or breakdown of the main points now, although I will likely touch on them over the course of the year.  Suffice it to say that my perspective on the value of reading was given a good wake-up call.  I was reminded of what reading is intended to be: something of interest that will draw you in.

I was so excited about some of the ideas that I even took one in particular and started running with it.  Donalyn Miller strongly advocates for the need for students to see constant reminders about the value of reading in the classroom.  This doesn't necessarily mean a dedicated reading area, although that would be great.  She does stress, though, that there is need for kids to be around good books.  In previous years, I have relied too heavily on whatever happened to be left in my classroom.  That wasn't going to cut it anymore.

With my wife's blessing (and eager offers to help, I might add) I began putting together my own library.

I will be giving myself a monthly budget to work with so that I can be constantly adding to the collection.  My hope is that I can create a library with something for every Developing, Reluctant, and Underground reader that enters my classroom.  I'll be reporting on my progress throughout the year.

Much more to come...

~Mr.T

The Multiplayer Classroom: Early Thoughts

Well.  When I woke up this morning, I certainly wasn't expecting a Monday quite like what happened.  In all seriousness, these are the kinds of days that you never want to deal with as a parent or teacher because it shatters the sense of safety that should prevail within our schools.  That some idiot somewhere thought that this would be fun or a good idea just makes me angry.  While I'm relieved that there was no incident in any of our city's schools, it was frustrating to see the disruption and confusion in what should have been a fairly normal day. 

That being said, I did have a chance to actually do some reading and took advantage of some free time to get started working on "The Multiplayer Classroom" by Lee Sheldon.  I've been impressed so far with the emphasis on developing a wholesale approach to gaming as the classroom as opposed to playing games in the classroom.  This is perhaps where I felt like I've been coming up short in my own limited attempts with programs like ClassCraft.  I love what the app allows me to do but it isn't really integrated into my approach as a teacher: it is tacked on and feel more like a gimmick.

Fairly early in the book, Sheldon talks about how learning through play is an important part of our own identity.  We develop our understanding of the world around us as we experiment with our senses at a very early age.  He uses the oft-used example of the child drawn to the heat of the fire who ultimately learns best by making the 'mistake' of being burned.  Sheldon argues that this is far more effective than any instruction on the matter and ends up asking why it is that we stop this play once children reach a certain age.  This decision to "get serious about learning" by regimenting it lessens the whole point of learning.  

Needless to say, I continue to be intrigued and think I've found something that I'm anxious to work my way through.  More to come...

Stardew Valley

Last week, I came across some review for an independently developed game called "Stardew Valley" which has been described as a love letter to some of the classic life/farm sims from the mid-1990s.  I can remember absolutely loving a game called Harvest Moon 64 which was incredibly simple in its premise: make relationships with those in the community, explore the surrounding environment, and save the family farm.  It is that simplicity that made the game so charming and enjoyable back in the day, and it is that feeling which Stardew Valley is trying to capture.

Behold...Schute Farms (I was going for Schrute but made a little typo)!  It ain't much but it's mine!

I love the fact that the game so lovingly creates that vintage / retro feel of its predecessors.  It definitely has captured that essential "just-one-more-day" drive that has so far kept fans coming back for more.  I've probably put in more time than I'd care to admit, but I'm amazed at just how much depth there is in something so seemingly simple.  Perhaps there's a lesson there.

And that music though... Beautiful!

I highly recommend this for anyone looking for a break from the hyper-realistic, overly violent shooters that too often drive the gaming industry.

~Mr.T