Clan Survivor Begins

Tomorrow, clan survivor begins. Hunters from each clan will have  to search the school for animals to feed their clans. No, not the kindergarten children!  Pictures of animals.  Members left in the class will have to build knowledge in order to stay in the game.  How do you make a fire?  How is an igloo made?  What about a longhouse?  A teepee? How will you make hunting tools.  How will you prepare for the hunt? What are all the parts of an animal used for? How will you carry water to the clan? How was clothing made?  What were plants used for. What was the purpose of rituals?  Each clan will build their knowledge base on our social media site, Collaborize.  They can post video links, websites with explanations, pictures from any source they can find.  Bonus points to those who manage to contact an expert.  Information must be valid. They will be challenged on the validity of their information. Is it from a reputable source?

Clans might lose members at any time due to the many dangers that existed.  The clan that discovers how people shifted from hunter/gatherers to building a civilization will experience explosive clan growth and win the game. They will own North America. (Well, a map of it).  Sh. Don't tell people how much fun it is to teach in a 21st century classroom or everyone will want to do it!

We are Going Live!

Our class internet t.v. is set up and ready to go.  We will be broadcasting live three times per week.  My classroom has been renamed The Hub and our internet station name is Hub21.  I love teaching in the 21st century!
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/hub21

Best Practices Canada

I had said I would post links to some great resources.  This is a winner. If you go to the webcast archives, it has demonstrations of lessons using best practices.
http://www.curriculum.org/secretariat/literacy_en.shtml

Metacognitive Awareness: The Keystone to Success

As part of Ontario's desire to implement research-based best practices, recent in-servicing has begun to focus on the role of metacognition in successful learning.

The following research paper explains the concept.  http://gse.buffalo.edu/fas/shuell/cep564/metacog.htm  Essentially students with strong metacognitive skills are aware of how they learn and can plan for learning.  These tend to be the most successful students.  The puzzle for me has been, how do I teach someone this skill?

I decided to distribute Learning Logs.  I gave each of my students a new notebook (sigh - the 3-ringed lined paper kind) and asked them to select a subject - either science or math.  They had to explain what they were currently learning in that subject, what they found easy and what they were finding difficult.  Once they had identified an area of difficulty, they had to develop a strategy to overcome the challenge. Students wrote avidly.

Education 3.0

Well, well, well.  I'm becoming a 3.0 Educator and didn't even know it. http://www.getideas.org/education/pillars/pedagogy 

Social Media is the Game Changer

I have introduced Collaborize, a closed, social media platform, to my class. After a few inane practice activities, I posted my first question that I hoped would prompt engaged learning.  The question had a response expiry time;  every student who responded that evening, would receive a treat the next day. There was a 4 hour window of opportunity.  7 of my students were able to respond.

The next morning I announced that the 7 students who had been able to go on our class site would be rewarded with a treat and the rest of the class would be left out.  This provoked a strong and indignant reaction from the class.  The activity had been structured to be competitive.  By design it led to winners and losers.  I informed the class that although 7 students were receiving treats, I did not believe that they had truly won because we had learned from our study of  Ice Age clans, that collaboration and cooperation were the key to survival.  Given that only 7 members of the class had

Education 3.0?

But I just figured out last summer that Web 2.0 wasn't a software package that I needed to download on my computer!!! The pace of change is breathtaking. "Intelligent tutors and personalized learning". Look what's coming next!!!

http://www.getideas.org/education/blog/education-30-and-system-transformation

Hamilton- Wentworth's Centre for Success

I've had a few questions about the Centre for Success. Here is a video explaining how the centre teaches struggling learners to understand their learning style and then use technology to become independent learners.

If You Intend to Go into Teaching, Make Sure You've Got the Right Skill Set

It is expected that within the next 10 years 50% of high school courses in the US will be delivered in a virtual environment.  It is a coming wave and young teachers or those going into teaching need to graduate with the right skill set.  Already over 3 000 000 K-12 students are participating in blended learning - a combination of in class and virtual instruction.

http://www.innosightinstitute.org/innosight/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/The-Rise-of-K-12-Blended-Learning.pdf

A New Teaching Process Evolves

One of  the expectations of a 21st century classroom is that teachers involve their students in real-world learning experiences that contribute to global understanding.  Why bother inventing activities for you class that mimic what might happen in  the real world, when they can be actively participating, contributing and creating in the real world?  Web 2.0 gives us the tools to do this.

My class is engaged  in it's first collaborative learning experience that is contributing meaningfully to knowledge.  My students are not jumping through hoops trying to figure out what I want.  Instead they now have a global audience, albeit a small one,  who is truly interested in what they discover and wishes to learn from them.   My students are actively participating in the development of this project, directing their own learning.   I have to say I didn't set out to do this.  I stumbled upon this in my desire to reinvent my job.  This project is evolving as I write.  We are winging it, figuring it out as we go.  Through this,  I realize that I am watching a whole new teaching process evolve.

Charles Darwin Would be a Fan of Web 2.0

As I watch in awe our huge leap forward in collaborative learning through Web 2.0, I can't help but wonder what Charles Darwin would have to say.  If you were to ask most people what Darwin's main thesis was, they'd probably respond, 'Survival of the Fittest'.  That was an enormous misrepresentation of his work.  Somehow his main message was lost.  For the record, here it is: what has allowed the human species to survive is its ability to cooperate and have empathy.   I think Darwin would be a fan of Web 2.0.

Wikipedia, the Curse of all Teachers

The exploration of validity has been extended into Science and Math classes for my grade 6 students.

In Science this week, a few of my students had a first hand experience of why assessing validity is important,  of why they must seek multiple, reputable sources of information and think critically about what they view.

Their current unit of study in Science is space.  Two of my students wondered how many times the moon would fit into the sun.  One pulled out his Ipad and they set to work.  Their first instinct was to turn to Wikipedia.  They found an answer and showed it to Ms. Swartz.  The class has already had numerous discussions concerning Wikipedia and its lack of reliability.   Ms. Swartz directed them to confirm the information.  From a second source, they found a different answer.  This, of course, led to a discussion of validity.  The students realized that they would have to check multiple sources before accepting either result as valid.  It turned out that the information on Wikipedia is wrong.   It was a good learning experience.

On a side note, a few IP addresses from my school are blocked from changing information on Wikipedia.  Last year during a lesson on Wikipedia, students learned why they cannot trust it.  A teacher demonstrated  how easy it is to change information on the site.  Two students took this lesson to heart and, unbeknownst to the teacher, engaged in a free for all updating of Wikipedia.  They had great fun until Wikipedia finally blocked access.

So You're Stuck with Out of Date Textbooks? Here's a Solution

As I mentioned in a previous post, 21st century fluency hinges on well-developed critical thinking skills.  Teachers must teach thinking rather than content. Content is learned in the process of practising critical thinking.

My grade 6 Language and Social Studies students have been exploring the concept of validity,  more particularly, how to assess the validity of the information they view.

We have been watching a compelling Discovery Channel documentary, Ice Age Columbus, which explains that the first people to come to North America did not come via the Bering Strait (as we had learned in school), but by boat across the Atlantic during the last Ice Age. The Beringia crossing came much later.  The information is current. Bruce Bradley's and Dennis Stanford's paper on this new theory was published in 2004. Our Social Studies textbook on the other hand was published on 1999.  It hints at a possible Atlantic crossing, but the primary focus is on Beringia.

Rather than abandon the textbook, we are instead assessing it's validity.  We are reading the text to determine which information is no longer valid, which information continues to have some validity and which information has not yet been proven.

The students are not answering low-level questions which would include:

1.  What is the Beringia Theory?
2. Where is the Bering Strait?
3. When was the last Ice Age?
4.  What are some new possibilities about how people arrived in North America?

This information they absorb indirectly in the process of the critical thinking activity. All of my students can answer those questions in a flash.  Instead, students have to evaluate the information they are reading, compare it to what they have learned and then draw conclusions which they have to be able to support.  The activity requires careful thinking.  Students work in partners and engage in meaningful discussion.

This activity has led to a new question for my class:


                             GOT A NEW IDEA?

              When Galileo introduced a new idea …

 THEY KILLED HIM!

How do new ideas become accepted?

We will be examining Bradley and Stanford's 2004 paper.

We will examine the rebuttal from Strauss et. all 2005
And finally we will look at Bradley and Stanford's response to Strauss 2006

My students will see a real world application of academic debate.
Thank your Dr. Bradley for the papers!

        

I'm Feeling Grateful

I was messaging with a new colleague in England. (21st century teachers develop a global professional learning network: PLN, which is great fun). He had contacted me because I had posted on Linked In that I feel very grateful to be working in a province that is committed to implementing 21st century fluency best practices and is providing funding and training.   He asked what this meant, particularly with regard to technology.
 I began to list how we use technology in my school.

At my school we are rich in technology, particularly assistive technology. We use it most effectively to help learners become independent..   Our grade 2's and 4's use MP3 players to self-monitor fluency in reading. We use Smart Ideas which allows weak (or any) writer to organize ideas before they begin the writing process.   Premier - which is a talking word processor is available.  We also have  Kurzweil to scan texts that can then be read aloud to struggling readers.  We have Dragon Naturally speaking (voice activated word processing )  to assist struggling writers. Students are allowed to use their phones, Ipads etc in class as long as they are involved in learning activities.  


 We have Online Math for students in grades 6, 7 and 8.   If a child is struggling with a concept, they can head to a computer with a tablet in the resource room, put on a headset and contact a math facilitator at our board office who will work one-one through the difficulty. Online after school assistance is also available through home until 9pm for grades 7-12. 


Many of our classrooms have Smartboards which are used in a variety of ways. All classrooms are wired and now have wireless. Identified students who require a laptop may be sent to the Centre for Success for 6 weeks where they are fully trained in how to use all of the assistive tech before being sent back into the classroom. In my class I have 7  computers, a projector, (I did have a document camera at one point) and one child has his own laptop, printer and scanner as part of his identified learning needs.  We also have a computer lab in the school with 32 computers.  Our lab has an open access policy.  A class may be in there, but if computers are available, other students may come in to work.
We have access to You Tube and Learn 360 - both remarkable resources for a wide variety of digital media. Our internet policy is fairly flexible; blocks are in place but negotiable (except for facebook). 
All of our students have their own email accounts and can transfer work between home and school using First Class - our communication system.  We have a few webcams for producing digital media.
This list is not exhaustive. I know there are teachers using digital media in all kinds of ways in my school that I don't know about.
As I compiled this list, I realized that there are many places in the world that do not have access to these kinds of resources or whose boards of education have locked down the internet in a misguided attempt to protect children.  Other areas have experienced severe cutbacks due to the economic recession, including reductions to a four day school week.   I do feel lucky that I am able to implement new ideas because my students have access to technology.  

Upcoming PBS Documentary on How Students are Using Digital Media

http://www.pbs.org/digital-media/
This comes via Ramon Largaespada. Upcoming PBS documentary on digital learning.


Targeted to parents, teachers and anyone concerned with education in America, explores how exceptional instructors are increasingly using digital media and interactive practices to ignite their students’ curiosity and ingenuity, help them become engaged, allow them to collaborate with peers worldwide, and empower them to direct their own learning. If you can’t make this, I suspect they will have a post event link in their YouTube channel.

The documentary will touch upon how new media practices are creating new avenues for kids to interact, collaborate and learn + will include a segment on the use of mobile devices. Should be really interesting.

Let the Horse Play Begin!

Are your students playing enough?  Are you playing enough?

On Monday I will be attending a talk on enhancing metacognition in children. I've been scouring the internet for current research on this topic. Thank you TED, once again you've provided me with just the right resource: a justification for play in my classroom.

Transforming Children Through Outdoor Education

As we transition to technology-based, globally connected classrooms, it is important to carefully consider whether this move to technology is truly meeting the needs of all students. Our goal in a 21st century classroom should not be technology for the sake of technology, but differentiated instruction that develops the talents and skills of all learners.  As educators we must take the time to consider which students do not thrive in a regular classroom setting and consciously plan to engage them.

I am fortunate to live in an area that has access to outdoor education programs.  Just a few hours north of  us lies cottage country.  Hundreds of small and large lakes connected by forests and rivers pepper the landscape. Bordering the lakes are small towns, occasional farms,  privately owned cottages and "camps". It is from Camp Wanakita that we have just returned.  Thanks to our wonderful phys-ed teacher, Mr Verschoor, our grade 6 students enjoyed a 4-day uniquely Canadian experience: winter camp.

 At Wanakita, students stayed in cottages with friends.  Mealtime was in the dining hall. There, students learned appreciation for food production and the importance of avoiding food waste.  Some of  our students learned for the first time how to set and clear a table.  They learned to wait until thanks have been expressed before eating and many who live rushed lives, learned how to engage in conversation during a meal.

Each day energetic camp counselors led activities. Students challenged their fears by climbing the high ropes (10metres to the top)  They learned to cross-country ski and snow shoe. During orienteering they learned to read maps and work together to reach a goal.   They skated on the frozen lake, built snow forts,  and played Food-Chain Survivor in the woods.  During one evening we had a lantern-lit night-ski across the frozen lake to a campfire and hot chocolate.  On another night we hiked through the woods and learned to listen to  the silence and see in the dark.  During the evenings we danced or played games. Technology was banned during our four days - no video games, no cell phones, no "connected".   On the last day as we were preparing to leave we were informed that we were snowed in