The Commons

I have several posts that need to be written, but I am starting with The Commons. This summer one of my former teaching partners, Jared Bennett, who is now a 21st Century Fluencies consultant for our board, spent the summer designing a Social Media site for our board.  You can follow the story of the development of the site here: http://dev.commons.hwdsb.on.ca/ It is well worth reading as it lays out a how to as well as the rationale for a secure SM dedicated server. It acts like Facebook/Twitter in that you can follow people, post status updates and share links. It allows each student to have a blog. But the true beauty is that it is devoid of data mining and advertising. It is a safe place for all learners to experience and see modeled good digital citizenship.

I feel very lucky to be on board early to witness the explosion occurring as more and more teachers, students, administrators and even tech people at the board (who EVER gets to hear directly from them?) are sharing in this sphere.  Several teachers at my school have begun to explore blogging and are experimenting for the first time with Social Media as an educational tool.  Magic is happening!

As ever though, it is observing the learners as they realize the potential of this tool, that holds my fascination as an educator.  I have one student who began the month with very little understanding of the usefulness of social media. She is now an avid fan of Evernote, she has learned to use Prezi as a digital media presentation tool and has taken to blogging like wildfire - already moving ahead independently, figuring out on her own just what exactly she can do on her blog.  Her pleasure in recognizing that social media is a multi-dimensional conversation where she can receive authentic feedback from someone other than her teacher has given me pleasure.  Her understanding that she has at her hands a medium with endless creative potential is inspiring. She is a blogger to watch!

Jared Bennett, I can't thank you enough for bring this to our learning community!

Edcamp Toronto

Over the past few months, I have been working with an exceptional group of people to organize the GTA's first Edcamp which will take place on October 15 at York University. http://www.edcampto.org/blog/ What is EdCamp Toronto? EdCamp Toronto is an exciting new approach to professional dialogue and learning. This unconference is dedicated to expanding and extending our conversations about schooling and education in the 21st century. EdCamp Toronto is a participant-driven event. We value and rely on the expertise,experiences and enthusiasm of all those who register. Who is invited to EdCamp Toronto? EdCamp Toronto is open to anyone with an interest in K-12 education:teachers,administrators,parents,community members. We believe that education is enriched and strengthened when all voices are invited into the conversation. What is the Conference Fee for EdCamp Toronto? $0-$10. We are committed to making EdCamp Toronto happen with minimal or no cost to participants. With no high-priced keynotes,no elaborate conference centres,glossy brochures or fancy lunches,we are dedicated to minimizing costs and making your conversations and contributions the most valuable element of the day! How will the day be organized? EdCamp Toronto will offer participants the opportunity to participate in approximately four (4) different sessions throughout the day. The unconference design of the day means that we really won’t know what sessions are available until participants arrive with their topics and questions. This model has been tried and tested in other cities across North America. The process works,and the day will run smoothly! Who will be presenting at EdCamp Toronto? You will! Ideally,all participants come with a topic,a question,or something to present to the group. This helps create the dynamic energy that is part of the unconference approach. A democratic process helps decide the final agenda,with the most popular and engaging topics forming the final agenda. Seriously,you are allowed to come and just be part of the day,but a big part of the learning comes from being as active in the process as possible. For more information, vist our website

Schema Boxes

Grade 6:

I began this school year by teaching students about schema http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schema_(psychology) - how we use the knowledge that we have to interpret new information.

We began with a Brain Rules video from John Medina. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzbRpMlEHzM

After this I tossed out several topics. Students had to activate their schemas on those topics and share them with the class. I chose two topics: dogs and space.  For each topic students jotted down their background knowledge, including feelings.

When these were shared students noticed that some people had  greater background knowledge than others. We talked about how some students would then have an easier time in science class, for example, when it came to the space unit, as they already had knowledge to draw upon.
Students also noted that for some, dogs were scary and for others friendly beasts.  We talked about how each person's schema would determine how they reacted to an unfamiliar dog.

The goal, of course, is to encourage them to learn how to draw upon background knowledge when faced with knew learning.   As well, I want them to be able to  recognize why someone might have an easier time with a particular subject.

After this discussion, students were given the task of creating  personal schema boxes.  They were to think about the things/events in life that had really shaped them as people (negative or positive), decorate a box with symbols and pictures and put 5 items of significance inside that showed this.  These were then presented to the class.

What I loved most about this activity was the oral component. It gave students the opportunity to show who they are as people right at the beginning of the year. I found out so much, especially about the quieter students in the class.  I think this activity has helped create a feeling of respect for the uniqueness of each person.

Now ... if you are wondering how I assessed the schema boxes ... I didn't! 

Transliteracy

There are certain terms that are rising to the fore with which educators must become familiar. One of them is transliteracy.


Transliteracy is an umbrella term encompassing different literacies and multiple communication channels that require active participation with and across a range of platforms, and embracing both linear and non-linear messages. -Dr. Susie Andretta, London Metropolitan University.

Transliteracy is a "convergence of literacies", (Lippincott, 2007:17) -Dr. Susie Andretta, London Metropolitan University.

slideshare via @larflemingcy.

Cynthia Jabar has an excellent site that explores the ideas of transliteracy.
 http://www.transmediakids.com/

I'm sharing this for two reasons:
1. We need to shift our teaching of genre. Educators must become familiar and comfortable with emerging genres and how learners interact with them, rather than merely teaching those with which we are familiar.

2. It's a great site and well worth sharing. Thanks Cynthia.

A little recognition is always nice :)

Featured teacher on Collaborize? That's a nice surprise. http://www.collaborizeclassroom.com/blog/teacher-spotlight-for-september-heidi-siwak/

Welcome to Collaborative Learning

Hello, parents and community members, this is a chance for you to see one of the ways that
learning works in the 21st century. If you click on the link below, a google document will appear. Anyone with the link may write on and edit the document. Feel free to send a message to our class!
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1t6R7Y_BIUA-gpIEn_h6xCJX3o3tBtQu_xy1qlxWj0nY/edit?hl=en_US

Livebinders

I have begun keeping a livebinder for digital media for my classes.  Students can now go back and visit sites, instructional videos, tools etc.  that we have been introduced to in class.  At this point it is not a collaborative binder although it is available for public viewing.

http://livebinders.com/play/play/187963

The Standardized Test Generation Goes to University

I was listening to panelists on CBC radio last week discussing the current state of the Canadian student. University professors were expressing frustration at the lack of thinking abilities of today's students.  Where in previous generations students were activists wanting to drive change in their communities, current students display a marked lack of interest in political events and community building.  They do not even seem to have a desire to engage in debate and discussion of ideas.  Part of this may be the crotchety  "things aren't what they used to be sentiment"  but I have a strong suspicion that something greater is at play: the standardized test generation has arrived at university.

Ten years ago a change happened in our education system. Teachers by and large lost control of our classrooms and top down direction of what and how to teach became the norm.  We were given specific texts that we had to use and many learning activities that we used to engage in were dropped. Specific curriculum was developed and teachers became obliged to teach to that curriculum and in ways specified by the decision makers.  This required us to drop certain parts of our programs including current events.  There was no longer time to include them in our units of study.  When elections happened, for example, I was no longer able to cover them, because government is a grade 5 unit of study and in grade 6 we learn about First Nation's and Explorers.  What was taken away from classrooms was the flexibility to respond to events as they were happening.   Once the Fraser Institute began publishing test results and ranking schools the pressure was on.  Teachers in my school became stressed, angry and frustrated and many tears were shed as we struggled to obtain good test scores, even though we questioned the value of those scores.  Some of the in-servicing we received to improve our teaching skills was useful, but I don't think it made up for the loss of  developing informed citizens. There may have been a major event happening, but we had no time to read about it and discuss it because our long-term plan required us to be reading certain genres of books and texts.  I no longer taught about the Olympics when they happened, for example, nor topical social justice and political issues.   Our only social justice topic became those in the Nelson readers. So now these students have arrived at university and they are uninterested in topical issues.  I find this very interesting and somewhat disturbing.

This is opinion - I have no research to validate my suspicions. I could be wrong, but my gut instinct says I'm not far off the mark.

Curriculum is Dead?

 Two grade 7 learners stopped by my classroom this week to ask if I was willing to supervise a photography club. My initial response was, "AHHHHH, how will I fit this in?" I didn't say no, but asked for time to think about it. As we walked down the hallway it hit me, "There it is - our new model of learning."
 1. These students have chosen a challenging and interesting task - learn photography.
2. All the necessary resources are currently available on the web - youtube videos, livebinders, websites, blogs, twitter, .....
3. Science, math, language, history, geography, technology and other content subject areas are all present. 4. The role of the teacher is co-learner and facilitator.
5. Direct access to experts is available through Skype, and other forms of social media.
6. Learning can be shared through a social media site such as http://www.collaborizeclassroom.com/
7. Learning goals can be set independently and tracked by many people, experts, teachers.
8. Creativity, exploration and problem solving are central to the task.
9. As they learn they may document the process so that others can learn.

 Two problems:
1. These students are limited by the structure of school and have to pursue their learning goals outside of classroom hours. Why, if they've identified how and what they wish to learn next, is this so?
2. Mandated curriculum.

 How should our school systems adapt? As educators we are caught between two worlds - the old one of mandated curriculum and the new one of any time, any place, any tool, any topic learning. Educators who are oblivious to this building pressure are, as I've said many times, going to have the rug yanked out from underneath them. At a certain point, learners are going to demand to have control of the learning process, because they will already have experienced this mode of learning outside the classroom - at home, with their friends, online. This is already happening in scattered parts of the world, but momentum is building.
 http://www.uncollege.org/
 http://steve-wheeler.blogspot.com/2011/09/waynes-world.html

 I'm looking for feedback on this one, most of all from the Ontario Ministry of Education: What is your plan? Will you drag your heels or leap forward? Given how few education decision makers I see participating in Social Media as a learning tool - not just sending one-way messages - but actually engaging in this very important conversation - I am not optimistic that this will occur as rapidly as it needs to. It's election time in Ontario. It would be prudent for parents of learners to investigate the educational policies of the parties. Are they looking to the future or to the past?

Return to Minecraft

With the advent of school, I have returned to Minecraft and have updated My Life as a Non-Gamer. I will be participating in #massiveminecraft this Sunday: global online event to assist adults in exploring Minecraft which I found out about by chance on Twitter. Sign up took place this week for Minecraft club - we now have 54 students who are very serious about this game. It is time for the HWDSB to begin to think about how to allocate resources to gaming as it represents such a rich and powerful way of learning. From now on, all Minecraft related posts will appear on My Life as a Non-Ga

Edcamp Toronto, Time to Register

October 15 is looming fast and registration for Edcampto opens up tomorrow. It will take place at York University. Thanks to Michelle Solomon and Stephen Hurley who worked very hard to secure a location for this event. Edcamp is an opportunity for anyone with an interest in education to join the conversation and share ideas and practices for the 21st century. Edcamps are springing up around the world and represent rich learning opportunities for all. There are only 300 spots available so if you are interested snag your spot. The greater the variety of voices the better! I have to keep mentioning Michelle Soloman and Stephen Hurley who've been doing on inordinate amount of work behind the scenes! Information can be found here: http://www.edcampto.org/ I still seem to be having trouble putting active links into blogger so you may have to highlight it and drop it in your browser.

Last Little Bits

Ashley, Emily and Carlie have been hard at work this week going through the app on their nutritition breaks. They've been proof-reading, thinking about final layout, identifying places where important information is missing and completing the final small tasks. This is their list so far of what needs to be done. (They realized after that they meant biography, not bibliography)

This impresses me in particular as our original lists from the end of last year of who had completed what disappeared over the course of the summer. This made the job tedious, but their determination to complete this project is driving them. No mark needed! Once again the class owes them a very big thank you!

Update For Edcampto

Organizers have been working hard to make Edcampto an outstanding event. Michelle Solomon and Stephen Hurley, you are amazing!!! Thanks for all your work. They've been working non-stop, found us a venue at York University and now sponsorships are coming in. From Mind,Share, Learn to Microsoft, to Scholastic, they are lining up.

Here's a link with full information. Registration opens on Friday. It will be a fantastic day for conversations about education. Hope to see you there!

http://www.edcampto.org/?page_id=43

A Welcome to My Class Letter

It has taken me some time this fall to pull together everything that I have learned from last year and tie it together into a program. Finally, thanks to Thomas Galvez' course outline http://techskills.blog.sis.org.cn/blog/ I've been able to clarify what it is that we need to accomplish.

Here it is:

Welcome to Grade 7 Language and Social Studies:
Mrs. Siwak
Room 208

You are in the school system at an interesting time in history. The world is changing rapidly and technology is allowing learners to learn and work in new ways. Throughout the world schools and education systems are being redesigned and opening up to new ways of learning. The world has become our classroom. My goal for you this year is to help you develop the skills that you need to navigate this new world.



While continuing to focus on improving reading and writing skills you will:

Develop a personal blog site as a portfolio of learning.

Develop Digital Citizenship Skills - develop a positive digital presence and learn how to protect your privacy

Develop a Personal Learning Network (PLN) using a variety of online tools and resources

Learn the ethical use of creative works found on the internet: Creative Commons

Develop research and curation skills - how to organize, keep track of and SHARE web resources effectively

Improve digital presentation skills - including our internet t.v. station, Hub21

Learn to use Social Media appropriately and effectively.

We will be using a project or inquiry-based learning model for most of the work that we do.


I can be found at:

Twitter: @heidisiwak Where I interact with a global community of educators sharing ideas and tools for education in the 21st century

My blog: http://heidisiwak.blogspot.com/ (aka: 21Century Classroom: The Amaryllis)

And of course, by email.

I am so looking forward to this year!
Mrs. Siwak

Feeling Foolish

My apologies to all former Social Studies students who had to sit through a mapping lesson, while I demonstrated how grids, symbols, legends and tables work.

This year using the knowledge of last I am deliberately structuring my lessons to be problem-based. I am sorry to admit that I used to put maps on the overhead, point out the grids, show how to use them blah, blah, blah.

This year I put my students into groups and gave them road maps of Ontario with no instructions. Learners hovered over them in excitement making discoveries, finding places they had been to and most of all discussing with each other their observations. They were fully engaged. I then gave the students two problems to solve. The first was to locate the town of Janetville a place all were unfamiliar with. Students began searching for the town, discussing strategies and ways to find the town. Eventually one group realized that there was an index; they also discovered the letter/number grid. They figured out that the town must be located within a specific square and promptly found it. Their excitement was audible. After giving other groups a few more minutes to perhaps make the same discovery, I pinned the map to the board, gathered students in our "gathering spot" and the girls who had figured out the method taught the class how to do it. My only task in this was to help them with vocabulary and to summarize more precisely what the steps were.

The next task was to find out how far it is from St. Thomas to Marathon - again unfamiliar places. Groups used their new learning to locate the towns and then began devising strategies for measuring distance. Rulers came out, the scale was referred to and then one group suddenly discovered the distance table. They figured out how it worked and once again excitement and pride in the accomplishment was audible. Shortly after another group made the same discovery. I then sent learners from these groups out to share their discovery with others. It only took a few minutes for the entire class to understand the process.

I'm feeling rather foolish for having tortured previous students with my mapping lessons. I am wondering now if any of them had actually learned anything at all!

Welcome???? Maybe not.

One of my colleagues from another country shared an introduction to computer class that her grade 7 son brought home during the first week of school. My eyebrows shot up when I saw it, but what I truly wondered was what would my students think if they were to be given such a paper? It begins with what not to do in class, closely followed by how they will be punished should they choose to engage in that behaviour, including how marks can be lost. If students follow all the rules then they apparently will be successful.

I first gave the students the opportunity to write down their reactions without discussion as I did not want them to be influenced by others or me. The most common word in their responses was "harsh" and that the introduction to computer class was very negative.

After reading the text we had a fantastic discussion about student-teacher relationships and how they impact learning and the desire to learn. Power was recognized as a factor. Teachers have enormous power over students because of the adult-child relationship and because of marks and report cards. Students recognized that they are placed in teacher's classes but have no say in the process, that sometimes students end up with teachers who teach in a way that does not allow them to learn and that there is nothing they can do about it, particularly in elementary school. I asked them if they had ever sat in a class and thought to themselves, "I can't learn in this way." Every single child had experienced this at least once. This led to the question, "What would learning be like if you could select the teacher with whom you learn best?" That stopped the students in their tracks. I could see the wheels turning as they realized how the world of learning would change if they could seek out the teacher that matched their needs. It was a profound moment as they realized that school and learning could be different.

I did ask them what they would do if they came across such a strict/negative teacher. (I should note that we did agree that we only had this sheet from which to draw conclusions and had no idea how effective she was when teaching). Some did not know what they would do, but the majority agreed that they would attempt to comply. They didn't use the words "play the game", but that was the underlying message in the discussion: do what you need to do to survive in that class.

Below are a few samples from the rules that were given out as well as direct quotes from my students. The teacher and school were never identified. The document began like this:

Mrs __(X's)____ Class Rules

ALL students should keep their hands and bodies to themselves.
ALL students will enter the computer lab and wait for instructions BEFORE touching the computers
After all instructions have been given, students will be allowed to begin working.
There should be NO talking when I'm talking. All other talking is to be kept to a MINIMUM! If I have to speak to you more than once about this, you will be asked to leave the room and do a writing assignment.
ALL work must be completed in a timely manner. If an assignment is not complete, it is a zero.

The document continues on in this way ending with:

If you are to be late to class, you should have a note from the teacher/administrator who kept you from arriving to class on time. Failure to have a note will result in one demerit. If a student receives 3 demerits, that student will receive a zero for the day and notice will be given to the vice-principal.



I gave each student two sticky notes. One for comments and one for questions and then read the text with them.

Here's what they wrote:

Why are they so strict?
Why did Mrs X's rules end up being so harsh?
Do all the kids really need such harsh rules?
What happens if you need help with a test?
What happens if you talk when she talks?
Are teachers ALLOWED to do that??!!!!
Why are the rules so harsh?
Why are the rules so harsh?
Why doesn't she allow any mistakes?
Are all the teachers in the school like this?
What happened to Mrs X to make her like this?

Some of her rules are ridiculous.
She is a very strict teacher. She has a lot of rules.
I don't think the teacher is being fair.
That is not fair to give a zero if they've done all the work.
I think the rules were a little harsh.
This is harsh.
These rules are harsh. She is strict.
WOW!!!!
That sounds horrible.
It's a bit strict for the first day of school and those are harsh punishments.
If assignments are not done, sometimes people have good reasons. I don't think they should get an automatic zero.
Some of the rules are ok.
I think this teacher has VERY DIFFERENT rules.
I believe that this teacher is OLD.
That sucks.
I don't think the teacher is being fair that you have to have a note or you receive a zero for the day.
She is very thorough with grades and gives bad grades a lot.
Some points were good, but others seemed a little harsh.

These comments and questions were written independently.
Students then got into small groups with questions to discuss.

1. Do these rules inspire you to want to follow them and learn?
NO!!!!! Because they are unfair to the persons in the class. We would not like to learn in that class. It is hard work to make people NOT have fun.

2.Why do you think Mrs. X has begun the year this way?
To get the rules into the kids' heads.
To get the kids ready for high school.
To make sure the kids make good use of their time.
I think Mrs X made these rules so she could control the kids by saying if you're late you get a zero. I think Mrs X made these rules because she knows kids are afraid of strict teachers.
I think she is trying to teach the kids to not be late but it is a discouraging message.

3. What did you infer about Mrs X?
She's mean
She strongly dislikes children.
I would try to go to a different school.
She's old.

4. Do you think this is a good introduction to this class?
No, it's a bit too restricting to kids who don't need those rules.

5.Does this teacher value learning and students?
This teacher seems to value learning but I don't think the students will.

6. How would you react if Mrs. X was your teacher?
I would be frightened. I would try to follow the rules so as not to fail grade 7.

7.How did reading these rules make you feel?
These rules made us feel terrified. They are harsh. I don't think anyone would be able to obey them for long. They could keep the students in order if the teacher is NICE though.

8.Should Mrs X have taken a different approach?
Yes, on the first day of school you want to feel welcome and not have to worry. Kids are just coming out of summer and don't want to be overwhelmed with rules.


My own feelings are that this is a very inexperienced teacher, a frightened teacher or a controlling teacher. I could be very wrong though. The one important question is will this approach lead to learning? I discussed this with my sister as we thought back to teachers from whom we had learned. It turns out that some of the teachers that we disliked at the time because we considered them to be mean or strict were the ones that at this point in life we look back to and value because of the skills we learned. A few of my students thought back to a teacher they had had who had been very strict and acknowledged that they had learned a great deal in that class. What was different about that teacher though and what they did not sense from this sheet was that the teacher they had had was very caring. This shows that learning is complex and there are no easy answers.

Testing

This post is here to merely test our new eportfolio site for the board.

http://commons.hwdsb.on.ca/

Class 72

This year my teaching assignment has changed somewhat. I now teach a grade 6 Core and a grade 7 Core. That means that some students from class 62 are back with me; but I have also taught all the other students in this class as I was their French teacher in grade 6. Welcome to global learning Class 72!

A New Model For Education

I have been trying to pull together a formal structure for the work I have done over the past year. How to I consistently structure my classroom, not through hit and miss experimentation (although, this did lead to some exceptional discoveries about teaching and learning), but with a sound structure that balances independent and teacher directed learning using new technologies? How do I train my students so that self-directed networked learning becomes ingrained? How do I recognize the point at which intervention, direction and support are required?

Here is a research paper where the entire process was carefully planned and structured from beginning to end. 15 students from grades 10-12 completed a 9 week course where the primary purpose was to learn how to develop and use a personal learning network.
http://www.ascilite.org.au/ajet/ajet26/drexler.html

I strongly believe that this is where education is heading and I like this paper because it gives a clear picture of the model and how it works. It shows the role of the teacher as facilitator. It points out how and when teachers will need to provide support. It also stresses that teacher training and technical support is key to the success of this model.

Can this be done in elementary school? Absolutely. Here is a school that has been designed from the ground up to allow inquiry-based, collaborative learning to occur. http://q2l.org/

For some reason the link tool in blogger is not working. Highlighting the links will allow you to go directly to them.

The New 62

One of things I love best about the new school year is getting to know a new group of students. I always have the students write about themselves and one of my favourite questions to ask is, "What would people be surprised to know about you?"

Meet the new Class 62.
I ...

wear my socks inside out
keep honey bees
cook and sew
like to bake
play ringette
am amazing at math
have FIVE brothers
LOVE, I mean LOVE shoes
play rep sports
live in a house with 19 front windows
am a descendant of the Visigoths, greatest Vikings ever. They SACKED Rome! (
this child also fences. Should I be worried?)
collect comic books
am not that fond of school
play waterpolo
LOVE drama
have a baby brother
have a black belt in karate
would rather go to a baseball game than shop
LOVE SCHOOL!!!!!!!!
Like to write

Get to know your students as people first. That is the best advice I can give to any teacher.

September 2011

This has been a start to the school year like no other. It's different and I'm trying to determine why. I think I've figured it out.

When a traditional school year ends, it ends. Students move on, teachers move on, the next group comes in and the cycle begins again.
For the first time ever I have a group of students for whom last year has not ended. We built a learning team, we worked together, we created something amazing and I get a sense from many of my students (not all, and that's ok) that we wish we were together again so that we could continue with the next step. It's as if we've just discovered how learning can truly be and are ready to take on the next project. I'm trying to find a metaphor to describe this experience. Have we built a business? An organization? a new entity or model of education?
Students are seeking me out, coming to my classroom, wanting to talk, wanting to stay connected - that's it- it's the wanting to stay connected and continue creating that is new! It's as if we are trying to recapture what happened in our classroom last year. There is a desire to continue with our creative team, to remain a unit and for the first time as an educator I am questioning the necessity of grade levels. I can see now that they are an ariticial construction. I am trying to imagine a different model; what would it look like. How can we make learning teams the basis of education rather than grade levels. I am very curious to see what model Project Dreamschool develops Project Dreamschool

Bring Your Own Device Update

Last spring I had mentioned that our school would be piloting BYOD this fall. The school is in the process of being properly wired as up until now, techie teachers have been cobbling together their own systems in order to supplement the tech that was already in the school. Thank you administrators for committing the funds that are allowing this to happen!

My own classroom is not connected at the moment, but should be up and running soon.

Unprecedented

This summer I had planned on finishing the editing of our app as well as completing a number of tasks that have been sitting on the back burner. As life tends to do, however, barriers are thrown up and other priorities require attention. My father has become quite ill and on top of this, at the end of August we realized that we would need to move my mother-in-law from Montreal to Hamilton and have been scrambling to get this organized. I had thought that this past weekend would provide time to finally edit the app, but it was not to be. Life happens. As it turns out though, while stressful and worrying, these barriers have had one positive outcome. By preventing me from editing the app, they have provided me with yet another opportunity to observe the impact of this project.

Normally, at the end of a school year, any work that has not been completed is forgotten. Out of sight, out of mind. This is not the case with the app project. Today during the first day back to school, my students from last year who are now in grade 7 sought me out to find out the progress of the app. The commitment to finish is front and centre. They asked, "What do we need to do next? and Are we going to have a meeting?" They are ready to pick up right where we left off even though they are no longer in my class. This project is that important to them.

I am so glad I did not finish the editing for them. They are determined to put the final touches on themselves. Ian, Esa and Cynthia, I can't thank you enough for providing me with this project that has shown me just what students will commit to when the task is truly meaningful.