Pilkerriffic!Musings, ideas, and juicy links from a DEN STAR and MD LC member…

I just subscribed to Seth Godin’s blog, after reading about it on Scott McCleod’s blog:

“Seth Godin wrote today that:

People are just begging to be told what to do. There are a lot of reasons for this, but I think the biggest one is: “If you tell me what to do, the responsibility for the outcome is yours, not mine. I’m safe.”

I think another big reason is that most people spent at least 12 years of their life being deeply socialized in the “just tell me what to do” model.We know that schools strongly emphasize compliance in the name of order and discipline. We know that the fact-regurgitation model that still dominates schooling mostly leads to the student mentality of “Just tell me what to do to get a B,” rather than “Inspire me to follow my passions and interests and learn more about this on my own.” We shouldn’t be surprised when our graduates take that mentality with them into higher education and/or the workplace.”

This flips education on its ear.  That’s what schools are all about: The grades.  The tests.How would our students perform if they were not bound by grades?  What would they achieve if they were not limited by percentages?  If “I got an A plus!” was not the measure of their success?

I have been trying a lot of new things this year in my curriculum.  Sometimes it goes smoothly and sometimes it feels like my head is going to explode.  Honestly, it is hard to completely re-write your ENTIRE curriculum in one year, as it happens.  I got some work done last summer, but I’m trying to work on the fly, too, and with my teaching duties, Technology Troubleshooting and 1-1 Laptop Program, plus being the Chair of the Maryland Discovery Educator Network Leadership Council and Treasurer of my Homeowners Association, not to mention Mommy to two young children…whew!  No wonder I’m a little stressed!

So I invented this rule for myself, and maybe it will work for you, too.  (I’m sure some other wise person has thought of this, but I never heard of it before, so it’s new to me!)

I call it the 1-1-1 Rule.  I try to do 1 new thing, with 1 of my classes (or subjects, if you’re a classroom teacher), for 1 week.  Don’t try to tell yourself, “I can do more, it’s okay.”  No.  It may work for a while, but you will burn out quickly.

Some Examples: I wanted to try Wallwisher.  Basically, this is a website that lets you create an online “bulletin board,” with virtual sticky notes added by whoever you give permissions to.  You can set it to be public, or give your students a password they can use to access it.  I decided to try it with 2nd grade as an assessment for our Internet Safety lesson.  Because I was able to focus on that one new thing, with that one class, it went very well!

I was also looking to try a backchannel chat during a lesson.  This past week, I tried using TodaysMeet with my 6th graders.  Today’s Meet lets you create a chat room that users can log on without having to download any software or even sign up for membership.  Its simple interface made it perfect for new users.  And, after a few minutes of silly “‘Hi,’ ‘hey,’ ‘wassup,’ ‘lolz,’ and so on, we started to get the hang of it.

So, if you have been wanting to try new things, try the 1-1-1 Rule!  I guarantee it will reduce your stress level.  At least at school.  I’m still working on the other stuff. Lolz.

These are my links for February 4th through February 5th:

• 10 Popular Technology in Education Blogs - already read some of these and looking forward to more!
• Pioneer Woman - Homeschooling - I think this is my new favorite website!  She has everything from homeschooling ideas (I would love to use these with my own kids to supplement their education- I’d go crazy trying to homeschool them myself! Or I can adapt them for the classroom) to dEEElicious looking recipes!  
• Web 3.0 and Its Relevance for Instruction — THE Journal - what is “Web 3.0?” find out here- and its impact on education. Annotated link http://www.diigo.com/bookmark/http%3A%2F%2Fthejournal.com%2Farticles%2F2010%2F02%2F03%2Fweb-3.0-and-its-relevance-for-instruction.aspx

• ROFL! http://bit.ly/cVgX8l Hitler and the iPad. “How am I supposed to play Bloons!!!!” #
• ROFL! http://bit.ly/cVgX8l Hitler and the iPad. “How am I supposed to play Bloons!!!!” (warning- language nsfw) #

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These are my links for January 29th through January 31st:

• Why have I waited this long to use Google Docs?? | Just pondering - love some of the ideas on how to use Google Docs for class
• The Atlantic Online | January/February 2010 | What Makes a Great Teacher? | Amanda Ripley - (love the videos on this page) *For years, the secrets to great teaching have seemed more like alchemy than science, a mix of motivational mumbo jumbo and misty-eyed tales of inspiration and dedication. But for more than a decade, one organization has been tracking hundreds of thousands of kids, and looking at why some teachers can move them three grade levels ahead in a year and others can?t. Now, as the Obama administration offers states more than $4 billion to identify and cultivate effective teachers, Teach for America is ready to release its data.
  by Amanda Ripley Annotated link http://www.diigo.com/bookmark/http%3A%2F%2Fwww.theatlantic.com%2Fdoc%2Fprint%2F201001%2Fgood-teaching
• The Differentiator - This handy tool will help you plan an objective for your differentiated lesson
• Randy’s Tech Tactics: Educational Video Collections on You Tube - youtube videos for teachers, alternatives to youtube, and how to embed youtube into powerpoint

• http://bit.ly/5gSM2y HAHAHA! I wish I could put this up at work, but it’s a little off-color for a Christian School! #

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These are my links for January 28th:

• The World Is Open: How Web Technology Is Revolutionizing Education - Curtis J. Bonk - Nice information to go along with our Flat Classroom studies
• Why I Believe Printers Were Sent From Hell To Make Us Miserable - The Oatmeal - HAHAHAHAHA!!!!! I so wish I could put this up at work- but it’s a little off color for a Christian school!
• Welcome to Tutvid.com - Free Adobe Photoshop, Flash, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, Fireworks, Bridge, and Golive Video Tutorials : I learn much better when I can see it and hear it explained to me.

• love this quote…”May your troubles be less, Your blessings be more, And nothing but happiness come through your door.” #
• ha ha this is hilarious! Let Me Google That For You… http://lmgtfy.com/ #
• multitasking!- teaching second grade, 8th grade is on a few comps working, 6th grade is in printing, dh is texting me, and I’m tweeting! #

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These are my links for January 25th through January 27th:

• KneeBouncers | Free Toddler, Preschool, Educational Games and Fun - Invented by a Dad for his 9 month old baby, this collection of games is easy and engaging for even the youngest computer users.
• Spiro Draw - this is so much fun! I might have my students see if they can replicate such a design in Scratch
• Writing Fun by Jenny Eather- - helping kids write using text organizers
• Brain Honey - BrainHoney is the easiest way for anyone to
  quickly and effectively leverage online learning
• Den Cam and Updates - Live video feed of a hibernating bear and her cubs.  
• Cool Cat Teacher Blog: How do I easily add tags to my blog? - A list of ways to add tags to your blog posts
• 5 Ways To Enhance Instruction with Digital Narratives — THE Journal - Tech vets go toe-to-toe on the latest tools that can improve instruction, boost productivity, or just help make users’ lives a bit more organized.
• Kathy Cassidy — Blogmeister - Just recently found out about Mrs. Cassidy’s amazing first grade class- what an inspiration she and her students are!
• Online Typing for Kids | Bits and Pieces Place - This blogger says:”I am always on the lookout for fun typing games for my students. Here are a few that I have found.”

  A few?!?!?!  WOW!!!! these are awesome!

• iKnowthat.com - - Online Multimedia Educational Games for Kids in Preschool, Kindergarten, and Elementary Grades
• Welcome to NBC Learn - The Olympics are coming up- click “Original Video” and then “The Science of the Olympic Winter Games” for science related videos about the physics, biology, chemistry, and math behind the winter games.
• TrackStar : Home - TrackStar is your starting point for online lessons and activities. Simply collect Web sites, enter them into TrackStar, add annotations for your students, and you have an interactive, online lesson called a Track. Create your own Track or use one of the hundreds of thousands already made by other educators. Search the database by subject, grade, or theme and standard for a quick and easy activity. There is a fun Track already made for each day of the year, too!
• The Gates Notes - want to know what’s going on inside Bill Gates’ head? check it out here…

In this age of global collaboration and digital access, the way we process and use information has changed.  It is not as critical to memorize facts, because just about anything can be looked up on the Internet!  I have been telling my students for years:”I don’t expect you to know everything, but I do expect you to know HOW TO FIND IT!”

An interesting thing happened at my school this week.  Two of the best and most well-behaved students in the school were suspended for cheating.  It seemed so innocent- the one student asked the other to see her paper, and she gave it to her.  To be fair, I’m not sure of the exact details, whether the one girl had not done her work and was copying, or whether she was checking her answers- but I know the teachers would not have suspended them if it was not serious.  You see, we have a no-tolerance policy when it comes to two things- bullying and cheating.

So, about cheating…I’m wondering where we draw the line?  I recently read a post by Shelly Terrell in which she mentioned possibly encouraging your students to use their cell phones during tests because “your classmates are your lifelines.”  I’m not disagreeing, it just made me think.  Other teachers give tests and allow the students to look up answers on the internet while they work.  So how is this okay in some schools, but in others the simple act of peeking at someone else’s paper gets you suspended?  If students can get help from their friends and the internet during a test, what IS cheating anymore?I’m not sure I know the answer to this question.  What do you think?