Notes from Millie D

Doug Johnson posted an interesting entry on his blog today, How many jobs have you had?  He talked about the average person holds 10.2 jobs between 18 and 38, based on an article from T.H.E. Journal (July 07).  I thought it was interesting reflecting on my job so here we go with my jobs…

1. Operating the go-karts at the local waterpark (Not a great job but I got to be outside and had a tan that lasted until November)
2. Working at the deli at a Supermarket (”Would you like anything else?”)
3. Assembly line work at the plastics company (Boxing CD jewel cases and VHS sleeves, so 20th century)
4. Making donuts for a Supermarket (I’ve never looked at donuts the same way, being at work at 4 AM in the summer took a while to get use to)
5. Caterer for the college dining services. (Free food for a college student, clutch!)
6. Bartender at the college pub (I paid for my senior year spring break trip within the first month)
7. Substitute Teacher (So starts my journey in education.  I mostly substituted for my 7th grade teacher who was the high school Algebra II teacher)
8. Title I-Educational Technician (A great experience)
9. General Education Technician (I literary worked with kindergartners and 8th graders back to back)
10. Math Teacher (My own classroom)
11. Computer Coordinator (On the cusp of the Internet but I missed the traditional classroom)
12. Executive Director for Maine Academic Decathlon (I loved this job and I wished it could have been full time as I had to teach in order to pay the bills)
13. Technology Teacher/Integrator (The job I have now, I have the best of both worlds: using technology and working in the classroom)

I guess I have had more than the average (and I’ve still have time for more).  With the exception of the assembly line work the common skill trait is the customer service component.  Whether the customer was a student, deli customer, or a parent success was based on how well I knew the content behind the job while offering the best service for the customer.  With the world flattening school reform should look at these trends:  more customer service type jobs mixed with technical knowledge vs. assembly line, industrial age jobs.  We are trying to prepare the next generation workforce for jobs that may not be known yet so the focus on “soft” skills (thinking, reliability, cooperation, communication, etc.) mixed with some technical knowledge may be our best bet.  This approach is not sexy but sometimes practicality is more important than flashiness.

I’ve just concluded 3 good days of professional development for staff members in my school.  I had a wide range of skills (which was great) but everyone had a great attitude:  willing to try stuff.  I didn’t want these sessions to be a “how to” but “how can I”.  Sessions focused on integration where I was able to showcase different technology tools like Twitter, Scratch, and Comic Life and how these tools can be useful in the classroom or lab setting.  Here are the titles of the sessions, for what it is worth…

Communicating with Parents and a Global Audience
Getting Digitally Ready for the School Year
Using Digital Media to Document Student Achievement

The great part was that I just facilitated the sessions and everyone involved contributed something to the sessions.  This allowed me to learn from them as they were learning from me.

It was nice to ease back into the school year by having these sessions because everyone was thinking about the possibilities rather than the limitations that we get caught up in during the school year.  I’ll write more later but I want to be able to enjoy whatever is left of summer (despite the fall like temperatures) for a little while.

From Wikipedia, assessment is the process of documenting, usually in measurable terms, knowledge, skills, attitudes and beliefs.

Personal Note:  If this is what NCLB was measuring, great, but NCLB looks at specific evaluations not assessments.

In a technology-rich classroom assessment moves closer towards reality because of how Web 2.0 tools can show the process of documenting knowledge and skills.   When I stop to think about the power of wikis and blogs it really talks about assessment.  Assessment looks more at the development of knowledge and/or skills rather than a snapshot within the journey like evaluations often show.  

One of the first times I listened to someone explain to me the difference between assessment and evaluation they talked about the difference between a portfolio and a chapter test.  Portfolios show the knowledge and skills over time and chapter tests showcase student responses to specific questions or topics in that moment.  Another way to look at that made sense to me was assessment is whole entire movie and evaluation would be 30 second trailer the studio wants you to see in order to make an impression of their movie.  Classrooms which utilize technology like blogs and wikis can show the knowledge over time by examining comments within entries or the history on wiki pages.  Web 2.0 tools becomes the basis for ePortfolio assessment work.  Using RSS feeds the portfolio can be a living document instead of a static product.  I think in the next few years, thanks to projects in NH and other places, ePortfolios based on Web 2.0 technologies taking off and becoming a teacher’s dream as far as management goes.

Using this type of technology changes how students learn and how teachers teach.  The technology should change the tools we use to assess!

The wiki has been put to bed, as much as you put a wiki to bed.  David and I put the finishing touches on the wiki this week.  Collaborating with David has been nice because we went in with a game plan and executed.  Before we even started on the wiki we exchanged emails where we set the tone of what would be on the wiki.  I put together the framework but before we started putting content we made sure we were on the same page (which we were).  Once the framework was in place we draw straws on what work we’re going to post.  Editing occurred after the first layer was put on and fortunately we were only doing minor edits or add-ons.  At some point I figured leaving comments on the wiki wasn’t going to be the best way to collaborate as I could use the RSS feed to see the updates.  I felt this wiki was about working smarter not harder.  A message I try to impart on my students.

Talking over my experiences with another student in the class I discovered that taking the time to set things up really made the whole process much easier.  If either David or I had just jumped in and created the first layer there would have been a lot of issues down the road, especially if we didn’t agree on the content.  Is this ideal?  For the most part I would agree.  We teach our students to plan and draft before putting together a first draft.  Isn’t that the expectation we should have on their teachers?

I’ve been very fortunate in my technology experiences as I’ve been involved with the Maine Learning with Technology Initiative (MLTI).  MLTI provides every 7th and 8th grader and their teacher with a leveled classroom no matter where you are in the state of Maine.  Each classroom is equipped with a wireless connection to the Internet and each teacher and student has a wireless laptop chock full of software.  Leaders in the program are very quick to let you know that this is not a technology project but a teaching project that uses technology.  A lot of time and effort has gone into professional development.

Last week, MLTI and eMints collaborated together to hold a Summer Institute in which David Warlick was a featured speaker.  The Summer Institute featured technology but it didn’t feature how-to session but rather how-can sessions.  It didn’t start that way.  In the first two years professional development integrated the how-to and how-can sessions.  At a certain point there was a conscience decision to make the shift.  The ownership of the how-to needed to be on the local level.  The end results of the project so far as shown the depth of professional development.

If people just look at test scores they would claim 1:1 has not been the best use of tax dollars, much like in NYC did earlier this year.  1:1 has meant access to resources that children may never have received due to tight budgets and the lack of resources.  1:1 has meant good teaching has developed into great teaching.  Students are more engaged in classes, less abscenses, and less disciplinary referrals.  Parents in some cases have had access to technology in the home when they wouldn’t be able to afford it for their own children.  These successes have not gone unnoticed.

People from all over the world have visited Maine classrooms.  Teachers have spread their success stories to a worldwide audience.  Schools have changed their views of education in the 21st Century.  It has taken four years but these success have extended to the high school level.  This fall each high school teacher will be getting their own laptop in anticipation of high school students across the state of Maine getting laptops next fall.

I’m not sure if this is a good sign or not…

Personal Learning Networks have really evolved as a professional development tool over the last few years. Before we were limited to face to face type interactions, reading web pages, or participating in listservs. Each of these served a purpose but now we have so many more tools at our disposal. To make my point a little easier on the eye I created a graphic for your viewing pleasure.

Anything in yellow represents recent (within the last 5 years) methods for teachers to expand their network for professional development. Think about how this might grow in the next few years.Students are already utilizing these tools teachers should be as well.

I like blogging because it gives me a voice on the Internet that has worldwide appeal.  No, I’m not egotistical but one of the great things about blogging is that anyone around the world can read your thoughts and opinions and share theirs on the topics, giving the blog worldwide appeal.  On this particular blog I’ve had people from all different parts of the world leave a comment giving me a chance to connect with people I never would have the chance to meet face-to-face.  For that I say thank you.

Blogging also provides a two way conversation with your audience.  I’ve read some great posts that have made a profound impact on me or made me think about things that I might have taken for granted.  My way of thanking them is to leave a comment.  It is such an easy thing to do but it continues the conversation.  Even if I disagree I have the chance to express it.  The only way I could do that in a Web 1.0 world would be to create a static page which most likely wouldn’t be read or start a flaming war.

In the classroom blogging can be a very powerful tool to engage students in a meaningful way.  Students have a chance to have an authentic audience.  They can engage in powerful conversations which is living proof of their learning.

If you have any other items to share please leave a comment.

This weekend I’ve been painting my daughters’ room which hasn’t been a whole lot of fun but that is another story for another time at a different blog.  Anyway…if you were looking for a way to explain the difference between a Web 1.0 site and a 2.0 site then here you go.

A Web 1.0 site is like a room that has already been painted.  If you don’t like it you have to wait for a new color to be put on the walls (a new/revised site).

A Web 2.0 site documents the stages of painting the room.  Users can see the prep work, the primer coat(s), the trim work, the first coat, the second coat, and any touch up.  Along the way you wife, your daughters, or whomever can leave comments (criticism) with the idea to producing the best product as possible.

Either way my daughters have a Fairytale Pink bedroom.

What is it about Web 2.0 that I like?  That is an interesting question that I tried to answer today when mowing my lawn today (I don’t know why).  I thought about the interactivity of the tools but I’m not thrilled about handheld devices that are interactive.  I thought about the laziness time-saving ability of RSS but I have that with digest versions of listservs that I belong to (yes, they still serve a function).  After some time I think I came up with my answer:  structure.  Every Web 2.0 tool has a structure that it works within but it is still customizable for the user (mashups)

If you think about the different tools you understand where I’m going.  Del.icio.us allows me to store my bookmarks in a web based manner but I can the structure allows me to look up my bookmarks as well as other based on tags.  This way I don’t have to remember what exactly the site was about but use the keyword tags.  Flickr works the same way.  Wikis allow me to work collaboratively on a web based project but the end user is not stuck with seeing the final product.  The user can use the structure of wikis to look at previous versions and make comparisons between versions. Blogs allow people to carry on a conversation or evolution of a concept through the comments.  The user is not limited to a static page which presents I version of the conversation.

Are Web 2.0 tools perfect?  No, but these tools are starting to change the culture of conversation which is a good thing.