Today is my birthday.  I had a nice day, got to spend it with students who I enjoy being around and co-workers who care about the job they do. I also spent it Skyping with Mike and his class.  The day ended uneventful as I walked out the building.   I was driving home to pick up my own children and daydreaming about why I do what I do.  As I walked into my children's school, I saw a flyer in the hallway, "It's Friday".  It's Friday, is a weekly newsletter by the Superintendent's office about the schools my kids attend.  It is for teachers, not the general public (I think), but anyways I read it--and so glad I did. 

The superintendent started by exploring the Three R's: Relationships, Rigor and Relevance. I wanted to share a pome he had shared, with you.

We teach the whole child with all of his or her
  Shortcomings and strenghts,
  Soiled blue jeans and runny noses,
  Abilities,
  Thoughts,
  Feeling and attiudes,
  Beautiful complexities,
  And Deep human interests and needs....
       That Have Driven Us All Into the Education Profession.  

Enough said.  I am proud to do what I do.  

Cheers, Garth

This is the second year that Garth and I have used the Middle Ages WebQuest we designed last winter.  As students were completing the WebQuest last year, Garth and I kept seeing things we could change.  Over the last two weeks Garth and I made some major revisions to the project.  Although this is only the second year we have used this WebQuest, it is practically the fourth time we have changed virtually every aspect of it.

This standards-based Webquest covers the Middle Ages and includes: the Fall of Rome, Feudalism, socioeconomic systems, The Holy Crusades, the Black Death, 100 Years War, Magna Carta and The rise of the Roman Catholic Church.  Infused in each Quest are several elements.  Garth and I have created podcast lectures (flipped teaching) which are attached to a GoogleDoc Form with questions that allow students to reflect on the lecture they listened to, collaborative documents so that students at both schools can share information, a live Diigo stream for our classroom Diigo group, imagery, films, supplemental reading and a few other resources for students to gain depth of understanding and encourage Independence learning.  Each student is required to create a blog post on their website with answers to the Quest questions and a historical narrative written in 1st person about their Middle Ages person's life.

Below is a quick conversation between Garth and I about the changes we have made for this year's students.

-Mike

Do you believe in the power of an idea?
Do you like to figure out what makes people do what they do?
Do you like to think there is a better way to do something?
Can you make people rally around you and accomplish something?
Are you brave enough to share an idea that you have that you think you people might laugh at?
"Go to college, be creative, keep learning every day, work hard, NEVER BE AFRAID TO BE WRONG"

Today was career day and I was fortunate enough to have Tom Leibhardt from marketing at Sherwin Williams.  Tom was a bit nervous about talking marketing to seventh graders.  We emailed back and fourth for a few days and I was able to get a good handle on what he wanted the students to understand about marketing.  The questions above were used by Tom to get the kids thinking about a career in marketing (or any career for that matter)..  He also spoke about Steven Jobs and the now famous "1984" Apple commercial.  Tom did a great job expressing to the students that it isn't just about being intelligent, it's being creative with your abilities. 

As I sat and listened to Tom's presentation I really began to see how what Garth and I do in the classroom really is helping prepare students for their future.  Creativity, not being afraid to take a risk, working with people and changing the world are concepts we hope our students understand when they leave our classrooms.  Tom helped express just how important those concepts are in the "real-world".  One reason that Tom enjoys his job is because everyday is different.  If we think about the current structure of education; most schools want students doing the same thing, at the same time, everyday.  It was great for the students to have a non-teacher express the idea that you can have an amazing career that includes variety.  Career day is definitely a great program created by our guidance department.  Every year our school exposes seventh graders to a myriad of career paths.  Every year the speakers express the importance of thinking outside the box and being passionate about what you do.

Below is a recorded version of Tom's presentation and his PowerPoint.  He had to do 5 presentations (in a row) and each was a bit different.  The one idea that was always mentioned, "don't be afraid to be wrong".

**Since Tom mentions his employer, it is important to say that the views expressed on this site and in this blog are not neccessarily the views of Tom or Sherwin Williams.  Although I must say the success of Sherwin Williams must be due in part because of passionate, intelligent and creative people like Tom.

As teachers, Garth and I have often commented on the problem we see with internet filters in public schools.  Today, several major websites (Wiki and Google included) are doing their part to protect their creative medium; the internet.  The government currently has two pieces of legislation in the works that will effectively censor the internet.  SOPA and PIPA may be disguised as protecting copyright, personal intellectual property and "economic creativity" but the scope of this legislation is much larger.  If you click on SOPA or PIPA above, it will take you to the government's website to track the process and read the entire text of each bill. 

Please take a moment to read up on these pieces of legislation and leave a comment.  MORE IMPORTANTLY, take a few moments to contact your local representative(s) and express your opinion of these bills.  After all, our elected officials represent us, do not be part of the silent majority.

Last week Garth and I began our collaborative, autonomous Middle Ages WebQuest.  Whew, that's a mouth full!  We have discussed this Middle Ages WebQuest before on this site, and it is still one of the best examples of 21st century skills and curriculum coming together to change teaching and learning.  We added two new elements to this years WebQuest: (1) Blog Buddies; and (2) the classroom digital window.

Since students at both schools are completing this WebQuest at the same time and were given a specific feudal social class to base their historical journey around; Garth and I thought it would add value to the total experience of the project if we could give the students at both schools even greater opportunities to collaborate.  The first new collaborative piece to the puzzle are Blog Buddies.  Students had the opportunity to talk to their parents and bring back a signed permission slip giving them permission to read, comment and learn directly with a student at the other school.  Garth and I both teach about 120 students and 95 students signed up to be Blog Buddies.  The goal is to give students the opportunity for peer review and collaboration.  Students were arranged via gender, so a large number of students are reading the work of students in different feudal social classes.  This idea is so student-centered, it was actually thought up by students.  Both Garth and I had students ask us if they could work specifically with a student, or students, from the other school.  Friday Garth and I handed out the url's to our students and allowed them to go explore the Blog Buddies web pages.  All day I heard comments from my students about how they had this or that in common with their new friend.  They didn't use the word classmate, or kid, or student, they continually used the word friend.  I also loved to see how being given the opportunity to read another students web site, made that student so much more real to them.  I tell my students all the time that Mr. Holman's students are just like them, but their is still some mystery about a seventh grader several cities away that my words cannot solve.

The second new avenue for collaboration is our digital window to the world.  Garth and I were able, with great school support, to procure an extra data projector for our classrooms.  We each mounted a camera and laptop in the corner of our classrooms and now leave our Skype connection on throughout our day.  On the wall of our classrooms we have built a window to the other school.  In my classroom our window to world is framed by the essential questions students developed at the beginning of the year.  Garth and I both added the phrase "Leave Digital Footprints Worth Following" to the wall, as well.  This was also a student suggestion!  We both told our students that any time they have a question and want to talk to the other school for help/conversation, they are free to walk up to the camera and start talking.  Both Garth and I leave the volume muted and have an Ohio State University souvenir signaling device (Go Bucks!).  We were not sure how successful this window would be; and the first few days students were so busy getting lost in their WebQuest that they didn't seem to notice that it was there.  Then, a few of Garth's students asked if any of my students used Minecraft.  As it turns out, Minecraft is pretty popular amongst seventh graders.  Because of the conversation via the window to the world, the students started a GoogleDoc and are currently in the process of organizing a combined feudal manor.   

Garth and I are very excited not only about the new ways we are allowing for students to control their learning, but at how many great ideas are being generated by the students.  Both the ideas above and countless other little ideas every week are brought to our attention.  I really feel that the students are starting to take the leading role in their learning (within our classrooms at least).  It is great to see such positive results.

-Mike

Sir Ken Robinson, international known expert on creativity, has a new book out "The Element".  In the short 3 minute clip below Sir Ken gives a brief overview of this book.  He brings up a few questions:
1.  What is your view of your own talents?  
2.  What do you think you can accomplish?
3.  Do you enjoy your work or endure it? 
4.  Are you in your element? 

Both Mike and I are big fans of Sir Ken's work.  I plan to head out and get this book in the next few days.  

The second little clip is about a analogy off teaching...Teachers Are Like Gardeners.
Do you think this analogy is correct and makes sense?  Mike loves to talk about education as organic.  I think I hear that here.  What are your thoughts on this idea? 

What comes around goes around.  Mr. Pennington came to my classroom two weeks ago during his Holiday break to meet the kids face to face.  They have seen him many times on Skype, but face to face is different.  Next week, Mr. P and I are opening our Window to each others schools, as we will have an all day live feed from the other classroom.  Therefore, when kids come it to Mr. P's room, they can see what is going on in my room--this will be a post as soon as we have some images and student reactions.  But back to our travels. 

So, on Wednesday I made the 65 minute drive to Chardon to spend the day with Mr. P's students during my Holiday break.  When I first arrived, the principal invited me in his office for a few minutes to talk.  It was nice to hear his excitement about our work.  Then he walked me to Mike's room.  He stayed in the room for some time and I was introduced and talked with the kids.  After a few minutes he and I talked some more about our plans and hopes for students, as students in the room worked on a google doc that my students had completed before our break began.  In each period, as students came in they said, "Hi Mr. Holman".  It was a treat to see them smile, as this was something new for them to see the real guy.  

At lunch time, Mike and I had a meeting with the superintendant.  This was a great discussion about family, education and our future plans.  He was a very insightful man with high hopes for what Mike and I are doing.   This meeting lasted about 55 minutes and then we headed back to class (Board office is right next door to his school).  During the last class, the director of Special Services was in the room for the whole period.  She had great things to say about the online book, differentiation used in our classrooms, skills we are teaching our students.  However, both she the superintendant talked a great deal about the experiences we are giving our kids.  The more I thought about that, the more I realized that experiences are an important part of education, something that will stick when the facts are gone.   

As Mike noted in his post, the kids really accepted me as a teacher from the minute they walked in.  It was a true joy to have sent the day, not virtually, but physically in Mike's classes.  It really hit home as we walked out of the school to our cars and a boy yelled, "Bye Mr. Holman, see ya soon!"  

While my school is on winter break, Garth and I thought it would be cool for me to spend the day in his classroom, physically not virtually.  The way our school schedules run, Garth will be able to come and visit my students the first week we are back in school.  Today my job was to introduce students to the Middle Ages Webquest that both schools will be collaborating on for the next 6-9 weeks.  This was the first time Garth's students have ever seen me in person.

It was a pretty overwhelming experience being here in person with a group of students I have only collaborated with via Skype.  The most surprising part of the day was that the students rather quickly accepted me as their teacher.  I was able to talk with Garth, teach the students and carry on as though I was in my classroom.  As the day went on even some 8th graders that recognized me came in to say hello.  The whole experience of the day really helped to remind me of the great experience Garth and I are providing for these students.  It was also a "life coming full-circle" moment for myself since this was the first week I came to Garth's room as a student-teacher 6 years ago.  In a few weeks, when Garth visits my classroom, he will post what his day was like.

You have heard Garth and myself, along with countless others in the world of education speak to the truth that filters need to be removed from school district internet access.  Schools are the place that students should be learning about good digital citizenship and leaving positive digital footprints.  The world is not filtered, so what message (other than lack of trust) do school filters really send. 

I have heard the excuse that money is attached to filtering certain content, or that ignorance to digital media causes a knee-jerk reaction to block & ban everything and people have even told me that kids can't handle an unfiltered environment. 

Today I arrived at school to find that, as promised in an email Friday, YouTube and GoogleDocs are now unblocked in my school district.  The number of happy teachers far outnumbers the nay-sayers so far.  Two teachers have already started using movie clips and GoogleDocs in their classes today!  Instead of allowing students to discover these new tools on their own, and risk them thinking they have stumbled upon a secret, I used this as a great opportunity to talk (again) about appropriate internet use.  I showed the students a few examples from the historyteachers to show some of the content-rich material available via YouTube.  The science department is very excited to finally be able to access some great videos concerning real-world science.  I am proud to say that several teachers in my building have slowly been emailing and urging the people in charge to take a serious look at our filtering system.  It is also nice to see my district act in a progress way and trust faculty and students to use these new tools for academic endeavors.  This is really a case of "one man can make a difference" actually happening. 

My next challenge is to decide how to help acclimate staff with these new sites.  Students will be students and the next two weeks until winter break will see students going on YouTube for other than academic reasons; at least that is the stereotypical thing to say.  It is my gut feeling that if we engage students in conversation concerning YouTube and GoogleDocs, then it will be a great assess to their learning. I was thinking about addressing each grade level during advisory to talk about digital citizenship and leaving positive digital footprints.  What are your thoughts?  How should we react when students are surfing the web?  Please leave a comment or suggestion.

_Welcome administrators to the December 1, 2011 "21st century skills for transforming teaching and learning in the Social Studies" workshop.  Below you will find links to further explore the information we presented today.  This presentation will be a brief overview of the skills and work of our students.  

Direct Links:
Student-created Digital Textbook
Shared Classroom Blog

"...multimedia technologies, which use text, audio, video, graphics and animation to communicate information, offer today's teachers a mechanism to move from a 'linear' learning environment to a 'nonlinear' environment - one which offers users interactivity, control 
                                                      of progress, and choice in their construction of knowledge."
                                                                                      -Cuper and Lambert cited in Hanover Research Council 
                                                                                       Maintaining Competitiveness in the 21st Century, 2010

                                                 ...and so we will...

Presentation Links:
Creativity & Innovation
Collaboration  
Mastery Learning
Communication                   


"Schools and teachers must be challenged to use the tools and techniques of today,  not the ones of the past." 
                                                                   -Association for the Supervision and Curriculum Development, 2009.