Purring along

Today in class was the culmination of a series of terrific events.  Students have been working on short presentations.  The only requirements have been that presentations must not use paper and must be no longer than three minutes.  Early presentations were almost exclusively Powerpoints.  After each presentation, the class gave the group feedback about one improvement they might make and one part that worked well.  Kids were then regrouped for the next presentation.  Something amazing began to happen midway through the second presentation.  Creativity began to take over.  Skits began to appear.  Some kids used interviews to convey information.  This week, things really took off.

Kids are given almost no class time to prepare presentations.  I invite them to collaborate at home via the tool of their choice such as Skype, texting , or e-mail.  Then, I give them ten minutes at the beginning of class to polish, edit, and practice.  Today, a couple of groups showed websites created using weebly.  Another couple of groups began using YouTube videos (one worked, one didn't.  Life in the seventh grade!)  A couple of groups used Keynote instead of Powerpoint.  One group used Google Docs.  One group used OpenOffice Impress. Hardware included a Samsung netbook, Lenovo ThinkPad, Apple MacBook Pro (new and old,) and an iPad.  Presentations became about content and presentation style, not hardware or software.  Tools were used interchangeably.  Kids had no problem switching between or using the tools.  Research and data presentation became more important than which tool a particular group was using.  It was cool!

One tool that I added that helped all of the presentations was a KVM box.  Having two projector connections sped up time between presentations because 2 groups could set up at once.  Then, with the push of a button, kids could switch between two sources.  Turns out my IT department had a bunch of KVM boxes and cables left over from a server upgrade.  Presentations have never been so much fun.  Kids improved their skills on so many levels in so many ways.  Very exciting!

A Humbling Experience

As my Facebook comment states, "Today was among the most humbling days I have ever experienced as a teacher. 13 former students, friends, and colleagues patiently helped 7th graders dig deeper into their writing, look for ways to improve their stories, and offered suggestions on where to go next. The classroom atmosphere was truly electric."  As teachers, we strive to instill in our students a desire to dig deeper, be creative, and follow their passions.  Then, our students leave and we rarely see them again.  Today, I had students who I taught 23 years ago working with my current seventh graders.  These students are parents, parents-to-be, and world travelers.  Some of the students were second generation volunteers in my class.  Their parents volunteered when they were seventh graders.  In addition, friends and colleagues also spent anywhere from 60-90 minutes working with my students today.



What did they do?  They accomplished more in one discussion than I have been able to accomplish in 2 weeks.  They energized the students to improve their writing, to look for the story they wanted to tell, and to polish it.  Tom Tucker, Catlin Gabel shop teacher talks about the sandpaper grit necessary to polish wood to absolute smoothness.  The adults who stopped by today gave that gift to the students.  They talked with them in a totally non-judgmental way, they asked follow-up questions which required the kids to think.  Of course, they also laughed and giggle with the kids.


How did the 7th graders react to sharing their writing with perfect strangers?  They were as open as they could be.  They genuinely trusted these adults to help them edit their stories.  They learned a great deal about themselves as writers and they met someone who was sincerely interested in helping them succeed.


I had shivers running down the back of my neck as I observed the up to 12 conversations simultaneously happening in Fenway today.  It isn't often teachers get to actually see learning taking place.  Today was one of those days.  I was honored by the presence of my former students, friends, and colleagues.  I shall return to class tomorrow a more humble person.  Yes, we took pictures.  They will be posted tomorrow.

Google vs Apple just got personal

All right, it was not my intention to go nearly 3 weeks with no posting, but, in the words of my good friend and mentor, Jay Hurvitz, "I had nothing to say."  Oh sure, I have doing much thinking recently, but none of it seemed worthy of a blog post.  So I have been observing the world and Catlin Gabel for a while.  Interesting conundrums abound, some of which I will write about in upcoming posts.

Yesterday, Pam cam home with a Samsung Droid phone.  It looks and feels like an iPhone, has a built-in 5MP camera, is all touch screen, and feels like.....an iPhone.  Since our family and friends plan is on Verizon, and we keep being advised that Verizon has the best coverage in our area, staying with Verizon seemed the best choice.  Oh, and Pam's Blackberry died (or at least stopped charging.)  Stay tuned for how the Droid world measures up against the Apple universe.

The other big personal tech news is that Catlin Gabel finally solved what had been an unbelievably slow Internet issue.  It is true that I began my teaching career without the Internet in my classroom, but over the past ten years have increasingly begun to integrate it into my teaching.  I am also aware there are many teaching colleagues who have limited or no Internet access in their classrooms.  I am happy to help them figure out how to acquire this necessary resource.  Cajole principals?  I have experience.  Wire on weekends.  Been there, done that.  Revise curriculum to bring it into the 21st Century?  Worked on that project, too.  Anyway, it turns out that our school ISP had a few issues, which when resolved, restored our previously very fast connection....in fact, it now seems even faster.  I am, as always grateful for their assistance in keeping classroom infrastructure humming.

Keeping posts short is a goal this year, it is sunny in Portland today.....back outside I head.

Mobile Portland Users Group

Last night I attended a meeting of the Mobile Portland User's Group.  Their topic of the evening was mobile technology in education.  Attendees included developers, educators, job seekers, programmers, and the like.  I sat next to a developer who it turned out had also graduated from Berkeley High School......24 years before I did.  Without a doubt, he and I were two of the most "experienced" people in the room.  Late 20's and early 30 somethings dominated.....which might explain the presence of snacks purchased from Whole Foods.....and the beer keg in the corner.  I can honestly say it was the first education related conference I've ever attended in the US where a keg was present.  Nice touch, though.  Since the whole meeting was streamed live and can be found here, I don't need to summarize.  Yes, the video guy got rid of the cricket chirp before the meeting began.

The tech tools present were an interesting mix.  No Unix or Windows users here....these folks were Apple all the way.  Their work environment may demand Ubuntu or some flavor of php, but the personal brand of choice was Apple....iPhones, iPads, MacBook Pros, etc.  were all being used.  I sat in the back row with my iPad, my $3 thumb tack style microphone plugged in, ready to test AudioNote, a new app I downloaded two days ago.  AudioNote recorded the meeting perfectly.  It picked up speakers at the front of the room facing me, audience members asking questions facing away from me and even the guy behind me who asked a question!  While it was recording, I was adding my thoughts and notes.  Each line I added was time stamped.  Those notes I made prior to beginning to record were stamped 0:00:00.  At playback, the notes I had taken turned blue as the time reached my notes.  I held my iPad on my lap the entire time, writing, taking notes, etc.  The tool worked as advertised and has exciting possibilities for my students.

For those wondering....Since I had to pick up Noa from soccer AFTER the Mobile Portland meeting, I did not taste the keg, but stuck to the bubbly Whole Foods lemon water.  Yummy.

Conducting the People's Business

Today I spent nine hours in windowless rooms at a Portland hotel with the folks designing the newest teacher licensure tests for Oregon.  Beginning in September, folks who want to teach in Oregon public schools will begin taking a new set of tests.  All of the information about the tests can be found on the Oregon TSPC site.  My (and my colleagues) charge today was to recommend a passing score on the new test to the good folks at TSPC.  They will either accept our recommendation or they will change it.  While the work could hardly be construed as fun, it was personally rewarding on many levels.

I always enjoy meeting teaching colleagues from around the state.  To find out what is really happening in Oregon schools, just ask the teachers.  They will talk about class size, effects of testing on computer lab use, administrators, budgets, just about anything!  Right now, most are just happy to have jobs.  A woman in Colton just received permanent status, is low person on the 6 teacher totem pole, and is realistic about staying in the school.  Another teacher commutes over 35 minutes a day to his school.  To some this may seem like a short drive, in the Portland area, it is a schlep.

Setting passing standards is important work.  Parents like to know their children's teachers have the necessary content knowledge to teach effectively.   Our passing score recommendation does not guarantee employment or even interviews.  It serves as the benchmark for teacher licensure.  Reach the bar, you get a license, don't reach the bar, take the test again.  The test design and our conference are all data driven.  We received nearly instantaneous results of our scoring work.

So why can't I talk about the tests, the people, the company, or the recommended score?  I signed a Confidentiality Agreement.  Ask me about it in ten years!  A tiring, but rewarding day, for sure.

Outside the Lines

The following article appeared via Associated Press in the Oregonian newspaper this morning:

SALEM -- A Klamath Falls teacher placed on administrative leave after an uproar over a film clip containing profanity has won an Oregon Supreme Court ruling saying he is entitled to unemployment benefits. Robert McDowell was a probationary first-year high school language arts and drama teacher for the Klamath County School District when he showed his senior English classes a clip from the film "Glengarry Glen Ross," based on the Pulitzer Prize-winning play by David Mamet. The clip contained some profanity intended as a lesson about language use and misuse. McDowell resigned rather than risk being fired while on leave. But the state denied him unemployment benefits for alleged "misconduct," a decision the Oregon Supreme Court overturned today.

Over twenty years ago I was teaching 8th grade English at Cedar Park Middle School in Beaverton, Oregon.   Glengarry Glen Ross was being performed as a student matinee and I wanted to take my classes. I sent a letter to parents explaining what we would be doing, how it fit into our study of English, and invited them to opt their child out of the planned field trip.  Out of 90 families, one opted out.  The field trip was a smashing success.  Students questioned the actors after the performance about themes in the play, including the prolific use of profanity.  Mamet doesn't use profanity blithely in the play, it serves a particular purpose.  Prior to viewing the play, I shared a list of the profane words with the kids and asked them to let me know which they had never heard or seen.  An interesting discussion about the differences between spoken and written English ensued as there were words the kids had heard but had no idea how to spell as they had never seen them written.  I was surprised that, in this group of suburban eighth graders, there were no "unknown" words.

I have to believe the seniors in Mr. McDowell's English class had not only heard the profane words, but used many of them regularly.....out of his earshot, of course.  I've visited Klamath Falls.  Everybody uses the same profane words found in Mamet's play.  The Klamath County School District was wrong to place him on administrative leave and should offer to rehire him.  He should, out of principle, probably refuse their offer.  Too bad.  He has the makings of a superb English/Drama teacher, the kind students remember, treasure, and trust.  Glengarry Glen Ross is taught and performed all over the United States.  It should also be taught in Klamath County, Oregon.

Photo courtesy of http://pwoodford.net/blog/

Just Do It

With Microsoft trying out "Be What's Next," I thought it a good time to look back at a truly successful slogan which has become ubiquitous in today's vocabulary.  In 20 years, will we say to one another, "Be what's next?"  Sounds strange right now, but time will tell.  Today I spent time with two people who influence my life on a daily basis.  Both have Nike connections which explains the title of today's post.  John is quite possibly the most focused individual I know.  After our one hour meeting, I realized how much work I have to complete prior to the start of the next school year.  Yes, I know the units I will be teaching, but I haven't tried nearly hard enough to infuse my Israel experience into them.  Time to revisit Prezi, Animoto, and Wallwisher.  In many ways, John is my Livestrong bracelet personified.  Wearing the bracelet is easy, living the bracelet requires strength, discipline, and focus.

After meeting with John, I had lunch with my 87 year old friend Henry.  Henry works out for sixty minutes a day....two sessions of 30 minutes each.  That should be enough motivation.  An 87 year old is working out an hour a day.  What are you waiting for?  Two thirty minute workouts a day.  Just do it.....or you won't make it to "be what's next."