Ideas for prepping for fall

Last time I talked about my thoughts on what needs to happen for a successful start post COVID-19. Today I want to get more into the nitty gritty of the classroom. What things can teachers be doing over the summer to get their classrooms, curriculum, management systems, etc. ready for whatever the fall may bring us. As with most of you out there I am waiting with baited breath to see what guidance our state is going to give districts on opening up schools next fall. However being the planner that I am, it is hard for me to sit and wait so I have already started planning what things will look like in my classroom post COVID. A lot of the ideas I talk about below are based on years of teaching in a tech classroom as well as from what I have learned worked and didn't work this year. I hope you find some these ideas/thoughts useful and would love to hear your ideas on how you are preparing to a post COVID classroom.

To start off with I am going to rework my classroom procedures so that kids know how to do things digitally in my classroom. I am going to spend a lot of time showing students how to use email, Google classroom, and hangouts as a communications tool. This was a big hurdle in my online teaching this spring is that kids were not familiar with:

• How to communicate with me digitally and I with them
• My goals/plan
• Teach them how to use email
• Teach them to how use Google classroom comments
• Show them how and when to use hangouts
• I also plan on opening up a class Instagram
• Shorten instructional videos to 5 to 6 minute clips
• How to submit work digitally in classroom
• My goals/plan
• Teach how to read an assignment description
• Show how to attach various type of work to google classroom
• Use private comments as a feedback tool
• Put together a cheat sheet/webpage for families
• My goals/plan
• Put together instructions for families on communication
• Show them the connection between our google classroom and Skyward (IMS)
• Question to ask their child to check for work/understanding of assignment
• Key things to look for when students say they are finished with work
• Create a flowchart
• How assignments or done in my class from when I assign to turn in
• How communication works in my class with students

The hope/goal is for kids and families to be ready if/when we have switch to digital/distance learning next year. 

Along those lines I am going to have more digital options of assignments in my back pocket ready to go. This spring I went with one curriculum for my each of my classes. However I heard loud and clear that students were either really excited about the work or not very interested in the work I chose. I know that some of you may not be able or want to run multiple curriculums/projects in your class. So my suggestion to you is to have digital versions of your curriculum ready to go. This may be a bit of extra work but it is good to have them in your back pocket ready to go. Also you may find that digitizing your work may make it more engaging for students. Especially your presentations. I have found that recording my presentations (what some may call lectures) opens me up for working more with kids 1:1 or in small groups. Also by recording your presentations if we do go to more digital/distance learning you can throw a lifeline to parents and families. One thing I have heard consistently is that parents are frustrated with not knowing how to do some or all of the work kids were assigned. I know I can speak personally about that. However when I chatted with some folks in my neighborhood almost all agreed that it would a little easier to help their child watch a video and take notes. This makes sense as most people have experience watching video, tv, etc. and recalling the key or important concepts.  

As for classroom management a lot of that is going to be centered on the classroom procedures I mentioned earlier. Teaching and reinforcing the process getting and submitting work. However I also want to teach my students what it means to be present in a digital world. I know that I went into digital/distance learning thinking this is going to be simple for kids. They have their chromebooks and other digital devices and they already knew a lot about apps, websites, etc. No I wasn't naive in thinking there wouldn't be challenges like lack of connection, distractions at home (games, siblings, toys, etc.), lack of familiar support, social emotional challenges, and others. What I wasn't prepared for was how kids didn't know how to be present in an online world. Watching my kids doing digital learning gave me great insight. To them being present online means 2 different things on is social and one is academic. The two are very different from what I expected. Academically they would get online look at the work and try to figure it out then wait for someone to check on them it was one of passive engagement. They were expecting either the teacher or me to prompt them or check in with them before moving on. There was no active engagement unless we pushed them to engage with their teacher. However watching them engage online in a social context was more what I was expecting. They was active listening with questions about things they didn't understand, synthesizing information shared to accomplish a task and giving feedback and support to encourage others, and even calling out others when behavior is not appropriate. My goal is to help my students transfer their social online skills to a more academic setting.  To do this they need to know what office hours are and how to use them. They also need to know how to get into an online classroom whether that be a zoom or google hangouts, or other platform.

These are just some of the thoughts and ideas I have and hope you find them helpful. If you need help applying them your classroom and/or situation please reach out out to me in the comments or via email listed below. I would love to hear from you and help out if I can.

As always Go Forth and Do Great Things!

Email link

Podcast link

Fall will be here sooner than we think, Then what.

I hope you all are enjoying or making the best of whatever situation you may be in during these unprecedented times. I know I am enjoying some warm sunny weather as I give feedback on student work, plan out my next lessons, and meet with colleagues. I hope you all are getting out and enjoying the ever increasing summer like weather where you are at. I and my wife try to get out as much as we can to enjoy a walk or leisurely drive either with our kids or by ourselves. Often times when we are out we run into neighbors, friends, strangers, etc. During these encounters it comes up that I am a teacher which usually shifts the conversation towards my thoughts on distance/online learning and then to what I think school may look like in the fall. It might be a bit early to think about going back to school in the fall and what that might look like, but then again maybe not. I know that a lot of my colleagues are curious about what school might look like and I am seeing news story after news story contemplating what it will look like once we reopen in the fall. The CDC has issued guidelines/recommendations for schools. I also know that my state is starting to look at what the fall may look like with a 100 member task force looking at roughly 7 different models and hope to be able to give guidance. I have no clue as to what it might look like going forward I have my thoughts and preferences which I do share with the people we encounter. However that is not what I want to do here with this post. My goal with this post is to give some guidance on how we can prep kids and ourselves over the summer to better reach out and support kids for the next school year.

I don't have a crystal ball so I don't know what next fall will look like other than we will need to be teaching kids in somewhat shape or from. The suggestions I talk about today are my own based on my work reviewing online learning programs as well as experiences starting up schools and classrooms over the past 20+ years. The suggestions I mention here can be adapted no mater what opening up situation we encounter in the fall. With all that said I do welcome your comments and ideas as well as to call me out on why I suggest something that doesn't make sense. So lets get started. 

So as we move into the fall we need to look at things from 3 different aspects:

1. Teaching content
2. Platform
3. Communication
4. Fun

Starting with the first one content. One thing that goes without question and that is we are all masters of the content we teach. We can all agree that face to face learning is best but in absence of that there are some things we can do to make content delivery better. One suggestion is to work with the curriculum you have as in most cases it can be adapted to an online format. After all that is what we as teachers do we adapt and overcome as we encounter obstacles. Don't think that just because it is online that you need some crazy new fanged curriculum or delivery system. As an example I am using the same curriculum as I do in the classroom with some slight modifications. A second suggestion is to look at moving to a flipped model. Hopefully most of us are familiar with some sort of a flipped model classroom. With the flipped model you are having kids watch your instruction at home which is easier for not only students but also families. Most students can watch a video and take notes with some instruction to relate it to how you do with in class. Along with that most families can help their kids with watching a video and taking notes. The biggest complaint I have heard about is that families are struggling with helping their kids with things like math or science or other subjects. Which brings me to my third suggestion for content which is to assume nothing. This is something we as teachers have good experience with already but it is something to keep in mind. It is hard to deliver content without a platform.

To get the content out to students we need a platform. This is probably the one that may be out of our control but I hope to give some suggestions you can pass along to your districts and/or encourage you to look at the platform you have in a different way.  What ever platform is used it should be easy to access and navigate for both students and families. If the platform is not easy to access students will resist doing and turning in work. Also families will struggle to support you in your efforts of helping students get work in. As I mentioned in the last paragraph don't assume your platform is easy to use. One thing I have learned during this time is that a platform I use, Google classroom, is not as easy to use as I thought. Yes it is simple but there is a learning curve for all that use it. For example I had to learn what the parent side of google classroom looks like. It is simply an email (either a daily or weekly) summary of what is "going on" in the google classroom. I also learned that in that email are working links to sites you include in posts and/or assignments which is helpful. One thing to keep in mind is that summary can get overwhelming as it is one long email for each class that a student may have (if the families have linked to your class). Whatever platform you use it should be as close to one stop shopping as possible.  Students and Families should be able to get all the info they need from as few places (clicks/links) as possible. They should be able to get grades, assignment info, materials, and hand in all in the same place. The more links/places they have to go to complete an assignment the better the chance they will loose engagement in your class. To help with this we need to talk about the 3rd area which is communication.

This is probably the most important of the 3 areas that of communication. There are as many ways to communicate via distance as there are lessons we need to teach (if not more). There is no one tool that is better than others if anything we should be tailoring what tool we use to the audience we are trying to communicate with. For most students email probably is not the best. Students these days are used to a more instant form of communication such as Snap chat or Instagram. What I have found is communicating with them via comments on assignments or email (although they will do that reluctantly). If you are brave enough you can try google hangouts or say Instagram (make sure to have a personal and professional account). Teacher that have done this have had more success in communicating with students. However I know that may not be allowed in your district. Make sure to check with your district regarding communication policy with students. As for families email or phone may be a better way to communicate. Lastly as we all know whatever method you choose or are allowed to use make sure it is consistent. The more consistent you can make it the better results you will get. Along with being consistent within in your class if you can make it consistent school wide that is even better. Although then again as teachers we know that. Lastly with communication it is important that expectations are communicated once established. One thing that I learned over the last 3 months is that I need to do a better job of teaching my kids my expectations regarding:

• Communication
• email
• Google Classroom
• Hangouts
• Work habits
• Note taking
• Watching videos
• Assignments
• Structure
• Turning in
• Asking for help

The more we can teach students what the expectations are and how to meet them (just good teaching) the more successful any program (online and face to face) will be. 

Lastly whatever we do we have to remember the fun aspect of school. We may not think it but kids expect to have fun at school. They expect fun work to do and also expect to get some of their social needs met. When I say focus on fun I am not saying that all the work/assignments we give kids has to be fun (although that would be a bonus). What I do suggest is that you do things like my music teacher does and host class contests. He is currently hosting an idol like contest with his choir class. Kids are loving this and totally engaged. Also our ASB is hosting weekly activities like trivia night. Things that I have done is to host a typing contest using nitrotype. Also when I host a zoom meeting I make sure to let kids know they are welcome to ask questions, request a demo, or just check in. I find more often that not they want to simply check in which is ok. Along with the fun part is to check in with them and ask them how they are doing and what they are doing. Just as in our face to face classroom students want to get to know us and see us as a whole person and not just a teacher. 

There is a lot here to think about and I would love to hear your thoughts, ideas, and suggestions about best practices of starting up next year. 

As always: "Go Forth and Do Great Things!"

Podcast link

Video link mentioned in podcast: Quick video on how to make better instructional videos by Edutopia

Link to article on need for uniform LMS (Learning Management System).

Zoom Fatigue: What is it and how to combat it.

As we move into our 3rd to 4th month of online/distance teaching we are all feeling tired, stressed, and overwhelmed. We have had to make a 180 degree shift in teaching style; it is almost like we have all been required to do flipped learning with no training. Hang in there it will get better as we go along and figure this out and as we always do as teachers "Master this new form learning". One thing we need to wrap our brains around is the whole online meeting thing especially this new thing called Zoom Fatigue.

For some of us the stress of online meetings set in quickly. The stress of being on camera online figuring out how to reverse thoughts of not wanting to use the webcam. Not wanting to allow "Students" into our homes and/or the new boundaries that needed to be figure out. Then you throw in trying to figure out how to set up our remote classroom so we can get online and all the troubleshooting that goes along with that. All of that on top of trying to plan lessons, contact students and families, as well as maintain our own home front. Yet as we teachers do we did and continue to do it week in and week out. That is what makes us so unique is that we as Teachers are adaptable to most any situation. That being said we now have a new issue regarding online learning that we could use some help understanding what it is, why it is and how to prevent it, that of the fatigue that comes with meeting online aptly named: Zoom Fatigue. 

Simply put Zoom Fatigue is the feeling of tiredness we experience after being a part of an online meeting. Part of it is being stuck in an unnatural/uncomfortable position for long periods of time. Being forced to sit in furniture that wasn't meant to be sat in that long. We are as humans and teachers meant to be mobile. It is also looking at a digital screen no matter what size for extend periods of time with all that blue light coming back at us to which I recommend a pair of computer glasses with blue light blocking lens. However it is more than that even it is also a social fatigue that we as humans are not designed for mentally. As humans we are social creatures and are brains are structured in a way take advantage of that to be able to survive. We learn early on how to get the attention of care givers before language skills develop. We learn how to read non-verbal ques to be able to read a situation and react appropriately. We crave human interaction in some form (yes even those introverts like me). That being said our brains have adapted to surviving in a live up close, 3d social world but now we are thrust into an online world that is distant, 2d, limited to multiple  2"x 3" boxes, and throw in tons of distractions and our brains become overwhelmed and taxed to the point of our exhaustion. It can be similar to how we watch TV, YouTube, or other online videos. We watch but are often times doing other things because we are not fully invested in what is going on. Our brains look for other ways to stimulate because we are not getting the same stimuli as we would in a face to face conversation. Also with video we have distractions that are easier to buy into versus a face to face conversation. In an online conversation we can fidget with things on our desk, read email or other online activities. Now don't get me wrong I am not making a case for abandoning online learning or justifying why face to face instruction is better. What I am saying is that we need to be aware of this new type of fatigue in ourselves and our students and work to prevent it or at least counter it.

So what can we as teachers do for ourselves to help prevent or at least assuage zoom fatigue? To start with cut back on the number of meetings both in length and number of days we have meetings. Also try standing up when you have a meeting as opposed to sitting. To help with standing if you have the ability try calling in on the phone. This gives you the ability to walk and talk also we don't need to focus  

on a screen thus making it easier to take notes. Other suggestions are to avoid a grid view of participants. I suggest using a single person view or one that displays who is speaking; this will give you only one person to focus on which is easier on the brain. For online meeting with students those suggestions certainly apply but also give these a try:

• Use zoom for check ins only
• Question and answer
• How is it going
• Do simple demos 
• Try to avoid teaching a whole lesson or class session 
• Schedule them out so you only get small numbers of students at a time
• Be ok with kids not using video 

These are by no means the only things that one can do but hopefuly they are a start. One last thought is a positive aspect of zoom meetings for some of our Autistic students. Online meeting are being seen as helpful for those kids who have trouble processing social cues in conversation. The pauses of people not talking or trying to figure out who's turn it is are actually helpful to allow them to engage in a conversation. Something to think about going forward.

Below are a few resources I found to be helpful. I also encourage you to share your thoughts and ideas and suggestions around this or any other topic I talk about on this blog.

As always: Go Forth and Do Great Things!

Resources and podcast link

• https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/2020/04/coronavirus-zoom-fatigue-is-taxing-the-brain-here-is-why-that-happens/#close 
• https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/lifetime-connections/202004/zoom-fatigue-dont-let-video-meetings-zap-your-energy
• Podcast link

Starting back up

For many of us we have been immersed in online learning for the past couple of months. Hopefully you are handling the transition from face to face to online learning at least somewhat comfortable if not something that really isn't too hard. If you are struggling I recommend checking out the Virtual Ed Tech conference at https://learningrevolution.com/. I have attended a few of their sessions and found them to be helpful both for online teaching and for when we get back to face to face. Regardless of how you feel about online/distance learning it is time to start thinking about starting back up. If you are like me you may have been thinking about how do we deal with the issue the loss in learning that may (say I said may) be facing us if/when we get back into the classroom. I used the word "may" very purposefully which I want to talk about today.

It is not lost on me that students are missing out on some learning or that there will be skill gaps between peers as we move forward next school year. If you are like me you are embracing this as an opportunity to dig deeper into topics/skills that you would normally go an inch deep and move on so you can get through what you need in the curriculum before the end of the year. I know I have read and hear a lot of professionals approach panic about next year about how we are going to "Get kids caught up" or " Make up for what they lost" or some even saying they worry about the future due to the loss of learning. I thought that way for a few moments then as I was discussing this topic with my "How Do I Learn" (HDIL) group, that studies application of brain science in education, I was reminded learning is sequential and can't be compressed. It needs to happen over time and can't/shouldn't be forced. That has been tried in the past and currently and it just doesn't work. So I am going to postulate something wild; that we should start up next year as a new starting point and move forward.

I have learned over the years of working with HDIL that kids are resilient and will bounce back as we move towards normal. However that being said it is not lost on me that there will be inequities between peers due to trauma. We will have a wealth of kids who fit into several categories ranging from little traumatic affect to those who had severe trauma. Yet don't we have those issues in class normally and we adapt our teaching to meet their needs. What I am saying though is we should look at starting next year as if kids are coming to us fresh from last year, meet them where they are at and move forward form there and not try to forcibly try and catch them to where "standards" say they should be (dare we even think about adjusting the standards). Yes I know I can imagine the in rush of air and possibly panic attacks going on as you read this blog.

I can hear it now "But what about the standards?" "If we don't get them caught up then they won't be ready for the state tests" "They won't be prepared for (insert post school choice here) if we don't catch them up". Yes you might be right but what happens if we do try and forcibly try to catch them up? We risk kids hitting and going past frustration level where learning stops due to shut down, kids not being emotionally ready to learn, not enough time for kids to absorb all that needs to be in order to be "caught up". Most importantly we risk turning kids off to learning which will be more detrimental than not being caught up by the end of next year. Maybe it is time to look at the standards or state tests for what they are; simply mile markers and way posts along the journey of learning.

I am not saying we need to abandon standards in education. What I am proposing is that maybe it is time to reassess them in the post pandemic educational world to make them work for our kids rather than against them. I have always seen standards as way makers in the journey of learning. They help me guide what I should be teaching but I never look at them for where kids should be by a specific time. Yes it would be nice if by the end of say 7th grade all kids new how to type at 25 to 30+ words a minute and be able to consistently use unique file names on digital work they create. Yet I know that there are some kids who are not ready to meet that standard until later on for a variety of  reasons.

Bringing it back to starting up next school year we will have a lot more kids who will need us to be able to meet them where they are and help guide them along the journey of life long learning. Dare I say we continue to adopt what our State Superintendent of Public Instruction has tasked us with when this all started approach learning from the stand point of being Communicative, Compassionate, and Do No Harm. That challenge has resonated with me both as a struggle to fit into how I teach and engage kids but also as a guiding light. I truly believe that we should start next year from where the kids are at and move forward rather than trying to get them caught up.

I can't wait to hear your thoughts and ideas about this topic. I encourage you to subscribe and/or leave comments. As always "Go Forth & Do Great Things!"

 Podcast link

Silver lining

I chose the image above because it represents the ray of hope and silver lining I see in a hopeful pedagogical shift in education as we move forward with 'online-learning', 'distance education', or whatever your district is calling it. That shift is a move to providing instruction in more than just face to face venues. For years doing face to face has been the go to expectation for instruction and online/distance learning has been pushed to fringes of alternative learning for those that needed something other than traditional face to face. Now don't get me wrong I still think the traditional face to face model is the best for most kids when it comes to instruction. Nothing can replace having a student in your class and being able to see them working and to be able to give real time feedback. However that being said I believe there is an opportunity to address an issue with the face to face model that a lot of teacher struggle with, what to do when kids are absent.

It is ironic that it takes a pandemic and stay at home orders to get students and teachers to stay home both when they are not and they are feeling well. How many of us have uttered this phrase or something like it "I would rather go to work sick than write sub-plans". Yes the bane of most teachers existence the all mighty sub-plans. Yes I am guilty of it myself of going to work on days I should have stayed home rather than write sub-plans or because I know the kids won't do what is needed because there is a sub. On the flip side, as a parent, I have also committed the sin of sending my kids to school so I and my wife could go to work when they are sick. Another off shoot of this dilemma is those families who take their kids out of school at odd times to "take a trip of a lifetime" or to take advantage of off season travel deals. Even as a teacher who knows better I have done this at least once. That all being said I believe the pedagogical shift we are all having to face now is the answer to some of those problems.

Instead of seeing online teaching as a necessary evil in these rough times. I believe it is something we should embrace as a new normal. When planning lessons It is important to look at it form the face to face perspective and from the online perspective. How cool would it be to be able to stay home and teach your class remotely when you are feeling just be little under the weather or if your kids could stay home when sick and still do the activities/lessons for the day. Yes it might be a little more work but I have found through the flipped model of teaching, once you get into and used to the in's and out's it is quite easy. Yes it takes some more tools and possibly equipment but often times you can get what you need as a free or freeium extension on a chormebook or plugin. I am not foolish to think that there are not other challenges to this over planning. Yes I understand that the biggest one is that of access to the internet and/or equipment. However as most if not all of the county is being forced to do online learning they are also having to face those challenges as well. I have heard talk at least in Washington State the broadband access should be considered a utility like phone service, sewer & water, etc. Also more and more districts are starting to explore and adopt some form of 1:1 model to provide instructional technology access to students. The time is ripe for all of us to start to adapt our current lessons and instruction to one that can be done both online and face to face.

For those that are ready to start to explore this shift here is how I go about making my learning accessible both fact to face and online.  I start out by building a relationship with my students and letting them know a little bit about me and my story, just like any good teacher. I also talk about and model the importance of taking notes during a presentation (I try not to call it a lecture due to the negative connotation & because outside of school no one lectures). I then start shifting my presentations to both an in-person and online format by recording them and posting them on youtube. The format I use for taking notes while watching a video is broken into 3 parts:

1. Watch video/presentation all the way through to get the big picture. I like my students to know where they are going before they get there. They have to 2 guiding questions: What is the final product and What are the expectations (although I use the term specs). I also have them write down questions they may have.
2. Watch the video/presentation again taking notes on the procedure, details, instructions, hints, etc.
3. Watch the video a final time looking for answers to questions they wrote down in previous viewings and writing down questions that are not answered or that you may have regarding how to complete the activity.

During each viewing I encourage them to pause and play the presentation. I also encourage students to use CC (closed captioning) to be able to see what I am saying. This is also a helpful tool for our English Language Learners to be able have CC in their native language (if they can read it). I also encourage them to write down questions during each phase to encourage active listening. Once they are finished watching the presentation they are able to either start the activity/project/lesson and send me questions. Students are able to send me questions in several different ways. They can ask in person or via email or via google form I created (to mimic the use of trouble tickets). From there the work is in the students hands and I wait for them to turn it and/or ask questions or for feedback.

The tools one will need to do this do come at some cost to you and/or your district (a webcam & mic, and laptop or computer). Although that being said there are some free to low cost options out there depending on how detailed you want to go. Most computers/laptops come with a built in webcam and mic. I chose to go with an external webcam and mic so I can record on my desktop at home and have better quality but they are certainly not needed. You can also find screencasting extensions, plugins, apps for free that will do the trick some I have used and recomend are Screencastify and Nimbus both do a good job on the free version but also offer freeium options. I chose to go with a video editing suite Movavi as it allows me to both record and edit video a little more professionally with effects and the like. Another option is to use the record meeting feature on your video conferencing app. You can do this by setting up a meeting with yourself and record it then save it and post it with your lesson.

After I have a recording of my presentation I post it along with the lesson in my google classroom page for the class to view along with all the the other digital materials needed for the lesson. This does pose a challenge of what if there are physical materials needed and I have students who don't have access. I am certainly in this boat with my robotics class. I have looked for virtual options such as CoderZ to provide a virtual option. This is where I defer to my experience with online learning and am looking into ways to provide those materials to kids via traditional mail. I don't have an answer as of yet but hope to soon.

So to close out this post I hope you are able to see the silver lining as I have described it and hope you at least start to think about how you can modify your lessons so they can be done both online and in the classroom. For those of you that have already done this or are doing this I look forward to your thoughts and suggestions in the comments.

As always "Go Forth and Do Great Things!"

Link to podcast
https://www.buzzsprout.com/662542/3325930

Music license podcast:

Fearless First by Kevin MacLeod

Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3742-fearless-first

License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

The Gift of Time

I was inspired this Sunday by a quote from one of my favorite Educational Leaders, Jimmy Casas (@casas_jimmy on twitter). I first encountered him at an ed tech conference where he talked about what it means to be a leader in today's world. I was inspired by his book "Start Right. Now" where he talks about leadership and what it means to be a leader. He has gone on to write more books on culture and being your best self. The quote he posted on twitter was:
     One of the most precious gifts we can give to others is the gift of time. Our influence is even greater when we invest in our students & colleagues in a kind & caring way that supports their success. When they do better we will feel better.
I think this encapsulates how we should be thinking as we venture into teaching online for the first time. Instead of worrying about test scores and how far we can go into the curriculum we should think about giving students an opportunity to explore and use what they have learned to make the world around them a better place. So to hopefully live up to Mr. Casas's quote I want to lay out my journey and hopefully give you some suggestions to use as we give our students the gift of time.

To start I plan on keeping it simple by just checking in with my kids and asking some basic questions like:

• How are you doing?
• What have you been doing?
• What were you working on before we left?
• What would you like to work on? 

The hope is to give them an opportunity to record a message (however they choose video via flipgrid, email, google doc, voice recording, google hangout, etc.) to reconnect with them. I also will be sharing how I am doing and what I have been doing. That will take us into spring break where I plan on encouraging them to get outside and get some fresh air, play a game, run around, basically be a kid. For a lot of my kids I imagine some of them have been taking care of siblings or helping out around the home. I want to try and give them permission to be a kid and play. I say this because as I have learned play is one of the best ways young kids can learn social skills. 

After spring break we will be working on 2 things review of the engineering/design process and figuring out what we want to do next. For our review I plan on having them focus on telling me about the parts of the engineering process and then have them apply that to a simple problem in their lives. Things like making a schedule, food delivery, making a meal, connecting with another person online, helping a teacher connect with/use online tools like zoom, google hangout, etc. My goal is to show them that they do have some control over what is going on and they also have something to offer. 

Once we have reviewed to Engineering/design process we will go into talking about what they want to work on which is where the gift of time comes in. I am going to treat it sort of like my 20% time project where they get to focus on a problem that is of importance to them. For some it may be focusing on school work, for others it may be actually tackling the problem to talked about in their review, for some it may be something else. My goal is to help them work on something that allows them to apply what they have learned and us that to dig deeper into their understanding. I imagine the 2 big thing will be to work on finding a cure and figuring out a way for life to return to normal. The other big topic I expect to come up is that of not wanting to take advantage of the time given and just be. I know some of my colleagues this is a concern and if life was normal and this was normal online learning I would be too, however this isn't normal. For some having time to not do work or just be is more important. That in and of itself is solving a problem as well, taking care of themselves and their family. Anyways that is my plan which may change at some point as I see how thing go and get more direction for the state and my district as to what I need to be doing.   

Some thoughts on what you could do based on the subjects that are out there:

• PE
• Have kids develop an personalized exercise routine
• Explore ways to do team games with virtual fans
• Invent new backyard sports/activities (Thank you KING5 sports for the idea)
• Have them teach and/or organize outdoor games/sports/activities with family
• Math
• Look for how products are design using geometric shapes and explain why they are that shape
• Develop a daily schedule using date and time
• Measure out their home and figure out the square footage of the home and rooms
• Design and outfit their dream home (thank you to my Math department for that idea) with a budget
• ELA
• Write a letter to nursing homes describing things they see around them and questions they may have
• Write up shopping lists for groceries and help plan out meals
• Develop a comic strip to hare with others 
• Record children's stories to post online
• Social Studies
• Use maps and research to plan a post quarantine trip
• Keep a historical journal of their daily activities for future civilizations
• Create a Google Lit trip of places they have heard about or studied in class
• Create a map of their home as if it was an ancient ruin
• Science
• Have them explore how the world is changing with the lack of human travel
• Track chemical reactions when mixing common household items
• Do a sleep study to see how different sleep habits affect mood, productivity
• Track data of activities around the home and see what patterns they notice
• Foreign Language
• Learn a new language
• Practice writing letters to people/pen pals in other countries
• Offer to do translations of important documents/materials/news casts
• Art
• Design a paint scheme for their room
• Explore different artistic styles
• Delve deeper into the relationship between colors, color and mood, etc.
• Create original works 
• Explore what Creative commons and copyright are
• Music/band
• Explore music theory
• Explore what IP is and how it relates to music
• Perform an online concert
• Produce a digital concert
• Improve soloist skills

This list doesn't hit every subject and certainly is not exhaustive but hopefully it is a start or at least inspires some ideas of your own. I would love to hear about what you think and any ideas you come up with to give your students the gift of time.

As always "Go Forth and Do Great Things!"

Link to MP3 of podcast.

Unprecedented Times call for Unprecedented Teaching

I am sure I am in the same boat as most if not all of you. I am at home doing all the things I told myself I would do when I got time. I am doing Kyte learning classes, I am reading coding books to learn new languages, I am doing yardwark, reading for pleasure (yes that does exist), working on CTE (Career and Technical Education) class frameworks, & thinking about my students. This last one just got real for me as I saw a message from our state education agency (OSPI) & article saying that education must go on. I know for me I got butterflies in my stomach about this. At first (I will be honest) I was a little frustrated and hurt but then I got excited about the possibilities of teaching remotely.

Last year our building had some extenuating circumstances with a small fire and lots of snow that had the possibility of sending us into the summer. In a planning meeting I half seriously suggested online learning. We were a 1:1 chromebook district and being a reviewer of online providers for our state was very familiar with the tools and programs out there; I could see how easily this could be done. My comment was met with a lot of skepticism from many of my colleagues, yet our Assistant Superintendent and leader of our TLI (Teaching Learning & Innovation) department expressed it wasn't a bad thought. He shared that it was being done back east to help with snow days. It turned out that online learning was not a good fit a the time but fast forward about a year and here we are trying to figure out how to do online learning equitably. There are a lot of hurdles that need to overcome and I don't have all the answers but I do want to address some of the ones that came up that are easy to deal with.

My colleagues had a lot of issues with online learning and I agree with some of them but that doesn't mean it can't work. One of the biggest is not all families have access at home; Yes this is a big issue but not so hard to overcome. Some districts have been issuing out hotspots to families that need them, providers are offering low cost internet for low income families, I am seeing more and more free hotspots pop up like comcast asking people with their modems to provide a hotspot, free internet at starbucks, etc. Cell companies like Verizon are now enabling phones to be used as hotspots on unlimited plans. So yes not everyone is connected there are ways to overcome this issue with a little creativity and resourcefulness. The second issue is what do we do about kids not showing up to "class online". What do we do with kids who don't show up to class in person? We mark them absent and a phone call goes home (at least in my state). Yes kids will not show up or will skip out in middle of class, etc. there just has to be consequences for when it happens. Trust me kids will show up if for nothing else to be able to be online (more on this later). The third issue was my subject can't be taught online for I teach music, art, science, PE, etc. and kids won't have the supplies. Well yes that is tough but again resources and creativity are the name of the game. There are tools like smart music, and flipgrid that students can record themselves playing and/or singing. While not perfect I believe no I know they will get better over time. As for science and virtual labs yes it is not the same as the real thing but then again medicine is not the real thing. More and more surgeries are becoming robotic in nature and even remote. I bet a scan you have had done recently was not read at the hospital/clinic it was done. I may have even been done in another country. I have read where doctors are not performing surgeries remotely. As for PE well that is easy. Look at companies like Peloton and Mirrorfit. You have virtual workouts. How could would it be to be able to customize a workout plan for your students. I could go on but the point is that with any new educational endeavor there will be obstacles and challenges. We need to see them as just that obstacles and challenges that can be over come not barriers to success.

To help overcome these obstacles and meet these challenges I want to talk about some tools I have used as I stepped into the world of virtual/digital instruction. The biggest one that jumps out at me is the concept of flipped classroom. This is where students watch the "lecture" at home and do the "homework" in class. Biggest difference is they might be doing both at home. How I use this in my classroom is not so much in a flipped way but to differentiated instructional way. I record my presentations so kids can go back and watch them, watching them if they were gone, watch them with a different language in the close caption. What I like is that it frees up my time to help students and get work done around the classroom. There are any number of tools out there to do screencasting of lectures. The 2 that I am most familiar with are screencastify (an ap/extension for your browser) and Movavi (a video editing suite). I prefer Movavi as it is a little more robust and give me more tools to work with but it does come with a cost as does screencastify. If you want to meet live with students you have google hangouts or the various web meeting programs/apps (Zoom, microsft teams, webex, etc.) I have used any number of these and they work great. The hardest part is getting people to overcome being scene on a webcam. This one I don't get as you are seen daily live by your students as well as public in all your glory. But having to use a webcam makes one shy and self-conscious? Get over it people. The keys I have found is make sure you are dressed (as well as others in your house) at least from the waist up. Do your morning routine of shaving, makeup, hair etc. and then get online. Make sure to have a neutral backdrop that won't wash you out and have fun. Don't worry if someone jumps in while you are recording or presenting. Remember it happens all the time with announcements, people walking into your class, and background noise. Just do what you naturally do but asking others to quite down, not disturb you, etc. As for online tools to help with remote learning there are any number of them like Google apps for edu, Microsoft 365, Peardeck, padlet, etc. that I could go one about but won't as you need to work with what your district gives you. What I will say from my experience from a reviewer of online providers is the most helpful and important is to have a quality Learning Management System (LMS) that is user friendly for students, teachers, and parents. Without this your program will fail. I have seen and worked with many LMS's both as a teacher, students, and reviewer and have can say that they are the tent pole that holds the whole thing up. There are many out there ranging from the simple Google Classroom to more complex/robust ones like Schoology, Blackboard, Canvas, etc. to ones that are integrated into actual online schools whose names escape me at the moment.  I have my favorites among these but again I would encourage you to go with what your district offers or has in place for you to use.

Lastly are activities that can be done for online learning. This really excites me as a teacher not only because it is what I do as a CTE teacher but as a teacher who wants to help teachers be better teachers. This is where meeting your kids where they live (figuratively as well as literally), digitally, is both fun and important. I have written before about the power of projects and the many digital projects I do ranging from google lit trips/stories, coding, 3d and 2d design, 20% time, etc. (I actually find it harder to get physical projects up and running now) and I have found that the more I do digital project with kids the more they want to jump in and try it out. Not all work but that is the same with any project/assignment you do. This is a great opportunity for you to jump in and let your students be both learners and educators. You would be surprised at how resourceful they can be when they want to do something and need to figure out how to do it. Yes you will have those that sit and wait for you to help them but more often than not you will find students will find the help they need to get the work done. The key is to make projects engaging and something they want to do. Here is a list of suggestions of projects that can be done digitally in most any classroom:

• Do a digital version of getting to know you:
• I do one where I have students create a 1 slide presentation about
• Their likes, dislikes, motivation, heritage, etc. 
• Then I have them use a voki (voki.com)to read what is on their slide
• Code.org for computer science
• CS discoveries for Upper elementary & Middle School ages
• Detailed lesson plans with differentiation built in 
• CS principles for High school
• Detailed lesson plans with differentiation built in
• Free curriculum by those who create hour of code
• Creating online kids books with original art work and/or animations
• Doing a google lit trip instead of a report or essay
• Map out the journey of General Washington's battles
• Create a "field trip" of key land forms or historical places
• Map out how students get to school and back 
• map out the story they are reading highlighting key landmarks
• Lead students through the games of interland to discuss digital citizenship
• Using phones or other devices create a virtual art gallery of things around their home

The possibilities are virtually endless as long as you are open minded and willing to be patient. That is the key being patient. Things are not going to work out as you plan, there will be snags, kids will need help, on and on. Just like in a normal classroom. Some suggestions when you hit these snags:

1. Do things before hand 
1. But don't put too much effort into trying to know it all
2. Let the kids explore on their own (model what you would do given the same situation)
1. Show them how to use the help menu
2. Show them how to find help online
3. Encourage them to ask others
4. See what they come up with and fit it into what you planned
5. Don't be afraid to modify mid lesson

These are just some of what I do when working online/virtually/digitally with kids. Also don't be afraid to share with other colleagues lessons you learned and experiences you had so we can all grow. 

I know this was a long read but hopefully you found it helpful. I would love to hear your experiences and suggestions as we move forward with online learning en mass. As always:

Go Forth & Do Great Things!

Podcast pt1
Podcast pt2

Acquiring Vocab: The Vocabulary Acquisition System

One of the things I struggled with as a student and still struggle with today is Vocabulary. I find myself understanding how words work in a sentence but not necessarily their meaning. Words like Nonchalant, Serenity, Proforma, etc. I can use them in a sentence so it makes grammatical sense but and when asked to define them I stumble. I also see this in my classroom with my students. They can use the vocab we talk about but can't necessarily define it correctly. Thankfully I don't ask my kids straight up what words mean I stick to can they apply their understanding of them in context. For example we recently just wrapped up learning about the parts of the Engineering Process. In the version that I teach there are 5 to 6 parts as illustrated in the image tot her right with the 6th part being present your solution that I present as your way out of the circle.

Over the many years that I taught this I seen many a kid struggle with understanding each of these parts. I find that putting them into context and using illustrations helps with building their understanding and use of them in real life projects. That being said I have been shown a system that helped me and other students with learning and understanding vocab that works at helping people not only learn but how to use vocab correctly.

Over last summer I took a class on drone flight that helps students earn the commercial drone pilots license (FAA Part 107). This was a very rigorous class that was more than just how to fly a drone, if anything that was what we did the least. It covered topics such as the 7 levels of US Airspace, Weather and its affects on flight, communication, and most importantly all the vocabulary involved in drone flight. And true to the English language it is full of words with multiple meanings. This set me into a slight panic as I knew I wasn't good with vocab. However as part of the class we were introduced to a tool/system called the Vocabulary Acquisition System by the instructor from Advanced Aerial Education (AAE). By the way if you are looking for a drone flight curriculum I would check these guys out. They instruction and curriculum is top notch and will help you and your students prepare for the FAA Part 107 exam. But I digress I want to get into the tool/system for vocab.

The system they showed us has 3 parts that when followed help you learn vocabulary and how to use it in a way to helps it to stick in your brain. It is very easy to do and can be done in a low tech way with just 3x5 index cards and a writing implement. I will qualify that I may be over simplifying it a bit but you will get the general gist to be able to use in your classrooms. It utilizes the use of flash cards that is more rigorous than just the simple memorize the word and definition way. It can be done both individually and with a partner and I highly recommend that you have students practice both with partners and individually.

Step 1: Learning the words and definition 
In this step students simply make flash cards out of 3x5 index cards. On one side they write the word and the other side they write the definition, preferably in their own words. Cards are shuffled and randomly drawn out 1 at a time. Students say the word and then say the definition/meaning of the word. If they get the meaning correct words go in a pile on the right; If they get it wrong they go in a pile on the lift. Any wrong words the cards a shuffled again and the process is repeated until there are no cards on the left hand pile.

Step 2: Identify Relationships
After mastering step 1 with 100% accuracy students work on ID'ing relationships between words. In this step students shuffle the cards randomly and draw out 2 cards. They then say what the words have in common or how they differ. You go through the deck of cards same as before, putting correct matches on the right and wrong matches on the left. This process is repeated 2 times to 100% accuracy. However there is a catch, if you get any wrong you have to go back to step 1 and start over. ID'ing patterns may seem easy but gets hard both as more words are introduced and you have to find similarities.

Step 3: Sentence Formulation
This is the final step and where the rubber meets the road in my opinion. Once students have mastered how vocab relate to each other they move to application of the word. Students shuffle the cards into a random order. Then 3 cards are drawn and arranged in any order the students wants. They then must correctly use the 3 words in a sentence. With words correctly used placed on the right hand side and those not used correctly on the left hand side. This is repeated 3 times with any slip ups causing you to go back to step 1 and repeat the whole process.

It seems like a lot of work but I am here to tell you that it works. Yes you and your students will grumble and complain (I know I did). But after awhile when you see how well it works and how easy it is to do the grumbling will minimize. The trick is to have students hold themselves and their partners accountable. You can't just say oh yeah I messed up but I understand the word so I will just put it in the right hand pile. You have to be honest for it to work. The beauty is that it is pretty easy to catch students who are not using the system. If they say they have the words mastered then have them run through the system with you. If they have been practicing they should be able to run through the word stack at 100% accuracy, if not they haven't.

I have used this system with my middle school kids and have seen great results even with my non-graded after school program. I have kids who can correctly use terms like Pitch, sUAS, Roll, and yaw in the aviation context. What I really like is the simplicity of the activity. All you/students need is a set of index cards and time. It is something that can be done at home and at school and doesn't require a ton of background knowledge if you are doing it with family members (the definition is right there). It is also a good entry task activity to start out the class.

I can see so many applications for this beyond aviation. It is great for science classes where there is a ton of vocab. It can be used in a social studies class with all the vocab that comes up with government, civilizations, etc. It is a natural in foreign language classes and all the vocab they have. I also see it as being especially useful in Special Education and English Language classes, helping kids master everyday English words. The possibilities are endless.

I look forward to hearing not only how you use this system as well as other ways you help students acquire complex vocab.

As always "Go Forth & Do Great Things!"

Link to Podcast on this topic

We're going on a trip, a Google Lit Trip, Zooming through the internet

Hopefully as you were reading the title you had the theme song to "Little Einsteins" pop into your head. If you didn't I linked to it on YouTube. I chose that title based because for this blog post I want to talk about a new twist on book reports and a way to make history come alive for kids. It is called a Google Lit Trip. In a nutshell a google lit trip is where you use google earth to show a journey from one point to another. As I learned about them while doing my Google certified educator work (something I highly recommend all teachers do by the way) I couldn't stop thinking about the many ways they could be used to jazz up everyday assignments in education.

For awhile now it has been pounded home that we need to start integrating technology into the work we do as educators. We need to move away from the traditional book reports, worksheets, PowerPoint presentations, etc. that we did as kids. However I get it there are a million excuses one can give as to why we don't (I have addressed this in pas blog posts). Yet doing a Google lit trip is probably the easiest way you can integrate technology into formative assessment. Yes it does require a computer and internet access but the beauty is that most students already have or can quickly pick up the skills to do one in no time. Most kids these days have played around with Google Earth and/or Google Maps and are familiar enough with search for places and navigating the tool. Also most are pretty familiar with searching the internet for information or at the very least you can teach them this valuable skill.  The only other skill/thing you may need show/teach them is how to pin locations and add info and pictures to that pin as well as share their lit trip. Although I can tell you from experience that is pretty easy to do and once they get understand how to do it they can do it with ease. The hardest part will be getting them to add info to their trip rather than search for places on Google Earth. In fact it is so easy to learn I will cover the basics in this blog post as well as include a screencast I use with my students.

There are 3 main parts to a Google Lit Trip:

1. What is your Lit Trip about
1. Historical figure's journey (Harriet Tubman's journey on the underground railroad)
2. Following the journey of a book character (Beremiz Samir's journey in the book "The Man who Counted")
3. Tracing the timeline of events (Civil Rights Movement)
2. Where are you going on your Lit Trip
1. Countries
2. States
3. Cities
3. What Info to include about each place on your Lit Trip
1. Facts
2. Pictures
3. Opinions
4. How will you share your Lit Trip
1. Link
2. email
3. Presentation

Once you know the answers to these questions it is time to start making your Lit Trip. To start I have kids plan out the places they are going and the information they are going to include in their lit trip. I have them do this on a google doc as an outline but it could be easily done using a spreadsheet to help organize info for students that need more structure. I have students include links to information they researched on the web as well as pictures they are going to use to include as references. Once this is done students then go to the Google Earth  website and launch it. After it is done launching then have them go to the projects link and start a new project. They can create a project or open a saved project from drive. It is important to have them give their project a title to make it easier to find later on. Now the fun begins. Using the outline students then start adding new features for the places they are visiting. They can add places or search for places once they have a place located they place a pin and then edit it to add in the info you want them to include. Once done they then move on to the next place and so on till they have added all their places. Along the way or afterwards they can add a line showing the route to each place. When they are all done and it is time to share their project either as a link or via email. When others want to watch their trip they simply open it up and click on present. Another option which I really like is to do it as a screencast. Students can open a screencasting app or extension (I have students use screencastify) and start recording then open their Lit Trip and narrate their journey. They can then save and share that as well. I really like this idea as it gives them practice not only sharing info verbally but also in a safe online format which is an essential employability skill.

There are websites out there that you can go and search for pre-made lit trips as well as have them made for you (which I include in the links below) but I think it is is more important to have kids develop their own. I also am including links to a screencast I use with students to show them how to create one as well as my podcast on this topic. I would love to hear and/or see how you are using Lit Trips in your classrooms with your students.

As all ways: Go Forth and Do Great Things!

Links: 
Podcast
Google Lit Trips site
Making a Lit Trip screencast

"I am done, What do I do now?": The most hated question in tech/engineering class

The question I hate most in my classes is "I am done, What do I do now?". I hate it more than kids who choose to play games on the computers when they are finished (and sometimes before they are finished). I know I am a teacher but I see myself more as a project manager than an entertainer. I know there are some teachers out there that see themselves as a entertainer but that is not me. I know that some presentations & articles I have read equate teaching to entertaining because we have to compete with the likes of sensationalized TV and Games as well as easy access to music. It is hard to complete with the immediate feedback and gratification from these entities as well. However all that being said I do have a tool I use to help combat that question and also help students start to build some of the soft skills employer's look for in a potential future employee. The idea is what I call Leadership Points.

I got this idea from a fellow teacher who used something similar in their class as a way of keeping kids busy if they finished work early. Now I know that some of you will automatically start thinking of these things a just busy work. The idea is that students have a series of tasks to choose from that they can do with minimal to no help from me or others. The tasks fit into 5 areas of Employ-ability skills:

• Professional development
  

• Taking Initiative
  

• Management
  

• Career Prep
  

• Community Service
  

I have run these by employers and most feel these are good soft skills for students to start working on at a middle school level. I know there are more than just these 5 employ-ability skills; I choose these 5 as they are easy for middle school kids to understand and relate to. Within each of these areas are tasks kids can do that earn them a select number of points. Tasks range from easy things like: 

• tracking daily work in planner
• cleaning the classroom
• filling out an application

to harder ones like:

• designing a new job
• reading a book or article relating to subject of class and reporting back on it
• 1 month of community service
• teach the class (with lesson plans and assessment)

The harder the task the more points it is worth. I try and make it easy for them to get the points by just requiring that they show me or an adult over 18 evidence of completing the task. The one catch is if they loose the form before completing the 300 points they loose the points unless they can show evidence of completion. This is probably the biggest issue I haven't found a way to resolve is kids loosing the form but it is a good lesson for them to learn when the stakes are low.

I have heard from both students, parents, and other teachers many issues with this assignment. When I first started out a lot of people saw these as just busy work which yes they kind of are but when coming up with list of tasks I tried to think of ones that not only fit the category but also were relevant to both the class and it's operation which helps add value to them and makes them seem less as busy work. I get 3 big complaints from students and parents when it comes to this assignment. The first one is that there are too many, I require 300 points in a semester. However when I break it down in terms of how long they have to do them, 1 semester or about 4.5 months, that tasks the wind out of that complaint. Also once people see the type of activities and how easy some of them are it also helps to minimize this complaint. The second biggest complaint I get from both parents (although not so much once I explain/remind them when assigned) and students is I didn't get them enough time. This is mainly because students wait till the last minute to do them and find they don't have enough time to complete 300. The third biggest complaint I got was that they had too much of an impact on student's grades. This one took some time to figure out as I wanted the kids to take the assignment seriously but also didn't want it to cause them to fail the class if they didn't do them but did the other work for the class. What I have settled on is making them 20% of the grade in my class and making sure to have points they can get for doing everyday tasks in class.

All in all over the last 4+ years I have been doing Leadership Points I have found them to be beneficial for both me and others. Some of the changes I have made over the last 4 years to make the experience easier and more motivating are to give parents and other teacher the ability to sign off on points, the willingness to let students negotiate what they can to do to get points, and the newest thing creating a Leadership badge students can earn and proudly display if they complete their 300 points before the due date.  I have posted a copy of the form I hand out to students as well as a link to my podcast on this topic. Feel free to make a copy of the form and use it in your classroom. You have my permission to modify and change the form to fit your unique situation. I also welcome your thoughts on the topic and ideas of tasks I can add.

As always:

Go Forth & Do Great Things!
All pictures are in the public domain

Files/Links:

Leadership Point form.
Link to Podcast
Interland by google
Codecombat

Conferences/PD: Flipping the script on excuses not to go

Today as I sit in my home office thinking about an up coming conference and my presentation I will be giving I am reminded of the mixed feelings that I share with my colleagues about said conferences.

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/dc/DMI_conference.jpg

It is nice to get the opportunity to go but the time that is involved especially during the school year can serve as a huge deterrent. The sub plans, the paperwork, the packing, the wondering if it will all be worth it, and for some the obligation to share with staff what you have learned. I know for some the deterrents can be enough to refuse the opportunity. I used to think that way but eventually came around for various reasons, some of which you might not think of from a teaching standpoint.

https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEilK7cmAVrI75-XZq0zEdDG-5eQmZcrIS-i5nZtKI7-ZM09hpRsvIjHrF2ZpIpFnx1UvZnGe6bU1a7GYbEQT4x1hi9cRH3hqWNAjHGfZVcXKUSOXyr2MUWrom-e_lUzhPVsTJuiWbAqss3d/s1600/excuses.gif

I know as teachers we are good at finding excuses to not be gone from the classroom, I know as I am one who hates to be gone if for no other reason than the fact that we have to make sub-plans. Often times being on death's door is not enough to keep us away. That being said the focus of today's post is on conference/PD attendance. I know we all hate being out of our classroom and it is easy to give an excuse or two for why we don't want to go with sub-plans being the number one. I feel the choosing to not go just because you don't want to write up sub-plans is a pretty poor excuse. There are several others that are much better like:

• "I hate being away from the kids"
• "There is nothing I could learn that I don't already know"
• "I just don't know if it would be good" or "They really don't have anything for me"
• "I feel like all these are is a waste of time"
• "I am worried about [insert name here] not behaving"
• "The kids won't learn as much if I am not there"
• "Why can't they do this training over the summer?" (This is my favorite by the say.)

I get it there is no substitute for being in one's classroom but being out of one's classroom can be good as well; for both you and the kids. Being out of your class helps students apply their problem solving and other soft skills employers so desperately crave. Kids need to the opportunity to be practice these skills in order to develop resiliency.
Yes they might not accomplish all that you want them to get done but in my opinion that is ok as education isn't and shouldn't be a race to get to the finish. It should be more about developing kids and teachers into being life long learners. Which is in the end what will take them farther in this world that if we got through the chapter on how to use functions and variables to launch a rocket into orbit. However conferences/PD during the year accomplishes another thing that I think we miss as teachers but crave.

https://appliedbuddhism.files.wordpress.com/2015/08/resilience-bend-or-break.png

I have heard my colleagues in the past and currently wish that we as teachers would be treated like other professionals (doctors, accountants, engineers, etc.). Well one way we are is by being given the opportunity to get out of the office and go to conferences/PD. Most other professionals don't get summers off like teachers do. That is a perk we enjoy due to the agrarian education system we have in the US. However it is interesting that often times teachers will bow out of going to a summer conference/pd session because they don't want to give up their precious time off. I get it, it is time away from family or time that you have earned being on point with kids for 9 months straight. I get it we all need time to relax and recharge. And that my fellow teachers are what conferences/PD can do for us during the school year.

Setting aside all the excuses and allowing ourselves to take advantage of the gift that our district is giving us important not only for our professional growth but also for our mental health. I have found that once I let go of the excuses even the most mundane conference/PD session has its benefits. Here are just a few:

• Being away from one's classroom and immersed into a learning environment similar to kids helps remind me of what it is like for my students. 
• It allows it helps to break the routine of day
• One get's a chance to network with like minded colleagues to share ideas and thoughts with
• You get to do things when you want not when you have time (going to the bathroom, eating)
• Getting to see parts of the country/world you might not get to see
• Learning about new concepts, strategies, lessons, technology

I could go on but I hope you are starting to see my point. That we as educators need to get out of our classrooms and experience the world during the school year.

Companion Podcast

As always go forth and do great things

Rethinking shop class

It has been awhile since between posts & podcasts but I am hoping to get back into it now that FLL (First Lego League), the holiday's and first semester are behind me.  I can now start to focus more on teaching, writing, curriculum development, presenting, and most importantly family.

Today I am going to talk about a book I just recently finished listening too entitled "Shop Class As SoulCraft" by Mathew B. Crawford. I ran across it as I was looking for books on teaching shop classes and CTE classes because I made yet another change to my middle school engineering class this semester. Every year I try

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to change things up to both keep me on my toes but more importantly to keep the kids interested in my classes as an elective. It is a lot of work on my part but I feel it pays off in the long run. I know that some of you are cringing at reading this from a teaching stand point because it is a lot of work and also because if you are like me you get frustrated with change. I have learned to mange my frustration with change as long as I am the one in control of that change. I am lucky to work with a principal who both was a former shop teacher and embraces me changing things up so often as he recognizes that it helps keep me and the kids sharp and up on the latest trends. Really the only change he hasn't let me do is start up a meat smoking class (although I haven't given up yet, sorry Mark).
So you may be wondering how change relates to a book about Shop classes and work ethic. That is a great question which I intend to answer today.

The title of this post has a double meaning to it. On the one had it is about me changing up my class to do something different. the big change I made was to make my engineering class more like my old middle school shop class. One where students are able to select from a list of projects they want to do that relate to engineering. Projects range from electrical engineering, to 2d & 3d design, to wood working, to programming, and beyond. I am still fiddling with what projects are appropriate and are doable in the time span of 2 to 3 months. It is going well but I could use some advice and/or suggestions of projects kids can do that give them the opportunity to apply the engineering process. The second meaning is a little more philosophical in nature.

The second meaning comes directly from the book I mentioned early. The author talks about the importance of shop class and finding work we enjoying doing among other things but it is these that i want to focus in on. In the book the author talks about how shop class in its original form was a way to help prepare kids to be assembly line workers; help them make the transition into factory work where it wasn't about quality so much as quantity. Workers needed to be trained to not focus on the product they created but more on the process. This is an interesting concept that we are still doing today as we transition from a factory/manufacturing economy to a knowledge economy. The author talks about how schools are trying to prep kids to be thinkers and problem solvers by pushing them into more academic college prep type classes and getting rid of shop type classes where kids work with tools on crafts; what I like to call getting their hands dirty. His assertion in the book is that these classes while not for everyone are also having the opposite affect that what is intended. They are making kids less of a thinker/problem solver.  His assertion is that it is actually in shop class where kids work with tools and crafts that they learn to become problem solvers.

In the book he talks about his journey to becoming a motorcycle mechanic. He goes into some of the problems he faced and had to and is still working to overcome in his quest to become a motorcycle mechanic. I can't agree more with the message. In my classes I see kids come in wanting to have things spoon fed to them and not want to think or problem solve. When they encounter a problem their first instinct is to raise their hand (arrgh I hate that) and ask for help. I frustrate them in many ways:

1. By making them use real world strategies of getting help (ask others, look it up on google, email me or submit a trouble ticket)
2. Answering their question with guidance on where they can find potential solutions
3. Only giving them feedback as it relate to how the end product will turn out if it is printed or manufactured as opposed to if it meets spec or "does it look good".
4. Giving them tutorials and project management charts with activities rather than direct instruction

I can say that once kids leave my class they are able to at least know how to start solving a problem in a constructive way. The two best compliments I received from kids in my class are "This class is hard; nothing like I thought it would be." (with a smile on their face) and "This class taught me how to learn and think." These reaffirm what I got out of the book which is that kids need more opportunity to use their knowledge in real world ways as opposed to more knowledge.

In the linked podcast I talk about some of the above and some other points of the book that are important for teachers and parents to know as it relates to "Rethinking shop class".