I Have Some Questions! Thoughts on the new BC Language Arts High-School Curriculum

I am excited by the focus and direction of the revised curriculum. I know that people are also confused and overwhelmed at times.As an English teacher, (or as an educator in general), I have been frustrated by the fact that we constantly overlap learning outcomes in different courses, or even worse complete the exact same activities over and over from discipline to discipline or from year to year.

I feel like the revised curriculum and how it is being presented has given teachers the freedom to   create more personalized, authentic learning environments  rather than having students jump through hoops and regurgitate readily available knowledge before they move on to the "real world".


However (yes there is another side to my daisy and flowers reflection here) there are some nuts and bolts that need to be addressed before this "utopia" of education can start to evolve.
 Our staff had the opportunity to have some excellent conversations on our curriculum implementation day which often ended with "That's a good question", or "That is a big conversation right now" or "I'm not sure how that would/could/should work"

So here's some questions I put together and sent to the Minisry after a very close reading of the documents in the English Language Arts curriculum section of the BC Ministry's New Curriculum website:

Hello,

After having the opportunity to attend the ELA 1012 and Literacy Assessment Conversation in Vernon earlier this year and after having carefully read the draft documents (particularly around assessment and ELA) I hope you will consider some of my comments/questions:

Overall I am excited by what I interpret as a chance for me to design one English curriculum  that will offer students an opportunity to work and progress according to choice and their current ability while being challenged to achieve clear expectations of what it is to be a fully literate citizen. If I can use and develop similar activities across three grades  (example: How to write a strong introduction) then I feel that there can be more quality over quantity curriculum created AND provide flexibility in organizing classes etc.

So my first question is: Given the way the ELA 10-12 competencies are written,  is there any reason why a teacher could not offer one class that could have three different grade levels in it if the students were assessed at their grade level.

Which leads to my second question: If I am designing an English course that is inclusive (ie includes students that would otherwise have been in a Communications class) and is based on written standards,  this is where I am not sure how to proceed. How is curricula with a “low floor and high ceiling” as described on the website,  to be assessed in the absence of having clear and distinct standards at each grade?  

Currently it is explained in the documents that: “The Elaborations offer definitions, clarifications, examples, and further information about the topics or competencies at a given grade” and ” Some Elaborations are repeated across grade levels to avoid prescription and to allow teachers to use professional judgment in selecting specific aspects of the Elaborations according to the needs of the learner and the learning context. However, many Elaborations show increasingly elevated expectations across grade levels.”

Also it is explained that, “When identical topics appear in multiple grades, the elaborations further clarify the depth and breadth to which the topic should be addressed at each grade.”

At the same time, “It is expected that students will achieve the required learning standards for each grade level whether they have taken the same option in a previous grade or they are new to the particular option.

However, the curricular and content competencies for ELA 10-12 including the elaborations are almost exactly the same word for word. In fact, it is clear that there has been some cut and pasting as “English 11” appears in an English 12 document!

Which leads me to finish with my third question: To create a realistic, effective curricula it seems to me that at each grade level there needs to be clear and different standards. Are these standards going to be provided? OR is it up to the teacher /dept/school/district to create their own standards?

Thank you for your time in considering these questions as feedback for what needs to be clarified or refined in the existing documents. 

While I did email these to the email listed on the website: curriculum@gov.bc.ca, I did not receive a reply, nor did I expect one, however I still would love to hear what others think about my questions, whether you have answers or not!

Inquiry...I can do this

So I finally jumped in and joined an inquiry group during my pro-d today. I admit the reason I haven't done it sooner is that I was worried that being a DL teacher I wouldn't fit, that I would have to spend hours learning how to "do" the inquiry process, and there would be a large poster board I would have to present at end. But what I came away with was something completely different.

The day started with two fantastic presenters and facilitators, Shelley Moore and Leyton Schnell, who spoke on inclusion and collaboration, (and who both could do quite well on the stand-up comedian circuit if this education thing doesn't work out for them.)

Shelley framed (ooh I just made an outstanding pun) the question of  what the point of inclusion is by using a bowling metaphor.  Briefly, this is how that metaphor went. She talked about teaching being like bowling. In bowling the most difficult shot is the 7/10 split (outside pins are left behind)  The kids who need the most support and are the most challenging are those outside pins. So we usually shoot for the middle and those outside  get left (gifted and challenged). Her point is that a professional bowler never throws down the middle they shoot for the outside and curve it in in order to get all the pins. In other words you aim for the hardest to hit pins.  So just as Shelley promised, her metaphor was mind blowing.

So her closing question was "how would you change your teaching to change your aim?".  But I wanted to stay with her bowling metaphor for a bit longer.

 

My first knee jerk reaction was  that to be a professional bowler you need to have the best tools and technology (a top of the line bowling ball, a brand new bowling alley with good lighting and stylish shoes for example) Not to mention an expert coach at one's side to practice those difficult shots.  I wanted to put my hand up and say in our world we are given too many pins and by the time we set the pins up ourselves after every frame we are barely able to heave the ball down the middle with the old two handed fling from between the legs.  In other words, we need support! Time, resources, smaller classes and better technology.

Then I attended my first meeting with my new inquiry group. In an afternoon I found myself attached to a wonderful group of people that I know will help me stay on track with my goals and made me feel connected to a rich source of help and in turn I hope there might be something things I can support them with on our journey to look at new curriculum and ways of delivering that curriculum to all.   By the end of the meeting, I realized that I might not ever get my own  professional bowling coach,  but I was now on a team that would cheer me on, give me pointers and lend me a new set of shoes if I needed.  

It is only fitting that the person I consider my social media mentor, Claire Thompson (@clthompson) has tagged me in a meme that is circulating around, and perhaps given me the kick in the pants I need to start blogging again. Thanks for thinking of me Claire.

I have been asked to write about the following:

11 Random facts about yourself
11 questions asked by another
11 question that you ask another
11 people in your PLN.......so here goes:

11 Random Facts About Me

1. My bucket list includes building an authentic igloo and spending the night in it. (How's that for random?) 
2. I regularly fall asleep during the last ten minutes of a movie (or the first ten minutes).
3. I was diagnosed with narcolepsy in my twenties (explaining #2).
4. I grew up on an 800 acre guest ranch in the North Okanagan so although I never went to Disneyland as a child, I had my own horse, I have camped in a teepee, and I have been in a one-horse open sleigh. 
5. Apparently I occasionally laugh like Betty Rubble. 
6. I have the inability to hum a proper tune to literally any song. Just ask anyone who has played Cranium with me. 
7. On a daily basis I wonder how I helped create two of the most beautiful, smart, talented and funny children I know. 
8. The first teaching job I had was at my former high school. It took me the better part of three years to call several of my former teachers who were now colleagues by their first name. 
9. Despite having flat feet, I am surprisingly athletic and playing sports is where I find my flow, my zone, my happy place. 
10. The view from my kitchen window includes a large tree where two bald eagles return every year.
11. I am left-handed and for this I blame my inability to cut a straight line or to be able to show my son how to tie his shoes. 

11 Questions Asked by Claire (here)

1. What lead to you becoming an educator? I loved school, love learning and couldn't imagine a better way to make a living than aspiring to instill a love of learning in others. A cliched response I know, but that's really it. 
2. If you hadn’t become an educator, what would you have done instead? I almost took a course to be a paralegal instead. I would have been soo bad at that. 
3. Are you concerned about student privacy and security with regards to cloud computing?  For example, do you have any reservations about students using Google Apps or other cloud based services? Privacy and security should always be a concern but better that students learn how to participate in the cloud with our guidance. Having said that, I teach highschool and would be much more hesitant if I worked with younger children. 
4. What was the first ‘real’ job that you had? I worked for a landscaping company doing maintenance. I was in such good shape. 
5. What is your current favourite book, movie and / or album? Current favourite movie: Anchorman 2. I love parodies and this one was so over the top. 
6. What did you always want to be when you grew up? A teacher. That's it. 
7. What is the strangest food that you’ve ever eaten?  I'm drawing a blank. Note to self: Try some strange food in 2014. 
8. If you could sit down and talk with any person, living or dead, who would it be and why. Oh that is just not a fair question. Can I make it cocktail party?
9. How far away do you live from where you grew up? About 3 hours. 
10. What is your favourite way to unplug and unwind? To go sit on my dock (any season) and just sit in silence and look, really look, at the nature around me. 
11. Salty or sweet? Both at the same time. Eg Chocolate covered pretzels or a salad with cashews and pears. 

11 Questions from me:

1. What is the one thing that you hope your students learn about learning?

2. If you knew you couldn't fail, what is one thing you would try that you haven't?

3. What is the best prank you have pulled or has been pulled on you?

4. What is your favorite ice-cream flavour?

5. What is your best "pro-d" experience that occurred outside of a typical pro-d setting?

6. Name two people that have influenced you as an educator and explain how. 

7. Finish this sentence: I am surprised that....

8. Now finish this one: Nothing makes me laugh out loud more than.....

9. Who is one of your  favourite comedians?

10. What musician or band would you go out of your way to see (that you haven't already).

11. What is one of your favourite quotes? 

My 11 "victims": I've chosen a variety of people. Those I have worked closely with, acquaintances I would like to have coffee with someday to get to know better, and just for kicks some people for whom I have never come across their radar but have appreciated their contributions more than once. 

Holly Colquhoun ‏ @hcolquhoun

Vicki Davis ‏ @coolcatteacher

Betty-Ann ‏ @BettyAnnX11

Clint Surry ‏ @clintsurry

Catlin Tucker ‏ @CTuckerEnglish

Fran Lo ‏ @francesblo

Kim Hart ‏ @islandrunner13

JudyArzt ‏@JudyArzt

Aaron Akune ‏ @aakune

Margoflower ‏ @margoflower
@? maybe one of you can send this to a random newbie blogger that needs something to write about. :)

Here’s how it works:

1. Acknowledge the nominating blogger.
2. Share 11 random facts about yourself.
3. Answer the 11 questions the nominating blogger has created for you.
4. List 11 bloggers.
5. Post 11 questions for the bloggers you nominate to answer, and let all the bloggers know they have been nominated. Don’t nominate a blogger who has nominated you.

Post back here. 

Google Gives Good Online Course Design

Recently I took part in Google's Mooc "Powersearching" delivered with their own (of course) LMS built using Course Builder.

Using a clean design, clear activities and assessments, built-in community and communication, I had the opportunity to learn in my own style, to suit my personal needs and interests, to particpate in a community and get immediate feedback. The semi-synchronous environment motivated me to participate regularly.

While I'm not interested in learning the skills to use Course Builder, I think the extensive planning tools they have provided are worth a look for any online course using an LMS.  In particular:

Parts of a Course Builder Course
    Four areas are identified and described when building a course:
    1. Course content and delivery
    2. Assessments and Activities
    3. Social Interactions
    4. Administrative Tasks

Course flow for students

The course flow is described as semi-synchronous. I want to look at this more closely using cohorts in a DL environment. I think this would increase the communication opportunities between teacher and student and other students. 

Hello ETMOOC

I have recently taken the leap and joined a MOOC (Massive Online Open Course). ETMOOC (Educational Technology and Media) is a connectivist MOOC loosely tied around this website. 

Is it for credit? Is it something an administrator is heading? No. Then why, you may be wondering. Why would one sign up for such a thing then? 

1. I've heard enough about these courses and their growing popularity that I figured it was time to see what the buzz was all about.

2. I am also part of a district committee on developing PLNs as a professional development model and I am curious to take part in a completely new learning process and a chance to meet some new educators. From what I've read of the introductions so far, it will be a privilege to make connections with any number of the talented participants that have signed up. I have started a blog  (Professional Development Online SD67) for those that are new to the world of PLNs.

3. I believe that if we as teachers are expecting our students to become self-directed, lifelong learners then we should walk that walk. Hesitantly I offer my third blog (1000 Reuses For A Thing) which is a little off my radar at the moment but not dead in the water.

4. I am excited and energized by both the possibilities and challenges of this so-called "revolution" in education due to technology and media and look forward to continuing my learning in this field.

Our first task is to introduce ourselves. So this is me....

21st Century Fluencies

My October 19th, PSA day was spent with a group of teachers at a session on Professional Development Online (Creating PLNs) We started the day by watching the keynote speaker for CUEBC, Ian Jukes, via live-streamed video. His focus was on change: changes in our society, changes in in our workplace and as a result the need for change in education. 

He started with some interesting statistics from  the world of work. He explained that creative class jobs have increased since the 1980's. Those jobs were defined as those that are facilitated by technology, but can't be replaced by technology. He went on to say that the economy is eliminating standardized jobs, but schools are still focusing on standardized tests and curriculum. In fact by 2012, 50% of jobs will require creative abstract skills. In answer to why these skills weren't being taught more he quoted Tom Peters, 

"What gets measured gets done. What doesn't get measured doesn't get done."

Ian referred to 6 new "21st century fluencies" that educators need to incorporate when teaching traditional content. 

1. Problem solving

2. Creativity

2. Analytical Thinking

4. Collaborate

5. Communicate

6. Ethics, Actions, Accountability

At this point I had two thoughts: One,  I think there are a lot of teachers out there who are teaching 21st century fluency skills , who are getting them done, but yes, the skills don't get measured. My second thought was how would you go about measuring those skills?  The next thing I know this a link came up via Twitter from @margoflower of a shared google doc. which is working on just that. 
By the end of Jukes' fast-paced, visually stimulating presentation, generously injected by humour, the following are some "nuggets" I wanted to make sure to remember. Admittedly, none of this is necessarily new information, but things that can easily be forgotten in the day to day minutiae of teaching if we aren't careful, if we don't constantly remind ourselves of the big picture. 

"How do we get the content to stick? Interest and Relevance is essential to the learner. It is not about what you teach but how you teach."

"Activities that are multi-sensory, about the real world are the most effective learning environments. "Make learning matter" 

This formula that Jukes supplied made all of this "stick" much better for me: Interest & Relevance + HOTS (Higher Order Thinking Skills) + Real World = 21st Century Learning.

And best of all, at the end of this inspiring keynote, we were provided with some swag to take home.  app.fluency.21. com is a link to sign up to a beta project which is  unit planner tool as well as access to public plans already made via The 21st Century Fluency Project. 

At the closing we were asked to do three things:
1. Write down three things you know now.
2. Write down two things that you are going to share with colleagues.
3. Write down one action that you are going to take.

and so...... this post and then back to that unit planner! 

Manifesto of Successful Learning

Last week I had the opportunity to take part in a presentation for all the prod reps in our district. The presentation ended with a focus on creating a personal professional development plan. When asked if we already had a professional development plan,  I smugly raised my hand. After all, I have at least five different projects on the go that would count as professional development and I did write one post link with some goals a while back, so yah I've got a pd plan. But as I examined the templates we were given as examples, I had to admit that I really didn't have a formal plan.

So first goal in my prod plan: create a more formal pro-d plan.  I consider myself one who is continually learning to improve myself as a teacher, but just like Tiger Woods (I know, dubious role model), I'm going to break down my swing and go right back to the basics when considering my professional practice.

So what is driving my goals for professional development ? Well simply put, how I can best help students become successful, motivated learners. One teacher at the presentation shared how she has a mission statement posted right by her computer for all to see. For some time, I have  wanted to create something succinct and visual that would keep in the forefront what I should be working for every day that I show up for work.

So here is what is going to go up:

My Manifesto of Successful Learning (keywords based on William Glasser's Self-Control Theory)

I would love to know if you think there is anything that should be added or changed! Incidentally, "teachers" could be inserted for the word "learners" don't you think? 

Gold Nuggets from Pro-d Day: Think Big and Start Small

I attended an inspiring and energetic presentation today in my school district titled "Show What You Know" The focus of the presentation was on how to provide students opportunities to both learn new information and  show their knowledge in ways in addition to traditional reading and writing and how to properly assess these opportunities.  In other words, it was a great reminder of what good teaching practice looks like.

Here are some of the big ideas that were discussed:

1. Think big and start small.
I'm an idea person and I have no shortage of things I want to accomplish in my role as a DL teacher. One slide "Think big and start small", resonated with me. I need to list and outline my projects, prioritize and then take one action, however small, towards reaching my goals.

2. Create communities.
Students need to feel a part of a community to feel comfortable to take risks, to be part of something that would be less without them. Despite my students being primarily online, creating a sense of community is vital yet obviously a challenge for a number of reasons.

3. Get students out of their comfort zone but not into a fear zone.
Too often in the distributed learning world, we start with trying to give the students what they want, but not necessarily what they need. In a DL course student can be in the fear zone because of the computer technology itself. Good design should take away that fear and make way for learning to occur.

4. Bring attention to learning outcomes and assess based on those outcomes.
This is an example of good practice that can be overlooked. In an online course, Ministry standards dictate that the learning outcomes be visible. Many of the older courses can have up to fifteen objectives for one lesson! This is overkill for the students for sure. In addition the criteria for assessment is often based not on the learning objectives but vague things like effort and creativity. I like the example given "The poster title" where a student can work for hours on a beautiful poster but not actually include the necessary content and therefore not earn a good mark. A good point was made that a different rubric does not have to be made for every choice in a project assignment if the assessment reflects the required content. In an age of limitless online free tools, I think we need to be careful that we are still assessing what we want our students to know.

5. Choice that doesn't overwhelm.

While the learning outcomes should be the same, the way a student can show their learning can be in different ways. Singing, drawing on windows, filming, modelling and movement are all choices. I have incorporated some assignments in my online course where there is more choice. Ironically, I have seen where too many choices can be overwhelming. Especially for students working online and mostly independantly, I need to provide exemplars, and clear criteria for these choices.


So thank you to Judith, Erica, Anita, Jeff and Naryn for providing focus to my ongoing goal of providing quality online learning as a choice for students in our district.

A Call for Bonus Assignment Ideas

Here's a problem I bet every teacher wishes they had: A friend of mine (a math teacher) is continually getting asked by his students for bonus assignments so they can get extra marks. He recently put out a request on Facebook for help with some ideas about revamping his bonus assignments so that the assignments would contribute to his students becoming well-rounded citizens rather than just high achieving math students (thanks to his brilliant teaching I'm sure ;)).

So in response to his "contest" (who can't resist that?) here are my ideas for his prompts:

from www.claus.com

1. "Read a thought provoking inspiring book"
The Little Prince, The Alchemist, Jonathon Livingstone Seagull, The Phantom Tollbooth are all "quirky" yet thought provoking reads.  Here's a great list of books I just came across,  many of which I've read and have found inspiring and many I see that I'd like to still read (Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance for one). 

2. "A movie that illicts thought, reflection or emotion"  The Green Mile, Life is Beautiful, Gran Torino and Amelie are a few that come to mind.

For 3. "Attend a Cultural Event" and 4. "Learn or demonstrate a life lesson"  maybe add "....that is out of your comfort zone".

While these bonus assignments I'm assuming are to give students a chance to bring their mark up as much as possible (most likely to fulfill the expectations of parents and future educational instutitions), I love the idea that along the way they might just stumble upon an experience that is rewarding in itself. Good luck with that Mr. W!

...and if anyone else has some good ideas, let me know and I'll pass them along.

Grammar Instruction Within the Writing Process in a Moodle Course

I have been struggling for awhile to work toward implementing grammar instruction that is differentiated for individual students and is incorporated into the writing process. The following is what I plan to implement this year rather than including a comprehensive grammar workbook that is completed without any connection  to the rest of the course. 

Background: It is important to note that this is an online teaching environment and therefore limits and defines certain "best" practices.

The courses I teach include online asynchronous high-school English courses 8-12 using Moodle.  A wide range of students are enrolled in the program for various reasons (eg. At-risk, traditional “homeschoolers”, gifted and students travelling, or in a dedicated sport). Enrollment is small for each class and students are usually at different points in the course so group activities and collaboration is difficult.

Course: My English 8 and 9  courses are contributed to a consortium of districts,where a DL teacher in a small program often has a large number of courses to manage.

Goal: Personalize each student’s writing goals using a system that is realistic for a DL teacher of many students and many courses to manage. 

Plan:

Create a repository of grammar and mechanics mini-lessons in a moodle book module. Each concept would include a definition and an opportunity to practice the concept (eventually in a choice of modes like printable worksheet, interactive game, audio etc.)

Have students complete a pre-assessment of grammar skills (moodle quiz) and do a writing sample and survey questions (assignment) at the beginning.

Using a Personal Editing and Revision Template (PERT), create individual checklists and revision criteria based on pre-assessments and writing samples.  This would be added to throughout the course. Each student would have roughly the same number of items to focus on, although each student’s list would be personalized for that student.  

Process: (Moodle Instructions in grey)

1. Student submits draft of a writing assignment after referring to rubric which includes specific grammar and usage outcomes.

(label file to be uploaded as draft+assignment title) 

2. Teacher gives feedback on assignment and updates and attaches PERT

           (attach to assignment)

3. Student revises and edits based on checklist.
4. Resubmits assignment

(label finalcopy+assignmentname)

5. Final mark assigned based on:
1. Evidence of revision based on outcome of assignment
2. Evidence of editing checklist being used.
3. Summative assessment based on rubric

  (put in mark and attach completed rubric)

     

As a final writing “exam” in the course the student incorporates all items on checklist.

Although I know grammar instruction can be approached many different ways, I would love some feedback as to how well  my plan outlined above would meet my objective of differentiated instruction within the writing process WITHOUT this being too complicated and onerous for the teacher. 

My Top Ten "Tears of Laughter" Resources for Destressing

The Canucks lost. There is rioting in Vancouver.  My report cards are barely started. And that is just the tip of the iceberg. For various reasons professionally and personally, everything seems to be coming to a head at once.  I am in need of some good old-fashioned humor to get those endorphins going and remind me of what is most important: Sometimes you just have to laugh.

So in the spirit of extreme procrastination for getting my report cards doen, here's my collection of  top ten feel good video clips:

The first  was emailed to me today by a colleague. Thanks C. :)

When you need to remember that it's all relative:
Ultimate Dog Tease

When your job is just frustrating. (Only funny for BCESIS users probably)
Hitler tries to use BCESIS

When your spouse is driving you crazy:
Man Cold

How to turn something so negative into something positive:
Ching Chong Song

When you just need to dance:
Dancing Through the Ages

...so what should I put for the next five?

Delivering Content Through Critical Thinking

Today I had the opportunity to attend an online session titled, "Embedding Critical Thinking In Online Courses", by Roland Case, Ph.D.

This session resonated with me mostly because the presenter did a marvelous job of  using the very method he was teaching us about. How refreshing and effective for me this was! From the first slide that we were asked to read (and then found out it was scrambled and were asked to reorder it), to the concept examples that we were asked to categorize and then create our own, we were continually asked to evaluate and assess the content.


As a result, I found that my attention was focused on the tasks required, having to solve problems by practicing some of the same strategies that might be given to students. This led to a much better understanding, which I internalized immediately. And here's the kicker. The critical thinking activities did not come with flashy video clips or interactive games or require pretty flashcards (although all of these could be used). Further, these were not huge, culminating project type lessons but smaller activities and strategies that could be required in response to a reading for example.

Here's a summary of what I learned:
Almost every topic can use a critical thinking approach to delivering content.
If the content is "problemized", then student will more readily remember the content.
Critical thinking in this context is meant to enhance the curriculum, not add to it.

Examples of questions or activities  that might be in included in a lesson were categorized as
(1) factual, regurgitation "Where's Waldo" type questions 
(2) personal response, opinion questions where there is no wrong answer 
(3) questions that require analysis and judgement based on clear criteria (Critical Thinking)
I admit that I had previously thought of those column two type questions as being critical thinking type questions but I now see the difference, for the most part. I can see that what I learned today is the tip of the iceburg, especially after I visited the website of the Consortium of Critical Thinking that Roland is a part of.

This session has also caused me to think about activities that I have in my courses that I would consider "higher level" thinking but upon reflection, I see that many don't require much rigour in the responses as they are simply requiring an opinion with no "right answer". Moreover, if I do require a response that involves a judgement or analysis there is often not a clear criteria upon which to base an assessment of  a situation, reading etc. 

For educators, I think there is no doubt that critical-thinking should be taught and practiced in school, but without a clear understanding of what that should look like and perhaps the perception that this is another add-on to the curriculum it doesn't seem to be happening as prolifically as it should.

Creating My Hub Without Reinventing the Wheel

Before I left the classroom (the bricks and mortar one that is), I was feeling excited and competent in creating a writer's workshop environment in my classroom. Now I want to do that online but before I start I want to think through how I want that to look and what the best tool(s) are for doing that.

Basically (hah) I want to provide students with a site that contains all my resources for each step of the writing process, and the six traits of writing without an exhausting maze of links. As well I would like to provide each student with a page or place to publish their work within our online school walls. I teach grades 8-12 English in Moodle. The classes are generally small and so my thought is to have an outside source to provide the same resources to several grades of students.

Whether in a lesson in Moodle, in direct feedback to the student or a general email, I could link to these sources when needed. I would like to post current events as lists of possible writing topics, student writing samples, and links to web 2.0 tools.

So....keeping in mind that I currently present writing tasks in assignments within my Moodle courses, but would like to incorporate at least one block of true writer-centered writing, how would this all be best organized?
Website? Wikispace? Blog? A combination? Pageflakes?

PLNs....not just for teachers.

To state the obvious, Web 2.0 has paved the way for more professional development than I could have ever imagined back when I was starting out as an educator. (Did I just date myself or what?) I'm self-motivated, I'm applying and synthesizing my knowledge, and I have complete control of how my involvement is progressing and in what direction I want to take. I don't get any of the traditional rewards (cold hard cash, pretty grade letters near the beginning o the alphabet), yet that isn't a consideration at all. I have numerous opportunities for self-reflection and collaboration. Meanwhile, I'm writing more than ever before, I'm feeling more comfortable about sharing my writing, and I've learned how to use a heap of web 2.0 tools.

After that jargon filled, cliche ridden, Bloom's taxonomy flavored introduction, you must see where I'm going with this.
Illustration : Anna Borska, « Woman Computer Scientist/Kobieta Informatyk », 18.7.2009, Flickr (licence Creative Commons).

Note all words that make a student cringe are identified in quotations.
What if my highschool English students were given the opportunity to pursue a passion of theirs as a "unit" of study? What if the "assignment" were simply to pursue their passion? Take a topic and research it, compile information about it, reflect on it, create on it, share it, act on it. What would the "criteria" be. How would it be "assessed"?

Would this cause them, as I am now, to write a blog post on a Saturday night and peruse their RSS feed for hours while simultaneously taking part in a free online course instead of watching the movie they'd rented earlier?

Okay...now I'm getting silly, but you get my drift (and for the record, I don't do this every Saturday night).

Bathwater and the baby? Not again!

As a distributed learning teacher I continue to see at least two or three new students a week. I'm getting students who are too anxious to go to school or even leave their homes. Others have burned bridges with a teacher but still need to get credits to graduate. Then there are those who are busy training for nationals, or modelling in Paris, or doing missionary work in Mexico (all true examples). I'm excited that with technology we can offer flexible programs that students can work at anywhere at anytime. Here it comes.....BUT.....

...what about the teacher I talked to today who couldn't get his students to verbalize their learning until he asked them all to text him about it?

...what about my husband's comment at dinner about how important socials skills are in negotiating a contract is in his line of work? You know, ones like reading peoples' expressions and body language, articulating clearly your thoughts on the spot, and knowing when to listen and when to interject in an appropriate way?

...what about the student with anxiety? Is enabling her to work at home going to help with her coping skills?

What is going to happen if in our eagerness to provide students with all these wonderful tools and give them all that flexibility and choice they miss out on learning some valuable skills that they get in a face-to-face setting?

Hopefully in this shift we are experiencing in education, we as teachers won't throw out those skills and know to maintain a balance.

Just thinking out loud here.

Using Diigo With Students

I've recently signed up with Diigo, a bookmarking site that is much more as it allows one to highlight parts of a webpage, attach public sticky notes to send comments back and forth, create lists to easily share, and even create groups where members can contribute bookmarks.

After reading this post over at Bright Ideas and reflecting on a conversation I had with a colleague today, here's some thoughts on using Diigo with students.

Ideas for Activities:

Create a booklist to share with your students when suggesting titles for reading fiction. Booklists could be tagged by genre also to be more specific.

Better yet use the group feature and have the students create a booklist of their most recommended books. The highlight feature could be used to highlight a favourite passage and the sticky note feature would allow students to comment on each others selections.

During a topic of study, students could add to a group list whenever there is a useful resource found. They could be asked to annotate the site to practice summarizing.

Students could be shown a list of websites that they could evaluate by using the sticky note feature to comment right on the site.

A "Toolbox" list could be compiled for repeating tasks throughout the year. Research tools, Writing poetry, Study skills, Math manipulatives are a few I think of right off the bat. This could be made available to parents too!

Educators Accounts are available for educators that allow students to be set up quickly with their own accounts and special privacy settings. This would be necessary to ensure student's bookmarks would only be shown to other classmembers. There is a suggestion that a teacher might set up two accounts one for personal and one for work.

Things to Consider:

I am still figuring out how the public and private options work in Diigo. When I imported all my bookmarks I made them all public in order to create lists to share with others. I figured all my bookmarks were mostly educational or of an "ordinary" nature. What I found interesting was when all my tags were listed together, one could actually find out quite a bit about my private life. For example, it would be easy to figure out where I lived from the tags with place names in them, and it would be obvious that I had two children and I even had their names as tags (which I quickly changed). I randomly selected another profile of a user who had shared a list. It had a number of specific legal tags that led one to assume this person was having legal difficulties. Awkward!

I see that there are different ways to both share tags, lists, comments and ways to make them private. Part of the beauty of this website is collaborating with others to create groups and lists of bookmarks but is important to be aware of all the different options for doing so.

Here a Ning, There a Wiki...Information Overload!

(To the tune of Old Macdonald)
Here a Ning, there a wiki, everywhere a blog, blog, blog OMG too much info! EIEIO.

So I've discovered the wonderful world of the edublogosphere. So many ideas, so many conversations. So many apps. So exciting. Yet so overwhelming. Is it just me that feels compelled to sort and organize every bit of information that I encounter?

Here's a great quote I found "That in spacious knowledge there is much contristation, and that he that increaseth knowledge increaseth anxiety." Bacon

It all starts with my Google Reader account that I visit more often than I should. For me this has become a form of relaxation and entertainment. At the same time I want to keep track of every good quote, every link to a useful web tool, every new book mentioned I might read someday. So yes, I have lists (I use Todoist for that), and I have a notebook (I just switched from Google Notebook to Zoho Notebook), and I bookmark (Google bookmarks and just created a Diigo account).

However, I'm coming to the conclusion that I don't need to collect EVERYTHING. So I've tried to come up with a few simple rules to help manage my new addiction.

Jodie's Rules for Managing Information Overload:

Set PRIORITIES: One of those practices that are so important, yet so often overlooked. Take time to sort out what is important in your life, those big overall values and goals that should direct how you choose to spend your time. Post those priorities somewhere where you will revisit them often. ...remember BABY STEPS.

Set a TIME LIMIT: It is so easy to lose track of time and space when using the computer. Use an actual timer (I bet there's an app for that) and set a predetermined amount of time that is to be spent.

Set a PURPOSE: Pretty shiny things are at every turn on the Internet, so unless your purpose is to entertain yourself by surfing aimlessly (and that's okay sometimes), literally write down on a sticky note in big words your task or a focus word to remind you of what you are trying to accomplish (hmmm, I wonder if there is an app for that?)Hopefully your eye will wander to it when you find yourself signing up for another Ning and joining an online podcast when you are supposed to be paying your bills.

Set up a SYSTEM: For the information that you come across that you really do want to remember, put it somewhere where you can find it again. Ironically I've found the same technology that is causing me stress, is also very useful to alleviate it, if I use it properly. So I'll continue to use online tools like Diigo and Zoho Notebook and Todoist...just with a timer. :) I've found David Allen's book and well known "system", GTD, very helpful in creating a feeling of control in my life. One of GTD's main ideas is that to keep the mind free to be creative and calm there needs to be a safe place to collect everything and got it off your mind.

Is there anything I should add or does anyone have some general tips and/or tools for managing information overload?

...and should I admit how much time I spent writing this post? ;)

The Story So Far

I work in a small distributed learning program in B.C. I work part time and teach grades 8-12 English and Socials online using Moodle. I have been in the program for several years and have seen the world of DL in B.C. and elsewhere change drastically. What keeps me in this program despite the many challenges presented daily are the possibilities that a program such as ours could offer.

Our Curriculum
I am in the process of improving the online courses I have access to. Our district is part of a consortium of DL schools (BCLN) whose purpose is to collaborate to improve the existing courses. I want to make them less like working out of the textbook and incorporate tools to create curriculum that will provide choice, interest and success for our students.
The challenge?
Part time teacher + 14online courses+various paper based courses=...well, you do the math. And I know there are many teachers in DL programs in the same situation.
The solution? My goal is to help promote collaboration within our district and the BCLN to pool our resources and time to create courses that take advantage of some of the wonderful technology that is available to create rich learning environments.

Our Students:
We are increasingly getting students who haven't succeeded in the "regular" schools and we are a last resort as it were. These are not independant students with stable homes to support their learning, exactly the opposite in fact. We are also seeing students starting to come to us that want to upgrade, that want to take a course outside of the timetable, or for whatever reason are realizing that there is a choice out there. So we have built it, and they are coming, but we need to makes sure that when they arrive, the courses they are given meet their needs. Oh, did I mention that these students arrive at our doorstep every week so our courses need to be asychronous and self-directed.
The challenge?
At best, I would love to create a course that:
a. is differentiated for all learners
b. self-paced yet interactive with other learners
c. offers choice without overwhelming the students
d. is suitable to be done mostly independantly of a "live" teacher

Our teachers
I am aware of a number of small programs (alternate ed., hospital homebound, etc.) in our district that are run by hard-working teachers that must deal with many behaviour and social issues and still provide, mark and track curriculum in a number of subjects and grades. We are experimenting with a model where a student might have an online curriculum teacher who is a specialist in that subject (what a novel idea!) that can be accessed from any computer, while at the same time the student would still have a classroom teacher who would then be able to concentrate on a behaviour plan, case management, work skills etc.

Like I said the possibilities are there, but so are the challenges. For a teacher who works full-time in a classroom, those possibilites may seem too out of the box and the logistics alone are huge. It is only recently that personnel in our district have become aware that we even exist and only recently that some have started to see how we might all work together to provide better services to our students. ...and that's the story so far.

There's Always Tomorrow.

I am both excited and somewhat nervous to have joined a group called Blogger's Alliance. Thanks to Kelly Tenkely for starting this group. I joined to jumpstart my writing on this blog and to meet and talk with other educators. I keep reading about PLNs (personal learning networks) and want to explore this more.



But what have I gotten myself into? I have spent the last two hours reading some recent posts from members while simultaneously making a roast dinner, preventing my 3 yr old from breaking down his older sister's door, and finishing the laundry. I feel like I have walked into a class where I must have missed the first two weeks because EVERYBODY's blog seems so polished, so pretty, so perceptive. What I am doing wasting everyone's time here? Where are the other beginners?

Part of me wants to quietly slip out the back door, head to admissions and see if I can still enroll in "Tetris Revisited", but I'm going to stick around and see what happens. I know that since I have started reading blogs on education I have learned more and been more inspired than most of the traditional pro-d sessions I have attended. And from the posts I've read so far, I've stumbled upon not a group of beginning bloggers and tentative technologists like myself, but some very dedicated and talented teachers. I feel a bit like a kid in a candy store with a stomachache from trying to many new things, but can't wait to come back next week and do it all over again.

I see the purpose of this blog to clarify my thinking and progress on projects I am working on (online writing workshop, using voicethead, creating class blogs) and the role of our DL program with our district. If I'm going to ask my students to blog and be part of an active online community, I want to have experienced that personally. Not to mention having an immediate audience will get me off my procrastinator's duff. A theory I'm hoping will work with my students also.

On Disrupted Learning

Points and thoughts on Disrupting Class by Clayton M. Christensen

Chapter Three:
Despite all the money put into buying computers for school, they have just been "crammed" into the existing model. Delivering lessons and structuring the classroom has not really changed much.

Distruptive Innovation model: Example of Apple computers moving away from the established market of mainframe computer to personal computers (toys for kids). This was success because it targeted a market of nonconsumption rather than trying to improve on the existing established model. Originally p.c.'s weren't great but they were accessible to more people and then eventually improved.

"Computers have made almost on dent in the important challenge that they have to crack: allowing students to learn in ways that correspond with how their brains are wired to learn, thereby migrating to a student-centric classroom."