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Why #hashtag?

twitter1

When I first joined Twitter about a year ago, I joined in order to follow my teenage daughters (stalker mom extraordinaire). Among their group of friends, they frequently used hashtags (#) at the end of their tweets such as #justsayin or #awkward to express their feelings at the time. Some of them are quite amusing!

After I began using Twitter for professional reasons as I built my PLN (Personal Learning Network), I saw hashtags being used by people at conferences such as #NAIS, #ISTE, etc. By “marking” tweets in this way, people could send a message to everyone in the group. Followers of the conference didn’t have to follow every attendee, they could just create a search column in their TweetDeck that filtered tweets for that hashtag – Brilliant! I started keeping track of tweets related to Powerful Learning Practice by keeping a column filtered for #plpnetwork.

What I didn’t realize until this summer (#slowlearner), was the ENORMOUS group of educators that are finding folks to follow and collaborate with by following hashtags. If you are an elementary school teacher, and have something to share or want feedback, put #elemchat at the end of your tweet. There are even hashtags for grade levels such as #4thchat. The list is endless – #mathchat, #scichat, #dyslexia, #edreform, #esl… You get the idea. Cybrary Man (aka master creator of educational link lists) has a page of educational hashtags here.

But wait, there’s more! Hashtag “groups” are organizing and having weekly discussions on Twitter! So if you are a 4th grade teacher, for example, you can log in to Twitter on Monday nights at 8:00 p.m. EST and join other 4th grade teachers for #4thchat. You can even vote on the topic for the chat in advance! I have even “lurked” during #6thchat as they discussed uses for Skype in the classroom. Great ideas! There is a new Google Doc with a list of twitter chats here.

It drives me crazy that more educators don’t take advantage of these opportunities to learn and connect through social media tools like Twitter. Scott McLeod says it best:

In an era in which the possibilities for ongoing professional learning are numerous and significant, I wonder how long will it take us for us to start expecting educators to use these social media tools. It’s been 30 years since the advent of the personal computer and we’re still struggling to get teachers and administrators to integrate digital technologies into their daily work in ways that are substantive and meaningful. Meanwhile, we now have a bevy of powerful learning tools available to us that can advance our own professional learning (and, of course, make our technology integration and implementation efforts more efficient and effective).

It took me a year to figure out some of these #twittertips (another useful hashtag). I hope this helps more educators to connect more effectively and see the value of Twitter as PD. What have I missed? Please add helpful tips in the comments! *Tweet Tweet!*

21st Century Revelation – It’s Not About Me…

MeCircle

The other day I was thinking about what an incredibly different year this has been for me. I didn’t make a career change, a school change, a grade level change, or even a room change. So why on earth has this year been unlike any other? For the first time, my job isn’t only about MY students, MY lesson plans, or MY goals. Friends, I know it’s shocking (you can only imagine how hard it was to swallow), but it’s not all about ME!

All joking aside… I feel like I’ve had a 21st century revelation. My participation in Powerful Learning Practice (PLP) has shown me the power of collaboration. This has been an intoxicating experience! I’ll admit it – I started out a “lurker” as Will Richardson would say… I developed my PLN, and started reading blogs, tweets, and ning posts. But I remember Will wagging his index finger at us at the PLP Kick-Off in Dallas way back in September, telling us it wasn’t fair just to lurk – We had to contribute. What did I have to contribute??

Well here we are, six months later, and I feel like maybe I’m finally getting it. I’m getting a ton of good resources and ideas from teachers all over the globe – but I’m not sitting on them! I think we’re called upon to be channels for this information. I’m always on the lookout for things my colleagues can use. My boss was looking for information on a Digital Citizenship curriculum, so I’ve been sending things her way when I find them. Today she put out a request to our team to find instructional materials for the recent events in Japan. My division head has encouraged us to learn more about reading and writing workshops. Our PLP team is looking for web 2.0 tools to share that will help teachers integrate technology and really make a difference in instruction… The list goes on.

So what does this mean? It means I’m spending a pretty serious chunk of time each day cruising my Twitter feed and reading blogs!

i-want-my-life-back

But it also means that I’m not only learning and hopefully improving my impact in the classroom… Hopefully I’m serving a greater good, and giving back to those in my PLN that have given so much to me. I’m more likely to ask a teacher if I can observe a lesson, pick someone’s brain on a new idea, or ask advice on a student situation. I’m not afraid to admit I don’t know it all and consider myself fortunate to work with incredibly talented colleagues from whom there is much I can learn. Together we are so much stronger than we are alone!

Do You Practice What You Preach?

A good friend and fellow educator wrote a blog recently about how to convince teachers to leave their dated teaching methods, and explore some of the technology and 21st century teaching methods that allow students to drive their own learning. (http://mweser.edublogs.org/2011/02/26/incentives/) The blog got me thinking… Actually, it got me angry. Why should we have to beg and plead these teachers to stay current in their field? Why should we have to offer incentives? In what other field can you fall behind in current trends and methodology and not risk losing your job to someone who is willing to work harder for less??? My 100 wpm fingers spun off an angry retort to the blog – Don’t ask them to do it, MAKE them do it! It’s their JOB to do it!

Why do we teach – it’s the big paycheck, right? Not so much. We teach because helping to develop young minds is our passion – Because we have the incredible opportunity to help feed a child’s natural curiosity and foster a love of learning. So what should be the primary goal of a teacher? Not to teach skills or content (although these are secondary goals), but to teach children HOW to learn. How to find the answers to their questions. How to solve problems. Why? So they can continue learning for the rest of their lives.

How can we convince our students to become life-long learners, if we have stopped learning ourselves? I am frustrated by teachers who talk loudly and proudly about how they are not jumping on this latest “fad”. They boast that their methods have worked for years, and will continue to work, despite the fact that children are learning differently in this age than ever before. The world is changing around them, and they are painfully stubborn and stuck in their ways. It reminds me of the Dr. Seuss story of The Zax. These characters will only walk in one direction. They refuse to step to the side when they run into each other, even though this stops them from making any forward progress.

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I’m not suggesting that anyone blindly abandon everything they are doing for something new and unfamiliar. I think that’s just as irresponsible. I’m just asking them to do what we encourage our students to do – LEARN. Get out there – Develop a PLN (Personal Learning Network). There are folks to help, and even online tutorials. (http://prezi.com/xwxonmn3ryn8/web-20-for-teachers/) Watch videos. Read books, blogs, and tweets… There are teachers out there who are willing to SHARE what they have learned and what works for them. Then make an INFORMED decision. If something sounds like it has potential to light a fire in your students, give it a try! Be a role model for your faculty. Be the best teacher you can be.

Free2Learn Fridays

learning1I’m not sure why the graphic you see here appeals to me, except that the overall shape looks like a brain to me…  I see individuals in a colorful, inviting place, on their own path, taking the time to explore and discover.   I want this to be my classroom!

Today was a pretty awesome day in 3rd grade…  The best part was that I had no idea what was coming.  It was entirely spontaneous!  In our Morning Meeting, we talked about what we were going to learn today, and a student asked me if we were going to learn about something that is not part of our studies.  This launched a wonderful discussion about learning that was too good to pass up…  I reminded them of a journal topic a while back, asking them to think about what they would like to learn.

I’ll admit here that I had truly intended to schedule some time for them to pursue these “passions”.  Unfortunately, things got busy, and it seemed there was never time to go exploring…  I felt I had to maintain a strict pace in our core subjects.  We never got to it.

Today we took the time.  We talked in more depth about the things they might want to learn that were not taught at school – The topics ranged from animals to authors to historic events to inventions…  I ignored my lesson plans, dropped everything, and got the laptops.

I can honestly say that I have never seen my students so enthusiastic about learning.  The freedom they felt to explore any topic was overwhelming at first, but soon they felt like they could tackle anything!  They quickly learned how to follow links from kid-safe search engines, and were off and running.  I walked around and saw a Roald Dahl website, a video about flying cars, a National Geographic site on monkeys, a math game using coins, biography information on soccer player Steven Gerrard…  Kids started getting up and checking out what others were finding, then going back to explore.  Before I knew it, over an hour had flown by and it was almost time for P.E.!  At 10:30 I delivered them to P.E., and collapsed in my desk chair exhausted, yet exhilarated.

This prompted a decision to formally incorporate student-driven learning into my curriculum, now known as “Free2Learn Fridays”!  For one hour on Friday morning, we will take the time to explore and learn.  Students will be held accountable, and will be asked to share or write about what they have learned.  I showed them my Diigo page of bookmarks, and we’ll learn to keep track of their favorite sites on a class Diigo account.  So cool.

The fun didn’t end there.  When I picked the kids up from P.E., I found them in small groups on the gym floor.  I soon found that our P.E. teacher had charged them with creating a game!  They were busy recording the materials needed, rules for play, and other important information.  When finished, the groups had to take their “proposal” to the P.E. teacher and explain their game.  They will get to try the games and make any necessary modifications.  The final game rules will be published and kept for them to play in class.  What a great creative activity!

I’m excited about these great steps we are taking.  This quote I found sums it up quite nicely:

“You can teach a student a lesson for a day; but if you can teach him to learn by creating curiosity, he will continue the learning process as long as he lives.” ~Clay P. Bedford

The Times, They Are A-Changin’

I haven’t felt inspired to blog in a while, but a number of things have happened in the last few days that have given me much cause for thought…

I spoke in an earlier blog, about my new principal this year – how he has been encouraging us to slow down and focus on process as opposed to content – to go deeper instead of wider.  I was honest about my skepticism, ready to see another educational fad come and go, and was rather frustrated to be “put through the hoops” as we jumped onto the latest gimmick.

I wish I could spend the next few paragraphs bragging about how right I was.

Let’s just say the good thing about my skepticism is that it forced me to educate myself on the subject.  My participation in the PLP (Powerful Learning Practice) program this year taught me to develop and keep up with an RSS reader.  I need to be honest and admit this…  I had no idea how ignorant I was of current practices and theories in education.  I think as teachers, we just “do our thing” year after year, and figure if it has worked in the past, why change?  But do we really look at whether it has worked?

My principal has also provided some interesting insight from folks like Alfie Kohn (www.alfiekohn.org), Chip Wood (www.yardsticks4-14.com), information from the book Best Practice, Today’s Standards for Teaching and Learning in America’s Schools,

http://www.amazon.com/Practice-Standards-Teaching-Learning-Americas/dp/0325007446/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1294625150&sr=1-1

and the Responsive Classroom program (www.responsiveclassroom.org).  All of this has been enlightening, challenging, and frankly, overwhelming.

In a recent faculty meeting, we discussed grades.  We talked about how to provide authentic instruction, how to focus on the progress of each child, and finally how best to assess our elementary students.  These open discussions enable us to throw the big questions out there, and talk through them as a team.  One of our biggest concerns as an independent college preparatory school is the effect on our students as they move forward into middle school and high school.

Today I read the New York Times article on the upcoming redesign of the A.P. Program.   http://www.nytimes.com/2011/01/09/education/edlife/09ap-t.html?pagewanted=1&_r=2

The revised exams will focus on application of concepts and critical thinking skills as opposed to memorizing huge amounts of content.  This Connected Principals blog addresses the article as well – (http://www.connectedprincipals.com/archives/2250)

The fact of the matter is this:

As Bob Dylan sang, “The Times, They Are A-Changin’”

Come gather ’round people
Wherever you roam
And admit that the waters
Around you have grown
And accept it that soon
You’ll be drenched to the bone.
If your time to you
Is worth savin’
Then you better start swimmin’
Or you’ll sink like a stone
For the times they are a-changin’.

Do you want to be the last on board?  It’s no longer about the content.  If we refocus our teaching and our students become strong critical thinkers and problem solvers, they will have no problem applying these vital skills to every subject area in middle school, high school, college, and beyond.