Cool Cat Teacher Blog

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 05/19/2013

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Sun, 19 May 2013 02:33:10 PDT

Bikes & Bullets - YouTube

This YouTube channel is an example of how parents MUST sign off on genius project. The final video "go Pro hero" is the only "officially submiited" video for this student's genius project. But he runs a youtube channel that has a bit of a cult following. I don't approve of the stunts, etc. but the child's mother does. He also did all the work at home except for the final. This is one of those challenging ones and is something to be aware that you can deal with when you have genius projects. I have parent sign off on anything students do.

tags: education news passion_project
Wix.com AwesomeMadi created by Tucker2015 based on my-gallery | Wix.com

This efolio is by far one of the best. I love on the homepage. She says "Hello my name is madison and I'm an artist." yes, you are, my dear.

tags: education news passion_project geniushour
Edits

I enjoy what this student did with learning to edit in Photoshop.

tags: education news photoshop passion_project
EbookBelle - Home

Here's the website where Merritt compiled all her book reviews on Kindle Nation Daily.

tags: education news ebooks passion_project edu_news
Psst Parents And YA Authors, This Post is For You - An Interview With a 10th Grade YA eBook Reader - Recommendations, Current Trends And Advice From a Member of The YA Audience | Kindle Kids' Corner

Another one of my students has been writing and sharing on the Kindle Kids Corner. Here's an interview she did about trends in Young Adult fiction and I agree with so much of what she's written. This is another example of how authentic projects can transform a student. This happened to come out of one of my favorite kindle book sites - Kindle Nation Daily and an email conversation I had with the author Steven Windwalker (penname.)

tags: education learning news books ebook
Flat Classroom - Brandon B

Another beautiful site and student work. Students update these and use them as they apply for scholarships. As I type this, I'm listening to this student's CD. He and his friends decided to cut a CD for his passion project. I love how this project gets students to do the things they want to do. Things that are important but don't get done move up the list when they are getting a grade - especially for your strong students. I think of the beautiful music that has been recorded on CD as part of these projects and it means a lot. I wish you can hear it, but likely they will release it soon. ;-)

tags: education news passion_project passionbasedlearning
Learning with 'e's: 10 characteristics of authentic learning

An important read as we work to reinvent schools and make sure we measure authentic learning with more authentic measures than bubble trouble. ;-)

tags: education news edreform authentic learning assessment edu_trends edu_news
Videos - Softball with Sage

Another passion project from a student who loves softball.

tags: education news geniushour
What happens during a general checkup? - YouTube

This a general overview video that my student Riya made as part of her passion project. She wanted to help kids be unafraid of going to the pediatrician's office and she wants to be a pediatrician herself. She now has a youtube channel complete with videos to help children. I'm very proud of what she's done. This is just one example of the kind of learning that can happen. click on her name to view the other videos in the series. It is so interesting to see how much her little brother has grown in the 2 years she's been making the videos.

tags: education news passionproject passionbasedlearning
www.medtechfortots.com - Home

I love this project created by one of my students to help children be unafraid to go to the doctor. She has a youtube channel called Pediatric Videos with one video having more than 50,000 views (the one on CT scanning.) Her dad is a pediatrician and filmed everything while supervising her and helping her write the script. Her little brother was the patient. This is a fantastic example of a passion based project.

tags: education news passionbasedlearning geniushour passion_project

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 05/17/2013

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Fri, 17 May 2013 02:30:45 PDT

How To Handle A Student Who Habitually Calls Out — Smart Classroom Management

This is a tough one and I've had two or three this year who will call out - in a disruptive way. Sometimes it is when I'm speaking. I have one great class that causes me to struggle because of several who have a bit of a problem with knowing the appropriate time to engage (not in the middle of a question or when someone else is talking.) I encourage kids to have a pencil and paper or a tablet in hand to jot down notes of what they want to say - sometimes they are afraid they'll forget. Other times, when it is class discussion, I use poker chips. Each student gets two. When they want to interject, they spend their chip. Every student must participate twice before anyone can have a third input. It is a daily grade and so easy to assess b/c everyone must give up their chips. This article takes it much further and is a good one if you're struggling with this. "Namely, how do you deal with a student who, despite receiving consequence after consequence, continues to call out in class? Before we get to the solution, it’s important to note that there are times during a normal school day when you may want to allow your students to respond to you or their fellow classmates without raising their hand"

tags: education news teaching all_teachers bestpractices
8 Educational Apps To Create Digital Portfolios

All of my students are required to create an efolio. Every year they update it, eventually producing a personal website to use for themselves for the future. Here are 8 apps that help you do this.

tags: education news bestpractices efolio edu_news
Fighting Childhood Obesity One School Cafeteria at a Time - ABC News

Can you design a school to promote healthy eating? There are things every cafeteria can do (read to the end.) This is a big problem and something we need to address. Every school should have a fruit basket near the checkout. It is a no brainer, but do we? "Just walk into the cafeteria and you can see this is no ordinary elementary school. "One of the most striking differences is the openness of the eating space," said pediatrician Dr. Matthew Trowbridge, who also consulted on the project. Students can look into the area where the food is prepared, and they can look outside to a planned school garden, where vegetables will soon be planted."

tags: education news lunchroom health obesity bestpractices administrator
Xerox stepping into grading school papers

Grading handwritten answers by students as a feature of a copier? Producing data analytics as a result. IF this works, it will not only sell more copiers, but also make handwritten work more of a commodity. Maybe if a computer can quickly grade the easy stuff, teachers can spend more time assessing project based learning and other work that computers cannot do. This won't help me much - except when I teach binary numbers and memory conversion which do require me to check work (I never do multiple choice.) I could see how math teachers would be thrilled. "Xerox later this year plans to roll out Ignite, a software and web-based service that turns the numerous copiers/scanners/printers it has in schools across the United States into paper-grading machines. Unlike such staples of the educational system as Scantron, which uses special forms where students choose an answer and fill in the corresponding bubble, Ignite will grade work where the answers are written in by the students, such as the numeric answer to a math problem. Ignite takes right and wrong answers and turns them into web-accessible data for teachers with reports that say whether a student or groups of students are consistently having more trouble with certain kinds of math problems. Those reports can be used by teachers to tailor what they're teaching — such as by identifying what group of students needs more help with a certain topic — or given to students so they know where they should focus their studying. It also opens the door to specific tests or homework assignments for specific students becoming more the norm, each tailored to academic strengths and weaknesses."

tags: education news xerox assessment testing all_teachers
"How Can I Coach a Resistant Teacher?" (Part 1) - The Art of Coaching Teachers - Education Week Teacher

This is a discussion to have with all IT integrators. Many adopt the attitude of leaving the hibernating bear alone. After all, eventually, the resistant teacher will come out of the den ready to enjoy the springtime of learning? No. Not necessarily. But technological change is as much emotional and psychological as it is instruction. If you don't first have the teacher in the mood to learn, you'll be struggling. So, be careful of labeling the teacher as resistant in the first place and be willing to teach and encourage the teacher wherever he/she is. This is a nice article from Elena Aguilar. Check out part 2 after reading this one.

tags: education news teaching it_support bestpractices all_teachers techintegrator
Google adding quick action buttons, real-time flight status to Gmail

You'll notice new quick action buttons in Gmail as announced by Google on Wednesday. They want to make things more intuitive. Expect these changes to happen on a gradual basis but they are coming. Including the ability to RSVP more easily - a feature which I like as some stragglers still refuse to properly use Google Calendar or any online calendar at all. "When the situation calls for it, new quick action buttons will pop up in an email, letting you accomplish simple tasks without reaching for the keyboard. For event RSVPs, you can even mark your attendance from the main inbox view -- a preview with all the key details will pop up, letting you respond with a simple Yes, Maybe or No. "

tags: education news google gmail edu_news edu_newapp
Instagram Child Safety - SociallyActive

Instagram is something kids are using. Here are some tips for helping your child be safe on instagram. I totally agree about talking to your child about the photo map. If you haven't already, talk to them today about NOT using the feature which puts their photos on a map of where they were when they took it. Like that paint in your new bedroom? Photo map it? Boom. The lat and long of your daughter's bedroom. Just a bad idea. I do think instagram and other location based websites are going to get into hot water. Lat and long disclosing by kids should be approved by parents.

tags: education news instagram edu_news
Free Technology for Teachers: Video - How to Insert Images Into Google Forms

You can tweak your Google forms and insert images. Richard Byrne created a tutorial.

tags: education news tutorial
7 Ways Teachers Can Create Videos without Installing any Software ~ Educational Technology and Mobile Learning

You can make videos. You don't have to spend money or get too fancy. Digital storytelling is for every teacher. Take a look.

tags: education news
Mirror, Mirror on the Wall: How Can I Be a Better Teacher Next Fall? | Edutopia

Nice article to spread around to teachers as they hit post planning. From edutopia, it asks us to do what all of us teachers should constantly do: examine ourselves. Change is a way of life. I've got quite a few I'm pondering for myself as well.

tags: education news all_teachers
The 5 Biggest Education Technology Trends To Know About | Edudemic

While they left out wearable technology and learning analytics is combined into the LMS category, this is a quick list that you can forward to your board of directors or others who want to look at a few things about changing technology.

tags: education news trends
30 iPad Apps Every Teacher Should Be Using ~ Educational Technology and Mobile Learning

Interesting list of apps. What apps are you using?

tags: education news apps eduapp

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

8 Reasons we all think we're poor and broke and what to do about it

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Wed, 15 May 2013 03:32:21 PDT

Why do we pride ourselves on
taking the martyr's approach
that we're not making
money when US teachers
are in the top 5%
wealthiest people in the WORLD?
It is time to start living
like it and stop "feeling"
broke. Do you want to
hear more in this series?
Let me know in the comments.
Teacher
(Photo credits: www.myparkingsign.com)

You can be wealthy but to do that you must be exceptional. Exceptional people spend less than they make. Exceptional people don't take the (usually dumb) advice of marketers but make their own decisions. Exceptional people aren't sold to, they buy what they want.

But I'm not rich?

Oh really. Let's look at some stats from the global rich list:

If you are at the US poverty line for a 3 person household of $19,350 you are in the top 11.26% richest people in the world
The average janitor (median income) of 24,936 puts him or her in the top 10.09% of the world
If you make the average annual salary of a US private school teacher of $36,300 - the top 4.24% in the world
If you make the average annual salary of a US public school teacher of $49,600 - the top .98% richest in the world
Principals, if you make the average salary of 67,000 then you're in the top .87%

That's right, if you're in a school in the US and you're reading this, you're officially rich! Doesn't feel like it? Well, it is time to get our act together.

I'm considering creating multiple part series on the topic of balancing our budgets and living like the wealthy educators we are. From the lunchroom to the teacher's lounge, we are some of the richest people in the world here in the US and we're missing out on the joy that can be ours if we just get our act together.

This is something that has caused me many tears personally and my husband and I have paid off mountains of debt even moreso after I became a teacher and took a massive paycut. If you're interested in me continuing to share what has helped Kip and me, let me know in the comments and I'll spread it out amidst the technology and teaching I talk about here. (I've been writing this one post since January so it may take a while.)

First of all, let's talk about why we think we're poor:

#1 - We are deceived by appearances.

Looking rich doesn't mean being rich. In 2006, Warren Buffett, one of the three richest men in the world bought his most expensive car, a $55,000 Cadillac. The average millionare buys a car for $31,367. (Stop Acting Rich: ...And Start Living Like A Real Millionaire p 207)

In 2009 most million-dollar homes were not owned by millionaires. In fact 90% of those who were defined to be a millionaire lived in homes worth less than a million dollars.(Stop Acting Rich: ...And Start Living Like A Real Millionaire p 9, 24)

The odds are, if you look like you're rich, you're not.

#2 - We're discontent

If you get on Facebook, it is likely you'll have a friend going somewhere and honestly... you want to go too. You deserve that vacation, you think. You want that new car. You need a dozen roses from your husband. You want that new plasma tv. Why can't you go shopping this weekend? Why? Why? Why? Pity pity pity.

Marketing in the US has thrived on the ability to stimulate us into being dissatisfied. Dissatisfied enough that we'll do something. (See: Lifehacker: The More Facebook Friends You Have the More Unhappy You Are)

On Facebook, you're aggregating all the high points in your hundred something friends lives and comparing it to the high points in yours. Let's see, out of 100 friends at least 4-5 are having it great right now. So, you're going to take those few and compare it to your life? That is unrealistic and unhealthy.

When you're having a pity party - GET OFF FACEBOOK. It stinks as a counselor and sucks wind as a comforter. Go talk to a friend or write in your journal. It is ok to see a therapist too. Talking about it is what healthy people do. Social media makes a sad counselor and a sick client.

#3 We refuse to wait

If you've heard of the marshmellow test, kids who are able to master their desire to eat one marshmellow NOW in the hopes of getting a second marshmellow when the researcher returns, test well on future success. This is because they understand delayed gratification.

The biggest financial mistakes I made as a twenty-something were because I wanted it NOW. Delayed gratification is one of the keys to any long term financial change.

#4 We use plastic instead of cash

One thing I learned in Financial Peace University (a great program from Dave Ramsey) is that the feeling of cash in your hands causes you to spend less. One of the fastest ways I've found to slash my grocery budget is to withdraw the cash for my grocery budget when I get paid. I keep it in an envelope and pay out of that. It is amazing how far money goes.

Plastic is NOT the same as cash. While we don't necessarily want to have a lot of cash on us all the time, it makes a difference if we want to cut our budget.

#5 We refuse to make hard decisions

You can't do everything. Are you really watching all those television subscriptions? Are you keeping cable for one show?

Remember, I said HARD decisions not BIG decisions. For some reason, giving up entertainment seems to be a hard decision around my house. For example, I wanted to see the Jack Reacher movie, I enjoy the Jack Reacher book series. We didn't have time to see it in the theater, but then it came out on DVD and then for pay on Amazon to buy. I waited until last week to use some of my iTunes birthday money to rent it on iTunes. While, I could have waited another YEAR and it be free on Netflix (maybe), I do want to see it. Was it really worth the extra $15 to see it 2 weeks early? For me, the answer was no. Did I think about watching that movie quite a bit - sure I did, I was ready to see it. But, as we prepare to pay for my son's college in June, little pennies count.

Another example, I love books. I read at least an hour a day but sometimes more. If book reading were a hotdog contest, I'd be the dude with his mouth full, his hands raised in winning who asks for another when he's done.

But, I took my credit card out of Amazon and started buying Amazon gift certificates. I put it in and when I'm done with my Amazon budget for the month, I hit Kindle Nation Daily and the free kindle book list to find my reading. Or, I pull out a book that someone has sent me to review.

#6 We have no money in the bank

This happens when we're automatically debiting everything without stopping to think if we should pay that. I've learned the benefits of saving 10%, giving 10% and living on 80%. If there's no emergency fund or cushion, then you're living close to the edge.

I admit, I've socked my savings down to zero way too often. If this is you, take steps NOW. Enroll in Financial Peace University or buy Mary Hunt's 7 Money Rules for Life®: How to Take Control of Your Financial Future or one of my new favorites by Andrew Hallum, Millionaire Teacher: The Nine Rules of Wealth You Should Have Learned in School. Step back from the edge. No money in the bank is a problem.

#7 We sabotage ourselves by quitting just before the finish line and we have to start over.

There's a scene in Chariots of Fire, where one guy is about to finish. He turns his head to look at the other guy and he misses out. But we're not even doing that. We're saving and getting close to paying off those credit cards. We're freezing our credit cards, quite literally, in ice and going cash only so we don't spend any more. But then, just before we're done, we say "Hey, I've paid all of this off, it is time to go on a trip." WE're stopping right before we finish and going back and starting over. What is wrong with this? Running the race takes SOOOO much energy and we're going to do it again.

I've done this too. Keep your eye on the finish line. Finish paying off the debts and then more forward.

#8 We refuse to talk about it with our household.

This is a tough one. It is no secret how many marraiges struggle because of money problems.

Money is a gift because it is limited. Because it is limited, it forces us to talk about what is IMPORTANT. If we'll talk. The problem is that many argue, and others go into passive/aggressive mode.

This is why Financial Peace University helped us so much. You get in a room of people. Dave Ramsey, former bankrupt businessman, talks about how he got out. I don't really want to hear from people who've always been rich how to get rich - some of them were born on third base and take credit for hitting a home run. I want to hear from people who started off without a ticket to the stadium who got in and hit a home run.

My husband and I make progress when we're communicating. No communication, no money. That is often how it goes.

Money is important.

Why do we need to talk about this?

Because, we, as educators have more power than we think.

When we're debted up, torn up, cashless, and clueless - there are people we cannot help. The world needs us to get our act together financially. We need us to get our act together financially.

It is amazing how most millionaires I know, few people know it. They live in houses that aren't so fancy. They drive average cars. They are often quieter people. There are people who look and act rich. I don't know about their bank account, but the research I quoted at the beginning has now shown me that perhaps appearances can be deceiving.

I'm committed to saving and budgeting so that I can help people. I do think money is important - while it is not something I worship - it is important. I want to do my best to manage it well.

Certainly, I've made a heap of mistakes, but thankfully past mistakes do not indicate future performance if you're the kind of person who learns from it and fails forward.

Hope this helps you gain perspective and learn from my own mistakes. If you want me to write more on this topic some time in the future, leave me a comment below and I'll work on it. Again, teaching and technology are the main thing, but if this helps enough of you who read this blog, I'm happy to write about it again.

A Day in the Life of a passion-driven, project based (Cool Cat) Teacher

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Tue, 14 May 2013 03:28:37 PDT

What passion based, flat, STEM based learning feels like.

As I pondered what to share with you today, I just wanted to mention a few experiences from yesterday to show what passion based - flat learning FEELS like as a teacher and what it means to try to fit things in.

I wrote this in late April/ Early May to share with you.
The first draft was in April.
It takes a while to polish up and add links sometimes.
Just a glimpse into some things in my life if your'e interested.
We're nearing the end of the school year at this point
as we finish up major projects and final work for the year.

Before School.
4:45 am-ish
My fit bit wrist alarm wakes me up when I'm in my lightest sleep. It is so nice not to wake my husband.
4:50 On the treadmill for 2,000 steps. Throw fresh coffee in the pot.
5:05 Reading my Bible/ Praying/ Journaling
5:20 Writing (Blogging or my second book.)
6:45 Get dressed
6:55 Breakfast with Kip
7:05 Head out the door. I like to get to school early to get my routine down.
7:20 At school. Do my 30/30 routine. (See 3 little tricks to smooth out your day.)

Homeroom

Kids are finishing up blogs and checking the Flat Classroom Ning to see if partners have replied. I send them to their homeroom so I can handle mine. Everyone wishes they had homeroom in the computer lab. I'm ready to have the infrastructure ready for BYOT. (Bring Your Own Technology)

1st period. 10th Introduction to Computer Science. (@netgened work)

We are outsourcing clips for the NetGenEd project. Students request clips, and other students in other parts of the world fulfill the clips. Lots of acting, interesting things happening, and a general commotion. These students know what they are doing. They know how to film and rip off my camera, their iphones, their ipads, and just about anything with a lens. They convert the files and upload on the Ning and post on the wiki their links.

Current events make powerful teaching moments, plus
students need to talk about things sometimes.

2nd Period. 9th Computer Fundamentals.

We talked about the Boston Marathon because these students needed to and watched a video of Dick and Rick Hoyt and talked about how sometimes things are more than a race.

We also tied it in with understanding how to meet the needs of others through the power of social media. The students shared what they'd learned on their social media stats and shared the stats with each other.

We learned that an odd picture of a blowfish had gained quite a few followers on Instagram and that when you followed and unfollowed others quickly that you ticked them off and it wasn't something to do.

I checked the Trello board for the next lesson the students had proposed and voted up and taught a mini lesson on Tumblr to those who had signed up on the board. Looks like I'm teaching Twitter tomorrow.

(They vote up what they want me to teach while they are amidst their genius projects. I teach what has the most sign ups and handle individual requests individually. It is interesting, although some don't sign up, they often come across the room and start listening in and joining in.) (See 2012 genius work and current 2013 personal websites work being posted now)

Break. I have permission to walk for my break b/c of the 6 classes I'm teaching right now. I try to walk another 2,000 steps but only hit 1782.

3rd period. 9th Computer Fundamentals.

N is getting ready to test virtual worlds. We downloaded Second Life and talked about newbie island. Other students started watching and looking and were excited.

C asked people to post questions for her on her Tumblr that would spark conversation and others did as we laughed. We discussed why some things get shared and others do not. C is enjoying her tumblr and getting a very positive response.

4th period. Senior filmmaking.

I took pictures of the seniors all over campus for their senior movie. They proposed to take a picture with their little brothers/ sisters for that section and the group photo was beautiful and one I'll start doing every year. I never would have thought of that!

5th period. 8th grade keyboarding. MLA Papers. Portfolios

We finished up taking MLA notes in Microsoft One Note about how to write an MLA paper and putting the notes in our binder as they started working on their MLA papers.

I'm a huge fan of notes because it powers the "external brain." If it is something they'll use in the future that is somewhat technically challenging or requires steps, they must write it down in the notetaking tool of their choice. These aren't things they will memorize but things they'll need to access in the future. Notes are taking in a way they will understand and remember.

Helping students determine and use a notetaking tool of their choice is a big part of what I help them do in the younger years. Pushing them to recall and look up from prior notes happens in the later years. My brain shouldn't be their primary source of knowledge. If they'll take what I teach into notes and tag for easy recall, they are empowered to be self sufficient. Students are missing out if they don't know how to create a notes archive to use for their lives.

Those who finished were making timelines on Dipity. They liked dipity ok but had trouble printing, so someone found TimeToast and they ended up over there. They thought it was a better solution to the problem. A personal timeline is on the portfolio checklist and they know that they can move ahead. If they move ahead and figure it out, they get to help me teach it! ;-)

6th period. Introduction to Computer Science. (Genius Hour work today)

A student was so excited as she bought a headband from another. E.R. just got in the jewelry from Destiny Rescue. Last year E. co-created Hope for Slaves, a project to bring awareness to a blight on our human existence: human trafficking.

On May 1st, (May Day, ironically) our students buy and wear the jewelry of those rescued from human slavery in an effort to put their money into the hands of those making a difference in this. Her friend M was buying a headband because Elizabeth is carrying it in her purse and selling jewelry to end human trafficking. She told me about a group of girls rescued by Destiny Rescue just a few weeks a go. Ending human trafficking is her passion and she's doing something about it. (See Hope for Slaves)

I also had to finishing helping set up a meeting with M and J to head to the irrigation research park. They are creating an animation for an irrigation system that minimizes water loss for the Nature Conservancy's website. They are heading out there during homeroom tomorrow and missing my first period class (with notes from their parents, of course.) They need to take photos in real life so they can complete their animation.

When students find a passion, we all find treasure.
Life means more when students are curious and
passionate. I have a curriculum but as a
teacherpreneur, I can always incorporate things they
are passionate about. The genius hour is the perfect
way to do that.

7th Period. Study Hall.
I'm supposed to have this as a planning period, but my room is full. It is OK, I'm used to it. It means longer hours. April and May are tough. I've often told my husband if every school day were like May, I couldn't physically be a teacher. We're on the sprint to the end, and I want to finish well. (See Finding Your Beautiful Moment the last week of school.)

After school. K had voted up Pinterest on the Trello board and wanted it to be taught, however, not enough had voted it up so it wasn't scheduled yet. She was in my classroom after she'd had her run and said she really wanted to know how. I sat down and said, Hey, I'll pinterest with you.

K chose Pinterest because her passion based project is to teach pop art to fifth graders and she's found that the best place to find art projects for elementary students is on Pinterest. We sat down and got her going and pinning.

By the time we were almost done, her friend H was on Pinterest and Z was sitting there looking over my shoulder intrigued with what was happening. We ended up laughing at images on some pinterest boards and printed some of the photos.

The girls decided that we're all working too hard and are too serious and asked if they could be the "positive encouragement people" (PEP) and if they could put some funny (but appropriate) pics on my wall. Sure! Now, I have some hilarious things there and we're all laughing. I'm sure the kids the next day will enjoy these pics too. WE're all working so hard lately.

After work. I zip home when my youngest gets of tutoring at the learning lab. He is tutored until 4. I dash out the door at 4:15 to make it home by 4:30 to record another episode of Every Classroom Matters and throw dinner on the stove.

I hate to admit this, but this time of year is so tough. Sometimes I fall asleep as early as 5pm. Other times, I'm up late because there's too much to do. My oldest graduates from high school this year so graduation is taking a bit of time.

I find teaching fulfilling and important and glad I'm empowered to be a teacherpreneur. I tell my students that I'm not here just to teach them but here to completely blow their minds. But often teaching isn't that fancy stand in front of a room, Robin Williams kind of stuff. It is small daily interactions. We huddle up the first 5 minutes of class every day at this time of year as I make announcements and help them focus on deliverables. After that, it is run around the room, work, and encourage.

I hope you'll share your story of your passion driven classroom. If you want to know more about genius hour / 20% time - this is a great podcast to listen to. (See Engage Students and Supercharge Learning with Genius Hour)

My life is nuts but I wouldn't have it any other way. These students are not my children by birth, but they are my children by heart.

Photo credit: Big Stock

START punching fear in the Face and escape average @jonacuff

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Mon, 13 May 2013 04:03:00 PDT

I'm wrestling with a book right now. Andre the Giant and Hulk Hogan, old fashioned smack down wrestling. I heard Jon Acuff this past week and picked up his new book Start: Punch Fear in the Face, Escape Average and Do Work that Matters. The questions in the back and questions on every page have me a bit uncomfortable but in a way that I need.

How do you focus your time?
How do you work on what matters?
How do you overcome your fears?
This is all in +Jon Acuff 's
book "START" which I highly recommend.

I have a lot of purpose in my life - I'm a teacher, after all. But fears, like the mermaids & kelp around Harry Potter's legs as he dove into the lake to save his friend, those fears can pull me down.

Punch fear in the face.

Fears that have told me to please people so maybe, they'll like me. Fears that grew out of quite a few years of childhood when no one wanted to be my friend. When I became more attractive, people wanted to be my friend. Brains didn't matter, attractiveness was all that did. Now that I'm getting older, I'm finding those fears returning,

"You're not beautiful any more, no one will like you." -or-

"If you can't look like a model, no one is going to want you to speak for them anymore."

The desire to please people and be liked is a dangerous path to self-hatred because there are some people who will never like you or me. They will not be happy until we self destruct or die and do we really want to go to that length to please them?

Critics Math

Jon makes the point in the book to beware of critics math: 1 criticism + 1,000 compliments = 1 criticism. Most of us, all we see is the criticism and that is unhealthy.

Escape Average.

It is the end of the school year.

Hyperventilation hyperdrive - if you could picture a woman in a space suit trying to dock a space ship with 1,000 screaming children on board while coming out of light speed and hyperventilating at the same time -- that is what the end of the school year is like.

I've let my weight slide right back on up. Sure, I've got an exceptionally hard work load, but I do have a life to live. I'm settling in too many places in my life in the land of average and it is time to pack my bags and go. To do this, I have to deal with my fears of not being liked. Learn to say no, and edit my life to include the most impactful areas... and START on the journey.

I don't want to stay or be average in any area of my life but wallow there far too long. I love the activities at the end of the book that help you work through this.

Do work that matters.

So much matters to teachers. Every single precious baby matters. Every child. Every parent. They are human beings and they are IMPORTANT. I want to teach the children and encourage the parents to parent well and love their kids even when those kids aren't perfect. These are important things.

But for me, the question is -- what is the work that matters that I was made to do? Can I cull out things that don't matter so much or work that isn't adjacent to the land of purpose for me?

Can I actually learn to say no?

Questions & Actions

The most purposeful people don't get there by accident. They question everything. They question their lives and find answers. They take time for introspection. They self-examine.

But the purposeful people I know also act upon these answers. They START.

I highly recommend this book if you're ready to get serious about living your life with purpose. If you're wanting meaning and to get back 'on track' pick it up and START.

I wish I'd had this book when I first started blogging or at the beginning of my career. It would have saved a lot of heartache. Great book for graduates and Jon is awesome to hear in person.

Written by Vicki Davis, author - Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds - Posted with Blogsy from my iPad

3 Keys to reaching all your dreams

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Sat, 11 May 2013 04:11:46 PDT

Dreams might be imagined on vacation, but they are birthed out of focus and work.
Saturday with Friends and Family 028 (Photo credit: -DjD-)

I've been up writing again at 5am on Saturday. Not because I hate myself or I'm rested, but because I have a burning dream.

You see, I've found that dreams aren't made on sandy beaches with your feet up drinking a cold Diet Coke. That might be where they are first thought about, but it isn't where they are made.

I've accomplished more dreams since I started setting my alarm clock for 5 am than before. Dreams are made out of work. They are made out of early mornings and late nights.

Five am is particularly attractive to me (and sometimes 4 am if on a deadline.) They are attractive because they are guilt free. I have no one who needs my attention and more importantly, there is no one who feels ignored or untended to. If I have to work all day and let my family know ahead of time, there's not usually struggle there.

So, I'm up writing again on a Saturday morning when lots of people are sleeping. This will be my second book. I did this on Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds: Move to Global Collaboration One Step at a Time and I'm sure I'll do it again.

Lots of dreams mean lots of work, but like a good delicious watermelon, you can only bite one small piece at a time.

The 3 keys to reaching your dreams:

FOCUS. Pursue one at a time
ENLIST SUPPORT. Make sure your inner family circle is supporting and with you (don't ignore them)
WORK. Make a plan for when you'll work on it every week so that motion is always forward

If you struggle with your family being "in on" your dream - there are ways to work with that. It also doesn't mean ALL of your family. For me, my inner circle is my husband: 1 person. The person you live with should be 'in on" or at least respect that your dream is happening because it takes the sacrifice of everyone in the house to help dreams happen. For me, no dream is worth losing my family.

I add also a fourth and PRAY over it - which for me, as a Christian, is vital. The dreams I pursue must be aligned with my personal values or the inner conflict will sabotage any forward motion.

Got a dream? Get started.

Engage students & supercharge learning with Genius Hour #geniushour

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Fri, 10 May 2013 06:49:21 PDT

Authors of the Genius Hour
Manifesto and hosts of
#geniushour chat
Joy Kirr, Hugh McDonald
Gallit Zvi, and Denise Krebs
are the Fantastic 4 of
genius hour. They are 4
teachers DOING it.
Listen to this week's show
to learn more.

Really? Every child is a genius? Hooey.

I admit, that is what I first thought when my friend Angela Maiers said this. However, if you look at the definition of genius:

"1. Exceptional intellectual or creative power or other natural ability.
2. A person who is exceptionall intelligent or creative, either generally or in some particular respect: "musical genius."
Synonym: talent"

We are looking for the natural abilities of students. Now, don't mistake natural ability for the art of mastering. We all know naturally gifted athletes who never accomplished anything because they were allergic to sweat, or naturally smart kids who accomplished nothing once they had to study. Genius takes time but talent can be spotted and nurtured.

One thing is sure, if a child never knows their own talent... they will never get on the path to genius. It starts with identifying and nurturing passions.

I'm a passion meter.

Why should students be doing the same thing all
the time? Can't we lead them in inquiry based
learning experiences where they are explorers,
scientists, creators, and inventors?
We must help them find their genius
so they can find purpose.

My job is to help students discover those passions and innate talents that they don't know they have. Twenty percent of our time is spent on personal interest projects. Every teacher can't do 20% time, but EVERY teacher, EVERY school, and EVERY classroom can have an exciting, engaging genius hour. It is that important.

Recently on the Every Classroom Matters show, I sat down with the "Fantastic 4" of Genius hour: +Joy Kirr (@joykirr), +Denise Krebs (@mrsdkrebs), +Hugh McDonald (@hughtheteacher) and +Gallit Zvi (@gallit_z).

Do you know it was the first time all four of them had physically talked in real time? It was electric as they discussed passion based learning and how they implement genius hour in the classroom. They are doing incredible work and I highly recommend adding them to your PLN.

Listen to the authors of the Genius Hour Manifesto:

Click here to listen:
Radically Authentic Learning: How Classrooms Change when Student Genius Drives Learning

Genius hour wiki: geniushour.wikispaces.com#Geniushour chat - first Wednesday of each month.Genius hour manifesto: http://educationismylife.com/genius-hour-manifesto/

Do you want to nominate someone to be on the show?
Fill out the nomination form.

Want to know more about Every Classroom matters and how to subscribe?
Read "The Every Classroom Matters Show and a tutorial on how to subscribe using iCatcher"

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 05/10/2013

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Fri, 10 May 2013 02:30:40 PDT

At STEM Early College High School, students earn top test grades | STEMwire

I'm recording another episode of "Every Classroom matters" interviewing some of the teachers and organizers in the Chicago Early STEM college movement. As I researched for this show, I found this report out of North Carolina reporting an increase in test scores. A county here in Georgia is also implementing Early college stem as well. STEM is something every school needs (listen to the earlier show I recorded w/ Kevin Jarrett) but this is an interesting approach. "Just two years after it opened, a North Carolina high school has found that teaching students the principles of STEM can boost test scores and keep learners engaged. That’s prompting the school to ask, “If we can do it, why can’t other schools do it, too?” The school has a mouthful of a name: the Wake NC State University STEM Early College High School. It has attracted many students to its Raleigh campus – first generation-college students, minorities, and students from poor backgrounds – who are underrepresented in STEM fields. But in 2012, students did far better than average on the state’s standardized exams, with more than 95 percent passing."

tags: education news stem college
Quest2Matter - What It Is & How to Join - Choose 2 Matter

Help your kids submit their idea and work to Quest to matter. This is a great way to showcase what your students are doing. It will also open up opportunities for mentoring. If you know a kid who is doing something cool to change the world - SUBMIT IT. The end date is June 7th. Why not have your class create a quest to matter. If you haven't had a chance to do a genius project or some creative teacherpreneurship with passion projects - USE THIS opportunity. My friend Angela Maiers had this idea and many have joined in (like me) to help create a website showcasing and promoting all the great work that students are doing as social entrepreneurs to change the world. There will be a winning project that is showcased and mentored.

tags: education news quest2matter choose2matter passionbasedlearning passion google20% all_teachers bestpractices edu_news
Top 10 Adobe Flash Player for the new iPad 3

One of the concerns about ipads is the inability to use flash or javascript. This can be done. Here are the top 10 flash players. If you limit down to those that can do Flash AND java - the options are a bit pricey - Cloud Browse does both but only lets you have 10 minute browsing sessions. Virtual Firefox ($4.99) and Virtual Browser for Chrome (19.99) each can allow Java and Flash and also bookmark/sync services with your desktop browser (5.99 and .99 respectively.) This may be a tad expensive but show it can be done. The highest rated is virtual browser for chrome. I think the chrome browser is a tad pricey. You do have to be 17 to download these apps, I guess because you can use them to access video.

tags: education news apps

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

15 Wrong Ways to Implement the Common Core

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Wed, 08 May 2013 07:05:01 PDT

guest post by Johnna Weller, Ed D. Note from Vicki: As I was talking to Johnna from Discovery Education about this post, I started hearing her talk about districts who are struggling with Common Core. We thought that it would be helpful to know what people are doing to cause their districts to fail in implementation. Of course, if we learn from failure, we can fail forward into success. Thanks Johnna for this guest post. (See disclosures at the bottom.)

Answers to complex questions never
come in a box. A seal on a box does not
guarantee success.

15. Expect that a packaged program will be the magic bullet.

We’ve all seen the labels on the cover of teacher’s manuals that say (in bold print), “Aligned to CCSS.” And, although the lessons might be matched to specific CC standards, and include quality examples of “close reading” or “text-based questions,” there is no program that can cause our students to be deep and critical thinkers.

Of course, materials can be a helpful resource to teachers, but they are only as good as the teacher who uses them. This is my mantra:

“Programs don’t teach kids, teachers teach kids.”

So, read the labels, and be a judicious consumer of what’s out there, but know that you can’t buy CCSS implementation in a box.

14. Expect that anything will be the magic bullet.

Despite what you may have seen or heard, there is no simple solution to implementing the Common Core. Meaningful implementation is a process…a process of refining and reflecting instructional practice. That process takes time, and various strategies (just like the way we want students to problem-solve).

No single product, event, or experience -- no matter how powerful -- will single-handedly flip the switch to Common Core. Educators should be strategic in their implementation by designing a plan that includes a variety of high-quality ways to move toward transforming their classrooms. Such an implementation plan needs to address curriculum, assessment, and instruction.

Technology is mentioned in the Common Core
State standards 40 times! It is important but teachers
are still important.

13. Put all your eggs in the technology basket.

There is no doubt that technology has the power to transform teaching and learning. Plus, it is mentioned in the CCSS no less than 40 times. But, unto itself, technology/media/digital, etc will not guarantee that students question, connect, infer, analyze, and think. That’s where teachers come in. (Remember, there’s no magic bullet.)

The most powerful way to leverage technology, is to engage in ongoing professional development and collaboration to learn, practice, and infuse it meaningfully into instruction. (These ideas are evident in Discovery Education’s design of professional development that puts amazing technology in teachers’ hands, but recognizes that the power of its effectiveness is through instruction.)

12. Remove everything from your curriculum that isn’t attached to a Common Core standard.

Even the CCSS documents themselves say that the standards “…do not—indeed, cannot—enumerate all or even most of the content that students should learn. The Standards must therefore be complemented by a well-developed, content-rich curriculum consistent with the expectations laid out in this document.”

So, don’t forget about health. And the arts. And more. (See If Common Core Standards Become our Straight Jacket, we'll hate what education becomes for how this is happening in some schools already.)

"Creativity" is listed in the Common Core
State Standards - even in math! How do you
get creative with math?

11. Don’t empower the creative genius of students and teachers.

You might be surprised to know that the word “creativity” appears in the Math CCSS (yes, math!). We can value and nurture creativity by producing, not only consuming, a variety of information, ideas, texts, and media.

You need a network. These Discovery Educator Network (DEN)
teachers are meeting to collaborate and learn from each
other. You can collaborate and connect for
mutual learning experiences wherever teachers
connect... on Twitter, Facebook, and face to face.
They are all vital parts of the savvy educator's PLN.

10. Go it alone.

The positive impact of collaboration has been validated by researchers and practitioners. As a profession, we must tap into and share our collective expertise to support our individual efforts. Teachers might be superheroes -- but even superheroes accomplish more when they work together.

(An example of a powerful electronic community of practice is Discovery Educator Network (DEN), where teachers from across the country share ideas. Discovery also holds a variety of opportunities for teachers to come together live and in person to learn and share with each other.)

9. Focus only on outcomes and not processes.

Student learning, aka deep thinking, is the goal of the Common Core. Remember that learning is a process. So, even though we look to our outcomes and data as measures of learning, we can’t ignore the process. The same idea applies to teachers. Teachers need opportunities to learn, plan, act, and reflect.

Beware of how you define rigor!
Giving kids harder math problems or more difficult books
to read doesn't increase the rigor. It only increases frustration.
Talk to your staff about what rigor is!

8. Equate complexity with difficulty.

Webster defines complex as

“having many parts, details, ideas, or functions.”

In our information-driven world, our students will need the ability to process, filter, and ponder many sources of information. For this reason, the Common Core standards promote critical and complex thinking.

That means that students need opportunities to learn, practice, and apply these skills. So teachers need to demonstrate, model, and support students in these tasks. That’s not the same as assigning difficult tasks.

Giving kids harder math problems and more difficult books to read doesn’t increase the rigor. It only increases frustration -- for the student and the teacher. This takes us back to the importance of time for teachers to learn, plan, act, and reflect on ways to engage students in complex thinking.

7. Make it more about curriculum-alignment than instructional practice.

Obviously, a well-designed and cohesive curriculum is a part of CCSS implementation. However, even the best curriculum delivered poorly is doomed. Instructional practice is the key to creating classrooms where students are deep readers and writers who inquire, question, critique, and synthesize. Research continually points to the impact of the teacher as the most powerful factor in student learning. To continue that thought…

6. Ignore the need for professional development.

High-quality professional development is the best way to make the transition to the Common Core. Consider a variety of options to include follow-up and collaboration.

5. Don’t communicate with parents and the community.

As we move forward into a model of school that looks different than sit and get (finally), parents need to understand that rote memorization will be lessened, while inquiry and problem-solving will be increased. It’s true…this is not your grandmother’s classroom. Technology allows the world to be our classroom. To be successful, this shift will require the mutual support of school, home, community.

Classrooms should always be improving and leveling up learning.
As a profession, we should be the premier learning organization.

4. Say, “We do this already.”

No matter what you’ve “done” regarding Common Core, there is plenty more to learn and apply. As a profession, we should be the premier learning organization. Unfortunately, sometimes we are not. The type of thinking that keeps us static will not help us get better. Remember, if you’re not growing, you’re dying.

3. Don’t network outside of your school.

In the same line of thinking as #10, schools can’t thrive in a cocoon. The CCSS are a fabulous opportunity for educators across the country to be talking the same language, sharing ideas and generating synergy. None of us is a smart as all of us. It’s evident by the ideas on pinterest and the discussions on #ccchat that we can be collective thought-partners.

2. Be afraid.

Fear of change. Fear of the unknown. Why be afraid? We could learn from NASA -- which accomplishes historic feats by being open to change, curious about the unknown, and enticed by challenge. This is an exciting time for society and education -- and most importantly, our students. Let’s embrace the challenge and stretch ourselves. The most powerful practices begin in the classrooms of teacherpreneurs who study, apply, and reflect on their practice.

1. Don’t focus on kids.

Always remember why we do what we do. Implementation of the Common Core with flying colors -- shiny curriculum, top-notch assessments, and even stellar instructional practices -- won’t mean anything if it’s not connected to your students.

Act to improve your classrooms.

What you can do

So, now that you know what NOT to do to implement the Common Core, here’s something that you can do: tap into the variety of options that Discovery Education offers. We don’t claim to be the magic bullet (there isn’t one, remember?). But, they can provide a variety of tools to add to your implementation plan.

To help teachers and administrators implement Common Core well (and avoid pitfalls listed above), Discovery Education is providing professional development academies in various location across the US this summer.

Regardless of whether your school has access to Discovery products, these academies provide proven practices in instruction, curriculum, and assessment into classroom applications that support long-term planning and immediate classroom application.

As a trusted educational partner, Discovery Education has worked with thousands of educators to transform teaching and learning. They understand that successful implementation requires a focus on fundamentals: curriculum, instruction, assessment, and leadership.

You can learn about the four academies at:

http://www.discoveryeducation.com/Common-Core-Academy/index.cfm

Disclosure of Material Connection: This is a “sponsored post.” The company who sponsored it compensated me via a cash payment, gift, or something else of value to write it. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I believe will be good for my readers and are from companies I have used personally. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 05/08/2013

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Wed, 08 May 2013 02:30:44 PDT

The problem with Pearson-designed tests that threatens thousands of scores

I agree. Students who got to read the passages ahead of time had an advantage - of course, is anyone looking to see if there was a "hit" on other textbook passages - is this luck or is it corruption. Either way - it smells like corruption. There is a conflict of interest if you're testing and selling textbooks to help kids do better on testing. "students who read the Pearson test before seeing it on the state test had the opportunity to fill the gaps in their own knowledge—whether through class discussion or simply by reading and answering the questions provided in the curriculum—before they took the test. And that means that the validity of a test that aims to differentiate between “good” and “poor” readers is necessarily called into question. Unfortunately, it seems that New York education officials don’t realize how significant this problem is. Or even that it is a problem. (Meryl Tisch, New York Board of Regents chancellor, actually defended the quality of the assessments, boasting that, thanks to a rigorous new quality-control review, the Department of Education had avoided the kinds of problems that lead to last year’s now-famous pineapple scandal. And that failure to recognize what may be a far more serious and consequential challenge may be the biggest red flag that Common Core assessment decisions are in trouble in the Empire State."

tags: education news pearson testing standardizedtests

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 05/07/2013

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Tue, 07 May 2013 02:30:46 PDT

10 Online Resources To Inspire Writers Of Any Age | Edudemic

Online resources to inspire writers of all ages.

tags: news amwriting writing learnist tools.
My 10 Favorite Learnist Boards Built By Teachers | Edudemic

If you want to see how Learnist is being used - here are Dawn Casey-Rowe's 10 favorite learnist boards built by teachers. This will help you see how this tool is used.

tags: education news learnist webapp edu_news edu_newapp
How to Use Learnist on the Web | Products | Learnist

I'm having a chat with Dawn Casey-Rowe, a teacher and she was sharing with me what she's doing on Learnist. This is a Learnist board about how to use Learnist. I am interested in how this works. There is also an app. It looks like a sort of combination between pinterest, mentor mob, and flipboard.

tags: education news eduapp edapp tumblr
Hawaii - Flat Classroom Live! - Flat Classroom Conference

So excited to be co-leading the Flat Classroom Live! event in Hawaii with my friend and Flat Classroom co-founder Julie Lindsay. This event for students and educators is a life-changing way to learn about new technology and make powerful connections between schools. Join us July 24-26.

tags: education news professional development. edu_news
YouTube Launching Paid Subscriptions to Some Video Channels: Report

There's a new "cable tv" in town... YouTube. That's right. YouTube may be launching paid premium channels this week. It will be quite interesting to see what happens if a video goes viral behind a paywall and if the free-for-all online video network will disenfranchise its netizens or if youth will take their game elsewhere. Of course, YouTube must continue to monetize and make development of content worth it for their content creators, but it will be interesting to see what happens, particularly with new networks like Vine cropping up around sharing video.

tags: education news youtube google edu_news
TED Teams Up With PBS for Education Program - NYTimes.com

"In its first television foray, TED has joined forces with the Corporation for Public Broadcasting and the New York public broadcaster WNET for a one-hour special, “TED Talks Education,” to be broadcast on PBS on Tuesday. If it is successful, the program could become a template for future joint projects, said Juliet Blake, one of the show’s executive producers and the TED official charged with bringing the conferences to television."

tags: education news ted pbs television edreform

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

If Common Core Standards become our straight jacket, we'll hate what education becomes #ccchat

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Fri, 03 May 2013 06:20:46 PDT

A sad teacher last night talked to me about how she's having to cut out two great units of study. One unit is on China and another is on Egypt. Why? They aren't in the Common Core standards.

My students aren't wearing straight jackets,
they have wings. And that, my friends
makes all the difference.
Some rights reserved by ammgramm

Savvy schools will know that Common Core standards are guidelines. Struggling schools will interpret Common Core standards as straight jackets. Already demoralized, they are afraid to do ANYTHING not in the standards. There's the problem.

Global competency is vital part of being an educated 21st century citizen.

Two kinds of people exist today: people who build bridges and people who blow them up. Kids must be global citizens capable of building bridges.

Even if you are under Common Core standards, I hope you have the maturity to see them as guidelines. The Common Core FAQ says:

"Teachers will continue to devise lesson plans and tailor instruction to the individual needs of the students in their classrooms."

Some rights reserved by photophilde

Use your head when evaluating curriculum. Just because it doesn't specifically say "Egypt" or "China" doesn't mean you have to cut those from your curriculum. You can incorporate standards into such studies.

Most straight jackets worn in education are fabrications of the mind.

While some are wearing straight jackets, my students are collaborating globally. They aren't wearing straight jackets, they have wings. And that, my friends will make all the difference.

-----------------------------
Further Reading:
ASCD Educational Leadership. Leading for Global Competency
Common Core State Standards Frequently Asked Questions
Curriculum 21 Global Partnership: Investigate the World
Edutopia Parents Guide to 21st Century Learning (PDF)
Flattening Classrooms, Engaging Minds: Move to Global Collaboration One Step at a Time (disclosure, I coauthored this book)
Asia Society: What is global competence?

Gearing Up for Common Core in Math #ccchat #mathchat

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Thu, 02 May 2013 08:14:42 PDT

I skipped a class and showed up the next class day to be handed a test. I haven't studied for it. It wasn't on

Darren Burris @dgburris
shares his thoughts on Common Core
math and how it CAN be done.
Listen to the show.

the syllabus. It wasn't based on anything I'd learned. I'm in class looking at the test sweating and realizing that I know nothing on the test and have never heard of it. Just as I start to panic, BOOM! I wake up. I have this dream at least once a year before school starts or any time I feel unprepared.

This is sadly, being lived out by many students today who are being tested by standards that aren't integrated into their textbooks and classrooms. Students are looking at content for the first time and realizing that they've never seen it. They are unprepared, but is it their fault? No! It is time to prepare and update our classrooms.

Darren Burris is a math teacherpreneur who has been noticed for his effectiveness of integrating Common Core Math standards into his classroom. Not only does he love the standards, but the practices they bring to his classroom. I hope you'll listen to my conversation with Darren as we discussed "Gearing Up for Common Core in Math" on Every Classroom Matters (BAM Radio network.)

The biggest point for me is that Darren believes that meeting the standards and working with curriculum should be ITERATIVE. It is going to take a while for math to get there. This jumps out as a perfect time to purchase etextbooks updated yearly. Why would anyone buy a paper textbook that says it is aligned with Common Core math when the best math teachers like Darren say none of them are really there yet?

If you're working with Common Core math, I hope you'll share what you're doing and your thoughts.

We need to be fair and help kids prepare so that nightmares can just be when they're asleep.

Places you can find more information:
Darren Burris

Math teacher at Boston Collegiate Charter School.

Curator of http://commoncoreessentials.posterous.com/

Common Core Online: http://goo.gl/cE7Cr

Common Core Essentials: http://coreessentials.wordpress.com/

PARCC in MA: http://parccinma.wordpress.com/

Twitter @dgburris

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 05/02/2013

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Thu, 02 May 2013 02:30:40 PDT

Finger-free phones, full body gesturing, and our “touchscreen” future | Ars Technica

I think those who think that we will not need keyboards are missing a few important points. Here's the issue - I can type faster than I can talk. Also, in the classroom - 20 kids talking to their computers it would be chaos and a mess. Typing, however, has a speed benefit and doesn't require a "cone of silence" as a everyone talking to their glasses would. I think keyboarding will remain part of the productive equipment of most of us - until our devices can read our brain waves. For those who type less than 30 words a minute and work in a quiet office, this is likely to be true. Meanwhile, this is a great read about what will happen in our homes, at least.

tags: education news gesture_based_computing

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

3 Little Tricks to Smooth out your day

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Wed, 01 May 2013 03:57:40 PDT

Take a little time that makes a big difference! (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Be intentional about your life. Don't just let it happen, decide how you're going to live it. We had a conversation on my Facebook page the other day about how we could be better teachers and the overwhelming answer was "more time."

It isn't possible to add more time, but it is possible to make more of the time you have. When I do these 3 things - all 35 minutes and 30 seconds of them - that day and the following day are FANTASTIC. It takes a little planning - of habits, priorities, and tweaking the 30/30 app to make it happen but it works.

1. Establish a Beginning of school routine. (15 minutes)

I have a 15 minute routine that I do when I arrive at school. I've programmed it into my 30/30 app.

I selected these things from a list I made when I was so stressed I was losing my mind using the Pareto principle to Pareto my problems (See The Pareto Project, and also Pareto your homescreen, the Routine of being Amazing, and Smooth out your week with the Pareto Saturday Principle)

The routines in my 30/30 app sync between my ipad and iphone.

When applied to stress, the Pareto principle means that 20% of your problems will cause 80% of the stress. For me, things like the printer running out of paper, not being ready to take attendance in PowerSchool, and my room being a bit messy are unneeded stressors. Here's my checklist with times (the screenshot didn't show everything.) YOURS WILL BE DIFFERENT.

Part of my 30/30 routine for starting my day with times.
I can check something as "done" if I get through faster.

Boot computer - 1 minute
Clean Desk --> 5 minutes
Log into PowerSchool --> 2 minutes
paper in Printers --> 2 minutes
Clean Classroom --> 5 minutes
Look at list --> 1 minute
Boot front computer --> 1 minute
Check email --> 5 minutes

The nice thing about the 30/30 app is that I'm racing the timer, so I don't get off track and also, if I finish something early, then I can click done and move ahead.

2. Establish a daily Planning & Solitude to close out your day & plan tomorrow (15:30)

If you read books like Eat That Frog!, Attack Your Day!: or the The Power of Habit, planning your day is one of those essential components to accomplishing more with your time. Recently, I asked educators in my Facebook page about the one thing that would make them a better teacher... they overwhelmingly said time. Last time I checked, we've all got the same amount, so we'd better figure out how to use it well.

During this time, I review lists, plan tomorrow, reflect, and schedule an appointment with myself for my VITAL habits. If you read the Habit Factor, you'll see astounding research about how to actually get yourself to do the important things: set an appointment with yourself.

My 15 minute 30 second routine is:

Review Master List --> 3 minutes (I do this in Nozbe)
Review today's list/ make tomorrow's (I do this in Nozbe/ my Levenger planner)
Pray over day --> 30 seconds (I take time to be still and quiet to reflect, think of wins, consider if I behaved in an honorable way, and to seek guidance from the Boss.)
Review tomorrow's appointments --> 2 minutes
Schedule important habits (I put these in my google calendar on a special calendar I've created called "A routine of excellence" - it reminds me but doesn't officially "book" me, I also hand write it in my Circa Planner in my Levenger. An appointment increases the likelihood that you'll do it)

Prayer/ Bible Reading time --> 20 seconds
Schedule Blogging --> 20 seconds
Schedule Workout --> 20 seconds
Schedule P&S Time --> 20 seconds
Schedule time to balance my checkbook --> 20 seconds
Schedule time to read/ be with family -->20

Close out today's notes (I go through my notes in my Levenger and my daily journal in Evernote (I use vjournal for this) to sort and put anything on my calendar that needs to go there.

3. Keep a joy journal (5 minutes)

I talked about the statistics on journaling in 9 Fine Reasons to Keep a Journal but they bear repeating:

Research studies have shown that keeping a 5 minute a day gratitude journal will "increase your long term well being" more than winning a million dollars in the lottery.

Yes! IF you want to be happy, you don't need more money, you need to write down the things you're thankful for. This ONE thing will change your outlook PROFOUNDLY.

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 05/01/2013

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Wed, 01 May 2013 02:30:53 PDT

This Is Why Google Glass Is the Future

Yes, taking pictures and recording videos are two of the biggest uses of Google glass. I think disclosure is going to be the issue, while you do have to speak to it, does it have a light to show others around you that you are, indeed, filming. "Once you wake up Google Glass, you see the time (in rather large type) and “Okay Glass” right underneath it. That’s your control command. I found that I could yell or whisper this and Google Glass sprang into action. It did have trouble in some noisy areas, but most of the time, I could get Glass’ attention and then get something done. The two most obvious options, and the ones you’ll likely use the most, are “Take a picture” and “Record a video.” The former captures a relatively sharp 5-megapixel image. The second grabs just 10 second of 720 p video (that’s the default; you can change it in settings). You can see some of the video I captured with Google Glass below."

tags: education news google glass edu_news
Coffee for the Brain: Iowa Teacher Evaluations Tied To State Tests? My Beef With This and Why

I'm not partisan. There are some things that Aaron Maurer says in this post that make a lot of sense. "What bothers me is this "punish the whole system method" employed in the education world. I agree that teachers need to be held accountable. However, I know that state test scores do not show what I teach. What happens in schools is that we never address the specific issues at hand. If a teacher is not doing their job, then call them out. Tell them, show them how they are messing up, and then give them a plan to improve. Help them with necessary skills. If they choose not to improve or they simply don't improve, then you let them go. No more of this keeping teachers for 30 years and for 30 years they have been bad. That affects too many children that need good quality teachers. Hold us accountable like we should be holding our students accountable."

tags: education news edreform testing all_teachers
Google Glass review (Explorer Edition)

Does your "cell phone" policy include a policy for wearable technology. What will you do when a student shows up wearing Google glass? How about when they go into the locker room? Think about it and adjust your AUP's this summer - next summer will be too late. "A heads-up display seems like a natural fit, and thus we have Google Glass. It's a headset with a projected display, a camera and a data connection that could revolutionize the mobile device industry. It could also cause a public uproar over privacy concerns. Is the potential worth the risk?"

tags: education news google glass edu_news
PRESS RELEASE: USDLA 2013 International Awards Presented for Excellence in Distance Learning for Individuals, Organizations and Companies Honoring their Outstanding Achievements.

My sister, Sarah Adams has just won her second distance learning award this year. She is an online professor for Savannah College of Art and Design and continues to wow everyone with her incredibly high ratings, ability to engage her students, and teach tough graphic design without being in a formal classroom. YES, I'm incredibly proud of her but even more proud that she's so helpful, cooperative, and encouraging when anyone (like me) or other professors reach out and want to understand how she does it. Yes, she's my sister and yes, I'm incredibly proud. I"m so proud of you sis. She differentiates learning in amazing ways. I promise I'll get her on Every Classroom matters and ask her how she does it. If you have any questions, post them here and I'll be sure to ask.

tags: education news distance learning

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 04/30/2013

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Tue, 30 Apr 2013 02:30:45 PDT

5 Tips for the New Facebook Timeline for Personal Profiles

How to edit your Facebook Timeline to look more like you want. You can customize your clunky personal FAcebook page and you should.

tags: news Facebook social media
How to Create a QR to an iBook - Snapguide

Here's a snapguide for how to create a QR code to an ibook. This would let you put a link in a slide or on a page that would immediately take one to an ibook. (You can do this for kindle books too but would just use the URL as you can't buy inside the Kindle app on the ipad because Amazon and Apple couldn't come to terms on Apple's cut. You can just go to the Amazon webpage for the kindle and when it opens in safari, a person can buy and download from there.)

tags: education qrcode news tips ebook
A GeekyMomma's Blog: Can You Explain This?

Lee Kolbert demonstrates how to use Skitch to explain things. Excellent post. I love and use skitch because it integrates with Evernote, my personal notebook app. (Everyone should have a designated notebook app if you're using a tablet.)

tags: education news apps skitch evernote

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 04/27/2013

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Sat, 27 Apr 2013 02:30:44 PDT

The Australian - Top 50 2013 education | The Australian

The top 50 people to watch in education in Australia. I enjoy looking at these lists and also following those who are thought leaders / educators. (I don't really follow politicians in the movements.) We have a lot to learn from each other.

tags: education news edreform australia. edu_news
Why online education is mostly a fantasy

NOTE: The linked article is NSFW - it has a word of profanity where the author quotes Good Will Hunting. But the points are right. Some teachers worry they will be outdated or not needed with the online education movement. This article has some great points that I agree with. I do think online learning is part of our future but perhaps not the savior some make it out to be. "The online education utopians ignore the fact that free learning has existed for decades in the form of the public library and despite that availability, every kid within bicycling distance to his local branch didn’t turn into a self taught entrepreneur. Suggesting that online courses are the cure-all for our educational needs is like saying all you have to do to teach kids in the ghetto is give away textbooks on the corner. Recent studies have shown there is a significant gap between the completion rates of online students compared to classroom based students. When you consider that online learning is often promoted as a cost effective solution for at-risk learners who don’t have the financial resources for face-to-face instruction, it becomes clear that the online movement is offering a product that makes it easier to drop out to students who are already more prone to quitting in the first place."

tags: education news mooc onlinelearning edu_news
The real problem in education: the ‘opportunity gap’

"But even by reasonable standards, the nation’s educational outcomes are not in much better shape than they were in 1983. Whether we’re looking at overall scores or at achievement gaps, the trend lines for NAEP, the so-called Nation’s Report Card, generally show a post-reform picture that looks pretty much like the pre-reform picture – with positive trend lines but apparent slowing after 1990. There is no way to tease those data into showing that test-based accountability reform is accomplishing its key learning goals."

tags: education edreform testing news all_teachers

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

An Easy Guide to Gaining Followers and Being Followed on Twitter

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Sun, 28 Apr 2013 05:35:47 PDT

Twitter (Photo credits: www.mysecuritysign.com)

Twitter is an interesting mix of people. As you join Twitter, you need to decide how you will follow and unfollow others. I thought it would be helpful if some of us can mutually share how we determine who we follow and unfollow people. If those who have been doing this a while can mutually cooperate to stimulate conversations about how we use Twitter, it can help others.

The scary thing about writing such a list is when you've been tweeting as long as I have, I've made many of the mistakes I mention myself. ;-) So, I submit this list as just guidelines knowing I'm not so perfect either.

I follow people who:

Talk with me about interesting things.
I most often follow people on the spot who have interesting conversations with me that make me a better person. Replying to people or modifying the tweet (MT) instead of just retweeting are two quick ways to gain followers from most people.
Demonstrate by their words that they are the exceptional kind of person I'd like to be around.
You become like those you are around. (How to build your circle of the wise.) Let' me give you an example. Look at the conversation below.

Kimberly @khurdhorst is my kind of teacher. She showed by her tweet that she loves a child. She has no benefit from tweeting that except just letting out a little piece of who she is. We need educators on Twitter like Kimberly who show their unashamed love of their students and the greatest profession. She's my my of educator. I followed her immediately just for that one tweet.
Demonstrate a common interest in things I care about.
It may be silly but sometimes I do a litmus test to find people who are just funny and cool. They are games, but I've found the best educators and people to follow. I may tweet a line from one of my favorite movies and follow the people that reply. It may be those who reply to a tweet I wrote that meant a lot to me. It may be those who cared enough to tweet encouragement if I was having a rough day.
People who are born encouragers.
I first followed +Jerry Blumengarten @cybraryman1 because he tweeted me encouragement as I ran. He was so kind. Then, when I followed him, he'd dm me to ask me if I was ok or encourage me when I needed a push. There are people who notice others and care about the person.
People who are bridge builders
There are those who tweet great things but also take time to reply and encourage a lot of people. Often these people are like +Tom Whitby @tomwhitbyand +Brad Currie @bcurrie5 who run fantastic chats and link people together. (Steven Anderson @web20classroom too and so many others! If they run a chat, I'm going to follow them - that is how important the bridge builders are.) They are important because they link all kinds of people and work hard at promoting important conversations.
Exceptional people with exceptional ideas
I do follow some people who do not follow me back. I create a whitelist in my Social Bro app and I will follow them. Michael Hyatt @michaelhyatt, author of Platform: Get Noticed in a Noisy World is one of those people. I listen to his podcast each morning and am going back and listening to old ones. His existence in the world makes my existence in the world better. They don't have to follow me back.
Friends
There are so many cool people in the world with interesting stories. Oh, to have a pad of paper and a line of people so as to hear all of them! If I sit down and talk to you for a bit at a conference and if you tweet me that we had a great conversation - you've just cemented that relationship. I follow you and we can now continue conversing. Sometimes when I'm talking with a person, I'll get their handle right then and tweet them so we can do that.
Educators, especially teachers, principals, superintendents, librarians, curriculum directors, and IT or parents who advocate for good education wherever their child is in school. I also love to follow homeschooling parents b/c they are teachers too!

But, that said, if you don't put this stuff in your bio and you put something random about how you like to skydive and eat coffee beans whole, I'm not going to know that about you. I often use my follower management tool, Social Bro, to search for those who have the word "teacher" in their profile. I hunger to look at my beautiful tweet stream and see the random beauty of educators from around the world talking. I have no desire to make myself look important by only following 145 people - I have private lists to drill down to that level.

I unfollow people who:

Haven't tweeted in 30 days.
It doesn't matter if you're popular. If you haven't tweeted in 30 days then you're not engaged on Twitter and likely may end up taken over by a spammer.
Have no rhyme or reason to what they tweet.
Thousands of retweets? A bunch of junk? If I see that you're just indiscriminately tweeting junk, I kind of feel like you're the old aunt who auto forwards everything in their inbox without reading. Her mail goes in my spam and your Twitter account will be unfollowed.
Are consistently mean, demeaning, and use Twitter to belittle others.
There are those who make a career out of insulting people. I have no time for them in my life - I work with teenagers, that is hard enough.
Spam me with dm without admitting it.
If you get a virus and dm me - contact me and let me know it was a virus, or I'll unfollow you. If you indiscriminately dm me asking me to do things for you all the time - you don't care, you just want * want * want - I'm unfollowing. If I want someone in my life who just wants to take from me all the time - I'll go home and talk to my teenagers. (I do love teenagers, but if you've had them, your empty pockets and full calendar understand.)
Consistently steal my tweets verbatim without credit.
Yes, there are unimaginative people who just copy the tweets of others - verbatim, even in the same order. When I saw it happening, I started using the sharedby tool which pops a frame at the top of the tweet giving me credit anyway. It isn't that it is such a huge deal but when it is companies and people making money off Twitter who just want to take all those hours I spend researching and just copy it without credit, that is bad netiquette.
Don't converse.
I use a great tool that social media genius Jure Klepic @jkcallas (a friend of Angela Maiers) recommended when I talked to him at Microsoft. Social bro helps me manage Twitter followers. I go in once a week and see who is following me that I'm not following back (I can't do this daily - it is too many people) and look at them. I look at those I'm following who just never talk back to me. I'll look at what they've been tweeting lately: is it about education? Do those tweets make me a better person? If they don't converse with me and don't meet this criteria, I'll unfollow.
Who try to game the system.
These are Twitter scum in my book. I don't care how interesting you are. If you follow as many as you can and unfollow just after they follow you back hoping that not everyone will unfollow you - you're gaming the system and that wasn't what Twitter is supposed to be. I will unfollow you AND blacklist you in socialbro (which means I'll never see your name again.)
People who are users.
I'm just a teacher who has been blessed with many great friends online. There are "important" thought leaders who won't follow me, won't converse with me, and completely ignore me when I reach out to ask a question. They have NO teachers in their list of people they follow except those who look like cookie cutter copies of themselves. However, these people will often email me asking me to promote their book or retweet something or do this or that for them. They want to use my followers but don't care a rip about me at all when I need help or have a question.

I love people who love average everyday teachers and if they are going ignore me because I'm just a teacher then how will they feel about other teachers? Call it "I'm taking my tweets and flying to the roost" but truthfully I know I'm nothing and these people won't miss me or even care. I can add them to a list and read their stuff to stay abreast but many of them don't even use popular educational hashtags to make it easier to see what they are talking about. I'd rather talk with real educators who I love because the greatest teachers have a lot of love... and humility. Those are the kinds of people I'd like to be around. I like cooperative collaborators in my stream.

Others just want to use me for a retweet and beg incessantly for me to promote their product, book, or whatever but have never engaged in conversation, never talked in the community. They are users and will be lucky to even get a follow.

I won't follow you if:

Your profile says nothing about you.
I have no idea if you're legit or not.
Your avatar is still a new egg.
You haven't taken the time to put yourself out there. I want to make sure people are real.
You don't follow anyone at all.
Your twitter stream shows you're here to be followed not to converse.
Desperate divas get no dates. If you want to be followed, be helpful, be giving, think of others first. Being followed is a by product of being kind and helpful -- or being a celebrity. Celebrities won't read this post anyway. Life is full of enough people full of themselves - I fund such an attitude repugnant.
You're a celebrity.
Exception: Jimmy Fallon. @jimmyfallon The dude is hilarious. His Twitter games are fun to play.

I'd love to hear your guidelines. If you're on Twitter, these rules will change over time. Twitter is important to me because it links me quickly and easily with some of the finest people on the planet. I'm always looking for great educators and teachers to follow or anyone who loves teaching kids.

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 04/25/2013

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Thu, 25 Apr 2013 02:30:53 PDT

iTunes - Podcasts - Every Classroom Matters With Cool Cat Teacher by BAM Radio Network - The Twitterati Channel

Here's the iTunes podcast for Every Classroom matters, the new show I"m hosing on BAM radio network. I'll have one post a week go live from here on out as I interview the best, most exciting teachers I know. Let me know if you want to nominate someone. IF you listen and like the show, it would help me out if you would rate it on the store. Thank you.

tags: news ecmatters education edreform teaching all_teachers bestpractices
15+ Tips & Tricks to Use Evernote Like a Pro

Excellent tips for using Evernote - I use all of these tips except the transcription and signature features. Evernote is so useful. I also like to embed documents in my notes which make repetitive tasks much easier.

tags: productivity evernote news
Jure Klepic: Social Media Influence Is Much More Than This Forbes List Shows

Jure Klepic nails it in his critique of the Forbes 2013 list of Social Media influencers. If you're clueless about social media, don't make a list. Jure says "It seems that today everyone thinks they can write and preach about influence, even though they have no clue as to what influence is. In order to rank people on the ability to influence we need to understand influence, not just define it. When people just try to define influence they come away with something as useless as what is used in this post. The real definition of influence is quite simple -- influence is the power to sway. But understanding influence is far more than just knowing this definition. Understanding influence in contemporary online world means understanding contemporary notions of identity and identity construction. Identity, ideas of person and self are cultural constructs; they are ideas and values that are part of our culture. So the real question here should not be who will make the next Forbes list, but how can the author of an article about influence omit the names of so many of the brightest and best thought leaders in the field? "

tags: education news social media edu_news
Encouraging Global Connections and Digital Citizenship

I had a great conversation with Theresa Allen, IT director in Illinois who has facilitated global connections from Kindergarten through 8th grade. She talks about the "Hello Little world Skypers" project and other projects she does with her students and how you can facilitate change.

tags: education news skype flatclass globalcollaboration communication

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 04/24/2013

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Wed, 24 Apr 2013 02:30:49 PDT

Gearing Up for Common Core in Math

Great conversation with Darren Burris about Common Core math in the classroom and how to adjust your curriculum. Another Every Classroom Matters show.

tags: News common core math
USA TODAY: Latest World and US News - USATODAY.com

The free tool, called Your Privacy Type, requires you to take a brief quiz. Microsoft uses your answers to categorize how much you may, or may not, be concerned about online privacy. The supporting website supplies guidance on how to more proactively gain some measure of privacy.

tags: news education microsoft privacy techintegrator
USA TODAY: Latest World and US News - USATODAY.com

This might be a good time to talk about poverty as superstars are living on just a little. I don't know how they count this because the heating and air on their homes would exceed $1.50 a day. $1.50 a day is the global figure that defines extreme poverty. "Ben Affleck, Josh Groban, Sophia Bush and Debi Mazar are among the celebs who have committed to take the 2013 Live Below the Line challenge issue by The Global Poverty Project. They will live on $1.50 of food and drink a day (no Starbucks for him!) April 29-May 3 to raise awareness about extreme poverty."

tags: news poverty hunger
White House Science Fair - The Washington Post

Photo =gallery from the science fair at the White House. Science teachers should peruse these. I wish every student had to do a science fair project and we'd elevate project based activities to the "status" of doing well on an SAT or other test. I think these require a lot more higher order thinking and problem solving. "President Obama hosts the White House Science Fair to celebrate the student winners of a broad range of science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) competitions from across the country. He met students in the East Garden of the White House, and they explained their science projects and experiments to him. Marvin Joseph / The Washington Post"

tags: education news stem edu_news science
Comedy Central to Host Comedy Festival on Twitter - NYTimes.com

Next week, you can attend a 5 day comedy show. The hashtag is #comedyfest and it is being cohosted with Comedy Central and Twitter. Here's the New York times article on this event. Will be a neat follow for your personal life.

tags: news social media twitter
Texas Legislators Seek to Pare Standardized Tests - NYTimes.com

Texas is going to cut down testing. This is a wise move for many reasons. Some states are cutting out teachers and the same time increasing spending on test taking. Such decisions harm learning no matter what test you take. "“Testing companies are in the business of making a profit, but let’s not confuse their mission — their mission is to create as many tests as they can and then grade them at as little cost as possible,” the chairman of the Senate Education Committee, Dan Patrick, Republican of Houston, said Tuesday at a hearing on a comprehensive education bill that would reduce the number of high-stakes tests students must pass to graduate."

tags: education news testing pearson

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

9 Fine Reasons to Keep a Journal (and how to help kids do it too)

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 03:57:34 PDT

A Gratitude Journal
can improve your well being
more than winning a million
dollars in the lottery.
Why not start one today?
(Photo credit: limevelyn)

Journaling is on my habit list every day. I keep 2 kinds of journals daily:

Narrative journal. Observations on life. God's blessings. Questions I'm seeking to answer.
Joy Journal. I aim to write 20 things a day I'm thankful for. Research studies have shown that keeping a 5 minute a day gratitude journal will "increase your long term well being" more than winning a million dollars in the lottery. I started my joy journal this spring break as my eye was bandaged from skin cancer surgery. (See 11 ways to be positive when spring break isn't all you planned.)

At first I just kept a journal because I think I'm just made to write. It is what I do. But I've been journaling now for 37 years and have shelves of them and a notebook in Evernote and I'd like to share with you the ways that keeping a journal have improved my life.

Keeping a daily journal has helped me:

1. Add meaning to the moments.

There are times I look at my children when my heart overflows. I capture those emotions like a picture on the page of my journal. Other times, I'm frustrated, those pictures are there too. Life is a beautiful wonderful gift and it shouldn't be squandered.

My son is graduating this year. It has been a joy to read my entries from when he was born. The prayers I prayed in writing when I found out I was pregnant with him. The struggles that we've come through together. My journal is a gift I gave to myself. Sometimes two sentences tell me all I need to know about a period of my life and blank dates scream out in sadness for the lost meaning.

2. Process emotions.

When his wife died, CS Lewis wrote:

“What would H. think of this terrible little notebook to which I come back and back? Are these jottings morbid? ...But what am I to do? I must have some drug, and reading isn’t a strong enough drug now.”

When we lost everything when our pecan grove went under water in 1994 and as I became a stay at home Mom, I was full of emotions. Many advocate journaling because of the catharsis, or cleansing effect it has on your heart and life. I agree. Journaling keeps me emotionally healthy.

3. Capture thoughts.

It isn't always time to write, but it is always time to capture thoughts that you may want to write about later. I have a fantastic post drafted up on a stray page after I played paint ball the first time (when I turned 40.) I still read it and will at some point write it. I remember the event like it was yesterday because I captured it in ink.

I use vJournal that links to Evernote to journal daily. It creates a notebook by year and each note is a day. I snap pictures, add thoughts, put down things I need to do and review these as part of the daily review.

4. Gain clarity.

When you're struggling and capture thoughts, you can gain great clarity by reading back through the days. The self-awareness I gain from looking back at moments and stressors helps me clearly make decisions.

Why do I always mention that person when I'm upset? Why does that always bother me? In an emotional lather, what we think are our problems often aren't. As I goal set, scanning through the previous year helps me act with intention and purpose. Journals help you be more self-aware.

5. Leave a Legacy.

I have special journals for each of my children. During times in their lives, I've gone into the journals and told them how I feel at that moment. When you're struggling with the tough teenage years or the terrible two's, telling your child that you loved them through it all is very affirming.

My Mom has a journal for me that she's been keeping all my life. I'll get it one day. I'll do the same for my children. I want the last thing they get from me to be the words that I love them. In a legacy journal, you live on. I do tell them those things today but often, the words are missed amidst busy-ness.

6. Remember.

There are things we all want to remember. For me, I want to remember the times when God has spoken very clearly to me on a matter I've been praying about. We all have important moments that we want to remember and use your journal for that, whatever they are whether they are dreams, Bible verses, or funny things that happen.

7. Develop your voice

My voice wasn't developed on this blog, but in my journal over 37 years. There are times I played with words, rewrote things and tinkered. Journaling helps you find your voice and lets you write what you think without the pressure of anyone looking.

8. To Create.

Journals are a great place to play "what if." I ponder on great leaders and ask questions about life. I write poetry and sketch silly things. I draft outlines for books I haven't written yet. My journal is a playground for my mind.

9. To Release.

When I can't sleep because I keep replaying something or keep thinking about something, I grab my journal, head to the den, and write it down. Moments after getting the upset-ness on a page (usually combined with written prayers), I'm sleeping like I was hit with a brick. ;-)

Journaling has so many benefits. You may not be a fantastic writer but your life will be improved if you journal.

How can teachers encourage journaling and respect privacy?

I had a teacher in middle school who taught me all of the beauty and excitement of journaling with daily prompts. The feedback she gave me encouraged me to write. Of course, there are things you won't write when you know a teacher is watching and she let us fold back pages that we wanted to keep private as long as she could see that some text was peeking out of the left margin, she would respect that.

I would love to know how you journal and teach journaling in the comments.

Thank you, I read every comment. Sometimes when you comment the first time, there is a delay in posting it, but I review these and will approve you. This is to prevent spam.

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 04/23/2013

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 02:30:41 PDT

LA Class 2013: Teaching An Old Student New Tricks?

Do you want to know what a student thinks about genius learning? Read Melina's thoughts about this practice in 12th grad english. ""What are the projects on?"-you might ask. The topic and the project is completely up to us to decide. If we are interested in how to make a good documentary or how to play an instrument, teaching ourselves and researching that topic can be our project. This new way of learning is very peculiar to me, but also very intriguing. For so long I have been told what to know and taught how to know it, but never once did I really felt in control of my learning. It felt like the knowledge went into my brain, stayed their until after my exams, and then was thrown away like a smooth stone into a lake, out of my reach forever. But when you are passionate about something and can lear"

tags: education news geniushour genius
My Own Genius Hour: This is why...

Here are some genius hour topics from Joy Kirr and her students. She's one of the 4 authors of the genius manifesto and I'm talking to them today. I love the simple genius plans of these students Joy contemplated about on this day. One is investigating the quesiton "what makes us human?" and the other wants to perform random acts of kindness after surveying others and finding the types of random acts of kindness they had enjoyed in their lives, if any.

tags: education news geniushours. google20% geniushour passion
21st Century Learning. 21st Century Leadership. - Integrating Technology: My Journey

I'm interviewing Gallit Zvi from British Columbia, Canada today on Every Classroom matters (should post in about a week) about genius hour and I was intrigued by this post on her blog about how her school "looks." While some of these points have inspired questions (they can cook for their family in lieu of copying spelling sentences, for example) others have me wishing we could do the same thing (entrepreneur fair where students have a sales idea, craft a business plan and make and sell products.) It is worth a peek inside this fascinating classroom and school which uses genius hour among other things.

tags: education passion google20% geniushour news bestpractices

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 04/21/2013

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Sun, 21 Apr 2013 02:30:49 PDT

Faith, Trust and Chalk Dust: Spring is in the air

I love how this teacher used both sides of the brain to engage her students in test review. They painted, wrote and reviewed. Here here!

tags: education news testing elemchat all_teachers
Big Data News Roundup: Correlation vs. Causation - Forbes

The discussions about "big data" are receiving pushback who believe the conclusions are erroneous. Note that this is tied up in learning analytics as well. "Cuzzillo is joined by a growing chorus of critics that challenge some of the breathless pronouncements of big data enthusiasts. Specifically, it looks like the backlash theme-of-the-month is correlation vs. causation, possibly in reaction to the success of Viktor Mayer-Schönberger and Kenneth Cukier’s recent big data book in which they argued for dispensing “with a reliance on causation in favor of correlation”"

tags: news big data analytics learning
Google Glass Has One Year To Change Your Behavior or Fail - Forbes

One year? I'm not sure how we're going to change in one year when no one can get the Google glasses yet. How will these be used in the classroom?

tags: education news google
How Pearson Cheats on State Tests | Diane Ravitch's blog

Diane Ravitch calls it. Read her blog post on this major ethical issue. I think we need an independent testing company. Isn't there a conflict of interest here when a company creates textbooks and the test? "I am an 8th grade teacher in Xxxx, NY. On Day 1 of the NYS ELA 8 Exam, I discovered what I believe to be a huge ethical flaw in the State test. The state test included a passage on why leaves change color that is included in the Pearson-generated NYS ELA 8 text. I taught it in my class just last week. In a test with 6 passages and questions to complete in 90 minutes, it was a huge advantage to students fortunate enough to use a Pearson text and not that of a rival publisher. It may very well have an impact on student test scores. This has not yet received any attention in the press. Could you help me bring this to the attention of the public?"

tags: education edreform news pearson edu_news
School principals and the rhetoric of ‘instructional leadership’

Great article by Larry Cuban on the Washington Post that you should forward to principals. "Yet studies of principal behavior in schools makes clear that spending time in classrooms to observe, monitor, and evaluate classroom lessons do not necessarily lead to better teaching or higher student achievement on standardized tests. Where there is a correlation between principals’ influence on teachers and student performance, it occurs when principals create and sustain an academic ethos in the school, organize instruction across the school, and align school lessons to district standards and standardized test items. There is hardly any positive association between principals walking in and out of classrooms a half-dozen times a day and conferring briefly with teaches about those five-minute visits.The reality of daily principal actions conflicts with the theory."

tags: education principal leadership news edreform edu_news
New standardized tests feature plugs for commercial products

Disgusting. Via the Washington Post So many things going wrong. "Talk about corporate-based school reform. New high-stakes standardized tests aligned with the Common Core State Standards are featuring plugs for commercial products. And the companies didn’t have to pay a penny. Yes, New York state students who this past week took Pearson-designed exams were just treated to plugs for LEGO, Mug Root Beer and more products from at least half a dozen companies, according to the New York Post."

tags: education news edreform testing
Gifted Exam Scoring Flaws Are Uncovered - WSJ.com

Tests are important. They should be accurate. Not only should they be audited, but I think that districts should have a pre-look at tests and strike questions that aren't taught to kids. It isn't fair to the kids to be tested on material they aren't taught. "Thousands of students were incorrectly told they weren't eligible for the city's gifted-and-talented public-school program due to errors by the testing company, city officials said Friday. The errors affected 4,735 children, or 13.2% of test takers, who are now eligible for gifted programs, including 2,037 students who are newly eligible for elite schools that accept students from across the city who scored in the 97th percentile or above. Test maker Pearson PSON.LN +0.09% PLC discovered the errors after two parents last week took their concerns about the scoring to Department of Education officials. The British-based company found it made an error on the students' ages and two errors in calculating their scores."

tags: education news edreform

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.

Daily Education and Technology News for Schools 04/20/2013

coolcatteacher@gmail.com (Victoria A Davis, Cool Cat Teacher) — Sat, 20 Apr 2013 02:30:41 PDT

Habit Mastery: Creating the New Normal : zenhabits

Leo Babauta gives great advice on forming new habits. As you think about the habits that need to change in your life, read this thought provoking post. "Here’s the process: Start small. What’s the smallest increment you can do? Do this for at least 3 days, preferably 4-5. Get started. Starting the change each day is the most important thing. Want to run? Just get out the door. Want to meditate? Just get on the cushion. Enjoy the change. Don’t look at this as a sacrifice. It’s fun, it’s learning, it’s a challenge. Stick to the change. Notice your urge to quit. Don’t act on it. Keep going. Adjust again. When the change becomes normal, make another small adjustment. This is the process of creating a new normal. It’s beautiful and simple."

tags: education news habits mindfulness self awareness selfcontrol
Top Blogging Mistakes - Platform Tip #3 - Michael Hyatt - YouTube

I enjoy Michael Hyatt's podcast. He has great content. This is good advice on why you're making mistakes on your blog. (I think I need to listen to tip #3 and shorten my posts. ;-)

tags: education news blogging blogchat
Free Technology for Teachers: Check Out The Great New Features in Socrative

Socrative has even more cool features. Richard Byrne gives an overview on on of my favorite blogs, Free Tech for Teachers. "Socrative's new image option could be great for asking mathematics questions that are diagram based. The image option could also be great for world languages teachers to post a picture of an object that students have to identify in the language that they're learning. And the new automatic grading option could save you a ton of time that you can then invest in something else. "

tags: education news socrative eduapp edu_newapp

Posted from Diigo. The rest of my favorite links are here.