After leaving Sprenger’s session on Monday, I picked up her new book, Brain-Based Teaching in the Digital Age, in the ASCD bookstore and proceeded to read the first half on the flight home.  So far I’m pretty impressed.  The book is broken down into the following sections. :

• Part 1: Digital Technology & the Brain
• Part 2: Desk Space, MySpace, My Style
• Part 3: Music, Mind Maps, and Memory
• Part 4: Balancing Digital Desires with Digital Natives’ Needs

In each section Sprenger references current brain research and proven instructional strategies and mixes these ideas with what we know about digital natives’ use of technology for learning and entertainment.  So far, the book has me thinking a little more deeply about how I would organize my classroom and which tools (digital or analog) make the most sense for teaching a particular instructional goal.  If you’re looking for some reading on brain-based teaching and working with digital students I would definitely recommend picking up Sprenger’s book.  The Introduction is posted online on the ASCD website, as well as a study guide should you be interested in using it for a book study.

Joe

Another great article from: JoeWoodOnline.com

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Last week Google created a nice little PDF outlining just how Google Docs can improve the writing process and thanks to my friend Colette in Oregon I am posting it here.  When you have a moment take a look at the document and start imagining how Google Docs could help your students.  I should also mention that Google Docs is actually part of a larger collection of tools known as Google Apps.  Below is a little blurb I copied from the Google Edu overview document.

“Google Apps gives your campus the power to securely create, share, communicate, and collaborate from any web browser.  With Gmail, Google Calendar, Google Docs, Google Sites, and Google Video, Google brings collaboration to your existing systems without adding servers, software, or maintenance.  Built for interoperability, Google Apps builds productivity across your campus and provides your students, staff, and faculty with the accessibility, easy collaboration, and maintenance-free updates that Google’s web-based solutions deliver. Google Apps Education Edition is free for educational institutions.”

Did you happen to notice that it is free?!?!?  So, now I guess the only real question is why don’t your students have access to Google Apps for Education?  Don’t worry you aren’t alone.  I’m asking the same question myself.

Joe

Another great article from: JoeWoodOnline.com

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On Saturday at ASCD, Geoffrey Canada was the keynote speaker during the general session.  The theme of his presentation was “Educating the Whole Child” and through this lens he explained his organization, the Harlem Children’s Zone.  The Harlem Children’s Zone consists of a 97-block area in New York City’s Harlem where the community is focused on improving the lives of the neighborhood’s youth.  I originally learned about the Harlem Children’s Zone, HCZ, during an episode of 60 Minutes a few months ago (the video is posted above).  Initially while watching the promo for the HCZ segment I thought, “what an arrogant man.”  However, after watching the actual statement I believed wholeheartedly he was on to something…and something I needed to learn more about.

As many readers know before making my move to the district office I taught 8th grade science at a high-tech middle school.  Demographically, the students at my middle school were not that different that the children of the Harlem Children’s Zone.  Many of these students came from single-parent homes, lived in poverty, and were academically far behind their peers at other middle schools in the same district.  As a teacher I can honestly say that I felt ill-equipped to work at that school.  I knew the system wasn’t working, but I couldn’t exactly identify the solution either.  Many nights I went home emotionally and physically exhausted, convinced my efforts were futile, only to return the next morning unsure of what I should do differently.  I left this school feeling like I never really had the answer.  Since moving the the district office this school has always been my “home” and I have continued to feel connected to the students, teachers, administrators and staff.  When I first saw Canada’s segment on 60 Minutes I felt like I might be learning about the beginning to the answer

According to Canada’s speech at ASCD, the HCZ operates with 5 key elements:

1. Start Young

As soon as children are born in the 97-block HCZ they are actively prepared to enter school.  Until children are three years of age parents attend “Baby College” where they learn how to create home environments with positive, effective instructional moments based on the science of brain development.  At four years old children start attending school.  For their first year instruction focuses on preparing students for kindergarten by ensuring they will be on grade level.  Classes are taught in Spanish, English, and French, the three most common languages in the HCZ.  Since the inception of this program every single student has entered kindergarten on grade level.  As students move beyond kindergarten the school and its services stay with the student through college.

2. School as a Community Center

The Harlem Children’s Zone is more than an educational institution.  The school is the heart of the community and on its campus students and families have access to medical and dental care, social workers, recreation, and governmental services.

3. Accountability – Adults are Held Responsible

In the Harlem Children’s Zone adults are fully responsible for the students’ education and welfare.  Canada described the school as a “no excuses” environment where all adults “do whatever it takes” to help all students succeed.  For example, when students were falling behind the teachers started a Saturday school.  Also, school calendars and teaching assignments have been adjusted to ensure all students succeed.

4. Safe & Involved Communities

During his speech Canada argued that we cannot have students living in communities where we wouldn’t live.  As a result, he has worked with his teachers, parents, and community groups to help clean up the neighborhood surrounding the Harlem Children’s Zone.  To illustrate his point Canada described a recent Halloween where gang members had threatened to stab children who were out trick-or-treating.  Rather than following his staff’s initial suggestion of closing down the school for the evening to keep everyone safe, Canada worked with his teachers, parents, and community members to have adults out and about in the neighborhood that evening.  Canada explained, “teenagers can’t run our neighborhoods” and “adults need to be in control.”

5. Data & Evaluation

At the Harlem Children’s Zone data drives everything they do from meeting instructional goals to ensuring students are actually attending school.  Part of the success of the HCZ has come from the ability to collect, read, analyze, and plan based on real-time data.

To close his keynote address Canada discussed three final thoughts for the audience as each of us moves forward in our own schools.  These ideas included:

1. Opportunities

We need to provide many opportunities for our students to succeed and find their “hooks” into school.  These can include music, the arts, reading certain books, after-school sports, and technology.  Its our responsibility as educators to repeatedly present opportunities to students and find the one thing that will connect a child to education.

2. Working Both Ends

While we need to help prepare students to enter kindergarten on grade level we also have to work with the students who are currently in our school systems.  We need to connect emotionally and intellectually with these students and “do what ever it takes.”  As Canada described, “we must save the drowners while also preventing future drowning at the same time.”

3. Thinking Outside the Box

Finally, as educators we must constantly think outside the box.  We have to be willing to try anything to capture students’ attention and interests.  At the Harlem Children’s Zone they have even gone as far as paying students for grades.

Even a few days later I still find myself reflecting on Canada’s speech.  Many districts like mine are struggling with how to most effectively help students of poverty.  As I think about my own experiences working with these students I can’t help but feel that we, are not doing enough.  Often students of poverty attend low-performing schools and with a strong desire to drastically improve test scores these schools tend to focus only on academics.  However, what we really need to do is focus on building relationships not only with the students, but with their community at-large.  The “we” that isn’t doing enough is more that just the school system.  As a larger community we need to find the”hooks” to engage students in learning and help them see the value in getting an education.

Joe

Another great article from: JoeWoodOnline.com

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My first session at Yong Zhao started bright and early 8am on Saturday.  Keep in mind this was 6am Pacific, so I wasn’t sure my brain was going to fire on all cylinders.  Fortunately, there was a Starbucks in the lobby of my hotel with a short line!  I was really excited to hear Zhao speak.  Above is an introduction video from the ASCD website.  Zhao also has a second, very interesting video on the Mobile Learning Website.

A few months ago ASCD sent out his latest book, Catching Up or Leading the Way to ASCD members.  Unfortunately, I was not a member yet and missed the book, but my colleague Cheryl has raved about it for months.  In Catching Up or Leading the Way Zhao’s premise is that as Americans we might want to rethink our constant comparisons between our students and those in the rest of the world.  The same theme lead the way throughout his ASCD presentation (downloadable PDF).

Zhao documented how for decades Americans have compared themselves to other nations predicting dire consequences of impending failure.  These comparisons have often led to cries for reform to adjust the American educational system so that it mirrors these other nations.  Ironically, at the same time these countries to are trying to emulate the US educational system.  For example, currently many Americans are concerned that students in China, India, and other industrialized countries are performing better on international standardized tests.  This concern has lead to calls for stronger accountability, more testing, and national content standards.  Zhao cited Race to the Top and No Child Left Behind as simply the latest example of “reactionary policies to the misconception that America’s children are falling behind.”  Meanwhile in countries like China policymakers are trying desperately to emulate the American education system out of concerns that their schools are producing “really good test-takers with limited critical thinking skills.”  According to Zhao China is currently in the midst of implementing the following educational reforms:

1. Getting high schools to use information other than test scores to recruit and admit students,
2. Movement away from a core, centralized curriculum,
3. Incorporating teaching strategies that build critical thinking skills.

As an example of how these international tests might actually tell us very little, Zhao referred to the First International Mathematics Study given in 1964 to 13 year-olds where the United States finished second to last.  Forty-years later (when these 13 year olds were now 53) each nation’s test score was compared with 2002 data points for economic growth, wealth, quality of life, democracy, livability, and creativity.  Interestingly, each of these data points had a negative correlation with the 1964 data, meaning the better a nation performed on these exams the worse they were doing for that data point in 2002.

While the validity of international tests may be in question, the world has also experienced another massive change in the past 40 years – globalization.  Through technology and improvements in transportation efficiency more and more jobs are being off-shored to countries such as India and China where the labor force and raw materials are cheaper.  Globalization really begs the question do we want to be just like our competitors? This isn’t a healthy business practice, so is it a healthy educational policy?  To reinforce this concept, Zhao referred to the following quote from  Tough Choices or Tough Times by New Commission on the Skills of the American Workforce:

“Today, Indian engineers make $7,500 a year against $45,000 for an American engineer with the same qualifications. If we succeed in matching the very high levels of mastery of mathematics and science of these Indian engineers – an enormous challenge for this country – why would the world’s employers pay us more than they have to pay the Indians to do their work? They would be willing to do that only if we could offer something that the Chinese and Indians, and others, cannot.”

Keeping these ideas in mind Zhao referred to the work of  Amy Chua, How Hyperpowers Rise to Global Dominance and Why They Fail, and Richard Florida, The Rise of the Creative Class.  In both of these works what really matters most for a civilization is diversity of talents, creativity, tolerance, technology, and entrepreneurship.  According to Zhao we really don’t have an achievment gap as much as we have a creativity gap.  Bringing all of this work together, Zhao made the following recommendations for America’s schools as we move into the 21st Century

1. Personalized Learning – Tailor education to each individual’s need, interest, and aptitude
2. Schools as Global Enterprises – Local autonomy, but with a global market and resources

Global Products
Global Resources – online resources galore
Global Market – with online learning who are you teaching?
Global Staffing – could you hire a Mandarin teacher in China to teach your students with videoconferencing?

3. Never Send a Man to Do a Machine’s Job

Technology should do things people don’t do well or can’t do – data management, repetition, multimedia learning, classroom response systems, video conferences

4. Input-Based Accountability – “What educational opportunity am I providing my students?” Might be a more realistic measure of performance.

Education is a faith-based business – what you do today will not show up for many years.  This is very similar to going to church.  We don’t stand up after the sermon and ask, “Pastor how have I grown?” because its not realistic. We should be paying strong attention to the following areas:
a. Physical Environment
b. Leadership
c. Learning Facilities
d. Teacher Quality
e. Diverse Opportunities
f. Tolerance
g. Student Voice

While Zhao’s session was quite fascinating and an interesting look at globalization and international competitiveness his message is only truly valuable in how it shapes my practice. Reflecting on Zhao’s message I am even more convinced that we have been moving in the wrong direction. Our schools and teachers must move in the direction of helping students become independent, creative, thoughtful and compassionate global learners. This does not mean that we abandon content standards or even our core curriculum. What it might mean though is that we abandon drill-and-kill direct instruction, lock-step fidelity to curriculum manuals and pacing guides, and the solitary focus on one annual high-stakes test. From a more revolutionary perspective it might also mean we abandon our current assumptions of school. Should the school day run from 8-3 for 180 days? Should students only attend school with students in their neighborhood or could we have them attend school virtually with students from all over the world? Why do we have grade levels, would it make more sense to organize students by current abilities? As you can see there are tons to rethink. Ultimately, if I just change one thing though it will be the notion of incorporating these ideas into all trainings I do in the future.  For example, I will no longer show a teacher how to use a wiki unless we also have a conversation about how these tools can help build communication, collaboration, and written communication skills with students from the same class or school…or even with students who live a world away.

Joe

Another great article from: JoeWoodOnline.com

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This year in light of drastic budget cuts and state funding shortages I feel very lucky to be able to attend the ASCD Conference in San Antonio.  A colleague of mine, describing her strategy for selecting sessions, referred to ASCD as “all gurus all the time” and she was right!  So far the conference has been amazing.   I’ve attended phenomenal sessions by:

• Yong Zhao
• Geoffrey Canada
• Michael Fullan
• Debra Pickering
• Robert Marzano
• Robyn Jackson
• Don Tapscott

My only complaint so far is that there are too many great sessions at the same time.  I will definitely have to make use of the MP3/CD files and online resources when I get back to Sacramento.  When I have a few spare moments and a robust wireless connection I will be posting and solidifying my thoughts here.  This year’s theme is “Critical Transformations.”  On the ASCD website many of the speakers have posted videos with their thoughts on critical transformations. Check it out.  I posted Tapscott’s above.

Joe

Another great article from: JoeWoodOnline.com

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Sharing Stories with Google Earth: Joe will be live at 2pm (PST) today from the CUE 2010 Conference in Palm Springs.

• CUE Conference Information

UPDATE (3pm PST) – Unfortunately, the conference center where Joe’s presenting doesn’t allow Ustream.tv access.  Go figure.  So Joe recorded the presentation and will be uploading it.  As soon as it’s available, we’ll post it here.  Our apologies for those of you that hung in there to see if he would ever come up live!

Another great article from: JoeWoodOnline.com

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Quite often I get asked questions like, “What exactly does an instructional technologist do?” “Why should teachers be using technology in their classroom?”  “How can interactive whiteboards be used for student learning?”  A student in our district nominated her math teacher for News10 Teacher of the Month.  I’m fortunate enough to know this student (along with her fantastic mom) and the personal story of how technology in conjunction with a engaging, relevant, and caring teacher has helped this student reach honors student status in a subject that she previously called her “worst class” for many years.

Take a moment to watch the video.  It does a great job of showing how technology, specifically academic discourse conversations facilitated by a classroom response system and video lessons on an iPods, can assist an effective teacher in reaching new academic heights with their students.

Joe

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One of my favorite new books, and this week’s Book of the Week is The Digital Writing Workshopby Troy Hicks. In this book Hicks makes a compelling case for taking Writing Workshop into the 21st Century by adding technology for every step of the process.  From using RSS and social bookmarking to build student inquiry and choice to examining author’s craft through multimedia composition, Hicks clearly describes how technology can help students build their writing skills through a variety of tools.  I’ve only had the book for two weeks, but the cover is already well worn and the pages are full of notes and highlighter marks.  Between The Digital Writing Workshop and compelling stories shared by principals at our Writing Workshop schools,  I am starting to think about how I can incorporate Writing Workshop into subjects outside of Language Arts and use it as the basis for technology electives.  The marriage of technology and Writing Workshop naturally allows students to build the 21st Century Skills of information literacy, communication and collaboration, critical thinking, and media and technology literacy.  When you have a moment check out The Digital Writing Workshop and even join the Ning for the book.

Joe

Another great article from: JoeWoodOnline.com

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If you attended the CalSPRA workshop today and are looking for the link to my presentation on 21st Century Teaching & Learning click on the image above.  Even if you’re just a lurker and curious what I was talking about, that’s okay too.  CalSPRA – thank you for taking the time to allow me to speak to your group and discuss meeting the needs of our 21st Century students.

Joe

Another great article from: JoeWoodOnline.com

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2. About
3. Projects

Joe

Photo: Blogging Research Wordle by Kristina B

Another great article from: JoeWoodOnline.com

Related posts:

1. About
2. Projects
3. Contact Me