Monday, October 18, 2010

Give it a Real-life Context

Recently my family and I moved back to Australia and one of our first tasks was to buy a car, a process that made me realise the usefulness of mobile technology and the importance of having well honed research and critical literacy skills.

I was amazed at how car sellers, private, dealers, and auctions, have embraced technology and enabled prospective buyers to do most of the leg work from the comfort of their home - I could even register for the auctions online and do the bidding from my computer or phone.  Doing the research enabled me to walk into buying situations armed with knowledge and information (and confidence) that leveled the playing field.

Over a 10 day period I was amazed by how much my knowledge of the car market grew.  I was also amazed by how refined my research skills became and by how much more proficient I became at using the available technologies to meet my needs.  Throughout this process it became very apparent that real-life problems (tasks) generate authentic and real-life learning.  I kept thinking what a great project this would be for grade 11 or 12 students; give them a virtual budget and have them do the research to virtually buy a car, something that would be relevant and meaningful to them. This could then be accompanied by a justification for their choice that highlights the reasons for their decision based on their research along with a reflection of what worked and what they would do differently next time.

Tools that I used:

  • A number of different sites to find cars for sale and view images
  • Forums and review sites to gain information on particular vehicles
  • Google maps to locate auction sites and addresses for private sellers
  • Email to communicate with sellers

Tools that I would use when doing this again:

  • A smart phone would be invaluable for accessing information when at the auction site or at a private sellers home
  • Twitter would be valuable for gaining feedback on particular models and makes of cars
  • Google docs to collate and share information on vehicles of interest
  • Diigo to share links to vehicles with my wife

Providing students with real-life problems that require real-life skills generates authentic interest and engagement in the learning.  Assessment tasks placed in a real-life context provide opportunities for a wide range of knowledge and skill application and the utilization of technology to consolidate and transfer understanding.

Everything Old is New Again

Over the course of my blogging years I have created a number of blogs, however each time I have set up a new one it has been done so using a different account.  Recently I have consolidated these accounts into one so I can easily manage my personal and professional blogs from the one account - now I know that most of you are thinking, "why didn't you just do that from the beginning?"  This is a good question, the answer to which is "I don't know!"  I am just glad that I have finally pulled things together.

This particular blog is a rehash of one that I was writing when I working at an international school in South Korea.  I have removed the school specific posts, however there are still some references to activities and people at that school in some of the archived posts.  The blog has a new name, a new look, and a new location - I am now living in Australia and will be posting about issues, initiatives, and tech integration here in the southern hemisphere.  I look forward to reading your comments and thoughts through this blog.

Wednesday, February 24, 2010

How do you communicate?

As an educational administrator I spend a lot of time developing ways that we can strengthen the partnership between the parents and the school. Reflecting on some of the initiatives that we have introduced this year to achieve this strengthening I have realized that it really comes down to one major component - communication. Not simply communication in the form of parents receiving information from the school (although this is part of it) but genuine 2-way communication that involves sharing, brainstorming, discussing, and problem solving collaboratively.

This year we have increased the number of opportunities for parents to come to school and meet face to face with the Teachers, the Counselors, the MYP Coordinator, the Tech Coordinator, and the Administrators. I was very pleased at our last meeting when the number of parents in attendance was almost triple that of our last meeting. One of the contributing factors to this improved attendance was the use of SMS texting to inform the MS parent of the event. This reminder text was sent by our PTA VP in the MS and we are very thankful for her willingness to do this.

Seeing the success of this has prompted us to set up an SMS account that enables the MS secretary to send a bulk message to all the MS parents at once. We plan to use the texting service to remind parents of school events including meetings and sporting jamborees, as well as SCA and PTA events being hosted at GSIS. We also envision this being a great way to communicate reminders and notes to our students as well.

We hope that this form of communication, combined with our MS Blog, emails, phone calls, and face to face meetings, will help in our efforts to continue the strengthening of our parent/school partnership through efficient and regular communication.

Monday, February 22, 2010

Differentiating and Collaborating

This afternoon during our PD time I had the opportunity to continue the great work that has been done by our MYP Coordinator and resident UbD guru, MrFambro, by working with the faculty who are nearing the end of their stage 2 UbD unit. At the same time Mr Fambro was continuing Ms Leigh's wonderful work with the stage 1 group.

The goals for this afternoon were:
  1. Determine the relationship between the "6 Facets of Understanding" and Bloom's Taxonomy
  2. To individually and then collaboratively review a unit of work and offer feedback and guidance on how the unit could be improved to become exemplary

As we worked through our discussions and activities it became very evident just how powerful differentiating professional development can be. All the faculty involved in the stage 2 session had very similar levels of understanding and therefore everybody was able to contribute confidently and knowledgebly. This enabled the discussion to become richer and the level of understanding to go deeper.

When we shared our feedback and guidance at the end of the unit review I was truly inspired by the comments and suggestions that the faculty made. Through collaborating and sharing our expertise and ideas we were able to take a good unit of work and turn it into something that is now exemplary. It was a wonderful process of collaboration yeilding positive results that will ultimately benefit student learning and outcomes. I am really looking to continuing this work next Monday during our Teacher workday.

That's why differentiated PD and collaboration are so important - because they are good for student (and teacher) learning.

Friday, February 19, 2010

Are you a Blogger?

Blogging is a very popular web tool for educators, particularly for international educators. It enables people to write about their overseas travels so their family and friends back home can keep up to date with their adventures. It also enables people to write and share about their teaching and resources they have found useful.

Patrick Larkin, Principal at Burlington HS and guest Blogger on Free Technology for Teachers this week, writes a very interesting post that points out why every Principal needs a blog. I would take this one step further by saying that every Principal (and educator) needs to read blogs. Why? By engaging in the blogosphere you become part of a professional learning network where many talented and dedicated professional educators around the world share best practice and resources through their blogs.

Last night as I scrolled through my Google Reader I felt like I was engaged in a professional development workshop - there were so many links to valuable educational resources and rich discussions related to blog posts! This type of professional networking really is inspiring and can only help to improve educational practice as educators engage with colleagues from around the world through the sharing of thoughts, opinions, articles, resources, links, and ideas.

Wednesday, February 10, 2010

Lunar New Year

Living in Asia has afforded me many opportunities to participate in and learn about cultural traditions and celebrations. One of the major ones has been Lunar New Year. I have been lucky enough to celebrate the Lunar New Year here in Korea as well as in Beijing, and this year we will travel to Taipei for the New Year break.

This really is a wonderful celebration and it is a great time to see how the different Asian nations celebrate this special event. Two things that I always associate with this time of year are the color red and the smell of firecracker smoke. These cultural experiences are one of the true highlights of being an international educator.

Image Credit

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

21st Century Educators

21st Century is a term that is used a lot, particularly in education. Along with this term there is often debate and conversation revolving around exactly what this means. Kim Cofino's article, 5 Tips to Becoming a 21st Century Educator, highlights the importance of not just doing things differently in the classroom, but also outside of the classroom.

Being a 21st century educator means utilizing the available technology to engage and collaborate with professionals from around the world, not just the ones within your school walls. Learning with and from colleagues who are dedicated to educational best practice is stimulating and inspiring - your professional learning network (PLN) may just turn out to be the best professional development you have participated in for a long while. I justify this statement with 3 reasons:
  1. It's ongoing - your PLN is not a 2 day conference that invigorates you for a week or two, it invigorates, inspires, and challenges everyday!
  2. It's ready when you are - the PLN is ongoing and does not require you to miss classes or school days to participate (it doesn't even penalize you if you miss a couple of days)
  3. It's Just In Time (JIT) - when you have a specific question that needs to be answered, or some help with a particular issue or problem, your PLN is there ready to offer advice, answers, and solutions
Being a 21st century educator isn't about technology, it's about being connected and engaged with professionals from all over the world. Today's technology simply makes it a lot easier to do this.

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

A Great Time to be in Education!

With Dr Penland, Mr Petrey, and Mr Wendling currently in Canada and the US for recruiting, my meeting schedule has lightened somewhat. This has enabled me to spend more time in the classrooms - in the last two days I have been in 20 different middle school classes. I have observed so much learning and so much enjoyment and engagement in these classes! Here's some of what I have observed:
  • Grade 8 students creating stop animation movies in Design Tech - displaying real inquiry
  • Grade 6 students writing short stories and sharing these with their peers - examples of great thinkers and communicators
  • Grade 7 and 8 students learning the finer points of volleyball - a great example of being balanced
  • Grade 6 students performing in a guitar ensemble - another example of balance and also of being knowledgeable and taking risks
  • Grade 6 students participating in drama activities involving lots of movement and risk taking
  • Grade 7 students researching the countries of South America - demonstrating very open-minded attitudes
  • Grade 6, 7, and 8 students studying the language and cultures of Korea, China, and Spanish speaking nations in their world language classes - students have been taking risks, communicating, inquiring, open-minded and principled
  • Students enjoying the stories of the Bible and learning the value of prayer - thinking students who are balanced and caring
  • Grade 7 students engaging with books and taking their online AR quizzes - communicating their knowledge
  • Grade 7 students taking a Science test, while the grade 6 students were learning all about heat and conduction - students being knowledgeable, inquirers, and risk-takers
  • Grade 8 boys working an interdisciplinary assessment that involves researching North Korea in Humanities and writing the report in their English class - this has really challenged the students to be inquirers, open-minded, caring, principled, and balanced in their views and preconceptions

After a visit to each class I have the same thought - Wow! Our students are learning so much and in so many different and exciting ways. Whether you are a student, a teacher, or an administrator, this really is a wonderful time to be involved in education!

Monday, February 1, 2010

Increasing Global Awareness Through KIVA


In 2008 I was fortunate enough to attend some presentations by Alan November at the EARCOS Administrators' Conference. During one of his presentations he stated that KIVA.org was justification enough that the internet is a good thing.

At that stage I had a personal KIVA account (which I still have) but I had not considered how this micro finance website could be used in education. This year I have been working with our Student Life Minister, Ms Choe to increase our students' global awareness by lending money through KIVA.

Each student contributed 3000 won (roughly $3 USD) that enabled us to create an account that each Home room could use to lend $25 USD to an entrepreneur of their choice. Interacting with the KIVA website and researching the profiles on the site has enabled our students to learn a great deal about developing countries around the world, as well as gaining an awareness of the plight of individuals who need a helping hand in the form of a loan to get their business idea off the ground, or to expand a business that is already running. The monthly updates keep the students engaged with their chosen entrepreneur, and helps them to feel connected as they see the loan being repaid.

This is proving to be a great way for our students to develop a more caring attitude and to engage in an authentic and meaningful way on an ongoing basis. I hope this initiative prompts some of our students and families to look for other ways that they can make a difference.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Differentiate with Twitter

Early in 2009 our MYP Coordinator, Mr Fambro introduced me to Twitter. I signed up for an account and played around with it for a while, but in the beginning I didn't really understand the point of it. During last year's EARCOS Administrators' Conference I began 'following' some colleagues and found that this really improved my connectedness to what was happening at the conference, and also to online resources related to conference topics.

Since then I have started following a network of educators, technology specialists, and people who are devote to infusing technology into education. Following these people has given me access to a professional learning network (PLN) that provides resources, advice, and answers beyond what's available to me within the walls of GSIS. The most exciting part about my Twitter PLN is that the resources are there for me to access when I am ready - these resources are much more valuable and relevant to me when I have a practical for need for them.

In the latest Educational Leadership journal William Ferriter writes about Why Teachers Should Try Twitter. In his article he writes:

What lessons have I learned from Twitter? First, I finally understand how much differentiated learning matters. My own motivation levels have skyrocketed, I'm accessing ideas connected to my professional interests, and I've taken ownership of my own learning.

This is certainly true for me as well. I feel that I am now connected and part of a global team of educators committed to sharing and promoting best educational practice. With the teacher's role now being one of facilitator and learning coach it is increasingly important that we assist our students in developing their own professional learning networks. Twitter may just be one of the tools that we can use for this purpose.

Source: Ferriter, M. (2010) "Why Teachers Should Try Twitter." Educational Leadership, Vol. 67, No. 5, pp 73-74.


Thursday, January 28, 2010

The Apple iPad

I am not what you would call an 'early adopter' of new technology, that is if by technology you mean gadgets and tools - I don't have an iPhone....in fact I have never owned an iPod. I am very interested in the latest technology - I have been listening to music in MP3 format since 1999, that's probably why I prefer a simple MP3 player over an iPod.

I have read (with great interest) all about the Apple iPad that was unveiled today and it sounds pretty cool. I must admit that for a few moments I even thought, "I should get one of those." That was until I started to read a little more about it and came across this article:

What's Missing from the Apple iPad

The questions I have now are:
  • Is it just an oversized iPhone?
  • Is a touch screen/tablet computer?
  • Is it a Kindle/Nook with a lot more features?

If the answer to the last question is yes, then the people at Apple are simply brilliant. It certainly tops other ebook readers in terms of features and it will be a great companion for the iBook store, just like the Kindle is for Amazon.

Now I begin to wonder.....do I "need" an iPhone, an iPad, and a MacBook? I have little doubt that MS students around the world will be telling their parents that they deifinitely need an iPad. This is a great opportunity to research this product together and weigh up its pros and cons, while at the same time strengthening the parent/child relationship. Your kids may be impressed that you even know what an iPad is!

Monday, January 25, 2010

Happy Australia Day!

One of the great things about living and working in an international community is that you get to share in a wide variety of celebrations and holidays from the many different nations and cultures that make up an international school.

January 26 is a big day of celebration in Australia as we commemorate the day back in 1788 that the first fleet arrived in Sydney Cove and raised the Union Jack. I am taking great pride today in celebrating Australia Day with my fellow Aussies here in Korea, as well as sharing with our colleagues from other nations a little about Australia's history and beginnings.

Happy Australia Day!

Wednesday, January 20, 2010

How do you teach students to be Principled?

The IB Learner Profile consists of 10 attributes that students should develop through attending IB schools. Some of these attributes deal with intellectual domain, while others deal with the affective domain. One of the affective attributes is Principled.

This means that we want our students to develop into citizens who are honest and virtuous - but how do we teach this? One way is to engage our students in debate about real-life examples of principled actions, as we as those actions that may not be so principled, like the ones at the following link:

10 News photos that took retouching too far

Our students will be faced with many choices in life so it is important that they are given opportunities to discuss and debate the decisions of others with relation to how principled these decisions have been and how they may relate to the students' own experiences. We cannot and should not underestimate the importance of real-life relevance for improved student engagement and outcomes.

Monday, January 18, 2010

Thinking vs Memorizing

An interesting viewpoint on how intelligence is changing.



What do you think?

Setting Laptop Boundaries at Home

Working in a 1:1 environment is a fantastic experience! Utilizing the available technologies really helps to open up the world of learning and extend education beyond the confines of our school walls.

Of course along with opportunity comes challenge - one of the major ones being how students use their laptops in the home. Having a middle school aged child can be a challenging time for parents in itself, then when you add in a tool that enables students to be connected 24/7 it becomes increasingly more difficult to maintain and develop family relationships. Parents need encouragement, support, and education on how to establish effective boundaries at home that will empower students to become responsible and balanced users of technology.

Tim Bray offers the following 5 tips for parenting in a 1:1 world:
  1. Never allow the computer to be in the bedroom
  2. Set reasonable time limits for computer use
  3. Open communication about everything
  4. Responsible computer use
  5. Help your child with homework
(You can read a further explanation of each point at Tim's blog)

In a 1:1 environment our goal should be to help parents (and teachers and administrators) move from a fear driven control mindset to one where responsible and authentic use of technology can be role modeled and supported. Utilizing the 5 steps above in the home may be a good starting point in this paradigm shift.

Sunday, January 17, 2010

Benefits of an e-Portfolio

Last semester we launched our e-Portfolio in the MS. This semester we continue to work with students on developing and personalizing these portfolios and they will become an integral component in our student-led conferences in March/April.

One of the questions that still pops up from time to time is, "Why do you use e-Portfolios?" This is a good question to which I always respond in terms of benefits for the students. Karen Barnstable has posted "41 Benefits of an e-Portfolio" on her blog. After reading this insightful list I think the question will become, "Why aren't you using e-Portfolios?"

For more information in support of e-Portfolios be sure to visit Ray Tolley's blog, eFolio in the UK.

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Full Engagement and Enjoyment

As I walked down the hall towards Ms Letsche's grade 8 Design Technology room I was struck by a wonderful smell, and I as I got closer the smell got stronger. When I entered the classroom I was delighted to see her DT class busily preparing and cooking a dish that each student had researched and chosen to cook. What I witnessed was students who were fully engaged and enjoying what they were doing.

Once the meals were prepared the students had the opportunity to look at how the meals were presented before tasting them and giving feedback to each other. What a great way to engage the students and offer them the opportunity to participate in a unit that involved a wide range of interdisciplinary links that enabled the students to apply skills and knowledge from other subject areas to a real-life and authentic situation.

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

The change isn't coming - it's here!

I watched this video on Jeff Utecht's blog and thought it was too good not to share:



It is timely reminder that school's are not just about student learning - they are just as much as about developing professional learning communities where teachers and administrators model life long learning.

Tuesday, January 12, 2010

Are you Balanced

At yesterday's MS assembly Ms Postema's homeroom explored the IB Learner Profile Balanced and encouraged us to think about our lifestyle and ways that we can ensure balance in our lives. This is not always an easy thing to accomplish, but it is certainly something that we should always be aware of and constantly strive for.

If you do a Google search for "balanced lifestyle" you will find in excess of 1, 790, 000 sites that offer all sorts of advice on how to live a balanced life and the benefits of being balanced. It is harder to find ways to determine whether or not your current lifestyle is balanced. One of the sites (http://www.wikihow.com/Have-a-Balanced-Lifestyle) contained the following quote:

If you live a balanced life you will find joy in almost everything you do. Some a bit more than others but your happiness will originate from inside of you and not from external sources.

I think this is a pretty good indicator of a balanced lifestyle - your are happy and content rather than searching for happiness from external sources.

One of the major benefits of leading a balanced lifestyle is that when challenges arise we are better equipped to deal with them - we have the physical energy and stamina to take on the challenge, we have the emotional stability to handle the challenge in a calm and rational way, we have the social skills and network to seek help from peers and friends, we have the spiritual grounding to pause and reflect before acting, and we have the academic knowledge to approach the challenge in an intelligent and thoughtful manner.

Students face just as many, although different, challenges than we adults, so it vital that we help students to lead a balanced lifestyle to better equip them to deal with these challenges when they arise. Holistic Education is so much more than academics and is imperative as we collaborate with our students and help them develop the skills necessary for success in the 21st century.