21st Century Learning

NSDC and TQ Research Outlines Strategies for Spending your Stimulus Dollars

This was posted on the NSDC Website- felt you might find it s interesting as I do.

The Department of Education has outlined initial guidelines for three components of American Recovery and Reinvestment Act (ARRA) funding: the State Fiscal Stabilization Fund, Title I, and the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA). You can find detailed information about the guidelines and the distribution of funds through www.ed.gov.

In addition to distributing monies quickly to avert layoffs and stimulate job creation, a key principle that will guide the use of ARRA funds is improving student achievement through school improvement and reform. The Department is emphasizing improvements in teacher effectiveness and equitable distribution of qualified teachers as well as providing support for the nation's lowest performing schools. Specifically, the legislation identifies developing teacher leaders as coaches and instructional leaders as one possible strategy. Therefore, these funds have the potential to significantly impact the reach and quality of professional learning for all educators. Given the time constraints surrounding this legislation, the funds must be used on one-time investments vs. programs with ongoing commitments. Most importantly, these funds must be applied in ways that demonstrate to the investors --the public -- a significant improvement in teaching and learning in schools.

In consideration of these parameters, NSDC has outlined some strategies that we believe have potential to meet these expectations:

• Prepare more instructional coaches by developing the knowledge and skills necessary to support improved educator practice and student learning.
• Prepare more teacher leaders to advance the NSDC definition of professional development.
• Contract with one or more external consultants to provide one-on-one technical assistance to principals to create new master schedules that enable collaborative teacher teams to engage in professional learning two or more times each week.
• Identify and support demonstration sites to serve as models of excellence in implementing effective professional learning.
• Provide two-years of intensive coaching and instructional leadership support for principals in low-performing schools.
• Provide two-years of intensive technical assistance and support for leadership teams in low-performing schools.
• Conduct a Professional Learning Audit; organize a local task force to critically review and assess the purpose, form, and results from professional development in the school district. Similarly, administer and use the results of NSDC's Standards Assessment Inventory.
• Organize, facilitate, and support volunteer teams of teachers who want to pilot the continuous cycle of improvement described in NSDC's definition of professional development. Contract with one or more external consultants or institutions of higher education to document and assess each team's experience.

Special Edition of TQ Research and Policy Update
http://www.tqsource.org/publications/specialEditionMarch2009Update.pdf

Excerpt from this edition-

Providing Quality Professional Development and Career Options
Professional Development
Although there are many professional development opportunities made available for educators, the question remains whether these opportunities are targeted to improve teacher effectiveness. Targeted professional development requires the creation and implementation of a quality teacher evaluation system, as discussed below. The remaining challenge in professional development is to determine what opportunities states should offer and require. If a quality evaluation system is in place, information should be available to guide the offerings based on areas of challenge within the teaching community—either areas of individual challenge or topics from which a larger teaching population can benefit.
Examples of professional development focused on individual challenges include the following:
•Training and support to strengthen content knowledge
•Training in pedagogical techniques

Examples of professional development beneficial to a larger teaching population include the following:
•Research or technological advances or brain research advances that could affect teaching and learning
•Information or training specific to the context in which educators are functioning—large populations of English language learners or schools with a large population of culture/ethnic diversity.
Consistent findings enumerate the characteristics of quality professional development. When analyzing their professional development offerings, states should ensure that they embody these characteristics:
•Intensive and ongoing
•Job embedded
•Job relevant
•Linked to school vision and mission

Career Options
Too often career options for teachers mean that advancement in their careers takes them out of the classroom. School districts and states should implement career opportunities that provide roles and opportunities for expert teachers that allow them to share their experience, knowledge, and skills to benefit the school and classrooms.

These types of roles could include the following:
•Creating teacher leadership opportunities in which teachers have a voice in policy and practice
•Utilizing excellent teachers as mentors

Creating Learning Communities
Numerous content- and pedagogy-related professional development offerings already exist in states. Increasingly, however, the creation of learning communities or communities of practice is identified as a positive professional development experience for teachers. States should work to analyze the policies and requirements in place for professional development and the processes by which they determine what professional development to offer and whether it has the characteristics listed above. In addition, states should consider whether they are too narrowly defining professional development in a manner that precludes the creation and support of learning communities and other collaborative learning opportunities for teachers.

Powerful Learning Practice Meets the Mark
The work Will and I are doing through Powerful Learning Practice meets most of these requirements. If you are looking for a strategic way to spend your PD dollars this may be a way to do that not only meets the NSDC's criteria for best practice but is grounded in Teacher Quality research and results in transformational change.

Australia- ELH Conference in Lorne

I met Bruce through Will and I have to tell you from Day 1 I was impressed. Bruce Dixon is the founder and president of the Anywhere, Anytime Learning Foundation and consults to schools, school districts, education departments, Ministries of Education as well as technology companies such as Microsoft, hp-Compaq, Apple, Bertelsmann and Toshiba on 1-to-1 and technology in education. Bruce has more than 25 years experience working with schools and technology and besides that he and his staff really know how to put on a first rate conference. 

It was a joy to meet  Bernajean Porter and Mary Burns, other keynoters at the conference and very smart women who understand the importance of 21st Century educational reform.

I left John's home and started the trek toward Lorne where the conference would be held taking in the beauty and history of the Great Ocean Road.

 

  

 

We all met for lunch at a place along the way called "At the Heads" and then on to the conference hotel in Lorne called the Mantra Erskine Beach Resort.

One of the most amazing things to us in Australia was the variety of animals and plants. Here at the resort cockatoos from the wild congregated on our porch. They would eat right out of your hand.

The beach was right out our hotel room back door and was so beautiful.

Some of you may remember this famous Indian.

 The conference itself was excellent. I got to meet so many smart people, some of whom I knew online and some I met for the first time.

The secret here is that even though I looked calm and collective my zipper broke on these pants minutes before I went on stage and I had to use the AV guy's duck tape to tape them to me so they wouldn't fall down. Hahahaha!

Another highlight of the conference was the critical conversations around broad themes. I learned so much during these sessions. I wish these were a key part of all f2f conferences.

    

The social events at the conference were just as educational as the sessions. Lots of networking and deep dialog.

Here I am talking to one of the other keynoters, Mary Burns. The gentleman is Mike Valentine who is a leader at Hale School where I presented in Perth. He was amazing and did a wonderful presentation on passion-based learning at the conference.

We ended our time in Lorne by celebrating Bernajean's significant birthday. Can't think of a more perfect place to celebrate a milestone than with Bruce and gang in Australia. Thanks for the memories.

 
The next post will be the last of the Australia posts and will cover my time in Perth!

So Much to Say-- So Little Time

There is a price to be paid for community driven learning- TIME. There are only so many hours in a day to invest in reading, learning, writing, and all that goes with being part of a community of learners. The benefits far outweigh the cost, so I am not complaining, however, it is beginning to impact the time I had previously devoted to blogging.

I was reading a post on Our Virtual Class Blog called 2.0 Riptide. He quotes Konrad Glogowski who after finishing his dissertation establishes research questions that  he hopes to be able to work on in the near future:

1. How do we prepare teachers to teach 21st century learners whose lives are based on rich interactions in multiple online environments?
2. How do we help new teachers move away from what Marshall McLuhan once called the “imposing of stencils” and adopt a practice of probing and exploration?
3. How do we help new teachers acquire the courage to transform their classrooms into communities of learners and transform themselves into participants who can embed themselves in those communities?

These questions are near and dear to my heart because they are the very questions I have found myself grappling with for the last four years. As I have shared before, years of experience working in several large projects that look directly at these very  issues (ENDAPT, TLN, ABPC 21st Century Learners, ASSETOnline and now Powerful Learning Practice) it seems I keep coming full circle to networking, community of practice, true collaboration and what my friend John Norton terms "mutual accountability" among teachers.

MUTUAL ACCOUNTABILITY
John asked recently on TLN, "What's the difference between "negative competitiveness" and a willingness to trade narrow accountability measures from the outside for collaborative accountability -- where teachers hold one another accountable for teaching quality? He suggests that until teachers seize that ground, they will always be on the defensive and easy targets for top-down reform.

One teacher's response caught my attention-

Teachers need to be seen as professional leaders in their districts and communities, leaders able to work together to improve student learning...  Teachers are either working as silos, not interested in collaboration, or scared to show their areas of vulnerability for fear of ridicule or reprisal.

To "[seize] that ground", convincing administrators, public opinion, media, etc. that collaborative accountability is the best method for improvement, I believe we must expand our playing field.  We need to seize the grounds of media and public opinion regarding education, testing, school and community partnerships, and the nature of improvement and change.  This requires organization.  Where is the teacher voice?

Then it hit me, this is exactly where participatory media can make its biggest impact. Allowing teachers to network together online first - forming personal learning networks around areas of passion and interest and gaining comfort and trust in the nonthreatening use of the medium helps to give teachers the confidence they need to use these tools to hold each other accountable for learning.  Using tools like Twitter, Tapped In, NING, Blogs, wikis, Ustream, Diigo, Elluminate, etc, teachers who understand how to "seize the ground" can apprentice teachers who are emergent in their understanding of such concepts. Conversing and working at it together in spaces that are somewhat separate from the local context, educators can learn within the safety net of the community and develop the self-efficacy skills and boldness needed to generalize what they are learning to their local context.

WHY IS IT EASIER TO COLLABORATE TOGETHER ONLINE THAN IN OUR SCHOOLS?
One of my consulting projects this year has been CTQ's ASSETOnline project. I have had the wonderful experience of working with Anne Jolly, a professional learning community expert. In a recent conversation online she asked teachers if they liked collaboration and if not, why not. In her true researcher form she compiled the results.

Frustrations that lead to a preference for working alone in some cases.
These include . . .

1.  Not knowing what collaboration really means
2.  Not knowing what is actually expected from those collaborating
3.  Insufficient implementation support
4.  Not finding real value in collaboration
5.  Different teaching philosophies among participants/ little to share
6.  Doesn't spring from teacher's needs
7.  Dictates and limits from administrators about content for collaborative meetings
8.  Teachers left out of decision-making
9.  Lack of modeling/understanding of collaboration by administrators
10. Need space to be creative - tricky to do this in teams
11. Lack of training for collaboration
12. Lack of trust and comfort in sharing with other teachers - feeling threatened
13.  Not enough time
14.  Getting everyone on the team on the same page is hard
15.  "I don't like meetings!"  :-) - a waste of time that could be spent grading and preparing
16.  Need more time for self-reflection rather than group reflection
17.  Others on the team pass off other's work as their own
18.  Too much talk and not enough action
19.  Not enough clout - except in the classroom
20.  One person does all the work
21.  Merit pay breeds competitiveness rather than sharing
22.  The education system is designed for isolation - and the status quo is strong
23.  The atmosphere can be punitive
24.  The school setting doesn't support collaboration
25.  Teachers are overwhelmed and trying to survive difficult situations
26.  Lack of communication about changes and the reason for changes

Feeling that collaboration works at times too, such as when  . . .
1.  Teachers see value in the collaboration
2.  Teachers have similar teaching philosophies and complementary skills
3.  Collaboration is more natural and spontaneous than structured
4.  Collaboration springs from teachers' needs
5.  Collaboration is not mandated
6.  Teachers make decisions about what they collaborate on
7.  Administrators practice what they preach
8.  The atmosphere is trusting, respectful, and comforting
9.  The school is successful at supporting collaboration
10. Teachers have time to think through together what they want for their kids
11. There is time for introspection as well as collaboration

I am curious-
How do you feel about collaboration?  Do you feel safe enough in your school to "seize the ground" or do you hesitate to share for fear of ridicule or reprisal. Do you feel collaboration online is easier than it is locally in your own schools or organizations? Or do you feel the same hesitancy to publish and as a result become "clickable?" Do walled gardens (private online communities of practice)  make you feel safer in terms of being transparent enough to hold each other accountable for what kids are learning in our schools?

What is your take?

 

Living Under the Rainbow

I have finally surfaced from my doctoral COMPS preparation. On Tuesday, after I had penned the last words and hit submit on the prompts that serve as the gateway to demonstrating if I have what it takes to be a researcher and academic, I came home to this beautiful rainbow. I immediately went out searching for the pot of gold! <smile>
Then I realize- I have it already.

Lately, I find myself living under the rainbow. There have been so many really exciting things happening. My brain stays constantly challenged, which is just the way I prefer it.

Shanghai and Learning 2.0
The travel was amazing coming to China. Sure- it was long flights, layovers, and cramped- but still, it was amazing. Why? Several reasons:

First, I am traveling with my 21 yr old son Noah. I am more pumped about that then coming to China and presenting.
Noah is the most interesting young man. Our house is a very busy one. All of us work and attend school. We always have. In addition, all of us have passions and hobbies, so as a result, there isn't a lot of time to talk and share. So the flight was spent with the two of us sharing ideas about the books we were reading on the plane. Noah was reading "The Code Book" which is about the history of cryptography. It was fascinating listening to him describe his insights as he was gaining them. I came to the realization that he had grown into the kind of person I would actually choose to hang out with-

even if he wasn't family.

Second,  I am traveling with Wes and Shelly Fryer, and Will Richardson. On the plane, Will and I kept knocking ideas around in between jokes, sharing passages from the books we were reading with each other and sharing small nuances of life we feel are important. Then it hit me, relationships are the beginning of wisdom. I realized while talking with Will, that vision starts with relationships; whether it is relationship with kids, colleagues, or our communities- vision begins with connecting ideas. None of us could get over the surrealness of actually flying around the world and landing in a communist country. I have had the good fortune of having traveled many places around the world, but never to Asia.   

To show you the difference between where I am now and where I live. We get a notice under our door- Dear Guests- We have received notice from our government: The People's Government will deploy a test of aerial defense in the Pudong New Area. Do not be alarmed.

On another note--Check out these cool tunnel pics I took at the Detroit airport.

 

Finally-- a pic not to be missed. We land in Tokyo and this is on the TV in the waiting room. Classic!

PD 2.0: It's All about Building Community

This is my most recent entry over at techLEARNING. I would love for you to stop by there an leave your comments! Let's put our ideas all in one place and get our collective PD 2.0 together.

When preparing for the recent three day workshop- High Schools New Face I tried to model the concepts I would be teaching and designed what I hoped would be seen as Professional Development 2.0. I wanted the secondary teachers, administrators, and superintendents attending to experience personalized learning, development of their own personal learning networks and virtual communities of practice.

Using Wikis to Build Learning Communities

Wikis are a wonderful tool for building community in a blended environment. My first goal in building community with my conference cohort was to have everyone join the wiki so that we could all edit and add to different pages. My thinking is that by creating a collaborative space we all experience a sense of ownership in that process.

I also wanted to use the workshop wiki to connect the face-to-face participants to the synchronous online guests giving them a way to connect and feel part of the same community. 

I also used the wiki to:
--- access the workshop goals
--- deliver my curriculum
--- give everyone access to all the resources
--- store the materials and movies I used during the workshop
--- promote collaboration
--- link to all the content being created

The workshop goals for the three days were as follows:
 
1. PRIMARY OBJECTIVE - For you to go back and change at least one thing your are doing in your typical practice in the classroom. We will revisit this goal.
2. To expose you to several tools and strategies used to make connections with content experts beyond the four walls of your classroom.
3. To network you with some of the widely recognized 21st Century learners/teachers in the blogosphere for ongoing professional development.
4. To establish a virtual community of practice where you can continue to connect with each other long after the workshop ends.
5. To help you become comfortable with and create your own blog, wiki, podcasts and other social networking accounts in an effort to help you gain ownership of the new learning landscape.
6. To promote the knowledge, skills and sense of urgency for 21st Century teaching and learning.

Blogging for Reflection and Building a Sense of Trust

Another tool I used was a workshop blog. My purpose in doing so was three fold. I wanted to model the use of blogs, help participants understand the strength of comments, and allow a place for reflection. Using a group blog is a perfect "first step" towards encouraging the adoption of blogs as an educational strategy. This also gave the cohort a place to start sharing ideas and a way to get to know each other. Having introductions happen via the blog saves time and yet works toward instilling trust as we get to know a little about each other, while at the same time giving practice to those who have never used a blog.

In an intentional effort to build trust for our developing community I also created a team building activity within the wiki. This activity enabled participants to engage as a team, practice posting to a wiki, explore and discuss Creative Commons licenses and copyright issues. It also taught the skill of finding and posting a copyright free picture using proper citation. Once team identity was established the small groups discussed a few prompts that deepened their understanding and ownership of the changing educational landscape.

Developing the Professional Learning Network

The most powerful component of participatory media (Web 2.0) is the ability to build diverse personal and professional learning networks. Using a connectivism framework and Gizmo, a VoIP tool, we engaged in an activity called Virtual Speed Dating-Web 2.0 Discussion. While there was no dating intent involved, the quick introductions, high energy conversations and 15 minute per conversation time frame helped earn the  provocative name. Educational bloggers who use Web 2.0 tools with their teachers or students  from Australia, New Zealand, Wales, and across the US agreed to participate.

Speed Dating Set-Up

I asked ten tech savvy, blogging, Web 2.0 using, professionals to each download Gizmo and add me. Ten computers with Gizmo loaded were placed in various places in the training space. At the designated time we called each guest via Gizmo. Five to six participants sat at each table and began to introduce themselves. The invited guest had 15 minutes to lead a fast, succinct, informal conversation around how they use participatory media in their own teaching or PD opportunities and encourage a back and forth conversation.

Getting to know each group and sharing was fast and furious (like speed dating) as they only had 15 minutes before we transitioned to another fresh group of 5-6 people and the process started over again. We did this four times.

Outcomes of the Exercise

For the most part this wildly fun event went like planned, but even when the live events like this do not go exactly as planned they are still very valuable in terms of experience and learning. Wes Fryer, one of the virtual "speed daters" described the questions as "very challenging and thought provoking... reminded me of college debate cross examinations!" Paul Harrington, another one of the guests who actually podcasted his experience had this to say,

While I know some of the speed daters had technical problems, this happens with this technology sometimes. In fact, I often marvel at the way it actually works at all. We have all tried to push the envelope in our own ways, many of us trying out the technology in presentations because we are following your very considerable lead in tech use both in the classroom and the lecture hall.

I found even the pre-meeting Skype chat with fellow 'daters' an invaluable experience. I also appreciate how much the whole experience meant to the most important people there -the attendees at your course. After all our driving aim as educational technologists is to push more educators to join this phenomenal way of re-defining teaching and learning in our own classrooms.

The attendees enjoyed the experience as well. Several principals who were not in my cohort came up to me at dinner and shared how excited their staff was in describing the "speed dating" event. In addition, many listed "speed dating" as the most valuable part of the workshop.

Elluminate Me

Another networking strategy I used was to offer an Elluminate session with four of the Alabama Best Practice Center  21st Century Fellows. The Fellows were new to Web 2.0 tools just two short years ago. I felt that by having them share their stories in Elluminate breakout rooms participants could get a feel for a virtual classroom, while also learning about how these teachers developed their 21st Century pedagogy using Web 2.0 tools to create projects that aligned with school and district goals. Everyone put on head sets and logged into our virtual classroom. After a quick overview of the tools we went into virtual break out rooms with about 10-15 participants each. After a brief presentation (inside Elluminate) showing wikis, slides, and blogs related to the projects, the Fellows opened the room up to questions. Participants raised their hands virtually and used a microphone to ask teachers in Alabama to explain details. After 20 minutes we switched rooms and the participants got to hear a different Fellow speak.

Twitter Camp- (picture is from Alan's NMC conference- not ours)

Another networking tool that provided connections and yet another way for participants to build their own personal learning networks was Twitter. I had each of the participants create an account and to add me as a friend. Like in the picture above, I added a message that showed how they could post to our camp. I also alerted others who were my friend in Twitter to please add our @hsnf account. So that throughout the first day of the workshop participants and my friends in the blogosphere communicated and made connections.

Blogging Begins with Reading

As a way of introducing blogging for scholarship and how just like good writing begins with reading, so does blogging, I had participants visit the blogs of Edubloggers who came to the NECC Edubloggercon.The participants were asked to spend sometime reading and exploring these blogs and then post a reflection on the workshop blog of what they found interesting. We also practiced embedding the link of the blog they read by using html code.

The activity was an intentional way to model the building of personal/professional networks by locating blogs and adding them to an RSS feed. We created our own feeds and practiced adding some newly favored blogs.

Virtual Learning Communities   

The component I think is really missing from most professional development opportunities is follow through. Typically, we send teachers to workshops and they get fired up and come back unable to sustain the momentum without support.

One solution to this problem is to create a virtual learning community (VLC) using one of the available platforms like Tapped In or Ning. Getting the participants established in the community while you are still together face-to-face helps ensure use of the resource after the workshop ends. Obviously, most of us who deliver professional development will not have time to facilitate a learning community for each workshop given, so it is imperative that ownership for the community is given to several interested attendees while you are at the workshop. They take on the role of moderator.

We decided to create a learning community inside Tapped In as a way of staying connected long after the workshop ends. We explored Ning too and many joined Classroom 2.0. One superintendent even created his own Ning community to use with his teachers.

It's All about the Learning

Teachers like tangibles. I think the reason there is so much focus on the tools, rather than how to use the tools to support learning is because when we are learning something new we want something concrete to manipulate. Web 2.0 tools like blogs, wikis and podcasts give us that concrete fix. Teachers, like their students, need time to explore the tools before getting on with the learning. However, at some point in a PD 2.0 workshop the focus needs to switch from the tool itself to making the tool a seamless medium for mastery of standards-based objectives and 21st Century life skills.

After looking at many examples of 21st Century teaching and learning, we broke into groups based on disciplines. Using Post It notes each person at the table generated one idea per note for how these new concepts and tools could translate to learning in the classroom. Next, we worked in pairs to chunk the ideas into manageable categories. Finally, as a group we used chart paper and synthesized the information into workable lesson ideas. A reporter in the group then captured what was generated for the wiki so everyone could benefit.

The final activity was a Birds of a Feather exercise where we grouped by interests: blogs, social networking tools, podcasting, Second Life, or virtual learning communities. Groups then took an unconference approach to what was discussed. The activity was intentionally unstructured and the learning needs/wants of the individual were met by others who could informally show them what they needed to know. The discussions and demos developed organically based on learner interest and "just in time" learning needs.

Next Steps

One distinctive factor of PD 2.0 is that after the workshop ends the communication and collaboration doesn't. Using our VLC, linking to and commenting on each others blogs, and bumping into each other on Twitter, Skype, delicious and other social networking tools will ensure that we all continue to learn and grow from each other. Individuals involved in my cohort in New York become part of the larger international community and as champions develop and teach others, the ideas spread and educational reform takes place through a "none of us are as good as all of us" mentality. Even as we speak, Paul Harrington has joined the Tapped In group and is answering questions from the NY teachers about how he uses Classblogmeister.

Professional Development 2.0 is about personalized learning for teachers. It is about ownership, developing your online voice and joining professional networks. As teachers we must first own these concepts and skills before we can give them to our students. And by using these 21st Century strategies to create networks of 'teachers teaching teachers' we can ensure that none of us get left behind and that every child will be prepared to meet the future that awaits them.

Your PD 2.0 Ideas Needed
What 21st Century strategies have you used in a PD 2.0 workshop? What ideas have you tried that worked or didn't work in helping teachers to understand the changing learning landscape? Do share!
As my friend in New Zealand, Jane Nicholls likes to say, "Problem solving is more fun with a friend." 

Broadening the Scope of What is Possible

H
  Originally uploaded by briangrenier

Have you ever been part of a workshop that stretched you and you ended up learning as much or more than you taught? Well my time at High Schools New Face at Holiday Valley in Ellicottville, NY was just such a time for me. It was a wonderful personal learning experience for all that attended.

High Schools New Face: Broadening the Scope of What is Possible
The conference began by streaming the opening. The stream is really good, you can view it here. In addition to the wonderful district and political speakers there is an opening keynote by a student. (A must see).

But my favorite was meeting and watching Monte Selby perform.

I bought two of his books and was delighted to find out that my TLN colleague, Rick Wormeli coauthored both books with him! The two books I bought were: Middle School Matters and Because You Teach.I bought them for the CDs.

If you would like a taste of the songs Monte writes I recorded two with my digital camera. The sound quality on both are pretty good. You can also see them at the end of the stream above.

Because You Teach

Architects of Change

Multimedia Push

One of the things that made this conference such a success was the mash-up of content creation and creativity. Pictures that were taken throughout the conference were put in a slide show that was shown.
A comedy troupe performed teacher type humor, musicians performed, movie clips that were created were shared, and the leadership breakfast had a variety of hands-on activities. It set the tone for being creative and truly broadening perspectives. In the conference bags were the traditional t-shirts and booklets but also each participant got an i-Pod shuffle and a flash drive!!

There were iPod stations set up around the conference and even an i-Pod university that attendees could go to to learn more about their gift.

National Speakers

Engaging the 21st Century Teen - The Flippen Group – Bethany Rosebroch
Connecting the 21st Century Teen- Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach
Designing a School for the 21st Century Teen - Susan Szachowicz, Maria LeFort &
Joyce Phillips & Team
Personalizing for the 21st Century Teen - Monte Selby & Tony Limoges
Leading the Way - Neil Rochelle & Bonnie Smith

Here are the photos I took in my Flickr stream.

Never Met a Stranger

I have been told that I never meet a stranger and to some extent that is true. I warm up to folks very quickly. But I met a group of educators who put me to shame in terms of being able to make someone feel like family immediately. Seeing I had always heard that New Yorkers were less than warm and friendly, I found this to be so exciting!

I come in to the hotel in between workshops sessions. As I went to go to my room, I notice that there are two of the principals I had sat with at the leadership breakfast siting in the lobby. I walk over to say hello. They invite me to sit with them a minute. The minute turns into an hour of the most lively conversation. We talk about demographics, race, educational reform, and my coming to do an inservice in their district. Then they invite me to dinner with their school team as their guest. What a delightful group! We ended up making plans to go see Niagara Falls before I returned to Va Beach. The plans were canceled due to weather, but the point is that they asked me to go! I had never felt so honored and welcomed by a group of educators who I had only met a little while ago. Amazing!

So my hat is off to Michelle Spasiano and her team at Niagara Wheatfield HS and Sushma Sztorc and her team at Niagara Academy! I sincerely hope to see them again.

It was a great conference and I learned a great deal, made some new friends, shared some of what I know, lost a lot of sleep and birthed a few bloggers! Thanks Will Richardson and Neil Rochelle for recommending me and Gail Hirst for having me. Feel free to contact me anytime!

ABPC 21st Century Learning Showcase

The last two years of my life have been heavily dominated by the work I have been helping to lead in Alabama through the Alabama Best Practices Center. We designed a two-year professional development program that engages educators from participating schools in powerful conversations about 21st  Century Learning.

In 2005, with support from Microsoft, ABPC recruited small teams from 20 forward thinking schools across the state and established a virtual learning community built around an online curriculum I developed called, “Keeping Up with the Net Generation.” Feedback from our first group of schools was very positive. Twenty more schools were selected to participate this year. Schools that had begun working the previous year continued their professional development in an “advanced strand” of the project.

The project is supported by 10 Alabama educators who have been selected and trained to be ABPC’s “21st Century Teacher Fellows.”

The Best Practices Center created a 21st Century Project wiki as a learning resource for schools in the project. The wiki can be accessed by everyone at http://abpc.wikispaces.com. The team projects can be accessed on the book-marking page, Del.icio.us: http://del.icio.us/abpcjohn.

Culminating Event- 21st Century Learning Showcase
We held our final event for year two on May 8. Advanced schools (and a few Beginning schools) prepared learning station presentations to share their Learning 2.0 projects they had been working on all year. In addition to my keynote and Allison Knox's (project manager from Microsoft) presentation, three schools were selected to present their work to the audience of 300 plus attendees.

Teachers from 67 public schools across the state gathered for the event held at Gardendale's First Baptist Church. The showcase is part of the Powerful Conversations Network, a program of ongoing professional development for teachers. View picture set here.

Teams of educators from three schools were chosen for their outstanding work in the arena of 21st Century Learning:

• George Hall Elementary School in Mobile uses digital cameras and online tools to help students retell educational field trips. The project (www.georgehall.wetpaint.com) boosts vocabularies and   communication skills.
• Teachers at Challenger Middle School in Huntsville created a professional development wiki to help the school's faculty learn to use technology for instruction.
• Cullman Middle School students are   co-writing online books in different genres of literature at   www.cullmancollaborativebooks.wikispaces.com.

During the Learning Fair sessions, teachers from 20+ schools demonstrated successful projects. (9 a.m. to 10 a.m., and 12:15 p.m. to 1 p.m.)

• A 4th-grade teacher from West Blocton Elementary in Bibb County treated students to a day without books, using all online resources for lessons aligned with the state course of study.
• Most students at Calcedeaver Elementary in north Mobile County are Native American, and they have produced virtual field trips of Native American cultural resources.
• At Wrights Mill Road Elementary in Auburn, teachers developed a Web quest (an online scavenger hunt) to teach students about Internet safety. The Webquest is available online at the school's homepage.

Complete list of Learning Fair schools

• Athens Middle School, Athens City Schools
• Buckhorn High School, Madison   County Schools
• Calcedeaver Elementary School, Mobile County Schools
• Cedar   Ridge Middle School, Decatur City Schools
• Central Park Elementary School,   Birmingham City Schools
• Challenger Middle School, Huntsville City   Schools
• Chestnut Grove Elementary School, Decatur City Schools
• Cullman   Middle School, Cullman City Schools
• Dean Road Elementary School, Auburn City   Schools
• Fayetteville High School, Talladega County Schools
• George Hall   Elementary School, Mobile County Schools
• Hewitt-Trussville Middle School,   Trussville City Schools
• Hillcrest High School, Tuscaloosa City   Schools
• Liberty Park Elementary School, Vestavia Hills City   Schools
• Mountain Brook High School, Mountain Brook City Schools
• Northridge   High School, Tuscaloosa City Schools
• Oak Mountain High School, Shelby County   Schools
• Ogletree Elementary School, Auburn City Schools
• Terry Heights   Elementary School, Huntsville City Schools
• Vestavia Hills East Elementary   School, Vestavia Hills Schools
• West Blocton Elementary School, Bibb County   Schools
• West Jasper Elementary School, Jasper City Schools
• Winterboro   School, Talladega County Schools
• Wrights Mill Road Elementary School, Auburn   City Schools

A huge thank you goes to Cathy Gassenheimer, ABPC's leader, for her visionary leadership in this work. The Alabama Best  Practices Center receives major support from Microsoft Corp. and the Wachovia   Foundation.

The A+ Education Foundation, home of the Alabama Best Practices Center, has been working since 1991 to advance policies, programs and initiatives that result in high achievement by every child in Alabama's K-12 education system.

Evaluation

Currently, I am fast at work analyzing the results of the evaluation we are doing for this two year project. The evaluation plan has several components including a customized LoTi survey comparing 21st Century Powerful Conversations members and non 21st Century Powerful Conversation members, a content analysis of conversations within the asynchronous Tapped In virtual community, analysis of a representative focus group, and the outcomes from a highly structured facilitated debriefing with 21st Century schools teams where they developed next year's plan for professional development using what they have learned these past two years as the foundation for their plans.

When the evaluation work is complete- I will be sharing the results.   

Interview onEdTalkLive

Had the exciting priviledge of being interviewed by Steve Hargadon for his EdTalkLive show.
EdTechLIVE's weekly webcast interviews series by  Steve which focus on educational technology. His goal is to produce a library of recordings that provide good, brief introductions to different educational technologies that can be implemented in the K-12 school environment.

I was most impressed by his interview style which resulted not only in an effective exchange of information, but his pacing enable me to throttle the rate at which I answered-- a new experience for me, as often passion takes over when I talk about this topic and I talk way too fast. :) 

For those of you who do not know Steve, he has his hands in many incredible projects.

• School 2.0 Wiki
• EdTechLive.com
• SuppportBlogging! Wiki
• EduBloggercon
• K12Computers.com
• LiveKiosk.com
• PublicWebStations.com
• K12 Open Source Wiki
• TechnologyRescue.com
• Infinite Thinking Machine

Here are the show notes (from Steve's blog) for our interview as well as the links to the podcasts. Please share your reactions in comments. I'd love to hear your take on what we discussed.

Listen to the the Interview in MP3 format
 Listen to the Interview in Vorbis OGG format

Show notes:

• Sheryl is a technology and education consultant and adjunct instructor in the School of Education at The College of William and Mary, and she was one of the organizers of the recent K12 Online Conference.
• Right now, Sheryl believes, we are in a place where computing in the classroom is really going to take off.
• She feels that it is a moral responsibility of teacher-leaders in the school to figure out how to access the tools of the web and help students to learn to use them in a safe environment. (Again, I'm fascinated with the contrast of Larry Cuban's views here, and also with the apparent difficulties that grass-roots technology efforts face in school decision-making.)
• "You can't give away what you don't own." Until school administrators are experiencing the benefits of the new technologies, there cannot be more widespread adoption of them. (This touches on the point above.)
• The students of today don't have a choice as to whether or not they will master the skills of the read/write web (and being collaborative and self-driven)--if they don't, they will be left behind in the work world.
• The magic of Web 2.0 in schools is individual growth toward the sense of being "self-actualized:" students can be transformed by being able to write things that others are interested in reading, and by being able to collaborate with others.
• The "Golden Question" right now is: can tie these new tools to student achievement? She believes it they can be, but it's very hard to measure because of all the other variables.
• Sheryl points out the need for balance: when you use any pervasive educational strategy (not just the new computer technologies), you need to make sure that there is a marriage between the passion that is generated with a rigorous education. This should be a deepening of learning, and be challenging. "Rigor and passion."
• Many students are going to be coming to school already well versed in the read/write or participatory web. Her experience has been that they are often motivated learners from these experiences.
• Sheryl talks about moving from the "Information Age" to the "Age of Conceptualization." I'm not sure I know what the "Age of Conceptualization" is...
• The most gifted students are good at the way school is played right now, and they can have the hardest time adjusting to a learning environment that is cooperative and self-directed. It is the kids who have struggled previously that really benefit the most by being able to use these technologies. (This goes along with Sheryl's desire to bring computing resources to homeless youth, and her belief in how important this will be for them. See below.)
• She sees more of the writing tools being used in the classroom--blogs and wikis--but not as much podcasting.
• The real skill needed by teachers and students will be the ability to be our own "digital age librarian," knowing how to access, select, and synthesize all of the available information. We need to tap into the power of "self-directed interest."
• On homeless or transient children:  Sheryl is a living example of breaking the cycle of generational poverty. If we don't empower these children with the same technologies that the affluent child will get at home, then we are trapping them in their poverty. Homeless children move around a lot, and often the teachers are unaware of the true situation at home. After the interview, Sheryl and I talked at length about creating a program for teacher mentoring to homeless children, and the providing of computing resources at homeless shelters (see www.PublicWebStations.com).

Unleashing Student Passion

I had a neat collaborative experience a few days ago with Mark Wagner over at Educational Technology and Life. He was on Skype, and I needed a fresh pair of eyes to look at the abstract I was writing for my keynote in New Zealand-. We collaboratively edited the piece down to 150 words. The whole time I am thinking-- I really can collaborate with the best minds on Skype from anywhere in the world. Man -- what a time is this to be alive. The trick is having an array of disruptive P2P tools available and then being skilled and brave enough to network with others. Of course this is all contingent on going one step further making sure those who aren't using these powerful tools - start.

So anyway, back to Mark- after we finished working on my abstract and pairing it down, he was able to take some key ideas and phrases and work them into a piece he was writing. How efficient is that?
The key to true innovation is engaging collaboration. And the key to effective virtual collaboration is connectivity and skill at networking.

Here is my New Zealand keynote abstract- if you have any resources or ideas that relate please share them in the comments or if you would just like to talk a little about unleashing student passion then let's start the conversation here.

Keynote Address: Schooling for the 21st Century: Unleashing Student Passion
Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach, Adjunct Instructor of Educational Technology, College of William and Mary & Educational Consultant, Virginia Beach, Virginia, USA

A passionate student is a learning student. As the people of the world are becoming increasingly connected, the nature, use, ownership, and purpose of knowledge are changing in profound ways. Our goal as educators is to leverage these connections and changes as powerful means to improve teaching and learning in our schools. Using digital media and web-based tools, students are building their own learning experiences, constructing meaning, and collaborating in teams to solve authentic content-based problems. Many teachers who use these empowering technologies are now discovering we can have rigor without sacrificing excitement. The secret: Focus on student passion and interest, not the machines and software.

Come listen as Sheryl stirs a sense of urgency for shifting classroom practice toward more engaging approaches that unleash the passion that lies within each learner. Sheryl invites you to discuss this and (other 21^st Century teaching and learning topics) on her blog: http://21stcenturylearning.typepad.com/blog/

TUANZ Education Conference 2007

I am going to New Zealand! Thanks to the kind recommendation of Wes Fryer I am going to be presenting a series of keynotes and workshops in New Zealand on Web 2.0 and 21st Century teaching and learning concepts.

From the conference website:

TUANZ Education Conference 2007

Improving teaching, learning and thinking skills with ICT

The TUANZ Education Conference is not simply about technology. This nationwide conference focused on ways in which ICT can be integrated into the curricula and brought into the classroom. Our aim is to improve teaching, learning and thinking skills in every school throughout New Zealand. And with your help this goal is achievable. In 2007 we will hold ten conferences throughout New Zealand.

I am doing six of the 10 and Miguel Guhlin will do the other four. Too bad we will not be there at the same time!

Here is where I will be:

Monday 12 March – Invercargill
Wednesday 14 March – Christchurch
Friday 16 March – Nelson

Tuesday 20 March – Wellington
Wednesday 21 March – Palmerston North
Thursday 22 March – New Plymouth

New Zealand Conversation

If you are a New Zealand teacher I'd love to talk to you via Skype. I am snbeach. If you know a New Zealand teacher I'd love for you to put us in contact with each other. And if you have been to New Zealand and have an travel tips for me-- please leave a comment below! I am a hiker/biker and found these pics -- wow am I ever excited.

http://www.backpack-newzealand.com/gallery/albums.php

http://www.backpack-newzealand.com/ni-gallery/albums.php?PHPSESSID=c5e2cf808a3e84cdac087a5e08298f8c