Blogging Isn't the Answer to Your Students' Writing Needs

Yes, I am an advocate of student blogging. Yes, I helped create the #comments4kids meme on Twitter and made the Comments4Kids blog. Yes, I have presented both online and face to face on the value of blogging in the classroom. Yes, I know that blogging isn't the answer to your students' writing needs.

While reading some blog posts by college students today and mixing that in with my thoughts on what I am going to present next week at a technology conference session on blogging I had a conversation with Nancy Van Erp that helped me clarify my thoughts.

To become a better writer, practice is required. Along with the practice there needs to be specific feedback that addresses issues with the writing. It simply isn't enough to praise the fact that the students wrote something, or that addresses the content of the writing without touching style or context. Let's face it, specific writing feedback on a blog post is very difficult for the writer to take. Imagine having your shortcomings exposed to the world!

I am not suggesting there is no value in posting work that isn't polished. If that were the case most bloggers would never post a thing. What I am saying is that for teaching writing, blogging isn't the best choice. Your students will learn much more and be less likely personalize their mistakes if you have those conversations face to face.

Where blogging shines is through the ideas shared and the conversations created by posting online. If that isn't the goal of your writing assignment, perhaps you need to rethink the medium you have chosen for your students to use.

Define Success

I am a husband, a father, a son, and a brother. I am a writer, a reader, a musician, and an artist. I am youth leader, a conference presenter, a learning community member, and a mentor. I am a photographer, a gamer, an athlete, and a napper. In my spare time I teach.
I am a practicer of many things, but a master of none. Because I do so many things I fail regularly and spectacularly. I share my failures and the occasional success.
I agree with some opinions, disagree with others, and often have no opinion at all.
Am I a successful adult? If so, why am I successful. If not, why not? Was my education successful?

What Uncomfortable Part of Teaching Are You Working On?

There is a lot more to a successful classroom than a networked teacher and a great lesson plan. I have always been willing to try to creatively create lessons that are both engaging and ambiguous. Truthfully lesson design comes very easy to me. Unfortunately the more important side of teaching, creating personal relationships with my students has always been hard for me. My goal for the beginning of school is to create opportunities to spend one on one time with every student. I want to grow a real learning community in my classroom and I need to be willing to invest myself into my students. I am moving into some uncomfortable places. What uncomfortable part of teaching are you working on this summer?

Who Are You Discipling?

Over the summer I have been sharing with the youth group the book of Matthew. Throughout the book it becomes very clear that Jesus is the teacher and his class is 12 men. Read through the book and you will quickly understand that when Jesus taught it was directly to them. When he addressed a crowd, the lesson was still pointed to the disciples, that is why he often gives further instructions to them after the crowd left. Jesus knew he had three years to mentor the men who would later be responsible for sharing his teachings. He was focused on them. He mentored them. He changed their lives, and in turn they changed millions more. How does this relate to your classroom? Every class has a few students that need more time, more attention, more of you. You are in a unique position to take them in, give them a little more of yourself, and impart upon them the understanding they are valuable. It isn't enough to say 'you matter', you need to live it. Be an example to them. Make them your disciple. If you are really committed to making this world, your school, and your class a better place then start with a few students.

Comment on Blogs Week

Some bloggers write because they love it, some write because they can't not write. Some want to create an audience, some want to express their thoughts. Whatever the reason, when it comes to writing bloggers need the encouragement that commenting brings.

That is why for this week, July 9-15 I am unilaterally declaring Comment on Blogs Week. Encourage your favorite bloggers by leaving a comment or two on a post this week! Please feel free to share the posts you commented on through Twitter as well.

Update: My friend Matt Townsley suggested a hash tag for Twitter so here it is: #icommented
Use this hash tag with a link back to the post you commented on to encourage more comments!

I Got Your Flipped Class Right Here!

I am going to start this post by saying I understand completely the desire to make the classroom work better. I am not against trying something new, especially when the goal is to make a positive learning change for the student. I do think we need to tread carefully before we change the entire climate of our classroom because everyone else seems to be doing it.

There are a lot of implementations of flipping that are being touted. I have had many conversations with my favorite flipper Brian Bennett and a few with OG flipper Karl Fisch about it. I won't comment on my opinion about all forms of flipping, just the idea that flipping means students learning content from the classroom outside of the classroom. Being a very outspoken critic of homework in general, I don't like the idea at all. In fact, I have a flipped classroom proposal I would like to advocate for.

The truth is, this is not a new concept. The idea has been around a long, long time. You may recall Google's 20% idea and the classroom application has been around for a while. As applied by the teacher it gives kids time every day (or week) for them to learn what they are interested in during school hours. So here is my proposal:

What if we really flipped the classroom and 

instead of sending work home with the students, 

they brought the work from home to school?

Tablets Are Great for Reflections

I bought an iPad and Apple TV for my classroom this year. I love the ability to mirror what is on the iPad onto the tv. I can see a lot of opportunities for students sharing their learning with it. That isn't the main reason I wanted the iPad though.

Today I bought a Nexus 7 after reading about it during the Google I/O conference. It will compliment the iPad because it meets a very particular need for me.

Next August my students will walk into a very different learning environment than they are used to. I have specific goals for them including an emphasis on writing, problem solving, and reflecting. Students will write in composition books. (I may write a post explaining why at some other time. It isn't because they don't have computer access.) Students will experience math and science through problem solving, not just following steps. Students will be reflective learners.

The last emphasis, on reflection is where the tablets will really shine. I will create a tumblr blog for them to record their reflections to (using their app on the tablets) throughout the day. Because they can record audio or video quickly with it, they will need much less time writing their reflections using a keyboard (they haven't had typing yet). They won't even need to disengage from the learning to do it, they can show what they are doing while they reflect.

I am pretty excited by the possibilities of students taking ownership of their learning and of their reflections.

I Would Like to Propose a Radical Change

I am constantly complaining about school being more of the same. High school classes teach what students should have learned in junior high while they teach what should have been learned even earlier. Even colleges/universities are in on the act, not only teaching the same things that should have been learned in high school, but requiring students that don't meet their "standards" to take remedial classes so that they can then take classes that are the same as the ones they took in high school. (Is this the best our colleges/universities can do? If so, how sad.)

I would like to propose a (radical?) change in our ed system. I don't think the concepts are new, not even sure that the way I put it together hasn't been done before. If it has, good on them. I hope it worked.

K-6

• Students would focus on tool and background knowledge acquisition. Emphasis would be placed on logical thinking skills, problem solving skills, reading, writing. They would have art, music, health and physical activities integrated into their curriculum and not as a stand alone class. 

7-12

• Students would choose strands of learning they wished to pursue. The students would continue to build skills and acquire background knowledge through their learning. Emphasis would be on creating. Students would be expected to conference with teachers about what they are learning and how they are showing what they are learning. Students would also be required to teach lessons on what they learn regularly to others (students, teachers, community members) during workshop days.

College/University

•  Students would spend the first two years exploring the fields they are interested in pursuing. They would work closely with educators in those fields and emphasis again would be on creation and sharing of knowledge. 
• Students would spend the last two years apprenticing. Two years would allow them time to try out several different occupations and get experience and feedback from both the master workers they apprentice under as well as educators in the field that would observe them. The last semester (more or less depending on what was needed) would be spent by students creating a personal narrative (through tools of their choosing) that explains their journey through their educational career. The emphasis would be on how they plan to use what they have learned after they graduate. Degrees would be awarded in the fields that students apprenticed successfully in. 

Obviously this is a very generic outline. What do you think? 

They Don't Love Your Subject (and That Is Okay!)

I really love reading about the American colonial period and the revolution. I have a very large library of books on those time periods. Yes, I am a history geek (at least over that period of time.) While I taught fifth grade I was always tickled to share my love during our social studies class. I had a lot of passion and a wealth of knowledge to share. I just didn't understand why so many kids found it to be not their thing.

I realize something now that I didn't then. This may also come as a surprise to some of you. Not every student loves learning about history!!!! (Ridiculous I know, right?) Actually, it isn't.

Every teacher becomes a teacher because something in the content they learned really appealed to them. Perhaps it was math class that set them on fire, or doing experiments in science. I would make a bet that some even get into teaching because they love spelling! (about as alien a concept to me as calculus). Because we love our particular pet subject, we expect our students to catch our enthusiasm and realize that the coolest teacher they have ever had (in my case very true) loves it, by gosh they will love it too! They really have no choice because, after all, it is the best subject they will ever be exposed to. (Have you heard my talk on Peale's Mastadon? Such a fascinating story.)

The truth is, not all students will love your favorite subject. Not only is that okay, it is preferable. We need to allow our students the freedom to follow what they are passionate about. We need to love our students enough to let them not share our passion.

#EdStuff: A New Twitter Hash Tag

I have created the #EdStuff tag for people that want to post ed stuff, but don't want to tag it with the the chat based tags such as #edchat or #fifthchat. Feel free to use it as you will, for it is good for all ed stuff!

So Why Do I Feel Guilty?

I am working on a storytelling unit and am to the point where I am considering what activities I will expect my students to complete. While I will give them some choices as to these activities, there will be some that I am going to require. Yes, you heard it right. They will not have a choice.

I do believe that students should shape their own learning. I do believe that when we choose what we want to learn, we are more motivated and learn better. I also believe that sometimes students have to learn things they may not normally choose to learn. I do not refer to ridiculously complex geometric proofs that are completely useless to 99+% of the population, I refer to skills and content that are necessary for becoming a more competent learner. So, why do I feel so guilty?

Blogging and the Writing Process

Stephen Anderson tweeted out a link to this post: Making Paper Blogs to Prepare for the Online Experience. While the post makes a good case for it, and it makes a lot of sense if your students have limited online opportunity my reaction was not positive. My thoughts are not based on the content of the article, they were formed before I read it. 

My first thought was that if we teach students that their early drafts are not worthy of being seen by others, it implies the early part of the writing process is bad. If we teach writing as a process and that their first drafts should not always be their last, we also need to teach that there should be no shame in sharing their writing at any time during the process.

If we are going to use blogging as a platform for student writing, shouldn't we make it repository of the process of writing as well? Students believe you only write something once because that is all they see. Perhaps if we have students model their writing process publicly we could dispel that misrepresentation of writing.

I reacted to the post title this way because I have been struggling with how I want to approach writing in my own class. I have decided that I want to impress upon my students the value of all of their work. We will be collecting all of their writing throughout the year in composition books. My goal is to have several filled by the end of the school year. My hope is that my students learn that they should value all of their writing, that a first draft is not necessarily the last, and that by archiving the work they will be able to see the improvement in their writing over the year. 

Graduation Day

I survived enjoyed two graduations this weekend, one for my eldest daughter who graduated from college and one from my second eldest who graduated from high school. For some reason the college graduation didn't affect me very much. The students for all intents and purposes were very successful. They had "made it". That wasn't how I felt after today's graduation.

In this class were many students that I knew personally, either because I taught them in school or because of church. While I felt some pride in their accomplishments, I realized that many of the students I was watching had few prospects for their future.

Traditionally less than 25% of the graduating class at my alma mater go on to post secondary schools of some sort. This means the average student in this class is finished with their education career. This to me is depressing enough, but today I had another thought. Some of these students are now leaving behind the only place where they have been safe, well fed, and emotionally cared for.

I have no idea what to do for these students, I am not sure anything can be done for them now (at least through the school.) What I do know is that the future many of these students face tomorrow is much less hopeful than it could/should be. They may see it as the beginning of their dreams, but for many it may be the beginning of the end of their dreams. Sometimes the "real world" sucks.

Reflections on #EdCampStL 2012

Wheel of a Handmade Cart found at Jefferson National Expansion Memorial

I wrote two posts on my experiences from the first EdCampKC: A Rather Painful Reflection and The Don'ts of Attending EdCampKC. Feel free to read them.

Attending an EdCamp is different than attending a typical conference. When you show up there is an understanding that the day's learning is supposed to be fluid. The biggest barrier to entry is not knowing the people that are in attendance. Strike that, actually going with people you know may be an even bigger barrier!

EdCamps are about sharing and learning together. A big part of your experience should be spent finding people to talk to so that you can create relationships that allow you to learn from others over years instead of hours. I strive to take time to appreciate the people that I have made friendships with online when I finally meet them face to face. If you come with others, don't spend all your time with them. The more people you meet, the better your experience will be.

I was fortunate enough to have my wife Dianna and my eldest daughter Teal also go. We didn't attend the same session because we have different interests and different needs. This is important to recognize. You are there to learn to be a better teacher, identify your interests or your deficits and go for it. Let your friends do the same with theirs.

In retrospect I didn't learn any earth shaking new tools or methods that I can employ immediately so that my students all become elligible for Mensa but I created more opportunities to learn through creating stronger bonds with my online friends. That was well worth the personal day and the 5 1/2 hour one way drive it took to get there.  

How About Unconferences for Students?

I am thinking about extending what I have experienced to my students. What about having an unconference for them?

My idea would be to have an evening or a Saturday where students would have the opportunity to come together to share their passions. I realize that a 50 minute time limit would probably be way to daunting for most but the eldest students, so I think we could adopt some of the times used at teachmeets. We could have 7 minute presentations, 2 minute presentations, or others of various lengths. These smaller times would also work much better for an evening (and more accessible for younger students).

I do have questions that need to be worked through:

1. Could the students sign up ahead of time so that they could be scheduled and have opportunities to practice their presentations? If so, would that go against the spirit of the unconference? 
2. Would this be a student led only conference or would adults be allowed to present as well? If so, they could fill gaps in the presentation and perhaps have to wait to sign up the night/day of the conference thereby keeping some of the spirit of the unconference.
3. It seems like it would be easy to plan. I would need to get access to the school and advertise. Am I missing something significant?

Can You Present at a Tech Conference Without the Tech Being Your Main Focus?

 At the Midwest Education Technology Conference I presented a session called Differentiating Instruction Using Basal Readers. Here is a link to my presentation. As you can see it isn't very flashing (heck it isn't even what I would call engaging!) The presentation was made this way on purpose, I didn't want to make my session about tools, examples, or flash.

I think that there is way too much focus on tech tools at technology conferences. If we truly believe that the goal of school is student learning, tools would be ubiquitous (including hardware and software tools). Exposure to these tools are important, but not the most important thing we can share. While we do need these types of sessions, we really need sessions that model how learning is happening in classes with those tools.

I new that my session title would be very noticeable. There was no word in the title that suggested technology or tools. Here is the description of the session:

"Are you required to use a basal reading series in your classroom? Would you like to find ways to integrate technology and help students differentiate their own learning opportunities? Join William as he describes how his students used digital tools such as bogs, Paint, Audacity, iTunes, and iPods in reading class. Learn how to let go of teaching and have your students engage in learning."

The focus of my session was to show how I allow students to choose the tools they need, digital or analog, to help themselves learn. I did share a few tools that were used regularly by my students including Visuwords for vocabulary but I did not dwell on them. I intentionally kept the discussion on the ways I helped the students learn how to learn vocabulary, skills, and comprehension.

After the presentation I reviewed the evaluations I received from the attendees. I did receive a couple that had the technology parts marked down, including the less than engaging slides I created. Overall the evaluations were very good. I even had one comment that said it was the most useful session for their classroom they had attended. So, I guess you really can give a presentation at a tech conference without the focus being on the technology.

Are EdCamps Too Technocentric?

Image by Scott Warren

As I prepare mentally for #EdCampStL next month I think about what I would like to see offered for break out sessions. I think that there is real opportunity to have conversations about curriculum, discipline, and teaching methods, but I worry that most of these conversations will somehow revolve around technology.

I understand that many of us that are aware or becoming aware of these opportunities find out about them online or from others who are online. I would suspect this skews the audience towards those that prefer to use technology in the classroom. Does this intimidate other teachers attending? I suspect we are missing very large groups of teachers because they don't know about the events yet, or they are scared off by the perceived attention toward technology.

Is this true? If so, what can we do to involve more diverse groups of teachers?