That Student Voice in the Background

Below, I have pasted excerpts from Steve Hargadon's interview of three high school students participating in the Student 2.0 project that I wrote about in my last blog. I continue to be impressed by their insights into our work and their learning.


From Sean: "What's happened over the past few years, and in society, with technology and the web becoming a lot more important, I'd say that the stuff I'm doing at home [rather than at school] is right now a bit more relevant, in terms of the skills I will need later in life.... At the stage at which we are at school, I would say that we are not dumb, we've matured a bit, and I think we should have some form of say in what's happening... "


From Kevin: "It's an interesting model, the way school continues to operate, as opposed to the infinitely more learning that we can do outside of the classroom... I think that technology is a very important part of education today, and because of that the shift from the traditional student-teacher model is creating a whole bunch of new possibilities. The web is not the only method by which that will happen, but it is a very important one as well... At the core of everything else, all the technology usage, it's all about creating learners, not just students who are able to interpret the facts that the teachers just preach to them in the classroom... There are 300 - 400 teachers in my school district, maybe only a a handful, I can probably count on one hand, who actually read blogs, let alone write them." -Kevin, 17 years old, Illinois, USA


(Lindsea had less to say because she had to leave the interview early to get to class. She was on a world-wide Skype interview from her computer at school, cool as a cucumber, with all of the noise of a school campus in the background.)

It makes me wonder what our students are thinking, but not saying, about their experiences in our schools. I am struggling to identify where we are intentionally including them in our conversations about Classroom 10 and the role of technology in supporting acquisition of our Outcomes and focus on thinking skills and Habits of Mind. Is this a voice we need to hear? If yes, why do we continue to not provide for this opportunity? It would seem that engaging them in these conversations would provide us with information to influence the quality of our curriculum and increase the likelihood that more students would find meaning in and embrace the learning opportunity.

I encourage you to mark this student web site and occasionally read what they are saying about their public school experiences. At the same time, let's identify the purpose for student voice in this work and then create the opportunity for the skillful discussions to take place. Who wants this opportunity?

Well, enough for now. Have a great day!

Student Voice

Thanks to Jeff Whipple on Whip Blog I discovered this site that is designed for students to have a voice in this Web 2.0 world. I read many of the posts - they are well written and contain insights important for us as we attempt to implement changes that serve students. Check it out and read some of the posts such as the Difference Between Teaching and Preaching and The World Won't Wait for Rome. The comments are also informative. This is a must RSS feed.

Thoughts on Frenzy In the Workplace

I'm sitting at home with the tablet in front of me and the football game in the background keeping my inbox below 10 items. The Ravens are tied with the Patriots and in scoring position making me more uncomfortable since the Seahawks still have to play the Ravens.

I'm also thinking about a recent conversation I had with three people I respect about what they labeled as the "frenzy" of our work place and the lack of reflection by those of us in key positions in our district. Being one who is always promoting the need to be reflective this observation is a concern for me. I can't say that I haven't observed this "frenzy" myself because I have. I have also labeled it to those in leadership positions and spent multiple hours in what I believed were skillful discussions attempting to influence the scope and pace of work in the department. Obviously, I haven't had significant success to date.

Our short conversation has created multiple concerns for me about how we approach and engage in our work. Two of these concerns have emerged as occupiers of my reflection. The first is that many of us have come to believe that the "frenzy" is simply a part of doing our work. If we are going to be successful in supporting teachers and students frenzy goes with the work. It simply must be done and the scope and timeline we impose on ourselves is what drives these perceptions of a place with harried people, scurrying from one project to the next with little time to engage in quality control and reflection. Lack of quality control leads to mistakes that reinforce negative ladders of inference. Lack of reflection is particularly troubling because it promotes TTWWADI. We get the project done, cross it off our list, and go to the next project. We don't take the time for continuous learning that leads to the adaptive changes necessary for improving what we do and how we do it.

The second concern is the perception created by how some of us engage in the work that success is only possible if all are equally committed to the work. This "equal" commitment means working 10-11 hours daily on site and then continuing at home. Obviously, this is not healthy and can't be sustained over a long period of time though I have observed it in place for multiple years now. What can we expect? What should we expect? What is too much? How do we answer these and other questions so that people don't question their commitment and work ethic if this is not what they choose to do? Why do they have to make the choice is probably even a better question?

This short conversation where three people shared their private thoughts has resulted in much reflection by me. They made the suggestion that we plan a series of meetings to reflect on the work and to continue to share our thinking to improve both the quality of the work and the satisfaction that results from contributing to the work in balanced, meaningful ways. The first meeting is now planned. In Professional Learning Communities people share their private thoughts to promote reflection, understanding, and growth. This is an example of that in practice and I thank them for this learning opportunity.

The Ravens are leading by 4 with 1:40 to play and the Patriots driving.
Well, enough for now. Have a great day.

Not all agree that the Kindle will be a success!

The "gadget" I referred to yesterday certainly has been popping up in a lot of places. Here is a counterpoint to the potential success of the Kindle from Amazon. I can see the point about people not being ready to read novels on this gadget, but I wonder if that is because my preference would be to still have the feel of the book. It makes more sense to me to fall asleep clutching the book (as I have often done) than this cold piece of machinery. When the price drops and novels are available at $9.99, however, it would make me think twice about the importance of cuddling with the book.

But, I wonder about the kids in our schools. Is reading on a device more "comfortable", more "natural" to them than packing around a back-breaking bag from class-to-class and back home? I don't have the answer, but I lean towards the belief that this gadget or probably one of the next generation of this gadget will have a significant impact on how we do business. With that being the case I believe that we should be exploring this and the many other "gadgets" available to support learning and teaching.

Another example is this new computer from Asus that Dawn shared with me. At $399 (they now have a $300 model) , this machine and others being developed and in the market will force us to think about what we can and will put into the hands of our students. This price is about one-fourth the cost of the machines we have placed at the middle schools and high school. Wonderful opportunties await us as we continue to shift our focus to instruction and the support of learning and teaching. What are you doing to personnaly keep informed in this "new" area of our work? What exciting things are happening in your work environments with technology?

Choosing Innovations for Focus

I'm finally back after much frustration in trying to figure out why I couldn't access my blog. Much thanks to Ben in the tech department for walking me through a very easy fix. I still don't understand how I messed up. I learned another lesson though, ask for help more quickly and stop treating this like being lost on a road trip. Oh well, old habits are hard to change.



In catching up on the blogs I read I wanted to share this one (go to the second entry on convergence in this blog) with you. How do we stay abreast of all these changes? How do we prioritize what to focus on considering all the innovations out there and being planned? The potential is unlimited if we break out of TTWWADI and think about how these tools can support learning and teaching. This one is about e-paper and a smart pen that is due out soon. Can and will it replace traditional paper? It certainly opens up many possibilities and forces the question around what should we be doing with it?

Again, this is only one there are so many more out there. It reinforces the for me the need to continue to learn and to find ways to bring meaning and excitement to the classroom for students.

Well, enough for now have a great day!

The Seahawks and Performance Centers

I just got home from the Seahawks game. If we could play the 49'ers every game we would be better than 5 and 4. It was cold, but winning makes it easier to persevere. An added treat was our cheerleaders participating in the half time show. They were great!

On the way home we passed the new complex being built on the lake to house the Seahawks headquarters and training center. It is large and impressive. I wonder if we could get Paul Allen to help us with our proposed performance center? In case you don't know, we are gaining some momentum on this project. Council member Dunn recently made a pitch to Representative Reichert in Washington D.C. and we have a meeting scheduled with the Governor's husband, a veteran who is active in those circles. We also have contacts in Senator Murray's office with the potential for a grant writer to assist us in finding grant money. This is an exciting opportunity as we seek partners to support our needs and those of the National Cemetery.

If only Paul Allen would come on board this thing might get done before I retire for real.

Well, enough for now. Have a great day.

Are We As Bad As Some Would Lead Us to Believe?

I ran across this report in one of the blogs that I read. It caught my attention because I have over the last couple of years been one of those that has used data about competition with China and India and the lack of engineering students in our country in presentations to staff and community. This review and reading the abstract have reinforced the questions that I struggle with when reading Pink's A Whole New Mind and the many reports about what young people need for success in an unpredictable future.

Where will all these engineering students work and is there incentive to enter this field in the absence of quality work upon graduation? Where will young people not wanting to pursue math and science find opportunity for success in life, including financially? If what Pink and this report are saying is true, what does it mean for how we structure our young people's learning opportunities? How do we provide guidance to young people who will enter a world we may not be able to predict?

The opportunities we have are endless as we struggle with this information and identify how to create learning environments that focus on the knowledge, skills, and attitudes they will need for success post K-12 learning and work. If you question the focus on math and science and believe that this is only one of the areas of focus necessary to prepare them for their world, this review and the report will support your beliefs and provide you with information to engage others around what is important in our work.

Well, enough for now. Have a great day.