Social Media In Education

This weekend, I was invited to attend a focus group initiated by a publishing company to gain insight into the role of social media in education.

Initially, I was excited to connect with tweeps I had built relationships with solely through the vehicle of social media; and to be perfectly honest, this was the biggest motivator in my participtation. It felt a little like attending a reunion for a group of friends who had never met. When I arrived, I didn’t have the usual feeling of anxiety or anticipation I might have when walking into a room full of virtual ‘strangers’, I felt that I was a part of an existing community of somewhat faceless friends. Social media is the great equalizer – because most of our usual initial judements are suspended – making one’s words their primary interaction with the world rather than their appearance.

Once the conversation in the room started, it took on a synergy of its own. It was overwhelmingly powerful to be in one space with such innovators and thinkers. At times, it was perhaps a little intimidating. The discussion started to heat up, as we addressed the roles of social media in classrooms, student’s right to privacy and content ownership. The unique dynamics to a room like this however, was a little unlike any one I had previously attended. The conversations took on multiple layers, spanning different forums as it moved seamlessly from the spoken conversations into the Twitter stream online and back again. The hashtag #ontsm quickly attracted the attention of Tweeps outside room and throughout the day it was trending #1 in Canada. The conversation was rich, engaging and challenging. As I left, I was greatful to be a part of such a conversation. And on my drive home I started to reflect on the entire process.

However, it wasn’t long after I arrived home that the Twitter stream started to take on a different dynamic. The voices of educators who were not a part of the focus group started to join in the conversation. They raised valuable questions about how participants were selected, the purpose of the group and addressed the feeling of excusivity and exclusion – real issues we all face in our schools. The use of social media – the tool that is intended to broaden the conversation – clearly illustrated that there were voices that were not a part of the dialogue. My Twitterverse, my PLN, my harmonious collaborative work-space was filled with confict. I wasn’t sure where I stood.

Was the idea of a focus group a bad idea? Was it a mistake to take the discussion to multiple levels through social media? Was it wrong for a publishing company to hire educators to learn about how some of us use social media in our classes? Was the flare-up that followed on Twitter a negative thing?

In my mind, the reality is that the ‘after’ conversations were just as insightful, if not more so, than the conversations that occured during the day. Many of the ‘voices who were absent’ were heard in a different way and ironically, they were the ones who carried the conversation well into the following day. I actually think that the learning that happened during the focus group, as well as after, was much bigger than the publishing company may have ever anticipated. They learned exactly what they had hoped to learn, although they may not realize it yet. They have a first hand account of how social media can impact a group of learners in a room, extend into the world, and back again to impact the original participants and shape the way we all move forward. That is the movement in education. This is what dynamic learning looks like. If their goal truly was to gain insight into the role of social media in education… well then, I hope they learned their lesson well. Now, I wonder what they will do with it.

Virtual Parents in the Classroom

Have you ever had someone watch you teach?  I mean stand there with a clip-board and observe your every move?  What if these observers were the parents of your students? Would that make you feel uncomfortable, or would you welcome them as eager participants in the learning process?

This year, I decided to invite the parents of my students to become “virtual flies-on-my-walls”.  I wondered what it would be like to involve the parents on a daily basis.

Realistically, we all have jobs (and lives), and the craziness of the everyday would prohibit such a thing. However, through social media, I have ventured into the unknown… inviting parents to share in our daily learning experiences.  And the result has been amazing!!

As a frequent user of Twitter, I highly value the instant connectivity that it provides.  Wouldn’t it be great if we could share this with our parents?  our kids?

Here’s how the journey began:

Long before my students even entered our classroom in September, I created a classroom Twitter handle… and started tweeting.  I posted pictures of the classroom before and after it had been set up.  In the early days of school I started to share the learning that was happening.  After a few weeks, there was a rich record of the things that we were doing on a daily basis in the form of our Twitter stream.  It was then that I invited parents to join us.  I invited them to become a virtual fly-on-the-walls of our classroom through Twitter.  By ‘following’ our classroom Twitter account, they could see what their kids were learning at the moment they were learning it.  We shared things like books we had read, math problems we had tackled, tools we were using and skills we were learning.  In our classroom, we established the role of  ”Media Relations” and this student would tweet our learning for the day.

What did the parents think?  I would love to tell you that they are all avidly “following” our every move… but that would not be true.  However, I am celebrating that I now have more than 50% of my students’ parents following us on Twitter.  But the highlight of this experience so far has been the new partnerships that have formed between myself and my parent community.  As some parents joined Twitter, they sent me notes celebrating the fact that they had “ventured into the Twitterverse” for the first time in their lives. One had a moment of panic when they were ‘spammed’ for the first time.  Recently, one parent tweeted to us while were on a field trip, and another proudly commented on her son’s work…. but we are learning together.  All of us.  Students, parents and especially me.

Having virtual flies-on-the-walls has allowed us to all partner together to support our children with their learning.  We have ‘connected’ the dots between home and school… by being connected through social media.  We are joining our children in becoming risk-takers… all of us trying something new (and a little bit scary) for the first time together.  And for the most part, we are all loving it!

(For the parents who are not yet ‘following’ our Twitter stream, I occasionally print our activities so that they can stay abreast of our learning).

I am always amazed by my students… but this year, it is the parents who are amazing me the most.

A Prose by Any Other Name…

Let’s face it, there are some people who judge others by their baby-naming ability. After all, it is one’s first real responsibility as a parent.  Many of us can instantly think of the ‘creatively named’ celebrity babies who have graced the pages of social media.  Likewise, people judge books by their ‘perfect title’.

Titling is by far the hardest thing I do as a writer.  I know that the title has to be “perfect” in order to capture the intended audience’s attention.  I have moments of brilliance, when I have helped other author friends find just the right title for their books, and yet, when it comes to my own titles, it seems that the pressure to “be brilliant” sends me into a tail spin.  I am always passionate with my ‘first-gut’ title, but then, I second guess myself.  Doubt is a terrible thing!  There have been times when manuscripts have gone through as many as seven titles before arriving at the final one.

Just to share my latest personal struggle with you:  My latest book, is a practical resource intended to help teachers best utilize a 100 minute literacy block.  My colleague and friend, initially suggested the title: 100 MINUTES! (the exclamation mark was very important to him).  Yes! Clearly that was the right title for this book.  It was catchy, short, memorable and clear; all of the important qualities in a good title.  I loved it!  I was committed to it!  I knew it was the one!

…until…

 I started to second guess myself.  A hundred minutes of what?  What if the reader’s don’t have exactly 100 minutes for their literacy block?  I started to wage war with an inner battle.  It needed to be perfect! It needed to be just right!  It needed to be brilliant!  New titles started to creep into my mind.  What about 100 MEANINGFUL MINUTES?  There!  That gives it purpose.  Hmmm, what about MAXIMIZING 100 MINUTES ? – nope, trying too hard.  The 100 MINUTE LITERACY BLOCK?  Too textbookish!  Suggestions came from other sources, what about:  DOING MORE WITH THE LITERACY BLOCK?  Doing more?  Doing more what?  A PRACTICAL APPROACH TO THE LITERACY BLOCK – yes!  I love the word “practical”!, No! Too wordy and what happened to my ‘100’ and my “MINUTES”  And on and on came the suggestions.  None seemed right.  I sent out an open plea through social media:  If someone could up with the perfect title, I would dedicate the book to them.  Now, if that isn’t motivation, I don’t know what is.  More suggestions poured in.  Some were funny like:  BUY MY BOOK, ITS REALLY GOOD, and some really practical:  A PRACTICAL GUIDE TO MAXIMIZING THE 100 MINUTE LITERACY BLOCK.  Ugg!  Titling this book was turning into nightmare!

Finally, I found it. The perfect title.  The one that was catchy, sharp, clever and captured the reader’s attention. It said everything it needed to say, and everything I wanted to say. The one that matched all of my title-success-criteria.  The perfect title was 100 MINUTES!

I have always had an appreciation for good titles.  I have always enjoyed the cleverness that it takes for an author to capture the sentiment of an entire manuscript with a few words.  Finding the perfect title is hard.  It’s a little like naming your children.  You know that it is the first interaction the book will have with the world… and there are people who will judge you because of your book-naming abilities.  But, when you see my new book, please know how much work went into finding ‘the perfect title’!

Read Aloud: Make Books Come Alive!

As long as I live, I will always remember curling up in my bed and listening to my mom read my favourite childhood story, The Three Billy Goats Gruff.  I recall her deepening her voice and reciting “Who’s that trip trapping across my bridge?”  and then in timid reply, “It’s just me, the littlest Billy Goat Gruff“.  Night after night, I pleaded for her to read this book to me, and night after night, she obliged.

Many years later, I remember sitting in a large lecture hall – my first day at a new University – and staring wide-eyed as I listened to my professor read a story aloud.  It had been over a decade, since I’d had the experience of listening to a story read aloud.  The voice of Dr. Elizabeth Thorn, is forever etched in my mind as I recall her reading the words “I went to sleep with gum in my mouth, and now there’s gum in my hair…and I could tell it was going to be a terrible, horrible no good, very bad day“.  Although this was many, many years ago, this text remains with me.  Often on difficult days, I find myself sighing “well, some days are like that… even in Australia!“

Now as a teacher, I make it a promise to read aloud to my students every day.  I am always awed by the intensity with which they listen while I read.  We engage in deep and thoughtful conversations.  We don’t simply “read” the books… we ”live” the adventure.  We’ve laughed together, cried together, and sat riveted as mysteries have unfolded in front of us.  On a daily basis, we experience grand adventures together.  We travel to distant times, incredible places, we enter worlds of imagination and wonder.  We explore new places, new perspectives, new realities.  Even if only for a short time, our classroom is transported, filled with creativity and dreams.

March 7th is Read-Aloud day…. perhaps I’ll read an old favourite, or try something new.  Either way, I’m sure we will be “living an adventure” through a book.  How about you?

Kinetic Learning: Learning In Motion!

If metacognition is the “thinking about our thinking” what is the word that best describes our ability to learn how to learn?  Learning in the 21st Century means so much more than being able to memorize content.  It is much more about the process of learning, than the content of learning.  But, how do we begin to define this process of learning.  It is certainly not a process that is static, but one that is always changing; a process that is evolving.  Students need be able to access a range of learning strategies that allow them to be flexible when accessing, interpreting, and applying the information they need. 

Last week, I attended a conference in Toronto called Reading For The Love of It.  There I met with Frieda Wishinsky.  Together we started to further explore this concept of Kinetic Learning.  Frieda said:  “I believe that real learning is process, Learning has energy and motion, It’s not facts. Facts come and go from your memory but the “how-to” approach develops, grows and extends. Not just into one subject but many. So much of testing kids has been about static knowledge rather than problem solving. The more we let kids “brainstorm”, read widely and learn how to learn, the better they will be at adapting to new situations and growing.“

If we think of learning as having motion, a certain amount of momentum that allows students to transfer the skills they learn in school to authentic real-life situations it is truly a kinetic form of learning.  It is no longer about the potential that students have to gain and recall knowledge, but the power of applying their ability to learn in order to continue their learning. 

Students can easily access content therefore, learning in the 21st Century can no longer be only about the acquisition of content.  Instead, we need to think of learning as a dynamic process, where we are teaching students, not only so that they will learn, but more importantly that they will  become learners.

Principles of Kinetic Learning

1.  Kinetic Learning focuses on skills rather than content In a world where information is easily accessible, students need to spend less time memorizing facts, and more time learning how to access, interpret, analyze and use the information they encounter.

2.  Kinetic Learning is forward thinking  – It is not about the work that they have done, but rather, about the work that they are going to do.  Students need to be reflective learners, using feedback to set goals in order to help them transfer and apply their learning in new and novel situations.

3.  Kinetic Learning is authentic and purposeful -  Learning needs to be current, relevant and important in the eyes of the students.  Learners need explicitly see the purpose for their learning and the value it will have in the future.

4.  Kinetic Learning is multifaceted – Learning is cross-curricular and incorporates skills from different disciplines.  Through inquiry learning, or collaborative problem solving, students can apply a broad range of familiar strategies to explore new, unique or interesting situations.

5.  Kinetic Learning is “Why” and “How” based? - Learning encourages students to think critically by challenging existing beliefs and act collaboratively by expanding and building on the ideas of others.   

Kinetic Learning is a dynamic process where students learn valuable skills that will enable them to develop momentum in their learning.  It is not about learning knowledge, but rather the knowledge of how of how to learn.  In the same way that metacognition is the process of thinking about our thinking, then kinetic learning is a process where we help students to learn how to learn.  This is learning in motion!

“Time is Relative”

I believe it was Einstein who in his theory of relativity, stated that “Time is Relative”.  While I do not profess to have a vast knowledge of science, and am far from an expert in the actual physics involved, this phase has been making me think about the way we often talk about time.

In 1948, George Orwell imagined the world of the future.  His “distant future” was the year 1984.  

While 1985 seemed like an unimaginable future for George Orwell, it was “the present” for Marty MacFly (A.K.A. Michael J Fox).  When he traveled to his “unimaginable distant future” , it was the year 2015.

For many teachers,  the “21st Century” seems to refer to a futuristic learning environment where students use digital devices to engage, connect, create, communicate.  Educators use the term “21st Century Learning” to refer to cutting edge teaching and learning.  It is thought of as the “new evolution of  instruction”.  However, time is relative.  For most of our students, they were born in the 21st Century.  It is the only time they know.  It is not their future, but instead their present.  The 21st Century began before most of them were even born.  It is not a time to come, but instead is a time that has already come.  

The future of George Orwell, was the present for Marty MacFly.  The 21st Century, may seem like the future for teachers, but it is the present for students. They already connect, engage, create and communicate.  It is our jobs to make their present world a part of their everyday learning.  It is not the future, it is now!

So, although I will not pretend to understand a great mind like Einstein, maybe this is what he meant when he said “time is relative”.  It is relative to each individual, their past, their present and their future.  The 21st Century is now.

Technology: My Love-Hate Relationship

My mom hated snakes!  Every time she saw one, she would run screaming and shouting (which was something to see from a woman with such a reserved nature).  As a result, I am terrified of snakes, my brother is terrified of snakes, and my children also fear the scaly leg-less creatures.

I began my love-hate relationship with technology during my early teenage years.  I remember sitting in a stuffy computer lab on the second floor of my high school writing ‘programming code’ that looked something like: “If line3+line4= 12, then goto line 5“.  Although I didn’t truly understand the importance of the beginning of the computer age, I thought it was exciting and new.  My confidence grew, and I wanted my own computer.  A new LOVE was formed!

Years later, I owned my first PC.  A white IBM computer where everything appeared in glowing green print on an ever-flickering blue screen.  Overly confident with my ‘limited’ knowledge, I began to load new software onto my precious device.  Floppy disk after floppy disk, I installed software.  I loved computers…. right up until a program failed to install properly.  That was when the panic hit.  I began to frantically click “uninstall” buttons trying to remove all of the corrupted files from my precious hard drive.  All went well, until, I accidentally deleted a crucial part of my start-up operating system.  That was when my fear of technology began…the hate and mistrust started to seep into the relationship.

And yet, I sojourned on, still loving technology although now a little more wary of it.  A few years later, while taking a programming class at University, my roommate and I struggled to complete a programming assignment – using BASIC.  After a long sleepless night, we submitted our separate assignments.  A few weeks later, we were both almost expelled for academic dishonesty. We had collaborated to solve a challenging problem, and yet this was seen as a lack of integrity.  It’s strange the way the digital world has evolved to expect collaboration, sharing, and co-creating.

Year after year, story after story, experience after experience.  It seemed that the more confident I became with technology, the more frequently I ran into difficulties.  I once re-formatted my report card program and installed blank templates on top of my existing data, I’ve frequently saved ‘new and blank’ files in place of existing and valuable files, lost years worth of precious family photos when a home computer gave up the ghost, and most recently lost hours of work on my latest manuscript when my computer decided to ”clean itself”.  I’ve made mistakes, and at times, my technology has failed me.

And yet I still love these devices that make my life both simultaneously better and worse.  In one breath, I’m eager to share something my students have learned using a new tool, app or device, and in the other, I’m wondering “where is the volume button on this silly device?”. 

I am always amazed that my PLN consists of teachers who span the country and even the globe.  It astounds me that my editor and publisher collaborate with me through the use of on-line tools.  I’m always awed by the sharing and support that is available from friends I have never met: friends I would not know if I stood behind them in a grocery line – and yet, they have virtually opened their classrooms to me.  Technology makes my life easier, it makes it possible to do innovative new things, to engage students like never before.  It allows every voice to be heard, it allows me to connect, communicate, share, question.  It is the single most powerful tool in my classroom and my life.

…and yet, I continue to have a deep-seeded fear of it.  I remember the times it has failed me or I have made costly mistakes. 

However, when I put devices in the hands of my students or my own children, they are completely fearless.  They click, they explore, they question, they discover.  Fearless!  Worry-free!  They have none of the limitations that make up my techno-baggage.  And that is why I continue to push through my anxieties, my frustrations, my limitations and learn along-side my students.  I do not want to project my techno-anxieties on them. I want them to be free to push buttons and see what happens.  To explore, to try new things, to succeed, overcome their own challenges and to learn.

The technology of today, is not the technology I grew up with.  It is true that I will continue to make mistakes and technology will at times fail.  But, this love-hate relationship that started so long ago, will continue to thrive.  I will continue to take risks, to try new things, to fail, but ultimately to succeed.  I have learned that when working with technology, it’s not about knowing the answers.  It is about being willing to take risks, to be innovative and to try new things.  It’s about exploring, learning and unfortunately yes, at times overcoming failures.  It’s about learning how to do things in creative ways, to collaborate with new people, to share and access information…. and to remember to ALWAYS back up your important files!  I will continue my love-hate relationship.  And through it all, I will promise not to project my fears onto my youngsters – because there is no need to be afraid of technology…. or snakes!