IT's Elementary

Empowering, Encouraging, Equipping Educators and Students

Come Fly With Me

March 23, 2013 by · No Comments · Good teaching, Legacy

For years I have mostly flown economy class. This has included many domestic and international flights. I have had a few occasions to fly business and although it was nice I never made a connection to my teaching and classroom. Recently my husband has taken me with him on 2 business trips and both times we flew business class.

When you fly economy you are politely greeted at the door of the plane. You find your seat and then find place for your carry on luggage. Often if you are a bit late the overhead bins near you are full and you search for another spot or fill the area by your feet. Even if you are early someone may come in and decide to move your things to make room for their own belongings. If you have made a “special” meal request the flight attendants will come find you to confirm your name and request. Otherwise you are served either chicken or beef that is prepackaged and looks just like you neighbor’s. You have very little room to move around. You can get up when the seatbelt sign is off but often you have to disturb others seated nearby.

In business class you are one of the first allowed on the plane so you can find lots of room for your belongings. With the newer planes on international flights you will often have your own cubicle with a seat that reclines into a bed and no need to disturb anyone if you need or want to get up. The flight attendant will come to your seat, know your name, introduce themselves and ask if you would like a drink before take off. You are served drinks in glass cups. There is a menu filled with a variety of delicious choices for your meals and a variety of snacks you can order throughout the flight. When it is dinner time the flight attendant prepares your table with a linen cloth. Your meal is served in courses on real plates with real silverware. As I reflected on how my classroom should resemble business class with a choice menu and personal working space I was also struck by the fact in business class although traveling with my husband there was generally a wall between us and very little opportunity to talk. On our second flight, from Frankfurt to Geneva we were on a smaller plane and although in business class we were seated right next to one another. At the airport we also had access to the business lounge were we had computer access, more food and a variety of seats to choose from. So although flying business class is great to relax, stretch out and even have a lot of workspace with delicious food, their needs to be balance.

I want my classroom to be a place where students are not only known by name but given choices based on interests and abilities. They also need to learn to collaborate with classmates and with students outside of my class. They need to make good choices of where to work and how to use their work space appropriately. We have begun this with our language arts structure of using the Daily 5 and to some degree with our math choices. I’ve tried to incorporate more choices in Bible as students choose how to show their understanding of content and concepts. I am still working on how to provide more choices based on ability, particularly in math. As we face our final push when we return from spring break on April 1, my desire is to provide my students with choices that will engage, encourage and empower them in the learning process not only for this year but all of their lives.

As in all aspects of life there needs to be balance. Students need to learn to make choices and to follow the rules, they also need to learn to work independently as well as collaboratively. As their teacher I need to know them and know myself and my limitations so I can keep balance in my own life. I need to model the attitudes and behaviors I desire to see in my students, love of God, family and others, commitment to lifelong learning, collaboration and high expectations.

Tags: ·

How Do We Help? Part 3

March 10, 2013 by · 2 Comments · Connected educator, Learning, Tech tools

Flat Classroom in Yokohama finished today, but it is far from ended. You can see an incredible final student presentation here. The videos are awesome and awe inspiring. What passion and desire to make a change. While some of the students were furiously working on this presentation and videos the rest of us continued our learning.

The teachers and students not involved in creating the videos or final presentation were learning about emerging technologies.

  1. 3D Printing
  2. Cloud Computing
  3. Crowd Sourcing
  4. Digital Identity
  5. Electronic Publishing
  6. Flipped Classroom
  7. Games and Gamification
  8. Gesture-based Computing
  9. Open Content
  10. Social Media
  11. Virtual and Remote Laboratories
  12. Virtual Worlds

The teachers divided into 12 groups and 2 students joined each group. We did some research to find out about how one of these are or might be used in the classroom and then the students moved from table to table sharing with the teachers. Once again, the poise and knowledge and insight of the students was wonderful. You can find out more about these on the Flat Classroom wiki or wait for the K-12 Horizon white paper to come out. There are so many things to explore and learn about, but the best thing to do is to choose 1 or 2 and become comfortable with those, then add to your tool box. Find others in your school who are willing to collaborate or who have chosen some different tools and then share your expertise. No one can know or begin to image all that is possible, but little by little with the constant sharing of ideas we will all grow and learn as educators.

Since it is Sunday evening and I have school tomorrow morning, this will be short. But check out the Flat Classroom website and look for a conference that you might attend in person or virtually. If you want to see photos from the conference there are many on Flickr. A HUGE thank you to Julie Lindsay and Kim Cofino, along with all the other presenters and behind the scene workers. It was a fabulous conference!

 

Tags: ·

How Can We Help? Part 2

March 9, 2013 by · 4 Comments · Connected educator, Learning

Day 2 of Flat Classroom 2013 is ended. WOW!

How our day began!

2013 Flat Classroom Conference

Such energy and fabulous  ideas of how to use Web 2.0 tools to collaborate, create and change our world. We started the day with Future Learning Action Talks(Flats). Alan Levine began by sharing several amazing and inspiring stories including how and why the web was created: to have a common space we can share. But even its creator, Tim Berners-Lee could not have imagined what it has grown into. Today, anybody can link to anything. How will we help our students to create a vision of what they can do to use the web to change the future? Yesterday I was fortunate to attend one of the sessions Alan did on editing sound and creating a story just with sound. Maybe that will be one of the activities I use at summer camp. Here are 2 of the websites he recommended: audacity and free sound.

Sharon Brown-Peters from the American School in Bombay shared next. Sharon’s passion is educational technology and service projects.  Many have seen the following video but if you have never seen it, please take 3 minutes to watch.

Sharon was also sharing her photojournalism project. So often when a disaster happens the media is there, but after the initial crisis who is there to tell the stories of the rebuilding? One of her students has worked on to tell the story of a girl in India. Students can reach out to other students and share their stories. Some of these stories may be “picked up” by the larger news agencies. It is “Your Voice, Your Choice.” How will you use your voice to change the life of even one person?  Next February will be ASB Un-Plugged.

We spent a good part of the morning working on a storyboard to pitch our idea of Temporary Spaces.

Flat Classroom Conference Japan 2013

Here is the google doc presentation we pitched. We heard 8 student teams pitch their ideas and 7 teacher teams. So many great ideas on how we can make a difference. Tomorrow we will hear and see the final presentations of 8 student teams and 6 teacher teams. We only heard half of the group today and each half chose 4 student teams and 3 teacher teams.(I think) There will also be one virtual team presentation. It was interesting that bullying was a topic mentioned by 2 of the student teams. One of the groups will present Bullying anonymous tomorrow. Another student group is We C.A.N., their idea is 5 steps: spread the word, collect money, hire people in a disaster affected area to clean a neighborhood, have the neighborhood cleaned and repeat. Not only helping to clean up, but giving back to the community by hiring local people who may be without a job. Another student team is called Internection building a community with the international school community as a way of reaching out to local areas that have experienced a disaster. The last student team from our group is working on Donations with Organizations. All of these ideas came from the students and tomorrow we’ll see from the other group of students as well.

The teacher’s ideas were equally inspiring. The three top ones in our group were 4+1. The idea that we have school on 4 days and the 5th day is a day for creating, service projects, etc. Google has done this with giving their employees 20% of their time to play and create what they want. Another one is Smashing Stereotypes by connecting schools to help tear down stereotypes. The last one is the Shoji Foundation. One of my favorites was Kids2Kids. This was somewhat along the lines of what Sharon had shared with students telling the stories. But sending disposable cameras to an area and allowing the children there to take photos and tell their story. The collaborating class would work with editing those stories and getting them out on the web. I would like to try something like this with the orphanage we have a connection to in the Philippines and with a school in Kenya that I know of.

After listening to so many pitches and being challenged to think about how we can provide  platforms for changing our world I would have thought we were done. But Julie Lindsay had one more activity for us – Kung Fu 2.0. Each teacher was asked to choose a favorite Web 2.0 tool to pitch to another person. We stood in 2 lines facing each other, the people in one line had about 2 minutes to share their idea with the person across the line. Then we moved down the line and the opposite side shared. We did this for 4 rounds. I shared Storybird a great writing tool for individuals and collaboration. I heard about SketchUp and InstaGrok. What a great way to share new ideas and create interest among colleagues.

As I reflect on “What is next?” my mind seems to be swimming. I know I want to begin by contacting the orphanage in the Philippines and Kononia Education Centre in Kenya and see how my class my connect and collaborate with their students. I also want to share with my colleagues and encourage them to connect to other classrooms. Our senior students are all required to do a senior comprehensive project where they choose a global issue and complete the following.

  • A research portfolio
  • A writing portfolio
  • A hands-on project
  • An oral presentation.

What I would like to see is our elementary teachers connect their classes and begin building the foundation of volunteering. Then some of our middle school students become involved in Flat Classroom conferences where they interact with other students from other schools who want to make a difference. By the time they reach high school they will have seen problems with a variety of possible solutions. Choosing  a problem and creating a hands-on project will be easy and they will already be familiar with resources and tools they have used in elementary and middle school. I know the staff at my school are always eager to help, especially in a disaster, but how can and will they translate that into the classroom? Hopefully one step at a time as they see what can be done. What will you do to make a change?

If you want to see some of Flat Classroom check it out here or visit the wiki.

Tags:

“How can we help each other?”

March 8, 2013 by · 2 Comments · Connected educator

That is the theme of Flat Classroom 2013 at Yokohama International School in Japan. Rebekah Madrid ended our first day by challenging us to think about “How can we help each other?” Flat Classroom is a unique conference where educators and students come together to connect, collaborate and change the world we live in using Web 2.0 technology and creating action projects.

We started the day hearing from 4 different people who work with organizations that are helping in the Tohoku region that was affected by the earthquake on March 11, 2011. It was a timely reminder of the ongoing need in the Tohoku region as well as in many other parts of the world.(The 2 year anniversary is only 3 days away.) Amya Miller from Vigor Japan shared what she has been doing. In Rikuzentakata where she is living, only 30% of the rubble has been cleared away in 2 years. Angela Ortiz share about OGA for AID. She emphasized the need to ask the right questions. Asking “What do you need?” will often result in the answer we are fine. Asking, “How often are you eating? What are you eating? How are you preparing the food?” will get people to open up. 2nd Harvest is a food bank that is helping people in the Tohoku area as well as other parts of Japan. Sear Palmer who works for 2nd Harvest shared that 16% of the people in Japan live under the poverty level. It has taken 10 years to develop relationships with some of the producers to be willing to give their products, but 2nd Harvest has stuck with it and provides food for many people in Japan. Satoshi Kitahama from Hand on Tokyo was the last to share. He stressed that we need to get students to understand the importance of volunteering, not just to add to a resume but because it makes us feel good. After hearing from these four people we moved on to learning about our task for the weekend.

The students are working on teams with students from other schools. The educators were also divided into groups and then asked to create their own teams. The students and educators were asked to identify a problem and then brainstorm solutions. The students then worked on creating a pitch that they would be sharing  with various teams of educators for feedback. They will continue on this tomorrow and a few will get to present on Sunday.(More on those later.) I was impressed as the teams came to pitch their project to us. There were 5 students all from various schools and they had to choose a problem and begin to develop a solution. The collaboration was evident. Some projects seemed more doable and some seem very idealistic.

Students making their pitch for their project.

The team I am on has 6 members all from different schools, Korea, Hong Kong, BomBay, and 3 of us from Japan. Our name is Temporary Spaces, we were challenged by one of our members to develop something based on the idea created by Gap Fillers although we want it to be “By kids for kids.” We want to be able to work with a school or other organization in a disaster struck area to provide a temporary “fun” place for kids on space that has been cleared but is not ready for a permanent building. These would be short-term projects that could include anything from designing an outdoor game board to sending seeds to plant flowers in the area. Even as I thought more about this I wondered if we could partner with Vigor Japan. Amya talked about going and playing with the kids. This wouldn’t just have to be for the Tohoku region but could be for any disaster in any country. Tomorrow we’ll have more time to discuss and possibly plan.

I didn’t know what exactly to expect when I signed up for Flat Classroom. I thought it was more about learning tools and connecting with other classrooms around the world. That is a very small part of Flat Classroom, but the bigger picture is using those tools to help students change their world or as the mission statement at CAJ states “Equipping students to impact the world for Christ.” One regret I have is that I am the only teacher from CAJ at this conference. But I also know that as I go back I will go back connected to many more like minded educators who want to connect their students to projects where they can learn about their world and how they can make a difference no matter how young or old they may be.

Looking forward to another day tomorrow and Sunday of being challenged and developing ideas of how to challenge my students and colleagues.

Tags: ·

Google Apps for Education Summit

February 10, 2013 by · 4 Comments · Connected educator, Learning

Just spent 2 incredible days of learning and connecting at Google Apps for Education Summit Tokyo. The theme was Passion, Play and Purpose. How do we bring those into the classroom? The Keynote speakers:  Rushton Hurley, Jim Sill and Wendy Gorton were very inspiring. Also enjoyed sessions by each of them and a few other presenters: Linda Hayakawa and Kaori Hakone, Travis Ion and Chris Smith.

“Technology in the hands of a good teacher can make great things happen.” by Rushton Hurley the creator of Next Vista for Learning. His website is well worth exploring along with his Free resources. Technology levels the playing field and we have to accept that sometimes our great ideas will bomb, but with the students’ input we can work to create something even better the next time. Rushton also did a workshop on Getting Teachers to Go Google – What to do and not to do. He used an analogy from the theme song for Beverly Hillbillies.

Jed and his family moved to Beverly Hills, but fundamentally didn’t change. Am I moving forward? Or am I holding on to ideas and ways of doing things that need to change with my new environment. I need to stay true to myself, but am I willing to try some of the new fangled gadgets that could and will make parts of my life easier or am I just going to keep on doing it the way I’ve always done it because it is familiar and easy?

Rushton reminded us that it really isn’t about the technology but about exploring and connecting with our students and possibly other staff members. We all know that our schools and our own teaching can use improvement but when we talk of “changes” many people become fearfully. Respect that fear and allow lots of opportunities to play. One other analogy he made was of a red button. A child will push it to see what happens, adults will ask “What does it do?” before pushing it. We all need to find that inner child. I can relate to that as for a long time I was reluctant and scared to “try” new things on the computer. I had a bad experience that I wrote about here. In the last year and a half with the encouragement of Coetail I’ve taken on many new challenges with technology. In fact, next school year I will be the elementary technology facilitator for my school.

Jim Sill was the keynote speaker this morning. He played Madonna’s song, Material Girl. What kind of world are we living in today? A Twitter World, An Instagram World, A YouTube World, GoPro World. What kind of world do you live in? How can I foster creativity in my students? Sir Ken Robinson states, “We teach creativity right out of kids.” Young children come to school believing they are great artists and well they should. We are all created in the image of God, God is the creator of all things and it was good! How would you fill in the blanks:

We are living in a ___________world &                                                             We are ______________ girls/boys.

Wendy Gorton is a lady with an incredible amount of energy and passion for helping others to learn and be connected. Her passion is infectious and even though she speaks like a bullet train, the learning happens. I got good resources and ideas. I look forward to sharing some of her resources with others as they fit into the curriculum.

Some of the workshops also gave me practical help in creating forms, documents and wikis. One form I created was

I have 8 responses already that I look forward to sharing with my students and then having them fill out the same form. I still need to figure out how to create something from the spreadsheet and answers but that will be for another day. Thank you to Chris Smith for the ideas and time to play.

The one bad point of the whole weekend was that I have laryngitis and was not able to talk with anyone. I’m glad for twitter and a pen and paper. If you have the opportunity to attend a Google Apps for Education Summit I would HIGHLY recommend you attend and if possible take along a few colleagues. I’m glad for my Coetail cohorts I could reconnect with but was lonely being the only one from my school. Next time, I’m taking someone or more that one with me!

Tags: ··

More Like Him

February 4, 2013 by · 2 Comments · Legacy

I was asked to share a testimony at the KBF(my church) ladies’ retreat this past weekend. I would like to share what I said, and a bit more, since it wasn’t written at the time.

What does it mean to me to be a Christian? What do I want to look like, sound like, act like?

Last April I joined an online support group for losing weight. The first thing we were asked to do was decide why we wanted to lose weight and set our goal. It was suggested that we write out the goal and put it in strategic places in the house. Maybe even get a photo or picture of what our goal was so we had a picture in our mind to work towards. The first step in changing any behavior is to have a goal that is yours, not your doctor’s, your husband’s, friends’, your pastor’s or any one else’s. With your goal firmly in mind and a picture in your head you can begin making changes and work towards your goal. 

My goal was to fit into a dress I had. I could wear it, but it wasn’t comfortable to eat  in and I really didn’t feel good about how I looked in it. (The dress is now too big on me! I have lost about 20 kg, with a small up and down recently.) To get there I started walking everyday, or most everyday. By the end of the summer and into the fall I was walking 20,000 steps 4-5 days a week. I no longer wear the pedometer, but I walk 30 – 40 minutes most every morning, walk to and from school and try to walk a few afternoons. On weekends I usually walk about an hour and a half. I also cut down on carbs, particularly bread and rice. I eat lots of vegetables and fruit and often have yoghurt and cottage cheese with carrot sticks and a piece of fruit for lunch. I try to make wise choices if I am going to eat a snack, and got rid of most snacks from my house. I still enjoy my ice cream but not so often and I usually buy Haagen dazs so that I really enjoy the calories that come from the ice cream.

So what does this have to do with my testimony? I was never very athletic and although I have heard many analogies to sports and the Christian life I couldn’t personally relate. But as I thought about the life style choices and changes I made I began to see how it was related to my Christian life. 

What is my goal? I want to look like Jesus. I want to sound like him and act like him. Is that even possible? How do I do that?

I need to know him more. I need to picture in my mind and know in my heart what he would say and how he would act. This is by no means easy. The more I want to follow him the more obstacles I seem to encounter. But I have gone back to one of my favorite portions of scripture to help me visualize what I want to sound like and how I want to act.

I Corinthians 13:4 – 7  Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It does not dishonor others, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres.

Shortly after I became a Christian, my grandmother died. We were asked if we had a favorite scripture and this was one that I chose. The pastor used it at my grandmother’s funeral and so clearly showed how she lived these verses. 

When I got married the pastor read this and took out the word “Love” and replaced it with I.

I am patient, I am kind. I do not envy, I do not boast, I am not proud. I do not dishonor others, I am not self-seeking, I am not easily angered, I keep no record of wrongs. I do not delight in evil but rejoice with the truth. I always protect, always trust, always hope, always persevere.

He challenged my husband and me to live this. I have thought of it often but have never printed it out or posted it as a daily reminder. I need to print these words on my heart, mind and post them where I will be reminded. 

Along with changing my motivation, mind set and beginning new habits one other part of the weight loss program was accountability. Each day we got an email or message on FB asking how we did with that day’s challenge. I need my sisters to hold me accountable for becoming more like Jesus. I have started listening to the Bible as I walk each morning using Eat This Book. I also pray during my walks. I am trying to memorize Romans 1, 8 and 12 this year with Ann Voskamp.

I am thankful for friends who are willing to walk beside me and also for those who are also willing to seek how they can be more like Jesus and follow him. May we be equipped and encouraged to serve Him and others.

Tags: ·

What is Good Teaching?

January 30, 2013 by · No Comments · Good teaching

This week I begin participating in a book club discussion on teaching matters most, A School Leader’s Guide to IMPROVING CLASSROOM INSTRUCTION by Thomas M. McCann, Alan C. Jones and Gail A Aronoff. This week we will be discussing chapter 1 “What are common practices in schools?” I’d like to share some of my take-aways, thoughts and questions in this space. The authors begin by challenging schools to look at and be able to describe in detail what good teaching looks like and sounds like. So what do I think good teaching looks like and sounds like? Recently I read 25 Things Successful Teachers Do Differently. Number 1 – Have clear objectives definitely is a must for good teaching. We have been working on getting maps in Rubicon Atlas to baseline. This is tedious at times, but having maps that meet the minimum baseline is so important to good teaching. Having a positive attitude, a sense of humor, expecting students to succeed, being a risk taker, being reflective and being a life long learner are also important. Being willing to try new tools and allow thinking outside of the box will keep school interesting and help in engaging the learner and the teacher.

Along with completing maps of the curriculum we have been working on aligning assessments, teaching strategies and technology. It has taken me a while to completely understand why we are doing this, and how to best record it for elementary is still a bit allusive. However, as I think about what good teaching looks like and sounds like, being able to tell a new teacher to our school, “Here are the curriculum maps with the standards, learning targets, essential questions, enduring understandings, content, skills and resources. Along with that, here are some of the assessments across the curriculum and grade levels, instructional strategies and technology that we as a school feel are important. Other teachers at the school are using the same instructional strategies and the students are familiar with these terms. These are not the only strategies we expect you to use in the classroom, but these are proven and we expect you to use them.” The completed maps and alignment chart will help us as a school be able to articulate what a good instructional program looks like. But is that enough? No, that is what an ideal but what is the reality?

Having people prepared to go into classrooms to measure the present state of teaching is also important. Knowing where we are as a school  will help inform what professional development needs to take place to help the teaching staff close the gap between what is the school’s instructional worldview and actual practice. How do we measure where the school is? Who should do the observations? Is this for the administration to do or should the department chairs also be a part of the data collection and discussion of the present state? Would it be beneficial to have staff go into other classrooms to observe and share their findings?

Often schools will single out struggling subgroups of students and seek ways to “fix” the problem. What needs to happen is not fixing of one group or subgroup, but teachers who consistently use best practice across the curriculum to help all of the students to success. Professional development needs to help all the teachers be more reflective and to improve their craft.

So, what does this mean for me? I need to work on getting all of my maps to baseline and help the elementary teachers also check that they are meeting the baseline. I want to help the teachers understand what instructional strategies we believe are best practice and how they can be used in their classroom. I want to make sure that I am using best practice in my classroom but also modeling it when working with my PLC.

 

Tags: ···

Goal Setting

January 6, 2013 by · No Comments · Learning

On Monday, I will be having my students look at the list of “hard things” they wrote in August and reviewed in October. Our school wide theme for this year is “Do Hard Things” based on this book. Each student and class was encouraged to decide on what “hard thing” they would do this year. I want them to reflect on how they are doing, but also decide on some goals to set for the rest of the year. I’ve also decided that I need to set some goals and share those with the students. Before I share my new goals I’d like to share some of the hard things I’ve done and the process I’ve gone through to determine my goals.

Last year I decided to try  some hard things, some before the school year even began. In April I started a program designed to make healthy and smarter choices. With the jump start in April I continued walking and eating less and have lost about 20 kg. I’m still working on toning up some of the muscles and want to keep the weight and inches off. In November I went on a zip line through the jungles of Thailand and rode an elephant through the jungle.

I also made a decision to step out of the second grade classroom and into a new position(more on that later).

Last Sunday, during the children’s message the kids were encouraged to “Eat this Book” a program from Blackhawk church. I decided to check it out. Last year I had started a program to read through the Bible but lost traction somewhere along the way. This year I’ve downloaded the app to my iPhone and so I can listen to it. I’ve been listening in the morning but it may go to when I’m making dinner. At least I’ve started and plan to continue.

Last week a friend posted her blog on facebook. As I read it, I was reminded and challenged to set my priorities straight. Then I read Ann Voskamp’s blog, I had read her book One Thousand Gifts last year and although I have tried to write down my blessings I keep falling short. I am trying to tweet 3 each day. My 3 for today. My bag-my iPhone with photos + many apps not just for telephoning, my fridge-ham and veggie soup for lunch, my heart-family. Each day has a new challenge to find 3 gifts. Some days are more challenging than other days.

As important as giving credit to my father for his many blessings is I know I need to know him more and so I am taking the challenge to memorize Romans 1, 8, and 12 this year. I am hoping to find a walking buddy who I can say the verses to and who will hold me accountable.

So tomorrow before I ask the students to write their goals for the rest of this school year I want to share some of my goals with them.

  1. To memorize Romans 1, 8 and 12 by December.(They can ask me how I’m doing and hold me accountable too. Maybe I need to put my name on the Bible memory chart.)
  2. Read/listen to the Bible everyday so I can read through the entire Bible by December.
  3. Participate in a book discussion on teaching matters most by McCann, Jones and Aronoff. This will happen with other department chairs beginning the end of January.
  4. Write on this blog 1-2 times a month.
  5. Keep on walking everyday.

Although the Coetail course has finished I know I need to keep on learning and growing as an educator. Next school year my position at school will change. I will no longer be in the second grade classroom as a teacher but I will be the elementary technology facilitator. I will continue as head teacher and will probably have some other responsibilities. I am really excited about the change but know it will be a challenge and I have much to learn. It was interesting that when I told my son, he asked,”Are you having a mid-life crisis?” My one daughter said, “I can’t believe it!” When she lived at home I was always asking her help with the computer! I am not having a crisis and I am very thankful for the Kim Cofino and the other wonderful instructors at YIS who have given me confidence to step out of my comfort zone and work with the other educators in the elementary department to continue to integrate technology.

Tags: ·

ICEC Chiang Mai 2012

November 24, 2012 by · No Comments · Learning

“I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. 3 John 1:4 NIV ”Teaching Children Truth” was the conference theme. ICEC (International Christian Educator’s Conference) is sponsored by Association of Christian Schools International(ACSI). The conference was hosted by Grace International School, Chiang Mai, Thailand and held at the Empress Hotel, Chiang Mai, Thailand. It was well organized and nice to be able to attend the workshops right in the hotel and conference center next to the hotel. Thank you to all who made the conference what it was.

What are some of my take aways from the conference?

Beginning with the first general session – Living the Christ-Centered Life by Dr. Bill Brown from Cedarville University. Dr. Brown asked, “Where have all the dreamers gone?” There is a loss of spiritual foundation, of truth and morality and of meaningful symbols. What do we celebrate in our schools? What awards and rewards do we give? How do we restore the dream? Begin with Jesus, live a life of example~loving and serving the Lord. Where have all the dreamers gone? They are in my classroom. What am I doing to provide them with opportunities to have a vision of how they can impact the world for Christ?

The first workshop I attended was Finding God in Children’s Literature by John McCracken from Indiana Wesleyan University. He asked each of us to write about “Where have I seen God in unexpected places?” The Bible is full of unexpected places God shows himself. He continues today to show himself in many unexpected places including children’s picture books. But to find God in secular literature you need to study the God of the Bible and understand his character and his truths. To lead students to find the truths in literature we need to begin with the “grand conversations” and not the comprehension questions. Start with the BIG IDEA not the inconsequential details, reflect on what God’s word says, support children in a deeper meaning of the text and point to the truth. Dr. McCracken shared Arlene the Sardine by Christopher Raschka. It is a book well worth checking out and reading. What is the truth in the story? Arlene wants to be a sardine, but what is it that she needs to sacrifice to get what she wants? Read the book to find out.

It was amazing and encouraging to hear about how God is working in many countries in Asia and around the world. An offering was taken on Friday morning to support ACSI Leadership Training. One leader equips hundreds of educators who transform thousands of students. A total of $5016.41 was collected by the 600+ educators at the conference. In the old Spiderman movie there was a line, “With great power comes great responsibility.” As educators we have the power to influence, to dream, to impart truth but mostly a responsibility to pray for our students.

Friday morning, Dr. Tim Stuart, principal of Singapore American School spoke. 90% of all students are at risk of not reaching their potential. The “privileged” students that many of us interact with in international schools are at an even higher risk than many of the traditionally “at risk” students. Our students are more likely to “self-medicate,” have anxiety disorders, depression, and more. What is the definition of “success” at your school? Generally we think it is a person who gets a good education and therefore will get a good job. They will have power, influence and wealth. But our definition should really look at the contribution a person makes to society not the acquisition of things they take from society. We need to see each student as “full of potential” not “full of risk.” We are working with the sons and daughters of the King of Kings. We help our students and children develop character by walking through adversity with them not shielding or protecting them from adversity.

Dr. Jan Dormer from Messiah College spoke about What Makes a Good Language Learner? “Language learning time should be invested wisely in activities that result in real language acquisition. Clear learning goals and an understanding of personal learning styles can help the learner to use language learning time strategically.” We even had the opportunity to participate in a lesson and learn some Portugese.

In the Job Alike Session I was glad to learn of some other ACSI schools that are using Daily 5. There is a wide variety in the training and knowledge of best practice in teaching strategies and in curriculum. At CAJ we have many wonderful opportunities for professional development and continued growth as an educator.

Mark Mc Crindle, a social researcher and trends expert from Australia talked about Christian Community in the 21st Century. Did you know that YouTube has 60 hours of uploads every minute? Google has 4,700,000,000 searches a day? Generation Y and Z are connected through more than 200 social media sites. How do we create an Authentic and Engaging Community that Generation Y, Z and beyond want to be a part of? Our community needs to be defined by its center, what is at the core. Members need to not only belong but also contribute. Belonging is not dependent on contributing, but contributing enhances and fulfills one’s belonging. Our community is comprised of friendships and family and functional networks. “Strength of a community comes from its legacy and traditions, yet the survival of a community depends on its relevance and innovation.” Several years ago, one of the teachers would dress up as the founder of our school and come and tell my second graders about how God spoke to her in a vision and how she found the property that is the present location of CAJ. Maybe it is time to resurrect Mrs. Akichika to help our school community understand its legacy.

Tom Thompson was a special speaker on Friday evening after dinner. Tom was the youngest son of Ed and Ruth Thompson who were killed in Vietnam in 1968. Here is their story told by Ruth’s brother.

Martyrs: Ed and Ruth Thompson from The Alliance on Vimeo.

Saturday morning I gave my workshop on Integrating Technology into the Elementary School. The resources and slide show are on the Technology Resource page. I was pleased to have about 20 participants. Hopefully I was able to share some of the journey we have taken at CAJ and some of the excitement in seeing students share their learning and of communicating with others around the world. I truly appreciate all I’ve learned from Kim Cofino and through COETAIL. I did give a plug for COETAIL and the wonderful workshops help at YIS.

Joy Manda a fourth grade teacher from Faith Academy-Mindanao, Philippines shared It’s All in Your Head! Why Some Children Can’t Stay Focused. She gave more information than we could possibly take in during the 75 minutes. Several things to remember when working with AD/HD students:

  • Every person with AD/HD is unique
  • What works for one may not work for another
  • Everyone must find the mix that works for him/her
  • The more approaches that can be woven together the better

“Brain scans have shown that the frontal lobe of a person with ADD has a decreased blood flow and decreased use of glucose which is carried in the blood. As the person tries to concentrate the blood flow decreases even more. The  pressure  of  a  situation  causes  the  brain  to  “shut  down”. When the stressors go UP the executive function goes DOWN. Telling a child to “pay attention” just adds to the stress. Find ways to engage and redirect the child with attention issues. Be a coach and an advocate for the child who is struggling.

The last general session was Dr. Bill Brown talking about Christ Centered Schools. He challenged us with 4 crucial questions we need to be asking:

  1. What is our school doing to ensure our students are receiving an education of EXCELLENCE?
  2. What is our school doing to equip our students to ENGAGE OUR CULTURE with the heart and mind of Christ?
  3. What is our school doing to develop LEADERSHIP?
  4. What is our school doing to drive into the minds and hearts of our students the most important truth of Christianity – GRACE?

The conference offered an opportunity to connect with other Christian educators and to see how God is working. One part that I was disappointed in was the pre-conference session I went to on Best Practice. Although the speaker gave a few practical examples of best practice, he did not use best practice as he read slides jammed packed with words. I came away with an interest in learning more about why some schools are no longer teaching printing but going directly to cursive writing. A few years ago I had a student who came from the states and had been taught cursive in 1st grade. I thought it was a bit strange but also had to wonder as his cursive was beautiful while when I tried to get him to print it was almost illegible. Do students need to learn printing? Prior to John Dewey in the 1920′s no one learned to print. I would also like to try “Inside-Outside” circles to review vocabulary and bible memory verses, maybe even math facts.

I hope to post photos and some of the things I learned about Thailand and Thai culture on our classroom blog or Fluffy’s blog since he joined me on the trip.

Tags: ······

Technology Integration Vision and Roles

November 13, 2012 by · No Comments · Learning

About two years ago the Elementary division at Christian Academy in Japan(CAJ) began plans to integrate technology into the classroom. One of the first activities we did as an elementary staff was think about what 21st century learning is and is not. Our discussion were focused around an article that our principal gave us to read and two questions.

  1.    21st Century Life: How has the world changed and what are the implications for education?
  2.   21st Century Students: How are students today the same as their predecessors and how are they different? How do we respond to the differences?
Some articles that could be a good starting point are listed here: although there are many other articles that may be more suited to your own school.
One more article that is filled with questions and maybe a good starting point is 8 Guiding Questions for Conversations about Becoming a School of the Future.

Then we collaboratively worked on a technology integration vision statement. One of the key points that we decided on was “authenticity.” Technology is best taught not in isolation in the computer lab, but in context in the classroom with real assignments. “The natural use of authentic technology within the classroom setting, just like the way we use paper and pencil without any second thoughts, is always what I’m striving for.” (Kim Cofino) We also keyed in on “Curriculum drives the technology.” Using some of our student objectives(ESLERS) we created our vision statement:

  • RL 1 Understand subject content and skills
  • RL 3 Integrate content and skills from different subjects
  • RL 5 Use appropriate learning strategies
  • DT 4 Make creative products and presentations
  • EC 1 Communicate through writing, speaking, reading, listening, graphs and charts, and the arts
  • EC 2 Integrate different forms of communication
Vision for Christian Academy in Japan Elementary technology integration
  • Use current and appropriate technology across the curriculum to generate and enhance authentic opportunities for students to understand and integrate subject content and skills, make creative products and presentations, and to integrate different forms of communication.
We then worked on writing some goals.
  1. Outline expectations of classroom teacher, technology integration facilitator, administration
  2.  Start with one unit: How can technology enhance this unit? What assessments will be best done using technology?
  3. Use the collaboration framework
Using a framework similar to this from Mont’Kiara International School Technology Integration curriculum planning wiki, we created our own roles document. We don’t have teams at each grade level so we only had the classroom teacher and IT Facilitator Roles on our document. Each teacher was given a copy and highlighted the areas we felt were important.
We also used Kim Cofino’s Collaboration Cycle to discuss our roles.
Each classroom teacher was asked to choose one unit and work with the IT facilitator on how technology could be used in that unit. All of this was done in the spring before we planned to integrate technology. By fall the teachers were asked to integrate technology into 3 units in the year. Grace set up a blog with a pages for the teachers to input the units. Although some units were put into the blog, this didn’t seem the easiest way to share our information.
We are still working on how to best utilize our IT facilitator. Last year, our first year she did a lot of research behind the scenes and help in setting up classroom blogs. She came into the classroom when we asked her, but often there was not the collaboration prior to her coming into the classroom. This year she is coming into each classroom once or twice a week to support  the teachers with technology but there is still the lack of collaborative planning, which may be due to scheduling. These are challenges we need to continue to work out as we continue to work on increasing our student learning through the use of technology.
After we completed our vision and roles discussions we were asked to write questions, training we needed and what our next steps would be. My first step was to apply to COETAIL where I have learned a lot and have met other educators who are working at being 21st century educators.

 

Tags: ·