Flip, Blend, Connect: Examining Our Practices

Notes from session at SXSWedu
http://schedule.sxswedu.com/events/event_EDUP7414

Presenters: Carolyn Foote and Stephanie Sandifer

Session Links:

·         Wiki - http://sxswedu13.wikispaces.com

·         Hash tag #sxswedufbc

·         Shared Google Doc - http://bit.ly/sxswedufbc

What are some common understandings of these terms:

1.   Flip

2.   Blend

3.   Connect

What is the perception of a flipped classroom?

·         A fear people have is that the teacher will be flipped out of the classroom

·         It takes away from the exploration of the child

·         It takes a lot of work

·         Students come to class and know the answer

For leaders, having the resources is problematic.

·         There is a lack of access

What are your perceptions of blended and connected?

·         Some online content along with classroom interaction

SAMR Model - the diagram is on the wiki

Think-Pair-Share:

If (flip, blended, or connected) learning was implemented in a way that was transformative, what would that look like?
Give concrete ideas

The Role of Leaders in 21st Century Education

Notes from session at SXSWedu
Presenter: Ken Kay, CEO, EdLeaders21
http://schedule.sxswedu.com/events/event_EDUP7589

My 21st Century Education Journey

About Ken Kay:

·         Helped develop STaR Chart

·         Started Partnership for 21st Century Skills

·         Formed EdLeader 21 – a PLC for leaders – http://p21.org/

Is there an education model for a world that doesn't exist?

·         Students will have 10.4 jobs by age 42.

The 4Cs Educational Outcomes

·         Critical Thinking

·         Communication

·         Collaboration

·         Creativity

Many schools are customizing their own 4Cs

Which student would you choose? Who would you hire?
Who do you want on your leadership team?

Student A Math Science English Social Studies

Student B Critical Thinker Effective Communicator Effective Collaborator Creative and innovative

The skills of Student B are survival skills needed for today's world.
Years ago, the skills of Student A were adequate but today they are not

What did the pedagogy look like?

·         Lecture, memorize and recite

What does it look like now?

·         More hands on; google strategy model

·         How many teachers can teach to this pedagogy?

Additional Student Qualities:

·         Tech Literacy

·         Self Direction

·         Global Competency

Example: Catalina Foothills School District

·         They created collaborative teams to match state standards with 21st century outcomes

·         They integrated with them with each other

Will districts be given the support to use the state standards as a platform for innovation?

What are the building blocks of 21st century education?

Employers want people who are creative and innovative.

Will the Student B model be extinct in 20 years – Ken Kay doesn’t think so.

7 Steps to Education (is this the answer?):
 

1.   Adopt your vision

2.   Create a community consensus

3.   Align your system

4.   Build professional capacity

5.   Focus on your curriculum and assessment

6.   Support your teachers

7.   Improve and innovate

The test is not whether you do them (the 4Cs) - it is whether you are committed to improve them - dedicated to improve your performance.

3 key building blocks to 21st century learning:

1.   Leadership

2.   Assessment

3.   Culture of laser like focus
- Focus on Pedagogy
- Focus on Collaboration

Examples:

·         Upper Arlington Schools - http://www.uaschools.org

·         Virginia Beach City Public Schools - http://www.vbschools.com

How do you get to that starting point to have that conversation?

A problem - We don't get our stakeholders to agree or come to the same vision

We have to have accountability/assessment

·         Rubrics are a good way to assess

Examples:

·         http://cae.org - look for CWRA

·         High Tech High - San Diego - They developed a protocol

What can education leaders do?

1.   Focus in21st cent outcomes

2.   Create culture of collaboration

3.   Use standards as a platform for innovation

4.   Fight for policies that allow us to innovate

5.   Consider joining edleaders21

Storytelling - A Powerful Advoate

Notes from session at SXSWedu
http://schedule.sxswedu.com/events/event_EDUP12464
Presenters - Glover, Murner

Why storytelling?
How can we use storytelling?
How can we understand through telling stories?

• The best stories survive - from generation to generation - survival of the fittest mentality
• Stories allow us to connect personally.
  

How can use storytelling to make things relevant?

Challenges
In education there are many challenges.

Two main challenges are:

1.   Low Awareness

2.   Passive support - lack of resources


Start telling your story today.
The best stories have a point.
They help achieve a purpose.

The Layers of Storytelling

1. Challenge

• What specific problem or challenge do you want to solve?
• Prioritize and Focus
• Be specific

2. Whose support do you need?

• Who is the primary target audience?
• Who is the secondary primary audience?
• What does your audience care about?
• Choose something that will attract them.
  

3. What are you going to ask them to do?

• What action do you want them to take?
• What is the actionable step?
• Will you follow up?
• Create an action
  

4. The actual story

A. Selecting the story

• Choose an emotional or personal story

B. Bring the story to life

• Can you represent it visually?
• Can you package it and share it so it can live beyond the presentation?
• Keep your story small and simple - to the point
• Focus on one story
  

Provide context
Outline the challenge, the struggle
What’s the victory - where are you now?
What’s the action step?

What good is your story if no one hears it?
The story needs to live beyond. Package it.
Where does your target audience go? Place your story so they can see it.

Use storytelling in staff meetings, in needs assessment

What's your story?
Can you let others into your story?

Some ideas:

• Teach students to be heroes. Have them tell their story.
• Have students choose something symbolic and tell a story about it.
• Have them step outside their story and tell it in 3rd person
• This makes them see their story clearly
• Have them change the point of view.

All individuals have a voice.

Complying with the TEACH Act

I had not heard of the TEACH Act before so I was delighted to read more about it. Below are my reflections about the TEACH Act.

The TEACH Act changed the way materials could be used in distance education courses in these ways:

1. The kind of materials that can be displayed in distance education to entire performances of “nondramatic literature or music” and “reasonable portions” of other works.

2. The requirement of a physical classroom is now gone. This important change now allows students to access digital materials in a course whenever and wherever they have access to a laptop or a PC.

3. The storage of copyrighted materials on a server is now allowed which makes available both synchronous and asynchronous use of copyrighted performances and displays.

4. Digitized versions of analog works can be made that are not available in a digital format.

Instructors of online courses are liable for adherence to the policy.

As an instructor, if I decided to include Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell-Tale Heart" in my online course and I found a digital copy on the Internet, I would use the digital copy already online because the TEACH Act states that if a digital copy is available, then it should be used by the instructor.

Read about the TEACH Act here:

Copyright Law and Distance Education: Overview of the TEACH Act
by Kenneth D. Crews

Is There A Need?

When I told one of my colleages that I was thinking about creating a "Digitizing the Writing Workshop" online course, they asked "Is there a need for that type of course in your district?"

That got me to thinking about my course and if there was truly a need for it or if I just wanted to create the course because I am interested in writing. Check out my Needs Assessment here:

Online Course Needs Assessment

The Online Course Syllabus

The syllabus in an online course can serve as a communication tool between the course instructor and the participant. Course expectations and procedures can be communicated in the syllabus, in addition, to information about how to best communicate with the instructor of the course (i.e., email, phone).

Secondly, the syllabus in an online course can also serve as a binding commitment between the course instructor and the participant. It can help answer any questions the participant might have about the course, as well as, inform the participants about the consequences for failing to meet course expectations.

Lastly, the syllabus can serve as a learning guide for the participant taking the online course. Helpful tips about how to succeed in an online course, including, where to access course checklists, advice about where to get help, and how to manage time, are all items that can be included in the syllabus.

Some elements of an online syllabus that needs to be included and stressed upon that differs from that of a syllabus from a traditional face-to-face course include:

1. Course Overview/Navigation – how to navigate through the course and where items can be found

2. Course Participation – posting expectations as well as how attendance point will be gained

3. Technology Requirements – hardware and/or software requirements

4. Specific Course Procedures – how students should proceed each week after completing one module

What other ways do you think an online course syllabus is different?

The syllabus is definitely an important part of any course.

ADDIE Model of Instructional Design

Below is a diagram of the 5 stages of the ADDIE Model of Instructional Design and what each stage means to me.





As part of the “Analyze” phase, I completed a needs assessment and a pre-course survey for the online course I am creating.

I believe the “Analyze” phase of Instructional Design is so important because it lays the groundwork so that I am able to create a quality online course. Being able to analyze the goals I want to achieve, the material I want to teach, and the learner’s abilities will help me plan and sort out the components of my course. Being able to collect this critical information will only help me in this process.

What else could I have done during the “Analyze” phase of instruction in order to better help me think through the course I’m going to create?

The Zen of Facilitation

While getting ready to go back to work after being off for the Thanksgiving holidays, I came across the article, "The Zen of Facilitation." I read the article at a session at the NWP Annual Meeting in Philadelphia the week prior to our holiday break.

The article is by Joellen P. Killion and Lynn A. Simmons. It differentiated between the behavior/beliefs of a “facilitator” and the behavior/beliefs of a “trainer”. The article really helped me come to a better understanding of what it means to “facilitate” rather than “train”. I wish I would have read the article years ago. It’s a great article and I enjoyed reading it because I can reflect on the past years as a facilitator and identify with some of the points made by the authors.

One quote in the article that I really liked was:

When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be. When I let go of what I have, I receive what I need... My best work is done when I forget my own point of view; the less I make of myself, the more I am... This is the wisdom...: to let go in order to achieve.

This reminds me about how I need to make the effort to read and talk with others who don't necessarily share my point of view. I need to become exposed to new perspectives in order to generate my new learning...how often I forget this. Through this Zen-like process we can all expand our view, increase our knowledge, and deepen our learning.

Another thing the article mentions, which caused great debate at the table in which I sat was:

... facilitation decisions are made spontaneously rather than by a set of specified outcomes.

As opposed to trainers, who operate from a pre-established plan that directs the participants toward specified outcomes, Killion and Simmons argue that facilitators do not begin with a set outcome or resolution - that the plan emerges as the participants work.

What are your thoughts? Does facilitation have pre-conceived outcomes?

Philadelphia, PA

Below are pictures from my trip to the 2009 National Writing Project Annual Conference in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

The strangest think I saw was the Yellow Skeleton painted on the crosswalk. Perhaps this poor person had been run down by rush hour traffic and left to molder in the crosswalks. I assume it’s a commentary on traffic’s menace to pedestrians, but maybe they’re just for fun, who knows? Maybe it's a reminder to pedestrians that when the sign says “Don’t Walk," that means stay on the side walk and out of the street! Nevertheless, I had a great time and learned a lot!

Reliable Information

In this digital age, we talk about the amount of information that can be found on the Web, and how easy it is to access the information we need. With that, comes an issue: how can we become more selective and critical regarding information that is on the Web. How do we know if the information that is out there is reliable? I don’t know if the authors of the video below had this in mind when they created it, but I relate it to the importance of teaching critical thinking to our students. What does this video mean to you?

Virtual Schooling

This past Friday, I had the opportunity to attend Tech Forum Southwest 2009 in Austin, Texas. When it came time to attend the Roundtable Discussion, I decided to attend the one on Virtual Schooling. Below are my notes from the discussion:

~Plano ISD began their eSchool in 1999. The website can be found at http://www.planoisdeschool.net/ ~They currently use Blackboard.
~Students can take up to 3 online courses for either credit recovery or for additional credits in order to get ahead and prepare for college.
~Plano charges $250-$300 per course.
~Teachers get paid a stipend to facilitate the courses ($125. per student)
~Students from all over (not just Plano ISD) can enroll in the courses.
~If you are a provider district of online courses, TEA sends 3 reviewers to review your courses based on Bloom's, TEKS, and iNacol Standards.
~When a students completes a course, the receiving district gets $80 (unless the student is in your district - a district can't be a provider and receiver).
~Teachers at Plano ISD create the online courses.
~These teachers are hand picked and have experience in developing curriculum. Some have TxVSN certification.
~It was mentioned that the state will be requiring certification to teach online courses very soon.
~All courses are 18 weeks in length, however, a student can finish it as early as 6 weeks if they decide to work ahead.
~There isn't a set minimum of participants required in the course. The teacher decides this. They may take as few as 5-10 students during the school year or up to 25 students during the summer. It all depends on the teacher's schedule.
~Policies and Procedures for the online courses have been established. They can be found at http://www.planoisdeschool.net/pdf/PolicyGuidelines.pdf
~Statements on Academic Integrity are important. http://www.planoisdeschool.net/AcademicIntegrity.htm
~Before students can register for an online course, it must first be approved by the school counselor.

I loved it when our table leader said, "Design your course around what you want the end result to be."

Picture Trail

Exploring Picture Trail - http://www.picturetrail.com/

Check out my "Get a Wiki in SAISD" photo slideshow.

Moodle Toolbox - Tips and Tricks for K-12

Below are my notes on Mark McCall's Moodle Toolbox - Tips and Tricks for K-12 session at the TCEA Area 7 Conference held on June 12, 2009 at White Oak I.S.D. Session Description: In this session, we will look at key tips and tricks for managing a Moodle server. We will explore the Moodle Site Administration Block features to provide site wide standardization. We will focus on Site wide features that impact grades, modules, and utilizing Front Page Site files.



1. Mark administers the Moodle Server at Bryan ISD
2. Session is about version 1.9.5, which is the most current version
3. In Moodle.org, in the downloads, you can download a full moodle installation. This allows you to have a sandbox.
4. In version 1.9.5, there are major changes to the Gradebook.
5. Moodle has many activities and resources available.
6. Turn editing on and click on drop down box to add an activity or resources, for example, a label, book, assignment, forums, etc.
7. Mark mainly uses forums and quizzes.
8. If you don't want to allow chats, then from the Admin activity window, you can hide the chat option. The teacher won't even see it.
9. Defaults can be set, for example, for quizzes. You can turn off feedback until after the quiz has closed so that students can't log back in and see the questions. This can be done by clicking on the Advanced Settings.
10. If you are an administrator and want to see if 100% of your students were taken on campus, you can set a required network address. To get into the quiz, then student will have to be located on campus. To allow students to work at home, all you have to do is removed the network address.
11. Blocks and RSS feeds can be limited as well at the site admin level.
12. The other area that is important in K-12 is the filters. Multimedia plugins is where you can set what can play. All is set to default on, except flash files.
13. Text filter - this is where you can filter text. This can be enabled.
14. Drag and drop map -
15. Auto Linking Filters works like Wikipedia. This automatically links text within the site.
16. Glossary - LDAP settings - with autolinking turned on, will automatically link to the LDAP settings. Teachers like this feature, up until a quiz is ready to be given.
17. You can select text and click on the red X to unlink text on quizzes or tests to prevent auto-linking.
18. Word Censorship - This will block out certain words. Instead of word, you will see asterisks. You can use a standard list of words. However, it applies to the entire site. You can get around this by creating a graphic/print screen for the word. Graphics break the word filter.
19. Grade Options - The name column, etc. is different.
20. Teacher had many grade custom settings available for them.
21. Outcomes can be added, for example testable TEKS can be assigned to outcomes.
22. From site admin side, defaults for gradebook can be set, for example default for letter grades.
23. Gradespeed is used but Moodle Gradebook is used at Bryan ISD in a drop box context to add assignments so students can see which assignments are missing.
24. Site files - Files located within a course are only available to those students in that course. Course files can be exported from one course and imported to another.
25. Sharing files - A main directory for site files can be created. The URL of the file can be taken and posted to another site and it will display correctly.
26. Question - Can each teacher have a frontpage like the site does? No
27. Multiple Teacher within a Course - Add a teacher and assign roles. Teacher has privileges but the teacher's name appears nowhere in the course.
28. Learner.net has an add on, called alfresco implementation. Allows a teacher to build a repository.
29. Groups within a Course - Groups can automatically be built with auto-create function. Students can belong to multiple groups.