#ISTE2014 Newbie: With A Little Help From My Friends

image from https://www.isteconference.org/2014/

I just attended my first ISTE Conference & Expo!  Did you hear me? I just attended my first ISTE Conference & Expo! Sorry, I'm just very excited and energized after my time in Atlanta. So much so that I wrote this post in the airport as I waited for my flight home and on the plane. If it rambles a little, bear with me.

Over the past few years, since I started building a PLN via Twitter, I have been watching the stream of tweets with the #ISTE conference hashtag as my school year would come to an end.  As I read all of the tweets going by with links to amazing resources and nuggets from thoughtful sessions, I knew that eventually I would have to go myself. This year, I was able to attend in Atlanta and it was an exhausting, rewarding, learning, connecting, type of experience.

image courtesy of clker.com

Fortunately, I got by with a little help from my friends. I was able to hook up with members of my PLN from the moment I got there and they helped show me the ropes. A big thanks to Billy Krakower (@wkrakower), Kyle Calderwood (@kcalderw), Liz Calderwood (@liz1544), Kate Baker (@KtBkr4), and, of course, Jerry Blumengarten(@cybraryman1).  There were many people that I met and had the opportunity to talk with because the folks above took me under their wing and mentored me during my time at #ISTE2014.

Everyone told me that the informal conversations are as valuable as the sessions themselves and I truly understand what they meant now. The learning and connecting can take many forms; a brief chat with Nathan Stevens (@nathan_stevens) and Jenny Grabiac (@techgirljenny) at a social event, a conversation with Jessica Allen (@jessievaz12) over dinner, a dialogue about a project from one of the poster session presenters (they are GREAT) in the Galleria, a warm, wonderful hug and words of encouragement in the Blogger's Cafe from Paula Naugle (@plnaugle), a

me and Paula Naugle

great opportunity to go to lunch with Jerry, Billy, and Kathy Bloomfield from Readworks, or a quick conversation in the conference hallway with Angela Maiers (@AngelaMaiers) to remind that "You Matter!"  These real life connections are part of what make the virtual connections via social media so valuable. 

#ISTE2014 was also filled with fantastic sessions. The biggest problem was deciding which ones to choose because there were often several sessions of interest to me at the same time. I came away with some great ideas from Kyle Pace (@kylepace) and Michelle Baldwin's (@michellek107) session "Full STEAM ahead: Cultivating connections with the arts." I learned that I can start a maker space in my school and classrooms and I don't have to break the bank from the folks at Digital Harbor Foundation's (@DHFBaltimore) session: "Classroom Makerspace: Your Guidebook to Inexpensive Making in the Classroom". I was inspired by the session

Levar Burton speaking to a packed room.

with Levar Burton (@levarburton) whose Reading Rainbow has helped so many children over the past decades. That barely scratches the surface of what I have learned (fodder for more posts).

You never know what opportunities will present themselves at #ISTE2014. I arrived on Saturday and that evening received a message asking if I would help out in a session as a Twitter Mentor. So my first professional development opportunity at the convention was actually working with Elana Leoni (@elanaleoni) from Edutopia and Kyle Calderwood in their session "Saved by Twitter: 10 ways to use Twitter to Connect" (#savedbytwitter) as they worked with a room of 150 new Twitter users to show the power of the social media platform for connecting and professional development. Awesome! The next night I went in to support Jerry Blumengarten and Susan Bearden (@s_bearden) in their session "Twitter 101: Build Your Personal Learning Network" and was asked to do something similar. 

I'm going to stop now because now that I have my initial thoughts down I need to process them a bit more. I am sure there are more posts coming when I collect my thoughts.  Stay tuned...

So, a few takeaways from this post....

1. Go to #ISTE2015 in Philadelphia if you can

While there:

2. Talk to people, they will talk back

3. Take a risk and leave your comfort zone

4. Take the time to explore the Expo floor. There are some wonderful things there and a great deal to learn (I didn't even mention that above!)

But, Right now:

4. Get on Twitter and start to connect with the amazing folks out in our education community.

5. Follow all of the people I mention in this post, you won't regret it!

6. Leave a comment and let's start a conversation here or on Twitter

P.S. Thanks to all of the educators with whom I've interacted during the last several days. It has been wonderful.

Me, Nathan, Kate, Aaron, Liz, & Kyle

Related articles

• ISTE Day 1 Reflections
• ISTE Day 2 Reflections (thankfully I brought sneakers)
• Thoughts from ISTE 1

#NJED Chat - Grading and Grading Practices

This week's #njed chat was a lively discussion of grading. In this post I've included some of the thoughts of the participants as well as the resources that were shared during the chat. If you haven't participated in #njed chat, be sure to check it out at 8:30pm EST every Tuesday on Twitter. The seven questions asked were:

Q1: What do you believe is the purpose of grades? #njed

Q2: How do you grade students'  - individual Work? #njed

Q3: How do you grade students' work when it is done collaboratively? #njed

Q4: How do you grade late work? Why? #njed

Q5: Do you have experience with Standards Based Grading? If so, your thoughts? #njed

Q6: What is your favorite formative assessment tool and why? #njed

Q7: (How) Does effort/homework/behavior fit into your grading #njed

These led to some great discussions about why we grade students. It is interesting to see that many educators are grading students based upon district practices that pre-date their employment and don't necessarily jive with their educational beliefs or philosophy. Another salient point that was raised is the idea of Standards Based Grading as a best practice as opposed to traditional grading.  Following are some thought-provoking tweets from the chat:

These 12 tweets only give you a taste of the wonderful conversation that took place. I encourage you to check out the archive of the entire chat!

Here are some resources that were shared during the chat:

Ed. Leadership - Starting the Conversation About Grades - 
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/nov11/vol69/num03/Starting-the-Conversation-About-Grading.aspx

Best Practices in Grading - 
http://www.shaker.k12.nh.us/files/ResearchBriefGradingPractices%20(1).pdf

Grading Practices: The 3rd Rail -
http://www.leadandlearn.com/sites/default/files/articles/1003-pl-grading-practices-the-third-rail.pdf

ASCD - 7 Reasons for Standards Based Grading - http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/oct08/vol66/num02/Seven_Reasons_for_Standards-Based_Grading.aspx

TOOLKIT for Evaluating Alignment of Instructional and Assessment Materials to the Common Core State Standards
http://www.ccsso.org/Documents/2013/Toolkit%20for%20Evaluating%20Alignment%20of%20Instructional%20and%20Assessment%20Materials.pdf

PARCC Condensed Scoring Rubric for Prose Constructed Response Items (DRAFT)
http://www.parcconline.org/sites/parcc/files/Grade6-11-ELACondensedRubricFORANALYTICANDNARRATIVEWRITING.pdf

Grades That Show What Students Know (Marzano) https://www.ocps.net/lc/southwest/mso/parents/Documents/Grades%20That%20Show%20What%20Students%20Know.pdf

Standards Based Grading - @RickWormeli YouTube video
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h-QF9Q4gxVM

Joe Bower posts on Grading/Abolishing Grading 
http://www.joebower.org/p/abolishing-grading.html

Why Schools are Ditching Traditional Grading 
http://us.cnn.com/2014/04/07/living/report-card-changes-standards-based-grading-schools/index.html?sr=sharebar_twitter

Doug Reeves on Toxic Grading Practices (YouTube) 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jduiAnm-O3w

Doug Reeves - The Case Against Zero http://www.leadandlearn.com/sites/default/files/articles/caseagainstzero.pdf


If you feel moved to do so, please provide your thoughts on grading and grading practices in the comments. Also, please join us each Tuesday at 8:30pm EST on Twitter using the hashtag "#njed" as we discuss topics that are important to New Jersey educators and educators from around the world. We enjoy and welcome participants from near and far. Join us!

HATS, Goals, and Me

HUH?!?

Let me explain.

What is HATS?
At our school this year the theme is "HATS off to Learning!" HATS is an acronym for Habits, Attitudes, Talents and Skills.  More specifically:

       strong Habits

     positive Attitudes
celebrating Talents
developing Skills

We have been exploring these concepts during our Morning Meetings, at our Whole School Meetings, and throughout our classroom discussions this year. We even have a bulletin board in the hallway where students and teachers can post pictures that they would like to share of examples of their habits, attitudes, talents, and skills. So, how does this apply to me? As lead learner, it is important that I model what I am asking of the students. I don’t know that I consciously did it, but when I look back on things now, the last 5 months have been a reflection of our school theme for me (actually it is more like 8 months). Once again, let me explain.

New Habits
On Super Bowl Sunday 2013 I made the decision to start eating healthier. I was probably the heaviest that
I have ever been in my life and completely out of shape. I let myself get comfortable in the mindset that I was too busy to worry about my health. So, I decided that night that I was going to eat healthier. I’ve made the mistake of jumping in to this type of thing too quickly in the past and I didn't want to fail, so I figured I would just give the eating thing a try. It worked. I lost some weight and was starting to feel a bit better about things. This was the first STRONG HABIT that I cultivated. I continued this until the school year came to an end and then it was time to really make a decision on how to move forward.

Several months before, I downloaded C25K onto my iPhone; that is a “Couch to 5K” app. It sat on my phone and I opened it from time to time when I was bored; however, I did not really have any intention of using it. However, my PLN (Professional Learning Network) changed that. I went to #edcampphilly in April and met up with a number of people from my twitterverse.  After the event, we went out to celebrate and @sirotiak5, @wkrakower, @misscas22, and @thomascmurray were talking about doing a 5k in the summer (If I missed anyone, my apologies). There was no way that I was in any shape to run a 5k by then, no matter how many times they said I should. BUT, that was the spark that I needed.  I still didn't start running right away, but the seed had been planted!

On July 1st, I decided that I was going to give it a try. I have always hated running and it was definitely something I had never tried before to get in shape. Enter STRONG HABIT number 2. The app says that you will be ready for a 5k in 8 weeks. I say, “Ha Ha Ha!” If I tried that I would have certainly quit early. Fortunately, one of the many runners with whom I work (its like an epidemic at Bear Tavern) said that if I did not feel ready to move on to the next week’s running schedule I should just do the week over again; and again if necessary. That was great advice. By the end of the summer, I would get upset if I missed my running workout at the gym.

Positive Attitude

Somewhere during those two months in the summer, I decided that I needed a goal to attain. Since I had the app and was using it, I guess it was natural to decide on running a 5k. Thanksgiving seemed like a reasonable time-frame and my town has a Turkey Trot every Thanksgiving. So, in August when the registration became available online, I registered. At this point it became real. I told everyone that I knew about it so that I couldn't back out. I genuinely believed that I was going to run a 5k on Thanksgiving. I think it is safe to call that POSITIVE ATTITUDE. Even when I injured my hip and basically could not run for much of October and November (except on the stationary bike or elliptical), I knew that I was going to reach the goal!

Celebrating Talents and Developing Skills
Since my running mantra had always been "I'm not running unless someone is chasing me," it was awkward for me to start celebrating accomplishments in something that I have generally disliked my entire life. However, I found that for some reason my dislike of running actually seemed to make the accomplishments more meaningful. I began to realize that I probably disliked it because I never felt that I was any good at it. The first time I ran for 20 minutes straight I texted my wife with, "I DID IT!" Similar texts ensued as I reached other goals. I don't really know if running is a talent, but I know that I sure began to CELEBRATE it! Additionally, by reaching these goals and increasing my stamina, I was DEVELOPING the SKILL.

The Point(s)
We all need goals, and I found one that helped to spur me on to a healthier lifestyle. I received texts the morning of Thanksgiving from numerous friends and colleagues offering support. Here are a couple texts that I received from teachers at Bear Tavern:

"It is a great morning to run. Enjoy the moment and celebrate the accomplishment. You may not know this, but you've inspired a lot of your teachers - including me. Have fun."

"Happy Thanksgiving. Happy run! Disregard the other runners and have fun - even in the cold - this is what you've trained for. I look forward to hearing about it all." 

I can't convey how amazing it was to receive those messages that morning. I truly work with amazing people who are always there for one another. That morning as the nerves built up and I started to wonder if I was crazy for doing this, these thoughtful notes meant a lot.

I know that running a 5k is not a big deal in the scheme of things, but for me it means a great deal. I proved to myself that I can do it. I truly feel that I acted as an example for my own children and those at Bear Tavern in getting healthier, setting a goal, and working to achieve it. It reminded me of the amazing and supportive people with whom I work everyday. It showed me that my PLN is more powerful than I thought and can foster all kinds of learning. If all of that is not enough, it also showed me that adhering to the ideals in our school theme can help us reach our goals.

So, what should be my next goal....?

#NJED - A Great PLN!

Many of you know that I am a co-moderator of #njed chat on Twitter which takes place every Tuesday evening from 8:30-9:30pm during the school year. I encourage anyone who enjoys interacting with other educators to punch the hash tag into twitter and follow along on any given Tuesday.  It may be for you or it may not, but one thing is for sure, you will see passionate educators from all over New Jersey, and around the world, discussing topics relevant to educational practitioners of every kind.

Last week we kicked off our year with a discussion of all things related to getting back to school for the fall. (for those in other areas of the country, NJ starts school after Labor Day) It is reaffirming to see how we all have common hopes and dreams for our school years and that we all struggle with the same issues. #njed chat is an avenue for opening up the school walls and finding a connection with others who are eager to improve their craft (teachers, supervisors, student teachers, coordinators, principals, superintendents, etc.).  We are all on equal footing in this arena. There is no hierarchical chart on Twitter. Everyone's contribution to the discussion is valued.  We may not always agree with one another, but that often makes the discussion more rich.

Another amazing thing that has sprung from #njed is #edcampNJ. Last year was the first one and it was an amazing success.  If you'd like to learn more about last year's event, please read my post about it in my year end post from 2012 entitled,2012 - #edcampNJ and so much more! This year's #edcampNJ will take place on November 23rd and it is being held at Linwood Middle School once again.  If you would like to register to attend, just go to the #edcampNJ site and it will only take you a few seconds.

If you have been looking for professional connections and want a great place to start, check out #njed chat on Tuesday evenings.  You won't be disappointed.  Here are some of the amazing  New Jersey educators that you can find regularly on #njed chat:

@wkrakower
@sirotiak02
@TeacherCast
@AngelinaShy
@iSuperEit
@MissCass22
@WHS_Principal
@kcalderw
@bcurrie5
@spaul6414
@mrfigurelli
@SOMSlibrary

This is just a few. Please add anyone who I have omitted in the comments.  There are so many!

Related articles

• Personal learning networks - notes and resources (purplelineassociates.com)
• How To Manage Your PLN Using Twitter Lists - Edudemic (kwhobbes.wordpress.com)
• How To Get More Out Of Your PLN Using Twitter - Edudemic - Edudemic (edudemic.com)
• A Principal's Reflections: A PLN Quick Start Guide (ecolemctavishedtech.wordpress.com)

Why School? - Worth the Read!

This morning during the #satchat Twitter chat, a tweet was posted that referenced a short book by Will Richardson entitled, Why School? How Education Must Change When Learning and Information are Everywhere. I follow Will Richardson on Twitter and it sounded like an interesting read, so I quickly downloaded it to my nook and started reading after the chat.  It is amazing how a profound statement (or question) can be so eloquently presented in such a concise and thoughtful fashion.

After reading the book, I felt compelled to write a post about it because there are so many points in it that align with my thinking and that challenge it.  The book is DEFINITELY NOT meant to put the mind at ease.  If you are very resistant to change, I would not pick it up.  I suggest you find an old pedagogy textbook from your Foundations of Education class and sit back for a comforting evening of industrial model education. However, if you are interested in thinking about the future (and present) of education, then Richardson's book is for you.

One of the most powerful ideas for me is one of which I am acutely aware.  Schools and teaching cannot remain the same as we move through the 21st Century.  This seems fairly obvious; however, the system within which schools and teachers work does not allow for the kind of change that is needed.  In a competition based, high stakes testing environment, where those in charge of educating the young are evaluated by the number on a standardized test, it is difficult to foster the skills that will be needed to succeed in the world the children are creating and inheriting.

Will Richardson

One of my favorite lines from the book is, "In times of great change, learners will inherit the earth, while the learned will be beautifully equipped for a world that no longer exists" (p. 47). This is a premise upon which I have been working for quite some time.  My version has been more of a question: Are we educating children for our past or their future?  I think that it comes down to figuring out what we truly want from schools.  If it is skills for success in the future then we need a fundamental shift in the way that we look at schooling.

Richardson truly hit home with his anecdote regarding the Friday Folder, the essential crux of which is a task completion based idea of education that can be sent home and forgotten in the folder vs. an authentic creation of meaning and skills that would better serve a real audience and the greater good.  These two types of learning are different in every way.  In an information abundant world we should no longer be expecting students to simply "complete" the learning we assign.  We should be learning with them and creating the learning as we move along.  This does not mean that we can throw out curriculum and the expectations that students will learn concepts and skills; but, it does mean that we may need to realize that the learning of information that is "Google-able" will not be enough in the world of the future.  The greater questions are: How do I discern which information is valid and useful? What do I do with the information once I have it?  How can I connect with others to use this information?

Connection with others is a key to the future of education.  We  are connected all the time.  At any moment I have every one of my connections in this world in the palm of my hand and accessible at the push of a button.  This is a resource that cannot and should not be squandered.  How do we effectively leverage that  technology and those human resources for learning?  I am fairly sure that it is not through a competition based model of education, but through a collaboration based model.

I could go on discussing each point in the book; however, I think Why School? is an important discussion starter in figuring out the direction of schools in the future.  If we ignore the message that Richardson is sending, we will find our schools obsolete and not able to educate children effectively for the world in which they must thrive.

I highly recommend this quick read and would love to dialogue with anyone about it here or on twitter @PrincipalArc.



Related articles

• The next evolution of schools: Highlights from our chat with Will Richardson
• Research Report on Why Maker-Driven, Connected Learning is Important
• Three Professional Reads That are Worth Your Time