Happy Birthday iPad!

Do you remember January 27, 2010? I do. The famous keynote when Jobs announced the iPad. I felt like it was the device that schools had been waiting for. It was not a cheap netbook. Or a heavy, clunky tablet computer. It was an honest-to-God "magical" and "revolutionary" device. 

It is incredible to me when I think how much this device has afforded us in teaching and learning. The iPad breaks down barriers that blocked technophobe teachers from truly integrating tech into their classrooms. There is something so friendly about the iPad. The touch capabilities build an intimate relationship between the user and the device. Somehow, a lot of the fear is taken away. I have seen teachers pick up this device and with little instruction, begin using it right away as opposed to the introduction of a laptop. 

Children take to it right away. They seem to have a natural understanding of navigation and gestures. iPads have become so commonplace today that I think we forget what it was like pre-iPad. The ease, portability, speed, freedom and almost unlimited potential of this device are outstanding. Jobs was right, the iPad is magical and revolutionary. It has and will continue to shape teaching, learning, publishing, creating, and communication in ways we cannot even fathom yet.

Now, teachers send photos or videos home every day to parents. Students of all ages create stories, individually or collaboratively, with ease and share them with each other, parents or around the world. Whether it's Book Creator, iMovie, Puppet Pals or any of the dozens of apps available, our students and teachers are creating and stretching beyond the boundaries of their classrooms. 

As our school begins to weigh the best way to address the digital book market, it is incredibly exciting to see how books are developing in ways we never considered to address all types of learners. Accessibility is only part of the wonderful developments that are available now. Teachers have the ability to create their own textbooks, thanks to iBooks Authoring tool. The rich media embedded in books brings learning to life in ways that I thought were only possible in futuristic movies. The future is here now and it is a very exciting one. Thanks, Steve. 

I Love You, Matt Damon!

Tony Wagner, please move over and make room on my hero shelf for the Mighty Mr. Matt Damon.I still have mad love for you Tony--not to worry, my love for Matt is pure. In case you were in a coma, in WiFi hell, or waiting for COMCAST to fix your Internet service (again!), you might have missed one of my favorite all time moments this year, Matt Damon's extraordinarily lucid speech at the SOS Rally in Washington, D.C. Boy oh boy, that man can SELL a message. My favorite part of his speech was Mighty Matt's slam on testing:"And none of these qualities that I’ve just mentioned — none of these qualities that I prize so deeply, that have brought me so much joy, that have brought me so much professional success — none of these qualities that make me who I am ... can be tested."

Damon was in fine company including the usual folks: Jonathan Kozol, Diane Ravitch, and Linda Darling-Hammond. However stellar the company Matt, you outshined them all with your heartfelt message. I admit it, I cried. So, I have posted your speech below to anyone who missed it (although I am sure you can find it on YouTube too and then you have the added benefit of hearing Matt deliver these wonderful words). Will Matt's fine words fell the Testing Ogre? I fear not. But, more importantly, he has given me hope, and sometimes all it takes is a liitle hope to save the world.

I flew overnight from Vancouver to be with you today. I landed in New York a few hours ago and caught a flight down here because I needed to tell you all in person that I think you’re awesome.
I was raised by a teacher. My mother is a professor of early childhood education. And from the time I went to kindergarten through my senior year in high school, I went to public schools. I wouldn’t trade that education and experience for anything.
I had incredible teachers. As I look at my life today, the things I value most about myself — my imagination, my love of acting, my passion for writing, my love of learning, my curiosity — all come from how I was parented and taught.
And none of these qualities that I’ve just mentioned — none of these qualities that I prize so deeply, that have brought me so much joy, that have brought me so much professional success — none of these qualities that make me who I am ... can be tested.
I said before that I had incredible teachers. And that’s true. But it’s more than that. My teachers were EMPOWERED to teach me. Their time wasn’t taken up with a bunch of test prep — this silly drill and kill nonsense that any serious person knows doesn’t promote real learning. No, my teachers were free to approach me and every other kid in that classroom like an individual puzzle. They took so much care in figuring out who we were and how to best make the lessons resonate with each of us. They were empowered to unlock our potential. They were allowed to be teachers.
Now don’t get me wrong. I did have a brush with standardized tests at one point. I remember because my mom went to the principal’s office and said, ‘My kid ain’t taking that. It’s stupid, it won’t tell you anything and it’ll just make him nervous.’ That was in the ’70s when you could talk like that.
I shudder to think that these tests are being used today to control where funding goes.
I don’t know where I would be today if my teachers’ job security was based on how I performed on some standardized test. If their very survival as teachers was based on whether I actually fell in love with the process of learning but rather if I could fill in the right bubble on a test. If they had to spend most of their time desperately drilling us and less time encouraging creativity and original ideas; less time knowing who we were, seeing our strengths and helping us realize our talents.
I honestly don’t know where I’d be today if that was the type of education I had. I sure as hell wouldn’t be here. I do know that.
This has been a horrible decade for teachers. I can’t imagine how demoralized you must feel. But I came here today to deliver an important message to you: As I get older, I appreciate more and more the teachers that I had growing up. And I’m not alone. There are millions of people just like me.
So the next time you’re feeling down, or exhausted, or unappreciated, or at the end of your rope; the next time you turn on the TV and see yourself called “overpaid;” the next time you encounter some simple-minded, punitive policy that’s been driven into your life by some corporate reformer who has literally never taught anyone anything. ... Please know that there are millions of us behind you. You have an army of regular people standing right behind you, and our appreciation for what you do is so deeply felt. We love you, we thank you and we will always have your back.

THANK YOU MATT DAMON!!!

Mad Love for Tony Wagner

    I admit it, I have an intellectual crush on Tony Wagner. I {> him. My friends and colleagues are sick to death hearing about me extol the virtues of the mighty TW. Don't get me wrong, I have great respect for Daniel Pink, John Medina, Richard Arum, Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi, Carol Tomlinson, Jay McTighe, etc. but I always come back to Tony Wagner. He hits the nail on the head as far as how we need to THINK about students, learning, change, leadership, education  . . . it's not what is taught that matters, it is what is learned.

 Teaching ALL students NEW skills is a new education challenge that requires development of new accountability structures, different ways of teaching and testing, and new ways of working together and with our students. The Global Achievement Gap by Tony Wagner.

     In case you are not familiar with The Global Achievement Gap, Tony suggests that there are seven survival skills our students need to learn in order to be successful 21st century citizens: 

1.Critical Thinking and Problem-Solving

2.Collaboration Across Networks and Leading by Influence

3.Agility and Adaptability

4.Initiative and Entrepreneurialism

5.Effective Oral and Written Communication

6.Accessing and Analyzing Information

7.Curiosity and Imagination

     He advocates for schools to develop strategies for instruction/assessment of the BIG 3 C's:

1. critical and creative thinking
2. communication
3. collaboration

     Thanks to social media, we can accomplish this challenge. Really. It's not rocket science. We just need to move out of our comfort zone. How about all those A.P. classes? If we must have them, then does it take all that much energy to push students to ask the right questions past the same old Powerpoint presentation? Maybe ask those questions across collaborative networks? To communicate those answers articulately (through Skype classrooms?), concisely (through Twitter?),  and creatively (well, pick your favorite medium . . . I think we have some choice here). Pat Bassett, president of NAIS, wrote a great riff off these ideas: Demonstrations of Learning for 21st Century Schools. (Really wonderful, insightful article.)

     So yes, I am a FAN. I cannot wait until Tony's new book comes out: Learning to Innovate, Innovating to Learn: What The Best Parents, Teachers & Employers Do And Why It Matters AND I am hoping to catch the documentary about his experience touring Finland's schools, The Finland Phenomenon (see interview at Huff Post   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/c-m-rubin/finland-education_b_868781.html.) 

     Tony is still at Harvard, but in a new position, Innovation Education Fellow at the Technology & Entrepreneurship Center at Harvard. If you are interested in some great summer reading, The Global Achievement Gap is in paperback and IBooks. Enjoy! 

Tigger or Eeyore?

#notatiste2011

    Humph! So, I was not at ISTE 2011! Did it matter? Well, surely I missed out on all the networking, catching up with folks, learning new things, and the gosh darn fun of being there. I mean it was in the City of Brotherly Love, so criminy, what could be better? However, through Twitter and other fun tools, I (almost) felt like I was there [shout outs to The Nerdy Teacher, SarahDSparks, Lisa Nielsen and others for their constant tweets). What did I do before this connectivity? Hmm, I guess I wasn't . . . connected.
     Currently I am am running an 8 week course online, 21 Steps to Being a 21st Century Teacher. I am so proud of the teachers who not only signed up but keep coming back for more. It's been a delight to read their blog posts and to truly drill down to understand where the fear and hesitation about "21st Century Teaching" lurk among faculty, no matter what their age or experience.
     So many education gurus claim that teachers' fear of technology stems from lack of training (blame the school or district). Teachers will advocate for more time to train or more up-to-date tools (blame the school or district). Some technology directors suggest that technology use should be a requirement (really? Are we advocating eat your peas and carrots as a solution?). Actually, I don't think it is either. Really, when you get down to it, there are two issues: what is your mindset and what are your priorities? If your mindset is "Grrrrr, what is going to happen if I push this button?" then you approach technology itself with fear. Tiptoeing never works. What if your mindset is "Gosh, I can't wait to see what happens when I touch this button!". Always better to be a Tigger than an Eeyore.

     If you set your mind that learning how to use technology is a good thing (thanks Martha) to both advance your professional growth, and to provide better engagement for your students, maybe even fun, then you will approach the learning with the right positive mindset. However, that is not enough. I hear so many faculty begrudge the fact that students spend so much time immersed in the world of technology, whether they are texting, on Facebook, YouTube, etc. Hey, how do you think students became so technically adept? Their priority is communicating with their friends and the world around them and to accomplish that goal, they use multiple technological tools and develop expertise along the way. (How do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice!) What if ALL faculty approached their communication and collaboration that way? I've heard too many tragic tales from tech directors at truly wonderful schools who set up discussion boards, wikis, and other collaborative spaces only to have them sit relatively empty. Helloooooooooooo, is anyone in there? Remember, email use to be a mystery too. It's about time that we imbue the daily life of school with these tools.
     One step in the right direction to adopting these new tools into every day teaching life is when administrators step up and model best uses of these tools. Great examples are folks like Jonathan Martin (@JonathanEMartin), Eric Sheninger (@NMHS_Principal), Justin Tarte (@justintarte), and the whole Connected Principles Group (@conprin). Leading by example inspires others to step up. Teaching can be such an isolating experience yet using tools like Twitter can open up your teaching world and show you that you don't have to do it alone. Are you a 4th Grade Teacher in need of help with a classroom project? Just tweet your question to #4thchat and I guarantee that you will receive at least a dozen helpful responses. As I have advised faculty in my online class as they embark into the land of Twitter, Google Reader and other fun tools, keep it simple and focused. Don't get infowhelmed, get infofocused. When something goes wrong, (and it will), use common sense to fix it and laugh. It's okay. Nothing is broken. Just a bump in the road. Keep your sense of wonder and adventure.
     Ooops, I left out the Elephant in the Room, the final excuse as to why some faculty fear integrating technology into their classrooms. "It doesn't work." Well, why doesn't it work? Do you have the same problem over and over? Learn how to fix it. Didn't you at one time have trouble tying your shoes? It's a learning curve. Have you been burned by technology failing you as you tried to make a presentation? It happens to the best of us. At these times I always think of Steven Spielberg and that enormous fake shark. The gosh darn thing kept failing. It wasn't scary, in fact it was just plain goofy. The studio was screaming at him. The actors and crew must have had their doubts about signing up for such a low quality flick. However, persistence pays off. The shark finally worked and Jaws became a blockbuster. Be the little engine that could. Be a Tigger.