MAC Week Three: Leadership Post

Leadership Project: Presentation of Action Research Findings

I have applied to present at the Christa McAuliffe Technology Conference.  My presentation on increasing student motivation, attendance and authentic learning through the use of technology should fit right in with their overall theme:

2012 CHRISTA MCAULIFFE TECHNOLOGY CONFERENCE themes:
Engaged & Personalized Learning ~ Authentic & Innovative Strategies
Emerging Technologies ~ Social Media, eLearning, & Mobile Computing
21st Century Skills & Global Citizenship ~ Expanding Horizons
Data-driven Instruction, Assessment, & Policy Issues

Leadership Blog Post #1

Leadership Blog Post #2

Presentation: Motivating Students with An APPle a Day!

MAC Week Three: Comment for Katherine

In her blog, Katherine Olivar also commented on Rule Number 6! She said:
"For chapter 6, all I could think about was the movie Singing in the Rain with Gene Kelly, Debbie Reynolds, and Donald O'Connor. One scene Donald O'Connor's character is trying uplift the spirits of his best friend Don Lockwood (Gene Kelly). He performs a song and dance routine to the melody of Cole Porter's Be A Clown, memorably renaming it to Make 'Em Laugh. I saw the movie before I could go to school and noticed my mother laughing and having a good time watching that particular scene. At that moment, I wanted to be able to make people laugh and appreciate a good time while in my presence. To this day, that mentality is part of my everyday nature.

Here is the scene and have the best ____ ever!"


I love Singing in the Rain! If you can watch Gene Kelly sing and dance without smiling, something is wrong with you! I loved your story about your Mother...reminded me of mine.  I'm not sure that I shared with you that my mom is currently serving in Romania with the Peace Corps.  She just got the Mother's Day box that we sent her today, and in it an iTunes gift card so she can go shopping for her iPod Touch.  She said she lost Carol King's Tapestry in an update, and she just can't start her day w/o hearing "You've got to get up every morning, with a smile on your face and show the world, all the love in your heart!" 
Keep smiling and laughing, Katherine!

MAC Week Three: Comment for Shrav

In his blog, classmate Shrav Krishna comments on this week's readings:
"Are you enjoying 'The Art of Possibility' yet? Did you think it was possible to remove yourself from a seemingly constrictive and incessant bind to rack up accomplishments and enter a convalescence of enjoying a life full of zest and free will? I live in Chicago guys, where this week into next the NATO summit will literally be invading all aspects of my world. My family and I received letters of bizarre announcements, such as our mail being delayed and to avoid bringing backpacks or water bottles onto the public transportation services. Yet, rather than complain, I have bestowed upon myself the opportunity to practice Rule Number 6 (to lighten up), succumb to a newfound appreciation for the global leaders from 28 countries visiting Chicago, be in the present and embrace the silver lining, and give way to what is to come. This book we are all reading is changing my life completely."

What an awesome opportunity, Shrav! I hope you definitely take this moment to live in the now and enjoy the way things are! With your skills and talent, all those world leaders could be there just for the off chance of bumping into YOU!

Enjoy!

MAC Week Three: The Way Things Are, and don't forget Rule No. 6!

As I read the next four chapters in The Art of Possibility this week, I couldn't help but reflect upon the discussion board topic that we were also give for this week.  I'm pretty sure Dr. Joe knew what he was doing this week.  Our discussion this week had to do with the barriers to integrating technology in the classroom.  We were supposed to discuss, from our experience, what it is that keeps teachers from embracing new technology.  Our answers varied from time commitment to fear of failure, lack of PD to lack of support from Admin. Since most of us are classroom teachers, we hit probably the top ten roadblocks, easily.  But after the reading this week, my eyes are open to some new possibilities!

In the chapter, The Way Things Are, the authors discuss our tendency to see the negative in a bad situation, instead of seeing it for what it really is...just another situation.  They also discuss the tendency to express problems as a downward spiral, I hear this all the time in the Teacher's Lounge!!  The same teachers who balk at integrating new technology are typically the same people who express their frustration with "these" students, who are always the worst students ever, and Oh! Just wait! The class coming up is the worst EVER!! It's so frustrating, and disheartening, if you buy into all that talk.  Why would anyone ever want to dedicate their lives to teaching? It's much more encouraging to think of these kids as being different from previous generations, not better or worse, and to think of ways to reach them that weren't available in previous generations.

Where are you speaking from:

And finally, lest we all forget, remember Rule No. 6!!





{Not to give it away if you haven't read the book, but Rule No. 6 simply states: Don't take yourself so goddamn seriously!}
{PS: There are NO other rules!}

MAC Week Two: Leadership Blog Post...To Present or Publish?

www.nsta.org

 
So I checked out a few more nearby conferences this week, and couldn't find one that fit my needs.  It hadn't occurred to me that many conferences only allow members to present, and membership isn't cheap!  So I went back to look at the three organizations that I already belong to: NEA, NSTA and NABT.  All three have publications, and all three are accepting manuscripts at this time.  I'll need to take a few days to look over the submission requirements.  I already see that NSTA wants you to state that your manuscript has not been submitted anywhere else before they review it.  At this point, I will start working on a paper and fine tune it as I decide where exactly to submit it.

www.nabt.org

MAC Week Two: Comment #2 to Katie's Blog Post

On her blog, Katie Ross posted about her reactions to our reading assignment this week.  In part, she said,
"The statement which Benjamin Zander states at the beginning of The Art of Possibility he talks about two salesmen going off to sell shoes in Africa, this is a fantastic example of how teachers should think of their teaching opportunities. You see, in his story he states that one of the salesmen sent word back home that the idea of shoes is hopeless because no one there wears shoes, but the other salesman sent a more optimistic letter back full of hope stating that he has the opportunity to get people to start wearing shoes. In the classroom we have to think the same way about our students. We should not focus on the fact that we have a large group of students who do not want to learn; rather we should focus on the possibility of finding new ways to get the students more excited about learning. This is what the EMDT program has taught me over the past 11 months. We have been given the tools to sell shoes to the shoeless, an amazing opportunity to teach those who have not yet discovered the joy of learning."


Katie, you hit the nail on the head! We have been given the tools to sell shoes to the shoeless!! In fact, when I first read that paragraph I thought about some of my fellow teachers who only want to complain that kids these days are somehow less able to learn than kids in the past.  Because they want to use video, music, computers, technology...those same teachers label them as lazy, or somehow less than previous generations.  I'm so proud to be part of a group that can see the shoeless for who they are! Not more, not less...just people waiting for us to come provide the shoes for them to journey through life in!

MAC Week Two: Comment #1 to Cynthia's Blog Post

On her blog, Affecting Eternity, Cindi wrote about her reaction to giving students an "Easy A" before the assignment is graded:
"I contemplated for a long time on what is meant by “The Easy A”.  At first reading, I thought that it doesn’t make sense to just pretend that all students are the same and they all get an A.  Pretending that my students will all rise to the challenge and do things they can’t do.  

After sleeping on it and being back in school with my 8^th graders after thinking about it, I read that section again.  Maybe what he meant is that giving out The Easy A brings out what is unique in students, rather than how they fall when “standardizing” kids against each other.   Grades (and of course the high-stakes testing I just administered) are all about how my students measure up against all other 8^th graders in Ohio.  Grades and OAA scores do not take into consideration the environment and unique talents of my kids. The Easy A however, allows students to face their own unique challenges and tell why and how they deserve their A.  This would give a teacher richer information:  not how they stack up against others, but how they stack up against their own hopes and dreams.  This concept aligns with the Social and Emotional Learning program my school has instituted, and I can see how it can have great benefits.  However, my district says I have to assign grade cards and administer OAAs.  To find how The Easy A can be used in my classroom is a challenge I will have to think more about."

I know exactly what you mean, Cindi! I have to give grades with categories and weights decided on by my district. I have to give district assessments and prepare my kids for a state test.  I'm really not sure how the idea of giving A's to students fits in with those district policies.  I do have some flexibility on the more creative projects though, you might think about giving A's there and seeing how your students respond when they can express their ideas anyway they want to express them!