The Less I Know

2010-09-17T12:12:00.001-05:00

Open Architecture is Insidious

2010-05-19T14:48:00.001-05:00

That implies that I think it's bad, which it isn't, but I wonder whether it is changing us or whether it's just something I like. I have had several conversations recently in which the discussion wandered around the extent to which the things that we write or think or whatever as personal reflections belong in an open place where anyone can see them. Well, obviously, if you don't want something

Learning is a pain in the keister!

2010-05-14T14:32:00.003-05:00

Just finished Daniel Willingham's book, Why Students Don't Like School. I purchased it because I was expecting a exploration of how students aren't engaged by school because it's not relevant and participatory, but that was not his primary focus. What he has to say supports that idea, but it also has some interesting things to say about the importance of practice and the need to work hard to

Computer Assisted Differentiation

2010-05-06T13:07:00.003-05:00

Check this out... http://vimeo.com/7416500 Or http://schools.nyc.gov/community/innovation/SchoolofOne/default.htm

A World of False Dichotomies

2010-05-06T12:40:00.000-05:00

The following is a seven minute rant... I am in a workshop today related to the future of education in relation to the technology revolution and one of my tablemates is reacting negatively to the presentation because they see the ideas as being offered in opposition to traditional instruction. This reaction is largely a function of the "Yes, but..." or even "But..." without the yes mentality

Content and Structure

2010-05-05T13:39:00.000-05:00

Roseville, MN. Stardate now... Read an essay by the Tanner man (see his new blog when it exists...name pending) about the need to create creative and revolutionary spaces around us. At the same time, I am all wound up in helping to create, plan, implement, reflect, and otherwise reproduce structure in the Roseville School District. I am a fan of structure. I create it almost instinctively.

It's a big 'ol mess for sure...

2010-05-04T12:08:00.000-05:00

Education is, I mean. The latest and greatest lingo war for the education world is around COLLEGE READINESS and TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY SKILLS. Which is not to say that recent conflicts around standards, assessments, accountability, collaboration, or a million other things aren't still sporting a confrontational style as well, but these are just a couple of newer labels that folks seem to be

2010-02-19T17:26:00.002-06:00

Notes from the Classroom

2010-02-09T13:27:00.000-06:00

What happens with homework? Feedback? Evaluation? It is amazing how many of our classrooms are homework driven. What is the homework driven classroom? Instruction assumes that student learning is happening offsite, with the classroom being a place where clarification and review takes place. In this model, the student is given a set of activities to complete on their own. What are the

Collaborative Research

2009-12-15T11:54:00.001-06:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation: Collaborative ResearchView more presentations from Michael Sheeks.

Collaborative Writing And Critique

2009-12-14T11:58:00.001-06:00

Check out this SlideShare Presentation: Collaborative Writing And CritiqueView more presentations from Michael Sheeks.

Skype and Linear Thinking in Technology

2009-11-10T16:08:00.000-06:00

A colleague in my office and I discussed the fact that we both had skype accounts last week. I need to do some investigating with what the computers on our teachers desks have for audio and video setup. While newer computers have built-in webcams and such, I'm not sure that our classroom computers are quite there yet.I did have an interesting experience with Skype last winter at the NSDC (

A Podcast

2009-11-10T13:58:00.001-06:00

2009-10-27T20:12:00.000-05:00

The video included below is a project created to learn a little about video editing. It previews my final project to the extent that it formulates some questions that I want to deal with in my final project. The project itself will be a series of videos that provide training for staff in my school district around how to implement some of the digital writing strategies that we have learned in my

Is Google Making Us Stupid?

2009-10-20T19:27:00.000-05:00

I missed the online role play exercise today, which is ironic since I have been quite successful at making the face to face classes and now had an opportunity to participate from the comfort of my own home. Unfortunately, I was late getting home from a new teacher event that I was hosting for my school district and my daughter had hit herself in the eye with her keys and needed help with her

Thoughts on Wikis

2009-10-13T15:59:00.000-05:00

I am a big fan of electronic collaboration, and have promoted it in my job as a staff developer as well as in my work with the theater extra-curricular at our high school. However, my experience has been that without some kind of external pressure, getting folks to contribute can be difficult. This fits with other comments about the need for authentic purpose in writing, and the reality is that

A Voice Thread about the International Thespian Festival

2009-10-06T15:43:00.000-05:00

This is a voice thread using some pictures from a student trip that I do every summer to the International Thespian Festival. Interestingly, I will probably use this object to help promote next year's festival. For students, the ability to rearrange the pictures and vary the comment type provides some useful ways to think about structure. For instance, I am using a fairly straightforward

Pictures for my class

2009-10-05T16:54:00.001-05:00

Here's a link to some pictures that I am going to use for an assignment in my Digital Literacy class. More editorial comment later. :)

2009-09-29T16:45:00.000-05:00

2009-09-29T16:41:00.001-05:00

My Bubble Map

2009-09-29T16:16:00.000-05:00

Peace and Tranquility

2009-09-26T20:26:00.000-05:00

I have a couple of launching platforms today, so we'll see where they lead. In a facebook chat with a former student I was recalling an experience I had while working on my Masters in Education at the University of Minnesota. I was working as a Teaching Assistant for a writing intensive course in the Kinesiology department and walking from the campus to the professor's office, which was across

What to do, what to do?

2009-09-22T14:26:00.000-05:00

I have to begin thinking about a final project for my class in digital literacy at the U and my obvious starting point is to start considering where the intersection between student engagement, standards, and digital media might be. The connection is obvious in terms of digital media and student engagement...kids are obviously more engaged by the interactive digital environment. But there are

We have to stop saying no to kids...and teachers, too.

2009-09-21T14:00:00.000-05:00

A recent article out of New Hampshire highlights a teacher who provided a writing prompt that led to disciplinary action. Briefly, the teacher asked students to write on the question, "If you knocked your brother down, would you urinate in his mouth?"Clearly a provocative prompt. The setting...a class of about twelve seniors in a high school. A quick review of some of the blogosphere comments

And a confession...

2009-09-20T11:28:00.001-05:00

What is particularly upsetting about the grading question is that I was guilty of the same practice. I worked hard to be fair and to focus on learning, but our instructional practices are so heavily determined by tradition and personal experience that we cannot help but reproduce the repressive norms of compliance building.We must move past compliance to engagement and to valuing real learning.

Grading

2009-09-20T11:11:00.001-05:00

The earlier post mentioned two recent experiences. Here is the second one. I am outraged about this, but as I have watched my kids in school I have been outraged about it on numerous occasions.My daughter is in the IB program at Cooper High School entering 9th grade and for the summer she had the pleasure of reading The Alchemist for her english course. This is a great text and the assignment

Roadblocks

2009-09-20T10:53:00.000-05:00

It has been an interesting year for me as an educator. I have spent the past two years as a staff development coordinator, and that journey has made me increasingly aware of the roadblocks that stand between our normal practices and the quality practices that could create engaged educational experiences for our students. There are a host of these, but for today I want to explore two experiences

Prompted Responses from CI5472

2009-09-17T10:13:00.000-05:00

How you do might use a blog in your everyday lives and/or teaching (if you teach). As you can see from the handful of posts from years past, blogging is something that has intrigued me in the same way that journaling is intriguing. Of course, personal journal entries aren't mediated by a publicly viewable audience, so they exist in a different way, but when I journal there is a real extent to

On the other hand...two years later.

2009-09-17T08:06:00.000-05:00

Back in school to get that Masters finished and two years into doing staff development. Lots to report and it all is going to wait. For now, just an announcement that I will be using this Blog for my graduate school class and maybe get into a rhythm with it...or maybe not. :)

It's been a while...

2007-06-01T21:09:00.000-05:00

I look at my post from last September and wonder, "who is this guy?" Funny how foreign our own thoughts can be. I still agree with myself, so that's good.It's May now, and I'm moving from my position as an English Teacher to a new job as a Curriculum and Staff Development Coordinator, which I refer to as going over to the dark side. I have a deep and unremitting belief in the importance of

Johnny be good...

2006-09-26T22:24:00.000-05:00

Sitting in the bar at Cragun's Resort in Brainerd, MN, tonight, I overheard this conversation..."Keeping out of trouble?"Pause. No response."Good for you!"Which made me think about risk...and living fully.There's a perspective on behavior that values risk averse behavior. Don't drink, don't smoke, don't do drugs, don't have premarital sex, don't lie, don't cheat, don't hang out in unseemly

Under the Microscope...

2006-09-25T19:32:00.000-05:00

So, the doorbell rings, and the husband of a candidate for state representative is at the door plugging for his wife. He has a glossy flyer listing her claims to fame and promises to keep. After a couple of claims that she'll provide "Property Tax Relief" and "fiscal prudence" the brochure promises a "wise investment in our schools and greater accountability". Since this was all pretty vague,

Teaching Rationale: The Curious Incident

2006-09-20T21:53:00.000-05:00

The following is a teaching rationale for "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night", which is referred to in the preceding post. Teaching Rationale: The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night In May, 2006, several of the Roseville Area High School English Dept. instructors who teach English 9 met and agreed that a common novel was needed in

Free Speech is a Dangerous Weapon..

2006-09-20T21:14:00.000-05:00

Wow! How did it get to be Wednesday already?It's actually been a very busy week. The parent who was unhappy about our use of "The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night" persisted in her objections despite a lengthy conversation Monday evening. She was very cordial, but was quite insistent that the book's "obscene" and "vulgar" language was inappropriate for high school freshmen.What was

Sunday, Bloody Sunday

2006-09-17T19:33:00.000-05:00

The problem with teaching is that there's always this pile of stuff you're supposed to be grading. It's like being a student again, where your very existence is infused with a constant nagging awareness that there's probably something more productive you could be doing. Unless you're actually in the process of getting things done...which sort of defeats the purpose of a weekend. I say this

Whose Education Is It?

2006-09-15T07:31:00.000-05:00

A friend of mine who teaches at Malone College once observed that 90% of education is in the hands of the student. That might be a conservative estimate. In any event, comparing private or charter schools with public schools irks me. As long as public schools provide services to everyone, regardless of their interest, and private or charter schools provide services to self-selected students

A Response to Demagoguery

2006-09-14T23:37:00.000-05:00

So, I just spent a bit of time responding to someone on our community forum who has annoyed/engaged/intrigued me. It's enough for one day, so I post it here.The original conversation was around our district referendum, which passed. A lot of the comments that were like this, "I won't get into the debate about how the Public Schools are a cash sinkhole with poor results. There are plenty of

The Referendum Passes

2006-09-13T20:54:00.000-05:00

Our local district education referendum passed, which should make me happy. There will be adequate funds for books this year, which is a rare and blessed event. Ironically, I'm somewhat depressed about the whole thing. The reason for this has to do with a whining blogger who posted his dark, dreary, unsubstantiated opinions on our local forum. It's kind of ridiculous, really; that I should be

A Start is a Start is a...

2006-09-12T20:56:00.000-05:00

Somehow it feels like this is the moment to say something particularly pithy. But, of course, noone is likely to read it; which reduces the pressure significantly. In any event, this is a start.To what, it would appear, is fairly irrelevant. The world is now filled with a bjillion blogs. I was moved to start my own as a consequence of reading the blog of a conservative demigog in my own area.