Liebster - Loving All of Those Blogs that Keep the Learning Going!

Liebster: Discover New Blogs

Thank you Sheri Edwards at What Else for including me in your nominations for this fun award. It is a great way to recognize those of us who are “smaller” bloggers —  with fewer than 200 followers. What a great way to help us to connect!  I am thrilled to be included!

Liebster Nomination Rules

1. Link back to the blog that nominated you.

2. Nominate 5-11 blogs with less than 200 followers.

3. Answer the questions posted for you by the nominator.

4. Share 11 random facts about you.

5. Create 11 questions for your nominees.

6. Contact your nominees to inform them of their nomination.

Well, I'm not sure how many followers each of these blogs have.  I am still so new to all of this, I don't know how to find out!  But these are some of my "go-to" blogs that I find myself checking out again and again!

My Nominees:

1. Aviva: Living Avivaloca

2. Rick McCleary:  Mr. McCleary's Musings

3. Heather: Mrs. D's Flight Plan

4. Lori: At the Principal's Office

5. Laurie: Global Grade Threes (classroom blog) Professional Ponderings (Professional Blog)

My answers to Sheri's questions:

1. Why do you blog?

To reflect on what I have learned.  I have always found that in writing, I think.  I don't really write for an audience, but I admit, knowing someone else might be reading what I write pushes me to think harder.  

2. What’s the most important thing a teacher can do for his or her students?
The most important thing a teacher can do for his/her students is build a caring relationship with them. If you build a mutually caring relationship, everything else falls into place.  You will know that child as an individual and do your utmost to help him/her succeed.  The child in turn will trust you and feel safe to take risks. 

3. What’s the most important thing a teacher can do for his or her colleagues?
Same thing, build trusting and caring relationships so that you can help each other grow as professionals.

4. If you could change one physical thing about your classroom, what would it be?
No teacher desk! No student desks!

5. Describe one of your most memorable classroom experiences.
Dancing on the desks with my students after a math test that every single child got an "A" on.  I really believe that if you tailor instruction to a child's needs, everyone can succeed.  

6. What memorable experience do you hope your students have?
No individual memory, I want them to remember how much fun we had all year learning together.

7. How many students/teachers do you have at your school?
There are 285 students and about 14 teachers.  

8. What is your favorite classroom use of technology?
Oh, that's a toughy! I think I'd have to say using the iPads to make movies.  It encompassed so much learning, from researching, writing scripts, filming, editing... they used the iPads for every portion of the video making, and were so engaged.  Every child felt needed and a part of something big.

9. Who/what is your teaching inspiration?
I have many teaching inspirations, but I'd have to say that Twitter has been the biggest inspiration for me this year. 

10. What is 1 teaching goal you have for this school year?
Well, I am moving into a new consulting role.  My number one goal this year is to inspire teachers to open up their classrooms. 

11. In six words, what is your teaching philosophy?
Know your students as individual learners.

Eleven Random Facts About Me
1. I am married to the kindest most patient man in the world
2. I have three adult children who make sure my head never gets too big
3. I have two dogs and a cat who always remind me that it is good that I am here on this earth 
4. I just bought a new Mac and I'm LOVING IT!
5. I love to swim, I think I was a dolphin in a previous life
6. I love to read, read, and read some more, anything, anywhere, any time
7. I believe knowledge is meant to be shared and questioned
8. I love walking on snow that crunches
9. I've learned you can take the girl out of Montreal but you can never take Montreal out of the girl
10. AT 93 years old, I still think my Grandma is cool
11. I'm an extrovert that could easily become a hermit because of the Internet

Eleven Questions for my Nominees'
1. Why did you go into teaching?
2. What do you love most about your job?
3. How do you use technology in your class or school?
4. How many students attend your school?
5. If you could change one thing about Education, what would it be?
6. What do you do after a bad day? 
7. What is one of your proudest moments in Education?
8. Whose blog are you always excited to read and why?
9. What is one of your professional goals for next year? 
10. What is your favourite inspirational quote for Education?
11. Why do you blog?

On Blended Learning

Blended learning is a form of education that combines face-to-face classroom methods with computer-mediated activities.^[1] According to its proponents, the strategy creates a more integrated approach for both instructors and students. From Wikipedia. 

This year I have been experimenting with blended learning.  Blended learning is a combination of face-to-face learning with eLearning.  I call it an "experiment" because I believe EVERY teaching strategy we try is an experiment.  I see my classroom as a giant laboratory.  I try different teaching strategies and then I measure their impact on student learning.  Some are more successful than others; some are very successful with some students and not so successful with other students. 

In Ontario, the Ministry provides teachers with a Learning Management System called the D2L for our blended learning.  Eight months into the experiment and I have to say that I love it and so do my students.  It is fun and engaging.  But has it positively impacted student learning?  I believe that it has; looking at the work that they are producing now compared to what they were doing in September, I think every student has made significant gains, and some of them have made dramatic gains to their learning.  

Because my students have access to the D2L 24 hours a day, they can decide when they need to access information.  I like to post a variety of different types of media to support their learning.  For example, we are currently studying Flight in Science.  As part of this unit, we are learning about the properties of fluids.  To learn these properties we have been conducting experiments together in class.  If anyone doesn't understand the experiment, they can view it or a similar one in a video on the D2L.  They can also access interactive learning activities from the Ontario Educational Resource Bank (OERB) that I have uploaded for them.  Lastly, if they still don't understand, they can email myself, or one of their classmates for clarification. (The OERB is only accessible to Ontario teachers, I'm afraid. It has great learning activities for the Ontario curriculum, but you can link to any online learning activity.) 

Having the D2L available to access information when they need it has really helped the majority of my students become responsible for their own learning.  It has given them control; they know that if they are not understanding, they can do something about it. Dylan William and John Hattie both explain that if students see intelligence as incremental, they will believe that the choices they make can lead to increased intelligence, and that will motivate them to take steps to improve.  But if students believe intelligence is fixed, "I'm not a math person, I'll never understand this", they don't even bother trying.  In fact, they will choose to NOT do their work so that they will look lazy because looking lazy is far better than looking stupid.  I have found that most of my students have come to believe that they can achieve in any subject if they help themselves. 

Using the D2L has made it easier for me to give my students feedback on their work.  They post something, and I can give them personal written feedback immediately.  We've also gotten into the habit of posting the success criteria for their work on our class page so they always have access to it.  They have also begun to give one another feedback, and they use the success criteria to help them decide what to say to one another.  

We have been using the Discussion tool for many of our reading activities.  This has really helped my students to learn how to have conversations around critical literacy.  We use a reciprocal teaching format.  I suggested they post questions they have about what they are reading, seek clarification from one another when they don't understand something, summarize what they have been reading, and make predictions.  I also ask that they consider what the author's message is, and share what they think the author is trying to tell us.  I had to explicitly teach them how to comment on one another's discussion threads at first, but now their discussions are rich and meaningful.  I no longer have to be the one explaining everything - they do that for one another, and I can peek in to see who gets it and who doesn't.

I learned a lot about the power of blogging from the #etmooc I participated in.  In February, we started using the blog tool on the D2L.  I was tempted to have my students create blogs using edublogger, but I am still nervous about having their blogs in the public domain - it is something I am still considering and exploring. (Click on the links to learn more about blogging from Sue Waters). Using the D2L, their blogs can only be seen by students in our board, and they are not nearly as visually appealing as they would be if they were using edublogger because they can't add widgets.  But that hasn't inhibited them.

It turns out my students LOVE blogging - every single one of them.  (I know because they are always asking to have time to blog, and they are doing it on their own time at home). Sometimes I assign topics to blog about.  Then I give them feedback, and ask them to improve their post given the feedback.  Some edit their original post, some opt to write an entirely new post and keep both as "evidence" of their learning.  But the posts I like best are the ones that they decide to write.  Currently, they have decided to have a "video contest".  They are posting their favourite videos. Through my comments on their blogs, I have asked them to develop a critical stance and try to determine what the intended message of the video is. 

One thing I don't like to do is have all of my students on-line at the same time.  We NEVER use the computer lab to access the D2L.  We use the devices I have in the class (five iPads, 3 desk tops, and 4 laptops).  That is enough for half of my class. They either work in pairs, or, because I use a workshop model, some are using the electronic devices, while others are doing something hands on, and still others are working with me in small groups.  Having the D2L has really enabled them to work independently for long stretches of time so that I can easily conference with students one at a time or work with them in small groups. 

Do you use blended learning in your classroom?  If so, how is it going?  If you have any ideas or suggestions to share, I would really love to hear them.  

Next week, I will ask my students what they think about blended learning, what they like and don't like.  Check in soon to hear about blended learning from the student's perspective.

Networking in My Zone of Proximal Development

CC licensed photo  shared by Flickr user edenpictures

When my nephew Jack was five years old, he was afraid to swim in the deep end.  My sister, Jennifer, put him in swimming lessons but Jack politely refused to go into the deep end of the pool with his swimming teacher.   I had a pool in my backyard and Jen asked if she could bring Jack over during the summer to practise.   I suggested she also bring a friend for Jack, someone who could swim a bit better than himself.  

I had noticed over the years that my own children didn't try to copy accomplished swimmers when they were learning to swim, but if they saw a peer, someone who was just a bit better at swimming than they, trying out new things in the water, they would watch carefully, and then attempt it themselves.  

This observation proved true for Jack as well.  He came swimming with his little friend Natalie.  Natalie was a novice swimmer as well, but she was just a bit more daring.  As she dog-paddled across the width of the pool in the deep end, Jack studied her, and it wasn't long before he was doing it too.  The next thing we knew, he and Natalie were challenging one another to jump in, or to swim the length of the pool; they even made a "slide" out of a float and slid into the deep end laughing and screaming. 

My etmooc experience has been very similar to Jack's swimming journey.  I have enjoyed the webinars greatly, but sometimes, the information is over my head and I have to watch the archived videos again and again to try to understand.  (It is driving my husband nuts!).  I have also been following most of the Google+ Etmooc Community posts, but many of my fellow etmoocers are experienced tech users with professions in IT and much of what they share is beyond my scope.   

Just like Jack, the people I learn most from are my peers, the etmoocers who know just a bit more than I do.  I think this is why the networking component of the etmooc is so critical.  I also think this is why I have been enjoying and learning so much in the etmooc.   Reading a range of all of the posts, I have found that I understand some posts better than others - those are the people I follow and network with, we learn together that way.  

Vygostsky's Zone of Proximal Development suggests that I learn best when a task is just slightly out of my reach and I am supported in learning how to accomplish that task (in school, we call this "guided instruction").  Sometimes, an expert isn't the best person to support me in that learning, they simply know too much, and perhaps forget how little I know.   But if I learn with someone within my ZPD, someone who knows just a bit more than I do, we can support one another to accomplish things we couldn't do alone.

This video is a quick refresher on ZPD:

The same holds true in my classroom.  I need to talk less and let my students talk more because it is through the conversations they have with one another that most of their learning will take place. 

Two Weeks into ETMOOC; How Have I Changed?

I am two weeks into my first ever MOOC - Massive (Gargantuan, Humongous, Ginormous) Open On-line Course (Community?) and I'm looking for signs of learning.

I signed up for this course, a newbie on Twitter, to learn more about digital tools.  I wanted to learn about how to help my students become "connected learners".   I hoped that the mysterious Twitterverse would begin to make more sense to me; I wanted to learn about Digital Storytelling, VoiceThread and Google Docs.

I am getting SO MUCH MORE than I bargained for!

Yes, I have learned how to use Google Docs - today my students and I created our very first Google Survey  for our unit on Data Management (we tweeted it, we emailed it, I think I should probably post it on Facebook - we can't wait to start reading the results!) I am using Twitter regularly to connect with other educators, I have even been using TweetDeck to manage the lists and hashtags I am following! I'm getting in there and tweeting, no longer just a lurker.  Last week, I created a Twitter account for my class!  We are now looking for other mid-level classes to follow (@SixesRSuper).

I've got a Diigo account to collate, high-light and annotate my e-reading material, and I've signed on to Google Reader to help manage all of the amazing educational blogs I've been following - so much simpler!

But that is not what I'm excited about.  I'm excited because I've discovered there is a WHOLE BIG WORLD out there that has welcomed me, that I am a part of, a world of other passionate excited educators who want to collaborate with ME!  That amazes me...

After I clicked the submit button, and signed on for this MOOC, I went to Youtube to get an idea of what I had signed on for. I found this video by Dave Cormier.  At the time, I was doubtful that it could happen the way Dave portrayed in the video.

But much to my delight, it happened!  I have met wonderful and inspiring educators that I have connected with. Together, thanks to Sheri Edwards, we are a neighbourhood.

I have learned how to learn from other educators just like myself.  I wanted to learn how to "connect" my students, I learned also how to "connect" myself.

BUT THAT'S NOT ALL!

I am not just learning HOW to connect by WHY connect.  I never anticipated how much THINKING I would be doing in this MOOC!

On his blog, Dave Cormier writes this about learning:

(It is) "Not a series of remembered ideas, reproduced for testing, and quickly forgotten. But something flexible that is already integrated with the other things a learner knows. Most things that we value ‘knowing’ are not things that are easily pointed to. Knowing is a long process of becoming (think of it in the sense of ‘becoming an expert’) where you actually change the way you perceive the world based on new understandings. You change and grow as new learning becomes part of the things you know."

As defined by Dave, I AM LEARNING.  

Last week, I was sent a link to a blog post entitled:
Let's Stop Talking about Teaching with Technology, and Start Talking about Teaching by Krista Moroder.
Basically, she reminds us that good pedagogy should always be our focus.  Technology is only the tool that helps good educators do their jobs even better.  I would now change the title of this post to:   Let's Stop Talking about Teaching with Technology, and Start Talking about Learning with Technology. 

I don't recall anyone actually using the term "pedagogy" in this MOOC, but really, all of the conversation that has taken place is NOT about technology but about pedagogy.  I've been thinking about pedagogy in ways I never thought about it before.  I have been examining why and how we get our students to collaborate.  I've been considering whether education should be a "bazaar or a cathedral", I've been thinking about whether we are growing "consumers or creators" and tonight my brain is on fire thinking about how a rhizome can be a metaphor for learning! "Learning is about preparing for uncertainty" - now really, that is a game changer, isn't it?