Open Letter to School Board Members and Parents:

After last night’s Board meeting, the best words to describe my thoughts are frustrated, disappointed, and somewhat angry. Last night a school re-opening plan was submitted to the School Board. I did not expect one of my former students to disrespect the Board and administrators by saying if they didn’t do the right thing (what he wanted), then they should be fired - he was not disrespectful in my class, so it saddened me to see that behavior. He runs a business where threatening someone’s job may be okay (I can’t see that being a good work environment, however), but schools are not a business. Yes, we have a business office, but we are not a business. Our purpose is the education and safety of our children. Putting politics before the safety of our children is a shame. His inconvenience does not outweigh the safety of all. I did not expect to see a parent imply that he was a medical doctor (his doctorate is not an M.D.) as he professed that medical professionals all want kids to be in school. Our district medical professional, a nurse, has been in online meetings all summer with other nurses and medical professionals as well as in constant communication with the Illinois Department of Public Health and the Sangamon County Department of Public Health to ensure that the re-opening plan would follow the not only the everchanging guidelines of the CDC and the State Board of Education, but also IDPH and SCDPH. Assuming that district professionals did not present the plan with the medical facts and research to back it up is disappointing. I did not expect parents to express that it was more important for their children to be in school so they can socialize. What socialization are they going to get?? Students will be in desks in rows separated from each other (ideally 6ft apart, but at least 3 ft according to guidelines), facing the front, wearing masks. The teacher will be in the front of the room wearing a mask - asked to remain in his/her 9ft bubble away from the students in case one gets COVID-19, then the teacher is not counted as a contact by IDPH and possibly may be able to continue teaching the rest of the class without quarantining (subject again to the everchanging guidelines by CDC and IDPH). Thus, the teacher will not be able to work one-on-one in person with a student because that will violate the physical distancing guidelines. Students will not have any social interaction during passing periods as they are required to stay physically distanced from each other while hallways are to be marked as one way if possible. Students will not be eating lunch together. P.E., if it is able to occur, will likely only consist of calisthenics and agility exercises physically distanced away from each other. Mask breaks can occur outside - physically distanced - pending the weather. Again, what socialization will students get?? Students will receive more socialization in one-on-one remote sessions with teachers and in the online discussions that will happen. I did not expect to hear implications that teachers will get off easy doing Remote Learning. I will speak for all teachers in saying that it is more work to prepare and deliver any remote learning lesson than it is to prepare and deliver an in person lesson. In addition, assessing students’ understanding of the lesson is definitely more difficult via remote learning. Yes, in school learning is the best way to learn for most people. However, when the safety of everyone is considered, the inconvenience of remote learning for the teacher and the student is a non-issue. I did not expect the inconvenience of COVID-19 to imply that Choice is more important than the overall safety of our school family (students, teachers, administrators, staff). Yes, COVID-19 is an inconvenience. It doesn’t matter if you believe whether COVID-19 is real or not, the virus is in our community. It doesn’t matter if you believe masks are effective or not, ISBE and IDPH requires them to be worn in a school building. It was disappointing to see Board members and parents refuse to wear a mask. Remote Learning is an inconvenience. Is our school family’s health and safety an inconvenience??? I would have liked to believe not, but was proven wrong at the Board meeting. I did not expect School Board members to disregard a plan, which education professionals researched and created with the overall safety of students, staff, teachers and administrators in mind. I did not expect Board members to express in their votes that the only reason that they wavered was because of taxpayers/voters. The only time taxpayer is mentioned in the School Board Member Oath of Office is

“I shall respect taxpayer interests by serving as a faithful protector of the school district’s assets;”

More importantly, the Oath of Office says

“I shall serve as education’s key advocate on behalf of the students and our community’s school.”

The School Board did not advocate on behalf of the safety of the students and our community’s school. I am disappointed in myself for not speaking last night. I felt it was a time for parents to voice their concerns, and that my concerns were already known by the Board members. I was wrong. If all that is disconcerting, I was encouraged by the lone Board member who voted with integrity rather than politics. I was encouraged by the parents who respectfully asked what would happen with students with IEPs and 504s. I was encouraged by parents who respectfully asked what happens with families who either do not have reliable internet service or cannot afford internet service. I was encouraged by the parents who admitted that we are all inconvenienced, but thanked us for putting safety first. Moving forward, I do not know what to ask of our school community other than for our community to advocate on the behalf of the students and our community’s schools and their overall safety. We collectively can do better. This inconvenience, while it may be with us for a while, is not permanent. How we deal with it demonstrates whether or not we really do have Pride in our schools. Respectfully, John Langley Teacher

Tech Talks Episode #8: Team Drives

In this episode of Tech Talks, Team Drives of Google Drives is demonstrated. Also, some articles are presented for additional resources:

“G Suite Learning Center Set up a Team Drive”

“How Team Drives solve one of G Suite’s biggest problems” by Samantha Vardanega

“3 Ways for Educators to use G-Suite Team Drives” by Indiana Jen

“Google Team Drives for Educators” by Katie Siemer

Tech Talks Episode #7: Google Calendar Tips for PPCUSD8

In episode #7 of Tech Talks, an overview of Google Calendar is demonstrated as well as how to add the A/B schedule calendar, the school building calendar, the district calendar, and extra curricular calendar to your personal Google Calendar. Students and teachers are encouraged to use Google Calendar with the added calendars to stay organized.

Tech Talks Episode #6: Google Keep

Episode 06 of Tech Talks reviews Google Keep (an online post-it note and reminder tool) and possible uses. Teachers are encouraged to consider how they can use Google Keep to assist with organization and collaboration for themselves and how their students can use Google Keep.

Tech Talks Episode 05: Creating Tutorials with Snagit

Episode 05 of Tech Talks explores that dilemma we face when trying to explain something better. Sometimes textual instructions just aren't enough. That's where using a screenshot and/or screencasting tool comes in handy. The online tool that I have grown fond of is Snagit. While I have been using Snagit to make the episodes of Tech Talks, I did have to use a different screencasting program for a portion of this episode in order to demonstrate Snagit.

The cool thing about Snagit is that it connects with Google Drive to save your screenshots and screencasts in a folder in Drive. The screenshot images can be added to Google Docs or Slides (or emailed) to demonstrate a task, or the screencast video can be shared from a Drive folder, embedded on a website, or uploaded to YouTube. Not only is making visual tutorials handy for teachers, but making tutorials is an excellent demonstration tool for students. Outside of school projects, the tool is also a great way to capture or explain an error that is occurring on your computer so tech support better understands your issue. A win-win all around.

Tech Talks Episode 4: Opening an Incognito Window in Chrome so I Do Not Have to Log Out

This Tech Talk discusses opening an Incognito Window in a Google Chrome browser. This feature of Chrome enables you to stay logged in while a student uses your computer to access his/her email or TeacherEase without forcing you to log off. Since the incognito window functions separately from the Chrome browsers you are logged into, you can stay logged in without being affected.

The incognito feature is also really helpful if you have multiple students presenting from your laptop. You will not have to worry about multiple users clogging up your login page if you have them use an incognito window. If you have any questions, let me know.

Tech Talks Episode 3: Speeding Up/Slowing Down a YouTube Demonstration Video

This Tech Talks episode shows how you can speed up and slow down the playing speed of a YouTube video. There are times when the demonstration is going too fast for you, and there are times when the demonstration is going to slow because you may just need a refresher. Any time you need one-on-one assistance, schedule time with me.

Tech Talks Episode 2: Photo Slideshow for a Google Site

This week's episode shows teachers how to create a Google Slideshow for photos so they can have a photo slideshow on their website. Remember to check in with the office to make sure that all students in the photos have parent permission to be represented on your classroom website.

As promised last week, watch for a short episode about how to slow down or speed up a YouTube video as you watch it.

Again, if you need one-on-one assistance, just ask.

Tech Talks Episode 01: Photo Upload to Drive for Website

 

As a way to give quick lessons and advice about instructional technology, I will be doing short Tech Talk videos. Some of the videos will be talking points, but most will be step-by-step "how to" videos. The great thing about video lessons is that you can pause, rewind, slow down/speed up the YouTube video as you like (sounds like a 60 second or less lesson that I can post next week). As I always say, if you need one-on-one assistance after viewing a lesson, let me know.

Episode 01 is a follow-up to the creation of our classroom websites. Some teachers are ready to start adding photos to their sites. Next week I will add a lesson on creating a photo slideshow of students for the classroom sites.

The Right Technology in the Right Place, Right Time

I have put a lot of thought into why I still use Grandpa Young's old riding mower to mow my lawn. I could very easily upgrade to a new mower that is more efficient, cutting a better swath and in much less time. Most of the attachment to that old mower is nostalgia - it has sentimental value: I think of Grandpa and the good times while I mow. It makes me feel comfortable.

When I think back on some of my best lessons in my classroom, I consider the tools that I had available to facilitate those lessons. I fondly remember feeling cutting edge while I used a dry erase marker directly on an overhead projector for grammar lessons. I also enjoy thinking back on the audio clips from cassette tapes that were played during English class to make Shakespeare easier to understand.

I also recognize that those old, nostalgic tools have their place in the past, but new tools have come along that do a better job of improving student learning and understanding.

While we didn't used to have very many tools available to us in the past, we do have a wealth of tools to choose from today. We have so many tools available that sometimes it gets overwhelming about which tool to use for a group of students at a particular moment.

In choosing the right tool for the task, consider the following:

1. Your objectives for your lesson are the focal point.
2. The end product(s) that students create should demonstrate proficiency in those objectives.
3. Are there multiple means of demonstrating proficiency in the objectives? (differentiated instruction/assessment)
4. Technology is a tool that A) makes it easier for the teacher to teach the lesson, B) improves learning and understanding for the student, and (C) makes it easier for the student to demonstrate proficiency in the learning objectives.
5. Don't use a technology tool just because it is the latest fad - make sure it fulfills #4. If not, find the right tool.
6. Feedback should be consistent and productive throughout each step of the lesson. (formative assessments)
7. The pedagogy used to create the lesson and its assessments should allow for a meaningful experience for the students.

One of our greatest Pleasant Plains toolkits is our Google Apps for Education, which provide multiple means for students and teachers to collaborate, create, and produce their ideas. The summer professional development training sessions for Pleasant Plains CUSD8 have been designed around the pedagogy for 21st Century learning as well as integration of technology to facilitate that learning.

Grandpa's old lawn mower has its place in my heart and home, but new tools for a new generation are a necessity for education. Better tools are out there to help better prepare this generation of students. We'll find them together and share our successes and setbacks with each other along the way.

Share your successful lessons and the technology tools that you integrated to facilitate the lessons in the comments.

Communication & Two Other Keys

photo by Brenda Clarke

Communication is at the core of educational partnerships. Communication between students and teachers, between teachers and parents, and between teachers and administrators.

Throughout the past couple of weeks, I have heard from teachers, parents, administrators and students about the TeacherEase system. While some of the comments have been frustrations about the getting the setup of the new system right, most of the comments have been excitement about the communication of the new system. Using TeacherEase for announcements has been a great convenience on the building level as well as the classroom level. Some teachers have also looked into alternative ways to text parents and students. Modeling good communication skills is imperative for educators. The following has always been a good guide to follow in electronic communications:

• Typing in all caps looks like yelling and is not received in a positive manner. If you woulld like to emphasize a word, bold or italicize it.
• Emotion and tone of voice are lost in written communication. Reread what you wrote before sending - polite wording and precise text are important in effective communication.
• Sarcasm in emails and text messages may be interpreted negatively and may be detrimental to your message. Be professional in written communication and save attempts at humor for face-to-face communication.
• Grammar and spelling are important in written communication - your message is better received if it is professional.
• Communicate in a timely manner, but consider that multiple messages in a short time frame confuse/irritate the reader - be sure to get it right the first time. Keep in mind that mistakes happen, but double-checking communication before sending makes rare mistakes forgivable.

Time Management is important for teachers, students, and administrators. Modeling good time management skills is important for leaders (whether they be teachers or administrators). Everyone involved in the educational process is busy.

Administrators are stretched thin with student meetings, teacher meetings, business meetings, and parent meetings - and somewhere in there they strive to connect with both teachers and students to ensure that the school is running smoothly and the educational process is functioning properly.

Teachers are stretched thin with student/parent meetings, professional development, school improvement meetings, state mandated requirements/standards alignments, and somewhere in there they teach not only academic lessons to students, but also promote character development and teach social skills that will benefit students in their futures.

Students are stretched thin with academic lessons, homework, extracurricular events (school related, church related, and youth group related), and somewhere in there they are preparing themselves for a  future career in a field that may or may not yet be created.

In each case time management skills are essential. Tips for time management and managing tasks are

• Maintain a calendar that holds you accountable for meetings, due dates, etc. by providing notifications of upcoming events or deadlines. I use iCalendar and share it with my family. We have categories that include Home, Work (mine), Allie (my oldest daughter's activities), Willa (my youngest daughter's activities), PirateDJ (my disc jockey business meetings and events), and Jr. Blues (our season ticket NAHL games - fun time is important, too).
• Have a system for a "to do" list. I use Trello to determine what I need to do and to prioritize those activities. I am also able to use Trello to collaborate with groups of people on activities that I am working on. Find a system that works for you and adapt it to your needs.
• Finally, in your hectic daily routine, schedule blocks of time that will include both spiritual and family time. If other activities are affecting either of these areas, consider ways to reorganize your schedule to allot more time to spiritual time and family time.

Student Involvement in the educational process is just common sense. Even though some students and teachers joke about Mr. Ward's motto for the year, "Own it," as being cheesy, those same students and teachers generally are taking charge of the educational process.

In creating a high school Student Tech Team, I have watched the students take pride in the condition and functionality of the school's technology. Student tech team members have cleaned up the operating systems of four of the computer labs at the high school and are taking pride in the school's devices. Students are becoming protective of the hardware owned by the school - helping ensure that the hardware is treated appropriately and with respect.

Students run the high school website and students need to ensure that classroom devices are cared for. Students need to be responsible for properly storing devices in mobile carts and ensuring they are treated with care. Providing students with the expectations and reminding them through regular reminders of those expectations will ensure that the students will continue to respect the devices that they are using. As we move forward, lessons in Digital Citizenship will become a priority as we move forward with 21st Century Education.

Next Steps for each building will include

• finalizing the setup of educational software in each building
• the continuation of the roll-out of teacher laptops to replace antiquated devices
• assistance with technology needs as they arise

The District Technology Committee is meeting on Monday, September 23. The committee will explore the needs of the district, including wireless internet access for each building, a Bring Your Own Technology Policy, Digital Citizenship education, and the outlook of preparing the district for a program that provides a device for each student.

Stepping Outside Your Comfort Zone

My past week has been filled with staff, teachers, counselors, administrators, and myself stepping outside of our Comfort Zones. We all know that when we stay in our Comfort Zone, we generally don't grow - we generally don't do anything amazing.

While I took a major leap outside my Comfort Zone this year in my new role, I have seen several others who have also ventured outside their Comfort Zones to try something new/different that is better for the students. Teachers are diving head first into the technology tools provided and exploring options to improve student learning. The secretaries are mastering the new Teacher Ease student management system, the lunch staff is owning and adapting the Teacher Ease lunch program to make it work for our district, and administrators and parents are exploring the instant notification features built in to the Teacher Ease system regarding student grades, discipline, attendance, and lunch balance.

Today I was bludgeoned with the Comfort Zone concept. In addition to working with a teacher who is committed to making some overhauls to the way the courses are taught and hearing about a teacher who is taking on the challenge of creating a course from online lessons combined with classroom activities, I also stumbled upon Tom Whitby's article "Comfortable Baby Steps?" As I began reflecting on how I have seen several people in the district step outside their Comfort Zones, the episode of Covert Affairs that I was watching with my wife was based on stepping outside your Comfort Zone for the greater good.

Part of my commitment to you was to also provide technology tools that will make it easier for you to succeed. This week I am promoting Trello. Even though I have been stepping outside my comfort zone, I needed something to keep me organized and grounded. Trello is a wonderful productivity tool that can be used by an individual or by a collaborative group to organize "to do" lists, assign tasks, check off completed tasks, and discuss options to complete tasks.

For the past two years I have been loosely using the free tool Trello with my yearbook staff to collaborate on tasks to meet publishing deadlines as well as with the teachers leading the global Flat Classroom project NetGenEd. In the past two weeks, I have been heavily relying on Trello as a daily "to do" list, a reminder of ongoing tasks, and completed tasks. I access Trello frequently using my iPhone and iPad, but may access it also from a web browser on my laptop or through the app in my android tablet. Last night I let my new yearbook staff know that we will use Trello as a collaborative tool to keep us on track in the production of the yearbook. My favorite side note of Trello is that you can sign up for it using your Google account or just use your email address to sign up. Today, I showed a colleague how I use Trello to stay on track so I make sure I prioritize tasks and complete all the tasks I need to complete.

While Trello is a cool productivity tool, there are others out there that have various appealing functions. Please add a comment about your favorite productivity tool. Stepping outside your Comfort Zone to improve student learning is awesome, and finding a productivity tool that helps maintain sanity is also essential.

One of the areas that I have forced myself to step outside of my Comfort Zone is the area of sharing. I, like many other educators, feel uncomfortable sharing my lessons, pedagogy, expertise, and favorite tools because I fear that I will be perceived as pompous or pretentious. However, since I have joined several global communities of educators, I have found that sharing my information is just as important to others as the information that I glean from them. I am amazed at the down-to-earth nature of the "famous" educators. We are all on the same team and have the same goal of doing what is best for our students. We appreciate tips from others, and they deserve to benefit from our expertise as well. In future posts I will discuss ways to share your expertise with your immediate colleagues as well as other educators.

What are you doing to step outside your Comfort Zone? What tools are you using to maintain or increase your productivity? Share in the comments below.

Taking on a New Role in Education

Each of the toughest decisions that I have had to make involved going outside of my comfort zone. My most recent decision has been not only a life changing decision, but a career changing decision. While my passion for being a teacher in the classroom has been the driving force in my life, I have taken on a new role in education - that of Instructional Technology Coordinator for Pleasant Plains schools. As school started this past week, I missed preparing my classroom, greeting students as they entered my classroom, and (quite honestly) having a classroom.

A lot of people have asked me why I decided on the role change, some hypothesizing that I didn't like teaching any more. On the contrary, I love teaching. I also want to make the biggest impact that I can make. As a 21st Century Educator, I continually strive for self-improvement. I continually strive to prepare students to be successful after high school. I can help the greatest number of students by helping other teachers to provide a 21st Century education. While I will not have a specific set of "my kids," I have realized that I am going to now share all of the teachers' students with them.

The next question that I typically get asked is "what does an Integration Technology Coordinator do?" Our district Technology Director, Mike Squires, will continue to maintain the network and take care of hardware needs. I will work with teachers and students to integrate technology into the lesson to improve student learning and understanding. I will be part of the support system that teachers need in order to be risk-takers in their classrooms, to try new technology tools with the understanding that they are not alone. I will team up with teachers to implement new ways of teaching that aligns with our students' ways of learning.

While part of my role is to team up with teachers, another part of my role is to team up with students. Students use various forms of technology to socialize, inform themselves, and learn outside of school. We need to find ways for students to continue these skills in their formal learning and to become responsible digital citizens - aware of the impression their posts make and pride in the reflection of themselves represented in their online work and personas.

I look forward to teaming up with teachers, students, parents, administrators, and the community to better prepare our students for the 21st Century.

Evolving Education

While it has been a while since I have collected my thoughts and reflected on the status of education in my classrooms, I saw some amazing things happening in my classroom this past year. As seen in my previous posts, I strive to prepare students for their post high school future by promoting 21st Century Skills and focusing on the Common Core Standards. Both of these stress the importance of technology integration, problem solving, critical thinking, and supporting thoughts and ideas.

English students have been entering the classroom, going straight to the laptops, opening the classroom website and beginning the classroom activities before the bell to begin class even rings. Some students even complete the introductory creative writing blog post earlier in the day because they got caught up in their previous classes. Students have progressed from using Blogger to post their classroom assignments to the learning management system (LMS), Canvas (http://canvas.instructure.com) where they post literary analyses to discussion boards and reply to the posts of their peers and post literary analysis essays to Canvas for online review.

In a recent blog post, students reflected on the progress of their writing from the beginning of the year to their latest literary analysis, and their responses are enlightening:

"I can now elaborate my thoughts in a more detailed fashion, accurately portraying my ideas among the facts I gathered from whatever we were analyzing and the literary criticisms online. Thankfully, my writing in general - the actual sound of my sentences - has improved a lot more."

"I seem to have a system going on now that I never had before. I will go and find my sources first, then when I find something interesting, I add it to what I'm writing and it makes citing things much easier. I feel stupid for ever trying to do it any other way. I used to just babble and go find credible sources that were nearly always irrelevant to what I was saying. Its sad that I stressed myself so much over doing that before I learned that writing can actually be enjoyable."

"I feel as if I have grown as writer and have [exceeded] my expectations. I think that looking back is a good thing. Seeing improvements in oneself gives needed confidence and satisfactory in moving forward with harder and more detailed writings."

"I feel like my language in my more recent discussion posts has become more scholarly and concise than when I started out the year. . . . I also think that I have gotten much better at fitting my support into my posts more naturally, so that it doesn't disrupt the flow of my writing."

"I find myself putting all of my ideas down and being able to connect them all without making it choppy.  In past writings, I was a boring writer and I got bored coming up with ideas.  When I would put my ideas down in my blog, they were all mixed together and would leave things hanging.  I am glad that my writing has evolved and I hope it keeps on evolving."

"Now I use literary criticisms more, which uses the thoughts of experts. Since I am using the thoughts of experts, this supports what I am trying to say. This has really helped me improve my writing. I also think that I have gotten better at citing my sources than I used to be. I am much more comfortable with using parenthetical citations because I now have to use them in every single thing that I write about."

"I can now elaborate my thoughts in a more detailed fashion, accurately portraying my ideas among the facts I gathered from whatever we were analyzing and the literary criticisms online. Thankfully, my writing in general - the actual sound of my sentences - has improved a lot more."

"Overall I think I am a way better writer than I was at the beginning of the year. As much as I dislike writing these essays I believe that they have benefited me and improved my skills as a writer."

"After reading my reflection blog from back in September, I can definitely see improvement in my writing. At the beginning of the year, I kind of had an idea of how to write in this more formal style with support, but I still had much to learn. . . . It is encouraging to see how my writing has improved over the months and I hope to continue to do so."

"I do not just skim the surface of a topic, but I can now actually make arguments about poems, and essays that I was not previously able to do. My analyzing while reading skills have also gotten better too. I am more confident in understanding what I am reading now, then I was in the beginning of the year. All in all, I believe that I am a better writer, and that my skills will continue to improve."

"By looking back on my writing just a few months ago, I have realized just how much I have changed as a writer.  I think the biggest difference is that I can write a lot faster and good information seems easier to put into words.  I guess that a lot of practice can really make a big difference."

I, myself, used these student posts as a means of self-reflection. Instead of assuming that they "got it," I was reassured that they all recognized what they were accomplishing and respected the process that I guided them through to improve their writing. My reflections have also prompted me to assess the process and tools that I had used throughout the school year. Synchronous discussions in Today's Meet chat allowed everyone to have a simultaneous voice and led to amazing discussions. Discussion posts in Canvas led to incredible academic discussions worthy of collegiate study. Using Facts on File databases as a reference tool for students to incorporate as support for their ideas in their essays, led to improved scholarly writing and better expression of ideas.

While teachers typically assume that we are "doing it right," reflecting on the tools and pedagogy that we used in our lessons is just as important as reflecting on the multiple assessments that we give along the way. Teaching comes with successes and failures, and finding what works is an evolving process in itself. I have not taught the same way every year - while there are similarities, there is always something different about the pedagogy and/or tools used that fits better with the students in the classroom. Reflection is key to making the right decisions to make the educational process more successful for the students.

Getting Excited About Coding

Allie, my daughter who is in 8th grade, got excited about coding after watching the following video from Code.org:

I had downloaded Scratch for her several months ago, telling her that she might be interested in it. However, she had not really looked at it until after she watched the video from Code.org. With her newfound drive to create, she created a video game that evening and tweaked it over the next few days. This is her completed first game:

Click the image to jump to Allie's first game: "Hit the Button"

She has been so excited about creating the game and using logic to produce the outcomes that she desired that she had me load Scratch onto a flashdrive so she could run it at school and show her teachers the project as she worked on it. Her next goal is to look into Alice, and then Unity3D - if she is that excited, I can only imagine how many other students would be just as excited to see coding integrated back into the curriculum, and I hope to instill that energy in district teachers as well. Just as luck would have it, the PPHS guidance counselor sent me a link to the Code.org video this week. It seems the coding fever is coming alive again!

Give comments of advice, etc. below for Allie - she's eager for feedback.