Family

I was so excited today when my sister called to let me know that she has booked an apartment for us to share in Barcelona, Spain, in March. It’s been a long time since I got to visit with my sister, nephew and brother-in-law and it’s so important for not only me, but my own children to spend time with family: the people who love and support you, laugh and cry with you, inspire you to be the best version of yourself, and ultimately let you know that you matter.

I am fortunate enough to be visiting Barcelona at the invitation of Microsoft. As a member of the Microsoft Expert Educator Program I will be attending the Education Global Forum event. The Microsoft in Education Global Forum recognizes and celebrates the achievements of educators who are preparing students for life in the 21st century. Each year, the Microsoft in Education Global Forum brings together participants from more than 700 of the world’s most innovative educators, school leaders, and education leaders from 75 countries. Unbelievably, this will be my third time attending and I cannot express my gratitude enough.

The event provides me with the opportunity to participate in cutting edge professional development activities, learn about new and up and coming technologies, hear lectures from industry experts from around the globe, and study schools that are developing sustainable models for system change. Most importantly, it provides me with the opportunity to share and learn from my peers from every corner of the earth. Over the last three years I have developed relationships with teachers who inspire and teach me every day. They have become my family: the people who love and support me, laugh and cry with me, inspire me to be the best version of myself, and ultimately let me know that I matter. Being a member of the Partners in Learning family has not only transformed my teaching but also helped my students gain a deeper understanding of their role as global citizens.

Before I joined the PIL Network, it was difficult to find a classroom to reach out and connect with. Now, when my students need help or support, have questions or are curious to learn a new perspective, it is easy for me to look to my PIL family and find a classroom to visit. The world has been opened up to my students and we are able to Skype with classrooms in my PIL family on a weekly basis. Through these interactions they are learning to build creative, intuitive, trusting and collaborative relationships with others. Their communication and collaboration skills are growing exponentially and they are becoming more caring and thoughtful citizens, inspired to change the world. They are growing in their own global family.

The trip to Barcelona will be inspirational and restorative for me both personally and professionally. The time I spend with my families will sustain and uplift me for the following year, enabling me to be a better parent and teacher. I encourage all educators to join the Partners in Learning Network, to connect with people who will enrich both yours and your students’ lives. In doing so, you will become a member of very special global family.

Prague Unpacked

Those of you who have been following along with my recent Blog posts know how inspired, recharged and excited I am about my recent trip to Prague to attend the Microsoft Partners in Learning Global Forum. It was an amazing, life-changing event for me but the real question is how do I translate what I learned and experienced into worthwhile learning experiences for my students?

Having spent time with educational leaders and policy-makers from over 70 countries I want to  ensure that I strengthen the connections I made and utilize the pool of expertise I was so fortunate enough to swim in. I am so happy that I had the chance to meet and talk with Lisa Neilsen author of the Innovative Educator and seasoned public school educator who has worked for more than a decade in various capacities. Lisa writes for and speaks to audiences across the globe about the future of education and is frequently covered by local and national media for her views on “Passion (not data) Driven Learning,” and "Thinking Outside the Ban" to harness the power of technology for learning, using the power of social media to provide a voice to educators and students. She was kind enough to Skype with my students upon my return and share with them her ideas about how they can expand their Doing Business in Birmingham project with a Facebook page.

After having a Kinect in my classroom for two weeks as part of the free trial Kinect Program I know I have much to learn about how to harness the level of enthusiasm the kids have for this device. The US contingency in Prague included several teachers who have been working with Kinect in the classroom for a while to good effect. I will be sure to be following up with Cheryl Arnett, Joli Barker and Adina Pope to help me learn more about how to add Kinect to my tool belt of successful learning technologies. I am also excited to be currently engaged in conversations with several of the talented educators I met at the forum about how we can connect our students in ways that empower them to become powerful global agents of change.

The tag line of the forum was, “Your ideas matter.” My main priority is ensuring that this message is communicated to my students. I asked my kids how they would like to celebrate their success and instead of a regular party, they saw an opportunity to further awareness about their project. They have organized a forum like event for tomorrow night, recognizing the local businesses that made it on to their Honor Roll, appreciating the students who started the project last year and inviting other local businesses to showcase their sustainable practices. They will be handing out awards and certificates and we are thrilled to have closing comments via Skype from Andrew Ko, Senior Director of Partners in Learning, Microsoft. I have never been prouder of my students. If the three days of instruction I missed while attending the forum can be used to help even one child understand and internalize the notion that their ideas matter and that they themselves matter then they will have been three days well spent.

Given the recent school related tragic events in Connecticut, I have spent much time this weekend wondering if such a celebration is appropriate. But I have come to the conclusion that there is, in fact, no better time for our community to come together to embrace our children, celebrate them, cherish them, love them and let them know that they are safe, that they make a difference and that they matter. Tomorrow will provide us all with the opportunity to remember that the world really is a great place to be.

Unpacking Prague Part 3

Last Saturday I was in Prague Castle for the culminating event of the Microsoft Partners in Learning Global Forum. Entering the Spanish Room with over 500 other educators, school leaders, policy makers and press from around the world I was awe not only of my elaborate surroundings but also of the caliber of the people I was with.

I was one of 20 educators competing for a chance to win one of 18 Global Forum Educator Awards in the following categories: Collaboration, Knowledge Building, Beyond the Classroom, Cutting Edge Use of IT, Teacher as Innovator and Change Agent, and Educators Choice. But it doesn’t really seem like a competition at all. It is more of a gathering of likeminded people to celebrate innovative teaching practices and the work that educators are doing all around the world to effectively integrate technology into learning.

In the preceding days I had the opportunity to connect, learn and collaborate with some of these amazing teachers and I was staggered by the work that they do. Coming from a school were technology is abundant, it was a humbling experience to learn that some teachers around the world have only their own personal digital devices to share with their students. And they are managing to do groundbreaking things that are not only changing kids’ lives but the lives of others within their local communities.

Sarah Freda Adei from Ghana presented a project about child labor, which is prevalent in her community. Students researched the impact labor has on the victims’ well-being first hand and the result was that some of those victims enrolled in school!  The Glimmer of Hope project presented by two teachers from Jordan enabled students to deepen their scientific knowledge by embarking on a mission to spread awareness about early detection screening for breast cancer, thereby saving lives. Ayodele Odeogbola from Nigeria has been working hard with students to address issues such as vandalism, bullying, examination malpractices and drug abuse amongst teenagers. These projects and many more like them that I saw at the forum, highlight for me the need to put technology into the hands of children for it enables them to become powerful agents of change. That’s why the Spark a Child’s Digital Future is such an important initiative and I would urge you all to donate.

Being able to connect and learn from global educators at the forum is an invaluable experience and I will be taking many new ideas and friends back to my classroom. I was also fortunate to be able to spend time strengthening established friendships and building new connections within the US team. Cheryl Arnett and Melany Neton are two of the most wonderful educators and warmest ladies I have had the pleasure to meet and made me laugh non-stop. Julie Hembree led us on an amazing adventure through Prague and our conversations continually pushed my own thinking and learning. June Teisan, Alex Beels, Robin Lowell and Sherry Hann were our booth buddies and taught me so much about how to engage students with unique and diverse needs. Sarah Collins and Jo Spark share my interest in teaching kids to be responsible stewards and I learned much from them about how to help students motivate their peers. Gregg Witkin, Joli Barker, Jennifer Bevill, Jamie Ewing and Todd Lavogue inspired me with their passion for teaching and their zest for life and learning was infectious. Please learn more about what these stellar educators are doing with their students here or in the Partners in Learning Network.

A week later I find myself at home, sitting on my couch and contemplating being named a winner amongst these Olympian educators. I feel the weight of the responsibility heavily. I have the responsibility of living up to the standard of work my peers are producing all around the world. I have to maintain my own commitment to learning and sharing with and from others. I have to let other teachers know that the work they do matters.  I have to keep learning about new technologies and how they can be employed to prepare my students to be productive and successful global citizens. And I will do it all with a recharged spirit and unprecedented enthusiasm thanks to the energy I have absorbed from these wonderful people.

 

Unpacking Prague Part 2

Many educators feel isolated in the teaching profession, left alone with their students, figuring out new curriculum and new initiatives independently, frequently re-inventing the wheel without the support of other colleagues because of the lack of shared planning time. Classrooms become islands cut off from the mainland school community. I am fortunate to work at Birmingham Covington School, a building that actively supports teaming, collaboration and developing professional learning communities. I work with and learn from amazing colleagues every day and feel very much connected to the wider school population.  After attending the Microsoft Global Forum in Prague however, I realize that even an innovative building like mine can become an island, isolated from other innovative schools with whom we can share and learn and grow.

Covington was selected as a Microsoft Pathfinder School this year and at the forum we were fortunate to connect with school leaders from similar schools around the world. Organized into a smaller global cohort of schools, we were introduced to our mentor school, Botany Downs Secondary College in NewZealand. BDSC has already been through the Pathfinder process and for the next year will serve as our guide as we focus on leading innovation, applying human-centered, design-led innovation strategies and processes to address issues of importance to 21^st century leadership and learning.

After building connections within our coaching teams we explored global trends currently shaping education. We discussed the value in asking disruptive questions and possibility thinking, “The impossible-what nobody can do until somebody does.” This was followed by presentations from leading experts on issues such as personalized learning, game-based learning, 1:1 Learning, project-based learning, virtual learning and learning environments and spaces. Over the course of the next few days we had opportunities to sit in small groups with people like Chris Gerry, the designer of New Line Learning and Cornwallis Schools in Kent, Larry Rosenstock founder and CEO of High Tec High , and Donald Brinkman , champion for the Just Press Play Project to name a few. To engage with these leaders on such an intimate level was an honor and provided invaluable opportunities for us to learn about future focused possibilities and how they relate to BCS.

By the end of the week my head was simply spinning with ideas and notions that I had never even previously considered. I was just at the point of overload when Simon Breakspear, an educational researcher, consultant and leader in adaptive leadership, pulled me back from the edge. He identified five key strategies for successful global practice.

 Question in the Pursuit of Better-smart may have all the answers but stupid has all the interesting    questions

 Embrace Permanent Beta Mode-we are always looking to improve, to make things better

 Harness Your Network- connectivity makes it easier to create ideas in conjunction with others

 Develop a Bias Towards Action-just get going, consider the minimal viable product

 Reframe Failure-fail fast, fail forwards

The year ahead is going to be an exciting time to be a part of BCS. Having been afforded this wonderful opportunity I know our school leaders will embrace adaptive mind frames to continue to drive change in our community. As we commit to action, sharing and reflection with our new global colleagues we will be contributing to the new play book for change in disruptive times. How utterly cool is that!

Unpacking Prague

Just over a week ago I was frantically tearing my house apart looking for my Green Card, horrified at the thought that I wouldn’t be able to attend the Microsoft Global Forum in Prague. Today, after an amazing week in the Czech Republic, I find myself unpacking as a Global Forum winner and I realize that this is going to take a really long time. I’m not just unpacking a suitcase; I’m unpacking an event, a life changing event at that. It’s going to be a while before I can truly process my thoughts and feelings about my experiences because I’m utterly overwhelmed by how much I have learned and how much I have grown as a result. So I am going to indulge myself and unpack slowly and publically via this Blog-I apologize in advance. J

My biggest take away from last week is a profound sense of gratitude. Microsoft brought together over 500 of the most innovative teachers, school leaders, education leaders and government officials from 80 countries. Having the opportunity to meet and talk with these people about their work is a once in a lifetime opportunity and I am committed to forging strong and lasting relationships with as many of them as I can. Continuing the dialogue through the PiL network and via social media can only further enrich my journey as an innovative educator and ultimately have a positive impact on my students.

At the forum it was announced that Microsoft has committed to another five years of the Partners in Learning Program, investing $250 million in their vision of  capacity building for educators as they work to transform current education systems. $75 million will be used to help bring digital access to young people and educators in developing nations through initiatives like Spark a Child’s Digital Future. Beginning in Kenya this program will attempt to help children gain access to the tools, experts and resources they need in order to be able to succeed on a global level. I am beyond grateful to be involved with a company who demonstrates such a commitment to improving the lives of children all over the world.

Beyond corporate initiatives I have been moved by the commitment to education on the part of individuals at Microsoft. Anthony Salcito is Vice President for Microsoft Education and he is a prominent figure at the forum. As well as delivering keynote speeches he was frequently available at the forum to answer questions and celebrate alongside teachers, educational experts and government officials. His personal commitment to education is evident through his DailyEdventures Blog and the passion with which he describes his hopes and dreams for the future of education. He has a unique talent for making members of his audience feel like he is talking to them individually and inspires everybody in the room.

Lauren Woodman, General Manager Microsoft Education Program, was a model of grace as she hosted the final awards ceremony. Her appreciation for educators is undeniable and it must have been a particularly proud moment for her to have her own mother be present as part of the US team. I was fortunate to attend the Global forum last year in Washington and was astounded to receive a handwritten thank you  note from Lauren within weeks of returning home.

Sophie Tual, Worldwide Marketing Manager at Microsoft, had obviously worked tirelessly to organize an outstanding event that made everybody there feel like royalty, especially with the culminating awards ceremony at Prague Castle. Sophie seemed ever present despite her work responsibilities, taking time to speak to participants and learn about their projects. She wore a permanent glowing smile which lit up a room and made connections with people that she maintains beyond the event through Facebook and Twitter. Her level of enthusiasm is contagious and her appreciation for educators and students obvious.

Rob Bayuk and Carrie Hoople Hispsher are key players for the US team as they spend months preparing and guiding educators through the forum process .Always ready to answer questions and help  make the experience memorable for everybody they provide unending support and appreciation. I was thrilled when the bus leaving for the airport at 5am on Sunday morning was flagged down by Carrie so she could say goodbye and wish us a safe journey home. She is a wonderful caring lady who I am proud to call my friend.

I will forever feel indebted to Microsoft for inviting me to take part in this event. I urge every educator to join the PiL network as soon as possible and begin learning from amazing educators from around the globe. As a company Microsoft has established an irrefutable dedication to education, the individuals I have mentioned have helped me to remember that teaching is indeed a noble profession. Thank You.

 

Packing For Prague

After a two hour panic during which I couldn't locate my Green Card, I find myself at 11p.m. still packing to leave for Prague tomorrow, to attend the Microsoft Partners in Learning Global Forum. I don’t mind. I don’t think I will sleep anyway because I so am excited. Excited to be back in Europe, my home continent, for the first time in four years, but mostly excited to be attending the best professional development event of the year!

I am in the enviable position of finding myself attending for the second year in a row, this year in a double capacity. I am representing TeamU.S having achieved first place in the Extended Learning Beyond the Classroom category for a project I conducted with my teaching partner, Rick Joseph. Doing Business in Birmingham evolved as a result of student interest in sustainability in business and has been a wonderful experience. After learning about sustainable practices our students took to the streets of Downtown Birmingham armed with flyers and brochures they had created to educate local small business owners about sustainability. They created an Honor Roll to celebrate businesses that were already sustainable and to encourage those that weren't to adopt some simple steps to set them on the path towards sustainability. Competition from the U.S. team is fierce and I have already learned so much from my team mates so I look forward to seeing and learning about the projects that will presented from all around the globe.

I am also attending to represent my school, Birmingham Covington School, which achieved Pathfinder status this year. Microsoft Innovative Pathfinder Schools are identified as schools that help to transform education in a scalable, replicable way by influencing other schools within their own community, country, and around the world. By becoming a Pathfinder school, we hope to benefit from deeper engagement with similar schools, gain more in-depth access to global experts, and experience mentoring opportunities from education experts. It’s incredibly exciting to be invited to join a community of school leaders from around the world who work closely together to develop a culture of innovation.

I am sad to be leaving my students behind but I know that I will learn so much and form relationships with amazing educational experts who will help me on my journey as an innovator educator and ultimately have a positive and lasting impact on my students as a result. Talking of my students, I must finish packing so I can be at my best for them tomorrow before heading off to the airport after school!

Recovering

It’s been a week since I returned from the Microsoft Partners in Learning Forum in Redmond and I’m still recovering from a PiLUS hangover: Recovering from the jetlag, from the time difference, from the shock of winning, from over indulgence in innovation, camaraderie, and inspiration!

My teaching partner and I were fortunate to gain first place in the Extended Learning Beyond the Classroom category with our project Doing Businessin Birmingham. I say fortunate because the caliber of the projects presented was astounding. The judges, including winners from the 2011 Global Forum Lou Zulli and Doug Bergman, must have spent hours wrestling over their decisions. Rick and I are truly humbled by the honor and look forward to participating in this year’s global forum in Prague, along with the other US winners.

It’s difficult to explain the impact this experience has on teachers and convey how truly uplifting it is. To be surrounded by teachers who are taking risks and pushing the boundaries in their classrooms every day is like being plugged into the ultimate energy source. While the forum is technically a competition it is so much more than that. It’s an opportunity to connect with other educators, share ideas and build relationships that last well beyond the forum itself. It’s a place where teachers get to meet and learn from educational leaders like Alan November, Vicki Davis and Kari Stubbs. It’s a showcase for new technology tools and a cradle of creative thinking. For the most part it is a celebration and appreciation of pioneering teaching and learning practices.

Lou Zulli asked us all to “pay it forward” and I know won’t be alone in sharing my learning with my peers, encouraging them to take risks and to get more connected with other innovative educators .My first advice will be to have them join the Partners in Learning Network , where they can become involved in  a global community of educators, driven by passion and committed to providing a quality education for all students.

I met many amazing teachers in Redmond who were recovering themselves: Recovering bankers, recovering lawyers, and recovering fashion designers who have chosen to enter the world of education to recapture a sense of significance and to make a positive difference in the world. That they certainly do! I am thankful for my PiLUS hangover. Because of it, I am more acutely aware of my responsibilities, I am inspired to do better and I am reminded that teaching is indeed a noble profession.Thank you Microsoft!

Authentic Global Collaboration

I am on day three of my first ever MoodlMeet through LearnNowBC and I'm having a fantastic time! Phil Macoun from Aspengrove School on Vancouver Island asked me to help facilitate this course on authentic global collaboration after meeting at the World Future Conference in Vancouver last summer. Not really understanding what a MoodlMeet was I immediately accepted and I am learning so much. Participants from all over the globe are consuming, connecting and creating. The pace is frenetic with constant questions, discussions, and additions to not only Moodle forums but wikis, Google Docs and Diigo. I think I'll still be hearing the ding of a new email alert long after they have stopped!

This experience is in stark contrast to another global collaboration project I have been working on recently with another group of international teachers. As a participant in the Microsoft Partners in Learning Global Forum in November , I was fortunate to be able to take part in a professional development session dubbed “Learning Excursions.” Myself and the other four educators in my team from Egypt, Canada, Mauritius, and the Philippines were taken to the Smithsonian Natural History Museum and given a behind the scenes tour. As a follow up we were charged with task of developing a learning activity that we could take back to our classrooms. The chosen theme was water, aligned to the 2012 Shout online conference series.

Despite differences in language, culture and experience my team had one thing in common. Inspired by Will Richardson, we knew we wanted to create something of meaning and consequence. The notion of our students being heroes was appealing and it wasn’t long before the H20 Heroes wiki was created. We decided our project would be a call to action online game. Working collaboratively, students complete learning missions. Inspired by the mission of the Smithsonian Natural History Museum, the missions require students to acquire knowledge about nature and culture through research. They then exhibit or demonstrate their learning to inspire others to support a sustainable future.

My team continued to communicate over the next few months developing missions that would be appropriate and applicable to students from all over the world but progress was slow. Emails responses took a lot longer than my impatient self would have liked. Every day I would eagerly check my emails in the hope that one of my team members had responded, and I was often disappointed .My students were the designated test pilots but I soon became to rely on them more as partners in the design and creation process making suggestions for improvement, identifying potential problems and contributing their own unique and wonderful ideas from the student perspective. Despite slow progress I believe that our collaboration resulted in a great project that both my students and team are excited to share.

Being involved in both of these wonderful projects has reminded me that the learners in my classroom have diverse needs. While some like to travel along their learning journey at break neck speeds, others like to meander and enjoy the view along the way. I need to be constantly aware that my own learning style is not overpowering the way I teach and ensure that I try to facilitate learning in a way that appeals to all the students in my room.

I'm sure that I will have more to share about my MoodleMeet experience after it has finished and I have had some time to process but for now, I would urge all teachers to consider participating in the Microsoft 2012 US Forum, which launches on Jan 23rd on www.facebook.com/partnersinlearning and on microsoft.com. I would also recommend that they join one of the MoodleMeet sessions offered by LearnNowBC, and finally, I would like to invite them and their students to join the H2O Heroes wiki and be prepared to consume, connect and create.

Just Another Day

We woke up this morning, made coffee, had breakfast, read the papers, just another day right? But it isn't is it? The first day of a new year is so much more than that because it holds promise. It's like the human version of pressing the refresh button. We wake up excited to clean the slate, learn from the mistakes of last year and commit to achieving new goals. The prospect of new adventures, new opportunities and life taking us in a new direction makes waking up today downright exciting!


Professionally I'm excited about three new adventures. Next weekend I'll be helping to facilitate a Moodle course called Authentic Global Collaboration. I was invited to participate by Phil Macoun, a technology teacher at Aspengrove School on Vancouver Island. I met Phil at the World Future Conference in Vancouver last summer and despite the fact that we spent a very short time together I learned so much from him and he became my Twitter Tutor, opening up a whole new world of learning for me. He continues to push and expand my thinking by inviting me to take part in this class. This is a whole new territory for me and while I'm nervous and unsure about what I can offer, I 'm also exhilarated by the challenge of it and the learning opportunities it will provide.


I was lucky enough to receive an iPad just before Winter break and have been invited to take part in some action research to determine the value of educational applications. Once again, I'm exploring a whole new landscape. Being part Luddite the Land of Apps is new to me and I've been reading and learning throughout the break to get a feel for where to begin. Education researcher Michelle Riconscente, a USC professor, conducted a study to assess the effectiveness of Motion Math with 122 fifth-graders. Her findings were very positive, reporting an improvement in test scores , attitudes and confidence. The full study can be found at http://bit.ly/gamedeskmotionmath. Being given the opportunity to take part in a similar kind of action research project that may result in useful and meaningful data other teachers can use is exciting for me.


I also want to try and get more exercise in my life in 2012-well, technically in my classroom. I saw Dr. John Medina in Redmond, Seattle last summer. He is the author of Brain Rules, a wonderful collection of stories that demonstrate how the brain works and how physical activity can get your brain working at it's best. One of the most outstanding stories he shared in Redmond was the impact of exercise on mathematical ability. The studies he referred to showed that just twenty minutes of aerobic activity each day can result in a huge improvement in mathematical reasoning. As a math teacher this obviously fascinated me and I've been trying to figure out how to make this work in my classroom. After attending the Microsoft Partners in Learning Global Forum and seeing the work that many great educators are doing with Kinect, my aim for the year is to try and get Kinect into my classroom . I haven't figured out all of the details yet but have heightened my chances of success by enlisting the help of some fabulous people I am proud to know and now call friends: Lou Zulli, Johnny Kissko and Doug Bergman.

When I woke up on January 1st 2011 I was equally as excited as I was this morning. I could never have envisioned the year that followed ,the many marvelous people I would meet and places I would go. That's what 's so thrilling-the not knowing what lies ahead. I hope 2012 brings you joy. Look out for new opportunities and new adventures-if you want to ride shotgun with me for a while please jump on board!

A Teacher's Obituary

Am I the only person who has ever Googled their own name for fun and found obituaries? It certainly takes the fun out of it but it also provides some great food for thought! When I did this a few years ago some of my namesakes had made very meaningful impressions on the people in their lives, and I couldn't help but wonder what my own obituary would say.

My family would say nice things, I'm sure there's some sort of law about that sort of thing. And my friends, well they're friends for a reason right? Then I thought about the people I have spent most of my waking hours with while on the planet, my students. What would they have to say about me?

Mrs. Roberts, the teacher who taught me how to add fractions.

Mrs. Roberts, the teacher who helped me learn the flowering parts of a plant.

Mrs. Roberts, the teacher who ruined my life with homework assignments!

The possibilities I considered kind of went downhill from there. Realizing this was way too important to leave to the hands of fate, I decided to work backwards. What would I like my students to say about me? Something that started out as a bit of fun, soon became a serious activity that took hours of contemplation. It took a few days but I eventually decided upon:

Mrs. Roberts, the teacher who taught me that I'm brave, I'm smart and that I can make a difference.

Feeling smug that I could finally articulate what I would like my legacy to be, I kicked back and rolled the sound of it around in my mind as if I was at a wine tasting event. Then I realized-it's one thing to write your own obituary but living up to it is another matter!

I decided to make a conscious effort every day to push kids beyond their comfort zone. I put a sign outside my classroom door that said "Come to learn." I wanted my students to know before they walked through the door that they would be challenged , made to think, try new things and be expected to achieve what they never thought they could. Their learning path may be a rocky one, they may fall, they may get lost along the way, they may find parts of the journey scary, but we would be in it together, and we would help and guide each other along the way.

I put a sign on the inside of my door that said, "Leave to lead." We talked a lot about what that meant but one student demonstrated it beautifully when she voiced her concern about the student body's lack of diligence with peanut allergy rules. Having a severe peanut allergy herself she was frustrated by students who didn't realize how their careless actions could have such negative consequences. The class brainstormed possible solutions and she, uncomfortably, but bravely, led a mini campaign to heighten awareness by speaking to students, making posters and announcements and sharing her story. She made a real difference not only in terms of making students think about the consequences of their actions but also in making them realize that they could, in fact, make a difference.

By accepting the invitation to lead this student modeled for others the potential each individual has to evoke change. A floodgate opened and classroom meetings became a forum for identifying problems and brainstorming solutions. Within two years my students placed second in the national Siemens We Can Change the World challenge with their Trash Free Friday Campaign and the signs "Come to learn" and "Leave to lead" took on a life of their own. Learning in the classroom was no longer sufficient for my students. Exploring and discovering was just the beginning of their journey, doing something with the knowledge they acquired and taking action became the focus.

We now regularly look for opportunities to participate in hands on problem solving activities that require students to explore their roles and responsibilities as global citizens. Today we Skyped with one of our partner schools in the Challenge 20/20 project to share what we have learned about climate change over the last few weeks. We've been working with schools in Columbia, Bahrain and the United States to examine global warming. Once students pooled their collective wisdom today, they began to identify possible solutions. It was fascinating to watch the kids bounce around ideas and from a tiny seed of an idea develop a whole campaign to "Half the Light". Students will now be challenging their school communities to see how much energy can be saved by turning on just half of the classroom lights.

As an adult learner I am excited to have the opportunity to participate in a similar collaboration with teachers from around the globe. As part of the Microsoft Partners in Learning Forum in Washington last month, I was introduced to four other teachers from Mauritius, Egypt, Canada and Thailand. Over the last few weeks I have been putting together a series of lessons to support the theme for Shout 2012: Water Matters. Shout connects educators with rich content, tools and expertise that get students to take action on global issues. The work on this project took on even greater significance for me after watching Academy Award nominated film producer Elise Pearlstein present Last Call at the Oasis, a documentary about the global water crisis. It's a must see call to action and will be distributed to U.S. theaters in 2012.

I'm not dead yet, though I do have to check twice on Monday mornings, and some may say that thinking about one's own obituary is a bit morbid. However, this exercise has served as a compass for me and the direction I have wanted my teaching to take over the last few years. If one kid feels that they are brave and smart and that they can make a difference after being in my class I'll feel proud. If they all do, I'll know that I will have lived a life of consequence.

What will your teacher obituary say?

Thinking Big

I was running errands at the weekend with my kids when, from the back seat, my daughter asked, “Mom, do you believe in aliens?” With my head bulging with grocery lists, holiday shopping and dreaded laundry requirements, it would have been easy to say no. Instead, I asked why. “Well, we’ve been learning about space and how every star is a sun.There’s so many stars, doesn’t it make sense that at least one of them has a solar system like ours?Shouldn’t there be at least one other planet with some kind of life?” Not bad for a nine year old!

A rich and interesting conversation followed and when we got home we set about Erin’s homework. It was a sheet of basic math facts.It was like watching an elastic band that had been stretched to it’s limit snap back to its original shape.Don’t get me wrong, I’m a math teacher and I too demand that my students know their basic facts, but I was reminded of my favorite education quote:

"Education Is Not the Filling of a Pail, But the Lighting of a Fire" William Butler Yeats (Poet, 1865-1939).

I had to wonder how many times as a teacher, I’ve filled buckets so that my students can fill in bubbles on a multiple choice test.Content, curriculum and standardized tests are all important, but isn’t it also important for teachers to stretch the minds of students above and beyond the curriculum?

At the Microsoft Partners in Learning Global Forum in Washington last month, David Christian presented Big History, a project he’s developed collaboratively with Bill Gates.With great passion, David explained that the goals of this project are to foster a love of learning amongst students and to highlight for them the many links between scientific disciplines and the humanities.Course themes include origin stories embracing 14 billion years of history, interdisciplinary knowledge from astronomy, geology, biology and history, and understanding differing scales in time and space from atoms to galaxies.Being online, this class will allow 9th graders from all around the world to engage in conversations about life, the universe, our reason for being. Now that’s thinking big!!

The questions is, how do we get students thinking big before 9th grade? I’m not suggesting we start asking fifth graders about the meaning of life but we can challenge them beyond core content, can’t we? I recently learned about an activity that one of my colleagues, Leon Braisted, does with seventh graders.After studying great leaders,and covering required content in depth, the students are asked to go one step further by answering the question : “Whose face should be the fifth to be placed on Mount Rushmore?”

Working in collaborative groups students wrestle to find the “correct” answer, citing all of the knowledge they have acquired about great leaders and employing 21st century learning skills such as creativity, effective communication and flexible thinking.Check out the whole project by clicking on the photo-a product of the activity!

I look at my students just a little differently now.What exactly are they capable of thinking about and consequentially achieving?Which one of them will find the cure for cancer?Which one of their faces will be the fifth on Mount Rushmore? Which one of them will find the other life sustaining planet that my daughter is so convinced exists and more importantly, what’s my role in helping them get there?

How do you help your students to Think Big? I can’t wait to find out.

A Reluctant Adult Learner

We are living in a time of educational revolution. I read that on Twitter so it must be true! Being an educator it certainly is an exciting time, with so many opportunities to incorporate technology in innovative ways and to make meaningful global connections. I wasn’t always so excited though. My transition from reluctant, to enthusiastic, adult learner has been a slow one.

I was born and raised in the North of England, the home of the industrial revolution, so being part Luddite is in my genetic make-up. I was sad when digital cameras arrived. Going to the photo shop to pick up prints and eagerly ripping open the packet to see whether or not you had at least one good picture was all part of the experience for me. I resisted buying a cell phone for the longest time-until my car broke down on a cold and rainy night slap bang in the middle of nowhere. So introducing technology into my classroom was not on the top of my priority list.

Five years ago I found myself teaching the inaugural Engage class at Birmingham Covington School (BCS).Engage was developed as BCS sought to reinvent itself to keep up with the real world demands placed upon our students when they exit the school system. The overarching goal of Engage was to engage students in problem-based and project-based activities that integrated elements of science, educational technology, technology education, and language arts as well as the four main elements of the enGauge 21st Century Skills: Digital Age Literacy, Inventive Thinking, Effective Communication, and High Productivity.

I was thrilled to be involved in developing fourteen day projects until I was told that Engage was not intended to be a vehicle for curriculum delivery and that the projects had to be designed in the spirit of Lifelong Kindergarten. What I heard was: Stop teaching for two weeks and have fun with the kids!! I know innovative teaching involves taking risks but in an era of high stakes testing, this approach seemed plain irresponsible. Jordy Whitmer, a patient colleague and mentor, persevered with my constant questioning and misgivings and sold me on the lifelong Kindergarten approach by sharing many readings, podcasts and videos about Mitch Resnick’s philosophy. I figured two weeks out of the curriculum wouldn’t do eternal damage and we set about designing the first unit: Digital Story Telling.

The Luddite part of me became fully engaged. I was digitally illiterate and couldn’t fathom how I could possibly “teach” this unit. On day one my greatest fear came true- a student asked me how to do something and I didn’t have the answer. That was a pivotal moment for me. It was the precise moment that my stranglehold on a traditional classroom environment was relinquished forever. My reply was, “I don’t know, does anybody else in here have an answer to this question?” Hands flew up all around the room and in seconds the moment had passed, the kids moved on and the tone and style of my teaching was forever changed. I learned that I was not expected to be the font of all knowledge and that I didn’t have to know how to manipulate technology tools. My responsibility as a teacher was to provide opportunities for my kids to figure out how to use the tools, and to embrace my students as partners in learning.

Teaching this class has allowed me to witness levels of student engagement I have never seen before. Students are motivated, curious, flexible, prepared to take risks, comfortable with failure and they are also having fun. Aside from learning global competencies they are also covering the curriculum on a deeper, more meaningful level. The big difference is that they are the drivers on their learning journey and they decide in which direction it will go. Being involved in the design and evolution of this class has been the best professional development I have ever had. I now attempt to “engagify” all of my math and science lessons and I know that I am winning when the students ask if they are in Engage or science. Upon reflection, being told to focus less on curriculum delivery, and more on teaching kids to learn while having fun was indeed a gift.

Five years later I found myself representing the BCS Engage team at Microsoft’s Partners in Learning Global Forum in Washington last month. Seven hundred educators from around the globe were gathered to celebrate innovative teaching, to collaborate, to share and to learn from one another. Spending time with such passionate, creative and talented people has ignited in me an even greater desire to not only be prepared for the educational revolution, but to play an active role in it. My journey from reluctant, to enthusiastic adult learner is complete. My journey as an innovative educator has only just begun.

Collaboration

The first twelve years of my teaching career were spent in England as an elementary teacher. Fresh out of college, I was handed the National Curriculum, given a gentle push over the classroom threshold and told, "Have at it!" And I did, and a marvelous time it was too! Being the only Year 6 teacher in the building I was free to do pretty much my own thing behind my classroom door. As long as my kids did well in standardized tests nobody really asked or questioned what I was doing. 

When I arrived in the U.S. I was fortunate to be hired at Birmingham Covington School (BCS) , an innovative school of science and technology. I was hired to be a 5/6 math and science teacher sharing 54 students with a Social Studies/Language Arts teacher. I was required to collaborate with my teaching partner, the math and science teachers and the whole 5/6 team. To do so effectively required certain skills: active listening, flexible thinking, risk taking, effective communication, and being politely critical. I didn't have any of them! When we started teaching Engage, we discovered that students don't naturally have these skills either.

Engage is a 3-8th grade project unique to BCS. Engage was conceived as BCS sought to reinvent itself to keep pace with the real-world skills that are demanded of our students when they exit our system. The overarching goal of Engage is to engage students in problem-based and project-based activities that integrate elements of science, educational technology, technology education, and language arts as well as the four main elements of the enGauge 21st Century Skills: Digital Age Literacy, Inventive Thinking, Effective Communication, and High Productivity.

We designed challenges that required a team of students to collaborate in order to be successful, and they weren't! They just didn't have the necessary skills. Students were excited and engaged but lacked the ability to listen to each other, to communicate effectively, to challenge each other in meaningful ways and to reach consensus on effective solutions. Realizing that the skills were not inherent and had to be taught, we developed a bank of resources and strategies.

When teams are first introduced, each member completes a personal skills inventory , assessing their own strengths and weaknesses. They use their findings to allocate specific roles within the group. The roles are determined according to the task but generally include a project manager, materials manager, communications manager and lead engineer. Once students have a clear understanding of their responsibilities we provide them with scripts about how to be politely critical and how to reach consensus .Armed with these tools they can begin to focus on the challenge activity and intermittently take the time to assess the success of their team using teamwork rubrics.

The success of these strategies can be measured by the fact that Engage was selected to be one of the projects representing Team U.S.A. at the Microsoft Partners in Learning Global Forum in Washington D.C earlier this month. As an attendee I was lucky enough to take part in discussions about collaboration with teachers from all around the world. One teacher likened collaborative projects to making a jigsaw: each student is given an element of a task and they connect the pieces together to produce a complete picture. I had to disagree. This describes co-operation, not collaboration.

Collaboration is more like bread making. The individual ingredients are blended, kneaded and pummeled, flattened, stretched, rolled and ultimately transformed into something warm and nourishing that smells and tastes good. Unlike a jigsaw, the original ingredients are unrecognizable and cannot return to the way they were. In learning to collaborate effectively with my colleagues at BCS I have often felt pummeled, stretched, challenged and transformed into a better teacher and learner.

When we ask our students to collaborate they should feel the same way. They should be able to take their individual thoughts and ideas, stretch them , reshape them and synthesize them to produce creations of meaning and consequence. The process should transform them as learners and take them one step closer to becoming more effective collaborators.

The next time you design a collaborative assignment for your kids, stop and think: Am I asking them to make a jigsaw or am I asking them to make bread?

A Partner in Learning

I bought a camping trailer this summer. Not the most momentous event in my life in recent months but certainly significant on my journey into Blogging. The saleswoman sat in front of a wall plastered with her numerous awards as salesperson of the month. When I pointed them out she laughed and said, "They make me put them up." Three weeks earlier I had been named teacher of the year in my school district. My first formal accolade in twenty three years of teaching. Nominated by my teaching partners and verified by fellow colleagues throughout the district. A real honor, and where was my framed certificate? In a drawer in my bedroom.....hmm!

Not long after that I received an invitation to a ribbon cutting ceremony for a new methane operated electricity plant at a local Waste Management facility. The invitation was completely unrelated to my award, and came from Chris Klein the education officer there, who had visited my classroom on several occasions to talk to my students about alternative energy, human impact on the environment and stewardship .I found myself mingling with local dignitaries, General Motors executives, and business leaders. While marveling at my free lunch and goody bag people would ask who I was and my reply was, "Oh! I'm just a teacher." Chris, on the other hand, introduced me as an important member of her team. She considered me to be amongst my peers while I felt like a kid who'd been allowed to eat at the adult table.

Last week I found myself in Washington D.C. at the Microsoft Partners in Learning Global Forum. I was part of the USA innovative educators team and was treated to an intense week of professional development, global collaboration and serious discussion about the future of education. Anglea Maiers ,one of my educational gurus, was participating and I wanted desperately to meet her. I couldn't fathom, however, what to say .What could I say to her that would enhance her learning as she has done for me so many times through social networking? So I backed off and missed the opportunity. Tono Sablan didn't.

Tono was also a part of Team USA , presenting his Project Unite which he developed to celebrate diversity in his school and to reduce fighting amongst the students. He introduced himself to Angela, handed her his card and described his project. He walked away with a promise of future collaboration. He is fifteen years old!

Why couldn't I do that? Some may say I lack confidence but I can hear those that know and love my loud and obnoxious self choking back laughter at the very suggestion. Have I been brainwashed by the old adage "Those that can't- teach." Was it the high caliber of the fellow attendees that made me feel like I am "just a teacher" ?

I think again about the lady who sold me my camping trailer. Those awards on the wall should have given me a clue as to how good she was-she sold me a fifth wheel that was five times more expensive than I was willing to pay!!When I get back to school I'm going to put my teacher of the year award on the wall outside my classroom. I want it to give my students a clue that when they come into my classroom they will get five times more of an experience than they bargained for.

We all have that kid in our classroom who just sits there like a sponge soaking it all in but they rarely look up and engage in the conversation. And it drives you crazy because you see that they are learning but you constantly wonder how much all of us could learn from them if only they would share their thoughts and ideas with us. And as teachers we encourage and coax and cajole that kid into participating. Well it turns out that I am that kid.

I want to thank my teachers : the R.V. saleswoman, my amazing colleagues, Chris Klein at Waste Management , Tono Sablan and especially the Microsoft Partners in Learning Team. You have all taught me that even amongst business leaders, movie makers, politicians, policy makers , educators... I am amongst my peers, and I am a Partner in Learning .With that comes responsibility-the responsibility to share , engage , take risks, challenge, participate-everything that I demand of my students and now it is time that I demand it of myself. I am lifting my head. I am raising my hand. I have something to say , "I'm Pauline and I am a teacher!"