Play.....

One of my recent reading assignments, "Games...and...Learning" from Trends and Issues in Instructional Design and Technology described or defined "play" in an interesting way. The authors of this chapter discuss the role of games and play in learning. The authors try to differentiate between being "at play" and simply going through the motions. Being "at play" involves entering "the conceptual cognitive or cultural space" as described below.

"It was definitely something you wanted to do and you would say that you did it voluntarily. You found the activity intrinsically motivating and so you were not concerned about "getting something" out of it. You were also doing something actively and probably physically.  Finally, you were likely in a state where you were not conscious of yourself or of your place in the world, but rather felt wholly absorbed in the activity.  This state also carried a feeling of being very free from risks. You felt free to try new things or to experiment with different ways of doing or thinking--after all, it was only play. Your awareness of time likely disappeared and you were probably surprised by how much time had passed when the activity had ended."

There are some that have called me a workaholic. Now I know otherwise. My job is often my play! That is why I can spend hours outside of the work day exploring new technologies that might be useful to students and teachers. Or read a book about differentiation. And yes, continue to take classes. These are the things that I can become absorbed in. That isn't to say that I can't lose myself in a good romance novel.

It is encouraging when I see this same attitude reflected in many of the educators with which I work. Do you "play" each day or do you simply do a job? I am fortunate to be able to enter the cognitive world of "play" each and every day.


Reiser, R. A., & Dempsey, J. V. (2002).Trends and issues in instructional design and technology. Upper Saddle River, N.J.: Merrill/Prentice Hall.

Digital Citizenship/Safety

This blog is the result of a series of events over the past several months. This is not a new topic but one that we just seem to get students, parents, and community members to really get involved in. I am the first person to stand and shout my approval for technology, internet access, Web 2.0 tools, and so much more.  These technologies can open up a whole new world of learning for our students. We have access to so many free materials that will allow us to differentiate learning, take students to deeper levels of learning, and exposing our students to information, people, and cultures that were not available just a few years ago. However, these technologies also open our children up to many dangers.

We have a choice. That choice is to either attempt to block significant amounts of content or to teach our children how to use these tools safely and respectfully. We obviously don't want to our children exposed to pornography, violence, cyber bullying, or sexual predators. Schools across the country are using different filters and programs in an attempt to protect our students. Parents often set controls on their systems at home.  Our children still stumble onto inappropriate sites. Sexual predators still find ways to communicate with our most vulnerable students.

Recently an individual stated that the issue was not a legal one but a parenting one.  I must admit that I take serious exception to this. It is easy to blame a parent that is doing the best they can. It is my opinion that 99.9% of our parents truly are doing the best with what they have and what they know. These parents actually want the best for their children and are doing their best to help their children. A case in point was the parent of a 6th grade student I had several years  ago. The student was struggling and the mom (4th grade education) came in crying and asking for help. She was doing all she could with her own resources and abilities. She simply didn't have the ability to help this young man at home.

Digital Citizenship/Safety is all our responsibility.  We must all be vigilant in our efforts to protect our children. This starts with education.  In some cases we may have to educate parents and in all cases we must educate our students. It is not simply a matter of putting the right filter in place.  Our children have access to so much that schools and parents simply have no control over. There are many free resources available to share with students, teachers, parents, and community members.

Here are some simple suggestions and resources.

Parents, if your child has a Facebook, Twitter, or other social networking account, you should have one too. Make sure you have access to their account so you monitor what they are putting out and who they are communicating with. You should have access to email accounts. Don't get me wrong. My own children have their Facebook accounts and are friends with me. That doesn't mean that I scan their every posts. I can check randomly or when I may have cause for concern.

Educate our children as to what they are putting out there. Just because you have a privacy setting that limits your posts to friends doesn't prohibit a friend from sharing your posts with others. Once a picture or text is sent into the digital realm there is no retrieving it. Prospective employers actually scan these social networking sites when considering an individual for a job.

There are many free resources available for parents, students, and schools to help educate our children. Common Sense Media is just one of these.  Let's educate each other and work together to protect our children and still expand their educational experience beyond the four wall of the classroom!

The PLC

PLC or Professional Learning Community has become "the thing" for educators. Yet, many do not truly know what a PLC is. My own understanding has evolved over the last few years and continues to evolve as I participate in a PLC and create my own learning environment and network.  This blog is part of my learning network along with my Facebook page, Twitter account, and so much more.

The PLC is not simply staff development.  I believe that is the huge misconception. Too many educators look at it as just another name for staff development when it is really (or should be) so much more than that. The PLC is a group of professionals seeking to improve their craft by learning together. It is the "community" aspect that really takes the PLC beyond simple staff development.  The community must have a shared vision and a shared desire. The PLC requires its members to take an active role in the learning not just sitting back and waiting to be fed information that they may or may not use. If the PLC is going to be effective, all members must contribute to the learning.

The PLC of course ties well into a chapter that I just read in Trends and Issues in Instructional Design (3rd Edition),.  The chapter, written by Allison Rossett and Bob Hoffman (both of San Diego State University), addresses the topic of informal learning.  It is a thought provoking glimpse of how we learn outside of the formal classroom setting. Research suggests that 80% of what we learn is informal. The PLC came to mind as I read, because a true PLC should provide many informal learning opportunities as the members of the PLC share, teach, and learn together. The PLC is not just the formal meeting times, but all the times the members share ideas, information, strategies, or skills.

For those of you that are members of a PLC that you are not happy with, ask yourself if you are actively engaged in the community? Are you willing to challenge yourself and your thinking? Do you want to learn?

Reiser, R. A., & Dempsey, J. V. (2012). Trends and issues in instructional design and technology (3rd ed.). Boston: Pearson.

Common Sense vs. Common Practice

Our district began working with Robert Marzano's The Art and Science of Teaching" this year.  Several members of our staff are participating in The Art and Science Academy. As we learn more about the research and strategies it becomes apparent the much of this is not new.  In fact, we have known about many of these strategies for a long time and they are common sense strategies. However, during our recent cohort meeting it was stated that what is often common sense or common knowledge is not always common practice.  Why?  Are we bogged down with so much stuff that we simply forget the basics like setting learning goals or objectives? Did we forget that our students need to know and understand what those goals are? Establishing goals is just one thing that is common sense but often not common practice. Why? What are some others?

Managing Research

With any educational program comes research. Now I am going to really date myself here! There are some of us that can remember going into the library and actually opening drawers in a card catalog. We can also remember pulling actual hardback and paperback copies of the Reader's Guide to Periodical Literature.  Then of course there were the wonderful foot notes. Yes, remember rolling the paper back and forth in the electric typewriter to put a little mark where you needed to stop typing to leave room for the foot note at the bottom.  Of course this process became much easer as we moved into the digital world and word processors. However, there was still the difficulty of managing our sources.

I just spent this morning trying out some interesting tools. These are desktop and web based programs to aid in my not only finding research articles, but these tools also create my citations, allow me to take notes (what no note cards) that are stored with the resource. Now that is great news but there is more. These tools will also work in my word processing software to create in text citations and build my works cited/bibliography as I write!

Now this may not be news to many of you. I realize some of these programs have been around for a few years. But I couldn't help but think about their impact on my own research efforts. It also makes me wonder why I would walk into a classroom or library of a middle school or high school and see citation charts posted on the walls. Why are we not using these tools with our students, especially in 1:1 environments? We all know that the different styles for citing research change. We cannot teach all of the styles. Why would we? Instead, we should be teaching students how to use these tools.

We can begin small by using such tools as EasyBib and BibMe. As students move into high school and more in depth research projects they can be introduced to tools such as Mendeley and Zotero.  As part of my Ed Tech program I will be using and evaluating these programs over the next few weeks with others in my cohort. Watch for a post with a summary of those reviews.

Voice Thread

One of my first assignments for my Ed Tech program was to create a Voice Thread.  It could be on anything as it was just to get everyone to learn how to use it before we use it for other assignments. Voice Thread is something that I have used with my students in the past. It is a great way for students to share their learning and allows for creativity.  Something we often squash.

I decided to create a Voice Thread in response to a comment one of my middle school students made (echoed by several others) in the lunch line this past week. It is my goal to do more of these and email the link to my students to encourage them to read.  Since we have a 1:1 environment, it is easy to drop a line to my students from time to time.  Let me know your thoughts and reading suggestions to pass on.  

Lifelong Learner

“An investment in knowledge pays the best interest.” – Benjamin Franklin

We here the term "Lifelong Learner" bandied about by educators and schools frequently. "Create Lifelong Learners" (or something similar) has become a mantra of sorts. However,we must ask ourselves if we are modeling that same ideas? Do we continue our own education through either formal or informal means. Are we learning and using what we learn to improve our efforts to educate our students?  We want students to be readers, yet we seldom read.  We know that education is the key to the future. As an educator, I will set that example for my students and staff.  It seems as though I have been in some type of education or training program for most of my life and am continuing my learning through the online Ed Tech program with Boise State.

This blog will document my learning as I progress through that program, as well as my on learning through other educators and daily experiences.  I look forward to sharing with you.