Learning as a Way of Teaching

…but it is slowly sinking in.  I had a moment of dawning comprehension this afternoon that left me feeling a little bit…well, old.  Our tech teacher is using think.com from Oracle to build an online learning community for her students.  She created a teacher account for me so I can learn and participate alongside her students.  And today it hit me.  I have no idea how to use the community.  I thought it would be simple.  Yet, I found myself asking out loud to no one in particular, “What do I do now?”  Students are flying through the interfaces and creating content, and I do not even know where to begin.  With a little more time, perhaps I will catch on.

But it doesn’t stop there.  IM and texting fascinated me.  Why would I use my phone to type a message?  Isn’t that like using my television to listen to the radio?  Wouldn’t it be faster to call my friend than to text him?  What my students are using so fluently, I struggle with.  It takes me forever to text on my phone.  By the time I text a complete message, I could have tracked down a teenager and asked him to do it for me.  The grammarian in me refuses to abbreviate or use the texting language that makes me cringe when I see it. 

The more I talk and write, the more I realize that I am truly a digital immigrant. I have always loved computers.  I have owned one my entire life.  However, it is a cultural thing for teens to IM the way that they do.  A culture that I did not grow up in and am having a hard time connecting with.

I am trying to connect with teachers.  I am trying to assimilate all that they are saying to me in Classroom 2.0 (which of course is blocked at my campus).  I read Will, Graham, Kim, and others to gain wisdom and insights on living in a 2.0 world.  And I have to say, it does not come easily.

I am frustrated by the outdated technologies and filters in my classrooms.  The rate at which students are creating content and the quality of content does not make me think I am doing something correctly.  And it become even more aware that I am a stranger in a strange land.  I am trying and I do not know if what is happening is good.

I keep telling myself that it just takes time.  However, I am a very impatient person and do not want to wait for administrators to get on board.  I do not want to wait for the new budget to roll in so we can be decent tools.  I do not want to wait.

Now that the venting has passed, I feel better. 

Graham helped put things into perspective for me.  What this post revealed to me was why I should be exercising my 2.0 muscles.  At first, blogs and wikis were cool.  They looked slick and I liked the way wikis made it easy to share content.  But I lose focus when the newness wears off and I realize that blogging for blogging’s sake leaves me feeling empty.  I want to see what others are doing in the classroom.  In fact, I do it without 2.0 tools.  I visit other schools and other classrooms to see what they are doing.  I want to get feedback on my ideas.  I do that without 2.0 tools.  I send e-mails, write paper, set up conference times, visit over the lunch table in the teacher’s lounge.  I have teachers in my building who share my interests and can give me advice.

But I can only imagine what level all of the aforementioned collaboration is multiplied when I enter the 2.0 classroom.  And then the power of blogs, wikis, and podcasts hits me all over again.  It is a subtle paradigm shift, but it works for me.

I want to build a learning community for myself.  I want to engage my thinking and educational experiences with the world….it will just take me a minute.

In a recent post, I mentioned how I would like to read some blogs of teachers who are not technology teachers.  And to my pleasant surprise, I got a comment.  A real, honest to goodness comment.  All of the comments I have received so far are from students that I have forced and friends who have felt sorry for my comment-less blogging so far.

Graham came to my rescue by offering some places to start looking.  One blog led to another and the next thing you know, I have more feeds in my aggregator than I could possible shake a stick at.  If information overload never knocked on my door, today was the day I met it.

And then it struck me.  Who says that the only people I teach walk the halls of my school building?  Is it possible now for me to say that I teach the world?  I think I can.  Through Teen Talk, I can teach 8th graders in Malaysia.  Through the Wiki Mentoring Project, I can teach 4th graders and high school students here in my hometown.

And what about professional development?  Why do I have to wait for workshops to come to a big city near me?  Why do I have to pour over book titles at a mega bookstore?  Do I really have to go further into debt so I can take college classes?  Who has the time for that?

I learn from the best 2.0 has to offer without having to leave my house.  My news aggregator brings in more information I can handle.  My ideas can be shared with the world, and even commented by teachers in and out of my field.  I grow as I learn from others and them from me.  That is what 2.0 does for me, and I am swimming in the flood with a big smile on my face.

Ms. C and a group of her students has been kind enough to show us how to participate in a collaborative project.  Teen Talk is a wiki that we are building together to get to know each other.

This is the first international project I have participated in since 1998.  Back then, I was a “one-computer-in-my-room-teacher” experimenting with ePals, trying to get my high school students using e-mail to correspond with other students their age.  The attempt was a complete flop due to inaction on the other group of students we were working with.  On top of that, it just was not what I hoped that it would be.

Now I am working with a one to one classroom, and we are devoting all of our energy on this one project.  The kids are learning how to use wikis, blogs, and Yackpack to collaborate with our new friends.

Ms. C has a great deal of experience with these kind of projects.  She has set up the entire framework of our wiki and our students are enjoying the ride.  My plan is to carry through on this project and then work some more with Ms. C starting next school year.

My explorations in Classroom 2.0 has found several blogs worth reading.  However, all of them deal with technologies.  I am still searching for a blogger who is discussing education and not necessarily technology in the classroom.

Where are the special education teachers?  Are there any teachers in my field of education that are blogging?

I have learned so much over the past few months reading the blogs that I have subscribed to.  What I am hoping for is to develop a global community of teachers who do not teach technology.  I want to find those who are using 2.0 technologies to share their thoughts and ideas on classroom practices, pedagogies, tips and tricks, lesson plans etc.

Are they out there?  Can anyone point me to them?

Word of mouth is spreading and we have had several districts inquire about our inclusion program.  Some of what we do is original, and some of it is stolen.  But is that not the truth most of all good ideas?  We take something that works, and them make it our own.

That is what is so great about Classroom 2.0.  We can exchange ideas and learn from each other on a global level.

Anyway, the boys and girls at Box.net have made it easy to share the docs that we use.  Take a look at just three of the forms that we use.  Feel free to take them and make them your own.

Tell me what you are using for your inclusion program.

For years, I have believed that paraprofessionals make or break a Special Education program.  Life is fantastic when you have a para that is skilled and willing.  Life is miserable when a para is unskilled and/or unwilling.

I also firmly believe that we do not spend enough time training these valuable educators.  Too many times, paras have told me, “I don’t know what to do.”  Yes, the training is an ongoing process, but I do not believe there is enough formal training.  Hard working paras with a zeal to learn and do what is expected should be given ample training.

Setting aside time to train them not only helps them develop professionally, but it also sends a message to them.  A message that say, “We care about you and we want you to become better.”  The paras that I have trained have been very grateful because they felt like someone cared enough about them to talk with them.

The Role of the Paraprofessional is a small workshop I gave to our paras on an inservice afternoon.  The response was overwhelming as I visited with the paras of our district and how they are viewed by their supervisors.  The Powerpoint presentation is in my “Box” files on the right.

What are you thoughts on paraprofessional training? 

A group of Houstonians are taking on the TAKS test.  They say that preparing students for the TAKS test is taking up too much instructional time. 

First, let me say that a lot of energy is put into the TAKS test.  Yes, our school’s rating hangs in the balance, and there is even the question of “Will my kid pass to the next grade if he does not pass the TAKS?”

One has to argue, though, that if we teach the TEKS; then aren’t we preparing students for the test?  OR is the problem that we are focusing on test taking strategies too much?  Well, why not?  Students have to take tests in college and need to know how to prepare for them.

If I am taking the BAR exam, I would want to know what kind of questions that will be asked and how to take the exam.  So to say we are teaching to the test, there are two ways to see it.

Which way do you see it?

Region 10 has hired my to write curriculum for their upcoming TAKS Academy this summer.  My role is to write the special education side of the academy as we try to help high school teachers accelerate students to grade level.

As I am thinking about the history of assessments for students with learning disabilities, I have to say that I am very frustrated that the TAKS-M test is not further along in development.  Maybe it is and TEA is just keeping it a big secret.

But perhaps it is not TEA’s fault?  I found this on their website:

TAKS-Modified (TAKS-M) pilot tests will be administered in the 2007-2008 school year, with a fall testing window currently scheduled. TAKS-M will be developed pending the Texas Education Agency’s (TEA’s) receipt of final regulations from the USDE regarding required assessments for students with disabilities who will be assessed using modified achievement standards. Further information, including the required grades and subjects to be assessed, will be made available as soon as federal regulations are finalized. Note that TAKS-M dates have not been specified on the calendar, although placeholders have been included for review purposes.

Perhaps it’s all the Feds’ fault?  Just thinking.

…I barely knew ye!  Today officially ended the MacBook Project as FedEx took it back to California.  I did not get to spend nearly enough time on it, and maybe they will let me borrow another one that has Windows on it.  Why in the world would I want a Mac with Windows, you ask?  Well, we are a Windows only district and I want to see how Macs will run on the network in order to use some 21st century tools.

A handful of Special Education teachers from McKinney ISD paid a visit to discuss Inclusion strategies.  We had a great visit and exchanged some wonderful ideas.  One idea was to begin an online collaboration relationship to continue our information exchange.  We probably could have visited for the rest of the day, and I am looking forward to working with them again.