Summer, Fall, Winter, and Testing

You read the title right...I don't feel like my four seasons of the year are Summer, Fall, Winter, and Spring. Spring has been completely taken over by testing, so I'm going to just call it what it is.  Don't get me wrong, I knew in taking this job that a large part of was going to be taking up with testing and I'm prepared for it. But I don't think our legislators and even much of the general public realizes how much time and money is spent on high stakes testing.

Testing has taken up the majority of my day in some form or fashion pretty much every day since the beginning of this new semester. We began by running a benchmark session as close to the real test as possible.  This involved setting up testing groups, tests, and accomodations - hoping a lot of the leg work would be done before the STAAR test in April.

I essentially moved straight in to TELPAS and preparing for STAAR Saturday. The TELPAS meant I had to take a test  calibration. They can call it what they want, but if I have to answer questions and make a minimum score in order to receive a certificate, then I call it a test. Now I'm just in the waiting phase of TELPAS until all of the writing samples have been completed and turned in.  Hopefully it will all go smoothly with no hiccups along the way.

Luckily STAAR Saturday preparation really worked itself out pretty easily, at least the part I can do in advance, because it's already time to begin working on the first round of STAAR testing.

View from a Different Window

Have you ever thought about how the view looks different from each window in a home or building? There are no two views that are the same. I can't really say I've contemplated this before now.  It's exactly what I'm experiencing as I move from spending my days as a classroom teacher to working with students and teachers in a role that allows me to see the broader perspective - the bigger picture, so to speak.

I had become so accustomed to seeing my students, the curriculum, my colleagues, the educational system in general through the lens of my very limited, sometimes isolated classroom.  I don't think this is anything new.  It happens all the time in all professions.  We become so wrapped up in ourselves and our own world that we can't see past it.

Since moving to a more central/global role, I've learned so many things that I either one, didn't think about, two, didn't care about, or three, complained about. I have often said to colleagues and friends that as classroom teachers we often didn't see the big picture - the behind the scenes of everything that was going on. I might have said it, but I can't say that I always believed it or lived it.  This is still true for all of us. We only see what we can from the window we are given to view it from.

Although, I still don't see it all (nor do I want to), it's almost like I've moved from a porthole to a picture window.

Confessions of a Diigo Addict

Hi, my  name is Amber Hooks and I’m a Diigo addict.   

I can honestly say that I will try almost anything once - food, adventures, teaching strategies, and new tools.  Occasionally I get stuck on something new and quite frankly, I exhibit all of the symptoms of an addict.  That’s where I am now with Diigo, and my friends and family may secretly be planning an intervention.

How did I get here?

I spent some time last school year experimenting with different ways to bookmark sites and remember Diigo being one of the tools I looked at, but I just didn’t do anything with it. Recently I’ve been reintroduced to it by an administrator and can’t seem to get enough.  Housework, grading, face-to-face communication - these are all currently being ignored because of my obsession with Diigo.

What is Diigo?

Diigo is a browser add-on extension that is basically a social bookmarking website.  This sums it up pretty well, but doesn’t explain much.   I use Diigo in the following ways:

• Online bookmarking.  I have previously bookmarked things in my browser and NEVER go back to that list.  It was pretty much useless.  I didn’t remember I had something there to fit what I was looking for or forgot what it was called.  Now I can tag my bookmarks. I can easily find them in my library or when I enter a new query in Google, a Diigo reference appears before my results list telling me what I’ve already bookmarked on that topic, if anything. Or more likely, I had bookmarked it at school, and not at home where I was now working.

• Highlight and Sticky Notes. Do you remember a time when you had to print a website to take notes on it or highlight it? Perhaps you’re still there.  Diigo’s toolbar allows me to pin a sticky note or highlight sections of websites. Both tools are easy to use and easy to find.

• Building my PLN. The social part of Diigo allows me to join and create groups on specific topics of interest.  This give me immediate access to sites others have already bookmarked and includes their notes and highlights.  I’m able to follow other Diigo members and to see their bookmarks, notes, and highlights on given topics of interest.  

So now what?

Hopefully Diigo is going to save me some time when researching various topics.  Maybe this will make up for the time spent looking on Diigo that could have been spent grading, vacuuming, or just spending time with others.

You can't "DO" PBL

I realize that I've only been officially trained in Project Based Learning for about three months, but I've learned a lot about how I feel about it in that short amount of time.  Don't get me wrong, the training was excellent and I learned many valuable things through the training and would probably be floundering somewhat without it.

With that being said, here are some realizations that anyone venturing into the world of PBL should know.

1. PBL is not new.  I was doing this before I knew what it was or had any sort of training.
I've recently heard many teachers say that this is not new. They were teaching using a PBL model 20 years ago, but didn't call it that.  I think on some level this is true, but I'm not sure completely accurate all the time. When I think about PBL being a project as a channel for learning to take place, I don't think this means learn something and do a project at the end.  Yet this dessert project is what I perceive many of those claiming to already get it to be talking about.

2. There is not one right way to teach using PBL.
I feel like I've always been one of those teachers who never does the same thing twice and this supports this whole idea that there are many ways to teach using a  PBL model.  It all depends on what company published what your are reading or who is training you.  BIE seems to me to have the most comprehensive information regarding the implementation of PBL right now, but I've also read some  valuable pieces from Edudemic, Edutopia, and blogs of teachers sharing their successes and struggles.

3. There are some protocols that aid in the management piece of PBL.
Like I mentioned in #2, there is a lot of good "stuff" out there regarding PBL.  Many of these resources and protocols are meant to help in the design and implementation phase, but they are invaluable for classroom management.  Thorough planning is imperative to successful completion - or at least to retain sanity of the teacher in the room.  Task Management Charts, Need to Knows, and Team Contracts are invaluable pieces.

4. Like everything else in teaching, don't reinvent the wheel.
There is no need to start from scratch if you feel the urge to try PBL.  There are tons of ideas on the internet. GOOGLE! I definitely advise those who want to give it a shot to find a unit that's already been created.  This doesn't mean you have to use every piece or teach it exactly as written.  I would advise against this, actually. Recently I found a unit titled "We've Got Issues" using the BIE database. It was not written with my state standards in mind, nor was it written for my grade level.  However, it was very planned out, extremely thorough, and fit the standards of nonfiction that I was aiming for.  My students are currently working their way through our own version of "We've Got issues."

5. You can't just "DO" PBL.  It has to be a shift in culture. 
I propose that you can't wake up one morning and say "I'm going to do PBL today." It is a shift in mindset.  It isn't something you can just walk in and do. It isn't a canned program.  You must really reflect on what you believe, what you value, and be willing to give up control.  At it's very core, it is allowing the students to control their learning, the what and the how.

Google Power Search

I had the opportunity to take a Google Power Search course over the last few weeks. It may be one of the best on-line PD courses I've taken in a long time. AND - the timing was almost too good to be true. My students are beginning their research on a particular social issue that effects teens as part of our PBL unit on nonfiction, "We've Got Issues."

This course is designed to help you become a better searcher using Google. Classes focused on operators, what words to use in a search and in what order, how to interpret results, and how a Google search works.  Each class is a short (under 10 minute video) and a couple of practice activities.  Mastery of the course includes a mid-course assessment and a final assessment. Both are hands on activities that require Google searches to answer correctly.

My students will begin the research process tomorrow when we visit the Library/Media Specialist for information on evaluating sources and then I will guide them through the searching process of understanding exactly what they are seeing on a search results page an how to use operators. I am so hoping that it turns out well and they actually use these Power Search techniques to help them refine their searches and sift through the inordinate amounts of information out on the web.

More Questions

My last post expressed my questions about how to seamlessly incorporate 21st century learning concepts in a language arts concept and I have recently finish A New Culture of Learning (Thomas and Brown). This book was recommended by my AP when he told me that Tim was reading as part of their FOCUS group.  I asked Tim to bring it home and I began to work my way through it.

Much of the book revolves around massive multi-player online games (MMOs).  I get what the authors are saying - that MMOs create this collective that develops true tacit knowledge.  What I never got was exactly how to take this into my classroom.  I don't think it's advocating playing World of Warcraft in my class, but it's more about taking what is working through that game and finding a way to implement that.

When all was said and done the book talks about how learning in the 21st century doesn't lead you to answers, but leads you to more questions.  I can definitely say that this book gave me NO answers, but only leaves me with more questions.  I just don't know if their ideas spark my passion and motivation enough to continue on the path of MMOs and middle school language arts.  I guess we'll see.

Focus on Project Based Learning

I think I understand Project Based Learning on a basic level, but I am struggling with its implementation in my classroom.  I've spent several days contemplating ideas for topics, rubrics, products...but I just can't seem to make anything fit.  Today I came to the realization that it's not the subject area (Reading and Writing) that are causing me problems.  It's how does all of this fit in the grand scheme of what the state of Texas is now calling STAAR?

Because so much in Texas is tied to the high stakes test - accountability ratings that drive funding, jobs, programs - I'm not sure how to make sure they get the skills necessary to do well on the STAAR through more personalized, student-directed learning.  I believe that if we teach students to read critically and write well, there should be no problem with a minimum standards test.  So...how do I make this work through Project Based Learning?

Granted - I have not attended workshops or training on PBL, but am anxiously looking forward to attending a WOW (Working on the Work) workshop this summer.  Maybe this will put it all in perspective.  Any thoughts on other ideas or things to read are welcomed.  (I'm about to start Schlechty's Working on the Work - that's on my spring break list.)