I don't think anyone gets into teaching for accolades. Whether you're lesson planning on a Saturday, grading papers long into the night, staying at school until after dinner, or spending the Monday of a 3-day weekend reorganizing your classroom library, there's hardly ever anyone there to pat your back for going above and beyond. What's more, most of us aren't even looking for that type of affirmation anyway, we're just doing what we do because we care. Because it's just what we do. Because we're teachers. Last spring, when I was named Teacher of the Year on three separate occasions - for my school site, district, and county - I had the same reaction each time: "Who, me?!" On the outside I smiled and even teared up a bit, but inside my head I had the rather panicky and disbelieving thought that someone had somehow made a mistake. There are so many incredible teachers in my building and beyond; Twitter is proof that amazing things happen daily in classrooms across the country. Being recognized as one among so many deserving professionals is a humbling experience, and one that I have struggled to grasp. A few weeks ago, I was notified that representatives for the California Teacher of the Year program would be conducting a site visit to observe my teaching practice. Shortly after that event, I was summoned to the California Department of Education in Sacramento for an interview, which meant that I had the most surreal two days ever. On a Thursday, I taught from 7:45 until 11:35am, conferenced with parents until 3:00pm, drove an hour and a half to the Ontario airport, boarded a plane, and flew to Sacramento where I arrived (after a delay of several hours) around 10:00pm. The next day, I interviewed at CDE, then flew back to the desert to await, on pins and needles, the final verdict. Whew! I'll be honest: it was a lot to handle. Throughout the entire process, I was unable to discuss anything with anyone, beyond my husband and my principal. On Tuesday, November October 29, I received a call from the State Superintendent of Public Instruction's office to inform me that I'd been chosen as one of five 2014 California Teachers of the Year. Everything after that is a blur. Since the official press release, the students, parents, and staff at my school have been so proud and supportive. There has been an incredible response from the community at large, too - not to mention an outpouring of support from other professionals on Twitter! Through it all I have come to realize how much something like this can unify everyone. Probably the best moment was when one of my kids came running into my classroom Tuesday morning and said, "Mrs. Pack! You winning state Teacher of the Year is a big deal! I know it, because my abuelita and I watched you on the Spanish news!" When 76% of my students are Hispanic and many speak exclusively Spanish in the home environment, it's an honor to be included in the Spanish affiliate news coverage. At the end of the day, people have an innate need to make a difference by having a positive impact, and that's why I think most of us decide to go into the teaching profession. My hope is that as a California Teacher of the Year, I will be able to shed light on the importance of teaching with visionary passion. For me, teaching in a technology-rich environment provides the toolbox that enables my visionary passion. For you, it might be something different. It almost doesn't matter as long as we can identify it and replicate it daily so that greatness has the opportunity to emerge in our students. Being a 2014 CA TOY is undoubtedly an honor, and I certainly owe a debt of gratitude to the people with whom I collaborate in person on a daily basis, as well as all those whose blogs, tweets, posts, and articles I read. Thanks for making me the teacher I am. (Credit: KESQ News Channel 2)
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As teachers, one of the questions we get asked most often is, "What inspired you to teach?" I'm not sure of the exact moment I decided to become a teacher, but I can say without a doubt that the driving force behind my decision to set up shop in Room 208 was my own educational experience. In short, an assortment of my own teachers - the best AND the worst of them. I was not a very good student until college. Something finally clicked for me at university and I ended up graduating magna cum laude. However, if you had asked any of my teachers from elementary, junior high, or high school, they probably would have said that I wasn't a particularly extraordinary kid. I had some really fantastic teachers, who made learning exciting and relevant. But, I also had some less than stellar teachers, and those are really the folks who made me want to teach. Growing up, I lived with my parents and maternal grandparents. My grandfather died after a long and drawn out illness when I was in 8th grade. I had just returned from a weekend spent in the hospital waiting room, and one of my friends turned around in class to ask me if I was okay. Her poorly timed concern interrupted my 8th grade Social Studies teacher as he was taking attendance. Like a scene out of The Breakfast Club, my teacher started rapid fire issuing detentions. I spent a week in lunch detention, but the frustration I felt at perceived injustice and the overall lack of connection I had with that teacher has lasted for years. I think about him almost every time I feel frustration building up during a rough day, during those moments a student and I aren't on the same wavelength. As professionals, having empathy for our students is one of the most important aspects of our field. Being able to connect with kids, keep in touch with what goes on in their lives, and care about what goes on in their hearts as well as minds - that's what's important. When my grandfather died, the last place I wanted to be was in Social Studies; I only wish I'd had a teacher I could have gone to instead of someone I wanted to get away from. Looking back, personalized relationships have underscored every exemplary classroom I have ever experienced, which is probably why personalized relationships are the foundation for Room 208. This past weekend, my mom was hospitalized and diagnosed with cancer. Since I live in California and my parents are up in Washington state, it's not an easy situation. Coming to school each day this week has been a gift. Being around my students - their liveliness, happiness - has been good for my soul. I don't plan to tell them about this personal situation, but I will gratefully soak up their enthusiasm for learning. My mom is entering a rehabilitation facility this week; we are in constant contact and I plan to go home for Thanksgiving for the first time in seven years. Day by day until then, I will relish in the wonderful relationships that make up the fabric of this room, this school, these students, our place. Now, instead of running away from a classroom, I am running toward one. Teaching in a technology-rich environment is nothing new to me. I've taught a variety of 1:1 and 2:1 programs, and last year my classroom was one of three in PSUSD where students were allowed to BYOD. Our small pilot launched officially in November of last year, and we spent the first two months of school in a 1:1 environment using school site resources (carts of iPads and iPods) to prepare students for the rollout. The program was wildly successful, and this year PSUSD has opened up the Year Two BYOD Pilot to even more classrooms across the district. Awesome! Fast forward to five weeks ago. I was thrilled to send home the BYOD permission form with my parent letter on the first day of school. I couldn't wait for year two of the pilot to begin! As an added challenge, and because I am clearly someone who doesn't shy away from possibly biting off more than they can chew, I decided that this year my BYOD implementation would go from paper lite to paperless as an education experiment of sorts. (To my knowledge, there are currently no other entirely paperless classrooms anywhere else in my district.) Though I toyed with the notion of having kids ask their parents to visit a virtual copy of the letter so I wouldn't have to print any, I ended up biting the bullet and running off copies since 30% of my students do not have Internet access, 88% of them qualify as socio-economically disadvantaged, and some only speak Spanish. I swore that the parent letter would be the ONE copy I'd make all year, and happily punched in my copy code. It was a good decision because BYOD permission forms came rolling in, and starting on the second day of school, kids brought their own devices and started tapping into our school's wifi. Anyone who knows me personally or professionally knows that I am a planner. I am excited by impromptu activities and unafraid to take a rabbit trail during learning, but I definitely give lots of conscientious thought to rolling out technology in my classroom each year. So, why then, did the first month of school seem so much like nightmare stay in Purgatory, sans the elevator music and white waiting room motif I've always imagined? Let me just say this: BYOD teachers live in a constant state of problem-solving, unlike any other 1:1 environment. There were moments during the first month that, if I were a different woman and not PACKwoman, I absolutely would have given in. In retrospect, the really killer aspect of teaching and learning with BYOD is the fact that each set of instructions need to be given several times for several different platforms. During the first days of school, students are trapped in the learning curve - which is HUGE - as they try to become comfortable working in the tech zone. Now, I can reflect and say that starting last year's rollout with a universal platform really helped. Students who have the most difficulty adjusting are those who have little or no previous experience with technology. The term "digital native" is misleading, because students absolutely have to be taught to utilize their devices for educative purposes, which is not something that comes naturally. Knowing how to be entertained with an iPhone is easy, sure. Knowing how to complete assignments, cite information, search effectively, and generate quality content is a whole other skill set.
I think it's important to note that one of the underlying issues in this whole scenario is much more than tech trouble. More than any other year, this particular group of kids seems to lack autonomy. They are 100% the product of high-stakes testing. Getting them to feel comfortable enough to break free, experiment, problem-solve, and think outside the box is going to be the biggest challenge of all. I have no doubt my students will eventually be able to get there; it's just a matter of how much time it will take. This is probably the part where I should affirm, I do have hope! Last week was our fifth week of school, and this much is true: good things come to those who wait. As I looked around the room at the end of the first block of students on Tuesday morning, I was struck by a single thought: "Success." All 39 students had successfully logged in to Google Drive. They had successfully completed a close reading activity in eBackpack, podcasted on AudioBoo, made a mind map in Skitch, and responded to prompts with Socrative. The rest of last week coasted by with only positive results. I am still sighing in relief. Do you have any BYOD or paperless tips? Comment below or hit me up on Twitter to continue the conversation. We are a little over a month into the school year here in PSUSD, and I realized today while teaching my morning block of 6th graders that as a class we have finally hit our stride. This is my second year as a BYOD teacher, last year's pilot having been a resounding success. (Thank goodness!) This is also my first year teaching fully Common Core lessons, which has been an easier transition than expected. Since I've been approached quite bit recently, both at my school site and via Twitter, regarding the Common Core lesson planning process, I thought I'd take a moment to blog about it to give others a starting point. Unpack the standard and begin with the end in mind. The first thing I do when planning a CCSS lesson is unpack the standard to decide what skills are expected to reach mastery. There are a lot of fantastic resources on the web that can help you with this step so that you don't have to reinvent the wheel. A few of my favorites are these unpacked "I Can..." statements in student-friendly language and the unpacked ELA Common Core Templates from the Tulare County Office of Education. Use these to help establish your learning targets. Following the unpacking process, consider what the endgame is for students. What will they produce? What will they do to show their learning along the way and once the sequence of lessons is complete? Will they be writing arguments? Engaging in a debate? Recording podcasts? Producing a movie or telling some other kind of digital story? The importance of these questions can not be overstated. Consider the CCSS Shifts, then begin building a series of lessons. There are 7 key shifts in Common Core ELA instruction, which are important to remember. I've outlined these shifts on the following Haiku Deck: When lesson planning, I generally follow the cognitively guided instruction model, which is a gradual release of control until students are able to work independently. Why do I follow this particular model? Because it was adopted universally by my district and that is the expectation. However, something that I have discovered is that, while some feel this instructional model lends itself best to direct instruction, it can also be adapted for inquiry and project-based learning. The concept is, essentially: "I do. We do. You do together. You do independently." The phases of instruction can be rearranged to suit the style of lesson. So, for an inquiry-based lesson, you may choose to lead with the "You Do Together" portion as groups problem solve by brainstorming possible solutions; the "I Do" portion may be limited to simply issuing instructions to express the parameters of the investigation. Create opportunities for communication, collaboration, critical thinking, and creativity. Because my classroom is comprised of so many English Language Learners, providing opportunities for students to work together to communicate their ideas with an authentic audience is important. A few days ago, in the midst of an ELA unit based around the topic of Japanese internment during WWII, my students analyzed primary source photos in groups. I pulled the images from the Library of Congress Japanese internment collection, and had kids rotate through five different centers in groups. Each center had a different image they had to analyze. Students used the Primary Source Analysis Tool (also from the Library of Congress), on which they recorded observations, made reflections, and asked questions about each image. (The suggestions on this document were helpful in terms of getting group conversations started.) Group conversations were dynamic and students were highly engaged because they had previously read and annotated the full text of Executive Order 9066 and Instructions to Japanese-Americans on Bainbridge Island. Following the rotations, students used sentences frames to help them write a podcast about their favorite image from the day and how it connected to their reading. Here is an example podcast one of my students created using the AudioBoo app:
Recognize that the CCSS is student-centered. When I first started teaching, I used to lose my voice by the end of the day because I did so much talking throughout each class period. Nine years later, this is no longer an issue because my students work harder than I do while they are in class. I want to make sure that their learning is genuine, that they are completely engaged in the process, that they have real choices about how to express mastery, and that their brain cells get a workout without realizing that it's "work."
Ultimately, the CCSS transition will be easier for some than others. Districts and school sites will establish different mandates, I am sure. Teachers will likely receive conflicting messages, as is generally true in any kind of new implementation. The best advice I have for anyone who is making the transition is to hold fast to your PLN, ask questions, collaborate, and keep what's good for students at the forefront of your decision-making process. What's your best CCSS lesson planning recommendation? What tools are essential to your CCSS plans? Please comment and share, or continue the conversation on Twitter. Back in January, the AppsInClass team had the pleasure of attending #EdCampLA. We had such a fantastic experience - from attending first-rate sessions, to enjoying a catered lunch, and participating in an afternoon #EduSlam chock full of resources - that we decided we absolutely had to do our best to bring the EdCamp experience to the southern California desert where we live. Now, less than eight months later, we just wrapped up the first ever #EdCampPS this afternoon. Wow! In case you're unfamiliar with the EdCamp un-conference movement, EdCamps are organic, teacher-driven professional development opportunities that offer an alternative to the top-down, high stakes driven development that is frequently mandated in schools and districts across the country. During an EdCamp, teachers gather together and decide on the day how they would like to spend their time. (Bill Selak's EdCamp video does a fantastic job explaining how an EdCamp works.) Why EdCamp? The EdCamp model appeals to me on so many levels, but perhaps my favorite thing about EdCamps is that I am a firm believe in the addage, "Iron sharpens iron." The group think-tank concept is such a valuable reason to attend an EdCamp. Today, during a session on using Twitter professionally, Kevin Fairchild shared this quote - which I also think applies to EdCamps - and Karl Lindgren-Streicher shared it out:
Planning Lesson One: Get Connected Twitter really played an essential role in our planning process. To begin organizing #EdCampPS, fellow chairperson John Stevens (@jstevens009) and I met with Matt Arguello (@Matt_Arguello) and Lisa Dabbs (@teachingwthsoul), who generously imparted advice via Google Hangout. We found that we needed to ask for advice from others at multiple points along the way, and we kept coming back to our Twitter contacts for help. Twitter was also our primary marketing tool, which was a fantastic way to reach educators around the state. Planning Lesson Two: It Doesn't Hurt to Ask Because #EdCampLA set such a high bar for excellence, we felt quite a bit of pressure to try our best to come close to offering such a great experience to #EdCampPS attendees. Our first hurdle was fundraising. Usually, I am not very good at asking for things. As a teacher, I'm used to begging, borrowing, "rescuing," and pleading for materials. Learning to be straightforward and ask an organization for sponsorship was a good lesson to learn - and one that paid off. A few of us worked together to ask anyone we could think of for support (whether financial or in-kind donations). Most of the people and organizations I spoke with were very receptive, and I quickly realized it doesn't hurt to ask for support. In particular, Palm Springs Unified School District really came through by taking care of custodial and insurance costs, and helping to cater lunch. Our local chapter of CTA, Palm Springs Teachers Association, graciously helped finance lunch as well, so we were able to offer attendees a cost-free experience on site. In the end, we even had such an excess of funds (many of which came in at the last possible minute), that we were able to purchase some really stellar raffle items for giveaway, including two Samsung Chromebooks and two iPad Minis! So, a word of advice if you're wanting to plan an EdCamp in your neck of the woods: Tap into teacher-friendly contacts you may already have in your community. Planning Lesson Three: Over-Invite, Under-Order Two big lessons we learned today were that we really need to increase the cap for registration next year, and we need to under-order on catering and supplies. As a team, we were wary of biting off more than we could chew, so we decided to plan for 100 attendees and cap our registration at 150. We were told to expect a certain amount of no-shows on the day of the event and a certain amount of cancellations in the days leading up to the event. In reality, by the evening before #EdCampPS, our Eventbrite registration dropped by 9 people, and this morning we had 62% of registered attendees check in. There were a few people who showed up who did not pre-register, but we were easily able to accommodate them, so our numbers were actually slightly higher than the screen capture above. However, next year we will likely increase our cap to 250 and expect approximately 150 to check in. When ordering food for breakfast and lunch for EdCampPS, we ordered enough to feed 150 people and ended up with a ton of leftover food. In the future, I think we will under-order and plan for the attrition that can reasonably be predicted. I think we'll also let our caterer know that we may be calling the morning-of to adjust the order as needed. Making those kind of flexible arrangements ahead of time would have been beneficial to us this time around. Karl, who is an #EdCampSFBay organizer, also recommended that we send out confirmation emails sooner next year, so attendees who are no longer able to make it will have time to notify us. I think that's a great idea, because then we'll will have more time to publicize open spots and build our registration to capacity again. Planning Lesson Four: Scaffold #EdCamp Newbies One area where we can improve next year is in regards to the amount of people we have tasked with scaffolding first-time EdCamp attendees. Several of our session slots were never filled because we had a very high volume of first time attendees and we didn't think to appoint any one specific person to actively inform newbies about how EdCamps work, how to utilize the session board, etc. We were all prepared to answer questions and help others, but we really needed to earmark one or two people for the express purpose of engaging new folks in the session planning process. While the feedback I received was positive, and attendee tweets were positive as well, I think improvement in this area is warranted just to make sure everyone has a voice. An EdCamp Success Story As I sit here writing this blog post, I am also reading tweets from the #EdCampPS hashtag for inspiration, perspective, and validation. Incredibly, it seems as if our first stab at organizing an EdCamp was a success! There were times in the last two weeks that I despaired of ever getting all of our ducks in a row in terms of facilities, sponsors, etc., but in the end - the EdCamp spirit is powerful and all of our planning efforts aligned to provide an environment conducive to the type of on-the-spot professional development magic that EdCamps promote. I am incredibly grateful to everyone who participated in today's #EdCampPS, especially those who traveled in cars for hours and booked airline flights just to be here. Our planning team may have taken care of logistics, but it is all of the attendees who took care of the learning. What an incredible group of amazing educators! As Holly Clark (@HollyEdTechDiva) tweeted:
This week I have the fantastic opportunity to present/facilitate five days of hands-on workshops for teachers in Burlington, Vermont. Why is Packwoman in Vermont? For this wonderful maker camp organized by Google Certified Educator, Lucie deLaBruere (@techsavvygirl): When I boarded my flight in LAX, I did so with the expectation that I would learn a lot from the teachers out here on the east coast - and even though today was only Day Two, I really can say that I have learned a ton already! What I'd like to share in this post, however, is about the incredible technology advocacy accomplished by teachers here in the state of Vermont. During our lunch conversations for the last two days, several teachers have shared the structure of education funding in this state, which is much different than the system I am used to in my home district, Palm Springs Unified. In Vermont, the school's operating budget is subject to community approval. Budgets are proposed by school sites, then voted on at Town Hall Meetings, which are held in each city. I am told that meetings generally take place the first Tuesday of every month. Around the budgeting time of year, residents decide whether to approve or reject proposed school budgets based on their own perceptions of student needs and effective pedagogical tools. As one participant shared with me, this can make technology spending somewhat of a challenge. Specifically, if a community is reluctant to take on a particular technology initiative, such as the 1:1 iPad Programs that seem to be gaining momentum in some schools here, they have the freedom to reject the budget and suggest revisions. The result of this type of extensive local control is that teachers must become strong advocates for effective pedagogical methods and the technology tools that are so essential. I think it is very interesting that community stakeholders have such a huge potential impact on what (from my limited experience) seems to be something that schools more typically are able to dictate and approve on their own. I admire the level of technology advocacy teachers must adopt here, and I wonder how well we (teachers in other states) would be able to advocate if we were subject to a similar budgetary structure. It is imperative to educate the community about why educational technology matters; so often, we focus on getting other teachers or administrators on board with tech - what about parents and the communities we live in? Could we be better advocates? Could we affect more meaningful change by altering the perception of "necessary" classroom tools? Could we communicate more with parents to showcase the difference tech makes in the academic and personal lives of students? I think so. Let's take a page from the book of Vermont's outstanding educators and aspire to be true advocates for student use of technology. At the very least, let's make sure we each have a good elevator speech so we're not caught off guard when we have the opportunity to share, and let's mentally compose some research-based responses for skeptics. Let's strengthen our connections to our communities, and share why we are so confident that what we do is significant in the education of tomorrow's global citizens. How do you advocate most effectively for student use of technology? How is purchasing regulated at your school? Comment on this post or hit me up on Twitter @Packwoman208 to continue the conversation. By Jessica Pack
jpack@psusd.us One of the best parts about working in my school district is the collaboration, publishing, and presenting I get to do as part of the www.AppsInClass.com team. We began our journey as a group of lead learners in the PSUSD iPad Trailblazer Program, and we've ended up becoming all-around technology #EduGeeks who just can't seem to stop! We've grown into our own as model classrooms, technology advocates, teacher trainers, and publishers of content. As a professional journey, it's not half bad. As a personal one? Priceless. Three members of the AppsInClass team were chosen to pilot our district's student-centered Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) pilot for the 2012-2013 school year: John Stevens, Mike Cloutier, and myself. Our pilot was quite successful, and as a result, Mike and I were asked to work with two other members of the AppsInClass team (Lee Grafton and Eddie Rivera - both Instructional Technology Specialists), to put together a training series to prepare teachers to make the shift to a BYOD environment, as well as utilize other cutting-edge technology to elevate the pedagogy in PSUSD classrooms. This coming academic year, our district plans to roll out some BYOD classrooms at every secondary school. Purchasing will be concentrated in provide supplementary devices to flesh out each sanctioned BYOD classroom, as well as increase the student-technology ratios at the elementary level. As anyone who has ever written a tech plan or rolled out a new tech program knows, professional development is essential. The best P.D. is relevant, practical, hands-on, and teacher-driven, so that's just what our district asked us to develop and present/facilitate. Our district had already received a DigiCom grant to provide a four day digital storytelling workshop with the fabulous Bernajean Porter (DigiTales). I was lucky enough to help facilitate the first two days of the workshop, which was such an honor and a pleasure, before our own training series began. From that point, we offered eight additional days of training on each of the following subjects:
All of the workshops were offered on a rotation basis, so it was possible to take all six workshops within the ten day window. Training began the week after school dismissed for the summer, so most teachers seemed to view the content as something they could implement right away in September when the new academic year will afford them a fresh start. Our intent was provide multiple entry points for a variety of teacher technology skill levels, and the feedback we received indicates we were successful in that mission. Some of our classes, such as Advanced Flipped Classroom and iTunes U/iBooks Author Content Creation were geared toward teachers with mid to high-level tech proficiency. Often, it seems that advanced tech teachers get left out of the development equation, so we wanted to do them justice as well. Here are a few tweets from teachers who attended workshops: In every session, we emphasized the importance of Twitter as daily, personalized P.D. and we promoted EdCamp Palm Springs like crazy, which resulted in an initial sell-out of tickets and gave us the opportunity to open up fifty more spots! Teachers walked away with hands-on experience using device agnostic tools for mixed platform classrooms, flipped lessons/units they'll be able to utilize in September, and iTunes U courses they developed to structure project-based learning. Teachers were building websites, screencasting, and beginning to publish their own content with iBooks Author, too. What a phenomenal two weeks of learning!
Overall, I think the 10 day Technology Bootcamp was a huge success. Most encouraging to me was the knowledge that teachers in my district are truly enthusiastic about leveraging more student-centered technology in their classrooms to enhance learning. In every session, there was an almost palpable undercurrent of energy and excitement as doors to new pedagogical opportunities opened and professional horizons expanded. Now, as I sit here writing this blog post, I feel an overwhelming appreciation for the AppsInClass team, Palm Springs Unified, and all of the teachers who gave up a portion of their summer vacation to edge a little closer to #EduGeek. What kind of professional development have you been able to participate in lately? What makes good P.D. from your standpoint? Continue the conversation by commenting on this post or hit me up on Twitter @Packwoman208. There is little that I love more than sitting in the audience at a film festival, watching my students as they see their work appear on the big screen. By the time we end up at the festival, we've all seen the movie countless times during the editing and revision process. Most of us can quote the dialogue word for word and we know every transition and special effect by heart. So, when we're sitting there in a darkened auditorium, I don't take time to watch the film as it rolls across the screen; for me, it's a far more powerful experience to watch the expressions on my students' faces as they are overwhelmed by pride and a deep sense of accomplishment. It's a thrilling experience - whether it's their first time at a film festival or what feels like their billionth. Their smiles are always huge, their eyes always shining, and in those moments, I know exactly why I am a teacher and why I choose to include digital storytelling in the curriculum. Connecting with students through the medium of film is one of the aspects of teaching that I am most passionate about. We take film making very seriously in Room 208, probably because there is no shortage of inspiration to be found in each other and the process of learning. Sometimes it seems like the world readily discounts what middle school students might have to say because, yes, middle schoolers can be immature, squirrelly, and obnoxious. But they can also be serious, ambitious, humorous, and even poignant. Even after integrating student film making in the curriculum for six years, students can still amaze me with what they are able to produce. Last night, my students and I attended the 2013 DigiCom Student Film Festival. We had a blast watching both our own work and the work of other students. One of my students was awarded a video camera for directing the award-winning film, "Identity Crisis." Last year, he won a video camera for directing a film noir piece, "The Lady In Black" and editing the award-winning, "Spitball Love." He has been an active student in my video production class for the last two years and a member of the after school AV Club that I advise. Film making is his heart and it shows. I love knowing that we have been able to forge a teacher-student bond based on the creative process of film making. When he geeks out about a new script idea or a special effect he's working on, I geek out, too! It's awesome. Award-winning films from Room 208 that were shown at last night's DigiCom include: Also, The Desert Sun covered my students in two separate articles this past week:
Probably the icing on the cake at this year's festival was the classroom grant that I was awarded, consisting of four iPads and $4,000. What an amazing, unexpected blessing! Here's a video clip of the big moment that was captured by and posted on The Desert Sun. Common Core State Standards are coming to California and will be fully implemented during the 2014-15 school year. As a Common Core trainer for Palm Springs Unified, I am very excited about the transition to CCSS and have already begun to pilot the standards in part this year. One thing that I have come to realize is that Common Core may not represent the same giant instructional shift for some that it will for others. In case you are unfamiliar with the major instructional shifts that CCSS will require in literacy instruction (in all content areas), here is a Haiku Deck that I created. If you view the entire deck on the Haiku Deck website, you will find that each slide is annotated with additional information. As you read through the instructional shifts, you may find that there are some practices you are already enacting in your classroom. I believe Common Core will most strongly affect teachers who are entrenched in teacher-centered content delivery and those who do not fully extend the instructional process to include student creation of original content. Another area in which I think some teachers may potentially experience growing pains is the effective implementation of student-centered technology. Though the impact of each one of these instructional shifts directly relates to who you are as a teacher and the type of classroom you foster, there are several practices all teachers can implement (or verify that they are implementing) now - regardless of where your school site or district is in the transition process. 1. Begin introducing more informational text, preferably from primary sources. For example, I taught a literary selection called "The Bracelet" this year, which is about a young Japanese-American girl who experienced Japanese internment during WWII. After we finished our literary analysis, I introduced several primary source documents related to Japanese internment, including the full text of Executive Order 9066, a set of internment instructions given to Japanese-Americans living on Bain Bridge Island, WA during WWII, and the Proclamation 4417 addressed to Japanese-Americans and written by President Gerald Ford in 1976. The combination of these rigorous texts of varying complexity, as well as video interviews I found online featuring actor George Takei, actor Pat Morita, and other internment survivors, helped students build a thorough understanding of this time in history. The result was a much deeper quality of learning than students would have achieved if I had limited instruction to the literary text alone. 2. Increase text complexity and provide scaffolding via model texts. During the same instructional unit above, I utilized the first paragraph of each primary source as a model text. We waded through the complex sentences as a whole class, highlighting, annotating, and crossing out redundancy as we worked. I offered careful support to students throughout the process, asking "I don't know, what do you think?" more than giving outright answers. Students then repeated the process with their small group for subsequent paragraphs of each primary source. Perhaps the biggest challenge for me during this sequence was allowing students to struggle. Sometimes, it feels as though we aren't doing our job as teachers unless we step in to assist. Often, this help comes too quickly and our response should be less immediate. Shifting the locus of control to the student is key to ensure students construct meaning from the text, not teacher-centered delivery. 3. Build digital literacy with students and give opportunities for content creation. Whether as a result of the numerous standards we currently teach or district mandated pacing guides, a common teacher complaint is, "We don't have enough time to include technology." Many of us frequently contend that technology integration should be part of students' regular learning environment. The goal of giving students the chance to create products using technology isn't based on the desire to use technology; it is based on the notion that students should develop digital literacy skills that are transferrable to college and career. Ensuring students are well prepared for their future job market means providing consistent opportunities for them to author original content digitally. Become good at troubleshooting a lack of devices if your school site is does not have sufficient resources. Leverage student devices if possible, and group students together to share as needed. The transition to Common Core will not be without its challenges, and the standards may not be perfect, but I truly do feel confident that CCSS will benefit many students in California. Hopefully, it will transform the rote instruction that undoubtedly exists at many schools into a more dynamic process.
If you have questions about Common Core State Standards or opinions you'd like to share, feel free to comment on this post. Don't forget to log on to Twitter for #CAedchat this Sunday night at 8pm Pacific, because we'll be discussing Common Core and what it means for the future of education. See you there! If you teach in California, maybe you've heard of a not-so-little Twitter chat we like to call #CAedchat. Moderated by nine diverse, passionate, dedicated educators from around the state, it is very exciting to be involved in the growth and development of something that connects educators from across the state every Sunday evening at 8pm Pacific. Last week's chat topic was about the importance of PLNs (Professional Learning Networks) and the necessity of sharing resources, ideas, etc. In light of that, I realized that several people have asked me about how I made the #CAedchat promotional video and I'm not sure a 140 character answer is sufficient. So, I've decided to write this post to help you (or your students) create a video in a similar style. In case you haven't seen it, here is the #CAedchat promo video: 1. Write My first step in creating this video was to write a script - which is also the first thing I have my students do when digital storytelling. I tried to highlight the main points I wanted to share about #CAedchat, it's development, and the important role we hope it will play in the professional lives of educators in California. Then, for each line of the script, I devised an activity that I wanted to be performing on camera at the exact moment each line was read. 2. Film All of this preparation was followed by filming. I decided to film using an iPad. Here's a snapshot of the set-up I used in order to be able to film myself with my iPad as well as be the one drawing/coloring/cutting, etc., in the video. By the way, this is also my "document camera" set up whenever needed. I knew that the nature of this project would involve speeding up the film at an insane rate, so I decided to film the outline of activities in one continuous shot. Positioning the outline next to my right hand, just out of range of the shot was a good call, because I could glance over periodically to ensure that I stayed on track.
3. Edit/Sound Creating the script and outline were one half of the battle, and filming was fairly easy. The real challenge came in post production. Using the iPad for editing was out of the question, since the iPad version of iMovie does not allow you the same versatility with visual effects that the full blown iMovie for iMac provides. After importing the video to iMovie, I quickly recorded the voice-over narration. At first, I attempted to simply speed up the entire video clip at the same rate so that it would last the same duration as the voice-over, but I soon realized that some tasks took longer to accomplish on camera than others, and that a blanket speed wouldn't work. (Otherwise, my outline of what to do as each line was read would be thrown out the window!) The strategy that ended up working best for me was to split the continuous clip into smaller pieces so that I could tailor the speed of each individual activity to match the rate of my voice as I read the script. 4. Share When all was said and done, I exported the finished file in HD and uploaded it to my Vimeo Plus account, then started tweeting like crazy. Making the #CAedchat video was a ton of fun and it's been pretty gratifying to see people share the video on Twitter as a way to promote our state's chat. Bottom line: I never would have thought to make a video like this, if it weren't for such an amazing purpose. I have loved co-moderating #CAedchat and hope that -whether you live in California or not- you'll think about joining us soon on Sunday evening at 8pm Pacific. In the meantime, maybe you'll try out this method of movie-making with your students? If you do, please share a link in the comments below! I'd love to see what your students come up with. |
Author: Jessica PackCalifornia Teacher of the Year. CUE Outstanding Educator 2015. DIGICOM Learning Teacher Consultant. 6th Grade Teacher. Passionate about gamification, Minecraft, digital story-telling, and fostering student voices. Download:Archives
June 2020
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