Generation S

Generation S

Every few years someone comes along and tried to define the current generation.  My Generation was Gen X.  There have been several generations since then to be sure.  Today I would like to define the current generation of my students. 
Generation S.

Why S?
The generation I am referring to covers the late 90's to today.  They have never lived without an internet.  The result is that they are defined by the fact that they have never lived without Social Media, Streaming Video, or Satellite Television.  They are unlikely to ever know or have to deal with Social Security.  They do not phone they SMS or Skype.  When they want information, music, reading material, homework help, or pizza they don't need to ask anyone, they Search.  



What Gen S means to teachers...
Gen S will...

• post, tweet, or otherwise publicly discuss their lives and you.
• ignore the books which you hand out in favor of a searchable, easily manipulable, media rich multiple source website.
• read more in a day than most adults.
• read and write in fragmented but interwoven short prose.
• read at a complexity level far higher than our current testing procedures cover.
• think in webs and linkages, as thought thoughts "friend" other thoughts.
• expect instant relevant feedback.

 Gen S will not...

• handle the frustration of waiting with grace.
• have native exposure to grammar and spelling through their sources of reading.
• feel secure and safe when limited media sources or cell service are available.

In the dawn of electricity, we feared the dark.  In the dawn of information, we fear disconnection.

• be held back.

How to Cope with Gen S
The Good News is that good teaching really hasn't changed much, only the tools of delivery.

1. The local fourth grade assigns reading for 15 minutes a day and then asks students to make a concept web of what they read-
• Gen S version-Read Social Media or RSS Feeds for 15 minutes, then turn the web of what you read into prose.
2. A high school teacher assigns a timeline
• Gen S version-Assign a Twhistory
3. A Teacher posts work to a website
• Gen S version-post to a twitter or other RSS feed.

Wanna assign a vocab list-do it

Wanna assign a book-do it, and make the e version available.

How NOT to Cope with Gen S


A) Don't tell them to put their cell phones away, disconnection is one of their biggest turn offs (if not THE biggest).  Tell them to keep them out.  How many times do I hear teachers lament the lack of computer access in their schools when a large number of their students have handheld computing devices set to silent or cricket mode as they pretend not to use them.If they don't have phones, no problem.  Put students in to groups and have the ones without phones be the recorders and reporters who have to turn what the phone wielders find into deliverable material.


Example-Bell ringer assignment:
Describe the relationship between Genghis Khan and yogurt in 3 sentences.  Provide sources for your answer.

B) Don't give too many fixed ended assignments. The answers can be easily looked up.  Instead temper fixed assignments with choice assignments which have connections.

Example-Math problem set:
Choose 6 of the 10 problems to do, then write four similar new problems and solve them. Finally write a single sentence description of the key idea you have been practicing in this problem set.

C) Don't completely go high tech.  Create opportunities to go old school.

Example-Form an arguement
Tell students there is a debate on bringing faster better internet service to your area.  The city council will accept written arguments only.    Choose a side and write an argument.

Example-Reasons to see the world
Take 10 pictures of your school, town or surrounding area. Create a print collage for display.

Good Luck Teacher's with our Gen S friends.

 

The Existential Extension Policy

Due dates?

It would seem, dear readers that our lives have become lost and the meaning of due has been blurred to the extent that the concept of due may diminish and cease to exist.

It is an interesting pondering really given that due dates themselves only became established in the last half of the last century.  Historically dues dates were not only not necessarily dates, but they most certainly did not involve a time stamp.

Consider the conscripted soldier of the US civil war. In 1862 the President called for the raising of 300,000 more troops.  However a year later, in 1863, Wisconsin districts were given a number of men by the state and "urged to meet their quota."  So after a year, these men still had not reported.  But at the time to be fair, this was not an official draft, just a call to arms. Out of the 19 thousand some requested at the federal level from Wisconsin, only 4,537 men were actually further requested by the governor, of these 19 deserted and 1,622 just didn't come.  Many sited the statement about arrival time which read "as field and traveling conditions allow."  That was it for a timeline
[Source: THE CIVIL WAR DRAFT IN PLOVER AND STEVENS POINT: A STUDY IN EFFORTS, ATTITUDES, FRUSTRATIONS, AND RESULTS By David Ellison (UWSP)]  In other words, by gubernatorial order, you could show up when and if you could.


Now let us consider the baby due date, nominally considered until quite recently to be nine months after conception.  However, more recently stated as 40 weeks after conception, 280 days from the last menstrual period, and 266 days from conception. World health organizations made an attempt for a universal lunar months method to measure pregnancy length i.e. 28 days = 1 month x 10 = 10 months pregnant but this was not accepted world-wide. This has just made the confusion worse, with some health care providers using the 10 lunar months method now, while others do not. [Source: WHO]

Once timekeeping in the country was limited to dates punctuated by the common time frames of  dawn, noon and dusk but the advent of industrial transportation (train schedules), radio, and television systematically began to inform the public.  The final hurdle is often proclaimed to be the space race which demanded an ever more delineated time schedule for implementation.  Business is now timed to the minute and second.

But....BUT

have all of these deadlines really helped anything?

Enter the decline of the due.  In education the trend would seem to show that due dates are on the decline in favor of extension policies, IEP's, 504 and plain old good sense.

Is it important that a 4th grade know his times tables?  YES.  That is a fundamental skill which other ideas build upon.

Is it important that a 4th grade know his multiplication tables on Tuesday? 

or can he know them on Friday?  

Does it matter if the next skill is not yet being taught?

What lesson are we teaching? Multiplication tables or schedule tables?

To be fair, I understand the inconvenience factor for the face-to face teachers of the world.  But having taught now in online rolling enrollment, I have to say it is time to give it up.   Due dates are a thing of the past.  The ultimate deadlines that still exist are related to course end and beginning of teaching the next school alone.  So all of you lesson planners out there...sorry...but you need to relax.

Twitter with a brain.

OK as much as I enjoy Ms. Lohan and Mr. Sheen's tragically twisted exploits for their entertainment value, I cannot help but feel a bit dumber for having seen them.  Twitter, and other social posting options, give us up to the minute detailed exploits, some of which probably should have been kept private if only the poster had thought about it first.  But, lest you think I am maligning the medium, I would like to take a moment to discuss the merits of social media in education.

Take TwHistory for Example:

TwHistory from Marion Jensen on Vimeo.

You can get in on TwHistory by going to  http://twhistory.org/

If you aren't using social media to teach, you probably should be.

Tools for Better Online Submissions 3-Maps

In part 3 of this  focus on tools for students to use to generate better products in electronic format for their work submissions I am focusing on maps. With each tool I graded on 3 points you can use when you evaluate it
1) is it easy to use?
2)does it allow students to showcase all types of information?
3)educationally appropriate material or uncontrolled?

Google Earth http://www.google.com/earth/index.html

OK who doesn't love this?  as a viewing tool.  However as a building tool for maps of student design it lacks simplicity.  Also its a download rather than in browser.  You can preload KMZ files but be aware that they are user created and pretty uncontrolled.
Grades 1)B 2)A 3)C

Google Map Maker http://www.google.com/mapmaker
This allows students to be cartographers filling in the blanks on google maps.  It's very cool and students can print or send you a link.  Caviat, students really must be taught what is safe to share via internet, because all placemarks are 100% public view.
Grades 1)B 2)A 3)C

Do it Yourself State Maps http://monarch.tamu.edu/~maps2/
Kinda my favorite for simple stuff.  Students create a color coded map which can be an individual state broken down by county, or the entire US broken down by state.  Great for placing in presentations.  Students can create a series of maps and place them in a slideshow to show things like: the progression of a disease, the colonization of the US, species ranges, democrat vs republican.  Really simple, NSTASciLink choice
Grades 1) A 2) B 3) A

iMap online-interactive Map Builder http://www.imapbuilder.com/interactive-map-online/
Wow, imagine the simple map above, in the DIY map maker.  Now add flash rollover with popup/call-out details, spin-able and manipulation and can include imagery not just color and there you have iMap.  Runs via wizard online, can also be purchased and installed.  This is my winner for the most that you can do in the simplest format.
Grades 1) A 2)A 3) B

Tools for Online Submissions 2- Graphs

In part 2 of this  focus on tools for students to use to generate better products in electronic format for their work submissions I am focusing on graphs.  While there are many free downloadable spreadsheet programs this edition of my blog is dedicated to true online tools which work in the browser making them more appropriate when you are working with students in a setting where they have limited permissions to download.

With each tool I graded on 3 points you can use when you evaluate it
1) is it easy to use?
2)does it allow students to showcase all types of information?
3)educationally appropriate material or uncontrolled?

NCES Create a Graph http://nces.ed.gov/nceskids/createagraph/
Creates Bar, Line, Area, Circle, and XY scatter plots in a web browser which kids can save as an image or print. While not the most user friendly I like this one because unlike some programs it requires the kids to actually think about what they are graphing and make conscious choices with what to fill in, and is less wizard and magicy than many programs.
1) B 2)C 3)A

Chart Tool http://www.onlinecharttool.com/graph.php
Creates a much more dynamic set of graphs than create a graph including Radar, Meter and Line/Bar combos.  Trade off is so many options on the page that a low reading level student may get lost.  Good tutorial use might help.  Adds are targeted, but not guaranteed educationally appropriate.
1)C 2)B 3)D

Graph Tools http://www.graphtools.com/
Only does two graph types Line and Bar, presents you with five columns in which to enter data a simple set of just a few options to manipulate exports as a simple image file.  What it lacks in sophistication makes it simple to use.  If you don't need much from your graph except a graph this is your friend.  Better for math than science as labeling options such as titles are minimal.
1)B 2)B 3)A

Cool Math http://www.coolmath.com/graphit/
This is a graphing calculator and it works like a TI.  So great features if your kids are savvy enough to use a graphing calculator then this is a nice tool.  However, print screen is the only export option and because this site has a lot else to offer student might get distracted.
1)B 2)B 3)A

WebGraphiing http://webgraphing.com/ 
Winner! Winner! Chicken dinner!  This site offers a variety of options in graphing including simple number lines to 3d function manipulatable graphing.  There is something for every mathematical graph you might need.  This site gets a A+ for cool graphing and computation ability.  What it lacks is simplicity, as a teacher I recommend finding the exact applet you want kids to use and embedding or linking directly to it.  Sending kids to the mains site without a lot of directions may make for real confusion. Requires a subscription
1)B (A if you do as I suggested) 2)A 3)A

Tools for Better Submissions 1 Timelines

For the next little while I am going to focus on tools for students to use to generate better products in electronic format for their work submissions.  With each tool I graded on 3 points you can use when you evaluate it
1) is it easy to use?
2)does it allow students to showcase all types of information?
3)educationally appropriate material or uncontrolled?

Timeline Makers

Free interactive timeline text only generator http://www.readwritethink.org/files/resources/interactives/timeline/
Grades 1)A 2)D 3)A

Free,allows pictures and links in information, but requires sign up and has advertisers  http://www.timetoast.com

Grades 1)A 2)A 3)C

Free, allows pictures and links in information, cool flash interface with drop down tiles of info
requires sign up and has advertisers  http://www.xtimeline.com
Grades 1)A 2)A 3)B

Free Trial download, best product quality overall, http://www.timelinemaker.com
Grades 1)B 2)A 3)A

Free Text only with horizontal and vertical layouts http://www.teach-nology.com/web_tools/materials/timelines/
Grades 1)A 2)D 3)A


Free social interactive life story timeline, interesting and fun, but you have to have the right assignment for it http://Ourstory.com
Grades 1)B 2)B 3)A

Hey you're on the "Wrong Mountain!"

Hey so yea, my last post or two have a few people wondering- 

What's wrong with Mrs E?

I would say nothing...that is to say nothing but the usual, or what I have come to know as usual mid winter funk.  Now in the past when I was a brick and mortar gal I experienced the funk, but the truth is I did not give my administrators enough credit for what they shielded me from.  It turns out that modern public education is not about what is best for students.  This was a pie-eyed belief that I held for years.  Turns out that in fact modern public education is a lot about politics, history, relationships, nepotism, and a little about making ourselves feel better that we are doing what is the currently acceptable best for kids.

I feel naive for not having noticed before, but I really didn't.  I mean how did I miss that "new math" was less about teaching math and more about making it seem like our government was making our kids better.  "Whole Language" was just English as a second language retooled for native slang speakers because they just don't speak the way their elders did.  I think I missed it because I believe.  Notice I didn't add a "d".  No past tense for me baby!  I believe that kids deserve my best every day.

So funny thing about realizing that education is about fashion as surely as kitten heels and the next "it" bag.  Turns out that like fashion, it all gets reused, whats old is new again, And earnest individuals like myself are not wasting our time when we collect our bag of tricks. 

E teaching is no exception.  Man it is a roller coaster of funding debates and politics, fads and fancies, fashion dos and don'ts.  I am happier and more fulfilled in this job even dealing with the same struggles.  I fight the good fight FOR KIDS with more success and less entrenchment.  And wow is that marvelous.  So I am happily climbing a new mountain of learning.

Perhaps Chuck Lorre said it best in vanity placard #62 

 

Poor Dave, who like so many teachers balks at the advent of the online ed era,  I understand your plight.  I once stood at the top of your mountain, and I can now say without a shadow of a doubt that no sir, it is you who is on the "wrong mountain" for me.  

wishing you find your mountain

~E

seriously I am now torn by whether to play the sound of music soundtrack or miley cyrus :(

Anarchy of order

Do students need to build knowledge in an order?

I am having a pedagogical crisis of thought.  Based on years of having taught both face to face and online I want my kids to proceed in order more or less.  I don't particularly care if they complete the homework or the discussion board first within a unit, but I don't care for the results when they unit hop.  However, in a world where people flit through information via a collection of links which may or may not fall in a line, am I missing the boat?

I consider a recent web experience in which I was purchasing tickets, watched a video, clicked a "related video" link which lead me to an ezine, read commentary which then linked me to a recipe which sounded great and I never purchased the tickets....

But pedagogically, I know that brains think that way.  The concept map/brain map side of me says that connections are richer when created through rich pathways.  My favorite go to websites for math and science info are hypermath or hyperphysics because of that interconnectedness.  So why is is that when I want to present content to a class, I cannot myself present that way?  To me teaching that way feels like pedagogical anarchy.

Why do I continue to follow the module lesson assessment order of things?  Why can I not abandon to the bacchanal excesses of the unfettered brain?

Oh yea-there is a test at the end.  I knew there was a reason.

Consider this
a world where we explore and are not assessed?  where latent learning is by design.

http://www.ratbehavior.org/RatsAndMazes.htm

"Do rats learn a maze by choosing the corridors that lead to a reward, or do they generate an internal map of the maze even without a reward (called latent learning)? To answer this question, researchers placed a rat in a maze and let it explore the maze with no reward. The rat simply wandered about. Then the researchers started placing food in the reward corner. Rats who were already familiar with the maze learned to solve the maze more quickly and acheived better scores than rats who had never been given exploration time. Their proficiency indicated that the rats had generated a cognitive map of the maze during their explorations (Tolman and Honzik 1930)."

Can we abandon the old way and do for our students what the maze men did for the rats?  Would this be a better way?  

And yet part of my job is assessing...how can I assess exploration?

What is a rat to do in a cheese driven society?

Real?

Dear students,

I am real.  I am here. I want to teach you and I am glad you are here!

I have recently been struck by the perception of my students that I am somehow not real.  They do things like apologize for calling or emailing.  Do students in brick and mortar classes apologize for raising their hands?

They also seem surprised when they learn I have kids, pets, and hobbies.  I know brick and mortar schools can create the same surprise when a kid sees their teacher out to dinner, but not so surprised that they actually doubt what they just saw.  And yet a student this week posted to a discussion "you actually grocery shop?"  ( we were talking about consumer messages about product safety)  Um...how did they think I got food and toilet paper?  mail order?  online shopping and delivery?


So kids, yes I am real.  I am here and I want to teach you!

Turns out my students are not alone.  Innosight Institute recently blogged about this unreal teacher feeling are-online-learning-teachers-real-teachers?

So in a world where some of my students most real friendships are carried out online via social networking how can I improve my reality perception?  I think therefore I am???? But computers have logic ...are they?
So I reached out to friends (well discussion boards friends) on the subject and they had the following thoughts on the subject:

-You are right that in order to think a thinker must exist (anything that "does" or manifests is proof the thing exists). However, often this debate is about whether thinking itself is what defines existence, and that is definitely not true because if it were, then one would cease to exist if one stopped thinking. It is quite possible to learn to stop thinking, and when one does one becomes more aware of one's existence, not less aware. In terms of existence, all thinking makes one aware of is the existence of thinking.

-I exist, the rest of you are just computer simulations created for my amusement. Prove me wrong.

-I think therefore I am" is wrong, it should be… “I believe therefore I am”...

-If I run up to you on the street and (in a fit of rage) I bite off your little finger, how much more real is it if you think I bit off your finger vs. you believe I bit off your finger?

-"If I run up to you on the street and (in a fit of rage) I bite off your little finger... "Is this something we should be worried about? How often does this impulse come over you?

Seeing that as unproductive I am left wondering does it matter if I am real? 

And I have concluded that what matters is if the learning is real.  I happen to believe that I have a direct impact on student success and perseverance in learning subject matter.  So, if I am unreal and effective then I am OK with that.

They use me to accomplish real learning therefore I am content with my own dubious existence really  I am....

Something they never told me in Teacher College

Someday you will want to go to the bathroom and you will be in a class, and you will have to hold it.

One of the great benefits of being an E teacher I have discovered is bathroom usage. This may seem like a silly benefit and if you work in the corporate world you have probably never been in this position:

So there I was, in the middle of a freshman level class with a lab experiment, when the school lunch started to work its magic on my tender insides. The bell was five minutes off. There were 23 bouncy trouncy 9th graders in various stages of creating hydrogen gas and then testing it for its explosivity in a test tube ( makes a cool pop if you've never done this lab). Clearly flame, explosions and freshmen is not the time to leave a class unattended even in an emergency.

Four minutes left-The nearest occupied classroom was 30 yards away because the teachers on either side were at lunch. There was no hope of rescue. I stood near the door so that if a passing teacher could have been flagged down I had hope, but no one came. I began to sweat.

Three minutes left-I contemplated my choices. I had none. I had to stick it through. I started reminding kids to clean up. Some were still testing, and I was getting testy.

Two minutes-I can make it. They are finishing...Its gonna be ok.

One minute-Oh thank god I was near the door because the most embarrassing smell just flew from my rear, and there was no hiding it. Hopefully no one inside the room noted it. Never again would Tuesday taco day be the same.

Bell- I was dodging and weaving pulling jukes a pro football player would be proud to call their own. I had made it. Relief was nearly well...orgasmic.

So here I am now 15 years later, recalling this moment when being in a face-2-face classroom became so vitally inconvenient and relishing that now as an online teacher I never face this again. My access unfettered, my instruction unhindered...

...at last I am free to hit the mute button whilst I flush.