We Glow Like Fireflies

Have you noticed there are more of 'us'?
If you haven't noticed, then you haven't been paying attention.


More than ever, educators have taken to social media in general, and Twitter in particular, to connect with like-minded colleagues.

Like fireflies, we're letting ourselves be known to one another through the use of our own secret signals. Tweets are being used to build communities of learners on levels never seen before. Hashtags are binding learners who share common interests and a common vocation.

If you were on Twitter three years ago, you might have participated in the first synchronous educational chat. Like so many fireflies, we were in wonder at the discovery of so many educators ready to talk about teaching and learning.

After taking time to introduce ourselves to one another, the tweets came so quickly, that it was next to impossible to keep up. Looking back at an interesting parallel, I'm smiling in the knowledge that it was in the quiet of the nighttime that we found one another.

And it continues today...
We use Twitter to hail distant colleagues.
We nudge local teachers to share their own firelight.
We inhabit a digital staffroom where the the lights are always twinkling.

We do deep in our thinking - #edbookclub.
We follow distant conferences - #educon.
We play games - #namethattune.
We think in public - #pencilchat.
We build relationships - #PLN.
We become a community - #ds106.

We find ways to let our light shine... on our own time... in the night time.

And though we sometimes dim our lights, going dark to live in the physical world, we always come back. We're drawn to the light of an ever-growing cadre of educators who, to paraphrase Rob Fisher, "care so much about teaching and learning that it hurts."


Time lapse photos of Japanese fireflies were the inspiration for this post. I first encountered them in my daily 'Wired' news feed, and after following a few links, I discovered that they have been re-posted multiple times by fans. Finding the original images on the Digital Photo Blog, I was happy to discover that the images are licensed for sharing under a Japanese CC license by Tsuneaki Hiramatsu.

Are You a Virus?

Recently, I had a chance to hear Ron Canuel from CEA speak about the need for change, and the barriers faced by change agents. In viewing the change agent as a virus, he observed that it is common for innovators to be attacked while followers prosper. Finding it easy to relate to Ron's words, I'd like to extend the metaphor.

Viruses often innovate in the relative safety of a closed door classroom. If you use attempt to use technology in unexpected ways, or if you use tools before they become the norm, you may be a virus. There are many innovators out there, but most, like viruses, are difficult to see. It is only through the sharing of stories, that they become visible.

Virus can replicate but only within living host. If you are a virus, do you dare share your strategies and learning experiments with colleagues? In my experience, viral replication begins through such conversation and conversion. Open sharing may be just the thing that ensures that your district; your school; your department remains vibrant.

Once your peers or members of the ICT department identify you as a change agent, it may trigger the natural defenses of your school or system. The immune system is made up of those who want to maintain the status quo. It might be the technicians who place limits and filters on the tools you use, or it may be the colleagues who aren't ready to adapt their practices to the realities of a changing world. Regardless of the antibodies you face, know that it is natural for any body to defend the status quo. The most intrepid change agents are used to barriers, and though they may be slowed, their viral nature will be resistant to the system's natural defenses.

While viruses are immune to antibiotics, they do need to be aware of vaccination programs. Innocuous policies are commonly adopted in order to protect the system from disruptive change. "Personal devices are not allowed on the network." "Facebook and other social media sites are filtered." "Cell phones will be confiscated if they are seen." While effective in protecting the system in the short term, such inoculations tend to expire as neighbouring school systems evolve.

The metaphor leads me to believe that our education system is in need of an epidemic. Innovative practices will have to go viral in order to infect the practices of educators at all levels. If we are to re-imagine education, schools will need the services of an ever-evolving range of viruses. Care to join me for an educational pandemic?

Image credits: Viral Flu via Novartis AG; Ambulance by chriswong3238

Why I Love the Game

This past week, I had the great pleasure of taking my 8 year old onto a real golf course for the first time. Over the past few summers, he has developed a swing on the range, and has learned some golf etiquette at the local pitch and putt; but this was his first chance to tee it up for real. As we worked our way around the course, I found myself reflecting on the way golf is naturally differentiated for players of varying skills. By the time we'd finished, I had 9 holes worth of reflections to share.

Hole #1 Differentiated Challenge
I usually play the blues, hitting my tee shots from tees just in front of those reserved for professional golfers. Students on the golf team at our school, usually play from the whites; my wife starts at the reds; and the new golfer in the family, played his first round from the yellow tees. For each hole, the game of golf is differentiated, allowing player with varying levels of experience, to choose an apt challenge. I found myself thinking that school could be a much more engaging place if we could provide custom starting points for each of our students.

Hole #2 Modern Tools
While design and innovation lead to the introduction of new clubs and new learning technologies every year, the goals of both golf and school remain relatively unchanged. Many golfers find comfort in well-worn tools, like a familiar wedge or putter that just feels right; while teachers and students may be comforted in the familiarity of pencil or chalk. Those who ignore innovations in club design or developments in learning technologies, may struggle to produce their best work. It remains my opinion that hickory shafts and chalk, belong in the same place... the museum archives. We've got more effective tools to leverage.

Hole #3 Acing the Test
Through a combination of luck and skill, I was rewarded with my only hole-in-one on May 26, 1990. It was the 17th hole, a par four at Oakwood G. & C.C. where my tournament ace, keyed my foursome's victory. I remember many details from the experience, including the fact that I had to delay hitting my shot until two young golfers walked through our fairway; that I used an orange Top Flight golf ball on the tee; that my 5 wood drew in a right-to-left arc, landed on the green and rolled into the hole. Which leads to the question: What do you remember most vividly about the last test that you aced? The perfect performance on a written test may be more common, but is it far less memorable. How critical can either ace be, when you realize that given the opportunity to replay a hole you've mastered, or re-take a previously aced test, most of us are unlikely to again realize such perfection.

Hole #4 Practice as an End in Itself
As in learning, there is work to be done if you are to achieve to your best potential on tournament day. Whether practice takes place on the range where different aspects of the game are practiced in isolation; or on the course where you practice skills in the context of the game, most players find enjoyment in the practice. And the enjoyment happens in spite of the fact that many players, spend significant time on the weakest parts of their game. Knowing that every student in a classroom has a unique skill set, I'm left to wonder: Why it is common for every student to practice their way through a common set of experiences? How might the teacher discover which types of practice would be most apt for a given individual? Can choice, context, and varied practice lead individuals to enjoy the practice of academics?

Hole #5 We Play By Rules
The rules in golf may seem unfair at times, but wherever possible, you 'play it as it lies'. It's a game that relies upon the honesty of the competitors, even when the rules don't seem to make sense. In the world of school, many students look for ways to bend the rules or to outright ignore those that may seem unjust. The parallel seems to be that both school and golf tend to outlaw tools that make the 'game' too easy. Golf balls that go too straight off the tee, or those that travel too far in the air, or clubs that provide the advantage of extra spin are deemed to be illegal equipment. In the classroom, calculators were once seen to provide an unfair advantage; but today, tools like Wikipedia are deemed untrustworthy, while smart phones that provide access to the 'sum of human knowledge', are banned from exam rooms.

Hole #6 Handicaps Level the Playing Field
In golf, once you've been involved in enough 'assessments', your performance becomes predictable. The resulting golf handicap gives each competitor an equal opportunity to win an event. In a handicapped golf tournament, one has to turn in a performance that is better than his or her normal performance, in order to be rewarded. In contrast, handicaps in the classroom appear as challenges that result in an imbalance. Adaptive technologies, varied learning strategies, and universal designs may offset a learner's identified disability, but most of the time, learners are assessed using identical performance scales. As a result, the education system tends to reward the same kids over and over again, just for doing that they've been successful at doing throughout their school careers. As more and more educators embrace differentiated assessment, the practice may be seen as one to reward learners with 'assessment handicaps'.

Hole #7 The Team 'Scramble'
Occasionally, golf and school offer opportunities to learn and play as the member of a team. In golf, the scramble tournament allows a team of competitors to take advantage of the best shots of colleagues. Whether a long ball specialist or an expert putter, being a part of a foursome is most rewarding when your teammates brings different talents to the course. In the classroom, the best parallel I can think of, is when rich performance tasks allow learners to play unique roles in designing solutions to compelling problems. At their very best, both learning and golf are social experiences that bring out the best in the participants.

Hole #8 Data Driven Assessment
In golf, knowing exact yardages to fairway bunkers, water hazards, and pin placements, gives the player a tremendous advantage in making appropriate club selection. Whether using a laser range-finder, a GPS tool, or an iOS solution, players with the right information, are far more likely to make wise decisions on the course. In the classroom, it is the pre-assessment that offers a teacher similarly useful data. Knowing what your students know, and what they need to know, the informed teacher is more likely to plan an appropriate and productive range of learning activities. So, why is it that educators are far more likely to give tests only at the end of a unit of study? Experienced teachers know that gauging the strengths and weaknesses of their students, allows them to play 'target golf'.

Hole #9 What Did You Score?
Ultimately, golf is a game against yourself, and perfection is unattainable. Just as report cards attempt commonly boil down and individual's achievement to a number, so too does your scorecard . Whether or not you have rich stories to share about amazing experiences on the course or in the classroom, that final grade how success is ultimately measured. Yet, after every round, we take the time to celebrate our on course adventures with fellow competitors. Wouldn't it be wonderful if we paid more attention to the affective experiences of learners? We commonly share assessment data, and report our findings to parents, but what about sharing the anecdotes that make learning in your classroom more than 'a good walk, spoiled'?

Photo Credits: danperry.com, kazamatsuri, VancityAllie, jc_091447

Which Brands of Soda Do You Sell?

In my search for an motivational piece of media for an upcoming PD day, I happened upon a gem that will be used to introduce the topic: Engaging Classroom Environments. When viewed through the right lens, John Nese of Galco's Soda Pop Shop has many important messages to share with educators.



Passion: When you are lucky enough to be doing something you love, you can't help but share your enthusiasm with others. Are you passionate about learning new things? Are you are willing to give novel ideas a shot? Do you validate the passions of others?

Community: The most successful entrepreneurs see themselves as part of a larger dynamic community. Do you see what you do in the context of an entire school? Do you go out of your way to connect classroom experiences to the real world? Do you encourage and empower learners to reach through the walls of your classroom?

Variety: There is no need for this vendor to offer run-of-the-mill product. Customers can get Pepsi Cola anywhere. What unique experiences do you offer to your students? Is there something uniquely available in your course or class, that has students hoping to be on your classlist?

Customer Engagement: John Nese has the trust of his customers, and he recognizes that each one has unique tastes. In a similar fashion, the movement twards Differentiated Instruction, is calling on teachers to recognize the uniqueness of the students in their classrooms. How well do you know your customers? Do you embrace their unique tastes over a one-size-fits-all approach?

Why did the Deer Cross the Road?

Earlier today, I had an experience that I couldn't help but connect to the reality of school today. I've re-drafted the events, to highlight the parallels I drew to how our education system often fails to meet the needs of students in distress.



The Student: The wide-eyed deer in this story, plays the part of the struggling student. Buck, like many modern pupils, doesn't fit into the mold of the academic student; and although he was in obviously out of his element, he had no alternative but to go where he didn't really belong... to the classroom.

The Guidance Counselor: On the road in front of me, was a driver who insisted on traveling at 20 km below the speed limit. Like many educators, calmly doing what they've always done, the driver felt no compulsion to change gears. When the deer shot across the road barely avoiding this vehicle, the driver seemed not even to notice. As we encounter those with the need for alternate 'real world' experiences, are we not often at a loss as to how to proceed?

The Classroom: When the incident originally occurred, I watched Buck run headlong through the glass doorway of what I later discovered to be a travel agency. Rather than looking for an opportunity read and write in preparation for his future, this deer came looking for short-cuts to his final destination. Like many of our students without the 'I-do-school-good' gene, it's no surprise that the travel agents were unable to accommodate his needs.

The Chaos In the Classroom: In speaking to the novice travel agent (It was her first day on the job!), I was reminded of a teacher expecting appropriate classroom behavior. Although she could clearly describe how Buck was misbehaving inside the 'classroom', she was at a loss as to how to proceed. The deer literally ran into; dove under; and lept over the desks in the room clearly indicating the need for an alternate learning opportunity. Those in the room knew he was in distress, but were at a loss as to how to help.

The Graduation: After making a ruckus, the deer chose to exit on its own terms. This early-leaver, knew that school wasn't for him, and as soon as he knew he could get out, the deer boldly left the premises, never to look back. The observant educators knew that his needs had to be met elsewhere, but when the need was most pressing, they felt powerless to provide the opportunity.

The Yearbook: As with many early-leavers, we may never know where this deer eventually ended up. Having missed his yearbook photo, at least this deer blazed a trail from which his teachers might learn. Sadly, Buck's experience with the system as it exists today, will likely convince him to home school his own children.

The Educator's Diet

As an instructor, there is nothing more satisfying than an engaged audience; and nothing so frustrating as an indifferent one. When it comes to professional development in ICT, technology leaders are doomed to 'serving' both audiences.

Although we would rather spend our time supporting those 'hungriest' to learn; all educators need sustenance.

Consider food as a metaphor to represent engagement in learning about ICT:

1] All teachers need technological nourishment on a regular basis;

2] You can't force-feed learning about technology;

3] A rich menu, will allow educators to choose according to their dietary needs;

4] The hungriest educators, should be invited to return to the buffet;

5] Even if someone says they aren't hungry, they need to choose something to eat;

6] Occasionally a fast food meal is very satisfying, but 'fine dining' in the form of conferences, should be budgeted for on occasion;

7] It is very challenging to dine without the proper utensils;

8] Taking time to talk/network while dining, helps participants to digest the contents of a meal;

9] A balanced diet is important;

10] Dining with the entire family (staff) can be a great community-builder.

Whether or not teachers are interested and motivated, the need to learn about evolving tools will be continuous. Just as the body needs constant replenishment in order to function, so too, an educator needs intellectual nourished in order to adequately meet the needs of his/her students.

Photo Credit: stephendepolo

Let's Meet Them on the Hills

I'd like to share with you a metaphor for Web 2.0 and other e-Learning tools:

The story begins in my hometown of Windsor, Ontario, where late in the summer of 2007, city workers saw the need to remove the lone hill in Memorial Park. Those unfamiliar with the geography of southern Ontario, might be interested to know that the extreme southern leg of the province is FLAT. Thanks to the same glaciation that fed the great lakes thousands of years ago, the land is flat, but fertile.

So flat is the area, that the city council had more calls in sadness and frustration at the loss of the hill, than had been experienced by elected officials in recent memory... Which is why, in the fall of 2007, the hill was rebuilt!



To me, the interesting thing about this hill, is that it drew people to the area. It is no coincidence that this photo taken shortly after the hill was rebuilt, has been christened with a picnic table (no doubt by energetic teens in the neighbourhood).

FACT #1: E-learning tools, Social Networking sites and Web 2.0 products draw people to use the World Wide Web. Whether out of curiousity, or as a meeting place, these 'virtual hills' serve important purposes, and as soon as they are built, people find them, and begin using them! It's a fact that the first reaction of 'supervisors' to new technologies is to block access; but eventually, (too often after a number of years!) the value of the tool seems to win out.

Hills seem to draw attention and people no matter how large or small. in August of 2007, the pile of dirt pictured below was added to the park across the street from my home. Within hours, young people from the neighbourhood had built a motocross challenge area. Taking the picnic table and spare planks from garages nearby, the park had a new, 'most popular spot'. Even though this park boasts a soccer field, a baseball diamond, a soccer pitch, a child's playground and tennis courts, the final weeks of summer saw young people gravitate to the small pile of dirt in far greater numbers than any of the other attractions.




FACT #2: No matter how insignificant technological learning tools appear to adult educators, young people will enthusiastically join in using these tools... Often to the point of ignoring all types of traditional learning resources.


Now that winter has come to Canada in the form of great amounts of snow, the community toboggan hill has become the recreation centre for the community. Now that the patches of dirt can no longer accommodate bicycles, the 'X-games' fans decided that hills could benefit from the addition of some creative accents.



Fact #3: The use of the Read/Write Web can be hazardous! One should not dive into using evolving e-learning tools until he/she has taken the time to use the tools... and perhaps the more basic tools that might lead one to consider newer tools. Beyond the risks teachers need to take in trying new 'tricks', these new Web tools pose perils of which we need to be aware. These hazards are often the ones that grab the most headlines, even though the rich learning opportunities afforded by these tools are worthy of their own attention.

Hills and e-Hills were both meant to be climbed. When new hills or e-hills pop up on the horizon, they will draw the attention of young people in particular. Educators need to be prepared to meet the students who attempt to scale these hills. Now that I think of it, maybe it was a teacher who chose to put that picnic table on top of the hill in Memorial Park...

The Podcast version of this story is now available in iTunes! You can also click here to access the Teacher 2.0... the audio version!