tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-52602817835314628762024-03-12T23:02:28.803-04:00A Simple WorkshopRandom reflections from life's workshop.Kieman Holland-Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04080876979484729972noreply@blogger.comBlogger75125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260281783531462876.post-87057514864187324372015-08-31T13:49:00.002-04:002015-09-02T16:39:47.716-04:00Taking your Reading & Writing Workshop DigitalHere are some suggestions to ponder and links to explore.<br />
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<div>
<b>Reading Workshop</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Use the <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/pearson-etext-for-schools/id456726080?mt=8" target="_blank">Pearson eText</a> app to allow students to read and annotate </li>
<li>Use <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/google-drive-free-online-storage/id507874739?mt=8" target="_blank">Google Drive</a> to share PDFs of text with students</li>
<ul>
<li>Students can use <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/notability/id360593530?mt=8" target="_blank">Notability </a>to annotate while reading</li>
</ul>
<li>Digital Reading Response Log</li>
<ul>
<li>Each student creates a Doc and shares it with the teacher</li>
<li>Each day write a few sentences about what they read and what they were thinking (my minimum: 1 sentence summary, 3 sentences about thinking - connecting it all together)</li>
<li>Each student is assigned a day for the teacher to read and respond to their thinking</li>
</ul>
<li><a href="http://kidblog.org/PathfinderTeam-3/dbf56cfc-16e4-4a98-99ff-6d3aa555d488/best-thinking-letter-wild-about-dolphins/" target="_blank">Best Thinking Letter</a> posted weekly using <a href="http://kidblog.org/home/" target="_blank">Kidblog</a></li>
<li>Vocabulary</li>
<ul>
<li>keep a <a href="https://drive.google.com/file/d/0BwgojwjSLfDWMWI3ZG9qcWdvcHM/view?usp=sharing" target="_blank">list of unknown words</a> found in daily independent reading </li>
<li>use the Dictionary app on an iPad to look up the word</li>
<li>use a Doc to keep track of words</li>
</ul>
<li>Use <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/haiku-deck-presentation-slideshow/id536328724?mt=8" target="_blank">Haiku Deck</a> to share an oral summary of a book that has been read</li>
</ul>
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<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
<b>Writing Workshop</b></div>
<div>
<ul>
<li>Use Google Docs for digital writing workshop</li>
<ul>
<li>Share doc with teacher and/or peers to receive feedback</li>
<li>Share doc with teacher to print for final unit assessment</li>
<li>Students can create a shared doc to write a piece together (I used this with a Science topic following a shared class write)</li>
</ul>
<li>Use <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/haiku-deck-presentation-slideshow/id536328724?mt=8" target="_blank">Haiku Deck</a> to share informational research or biography </li>
<li>Use <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/inspiration-maps/id510031612?mt=8" target="_blank">Inspiration</a> for pre-writing</li>
</ul>
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<div>
<b>Kidblog</b></div>
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<div>
<ul>
<li>Sample posts from 4th grade bloggers:</li>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://kidblog.org/PathfinderTeam-3/dbf56cfc-16e4-4a98-99ff-6d3aa555d488/draft-the-great-chicago-fire/" target="_blank">Post drafts of writing to receive comments</a></li>
<li><a href="http://kidblog.org/PathfinderTeam-3/dbf56cfc-16e4-4a98-99ff-6d3aa555d488/best-thinking-letter-gregor-and-the-curse-of-the-warmbloods/" target="_blank">Best Thinking Letters</a> (weekly summary of independent reading/thinking)</li>
<li><a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/showme-interactive-whiteboard/id445066279?mt=8" target="_blank">ShowMe</a> videos with <a href="http://kidblog.org/PathfinderTeam-3/dbf56cfc-16e4-4a98-99ff-6d3aa555d488/show-me-multiplication-shortcut-method/" target="_blank">Math explanations</a> or <a href="http://kidblog.org/PathfinderTeam-2/3f526913-1929-4e83-99f2-f8eabd04a7d0/1898/" target="_blank">Science explorations</a></li>
</ul>
<ul>
<li><a href="http://kidblog.org/PathfinderTeam-2/3f526913-1929-4e83-99f2-f8eabd04a7d0/my-circuit-pic-collage/" target="_blank">Post images from Pic Collage</a> to share learning from Science or Social Studies</li>
</ul>
</ul>
</div>
Kieman Holland-Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04080876979484729972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260281783531462876.post-90361087771483624352013-08-12T21:48:00.000-04:002013-08-12T21:48:35.915-04:00Resources for My #ZETACon SessionsLinks for my two sessions at <a href="https://sites.google.com/a/zps.org/zeta/" target="_blank">ZETA</a>.<br />
<br />
<a href="http://kip.hollandanderson.net/p/inquiry.html" target="_blank">Inquiry: Making Thinking Visible</a><br />
1:10-2:00 pm<br />
Room 110<br />
<br />
<a href="http://kip.hollandanderson.net/p/pln-101.html" target="_blank">Building Your Tribe: PLN 101</a><br />
2:10-3:00 pm<br />
Room 110Kieman Holland-Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04080876979484729972noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260281783531462876.post-65528539755678135852013-07-02T22:21:00.000-04:002013-07-02T22:21:46.400-04:00"Waking from cancer..."<blockquote class="tr_bq">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">"Waking from cancer, I fell into an unexpected loss of ambition, and the milestones by which I wanted to engrave my image on the world scattered." </span><span style="font-family: inherit;"><br /></span><br />
<div style="text-align: right;">
<span style="font-family: inherit;"><span style="font-family: inherit;">- Mark Nepo, </span><a href="http://www.marknepo.com/books_seven.php" style="font-family: inherit;" target="_blank">Seven Thousand Ways to Listen</a><span style="font-family: inherit;">, p. 47</span></span></div>
<span style="font-family: inherit;">
</span></blockquote>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XoyXd9_0e5g/UdOJKVNVoFI/AAAAAAAAGMc/ELKTHS-a03k/s1600/chloe_tubing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="133" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-XoyXd9_0e5g/UdOJKVNVoFI/AAAAAAAAGMc/ELKTHS-a03k/s200/chloe_tubing.jpg" style="cursor: move;" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Chloe, tubing the Platte River last week.</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div style="text-align: left;">
My six-year-old daughter, Chloe, was diagnosed with a stage III Wilm's Tumor two years ago this week. Thanks to God, she's doing great. </div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
The changes that the arrival of cancer brought to our family were immense, innumerable, and life-altering. While we would never invite cancer into our family, my wife and I can readily cite hundreds of positive changes that it brought to our family. Life-threatening illnesses have a way of doing that.</div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
<br /></div>
<div style="text-align: left;">
Yet, from my vantage point, my working world has never quite recovered. Maybe that's why the quote from Mark Nepo resonated with me this morning. In so many ways I feel like my pre-cancer goals, my milestones, disappeared and I've spent the past two years trying to figure out where I'm headed professionally.</div>
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<br /></div>
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However, I've begun to wonder if it's okay to not know exactly where I'm heading. Maybe it's okay to just show up each day, ready to learn, ready to question, ready to listen. Present to the possibilities.</div>
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Kieman Holland-Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04080876979484729972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260281783531462876.post-15246036351002650062012-06-13T10:57:00.000-04:002012-08-25T17:54:34.295-04:00"What now?"A while back, a friend shared this comic with me.<br />
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<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/emotion.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="178" src="http://imgs.xkcd.com/comics/emotion.png" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://xkcd.com/1048/" target="_blank">Emotion</a> by xkcd</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Substitute a few of the pre-cancer "causes" and shift the <a href="http://blog.hollandanderson.net/">arrival of cancer</a> a year forward and it could be my emotions.<br />
<br />
As my daughter's chemo treatments wrapped up early in 2012 the white area with the ?? began to grow. Life pre-cancer was just life, it wasn't perfect, but it was. Life post-cancer is different, time feels more precious. (She's doing great, by the way.)<br />
<br />
The white space has been filled with a fuzzy attempt to discern where my energies should be spent, what should be my focus, what is worthy of my time now that it feels more precious. <br />
<br />
But it's been too much thinking, not enough living. I believe that something new, something amazing, something creative will come out of our family's experience. Yet I'm having a difficult time waiting to see what that something is...<br />
<br />
Random stories have appeared out of nowhere to encourage me to just move on, to live, to do.<br />
<br />
I <a href="http://www.thecleanestline.com/2012/05/dirtbag-diaries-live-from-5point-vol-4.html" target="_blank">recently learned</a> an <a href="http://benmoon.com/#/about" target="_blank">adventure photographer</a> whose work I've admired for years experienced cancer at a young age and was touched by the way his view of community changed.<br />
<br />
A colleague shared how his career path changed following a family tragedy.<br />
<br />
Yesterday it was Rob Bell's <a href="https://www.robbell.com/dropslikestars/" target="_blank">Drops Like Stars</a> that jumped off the bookstore shelf and resonated in my soul as I read:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Others with far more wisdom and experience than me have tackled the "why" questions of suffering.<br />
<br />
Here, in these pages, I'm more interested in another question...<br />
<br />
Not "why this?"<br />
But "what now?"</blockquote>
He goes on to write: "[Suffering] compels us to eliminate the unnecessary, the trivial, the superficial."<br />
<br />
I can see that in our family's life, in the way that we've reordered our priorities and the new ways we use our resources of time, energy, and money. <br />
<br />
Rob continues with this observation:<br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq">
Sometimes what happens to us when we suffer is that we become open to the mercy and grace and gratitude and gift and appreciation and joy that are always around us all the time...</blockquote>
While I wait to see "what now?" I'd be content if I could be open to what is, and always has been, all around me.Kieman Holland-Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04080876979484729972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260281783531462876.post-34839438061848263672011-12-30T13:05:00.000-05:002012-08-25T17:46:13.861-04:00Goals for 2012, or the lack thereofOver the past decade, a friend and I have traditionally written personal goals for the new year and shared them with each other. This year, for a variety of reasons, I'm opting to <a href="http://zenhabits.net/no-goal/">live without goals</a>.<br />
<br />
However, if I were to write goals for the new year, they might go something like this...<br />
<br />
<div style="text-align: center;">
<br />
<br />
<iframe allowfullscreen="" frameborder="0" height="259" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/QDmt_t6umoY?rel=0" width="450"></iframe><br />
<br />
<span style="font-size: x-small;"><i>Thanks to my beautiful wife for passing this along to me, even though I thought she was poking fun at my need to set goals. :>)</i></span></div>
Kieman Holland-Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04080876979484729972noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260281783531462876.post-24458148550157417962011-10-06T21:32:00.000-04:002012-08-25T17:54:20.684-04:00Prayer & Inspiration<i>"How are you guys doing it?"</i><br />
<br />
I can't tell you how many times my wife and I have been asked that question in the months since <a href="http://blog.hollandanderson.net/2011/07/partial-diagnosis.html">Chloe's diagnosis</a>. The answer is simple. You get up, you get going, you get the family going, and just live the day. You don't have a choice.<br />
<br />
Actually, I've found there are two things that are making days manageable. Prayer and inspiration.<br />
<br />
Prayer is the obvious one. However, I've found there are so many days when it is difficult to quiet my mind and heart and allow the Spirit to enter the moment. Yet it is on those days that others tell me, from seemingly out of nowhere, that they are praying for Chloe and our family. Today is was a colleague during my plan time, over the weekend a parent of one of my students told me that my student prayed for Chloe during Sunday School. Wow.<br />
<br />
The inspiration piece is something that evolved as I was trying to <a href="http://kip.hollandanderson.net/2011/09/expanding-and-shrinking-circle.html">expand my circle </a>again. In an effort to get back into my <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_Learning_Networks">PLN</a>, I began to give myself five minutes a day to explore <a href="http://flipboard.com/">Flipboard </a>containing my Twitter and Google Reader feeds. Not only did I begin to feel inspired again, I began to want to share that inspiration either through a tweet, an email, or a conversation. A daily ritual had begun. Now each day, without planning or forethought, I carve out a few minutes to be inspired or inspire someone else.<br />
<br />
And that, <a href="http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2011/09/talkers-block.html">possibly poorly written</a>, is how I do it each day.Kieman Holland-Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04080876979484729972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260281783531462876.post-62740288657628566672011-09-27T21:12:00.000-04:002011-09-27T21:12:44.129-04:00An expanding and shrinking circle<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LH4OwFvwisc/ToJzlxivJLI/AAAAAAAAEvc/kEuooiiMlU4/s1600/2637370388_6a42f25a88.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="200" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-LH4OwFvwisc/ToJzlxivJLI/AAAAAAAAEvc/kEuooiiMlU4/s200/2637370388_6a42f25a88.jpg" width="200" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/fdecomite/2637370388/in/photostream/">Circle inversion by fdecomite </a>on Flickr</td></tr>
</tbody></table>[I have a few posts that don't really fit here, but they don't fit on the <a href="http://blog.hollandanderson.net/">family-turned-Chloe-update blog</a>. As work, family, and life are closely integrated right now I'm going to post them here. I'm feeling the need to write. Thanks for understanding.]<br />
<br />
When <a href="http://blog.hollandanderson.net/2011/07/please-pray-for-chloe.html">Chloe was first admitted to the hospital </a>this summer, my world, or my circle, shrunk to five people - our family. Many days it was a circle of three as Henri and Martha were cared for by grandparents, aunt and uncles, or family friends.<br />
<br />
In the weeks following, it was challenging to expand that circle. It went slowly, sometimes trying to include a few friends from church or colleagues from work. Often times I found myself needing to retreat to my circle of five afterwards to regroup and recharge.<br />
<br />
It took at least a month and a half before I was able to expand my circle great enough to include my PLNs via Twitter and Google Reader again. Even then, most of the time it is still as a "lurker" rather than as a participator. <br />
<br />
Last week, Chloe had a tough week. A heavy dose of chemo on Monday made her feel cranky, tired, and generally out of sorts for the week. That determined our week as well. Couple that with a lot of assessments within the walls of my classroom and I have found my circle shrinking again. <br />
<br />
I wonder if this expanding and shrinking circle phenomenon is just a product of cancer in our family or if it has happened before without my awareness. One more detail that I just need to accept and roll with...Kieman Holland-Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04080876979484729972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260281783531462876.post-59792189900551888772011-07-08T23:17:00.000-04:002012-08-25T17:55:05.813-04:00Prayers for ChloeChloe, my four year old daughter, was admitted to DeVos Children's Hospital yesterday and had surgery this afternoon to remove a her left kidney containing a large mass. <br />
<br />
Details can be found at our family blog: <a href="http://blog.hollandanderson.net/">http://blog.hollandanderson.net</a><br />
<br />
Prayers are appreciated!Kieman Holland-Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04080876979484729972noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260281783531462876.post-72606549462011793072011-06-15T14:17:00.000-04:002011-06-15T14:17:28.524-04:00DIY TED TalkHere's something I'll be pondering this summer, courtesy of Seth Godin in <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Poke-Box-Seth-Godin/dp/1936719002">Poke the Box</a>.<br />
<br />
<blockquote>If you had a chance to do a TED talk, what would it be about? What have you discovered, what do you know, what can you teach? You should do one. Even if you don't do one, you should be prepared to do one.</blockquote>Kieman Holland-Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04080876979484729972noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260281783531462876.post-7660958510855925832011-05-15T21:49:00.006-04:002012-08-25T17:55:35.688-04:00When the going got tough......to be honest, I wanted to quit.<br />
<br />
Since Christmas Break I've been trying to get back into the running groove. Unfortunately, beginning about that same time, I began to suffer from painful IT band issues. In an effort to keep myself motivated to get out there and pound the pavement, I signed up for the <a href="http://www.53riverbankrun.com/">25K Riverbank Run</a>. A little nutty, I'll admit. Yet I knew that if I didn't have that out in front of me, I probably would have quit. And boy did I want to quit.<br />
<br />
On at least three occasions (and probably more), I came home and told Christa that I was done running. It was time for me to be content walking and cycling. She did a great job of just listening, and then usually suggested to take a few days to recover and then try it again.<br />
<br />
<span id="formatbar_Buttons" style="display: block;"><span class=" down" id="formatbar_CreateLink" onmousedown="CheckFormatting(event);FormatbarButton('richeditorframe', this, 8);ButtonMouseDown(this);" onmouseout="ButtonHoverOff(this);" onmouseover="ButtonHoverOn(this);" onmouseup="" style="display: block;" title="Link">Towards the end of March when my mileage was about half what it should have been according to my training schedule, I discovered that I had overlooked one possible contribution to my IT band pain: insoles. Even though I replace my shoes on a regular basis, I hadn't replaced my insoles for many (read: around 5!) years. Once I put new insoles in my shoes, the pain started to go away.<br /></span></span><a href="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Tc7fC23flxA/TdCPE0zGoNI/AAAAAAAAEqg/vququcGpSNM/s1600/IMG_0250.JPG" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5607138849131503826" src="http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-Tc7fC23flxA/TdCPE0zGoNI/AAAAAAAAEqg/vququcGpSNM/s200/IMG_0250.JPG" style="cursor: hand; cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 200px; margin: 0 0 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></a><span id="formatbar_Buttons" style="display: block;"><span class=" down" id="formatbar_CreateLink" onmousedown="CheckFormatting(event);FormatbarButton('richeditorframe', this, 8);ButtonMouseDown(this);" onmouseout="ButtonHoverOff(this);" onmouseover="ButtonHoverOn(this);" onmouseup="" style="display: block;" title="Link">Yesterday, I achieved my goal: I finished my 25K run with a smile on my face. The run was </span></span><span id="formatbar_Buttons" style="display: block;"><span class=" down" id="formatbar_CreateLink" onmousedown="CheckFormatting(event);FormatbarButton('richeditorframe', this, 8);ButtonMouseDown(this);" onmouseout="ButtonHoverOff(this);" onmouseover="ButtonHoverOn(this);" onmouseup="" style="display: block;" title="Link">great. Lots of energy, the rain stopped just in time for us to start, and the temperature was perfect. No record time, but I feel great about <a href="https://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/PsK9wtz9WyHDKEDE0RJPgbLNkSUJW8uCefjEcuKHP3k?feat=directlink">my effort</a>.<br /><br />Without going into too many details, I see so many parallels between my efforts to train for my run and the work of the <a href="http://zpstransforminglearning.blogspot.com/">ZPS TPIT</a>. I was reminded of that as I finished up reading <a href="http://www.heathbrothers.com/switch/">Switch: How to Change Things When Change is Hard </a>yesterday afternoon. Two quotes from the final pages resonated with me:</span></span><br />
<blockquote>
<span id="formatbar_Buttons" style="display: block;"><span class=" down" id="formatbar_CreateLink" onmousedown="CheckFormatting(event);FormatbarButton('richeditorframe', this, 8);ButtonMouseDown(this);" onmouseout="ButtonHoverOff(this);" onmouseover="ButtonHoverOn(this);" onmouseup="" style="display: block;" title="Link">Change isn't an event; it's a process. (p.253)</span></span><br />
<span id="formatbar_Buttons" style="display: block;"><span class=" down" id="formatbar_CreateLink" onmousedown="CheckFormatting(event);FormatbarButton('richeditorframe', this, 8);ButtonMouseDown(this);" onmouseout="ButtonHoverOff(this);" onmouseover="ButtonHoverOn(this);" onmouseup="" style="display: block;" title="Link"><br /></span></span>
<span id="formatbar_Buttons" style="display: block;"><span class=" down" id="formatbar_CreateLink" onmousedown="CheckFormatting(event);FormatbarButton('richeditorframe', this, 8);ButtonMouseDown(this);" onmouseout="ButtonHoverOff(this);" onmouseover="ButtonHoverOn(this);" onmouseup="" style="display: block;" title="Link">To lead a process requires persistence. (p. 254)</span></span></blockquote>
<span id="formatbar_Buttons" style="display: block;"><span class=" down" id="formatbar_CreateLink" onmousedown="CheckFormatting(event);FormatbarButton('richeditorframe', this, 8);ButtonMouseDown(this);" onmouseout="ButtonHoverOff(this);" onmouseover="ButtonHoverOn(this);" onmouseup="" style="display: block;" title="Link">My run yesterday was certainly an event, but it wasn't the change. The change is my getting back into running. Likewise, handing our staff and students new technology in the coming months will be an event, but the technology itself won't create a transformative change. That change is going to be a long process, one for which we will be persistent.</span></span>Kieman Holland-Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04080876979484729972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260281783531462876.post-54326096145928822782011-05-03T21:40:00.001-04:002011-05-03T21:43:00.802-04:00Am I Googleable?<p>That's the question that <a href="http://weblogg-ed.com/">blogger </a>and <a href="http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1412977479?ie=UTF8&tag=weblogged-20&linkCode=as2&camp=1789&creative=390957&creativeASIN=1412977479">author </a>Will Richardson would like us to ask of ourselves as educators. In an interview with <a href="http://www.edweek.org/tsb/articles/2010/10/12/01richardson.h04.html">Education Week </a>from last October, Will shares:</p><blockquote><p>...too few teachers have a visible presence on the Web. The primary reason this matters is that the kids in our classrooms are going to be Googled—they're going to be searched for on the Web—over and over again. That's just the reality of their lives, right? So they need models. They need to have adults who know what it means to have a strong and appropriate search portfolio—I call it the “G-portfolio.” But right now—and this is my ongoing refrain—there’s no one teaching them how to learn and share with these technologies. There's no one teaching them about the nuances involved in creating a positive online footprint. It's all about what not to do instead of what they should be doing.</p><p>The second thing is that, if you want to be part of an extended learning network or community, you have to be findable. And you have to participate in some way. The people I learn from on a day-to-day basis are Googleable. They’re findable, they have a presence, they’re participating, they’re transparent. That’s what makes them a part of my learning network. If you’re not out there—if you’re not transparent or findable in that way—I can’t learn with you.</p></blockquote><p> If a student, parent, or colleague were to Google you, what would they find? How are you using online communities to learn and grow professionally? </p><p>Join in with us as we all learn what it means to say <a href="http://ilearnzps.wikispaces.com/">iLearn@ZPS</a>.</p><p style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size:78%;">Cross posted to the <a href="http://zpstransforminglearning.blogspot.com/">iLearn@ZPS blog</a>.</span><br /></p>Kieman Holland-Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04080876979484729972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260281783531462876.post-54916547606084939262011-02-11T09:10:00.000-05:002011-02-11T09:12:15.291-05:00Thinking Constructively (about changing the status quo)During Christmas Break my family and I were invited over to my parents' home for lunch with some of their friends. Unbeknownst to me, one of their friends, Mike, had spent over 40 years in education. Of those 40 plus years, he spent about 10 years in the classroom and the remainder in various leadership positions working with curriculum, instruction, and technology integration.<br /><br />We "talked shop" for well over an hour, and I mostly just listened. Even though Mike had "retired three times in three different states" he was still full of passion for his profession and the changes he had worked so hard to make over the years.<br /><br />Somewhere during the conversation I mentioned that I had completed an independent study on <a href="http://www.thirteen.org/edonline/concept2class/constructivism/index.html">constructivism </a>a number of years ago. Mike's face lit up.<br /><br />"Did you know that constructivism has been around for over 30 years?" he asked.<br /><br />"So why do you think it has taken so long to catch on despite <a href="http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/199234.aspx">research </a>to support its effectiveness?" I replied.<br /><br />Without hesitation Mike replied, "constructivism is a student-centered approach to learning. The teaching profession is and has been teacher-centered. That's the status quo. Changing the status quo is difficult."<br /><br />I've spent the past month pondering the idea of changing the status quo.<br /><br />I was first introduced to the idea of inquiry (a constructivist teaching practice) a decade ago by the Building Science Leaders program at the <a href="http://www.gvsu.edu/rmsc/">Regional Math and Science Center</a>. Over the past ten years as I've experimented with moving towards a more student-centered classroom I've had many successes, and just as many failures. I know it is working well when my students are excited, engaged, and motivated to learn, to prove, to share their learning.<br /><br />One of the huge challenges of inquiry-based learning I've experienced over the years is having materials available for students on-demand. If I had a dollar for every time I've told my students "now, if you each had a computer sitting in front of you, this is what we'd do..." I could have bought my own class set of laptops. The most exciting thing about our 1:1 initiative is that this will now be a reality. Students will have instant access to information, the ability to discuss their learning and questions with their peers -- locally and globally, and the ability to share the products of their learning with the world.<br /><br />Do these reflections bring us any closer to changing the status quo? I don't know. However, I am hopeful that as teachers and students start to see the benefits of student-centered learning made possible by 1:1 technologies, we will be able to finally <a href="http://www.bjpconsulting.com/files/GA%20SpectrumTable.pdf">transform teaching and learning </a>for the benefit of all.Kieman Holland-Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04080876979484729972noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260281783531462876.post-61307855800619974812011-01-31T19:42:00.007-05:002011-02-01T08:14:44.848-05:00Learning can — and must — be networkedOver the weekend, I shared the <a href="http://www.educon23.org/">EduCon Conference's axioms </a>with the <a href="http://groups.diigo.com/group/tpitzps">TPIT Diigo group </a>which included the statement: Learning can — and must — be networked.<br /><br />I've often described my experiences with learning within social networks as serendipitous. I never know what will pop up on <a href="http://www.twitter.com/">Twitter</a>, in my <a href="http://reader.google.com/">Reader</a>, in my <a href="http://groups.diigo.com/user/kieman">Diigo groups</a>, or, as it occurred today, even in <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/user/show/2478975-kip-holland-anderson">Goodreads</a>. I don't even usually consider Goodreads when I name the social networks I use. I started using it because my brother uses it and it was a fun way to keep up with his reading and to share my reading as well.<br /><br />A few weeks ago my Goodreads account was followed by Paul Reynolds, the brother of Peter Reynolds (author of <a href="http://kip.hollandanderson.net/2010/09/thinking-ish-ly.html">Ish</a>, and other excellent books). I'm guessing he connected with my account because I had marked several of Peter's books as read (but to be honest, I don't really know). Today, Paul <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/review/show/144668492">shared a review</a> of <a href="http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/196483.The_Big_Picture">The Big Picture: Education is Everyone's Business </a>written by Dennis Littky and Samantha Grabelle.<br /><br />In his review, Paul wrote:<br /><blockquote>If we move to a model that is student-at-center/teacher-at-periphery within a distributed learning community (one that, as Chris Dede states would, "enable a shift from the traditional transfer and assimilation of information to the creation, sharing and mastery of knowledge."), the teacher has TIME to take on the mentoring role. Educators would no longer have to scramble daily to be the fully-stocked "information vending machine" - rapidly dispensing knowledge to "cover" content standards/requirements - instead they could focus time and energy on knowing their learners. </blockquote>While I'd love to head off on a tangent and share how I see this as one of the benefits of 1:1 and student-centered learning that <a href="http://zpstransforminglearning.blogspot.com/">we're </a>trying to achieve, I'll practice what I preach to my students and stick to my topic.<br /><br />For me, much of my learning occurs when I simply show up in one of my networks. Thankfully there are others out there who are sharing what they are learning and trying with their students. What can you do today to facilitate learning for yourself? Is there a social network that you've been curious about trying out? Give it a try and see what happens.Kieman Holland-Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04080876979484729972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260281783531462876.post-35866265385546826542011-01-20T20:46:00.005-05:002011-01-20T21:33:53.248-05:00Four tools for learningOver the past six months, I've been thinking quite a bit about <a href="http://zpstransforminglearning.blogspot.com/">my school district's move to 1:1</a>. Specifically, I've been wondering what web-based "tools" my students should have available to them for their learning.<br /><br />I began by asking myself what tools I need for my own personal and professional learning. Each week I find my use of my <a href="http://reader.google.com">RSS reader</a>, <a href="http://twitter.com/#%21/kiemanha">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://www.diigo.com/user/kieman">Diigo</a>, and <a href="http://kip.hollandanderson.net">my professional blog </a>(on weeks when I make time to write) are the tools I use the most. So, I gave my students the student-friendly versions of those.<br /><br />This school year, my fifth graders have been using:<br /><ul><li><a href="http://groups.diigo.com/group/roosevelt-5th-grade">Diigo </a>-- to collect bookmarks and share to a private 5th grade group consisting of the three fifth grade classrooms in our hallway</li><li><a href="http://www.edmodo.com/">Edmodo </a>-- to share thinking, questions, and resources within a private class set up for our team</li><li><a href="http://kidblog.org/PathfinderTeam/">KidBlog </a>-- for reflection and posting random assignments<br /></li><li><a href="http://pathfinderteam5th.pbworks.com">PB Wiki</a> -- for publishing their writing </li></ul>A few reflections on each tool after a couple months of sporadic use (we're not 1:1 yet and available lab time has been scarce in my building the past two months):<br /><ul><li>Diigo has been a tool that I've used daily since it was presented to me at <a href="http://webtools4learning.org/">a conference</a> back in October. The ability to set up public or private groups has been great for me and for my students. They are still learning how to share useful comments and once we have more regular computer access, I'm sure it's usefulness will grow.</li><li>Edmodo is a tool that, like Diigo, will grow in usefulness when my students have greater access. I've shown my students how I and those I follow use Twitter (after previewing my Twitter feed for kid-friendly tweets) for sharing resources, asking questions, and responding to others tweets. My students have practiced these, but they aren't natural uses yet.</li><li>KidBlog has been my favorite student tool so far from the teacher side. It is simple for both students and teacher alike. I can have total control over what gets posted to our class blogs by approving each post and each comment before they go public. I'm hoping that I can get my students using it more frequently for their own short reflections and writings (remember Type 1 writings?) in the coming months.<br /></li><li>This is my second year of using PB Wiki for publishing student writings after I watched how the fifth grade <a href="http://eastdragondentake2.pbworks.com/w/page/17586774/FrontPage">East Dragons </a>out in Littleton, CO used it in their 1:1 classroom. My students really enjoy posting to the wiki and commenting is quite easy. Recently, I've been reading <a href="http://thepowerofless.com/">The Power of Less </a>and it has me asking if I can do the same with less. I've been thinking that KidBlog could easily take the place of PB Wiki. I suggested that to my students earlier today and was met with a chorus of "no, we love the wiki." For now, it's staying.</li></ul>Those are my thoughts at the present. I'm interested to know how you're using these tools with your students or if you've found others that are essential for student learning.Kieman Holland-Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04080876979484729972noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260281783531462876.post-61100424399486134852011-01-17T15:56:00.003-05:002011-01-20T20:44:56.147-05:00What if we shared?<p class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_VF3ojLVl3ic/TS82-iVYOAI/AAAAAAAAABs/_sBBuvblDwM/s1600/sharing.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_VF3ojLVl3ic/TS82-iVYOAI/AAAAAAAAABs/_sBBuvblDwM/s400/sharing.jpg" width="400" border="0" height="300" /> </a></p><p class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">What if we as educators not only believed, but regularly practiced this statement?</p><p class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">What if we shared not only our lesson ideas, but also our <a href="http://plpnetwork.com/2010/12/16/this-still-has-me-thinking/">thinking</a>?</p><p class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">What if we shared not only our knowledge, but also our <a href="http://weblogg-ed.com/2010/not-what-you-know/">questions</a>?</p><p class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">What if we shared not only our successes, but also our <a href="http://jimburke.typepad.com/my_weblog/2010/08/we-must-learn-to-be-our-own-best-teachers.html">failures</a>?</p><p class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">What if we shared not only our joys, but also our <a href="http://shelleywright.wordpress.com/2010/10/26/loss/">sorrows</a>?</p><p class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">What if we shared not only our hopes, but also our <a href="http://www.raisingreadersandwriters.com/?p=485">fears</a>?</p><p class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">How would it change your life as an educator?</p><p class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">How would it change your school community?</p><p class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">You're invited to share your thoughts at the <a href="http://zpstransforminglearning.blogspot.com/2011/01/what-if-we-shared.html">ZPS 1:1 blog</a>.</p><p class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></p><p class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><span style="font-size:78%;">Image shared by <a href="http://www.facebook.com/#%21/pages/Powerful-Learning-Practice/105597519472747">Powerful Learning Practice on Facebook</a></span></p><p class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"><span style="font-size:78%;"><a href="http://www.facebook.com/#%21/pages/Powerful-Learning-Practice/105597519472747"><span></span></a><a href="http://www.facebook.com/#%21/pages/Powerful-Learning-Practice/105597519472747"><br /></a></span></p><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size:85%;">[Cross-posted at <a href="http://zpstransforminglearning.blogspot.com/2011/01/what-if-we-shared.html">ZPS 1:1 - Transforming Learning</a>]</span></div><p class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: left;"></p>Kieman Holland-Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04080876979484729972noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260281783531462876.post-69180809826714354342011-01-09T14:57:00.003-05:002011-01-18T19:15:11.175-05:00Crowdsourcing: Going Global<span style="font-size:small;">In <a href="http://zpstransforminglearning.blogspot.com/2011/01/crowdsourcing-staying-local.html">my last post </a>I shared an example of how I have used crowdsourcing on a local level. Crowdsourcing can be powerful on a global scale as well.<br /><br />Back in February of 2009, through a mention on the <a href="http://readingyear.blogspot.com/">A Year of Reading</a> blog I learned of and joined the <a href="http://englishcompanion.ning.com/group/elementaryteachers">Elementary Teachers group </a>on the <a href="http://englishcompanion.ning.com/">English Companion Ning</a>. What's a ning? A ning is an online social networking tool where members can post questions, replies, and share resources. Teachers in the Elementary Teachers group were using the ning to ask questions about teaching poetry, seeking recommendations for persuasive mentor texts, and other literacy-related issues.<br /><br />At that time, many educators in my <a href="http://educationaltechnologyguy.blogspot.com/2009/11/creating-personal-learning-network-pln.html">PLN</a> were talking about the <a href="http://www.ncte.org/positions/statements/21stcentdefinition">NCTE's 21st Century Literacies</a>. However, most were talking about what these new literacies would look like at a secondary level. So <a href="http://englishcompanion.ning.com/group/elementaryteachers/forum/topics/21st-century-literacies-in">I posted a question to the ning</a> asking what they would look like at an elementary level. As the discussion began and I shared my own thinking two mind-blowing things happened. First, after mentioning <a href="http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/826print.cfm">a Choice Literacy article</a> in my response the author of the article replied to my comment within the ning and shared her thinking. (I still remember running to my wife after receiving the reply saying, "can you believe this?") Second, because I had linked to <a href="http://kip.hollandanderson.net/2009/02/21st-century-literacies-in-elementary.html">a post on my personal teaching blog</a> that I had made public the prior month, the first comment that was ever left on my blog was from a kindergarten teacher in Australia.<br /><br />The power of professional social networking was made clear to me in these two experiences. By being willing to be vulnerable and express that I don't have all of the answers, I was able to learn alongside others around the globe that were asking the same questions.<br /><br /></span><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-size:85%;"><span>[Cross-posted on </span><a href="http://zpstransforminglearning.blogspot.com/2011/01/crowdsourcing-going-global.html">ZPS 1:1 - Transforming Learning</a><span>]</span></span><br /></div>Kieman Holland-Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04080876979484729972noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260281783531462876.post-39546701591958698662011-01-04T12:32:00.004-05:002011-01-18T19:16:11.955-05:00Crowdsourcing: Staying Local<span style="font-size:100%;"><span style=";font-family:georgia;font-size:small;" ><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >[I am a member of the </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.zps.org/">Zeeland Public Schools </a></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >Technology Plan Implementation Team (TPIT) which is charged with rolling out handheld technologies to all students in grades 3-12 in the coming years (alongside other additions to classroom technologies). As a part of that transition in teaching and learning, TPIT has launched the </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://zpstransforminglearning.blogspot.com/">ZPS 1:1 - Transforming Learning </a></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >blog. </span><span style="font-size:85%;"><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://zpstransforminglearning.blogspot.com/2011/01/crowdsourcing-staying-local.html">This post is cross-posted there</a></span><span style="font-style: italic;font-size:85%;" >.]</span><br /><br />In her <a href="http://zpstransforminglearning.blogspot.com/2011/01/making-case-for-crowd-sourcing-part-ii.html">post on crowdsourcing</a>, Jackie shared a few examples of how one could get started. I'd like to continue the conversation sharing a few ways that crowdsourcing helps me in my role as a 5th grade teacher.<br /><br />At a local level (let's say within ZPS), crowdsourcing can be as simple as sending an email. When I have a question or a need for a particular resource, I often choose a few teachers from my grade group (and usually Shari Moore, the elementary literacy coach, when my question or need is literacy-related) and ask for some help. Once my email is sent, I usually have what I need within a day, if not minutes or hours.<br /><br />For instance, a few weeks ago I was looking for quality nonfiction mentor texts that I could use with my 5th grade students. I shared this need at my weekly 5th grade team. Shari Moore was present at this meeting and by that afternoon had given me a copy of a chapter on nonfiction mentor texts full of all of the great examples that I was seeking. I was able to use the examples with my students and then began typing up <a href="https://docs.google.com/a/zps.org/document/d/1c7FjYUlicpqVKIalfTcyI_HH0EC4Udh_PJPXvuDSN5o/edit?hl=en">a list of the texts</a> in a Google Doc (a student who is a fast typist and hates recess finished the list for me). I was then able to send the list on to the staff in my building where colleagues have told me that they have pulled texts to use in their classrooms.<br /><br />At the heart of successful crowdsourcing is the idea of sharing. What could a colleague share with you today if you asked? What could you share with a colleague?</span></span>Kieman Holland-Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04080876979484729972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260281783531462876.post-42948290809495305342010-11-20T15:35:00.003-05:002010-11-20T15:49:57.658-05:00Vasarely: The Visionary<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyzwruN5yt0/TOgzmvkyQkI/AAAAAAAAERA/GfD74eoq0jI/s1600/800px-Hungary_pecs_-_vasarely0.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 200px; height: 150px;" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyzwruN5yt0/TOgzmvkyQkI/AAAAAAAAERA/GfD74eoq0jI/s200/800px-Hungary_pecs_-_vasarely0.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5541736082178196034" border="0" /></a><br />I'm helping my daughter with a little research on <a href="http://www.vasarely.com/">Victor Vasarely</a>, "the father of Op-Art." We came across the following quote from Vasarely from 1960. Quite a statement and prediction of our reality from half a century ago.<br /><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> </w:Compatibility> <w:donotoptimizeforbrowser/> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0in; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman";} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal" style="text-align: justify;"></p><blockquote>The individual will never be capable of knowing it all. Therefore, electronics will always help us more and more to hem in the contours of this vast heap of knowledge, to locate the ones in relation to the others, and obtain an intuition of synthesis. No artistic creation of value is any longer conceivable without this global idea of the living world. We must therefore completely rethink the reasons of the creative step and its effect on fellow men. We now know that through the successive levels of the processes of complication of the unit-particle-wave we arrive at the human phenomenon. Art can no longer have a divine explanation, just a beautiful and very materialistic one.</blockquote><p></p> <span style="font-size:78%;"><span style="font-style: italic;">Image by </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/User:V%C3%A1radi_Zsolt" title="User:Váradi Zsolt" class="mw-userlink">Váradi Zsolt</a><span style="font-style: italic;"> from the </span><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Hungary_pecs_-_vasarely0.jpg">Wikipedia Commons</a><span style="font-style: italic;">.</span></span>Kieman Holland-Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04080876979484729972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260281783531462876.post-644814743728750162010-11-11T05:29:00.007-05:002010-11-12T13:29:54.405-05:00PLCs: The Secret to My "Success"Here in <a href="http://www.zps.org/">ZPS</a>, we've been having <a href="http://kip.hollandanderson.net/2010/11/vision-for-professional-learning-in-zps.html">a great discussion about the need for and the benefits of PLCs</a>. As we look to integration of PLCs within the structure of ZPS, I thought I'd share some of my experiences with PLCs and how they've helped me to grow as an educator.<br /><br />I made a huge career shift when I moved from teaching middle school (primarily 8th grade math and science) to 4th grade back in 2006. That first year in 4th grade was rough. I saw the clock hit midnight in my classroom more times than I'd care to admit and I certainly felt like a first-year teacher all over again (it was year 10, in actuality). That first year I tried to do it all myself: learn new curriculum, figure out how to relate and connect with 9 year olds, and learn to teach reading (thankfully <a href="http://makingmeaningalongtheway.blogspot.com/">Shari </a>was there to help!).<br /><br />The second year a major shift began to happen. I began to realize that I couldn't do it all myself and I asked my colleagues for help. Of course, they were willing to share their years of insight and resources. But I had to be willing to ask for and accept help (and accept that I didn't know it all myself). Ironically, that same year, I was introduced to blog <a href="http://readingyear.blogspot.com/">A Year of Reading</a> through a <a href="http://www.choiceliteracy.com/">Choice Literacy </a>article and <a href="http://kip.hollandanderson.net/2009/03/google-reader-getting-started.html">my PLN was born and started to grow</a>. But that's a topic for another post.<br /><br />As I've begun to reflect upon the role of PLCs in my professional life, I realize that I have many different PLCs for many different reasons. My 5th grade team at <a href="http://roosevelt.zps.org/">Roosevelt </a>is a PLC. I'm still a part of my 4th grade team PLC. A group of colleagues formed a PLC around the topic of <a href="https://sites.google.com/a/zps.org/inquiry/">inquiry</a> last year. Last spring, Lisa, <a href="http://livingandlearninginhollandmi.blogspot.com/">Marcia </a>and I began discussing <a href="https://sites.google.com/a/zps.org/visionaries/people/seth-godin">a Seth Godin video</a> via email and the <a href="https://sites.google.com/a/zps.org/visionaries/">Visionaries </a>PLC was born. Kim and I have a PLC that meets once a week on the upper elementary playground when we have recess duty. Shari, our literacy coach, weaves in and out all of these PLCs as she finds resources that will support us in the classroom. Plus, there are so many others that I learn from on a regular basis because I am willing to share with them and they share with me (insert plug for <a href="http://ideasandthoughts.org/">Dean Shareski's </a><a href="http://k12onlineconference.org/">K12 Online </a>keynote: <a href="http://k12onlineconference.org/?p=610">Sharing, The Moral Imperative</a>).<br /><br />Yet, these PLCs do so much more than just share lesson ideas and resources. My colleagues in these PLCs share their reading, their reflections, and their personal learning. My PLCs challenge me, inspire me, and help me to make me a better teacher, and often a better person. These PLCs are full of people who have a tremendous amount of passion for learning and for helping kids to learn.<br /><br />As I've tried to tell many people over the past few years, I'm not as wise as I appear to be (said with a big smile on my face). I simply surround myself with people, both in my PLCs and my PLN, that are wiser than I am. I guess I learned <a href="http://sethgodin.com/sg/default.asp">Seth Godin's </a>rule of the <a href="http://sethgodin.com/sg/books.asp">Linchpin</a>: <a href="http://kip.hollandanderson.net/2010/07/secrets-of-being-linchpin.html">"The only way I know of to become a successful linchpin is to build a support team of fellow linchpins." </a><br /><br />Thank you, fellow linchpins.Kieman Holland-Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04080876979484729972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260281783531462876.post-86302984429711149452010-11-04T19:07:00.005-04:002010-11-10T21:24:41.251-05:00A Vision for Professional Learning in ZPSA few weeks ago, I had the opportunity to participate in a training/discussion about coaching, specifically tech coaching. While there are lots of reflections I could share, the conversation that I find myself engaging in with a variety of folks is centered on developing <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Professional_learning_community">professional learning communities (PLCs) </a>in ZPS. Sandy & <a href="http://makingmeaningalongtheway.blogspot.com/">Shari </a>started this conversation this summer when they began talking about <a href="https://docs.google.com/a/zps.org/present/edit?id=0ART5ESj_96IwZGczNHByempfM2tqc2g0M2hy&hl=en">creating PLCs in ZPS prior to presenting at the administrative retreat</a>. <br /><br />At our tech coach discussion, Steve began by having us <a href="http://plpnetwork.com/2010/10/20/k12-online-connected-learning-communities/">view this video </a>by Sheryl Nussbaum Beach of <a href="http://plpnetwork.com/plp-overview/">Powerful Learning Practice</a>, a group that facilitates professional development through a "cohort model [that] offers a unique approach to introducing educators to the transformative online technologies that are challenging the traditional view of teaching and learning." Our purpose for watching was to understand the difference between PLCs and <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Personal_Learning_Networks">PLNs</a>, and then look at how our vision for instructional/tech coaches fits with the two and other existing structures within ZPS. <br /><br />As my group began to discuss and illustrate our thoughts on chart paper, a drawing similar to the one pictured below began to emerge. Groups then had a chance to share out. The drawing below represents my synthesis of the thinking that was shared that day (in other words, these are not my own thoughts). I am hoping that other ZPS staff who were not present at the coaching meeting will be willing to <a href="https://docs.google.com/a/zps.org/drawings/edit?id=1Aqnv5rYLQAGkf7FSZw-46XhWkZp9mphFgs35IDv-4dg&hl=en">view and edit the following drawing </a>in Google Docs so we can create a vision for professional learning communities in ZPS as we make the transition to <a href="http://www.bjpconsulting.com/files/GA%20SpectrumTable.pdf">"transformative" learning </a>in conjunction with our roll-out of 1:1 technologies.<br /><br /><br /><img src="https://docs.google.com/drawings/pub?id=1Aqnv5rYLQAGkf7FSZw-46XhWkZp9mphFgs35IDv-4dg&w=640&h=408" />Kieman Holland-Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04080876979484729972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260281783531462876.post-3934629045125312642010-10-27T19:03:00.003-04:002010-10-27T19:35:04.555-04:00Practicing EmpathyIn <a href="http://weblogg-ed.com/2010/a-superintendent-leading-change/">a recent post, Will Richardson shared a video</a> of a discussion between himself and Lisa Brady, the superintendent of the district he was formerly employed by and where his kids now attend school. It was a great discussion about the challenges and successes of going 1:1 and the realities of introducing social networking. As Will writes, "I think it’s great opportunity to hear a school leader in the midst of shifting a traditional school to a inquiry-based curriculum grounded in technology and online social learning tools talk about some of her thinking around making those changes."<br /><br />I highly recommend <a href="http://weblogg-ed.com/2010/a-superintendent-leading-change/">viewing it</a>.<br /><br />As <a href="http://kip.hollandanderson.net/2010/10/reflections-from-tlc-10.html">I've been thinking about the big shift</a> that is occurring and talking about it with colleagues, I'll admit that I don't always remember to practice empathy and put myself in their shoes. In a comment on the same post from Will, <a href="http://fly2learn.blogspot.com/">Susan Davis </a>wrote the following:<br /><p><em></em></p><blockquote><p><em>I am struck by your (our) frequent use of the word “shift.” To many, I think it feels more like a quake. Even as a quake, the earth moving under our feet — the change in the way learning is happening in the world — can make us feel excited (hey, that’s cool, I wonder what that shaking means…) or it can feel pretty scary (hey, my house is falling down around me). </em></p> <p><em>This conversation reminds me to feel a little more empathy for those whose educational houses are falling down around them.</em></p> <p><em>When Lisa Brady asks, as if for those scared and shaken folks, “Where’s my entry point?” we can imagine how they are seeing a world where the doors are moving side to side so fast they can’t see beyond them. Still, there is some urgency, the ground is shaking, and they need to get through one of those passages and safely to the other side.</em></p></blockquote><p><em></em></p><p><span style="font-family:georgia;">It was a good reminder to me to practice empathy with my colleagues </span>"whose educational houses are falling down around them."<br /></p>Kieman Holland-Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04080876979484729972noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260281783531462876.post-4707801908833735182010-10-27T16:42:00.006-04:002012-08-25T17:57:13.495-04:00Reflections from TLC 10<span style="color: black; font-family: georgia; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">[This post has been adapted from an email I sent to our Technology Plan Implementation Team, a group responsible for overseeing our technology plan which includes the move to 1:1 for students in grades 3-12. I'm posting it here because it explains a lot of the thinking going on inside my head and will give some background to future posts.]<br /><br />Last Friday I attended the <a href="http://webtools4learning.org/">Teaching and Learning in the Cloud Conference</a></span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. I left the conference with my head spinning and I’ve spent time this weekend trying to figure out why and putting words to what I am feeling.</span><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I went in to the conference with the unanswered question of the week (which device for students - netbooks or a pad/tablet?) on my brain, as I felt the question of the professional development for staff had been answered. Starting with the </span><a href="https://sites.google.com/a/zps.org/cloud/leading-schools-with-a-digital-vision-wes-fryer" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">opening keynote </span></a><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">by </span><a href="http://www.speedofcreativity.org/" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Wes Fryer</span></a><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, I was quickly reminded that the technology itself will never change learning, only by changing the teaching can we change the learning. As he wrapped up his keynote, he challenged us to look at the web 2.0 tools that were being presented as either </span><span style="font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">accommodating </span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">(doing the same thing with a new tool -- ex. typing the same essay in class on a netbook) or </span><span style="font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">transformative </span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">(changing the way students learn -- ex. students collaborating to create a unique product that they can share with a global audience). I’ll get back to this point later.</span><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">After that session, a colleague had the opportunity to talk with two local ed tech leaders. I started off first asking what device they would choose if they were in our shoes and both of them replied that it isn’t about the device and wanted to know about our goals for the technology. One of them said that he would take whatever funds he had and devote 25% of them to professional development. </span><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Later on, I had the chance to ask the tech director of a local district, about the expectations they have for teachers and 1:1 and how they hold them accountable. He said there some common expectations (i.e. everyone uses Moodle), but they use it to varying degrees. He explained that tech coaches and administrators work together to help set individual goals for staff and staff have quarterly tech goal meetings to discuss the technology they are using. He explained that while they are doing lots of great things, there are cases where parents will call and ask “why is ___ grade at ____ school using more technology than the same grade at another school?” or parents of a high school student calling wondering why their student only plays games on his laptop at night as his teachers don't require use of technology for learning. Once again, the message to me was </span><span style="font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">the tool isn’t important, it is how it is used to transform learning.</span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">During my last session of the day, I had a chance to ask </span><a href="http://www.techsavvyed.net/" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Ben Rimes</span></a><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">, a tech specialist, about his district’s plan to go 1:1 next fall. They have an interesting plan for how to train staff that I’ll share later, but here’s what stuck with me. While we were chatting, another person who teaches at a charter school explained that they had been 1:1, but administration found it too difficult to keep everyone invested and are allowing the initiative to die away. I’m sure that school has more issues than just investment in technology, but the key thing that has stuck with me is that staff need to be invested and trained well.</span><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">All of these interactions and conversations through the day left me feeling that even with our tech plan outlining 7 instructional/tech coaches, six 1/2 day training sessions, inspirational speakers, etc. </span><span style="font-style: italic; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">is it enough?</span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Late last week, the <a href="http://www.scienceleadership.org/" target="_blank">Science Leadership Academy</a>, a public magnet school in Philadelphia, considered by many to be a model for tech integration and transformative learning, was featured on the </span><a href="http://www.apple.com/education/profiles/science-leadership-academy/#video-sla" target="_blank"><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: underline; vertical-align: baseline;">Apple Education website</span></a><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">. I mention it here, not because of the tools they are using, but because of the way they continually train staff. Here’s a paragraph from the article:<br /></span></span><br />
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); color: black; font-family: georgia; margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
<div style="font-family: arial,helvetica,sans-serif; margin-bottom: 0pt; margin-left: 6.24pt; margin-top: 0pt;">
<span style="font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Although most new teachers arrive at the school already familiar with its learning approach, they participate in a weeklong boot camp that covers curriculum and technology. During the school year, faculty members meet for two hours of professional development each week to examine their own practices and share insights from the classroom. Staff development continues on the school’s website, where teachers discuss tools and resources in forums and blogs and post unit plans that are shared across disciplines. </span></span></div>
</blockquote>
<span style="color: black; font-family: georgia; font-size: 100%;"><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">If I were to synthesize all of my thinking down to one point, it would be this: the shift to transformative learning using technology is huge, for both teachers and students, and much larger than I've imagined. As I try to look at the process with our </span><span style="font-style: normal; vertical-align: baseline;">End Goals </span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">in mind, I see that there are so many layers to the professional development piece: learning the tool, integrating curriculum, learning to collaborate digitally, changing instructional practices, to name just a few.</span><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">I do believe that I have entered the <a href="http://books.google.com/books?id=QgzBqhbdlvUC&pg=PA169&dq=valley+of+insight&hl=en&ei=UK7ITKLTJY6cnwe6nK2nAw&sa=X&oi=book_result&ct=result&resnum=1&ved=0CCoQ6AEwAA#v=onepage&q=valley%20of%20insight&f=false">Valley of Insight</a>. This is going to be quite an adventure....</span><br /><span style="font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span></span>Kieman Holland-Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04080876979484729972noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260281783531462876.post-52392428716805281382010-09-19T21:00:00.006-04:002010-09-19T21:51:55.742-04:00Thinking "Ish-ly"<a href="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uyzwruN5yt0/TJazWBEMotI/AAAAAAAAEAM/r1AZ4mSDAgQ/s1600/store_ishMED.jpg"><img style="float: right; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; cursor: pointer; width: 150px; height: 143px;" src="http://1.bp.blogspot.com/_uyzwruN5yt0/TJazWBEMotI/AAAAAAAAEAM/r1AZ4mSDAgQ/s320/store_ishMED.jpg" alt="" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5518795584213656274" border="0" /></a><br />Last Tuesday, my fifth grade students and I shared a reading of Peter Reynolds' <a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.peterhreynolds.com/phr_ish.html">I</a><a style="font-style: italic;" href="http://www.peterhreynolds.com/phr_ish.html">sh</a>. The book tells the tale of Ramon who loves to draw, but, after his older brother Leon makes fun of his drawings, begins to believe that he can't draw well. Thankfully, Ramon's younger sister, Marisol, helps him to see his drawings differently and he begins to see the "ish-ness" in everything around him.<br /><br />My students had heard <span style="font-style: italic;">Ish </span>last year when my fourth grade colleagues and I read it at the beginning of the year as a part of our <a href="http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/789.cfm">community building</a>. That fact didn't deter their enthusiasm of sharing their thoughts while I read it, or in discussing what working "ish-ly" in our class would look like and how we would need to support one another in order to work "ish-ly." <br /><br />Some of you may know that I moved from teaching fourth grade to fifth grade this year. Our building went from three sections of fourth grade to two, so someone had to make the switch. I didn't think it would be a big switch. I am in the same classroom, have a third of my same students, and felt like we could just pick up where we left off last year. In many respects, I was correct. My students from last year jumped right into the same routines and have helped those who are new to my classroom. Yet, my standard line from the past week is that "I severely underestimated the amount of work that goes into switching grades." <br /><br />To summarize the state of my being early last week, I would simply say I was <span style="font-weight: bold;">stressed</span>. Nothing seemed to be working, I seemed to be falling behind in everything, and I felt like I had lost the art of teaching. Then on Wednesday, it hit me. I was like Ramon. I felt like I had Leon looking over my shoulder all day, making comments about what was happening in my classroom. I couldn't think clearly because my brain was in a state of panic wondering how I was going to ever recover from this switch. <br /><br />So, I began to think "ish-ly." I gave myself permission to not know every little detail of 5th grade curriculum at the present time, permission to take things step-by-step, permission to make a pile of items to get back to at another time. Suddenly, everything fell into place. Looking back, I'm sure everything was going along fine before my thinking "ish-ly." All of those "seemed" and "felt" emotions from the previous paragraph were simply in my head. Yet, it took a little book to remind me to stop being a perfectionist and to look around and see the "ish-ness" in my students and my work.<br /><br />If you're in the world of education, I hope that this finds you well in the new school year. If you happen to be feeling swamped by it all, I encourage you to pick up a copy of <span style="font-style: italic;">Ish</span>. Maybe with a little "ish-ful" thinking you'll find you're doing quite well.Kieman Holland-Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04080876979484729972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260281783531462876.post-13897547409826247242010-07-21T12:08:00.000-04:002012-08-25T17:57:41.526-04:00Secrets of Being a LinchpinThere are many characteristics of a linchpin that I can relate to, but I'll spare you my self-analysis. Instead I'll let you in on two secrets on being a linchpin courtesy of Seth Godin. <br />
<blockquote>
"The law of linchpin leverage: The more value you create in your job, the fewer clock minutes of labor you actually spend creating that value. In other words, most of the time, you're not being brilliant. Most of the time, you do stuff that ordinary people could do."<br />
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"The only way I know of to become a successful linchpin is to build a support team of fellow linchpins."</blockquote>
<blockquote>
</blockquote>
Kieman Holland-Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04080876979484729972noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5260281783531462876.post-26361842778686984582010-07-19T10:43:00.005-04:002012-08-25T17:56:45.270-04:00Linchpin<a href="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyzwruN5yt0/TERpK1LB1dI/AAAAAAAAD2I/Qedb6e7QShA/s1600/linchpin+cover.jpg" onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}"><img alt="" border="0" id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5495633080091792850" src="http://3.bp.blogspot.com/_uyzwruN5yt0/TERpK1LB1dI/AAAAAAAAD2I/Qedb6e7QShA/s200/linchpin+cover.jpg" style="cursor: pointer; float: right; height: 200px; margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; width: 200px;" /></a><br />
I picked up a copy of <a href="http://sethgodin.com/sg/books.asp">Linchpin </a>by <a href="http://sethgodin.com/sg/default.asp">Seth Godin </a>at the library a few months ago after I noticed <a href="http://weblogg-ed.com/2010/step-away-from-the-tweet/">several</a> <a href="http://http//www.hermanmiller.com/lifework/inspiration-piers-fawkes-of-psfk/">others</a> reading it and mentioning it. I've only read through a few chapters whose titles grabbed my attention, but what I've read has been thought-provoking, challenging, and inspiring. With it being summer much of my reading has been in small chunks in many different locations (several different states) and I've lost track of a lot of my thoughts that I wanted to post. So, you'll just have to read it yourself. :>) I'd recommend "Becoming the Linchpin" for starters. "The Culture of Connection" is great as well with a confirmation of all of the collaborative work that we do.<br />
<br />
I guess what has struck me the most in my reading is both how necessary it is for me to be a linchpin in my role as an educator and how my own kids and my students will need to be linchpins to succeed in the changing world of work. <br />
<br />
If anyone else is reading or has read Linchpin, I'd love to discuss it with you.Kieman Holland-Andersonhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04080876979484729972noreply@blogger.com0