Who needs a Digital Portfolio?

"We'd love to have you. Think about what's best for you and your family and let me know."

Those were the words I heard as I sat across the desk from the principal. The interview had been short. It didn't start with the usual "tell me about yourself" kind of questions. It was like he knew me; and he did.  We chatted; then he offered me the job.

And with that interaction, I was sold on the digital portfolio.

I had never sat down with this individual before. A little homework, though, and my educational blog surfaces. On it, one would find the teaching practices I was learning about: flipped learning, project-based learning, bring your own device. I would like to think it paints me as a connected educator, a lifelong learner, a reflective practitioner. It would share my interest in the teachings of Gordon Neufeld, William Kilpatrick Heard, even George Couros. It would show that I'm learning about social emotional learning and digital citizenship.  I'm interested in these things yet trying to know more.

My posts would have response comments from educators all around.  The comments would show educational conversations that took place in response to the ideas in the posts.  The digger would see how others have reacted to my thoughts giving insight into the professional relationships I was forming.

A little more digging and one would see my twitter account. Reflective quotations, friendly banter, thoughtful questions. It would contain photos, videos and statements of inspirational ideas, of complex inquiry, of attempts to make clear some difficult concepts. It would show my responses to educational chat questions.

My Slideshare account would show slides for the workshops I have done. My Youtube account would have Math and Science teaching videos. Even more digging and one might also find articles written for educational companies or magazines.

This rich mosaic shares a picture that I couldn't paint in a 40 minute interview, nervous and out of breath.

Some have happened upon my digital footprint and caught up with me.  Some have offered me opportunities; some have even offered me consulting work.

I tell this story as we put a bow on one year while unboxing another.  A whole new grade level at our school will be dealing with BYOD and digital portfolios.  And the question some of the staff will ask is why.  Why use these tools?  Isn't blogging just another add on?  Isn't the proverbial pendulum about to swing?

For me, blogging goes hand in hand with passion and purpose.  It is inseparable from my career.  It got me where I am today.  It helped make me into who I am today.  I want to share that with my students.

What does a digital portfolio mean for students?
- It is a stage to share learning.
- It is a place the receive feedback on that learning from anyone
- It shows progress and development.
- It allows students to take charge of their digital footprint.

Who needs a digital portfolio? Everyone.

By the way, if it wasn't obvious, I took the job.  Hey, I had done a little digging myself.  I liked what I saw and that made the difference.

#Eduin30 Thots Year 1

George Couros (+George Couros) had a great idea last March: why not use twitter's video feature to have educators share their thoughts in 30 seconds or less over the medium.   He would introduce a thought provoking question each week and people would give their answers.  Always enjoying an opportunity to share ideas and make connections, I joined in.  Now, that #eduin30 is taking a hiatus over the summer, I thought I would look back at the questions and some of my answers.  Here they are:

Let students know they'll have your support as they make an impact on the world w/ their projects #EDUin30 #EDUin30w1 pic.twitter.com/FSNhLEqffz

— Sean Robinson (@sr_tutor) March 9, 2015

Principals: do a good job at school & home. My #eduin30 #EDUin30w2 @gcouros @LollyDaskal pic.twitter.com/1BgcZD99DD

— Sean Robinson (@sr_tutor) March 16, 2015

Community circles help build ... community. ( who knew :) ) #EDUin30w3 #EDUin30 pic.twitter.com/afstM00VUe

— Sean Robinson (@sr_tutor) March 20, 2015

My response 2 #EDUin30: challenge a practice or trend in education: Let's ask ourselves Y we're using tech #eduin30w6 pic.twitter.com/5AlxHfbL3F

— Sean Robinson (@sr_tutor) April 12, 2015

An element of literacy that needs special focus for today: what is plagiarism? #eduin30 #EDUin30w7 pic.twitter.com/WI1En7ZckK

— Sean Robinson (@sr_tutor) April 18, 2015

How to facilitate an environment where innovation is the norm: facilitate Piggy-backing #eduin30 #EDUin30w12 @gcouros pic.twitter.com/G8uk27w6s8

— Sean Robinson (@sr_tutor) June 1, 2015

I used to think that twitter was a waste of time.  Who wants to hear about somebody else's cat or see a picture of what they made for dinner.  But if you're into reflection, connection, and betterment, there's lots to check out there.  Educators are doing great things with this tool.  I entitled this #Eduin30 Year 1 as I know that something like this is only the beginning.  Who knows what might happen in Year 2. Innovation is only limited by our pride.

CBL: Connections-based Learning

 

When William Heard Kilpatrick first began using the term project in regards to education back in 1918, he used it the same way that project-based learning teachers use it today: purposeful acts.  These genuine projects allow for students to work together to plan, create, and present "a wholehearted purposeful activity proceeding in a social environment" (Kilpatrick, 1918).  I share about it in Teach Old-School: Try Project-based Learning.

Now I love project-based learning.  I love how the BIE has emphasized that projects need real world relevance, that they include critical thinking, communication, and collaboration, that they emphasize teacher and student working together to connect with experts and resources available to them from around the globe.

But I would like to take a moment to reflect on the connected nature of learning.

Learning in the 21st century must take advantage of the connected world we live in.  Putting the focus on connections makes for the type of learning that zeros in on relationships, Kilpatrick's "social environment".  Making a connection with the teacher is fundamental to learning.  I share about it in: I Trust You; You Trust Me and The Unmaking of the Bully.  But connections run throughout the learning in this day and age.

It's an idea that I have been working on for some time: focusing on the connections of learning. . .not simply the content nor the task.  Thus: Connections-based Learning.

I have 6 connections that I want to expand on.  This is not an exhaustive list. . .more so, a starting point: Serve the Community, Question Experts, Work as a Team, Help Organizations, Show the Class, Share with the World.  For each, I ask some honest questions.  Hopefully they spark further dialogue.

Serve the Community

Loading up a Christmas hamper to take to a local family 

This idea was brewing when I wrote: Projects that Change the World:

"Intuitively it makes sense.  While we spend the 200 days together, we might as well make a difference.  We might as well move beyond what if two trains leave their stations at such and such a time and into how could we improve the transit use in our community.  We might as well shift from find out what a wetland is to how we can save the wetlands behind the school." from Projects that Change the World (Originally published in the Fall 2014 Edition of Living Education eMagazine)

There are so many opportunities in the neighbourhood around the school.  What if we made a priority to utilize those opportunities, to help where help is needed?

Some questions for reflection:
- what are the needs in the community?
- what connections does the class and school already have with community partners?
- what resources do we have as a class that can help meet community needs?
- what are we learning as we help meet community needs?

It doesn't take much to get students thinking about the needs in their community.  One of my students began a campaign to get a new pool for the community.  Another group made a plea for more hitting in PeeWee hockey.  I've had groups go around to neighbouring schools to plant flowers.  Students simply need inspiration, permission and someone to say that they'll support them through it. The students win; the community wins.

Question the Experts

Interview with a childhood cancer survivor

When a group wanted to bring in a cancer survivor for their presentation on medical advancements, I was truly excited.  It was a win-win-win.  The students get first-hand information; the class gets to hear about the real deal; and the guest gets to tell his story. This presentation truly connected with my students.

I want to make a case for making connections with experts a priority.  Think about it for a moment: a relationship with an expert is dynamic.  Often experts have the most recent information.  They have a personal investment in the info.  And some are just biting at the bit to share it.  Now consider having a connection with multiple experts: being able to compare and contrast their views, even getting involved in their community.

- When you connect with an expert, you get a current perspective.
- When you connect with an expert, you honour the work they do.
- When you connect with an expert, you raise the engagement level.

Some questions for reflection:
- what learning outcomes do we have that could tap into an expert's understanding?
- what means do we have of connecting with experts; can we expand on those means?
- how can we facilitate our students using their own means to contact experts?

My current Science and Tech class is working to make connections with experts in the Canadian Space field.  I am excited to see where it goes.

Work as a Team

A reflection on collaboration

At my school, we are working hard to reflect on what it means to collaborate successfully.  It is not an easy concept.  And if teachers struggle with what it looks like to squeeze every little bit of synergetic potential out of collaboration, think about how tough it might be for students.  Connections-based Learning looks at what it really means to work as a team. 

Students must have time to reflect on questions such as these:
- what skills and strengths does each group member have to accomplish the task?
- how is the workload going to be shared?
- what rules do you want to have regarding your collaboration?
- what will you do if the rules aren't followed?

Help Organizations

Raising money for cancer research

It happened again.  During our Medical Advances Project in Science and Tech 11, a student came up to me and asked: "So. . .for this assignment. . .you're not asking us to really do something, are you?"  Yup.

I love that question, though.  I get to see the light go on right then and there.  And the light shines: I can really make a difference.

Some questions for reflection:
- how can we open the doors for students to make connections with outside groups and keep them safe?
- how can we support students in making connections with organizations?
- how do we deal with the disappointments that can go along with stepping out and taking risks?
- what about the students who don't want to get involved?

Show the class

A student's Youtube teaching video

I love watching students share their learning with the rest of the class.  But I want to emphasize here that it can happen in many different ways.  For Math 10, each student, in pairs or by themselves, studied a certain Math concept that we would be learning this term.  Their task was to create a teaching video.  I share about this is Flipclass 2.0: it's not about you or your videos.

To teach something is to really learn it.  Once again: win, win.  The presenters get to work through the concept.  The listeners get to be exposed to it.

Some questions for reflection:
- what limits have we been putting on what is possible in the classroom?
- do we know our students' expertise; what can we encourage our students to share?
- do we open the doors for alternate means of sharing?
- how can we use student learning to promote more student learning?

Share with the world

A student's blog post on digital footprints 

I remember sitting in a community circle as a staff during a Pro D Day as we shared one word about our hopes for our students.  Words like reflective, compassionate, brave, and curious were all spoken as we went around the circle.  When it came to my turn, I blurted out: blogger.  Many had a hard time computing this.  Was Sean making a mockery of the activity?  I didn't think so.  I did have some explaining to do, though.

My thought was that if I could get my students truly blogging, I would achieve a lot of what the other teachers were saying.  My students would have to reflect.  They would be encouraged to observe another's viewpoint as they read and commented on each other, possibly sparking some compassion.  They would have to be brave as they shared.  And their curiosities could be revealed?  Blogging isn't the end all be all, but it certainly helps accomplish a lot of what we are trying to do as teachers.

That is what I am getting at when I say: share with the world.  Blog about it, comment about it, tweet about it, vlog about it--but share it beyond handing it to the teacher.

Some questions for reflection:
- what safeguards need to be in place as we share with the world?
- what platform helps accomplish our goals?
- what should be done publically, what should be kept private?
- how do we showcase accomplishments, curate learning, and communicate feedback?  Will this require multiple platforms?

I am firm believer in Kilpatrick's purposeful acts of teaching.  And I believe that these acts can be seen in terms of genuine connections between and within the classroom and the world beyond.  I hope to live out these ideas and add clarity to what I see as Connections-based Learning.  I would love to hear your thoughts.

Kilpatrick, W. H. (1918) The Project Method: The Use of the Purposeful Act in the Educative Process. Retrieved May 11, 2015 from UmassAmherst on the World Wide Web: http://people.umass.edu/~rwellman/Philosophy/Kilpatrick.pdf

Flipclass 2.0: It's not about you or your videos

In my previous #flipclass post, Four ways to make your flipclass awesome, I shared four ideas that I had at the end of a term of my first class flipping experience.  These were not ideas I had done and tested, but more, thoughts that I had about what I should have done and committed to do in the next term.  In keeping with my Cut the Cool Card philosophy, I was pretty open about the need for much more work done on my videos and better communication with parents.  In fact, I made four claims about how to make the #flippedlearning experience awesome:

1) Make concise engaging videos
2) Start the year with the students creating the videos
3) Create an online culture of questions and learning
4) Make a flipped class parent video

What follows is my work on each of these points since that post:

Make concise engaging videos

I have begun to really hone in on the concept I would like the students to get from the video.  The video that follows is less than 3 minutes long.  I explain the concept I'm teaching, share some visuals and a question, explain the answer, and get out. 

An example of my Flipclass videos to date: Referents in Measurement 

I am hoping that I can continue keeping the videos short and relevant.

Start the year with the students creating the videos

This next point is really the kicker of this blog.  I carved time out of a busy provincially examable course to have students make their own videos this term.  It was well worth it.

One of the many student videos; this one is on trigonometry

 

First, seeing these students wrestle with finding screencasting apps and editing video was great.  I watched as students solved issues around recording, editing, and presenting. I loved seeing the variety of apps the students used.  I asked them what resources they used to make their videos and this is what they told me:

 



But second, as students participate in the video-making process, they become co-creators of the online learning space.  They take more ownership of the class and I am hoping get more involved in watching and commenting on all the videos...including the ones I have made for them.  This to me is Flipclass 2.0.

Create an online culture of questions and learning

The idea around creating a quality online culture is still something that needs some work.  At this point, I use Edmodo to deliver the videos.  I have students watch them and then then make a comment back to me.  I have always hoped that the comments would create conversation among the students.  Unfortunately, the dialogue has only been between the student and myself.  I would love to hear any suggestions as to how other educators foster this.

Make a flipped class parent video

Often my blogs become commitments.  If I share it here, it makes it tough for me not to at least make an attempt.  So I followed my own recommendations and made a parent video.  I thought to have it fulfill a couple of needs, not only explaining what the Flipped Classroom is but also what it looks like at home.  Here it is below:

Parent video on Flipped Learning



I put a QR code on the course outline that I handed out Day 1 to be signed by all the parents.  The code led to this video.  Although I didn't get much feedback from parents about it right away, I knew that it "got out there" when I was talking to a parent.  "We'll see how this flipped class goes" was her comment.  To me, regardless of the parent response at this stage, I at least have had a chance to give my side of the story, to set the tone.

So that is where I am at today: my version of Flipclass 2.0.  And I'm excited to see what Flipclass 3.0 is as I keep at it!!!

Cut the cool card...even online

I recently had a conversation with a co-worker about twitter.  I was sharing how it and other social media has helped me become a better teacher.  She agreed that that was possible but her experience was that often the posts were simply showboating or lofty quotes.  Not really that useful to her.

She had a point.  Who wants to scroll through a bunch of people putting on their best, eliciting a response of either some kind of disdain or jealousy?  Who wants to have the idea that you could (and should) be better than you are thrown at you.  That caused me to wonder: how could two people's experiences be so different?  What is it about the posts I focus on that lead me to be a better teacher, a better person?

I began to reflect back to posts that recently had affected me, that led me to respond and change.  I didn't have to look very far.  Within the last weeks several posts stood out to me.  These were not the posts of jaw dropping successes but more so of risks, and failures (some quite drastic), and vulnerability.  It was the sharing of these that stirred me, affected me, and led me to act, to respond.  I share them here.  And I implore you: be real.  Be real online; be real in your communities, in your home.  It is that reality that makes THE difference. . .that makes A difference.

Share Setbacks

A couple of days ago, I stumbled onto a post by Roni Loren -- Bloggers Beware: You CAN Get Sued For Using Pics on Your Blog - My Story. I had to tweet it out.

In her post, Roni was open about a situation that happened to her.  She took her readers through the story of this huge setback and how she learned from it.  There were no excuses.  Punches weren't pulled.  And she had me.  I poured through her recommendations; I evaluated my practices; I made personal commitments.

I also recently commented on Chris Kennedy's Culture of Yes blog: The Size of the Device. He shared about a leadership discussion he had with a class of Grade 11's and 12's.  His lesson didn't go as planned and though his blog was focused on device size, he readily admitted he could have been more engaging and put more effort into classroom management.  The superintendent of West Vancouver School District admitted he could have been better.  Not only does that draw me in but it adds credibility to what he says.

Take Risks

Another thing that pushed me to act was this vid tweet here:

#EDUin30

George talks about it here: New Project: #EDUin30.  He had an idea to use the new twitter video feature to prompt educators to share their ideas.  He admitted: "To be honest, it felt a little uncomfortable to share myself in a video. That was actually kind of the point. To stretch myself in this format as well."  I can appreciate that.  And it was a great idea.  I, and many other educators, jumped on this.  I loved hearing what others were doing in this new format.  And I was able to share of myself looking at a camera, which is a little more exposing than a tweet or blog post.  But it was the idea that he was stretching himself and taking a risk that drew me in.  It is seeing these kinds of risks over and over again that lead me to take more risks in my classroom, in my life.

Be Vulnerable

This morning I read Dean Shareski's post: My Community Story.  In it he re-caps his last ten years of making connections.  One thing he says here:

 

While the journey and story of community continues I realize once again why we share. Those that read this story and relate are sharers too. They’ve been vulnerable enough at some point to take a chance and participate in community. They’ve been able to tell stories of moments that made them realize they weren’t alone, stories of insights they would never have considered, stories of people that have made a difference in their lives. - Dean Shareski

Dean lives it out.  He seems to be a cheerleader of vulnerability.  Just yesterday, he applauded Beth Woof who shared of something she did that she knew she could have done better in her post: I wish I hadn't reacted so quickly....  Vulnerability begets vulnerability.  And this leads to change.  Thanks Dean for beckoning us to share, instilling in us the notion that we are not alone.

 A while back I had read this tweet by Chris Wejr.  I couldn't agree more.

To me, we can't share change unless we are open with the before and the after, the successes and the failures.  When I was a kid, we had this saying: cut the cool card.  It basically meant: be real.  We're all human so don't take yourself so seriously.  We all put our pants on one leg at a time.  In this new era of social media, the need to be genuine hasn't changed a bit.

Four ways to make your flipclass awesome

Six months ago I made a goal to flip my Math 10 class.  I had never taught Math 10 nor any other high school academic course, nor had I flipped a class before so once again, my reach exceeded my grasp.  I learned a ton this first go-round.  I guess the title on this post could be "Don't do what I did and your flipclass will be awesome" but as always, and like all of us, I am on a journey.  Here are some of my ideas at this point on how to make your flipclass awesome.

1) Make concise engaging videos

My first videos were well set up for students who had carved out an hour or two of their time, sat down with a coffee (hot chocolate okay) and their workbook in hand, and poured through my super long drawn out videos finding all the nuggets contained within.  Here is one of the first videos I made:

In the previous video, the teaching doesn't happen until 1:30 seconds.  And its not really teaching, it's more like a glorified answer key.  What is the learning intention?! Not totally sure.  And apart from a slightly goofballish intro, the engagement factor is sitting at impotent proportions.  Here is one of my latest videos.

Improvements made:
- The learning intention is front and centre: finding the greatest common factor and lowest common multiple
- Terms are defined and so is the concept
- The lesson is quickly taught and emphasizes ease and simplicity

Share your videos with other teachers and get feedback.  Ask your students what they like about them and what you could be doing better.  Your video skill will improve over time so don't hesitate to redo videos.  Always keep this question in mind: would I sit through this?

2) Start the year with the students creating the videos

This semester I made all the videos: 46 in all.  I would say that that took between 100 and 200 hours in all to record and edit them.  That's a lot of work.  It's not like I have a lot of time on my hands.  And I am sure some of them needed to be bumped up in volume as they were made at 4:30am with an almost whisper so I didn't wake up anyone else in the house.  It doesn't have to be that way.  This semester will be different.  I've already created a criteria sheet for our Teaching Video Project.  Right at the start students are going to be making their own teaching videos and sharing them with each other.  My hope for this is greater engagement, more interest in my videos, and more interaction around the videos.

3) Create an online culture of questions and learning

The flipclass is not just about the videos.  It is about improving the learning outside school walls.  That can take some time.  If teachers feel that they are the sage on the stage and the keeper of all knowledge then they have got a whole lot of work ahead of them.  But a community freed up and encouraged to become questioners and answerers (with the teacher keeping the discussion moving forward) can bring out the collaboration of the students.  That's why I like Edmodo--a social learning management system.  It promotes Facebook-like posts and responses.  My plan is to ask more questions on our forum to engage the students more around the videos or simply around the learning.  Here is an area in which I hope to report back on how it went.

4) Make a flipped class parent video

Not everyone quickly embraces the flipped classroom.  Halfway through my course I thought I might be in danger of some kind of lynching.  There was misinformation: I had parents hear that we spent all our class time watching videos.  There was misunderstanding: many parents had no idea why I would give their children videos to watch for homework. And there was missed opportunities: how great it would have been to have the parents working alongside their children with the Math teaching videos as a priority.

This term I hope to have a parent video sharing that:

I flipped the class to spend less class time up front explaining and more time one on one with their children

I flipped the class because I was tired of students getting home and copying another's homework or the answers from the back of the book because they didn't understand what to do and the homework was too hard.

I flipped the class to allow students to watch, pause, rewind, fast forward, and watch again some of these difficult Math concepts. . .at their own pace.

And I flipped the class so that students that were sick, at sports games and competitions, and mid-school vacations could have access to all the explanations they would need to learn the material.

Basically, I would love the parents of my students to know that my flipping wasn't flippant.  That there was thought, care, and carefulness that went into this.  A parent video on the flipped class could help.

All of the above are things that I had wish I had done last term.  But I'm not going to be hard on myself for not doing them.  And neither should you.  As @mwren13 reminded me just the other day: we all have trouble with "implementation of all of the great ideas".  It doesn't mean we should stop trying.

What a change can do

 Change is imminent

In 1983, The Police performed at Shae Stadium in front of a shoulder to shoulder crowd of 70,000 exhilarated fans, topping the Beatles and any other band that had ever played there.  In fact, near the end of the concert, Sting mused: "We'd like to thank the Beatles for lending us their stadium". Sting saw this concert as an Everest moment and soon began his solo career.  And the demise of one of the greatest power trios in music history had begun.

My educational Everest was sitting in my classroom alongside my principal as my grade 7 students shared with me how they had changed the world.  It was project-based learning at its core. I share about what my students accomplished here and here. 

Then came the change: High School. A ball had begun rolling that led me to leave the comforts of my classroom home for 7 years and move to teaching Science and Math in a digital environment at the nearby high school.

My attempt at Elephant Toothpaste

 

Enter the rookie. Though I had been teaching for over 20 years, I felt like I had no foundation for my new role. It wasn't simply the new routines, new grade level, new curriculum, and new colleagues. It was my lack of understanding as to what good high school teaching was. I felt I had to change to meet the new routines, grade level, curriculum and colleagues. But I had no clue how to change, what to become. What did this new Mr. Robinson look like? I had no idea. 

And the pressures came ... and I did succumb.  I have found myself worrying over the sheer mountain of content.  I have found myself racing through concepts. I have found myself focused on summative assessment.  And I have found myself covering curriculum, not making it come alive. Here is all that I could blame:

Standardized testing

In BC we have government exams in high school.  In grade 10 they are worth 20% of the mark.  Although it keeps teachers accountable to cover all topics, it also puts pressure on teachers to move briskly through the curriculum. Who would want to be the teacher being cursed by their student during the final: "but Robinson never taught us any of this!"

 

Student motivation

I was completely surprised by my students' attitude toward assignments.  I had an idea that motivation would be much higher in high school. Whether it was the fact that "failure" was a real possibility, or that careers were looming, or just the added maturity, I thought motivation would be something the majority of high school students would have come to terms with. Nope.  So far with my vast 3 months experience, I have noticed that my students intrinsic motivation is even less. Students who would have struggled to complete assignments in middle, continued to struggle in high school. 

Massive amount of content

Roots, radicals, trig, exponents ... Nutrient cycles, Bohr and Lewis models, ionic and covalent bonds ... DNA, codons, ribosomes ... all that is a drop in the bucket of the content and concepts I have shared in the last 3 months.  It is shocking the sheer amount that we're asking high school teachers to communicate and high school students to master.

But if there is any blame, I take it upon myself.  No one asked me to change.

I felt I had to become something I wasn't to meet the demands of testing, motivation, and content.  Instead of molding the demands, I allowed the demands to mold me.  In retrospect, I didn't have to let it happen.  I allowed it.  But I got to see the shining light of high school on the last day before Christmas vacation.

I have made many Christmas hampers over the years in my schools.  But at high school, the students not only bring the food and presents to school but can drive to drop off the boxes.  I accompanied two of my students (and it wasn't them accompanying me! I followed them to the location) who volunteered to deliver the Christmas hampers.  What a blessing it was to see students, one of which I had taught in middle school, give of their time, drive to the location, greet the hamper family, and carry in the boxes.  After the hugs, when we had all parted ways, I reflected on the great possibilities teaching at high school had to offer.

During this Christmas break I get a chance to reflect and refocus my efforts on what is important.

With 11 solo albums, all unique and yet graced with Gordon Sumner's eclectically tasteful style, Sting's choice to go solo was sound.  Who knows what Police would have looked like beyond Synchronicity, their last album as a band.  But either way, the only thing that stays the same is change.  And sometimes it is amazing what a change can do.