These are the Roller Coaster Days of Our Lives...

This blog is a collaborative effort between John Ferguson and Stephen Banks

The rollercoaster of the week ends with a high!

But as with a rollercoaster we've also had a few lows.

Over the past year we've had discussions on the ineffective personal development activities associated with technology. When presenting 20 different apps and programs in 2 hours often leads to a state of overload, which then puts us into a position of making people feel they are 20 apps behind, when in reality we might actually only use 2 or 3. Why would someone ever get on the ride then they think everyone else is soooooo far ahead of them? We were asked to do a presentation (at a staff meeting of all places) on how we've used technology in our classes this year. Now, this captive.....errrrr....captivated audience now had to sit through 3 colleagues' and the division tech guru present examples apps/programs. Between the four of us we probably did at least 7 apps and at least 20 jargon words. You can imagine how we were so inspired and proud of what we accomplished after this "forced" technology presentation. I'm sure the High School p.e. teacher is going to go out and do a collaborative technology infused project with his students next week. Not sure on how or why we stooped to this low. Maybe the familiarity with this form of presentation, the setting and our own bad habits set in, but it happened and we must learn from it.

So the high...spent Thursday in my room with two fellow staff members, one who has not been overly accepting of the change that technology can bring. Overwhelmed is the sentiment most often expressed by this teacher, and fair enough, as we all handle our life loads in our own way. But on Thursday something changed, not with bells and whistles but with small steps and shy grins of accomplishments. This person ended the day by working on her new twitter account. We then had a invigorating discussion about how we can now twitter each other during class, as we will be teaching the same section (Social Studies 10-1) during the same block. This led to an exploration how we can have the students twitter both teachers and other students in the opposite classroom...not exactly flattening the world but as they say, all journeys begin with a first step...

The journey the two of us have been on has started paying dividends in our school beyond the boundaries of our class walls. Other teachers are realizing that our collaboration is working for us and our students. It is an example for them and they're starting to want on.

It is OK to collaborate and work together. We don't have to be individuals in the school; we can truly be members of a team. (a little background...we are a k-12 school and often we are the only people teaching the subject). This is a good way to end this week and start a new semester on Monday and now we must maintain the momentum and continue to convert the others to take a "Ride".

Thanks for reading,

John and Stephen

picture courtesy of: http://www.flickr.com/photos/patrioux/409787374/

Moving Forward

The last few weeks of a semester are always a mad house. Teachers are stressed about deadlines and too often are reflecting on what went wrong over the semester. Students are worrying about exams and final projects. It is important that we focus first on our successes.

• What worked well?
• Was there a student we were able to connect with?
• Was there a colleague that benefited by a little collaboration?

At the same time people often learn most about themselves through our tragedy and failures. The speedbumps slow us down and should give us the opportunity to reflect.

• What didn't work? Why?
  
• Was there a student that you didn't connect with? Why?
  
• Was there a colleague that irritated you? Why

I know that I often can only see what did not work and I have to force myself to investigate and delve onto the "why". Was it the result of poor planning? Were there personality conflicts? However, one must always know they have the power to adapt and change and one must prevent making the same errors over again.

Intro Rocky inspiration....



Moving forward...
Pick ourselves up...
Dust off the dirt...
Build on our successes...
Help those on the same journey...

While I am reflecting I can take pride on my successes over the past semester. I can build on those successes. I can learn from the failures, mistakes and speed bumps.

I want to thank my PLN! You were all helpful and inspiring and you keep me moving forward.

Digital Footprint

I am blessed by a very common name with a few famous "John Ferguson's" on the list as well. The best part of this was when I had a chance to see the Stanley Cup at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto and was able to get a picture of myself pointing at my name on the cup itself...Well it IS my name! A simple Google search and you'll see how irrelevant and difficult it is to find any reference to me.



Unfortunately, there was a need to "teach" some of my students about their digital footprint. It ended up being a very good discussion and by the types of questions my students were asking they took what I was saying very seriously. It was good to see that they cared about the impressions they were making. Interestingly it was surprising how little many of them had previously thought about the issue. Sometimes we, as adults and educators, assume the abilities and critical thinking skills, especially those dealing with technological issues, are greater than they are.

Sadly, these would not be issues at this level (Junior High) if it was clearly indicated in the curriculum. My hope is that some of my students consider the consequences of their "digital footprint" before they stomp over something cherished...

Excellent Collaboration

Today I had the opportunity to work with a colleague and do some collaborative marking. It was an unusually pleasant experience and has allowed me to re-think some of my future assignments.

The experience really showed the importance of clearly communicating expectations/criteria. It was interesting to see what we thought obvious in the assignment was treated with almost complete disregard by the students. The conversation that was centered around outcomes and assessment was personally fulfilling. Sometimes it seems it is not the assignment itself, but the conversation that is created where true learning and understanding occurs. When I reflect on how the two of us were able to get through the marking, while talking, asking questions was quite dynamic and engaging.

What does this mean for me? Learning takes place when students are engaged...Engaged in the assignment and engaged with each other. Hopefully my students move beyond the thought of collaboration as "copying" which too often occurs. My next task....to create an engaging project that allows good collaboration.

Good Reads

Tonight I read the following blog posts and felt compelled to share them .

Is joining a PLN bad for morale? - Teach42

Education and Technology by Steve Dembo

Steve openly wonders why it seems when educators start blogging they tend to shift their career focus.

The Myth of the Digital Native

Betchablog -- Posted by Chris

This posting made a lot of sense to me. It really railed at many assumptions we have towards youth and their technological abilities. Too often many teachers assume the capabilities of the youth exceed their own and don't have anything to "teach" them.

The New Year Begins...

Wow...

The long run will begin. Everything has been set up and its time for the students to run. It is such an exciting time! I'm reinvigorated, I have some great ideas and I've been inspired by a lot of educators on the blogosphere and Twitter.

When this journey began in early December, I thought I was so far behind the others. Over the last month I have read, then read some more. It has been one of the most personally satisfying moments of my life... This is all about me and it feels great! This might seem like an odd statement, but it is so true. I have the ability to read nearly anything I want (boy is that list long!) and I have the ability ignore whatever I want.

As in all things dealing with the ego there is danger. I have the ability to surround myself with people who generally agree with me...Oh! I can see my ego grow even more... Yes, this could have some negatives and I must be careful to temper what I take in and what I choose to ignore. I must be careful to consider the benefits to my students and the curriculum before I jump on the next "cool web2.0 app"!

Hey this is sooo cool!!!

*thinks outloud* Maybe I'll do a characterization rap on Monday....Dangerous...Dangerous...

Shoutout to the blog postings that inspired me over the last week:

What Not To Build
Downes

Twitter Deep vs. Blog Deep

Dean Shareski

21st Century Clarification
Ben Grey

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