This is the Big One!

At the culmination of our #ed584 course, we were asked to create a digital story which we could use in our current or future classrooms. We were also asked to attempt to learn how to juggle, and document our journey as well. In the name of efficiency, and because I had a lightning bolt idea for an awesome story, I chose to combine these two projects into one, seamless story. And like Redd Foxx's eponymous character from TV's "Sanford & Son," this project truly became "the Big One!"

For my digital story project, I made a video showcasing my SHS Connect group of Grade 11 students (that's a 20-minute, twice weekly advisory/enrichment/homeroom period, to you), as they attempted to open up and share a bit about themselves while also filming me attempting to learn how to juggle. My students and I filmed and took still images using an iPad, while I used a Blue Snowflake USB microphone and Windows Movie Maker 2012 to narrate and edit my video project, finally uploading the film to YouTube.

The film can be both appropriate, thoughtful and reflective at times in the way it documents my juggling journey while also allowing students the opportunity to share in this experience and tell a bit about themselves as well. Other times, it can seem pretty silly, and possibly "inappropriate;" however, that's what SHS Connect is supposed to be -- an informal, loosely structured time and space to connect students with one another, and to a teacher they might not otherwise ever interact with outside of their scheduled classes. Although I'd love to share the video publicly, some of my students who appear in the video do not have permission to have their names, likeness or work appear in public forums. The law is the law, I suppose.

I think the final product turned out really well, in my unbiased opinion! :)

Honestly, I wanted to see what editing a several minutes-long documentary film would be like using Movie Maker, which many of our students option to use for their own film projects at school. I would probably include more still images and try different transitions and filters in any future iterations of the video.

Windows Movie Maker is a relatively simple video editing program available to all students in our school, so it would certainly benefit them in any digital storytelling or documentary film-related work they're required to do for their classes. Heck, it would even be cool to make a video resume, or projects for family and friends. Unfortunately, not only is the program outdated by several years, but it's also available only to users on our networked PCs at school. At a time when more and more iPads and Chromebooks are being added to our building, it will make it more difficult to support students' use of this technology when Windows-based devices are limited or in high demand. Scheduling PC lab space for classes, or suggesting alternative video-editing options for other devices, such as iMovie (Macbooks, iPads) or YouTube (Chromebooks) could be viable ways to overcome these impediments.

I thought this was a very challenging, yet worthwhile, project, as it allowed me to try a new technology and share a story of my students that they were actually involved in making along with me. We learned a lot about one another, which is one of the goals of SHS Connect. Too bad I haven't yet learned how to juggle!

The Twitter Experience

Using Twitter with more regularity as a result of my recent #ed584 grad class has afforded me with the opportunity to explore this service a bit more in-depth as a professional development tool for cultivating a personal learning network (PLN). Admittedly, I've known the thrill of connecting with a like-minded community of peers who share similar interests via Twitter since I first became a user in June of 2009.

However, using Twitter for "personal" interests vs. "professional" interests has been a different endeavor entirely. While on the topic, yes, I am a proponent of having a personal, protected account in addition to a professional account. I don't fully subscribe to the opinion that educators need to be as "transparent" as some more liberal-minded folks out there, who manage to strike the balance between being personable, human and professional with one, singular account. While I also realize that "anything can be found online, whether you try to protect it or not," I also DO feel entitled (one of my LEAST favorite words) to a certain degree of privacy and balance to keep our personal lives personal and professional lives professional. That doesn't mean we cannot have fun as professionals, though :) I also think this can serve as an effective teaching model for students; sometimes it really does boil down to appropriate time and place.

Participating in Twitter chats has been particularly beneficial for PD purposes. While our grad class maintains it's running record of comments and blog posts, I've enjoyed joining the conversation in professional circles related to my interests as a library media specialist. In particular, I find #TLchat (short of Teacher-Librarian) to be quite useful, and often amusing. Below is a sample of one such attempt to join this conversation:

.@NikkiDRobertson Dislike "policing" my academic HS library for "noise." Paras/fellow TL r conservative/traditional. Help! #moedchat #tlchat

— Mike McKenna (@librarymediaman) February 5, 2016

Not the best response came from this post; none. Could have had something to do with the fact this chat was probably intended for teachers in Missouri exclusively. However, as @paulbogush has informed us, it's tough being the new person at the party, and people won't necessarily respond to you just because you said something.

So, I'll continue to practice what I preach with my students: being resilient, respectful, confident and curious, I'll continue participating in Twitter chats and look forward to using this social media tool for professional (and personal) purposes for years to come.

Prepare for Tomorrow...

"Prepare for tomorrow by doing your best work today," or some iteration of the phrase, is a famous quote, or idea, that has stuck with me for years. Anytime I've ever felt particularly stressed out or unsure of something, it's almost always because I wasn't prepared enough for it.

Whether completing assignments for school, tasks at work, buying a car, or heck, even deciding what to pack for lunch, preparation has always led me down the path to success. I've told this to my students before undertaking many research projects and believe this concept is essential when responding to the question: what are you preparing students for?

I believe it's my duty to ensure that my students are prepared with the tools, skills and strategies to meet the challenges of tomorrow by doing their best today. No one knows what tomorrow might bring for a child. It could be as simple and innocuous as making sure they have online access and strategies to search for information to complete an assignment on time.

Or, it could be a greater task, like making decisions on whether or not to enter the armed forces, or which college to apply to, or whether or not to attend college at all.

The world has become a very complicated and sometimes scary place for our kids. I want to make sure that I do everything I can to prepare my students to make good, informed choices for tomorrow by giving everything they've got today. That resilience, competence, creativity, confidence and independence will empower students to seize every opportunity and be prepared to face the challenges of tomorrow. All it takes is a little extra preparation today!

Thanks for sharing your comments, as well as what YOU feel you're preparing your students for!

Dicey Research? Try CARRDSS!

Check out my first attempt to make an RSA-style video; not too shabby! Big shoutout to teacher-librarian maven Joyce Valenza for the inspirational CARRDSS method for evaluating online sources of informational research, as well as the collective support of my #ed584 colleagues. About three hours of frustration, many huffs of dizzying, dry-erase markers, several palmfuls of Sour Patch Kids and a little bit of luck went into making this short, speedy, and hopefully, useful video.

Please to enjoy, and thanks for leaving any feedback for me below! 

What Little Birdies Tell Me

Although I've only recently started using Twitter for professional purposes, I've been a user since mid-2009 and have always recognized it's value as a news service tailored to my individual interests. Initially, I was overwhelmed by the number of posts flowing into my timeline, feeling compelled to read each one and explore every link in an attempt to "stay caught up." After drinking from the fire hose for a few weeks, I became more selective about what I read and what I might use in my everyday life.

Below are some great resources and tweets I've recently plucked from my Twitter feed. My best advice to you, like the proverbial grizzly bear faced with a barrage of leaping salmon, is once you get one that matters to you, step out of the stream and enjoy; enough is a feast:

My #STEM STEAM #STEMx page https://t.co/UANhosI3Qr #4thchat pic.twitter.com/XtSmdwtUmt

— Jerry Blumengarten (@cybraryman1) February 2, 2016

Say what you will about Jerry Blumengarten's website or in your face profile images, but I turn to the Cybraryman when I'm searching for relevant library, technology or current events topics to write about and promote in my library. This installment on STEM, STEAM, STREAM and STEMx was rife with inspirational resources for my collaborative STEAM research project with a 5th grade music class, 11th and 12th grade Earth Science students and some Art kids from my high school.

5 Free Tools for Creating Whiteboard Videos https://t.co/4CnbZ1Vspd

— Richard Byrne (@rmbyrne) February 5, 2016

I always enjoy Richard Byrne's FreeTech4Teachers blog, but particularly liked this post about digital tools useful for creating whiteboard videos. We'll be expected to make our own RSA/Commoncraft-style videos soon. This could come in handy if my next grad class meeting gets snowed out and I'm forced to ditch my shower board and dry-erase markers for my iPad instead!

Bloom’s, SAMR, and Beyond: A Practical Guide for Tech Integration. ASCD Express: https://t.co/X6gL2k12Eq

— Kathy Schrock (@kathyschrock) January 28, 2016

Kathy Schrock is a renowned ed tech leader and as an educator with a penchant for research and inquiry, she's been a go-to resource for much of the information literacy, instructional resources and strategies used in my library lesson planning. After recently discovering the SAMR model in grad class, the concepts of how to truly enhance and transform learning with technology has woven its way into my thinking and discussions with teachers and students. Responsible tech integration, carefully supported with purpose and meaning, is the key to unlocking a lot of potential learning opportunities for kids to showcase their talents.

I believe that librarians must become the technology leaders in our school! #tlchat

— Elissa Malespina (@elissamalespina) April 30, 2014

Ok, so this may not qualify as an article, but I certainly find it to be a thought-provoking tweet. After a brief back-and-forth on Twitter and Skype call with my grad class, I immediately considered New Jersey-based "work in progress" teacher-librarian, Elissa Malespina, to be an integral member of my Twitter PLN. This tweet was particularly thought-provoking for me, because in spite of all the professional literature I've read and librarian/ed tech conferences I've attended, I've never really paid much attention to leadership. I've always felt that title was reserved for 092s (that's a school administrator, to you) and Board of Education employees. I realize that in my role as a librarian, I'm primed to become a grassroots leader for technology in my own school; raising the ed tech flag high and blaring its horn for all to see and hear. Inspiring stuff, huh? :)

Fear Itself

The topic of fear among our students is very intriguing. Our instincts are to protect them from fear, to always make them feel safe and nurtured. In a literal sense, yes, we should do everything within our power to keep our students safe from harm, whether it manifests itself as a third party, or stems from what we're directly doing in our classrooms.

Here's where things get interesting: how do we address what students fear?

"The only thing we have to fear, is fear itself." - Franklin Delano Rooselvelt, 32nd President of the United States

When faced with a difficult research task or concept, I tell my students that in order to become fearless, they need to fear less. What frightens students, and most people, I'd imagine, is failure. I know that's true for me. For students, this often comes as a result of receiving failing grades, a polarizing phenomena best left explored in a different post.

However, I always reassure my students that because I don't grade them when I co-teach a class, they have no reason to fear failure. Instead, they only need to be afraid of fear itself, because that is their only obstacle in achieving success. We all know that "success" takes different forms for individual students, so being able to overcome this fear and harness that strength to become fearless are the first steps needed for us to teach and live our mission in my library: to create competent, confident and independent users of information and technology.

To some degree, I believe that fear is a good thing. It teaches us humility and can keep us grounded when faced with adversity, affording us an opportunity to make decisions, make mistakes, and learn.

How do you address what students fear?

Skyping with the Stars

Last night, my ed tech grad class had the pleasure of Skyping with a renowned, teacher-librarian/rockstar from NJ, Elissa Malespina, whom I've recently joined up with as a member of my Personal Learning Network (PLN) on Twitter. I wanted to know more about how librarians can become more involved with co-teaching and implementing technology in their schools. Conveniently, Elissa's "mantra" says it all.

To further add to her street cred, check out the great quote emblazoned on her coffee mug, as she addressed our class from her Jersey homestead, taking time away from her family, and an apparently thirsty dog, just to share her thoughts with us:

"They (librarians) are subversive. You think they're just sitting there at the desk, all quiet and everything. They're like plotting the revolution, man. I wouldn't mess with them." -- Michael Moore, American Filmmaker

            

I facilitated our conversation with a few general, guiding questions about Elissa's experiences with librarianship. For example, what can you tell teachers about the benefits of collaborating with their school librarian? How do video (digital storytelling) and social media (Twitter) play a part in her role as a school librarian? What advice could she give to encourage students to take risks using educational technology; or teachers?

Her responses were both practical and inspiring. Elissa said that any good librarian should be able to co-teach with students. I was grateful for this comment, as it made me reflect on my own co-teaching practices and sometimes tenuous relationships with teachers and students in my own school. She also encouraged tech leaders to make participation in Web 2.0 experiences and sharing their work online an opt-out clause of their school or district's Acceptable or Responsible Use Policy (AUP, RUP). I think the experience of sharing and writing for a wider audience would help our students become better digital citizens, and maybe even improve their literacy skills in the process.

Possibly my favorite response from Elissa came from our question about risk-taking, encouraging teachers to let their kids know: "I'm learning this, too. We're learning this together, and it's not gonna stop us from doing it."

It's both empowering and scary for teachers to think of relinquishing that all-coveted "control" we have, or think we have: over ourselves, our students, their perceptions of us and everyone's level of ability. I think the most powerful tool in overcoming the fear associated with using educational technology is a positive, open mind, and accepting failure as an opportunity to make mistakes and try again; to be resilient and to learn.

I'm truly grateful to have had Elissa join our class, and for the opportunity to chat with these amazing mentors and like-minded people. I'd be grateful for your thoughts as well; what's inspired you to think differently and take risks, or who is your rockstar in education?

The Boss seems to be on board; are you?