Innovation is a Cross Pollination of Ideas

"Mr. Reidy, what are you most excited about for your upcoming holiday vacation?" One of my students asked this question the other day. My mind immediately defaulted to the endless pursuit of getting tasks done for work and home so I can free up time for the 'other' category!  This same thoughtful student also reminded me to make time for family and for myself.  I recently saw a post on Twitter from The Teacher Channel about the same concept and I was encouraged to put "work away." I appreciated these reminders and I plan to enjoy the time for sure. Time and what we do with it matters!

The desire to improve the work that I do for the sake of reaching the needs of students, teaching a concept or skill better, knowing more about a topic, or saving time always seems to surface.  As I continue to interact with different teachers from throughout the building, I'm amazed by the constant innovation that I see. Teachers are solving problems with creative solutions. I also see MASH teachers asking their students to solve problems, practice skills and find their own realizations to real-life situations.  What I see the most is innovative planning. We naturally reflect in our profession. How can we (and the students) do this in a more efficient way? I am also guilty for forgetting to act on my reflection to improve. I try to make notes in my lesson plans for next time.

In short, innovation doesn't always pertain to technology. It's a mindset that we use in many different ways to make changes to an existing framework.  Check out interesting insights about this way of thinking from George Couros's blog, "The Principal of Change."  The Kid President, featured in this short video, also seems to demonstrate this way of thinking.

There is great value in sharing "fresh" ideas because innovation is also a cross pollination of ideas. Techniques and thoughts from our colleagues can only make us better.

Watch Ben Motter in our series of staff Show & Tell Flipgrid videos.  In addition to sharing some helpful resources to try out, observe his innovative way of thinking.  Even though I may not try out that particular app right now, I am encouraged by his use of existing resources such as a doc camera and his desire to save time with entering grades manually into Sapphire. I am also inspired by how a few changes meant to save him time, liberated more time for Ben to spend with helping his students grow (and spend more time with his own family). What's your takeaway from this video?  How can we spend more time helping our students grow and less time on the things that take us away from that goal?

View another example from the 9th grade Earth Science team.  Showcased in this Show & Tell Flipgrid video is not just an extraordinary piece of technology used to help students investigate the world, but there is evidence of a collective innovation mindset. Our colleagues are allowing students to use tools that help collect data, which in turn, empowers learners to make meaning from their experience. These labs allow concepts and skills to become a reality for students. What's your takeaway from this video? Are primary and secondary sources including interviews, historical documents, and Skype sessions (like the ones mentioned in Tricia's video) a way for our courses to help students apply their understandings?

As we continue to enhance our curriculum, I wonder how we can "cross pollinate" our subject areas? To what extent do our students learn in departmental silos?

I appreciate these cross-curricular "fresh ideas." They make me think about how I can reach my students in more effective ways.  I look forward to sharing more examples of innovation found throughout the building.  Have an amazing holiday break. Enjoy the freedom!

Action Steps:
Innovation is all around us. Here are some resources to help in developing an innovative way of thinking:

• Chat with a teacher who doesn't teach your same subject or grade level about classroom successes and challenges. 
• Chat with a neighbor at home who is not in education. How do they improve their practice?
• MASD Technology Integration Committee Blog - Learn, Create, Connect 
• International Society for Technology in Education goals focus on the thinking such as
•  ISTE Goal #1: Empowered Learner and Goal #1: Computational Thinker
• Transform Teaching With The Diffusion of Innovation
• 2 Minute Teacher Tech
• Be inspired: Join, participate or simply check out educators on Twitter! 
• #EdChat
• Find your subject area! The Complete Guide to Education Hashtags
• #MASHteach ... share what's going on in your classroom and fuel the innovation cycle
• #MASDProud ... celebrate your students

Quote from The Principal of Change blog from George Couros

Teachers are Innovators

I came across two inspiring Apple commercials on YouTube.  As I watched each video again, I found myself thinking about the important work we do each day as educators. Take a look. How does the message in each clip relate to the work you do each day?

“Here’s to all those who have seen things differently. The ones who follow a vision, not a path. Where others perceive first as valuable, you value the first thing that actually matters. While others are distracted by the new, you focus on the significance of a whole new take. Even before you could see how, you never doubted we would change things. And then we did change things together again and again. Relentless optimism is what moves the world forward. So keep seeing things differently. Keep trusting there is always another way, a better way, a bigger way. One that lifts up humanity, breaks down our barriers and heals the landscape. You are the difference between the world as it was and the better place it will become. And being different is the one thing about us that will always be the same.” (source)


"Inclusion Inspires Innovation"

These interesting commercials remind me of how important relationships, reflection and perspective are to the effectiveness of teachers and their students.  I often neglect reflection in my lesson planning.  How can I improve this lesson for next time?  I also see the importance of working with colleagues from throughout MASH to gain different perspectives on how our students learn best.  This is another reason why I think our #MASHteach tech day was a meaningful day for almost all of us. We were able to collaborate, create, and explore. Taking educational risks for our students can make a major difference for our learning community.  I recently read a blog post by Eric Sheninger, a technology integration specialist, that encourages teachers to move forward by letting go. Check it out!

To what extent do we model for our students different ways to approach problems? Also, how effective are we at mobilizing our classroom learning communities, identifying strengths, and developing relationships? I am convicted on both accounts. I believe technology can help us with these challenges. Teacher and Google Education Innovator Alice Keeler frequently shares that "good teachers can't be replaced by tech. What tech does is allow teachers to spend more time focusing on their learners & building those relationships.”   

Actions Steps: 

For this Tuesday Tech Tip, I encourage you to explore and experiment with at least one of the EdTech tools on Alice Keeler's page and/or Rich Kiker's page. Each educator works closely with Google and is familiar with many tools and strategies meant to deepen student learning through authentic and meaningful experiences. Examples from Alice's page include free resources such as StoryBoard That, Adobe Spark, Book Creator, ReCap (it's like Flipgrid), math applications, and more. I plan to experiment with Google's Tour Builder.  Rich has other unique tools such as this human anatomy resource and so many more. 

I hope you are inspired to try something new.  A great reminder is to think about your learning outcomes first and then search for ways to help students reach the goal.  

As always, thank you for reading. Please feel free to post below and share ideas or strategies. Let me know how I can support you. I look forward to learning with you.

How can we make learning meaningful and transformative for the "selfie generation"?

This Tuesday's EdTech Sandbox Tech Tip is focused on the subject of how video discussion platforms such as Flipgrid can help enhance or transform the learning experience for students and build a learning community.  Specifically, I would like to share a few examples of how our staff are currently integrating Flipgrid and helping their students reach new levels of growth. 

First, check out the Flipgrid overview video and attempt to reimagine a future lesson in your classroom. 

I was lucky to catch up with two of our colleagues this past week who use Flipgrid in their classroom. 

Clay McAllister, Social Studies 
Watch Clay share why and how he selected Flipgrid to help his students master essential understandings in a authentic way in his AP United States History class. I'm inspired by his risk-taking and the outstanding work by his students. Watch these scholars act out their historical characters through an investigation of primary sources!  

Tricia Donley, ELA 

Our ELA department is on the cutting edge of technology integration. I always admire them for their willingness to try new teaching approaches with students. Tricia, like many of our ELA teachers, are using Flipgrid in their classrooms in amazing ways. Watch Tricia share how she used Flipgrid with another 10th grade level 2 ELA classroom from North Carolina as they read To Kill a Mockingbird. I admire how Tricia used this tool to help her students collaborate with a group of peers from a different socio-economic background.  View her student responses. I have many of her students in my own level 2 World Cultures course and some of them are reluctant to discuss topics. In this medium they share their truth with not only their classmates but also with students several states away.  What if we did this with students learning science, math, social studies, music, art, etc. thousands of miles away? 

Great job taking educational risks in your classrooms, Clay and Tricia! 

I enjoy having my students use Flipgrid to introduce themselves to their class and help them share their view of the world throughout the year.  I have them post a Flipgrid video around the first day of school and then each marking period. At the of the year, they have four videos they can watch and trace how their views of the world changed throughout the year. Check out some examples of this voice portfolio here. 

If your digging for more inspiration and ways to integrate Flipgrid into your instruction, check out the Ditch That Textbook blog article, 15 Ways to Use Flipgrid in Your Class.  This is a list of ways to integrate Flipgrid into Social Studies activities that I found a while back. Many of the suggestions can be applied to other subject areas. 

Action Steps:

• Please feel free to comment below and share how you or another educator uses Flipgrid or any other discussion platform (I will share other programs at another point) to enhance or transform learning. 
• Let me know how I can support you. Schedule a time for me to help you on your next activity. Looking forward to learning with you. 

Extra Sandbox Inspiration:

I'll end with some thought-provoking resources, both shared by George Couros

https://georgecouros.ca/blog/archives/tag/blogging

"Technology will never replace great teachers, but technology in the hands of a great teacher can be transformational."

@gcouros

How can current events and edtech help make lessons relevant?

Current Events

Exposing students to current events is one way to make lessons relevant and encourage global literacy.  The strategy to help learners connect with a real-world example or something in their experience is not new. The Edutopia article Science Shows Making Lessons Relevant Really Matters (2010) discusses how “relevant, meaningful activities that both engage students emotionally and connect with what they already know are what help build neural connections and long-term memory storage (not to mention compelling classrooms).”  In working with a number of MASH staff so far this school year, it seems like many of us are integrating current events into our lessons in various ways. I’d love to hear about more ways that our staff “sprinkles” in opportunities to bring the world into their classroom.

My AP Human Geography students and I are currently learning about ethnic conflict around the world.  Our specific focus these next few days is to explore where, why and how conflicts arise among ethnic groups.  The depth and scope for this topic is immense (I think anything we all teach can be like this). When I first taught this topic a number of years ago, I lectured on the topic. It was the fastest way for me to deliver dozens of infamous ethnic conflicts around the world such as the Rwandan Genocide and the “ethnic cleansing” that occurred in Yugoslavia.  Although efficient for me, I noticed from their discussions and writings that they lacked the depth I was looking for.  My approach then shifted to assigning each student an ethnic conflict and then assigning them a CommonCraft stylevideo production task.  I decided to try this task out after seeing it done at one of our district Technology Integration Committee (TIC) meetings. Here are some of the final products that I placed on a YouTube channel for the students to investigate a few days after the due date.  Do you recognize any of the students? They are now seniors here at MASH.

The task allowed students to have more depth and it was also a more engaging way for them to learn, but they did not gain as much scope. I had students choose any other three ethnic conflict videos and discuss similarities and differences.

This year, I assigned a similar student generated video production project so they see the relevance of at least one ethnic conflict and I replaced a few less engaging activities with a few days of “case studies.”  I was inspired by the work of our teacher presenters from our Sept. 22 #MASHteach tech day as well as one of my Social Studies colleagues, Mark McManus, who use Google Classroom to assign MUST reads/activities and CHOICE reads/activities.  The MUST reads/activities included three ethnic conflicts including the issues in Myanmar regarding the Rohingya.

One day in class was devoted to the MUST reads followed by a debrief. I illustrated a large iceberg on the whiteboard and wrote “Ethnic Conflict” at the tip. We discussed the information from the articles that seemed to be below the surface of ethnic conflict. The second day in class will be the CHOICE activities and we will also have some sort of discussion debrief (e.g. Socratic Seminar).  After the students read their current events, I had them complete a survey question from https://www.mentimeter.com/.  Anne Reardon used this resource back in the fall at one of our TIC meetings. Check out the results from my period 2 class.   Students were able to read their class responses, find trends and lead rich discussion about where, why and how conflicts arise among ethnic groups.

I do see the use of current events and edtech as two possible approaches to make lessons relevant for our students. I’m looking forward to learning different engagement techniques from our MASH staff.

Welcome to the MASH EdTech Sandbox!

Sandbox Time

Esteemed MASH Colleagues – I am pleased to welcome you to our very own MASH EdTech Sandbox! Check out the About page when you get a chance.

I have fond memories of the neighborhood playground in my hometown.  As a toddler, my Mom would take me to the sandbox with all my trucks and buckets and I would spend all morning at play.  I would love to build cities in the sand!  The sand, trucks, tools and occasional juice box was bliss for me.

Likewise, this MASH EdTech Sandbox blog will serve as a way to help you explore, create, and share technology-based learning strategies. I hope this space sparks your imagination and supports your needs with a wide-selection of tools and advice.  Feel free to contribute in the sandbox by leaving comments under posts.  I will post to this resource at least once weekly and send out a reminder to your Outlook inbox.  With each post, you can expect to see a learning objective, a tool or two, lesson reflection,  suggestions and further information.  My goal is to write about my own experiences with technology integration with my Level 2 World Cultures and AP Human Geography courses.  I will on occasion have our MASH staff serve as guest blog writers!  I’m excited to see how the sandbox evolves over time.

As always, please contact me (jreidy@mbgsd.org) to schedule a time for more personalized tech integration chats.  I look forward to working with you!

Joe