By Sean Wheeler
Why I believe in Maker Culture
willowbl00 — Thu, 02/04/2010 - 16:11
"All the things I do in life (which, admittedly, is a lot) are about Doing. I'm up to my eyeballs in Stuff to Do and up to my elbows in What I'm Doing because I love it, and because I so adamantly believe that Maker Culture is a healthy response to an unhealthy pop culture. Here's a glimpse at why I feel this way.
"When you're a hammer, everything looks like a nail. Which is to say, you use the tools you have to solve the problems at hand. Tools and technology do, of course, range everywhere from a wrench to language to roads to electricity. And when your tool is the mindset of a maker, any system at hand looks like something to be tinkered with and improved upon.
I believe in maker culture because, at its core, it is interactive. Intrinsically, it has the desire to take a closer look at how something (anything) is made, to understand that, and to use that knowledge when interacting with other things. It's a bird's eye view, but with a passion for applicability and adaptability.
This is why I believe in maker culture. Because once you've noticed the belts on your local space's MakerBot work an awful lot like the belts on your sewing machine, and maybe even your car, it's difficult to not start to see how your other local systems work - your local school, your market - and see how to actively improve them. Because it's not about sitting around bitching. It's about doing things. As Jake tells me, "I don't want to just be a hammer, I want to be a big ole jobsite tool box filled with badass power tools."
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Wednesday, August 3, 2011
It's the end of summer and I'm thinking...
Just got back from a summer in the woods and on the dunes of western Michigan. Here's hoping that this year's blogging will be a bit more frequent and useful.
Big thoughts heading into this year:
Assessment, Assessment, Assessment
- We've gotta find a system that provides valuable feedback to students and parents. Grades just aren't very accurate or descriptive of learning as a process. Thinking through how to provide regular feedback that doesn't takeover our lives.
- Self-evident assessment --> I want to design learning projects that, when completed, are successful in obvious ways. I want the products to speak for themselves and to readily show the learning that went into the process. If my learning goal is to learn how to design and make a shirt, the evidence of my learning is a well-made shirt. If the goal is to learn the mechanics of storytelling, the final product should be a story that has obviously dealt with those mechanics in some authentic way (a real book?).
- The assessments that are most typical tend to be the easiest for both students and teachers, without much consideration of actual meaningful learning. We've all crammed for tests, cheated on essays, and faked our way through reading novels for class (or at least I did!). I want fake-proof assessment, and I want it adopted broadly.
Good Teaching vs. Shiny Toys
- I spent the last few years talking up technology. Mainly, I did this so that we could get the technology I felt we needed. Now, a year or two in, I'd like to ease up on the focus on technology and talk way more about good teaching assisted by technology. This is, to some, a finite difference. To me, it's the key to everything that our team has been doing. I'm fortunate to work with teachers who really care about teaching and learning to a pretty high degree. But sometimes our message gets lost because people see us as techies more so than they see us as teachers. I'd like to work this year to change that.
- That being said, to do what we want to do we need the technology. Our school district should be pushing for a complete overhaul of what we consider to be the necessary tools for good teaching. If our students can't access the Internet readily, we're doing it wrong.
- Sometimes I feel like we're alone on the cutting edge. But this summer has had me thinking that most of the concepts that we're discussing in our LHS 2.0 group aren't all that cutting edge or new. For example, collaboration, authentic audience, creativity, valid assessment, and project-based learning were all very much en vogue in the 1970s. The difference this time around is that we have better tools to make all of those concepts a reality in our modern classrooms. I'm going to try my best to learn from what happened the last time these concepts were around and to draw in the people who drove those changes in the past. They were right, and would be even more right now if they could be brought into the conversation. (We're lucky to have Foyn McDevitt in our group. He's been doing this stuff for years and really lends valuable insights into our work.)
Macro Structure
- Our school operates on a 9-period schedule with 40 minute classes. This isn't the best way to do it and we need to change. This year I'd like to be a voice in the conversation aimed at changing to a 90 minute block schedule at the least.
- The physical structure of our school has far too few work spaces and far too many classrooms. As we consider finally building the 2nd half of our school construction, I hope to advocate for break-out spaces and large group lab spaces. The classrooms we have now are far too isolated from one another and can't hold large groups working on large projects.
- Students are too heavily restricted in their freedom of movement in the school. In a classroom focused on doing and making, we need the ability to connect with people during school. I'd like my students to be able to meet in conference rooms with community leaders and partners. I'd like them to be able to be out and about working on projects that don't have them glued to a desk.
Micro Structure
- Last year I ditched the teacher's desk. This year I'll do the same. I encourage everyone to do it.
- I want to have a class blog that is accessible to parents, students, and colleagues.
- Our LHS 2.0 classrooms should be open to whoever would like to come in and see. So much of our work is best experienced. I'm done telling, I want to show. The sooner I can get colleagues and community members in, the better it will be in forming relationships and opportunities for extended learning.
Personally
- I want to bike to work as much as possible.
- I need to be more helpful and less ready for a fight. I did better last year, but need to invite rather than alienate people.
- I've always found joy in the classroom working with the students. I need to extend that towards other aspects of my professional life.
- This blog was helpful as a way to get ideas out of my head and into some coherent form. I'd like to do a better job of regularly posting to this blog.
- Community conversations, though small, were hugely helpful in working through ideas and finding teaching partners where I live. I'd like to expand these meetings and really use them to solidify a community that believes so strongly in great teaching and learning.
I guess that's enough to keep me busy for awhile. It's good to be back ;-)
Big thoughts heading into this year:
Assessment, Assessment, Assessment
- We've gotta find a system that provides valuable feedback to students and parents. Grades just aren't very accurate or descriptive of learning as a process. Thinking through how to provide regular feedback that doesn't takeover our lives.
- Self-evident assessment --> I want to design learning projects that, when completed, are successful in obvious ways. I want the products to speak for themselves and to readily show the learning that went into the process. If my learning goal is to learn how to design and make a shirt, the evidence of my learning is a well-made shirt. If the goal is to learn the mechanics of storytelling, the final product should be a story that has obviously dealt with those mechanics in some authentic way (a real book?).
- The assessments that are most typical tend to be the easiest for both students and teachers, without much consideration of actual meaningful learning. We've all crammed for tests, cheated on essays, and faked our way through reading novels for class (or at least I did!). I want fake-proof assessment, and I want it adopted broadly.
Good Teaching vs. Shiny Toys
- I spent the last few years talking up technology. Mainly, I did this so that we could get the technology I felt we needed. Now, a year or two in, I'd like to ease up on the focus on technology and talk way more about good teaching assisted by technology. This is, to some, a finite difference. To me, it's the key to everything that our team has been doing. I'm fortunate to work with teachers who really care about teaching and learning to a pretty high degree. But sometimes our message gets lost because people see us as techies more so than they see us as teachers. I'd like to work this year to change that.
- That being said, to do what we want to do we need the technology. Our school district should be pushing for a complete overhaul of what we consider to be the necessary tools for good teaching. If our students can't access the Internet readily, we're doing it wrong.
- Sometimes I feel like we're alone on the cutting edge. But this summer has had me thinking that most of the concepts that we're discussing in our LHS 2.0 group aren't all that cutting edge or new. For example, collaboration, authentic audience, creativity, valid assessment, and project-based learning were all very much en vogue in the 1970s. The difference this time around is that we have better tools to make all of those concepts a reality in our modern classrooms. I'm going to try my best to learn from what happened the last time these concepts were around and to draw in the people who drove those changes in the past. They were right, and would be even more right now if they could be brought into the conversation. (We're lucky to have Foyn McDevitt in our group. He's been doing this stuff for years and really lends valuable insights into our work.)
Macro Structure
- Our school operates on a 9-period schedule with 40 minute classes. This isn't the best way to do it and we need to change. This year I'd like to be a voice in the conversation aimed at changing to a 90 minute block schedule at the least.
- The physical structure of our school has far too few work spaces and far too many classrooms. As we consider finally building the 2nd half of our school construction, I hope to advocate for break-out spaces and large group lab spaces. The classrooms we have now are far too isolated from one another and can't hold large groups working on large projects.
- Students are too heavily restricted in their freedom of movement in the school. In a classroom focused on doing and making, we need the ability to connect with people during school. I'd like my students to be able to meet in conference rooms with community leaders and partners. I'd like them to be able to be out and about working on projects that don't have them glued to a desk.
Micro Structure
- Last year I ditched the teacher's desk. This year I'll do the same. I encourage everyone to do it.
- I want to have a class blog that is accessible to parents, students, and colleagues.
- Our LHS 2.0 classrooms should be open to whoever would like to come in and see. So much of our work is best experienced. I'm done telling, I want to show. The sooner I can get colleagues and community members in, the better it will be in forming relationships and opportunities for extended learning.
Personally
- I want to bike to work as much as possible.
- I need to be more helpful and less ready for a fight. I did better last year, but need to invite rather than alienate people.
- I've always found joy in the classroom working with the students. I need to extend that towards other aspects of my professional life.
- This blog was helpful as a way to get ideas out of my head and into some coherent form. I'd like to do a better job of regularly posting to this blog.
- Community conversations, though small, were hugely helpful in working through ideas and finding teaching partners where I live. I'd like to expand these meetings and really use them to solidify a community that believes so strongly in great teaching and learning.
I guess that's enough to keep me busy for awhile. It's good to be back ;-)
Monday, March 14, 2011
Khan Academy - Language Arts?
Khan Academy does not have a Language Arts category. Why not? And how do we build one? What would that look like?
http://www.khanacademy.org/
http://www.khanacademy.org/
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Response to a post on the Lakewood Observer's Observation Deck forum. Pt. 2
Tim wrote,
"You seem rather mercenary to me when you bemoan “ridiculous state testing and subsequently ridiculous mandates of an outmoded education system tied to standardized testing that measures nothing of any value.” The reason I say this is because (1) you seem very passionate about adolescent education, (2) the way you just characterized traditional education is as a travesty, and (3) you do it anyways! “Nothing of any value?” Sean how do you support that for even a second? Especially when you do seem to have your student’s best interests at heart…."
My original post, as quoted by Tim above, was a bit of venting. While the image of a mercenary is appealing, (I do like the idea of stealth and sleek ninja-esque maneuvering as I grow increasingly older and more rotund
), my statement was more of an addendum than a central point. The simple fact, as I see it, is that the testing methods that we currently have in place to measure student and, by proxy, teacher effectiveness are woefully outdated and insufficient. These standardized tests ultimately fail to measure the skills that are needed as our kids go into a modern collegiate and professional environment. Rote memorization, simplified questions requiring simple answers, and a lack of application, evaluation and creativity are clearly problematic issues in our current testing system. To be fair and honest, the kind of teaching used in Montessori schools are a direct refutation of the kind of "learning" being measured on our state tests, and public education would do well to learn from and borrow some of the effective pedagogy that the Montessori model uses. I called the standardized test "outmoded" because, in today's internet age, access and use of information has grown vastly and is more reliable than ever before. I am working towards creating a change in our statewide assessment systems to more accurately reflect the skills and content that a modern citizenry requires. To this end, I have been involved in designing the Ohio Model Curriculum and served as a committee member for the Ohio Performance Assessment Pilot. Lakewood City Schools, particularly with the immense help of Melanie Wightman and other forward-thinking educators and administrators, has had a seat at the table as we work towards shifting to a more rigorous and relevant assessment model here in Ohio. Rather than being dictated to from on high, Lakewood has positioned itself as an important voice in creating valid and appropriate teaching and learning models and methods at the state level. I believe that the best follow-up to criticism is action to effect change. Lakewood City Schools is doing just that.
Tim, I do believe that there are travesties in our education system, and many of us are working to fix these things in the best interest of our students, teachers, parents, and wider community. I have put myself out here, as you noted, because I want to be open and proactive instead of secretive and reactive. I think that conversations like these benefit both the participants and the casual read who chooses not to join in the conversation. I know that I learn quite a bit from these exchanges, as well as live conversations with parents, teachers, students, and community members.
To go back to the union issue, Roy had asked if I was against the bill on principle or in a more specific sense. I don't see how I could split my objection into component parts. The principle includes the specifics. The general principles that I outlined in my previous post play out in specific contexts. With this current legislation, I fear that I will lose my ability to be a voice in the conversation. I fear that we will put in a merit pay system based on the outmoded assessments that I mentioned above. I dread the idea of having larger classes and fewer opportunities to meet with my students during my planning period. I am hesitant to embrace a change, though an improved model of teacher effectiveness is needed in some form, that measures teacher effectiveness in a way that will force more "teaching to the test", especially when that test doesn't reflect much of value in a wired and connected world of infinite learning resources. The world has changed, and our education system needs to reflect the important things that we are learning about the implications of a tremendous shift in the way that we live our lives, conduct business, and learn. Though the teachers' union has a long way to go to meet these needs and promote change, I would rather be part of the solution than give up or give in.
Lastly, I appreciate that our society provides opportunity for citizens to choose a private option. But let's not pretend that this option is available to everyone, or even most. I'm frankly not feeling like looking up the number, but we spend far less at the local level than the $10,000 to $20,000 per child that it costs to go to the school that you described in your initial response, Tim. If you make that kind of money and want to send your kid there, good for you and them. Perhaps if I had that kind of money I would do the same. Maybe I wouldn't. But I'd appreciate the choice. On the other hand, and perhaps too personally biased, I want to teach the kids that grew up like me. As the first member of my family to go to college, I now want to help other kids like me get through the same door. I love being a public servant, but I object to being a public whipping boy.
"You seem rather mercenary to me when you bemoan “ridiculous state testing and subsequently ridiculous mandates of an outmoded education system tied to standardized testing that measures nothing of any value.” The reason I say this is because (1) you seem very passionate about adolescent education, (2) the way you just characterized traditional education is as a travesty, and (3) you do it anyways! “Nothing of any value?” Sean how do you support that for even a second? Especially when you do seem to have your student’s best interests at heart…."
My original post, as quoted by Tim above, was a bit of venting. While the image of a mercenary is appealing, (I do like the idea of stealth and sleek ninja-esque maneuvering as I grow increasingly older and more rotund
), my statement was more of an addendum than a central point. The simple fact, as I see it, is that the testing methods that we currently have in place to measure student and, by proxy, teacher effectiveness are woefully outdated and insufficient. These standardized tests ultimately fail to measure the skills that are needed as our kids go into a modern collegiate and professional environment. Rote memorization, simplified questions requiring simple answers, and a lack of application, evaluation and creativity are clearly problematic issues in our current testing system. To be fair and honest, the kind of teaching used in Montessori schools are a direct refutation of the kind of "learning" being measured on our state tests, and public education would do well to learn from and borrow some of the effective pedagogy that the Montessori model uses. I called the standardized test "outmoded" because, in today's internet age, access and use of information has grown vastly and is more reliable than ever before. I am working towards creating a change in our statewide assessment systems to more accurately reflect the skills and content that a modern citizenry requires. To this end, I have been involved in designing the Ohio Model Curriculum and served as a committee member for the Ohio Performance Assessment Pilot. Lakewood City Schools, particularly with the immense help of Melanie Wightman and other forward-thinking educators and administrators, has had a seat at the table as we work towards shifting to a more rigorous and relevant assessment model here in Ohio. Rather than being dictated to from on high, Lakewood has positioned itself as an important voice in creating valid and appropriate teaching and learning models and methods at the state level. I believe that the best follow-up to criticism is action to effect change. Lakewood City Schools is doing just that. Tim, I do believe that there are travesties in our education system, and many of us are working to fix these things in the best interest of our students, teachers, parents, and wider community. I have put myself out here, as you noted, because I want to be open and proactive instead of secretive and reactive. I think that conversations like these benefit both the participants and the casual read who chooses not to join in the conversation. I know that I learn quite a bit from these exchanges, as well as live conversations with parents, teachers, students, and community members.
To go back to the union issue, Roy had asked if I was against the bill on principle or in a more specific sense. I don't see how I could split my objection into component parts. The principle includes the specifics. The general principles that I outlined in my previous post play out in specific contexts. With this current legislation, I fear that I will lose my ability to be a voice in the conversation. I fear that we will put in a merit pay system based on the outmoded assessments that I mentioned above. I dread the idea of having larger classes and fewer opportunities to meet with my students during my planning period. I am hesitant to embrace a change, though an improved model of teacher effectiveness is needed in some form, that measures teacher effectiveness in a way that will force more "teaching to the test", especially when that test doesn't reflect much of value in a wired and connected world of infinite learning resources. The world has changed, and our education system needs to reflect the important things that we are learning about the implications of a tremendous shift in the way that we live our lives, conduct business, and learn. Though the teachers' union has a long way to go to meet these needs and promote change, I would rather be part of the solution than give up or give in.
Lastly, I appreciate that our society provides opportunity for citizens to choose a private option. But let's not pretend that this option is available to everyone, or even most. I'm frankly not feeling like looking up the number, but we spend far less at the local level than the $10,000 to $20,000 per child that it costs to go to the school that you described in your initial response, Tim. If you make that kind of money and want to send your kid there, good for you and them. Perhaps if I had that kind of money I would do the same. Maybe I wouldn't. But I'd appreciate the choice. On the other hand, and perhaps too personally biased, I want to teach the kids that grew up like me. As the first member of my family to go to college, I now want to help other kids like me get through the same door. I love being a public servant, but I object to being a public whipping boy.
Response to a post on the Lakewood Observer's Observation Deck forum. Pt. 1
I'll start by saying that I believe in public education. While I have no qualms about the many fine private or charter schools, I've chosen to cast my lot in public education because I believe in the role that it plays in educating any and all of our citizens. Public schools work to educate the poor, the rich, the middle class, the able and those with special needs. I attended both private and public schools growing up (my father was in the navy and we moved a bunch) and I had good and bad experiences in both. This might sound odd, but as the son of a long, long, line of military men, and as one who didn't join the military because I wanted to be the first in my family ever to graduate from college, I have in me a desire to carry on my family's tradition of service to our country. It might sound hokey, but I teach because I want to serve.
Being a public employee, however, means that I am constricted to some extent in the kind of autonomy and latitude that is probably at work every day in the Montessori schools or thousands of other mission based prior schools (by mission I do not suggest to mean solely religious. Mission as in the mission of a Montessori or KIPP in their approach to curriculum and pedagogy). Largely, the mission of public schools is not created at the highest levels by educators, but rather, our mission is dictated by politicians and the interests (some private, some corporate, some altruistic) that they are beholden to. While the tides of political favor shift and go through their cycles, educators are often called to fall in line to the whims and demands of each passing fad or crisis. I don't think that this is very good for education.
My belief is that the teachers union serves as a vital check on the dictates of political popularity and interests. While I am an outspoken critic of some of the shortcomings of my union, and often agree with many of the criticisms that are put out there, I need the union to work towards keeping the teachers' voice in the conversation and to ensure that our education system doesn't become a direct wing of the government (I have many international teaching contacts and often discuss the abuses of education perpetrated by a centralized government in regards to state mandated propaganda materials and blatant misrepresentations of history in their course materials.) As I believe is the instance with the current legislation, sometimes the education system can become a pawn of political posturing and power broking. Some may argue that the left has done the same type of political maneuvering as we see today. And I believe that they are undoubtedly correct when doing so. To me, a need the union because I need a collective body to represent my interest as an educator, and WAY more importantly, to look after the best learning interests of our students.
Do I think the union needs some work? Absolutely, that's why I became involved more deeply with the union in my last two years. While I feel that I need a representative body at the table when big moves are made, I also recognize that I have the opportunity to work with my union to suggest changes, challenge assumptions and long-held practices, and to join in the chorus in such instances as I find myself in agreement and solidarity with my co-workers.
continued in Pt. 2
Original conversation on the Observation Deck
http://lakewoodobserver.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=142&t=9907
Being a public employee, however, means that I am constricted to some extent in the kind of autonomy and latitude that is probably at work every day in the Montessori schools or thousands of other mission based prior schools (by mission I do not suggest to mean solely religious. Mission as in the mission of a Montessori or KIPP in their approach to curriculum and pedagogy). Largely, the mission of public schools is not created at the highest levels by educators, but rather, our mission is dictated by politicians and the interests (some private, some corporate, some altruistic) that they are beholden to. While the tides of political favor shift and go through their cycles, educators are often called to fall in line to the whims and demands of each passing fad or crisis. I don't think that this is very good for education.
My belief is that the teachers union serves as a vital check on the dictates of political popularity and interests. While I am an outspoken critic of some of the shortcomings of my union, and often agree with many of the criticisms that are put out there, I need the union to work towards keeping the teachers' voice in the conversation and to ensure that our education system doesn't become a direct wing of the government (I have many international teaching contacts and often discuss the abuses of education perpetrated by a centralized government in regards to state mandated propaganda materials and blatant misrepresentations of history in their course materials.) As I believe is the instance with the current legislation, sometimes the education system can become a pawn of political posturing and power broking. Some may argue that the left has done the same type of political maneuvering as we see today. And I believe that they are undoubtedly correct when doing so. To me, a need the union because I need a collective body to represent my interest as an educator, and WAY more importantly, to look after the best learning interests of our students.
Do I think the union needs some work? Absolutely, that's why I became involved more deeply with the union in my last two years. While I feel that I need a representative body at the table when big moves are made, I also recognize that I have the opportunity to work with my union to suggest changes, challenge assumptions and long-held practices, and to join in the chorus in such instances as I find myself in agreement and solidarity with my co-workers.
continued in Pt. 2
Original conversation on the Observation Deck
http://lakewoodobserver.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=142&t=9907
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
First TedTalk released from the TED Conference 2011
Wadah Khanfar at the TED Conference 2011. Khanfar is the Director General for the Al-Jazeera news network. Everything that he's talking about involves new media tools, the kind of tools and ways of communication that, for the most part, we're not teaching much about in our schools. Twitter, Facebook, SMS, citizen journalism, flash mobs, and youtube videos just enabled a revolution against a totalitarian regime that had relied on old media (state-run newspapers, television, and radio) as a way to maintain power. As Khanfar says, these are countries with BILLION dollar armies taken down by a bunch of young idealistic kids with cellphones. Clay Shirky is so right.
Find his TedTalk here. It is seventeen minutes well spent.
Find his TedTalk here. It is seventeen minutes well spent.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Ohio's Senate Bill 5 - Don't Get Me Started
I object to the notion that public workers are the problem. As was printed online last year during the levy campaign, I make about $42000 a year. I show up, work my tail off, and then go home for a few more hours to work a bit more. I spend my summers, unpaid, developing myself as a professional and planning for the year ahead. My students perform well, parents and administrators have few qualms about my work, and I am proud to be a public servant. In talking with the community, they point again and again to the fine work that we are all doing in their employ. Lakewood is proud of us and we are proud to work in Lakewood. We do so much that goes beyond our contract, and you don't hear much complaining from the ranks about our pay and work hours.
In turn, Kalish and other elected representatives repay us by singling us out as a significant obstacle on the way to balancing the books. Never mind the global economic collapse brought about by the kind of rampant corruption and shenanigans propagated by the likes of our governor's former employer, Lehman Brothers and other similar "investment" firms. And even if it wasn't the banker's fault, though this seems to be the case, and it was the fault of regulators, insurance companies, and shoddy deal-making, I still find it absurd that these same people would turn and point the finger at public workers as the source of our budget woes. I don't even need a union to be pissed off at stances such as the one that confronts us today in the form of Senate Bill 5. But it is the labor union, fought for so fervently in the buried history of our country, that has provided the only check to the kind of corporate/government power grabs that will inevitably follow any passage of this bill. To take away the rights of workers to strike, the only non-violent form of protest that laborers have the opportunity to wield in redress of their grievances, takes away a vital check in the machinery of greed.
I'm not upset about my salary, work hours, or the ridiculous state testing and subsequently ridiculous mandates of an outmoded education system tied to standardized testing and that measures nothing of any value (ok, I am upset about that one;-). It's that I need the labor union, faults and all, to protect what I think is a pretty nobel attempt to do something good for the children of this country. Every one of us just wants to help kids. And to be called to the floor as some kind of public whipping boy is unconscionable.
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