Trying to reach beyond stick figures

Wow, respect for artists of the world.  The majestic and terrifying creature that paraded through my dreams has turned into a preschooler's finger painting...rough draft.  Enjoy the hideous rendition of my demon!

While I pondered, weak & weary...

... I etched this rendition of your fire demon, Bryan.
Your story is outstanding. I've said it before, and I'll say it again; there's a future for you in writing! Is there anything you don't do exceptionally well?
Best wishes,
The wolf creature

Once upon a midnight dreary...

            His heart slamming into his rib cage, Ignis knew that this was his only chance.  Slowing reaching towards the smooth oak door knob, cracked with age and use, he tried to inhale only to find his lungs trapped in a vise.  The candle burning by his bedside gave off an inadequate halo of light, illuminating just enough to cast shadows that further drove him towards the sanctuary of his parents’ room.  Through sheer force of will Ignis grasped the handle and prepared himself for the inevitable confrontation that would once again make his room a haven, protecting him from the horrors of the outside world; all that was left was driving off the evil spirit he knew to taunt him from his closet.  Bolstered by a light coming from the hall, he readied himself for battle.  Firmly grasping his stuffed frog in one arm and a keeping a tennis racket at the ready in his right hand, he twisted the knob.

            The initial blast of heat drove him back against his now blackened sheets.  Holding up his arm to protect his young eyes from the intense light emitting from the fire demon, Ignis gasped as his tennis racket began to melt, and with it is only sense of protection.  The demon stepped out of the closet, welcome for the additional space that its enormous frame quickly filled.  Standing a full 10 feet tall, Ignis was surprised to see hooves in place of feet, hooves that were already smoldering against the old pine floorboards of his bedroom.  Wearing little more than an improvised loincloth, the demon grinned a malevolent grin, creating a visage that would haunt Ignis to the end of his days.  As his eyes slowly travelled up the creature’s torso Ignis could barely see through the tongues of flame that covered the demon from head to its whipping tail.  The creature's tail was as thick as strong rope, topped with a menacing spiked ball that whipped around dangerously close to Ignis' baseball trophies.  Mesmerized by the greens, yellows, reds, and blues of the violent flames Ignis completely had forgotten the night time glass of water that his mother had left him.

            The demon let his fire whip unfurl to the ground, cracking with energy and igniting a nearby desk.  Snarling into a fierce grin, the demon rubbed its horns that were fashioned directly above his eyes and began to gnash his needlelike teeth.  Perhaps the most terrifying sight for young Ignis was the great mane of fire that seemed to encircle the entire head of the demon.  Entranced by the power of the creature, Ignis was not prepared for the crushing blow from the fire giant.  Its large bicep pulling back its boulder sized fist, the demon was getting ready for the final blow when Ignis reached for his water, now remember the nightly glass of water and recognizing it the only weapon at his disposal.  The glowing ember eyes of the demon followed the boy as he leapt for the nightstand.  As Ignis reached the glass, he was careful not to spill the precious liquid and brandished it triumphantly, his own Excalibur that would deliver him safely from this nightmare.  Recognizing the liquid death for what it was, the demon bowed his head to the small child and disappeared as quickly as he came.  Ignis looked about his destroyed room and nonchalantly dusted the hot ash off of his bookshelf.  He vaulted into bed, pulling the covers up tight to his chin, relishing in his victory.

            When he awoke the next morning, Ignis was surprised to see that his room did not look damaged at all, with no apparent fallout from the fight the night before.  When Ignis was about to lose all hope in his victory he noticed grooves under his cool barefoot feet.  He couldn’t help but smile as he picked up his feet to reveal two cloven marks that were still smoldering.  He bounded out the door on the way to breakfast…it was pancake day.

Final Results with Google Earth

My final push with Google Earth was pretty successful.  The Placemarks became very customized and an assortment of links helped the History Trip become a reference for the students that I originally envisioned.  The one aspect of the trip that changed was the "trip" aspect of it.  Experimenting three different ways of creating a tour, I did not feel that it was the best way to present the information.

1) Creating a path that the tour can follow is a great idea for a localized area.  However, as my Civil Rights trip took place all over the country, actually creating a path throughout the whole country was very time consuming, with the end result being difficult to navigate.

2) Recording the tour and manually going through the different Placemarks that I had created.  This was a good option if you were looking to just show landmarks, but as I had taken the time to integrate a number of links I did not want their to be a time limit on how much the students could stay at one location.  On top of that, I could not anticipate how quickly the students could read the text, another drawback of limiting the time at each location.

3) The final option is the simple self guided tour, which although is the most simple, really made the most sense for what I was looking to achieve.  I simply organized my Placemarks by dates, then changed each marker in ascending order through the alphabet to make it easier to recognize the order of the events.  This allows the students to go through each location at their own pace, or skip to a desired landmark if they need information on that particular event.

Additionally I began to experiment with embedding HTML buttons to the bottom of the posts in order to link my Placemarks that way.  However, I could not solve an issue that I was having with Google Earth, where each Placemark was not assigned a unique ID, a critical part of the HTML code.  Still looking for solutions on that one, and by the time I use this in class I am hoping to have that problem fixed.  All in all, turned into something pretty fun!

Final Thoughts on the Web 2.0 Dream

       I began reading Will Richardson’s book with skepticism.  I picked his particular brand of Web 2.0 tricks because I anticipated his book giving me the most practical ideas that I could use in the classroom.  I was looking for less an explanation of how things worked and more of where and when they worked.  I was not disappointed.  From his incredibly innovative uses for RSS feeds to the sheer number of ways that he has collected that you can use Blogs in the classroom, Richardson is thorough and has a very simple way of explaining how to get the best results.  It might have been his one man crusade for Wikipedia and social networks that finally won me over, but Will Richardson has a very unique way of presenting situations that gets you excited and makes you want to tackle everything he suggests.

       Referring back to a previous post, I still feel that the most important aspect of all of Richardson’s tricks is having them work together.  Blogs can easily be augmented by RSS readers and Wikis can be a collaboration of not only documents, but even podcasts.  I commented on Nick’s blog regarding the end of the book and how the epilogue was important for tying the ideas together.  The epilogue puts us in the shoes of English teacher Tom McHale, who is not spending hours at his computer, his eyes red and unfocused from staring at the monitor.  Tom has integrated technology not only throughout this classroom, but throughout his life.  He is able to incorporate his daily RSS readings, keeping up with his personal blog, checks in to his student’s blogs, evaluates the newest entries to his research feeds, organizes some assignments, and then as the students stumble into class less than an hour later, he starts his day.

       Tom McHale is the future.  Admittedly, setting up your technological world can be time consuming at first, but once you have it to the level of customization where you can fit your entire digital life into an hour before class, there is nothing stopping you from fully integrating it into your classes.  With all of the new technology and software that is being created every year, it is not a matter of learning every new piece of technology, but picking a few key ones and getting comfortable enough to make it work.  A lot of the latest and greatest is not made with education in mind, and it is up to teachers to adapt it for classroom use.  With a little technology and creativity, we are able to stimulate students and bring them into the future with us. 

History Trip: Eyes Bigger Than My Stomach

      

      A familiar expression that we have all heard from one time to another.  Whether it is concerning your second plate at an all you can eat buffet or a project that you hadn't fully realized the work involved, the expression rings true.  A Google LitTrip, and the historical equivalent of a HistoryTrip are tremendous resources, and I am truly glad that I decided to tackle one for my final project.  However, my lofty goals required quite a bit more work than I had originally anticipated.
     The image on my left is not a screenshot of my HistoryTrip, but is just an example of how carried away you can get when trying to explain an entire historical movement, in my case the Civil Rights Movement.  The dream was to create a resource for students, who using the Google Earth layer that I created could understand how the Civil Rights movement evolved and how important events, and reactions to those events were.  For example, Brown vs. The Board of Education was a seminal event that nearly everyone is familiar with, however as demonstrated by the riots concerning the integration of the University of Mississippi, this one event was not the end of racism in schools.  It is important for students to make these connections, and I still feel that it is easier when Google Earth is flying you around the United States showing you in all of its 3-D glory the famous historical sites.
       The beginning trouble came with initial research, as I was trying to make the HistoryTrip something usable by early middle school, I needed to explain the events as they effected the movement in simple terms.  Having settled on 20 key moments in the Civil Rights movement, this was an undertaking but again...sometimes you just get wrapped up in it.  When the research was done I had to learn how to create my own place marks, which I was woefully unprepared for.  Perhaps it was my own lack of research or understanding, or I could blame it on ignorance, but I didn't realize the the place marks were not like blog setups, they are all written in HTML code.  Good thing we had the web page design last meeting so I could remember how to do it, otherwise I would have been really lost.  Although it wasn't difficult to do, it was just extra time that I didn't realize I would have to spend.  Instead of dragging pictures in to my HistoryTrip like I can with Blogger, I now had to find the source code for each picture or movie and throw that in instead.  I am a fast typer but <img src="http://www.google.com" width="300"> just does not roll off the fingertips.
         Ultimately this was a great experience, and I found some great projects that people have done that I very well might suggest to our teaching staff.  It is something that was challenging and was glad that I was able to achieve what I did.  Although the product did not match up with my vision exactly, there was something satisfying after writing a paragraph of code, and having everything look exactly how I wanted it.  If this is something you are remotely interested in, I would encourage you to check out the Google LitTrip page, and towards the bottom on the right hand side there are videos that lay out in excruciating detail how to create the perfect LitTrip (or HistoryTrip).  They were an invaluable resource, and although each one took about 30-45 minutes, they were well worth it.
       Now that all of my data has been entered and images and media embedded like they should be, my final step is making the tour that will automate the flying around the United States.  If it is like anything else in Google Earth, I am sure there will be unexpected hurdles down the road.  Regardless, with the end result being something unique and helpful for students, I would pick this final project again.  Maybe budgeting formatting time a bit better, maybe not using as much media, but I would certainly tackle this again.

The Death of Subtlety: Thanks Technology

       I have an experiment for you.  Go into the bathroom, turn on the bright lights, the ones over the mirror where you brush your teeth...yup, those are the ones.  Now look into your own eyes, really stare at them, now open your eyelids just a little bit, just enough to make it look like your eyes are trying to free themselves from your sockets. Incredible huh?  Body language is something that we pick up as babies and never stop refining.  Where you once stood looking back at yourself, you see a crazed lunatic.  Try smiling, it only makes it creepier.  You are sending thousands of signals every single day, whether you are intending to or not.  At first this might seem like an inconvenience, but in reality it is the very thing that makes the human experience worth living every single day.  We have a variety to our language that is beautiful, complicated, difficult and ultimately amazing.

       Recently a group of my eighth graders held a forum on progress, specifically focusing on whether technology is indeed benefiting our society.  On the face it seems like a fairly straightforward question, particularly where we arm them with an article on Egypt and how Twitter and Facebook overthrew a corrupt regime.  Of course technology is amazing, and saving countless lives only sweetens that pot.  What do governments fear more than anything?  Technology.  From Egypt recently turning off their internet to the great Golden Shield that China has implemented successfully for years, governments fear that which they can not control.  This is not Orwell's future, nor am I looking out for Big Brother, but governments require stability, and nothing is a more dangerous tool to stability than a limitless platform for anyone's opinion...and I do mean anyone.
       I can continue on to the medical advantages that technology has given us, and the incredible leaps in artificial limbs that has put dreams firmly back in the hands of many individuals.  Finally, seeing how we are in a class for technology let's not forget the progression education has made with the internet and all of the new Web 2.0 tools for the classroom.  Technology is great...on its face.

       Let's re-examine the body language argument.  Try to comfort someone in person, then on the phone, then through Twitter.  Good luck.  Hugging just doesn't translate, no matter how cute emoticons are.  The human experience is based on interaction, and there are entire sciences dedicated to this fact.  I will save you some time Googling so you can just focus on the sheer volume of articles and books based on body language.  What are we missing with constant updates?  Why do I care that you are making waffles?  I worry for the future.  When you find it difficult to call someone and resort to Facebook, it might be time to re-examine your social health.  Leave the Flikr behind and go to the nearby coffee house and people watch.  Hike to take those desktop wallpapers you love so much.  Turn off tech for a day and see what happens, you never know, and the outcome may surprise you.

The Joys of WebQuesting

Amazingly enough, I had never heard of WebQuests before the cohort, and that makes me just a little sad.  Even with that statement I feel a little out of the loop, but I think that just goes to show how little they are used.  The WebQuest idea is timeless, with students having research papers and projects assigned to them for years before technology was so firmly integrated into the classroom.  This is still the case today, with the traditional classroom opting for the standard poster board presentation or a 3-5 page research paper complete with works sited page *yawn*.  Do not misunderstand me, there is a time and place for research papers, and it is an invaluable skill that will serve students well throughout the rest of their life.  However, for those students who are not fascinated with the perfect 5 paragraph essay, or who are not struck with fits of glee when doing a proper MLA citation, we owe it to offer them something else.

            Okay, enough about the students.  We do so much to help them as is, between extra help, opportunities for extra credit, different teaching styles, they are going to be fine.  WebQuests allow teachers to hop out of their well honed rut too, and perhaps discover something they love that they never knew existed.  I have come up with numerous topics and questions for students, complete from test questions to speech topics, but ultimately it is a lot of the same kind of thinking.  When I was able to be creative, it was a game changer.  Let me design a website, create graphics, organize the layout, and in general explore the possibilities. 

“What made a successful factory during the industrial revolution?”  Stimulating yes?  No.  Although it might extract the information I am looking for it is boring, and something students will forget the minute they finish the test.  Now look at the WebQuest where they are expected to put on the hat of an engineer, accountant, factory manager or land surveyor.  They need to tell me where they are going to build my factory, and it had better be an amazing presentation, because I only have enough money to build one factory and their classmates all have their own ideas too.  Foster the competition and creativity, let students role-play and develop their own unique ideas on history.  Test questions can try to do this, but they will ultimately fail.  WebQuests allow for the immersion that can truly impact a student’s learning.  Give a student a white piece of paper with your questions, and then give them an interactive website scenario and ask them for an honest answer.  More often then not, the students will make the decision for you.

Final Project: The Home Stretch

After final getting up off the couch (because why would I get sick during the school year like a normal person?), I finished the last of the Google Earth trainings this vacation, and with each one being helpful and informative, I would encourage everyone to take at least the last two.  The first one was interesting if you have never used Google Earth, but it definitely was on the beginner side of useful.  After envisioning what my final project would be, I realized that for a LitTrip to be successful it has to be more of a product and less of a resource.  For example for Holly's kids to have created that very interactive and informative LitTrip on the picture book was great!  They were connected too it, found the information and pictures and had fun with it!  It was not used in conjunction with the book, but rather created as a by-product of reading the book.  As a result I will be doing a HistoryTrip, focusing on the Civil Rights period of our country.  When finished I feel that this is a tool that can be used as a resource in the classroom along side handouts, discussions, and group projects.  A true HistoryTrip (in my vision and understanding of it anyways...) is going in incorporate images, tagged links, and resources throughout the web to allow for a faster finding of resources concerning a particular event, almost a mini encyclopedia entry based on the Civil Rights timeline.  A rather ambitious idea, but useful if it is successful.  We will see how it goes.

Wikis: The Great Collective Hope

      We have all frowned at that works cited list.  Everyone knows the one that I am referring to.  At the bottom of the page you see the dreaded "found at wikipedia.com".  You have the idea in your head that Wikipedia is dangerous territory for viable research and legitimate facts.  Anyone can add to it?  I can think of 10 kids in my class who would jump at the chance to add questionable material about a number of subjects to the Wiki world.  However, there is hope on the horizon and we just have to recognize it.  Will Richardson spends a solid 15 pages defending the infamous site, with his main point being there is a vast number of people who want to help the world and only a few who are looking to hurt the collective information.  After this past weekend, I had never bothered looking at the discussion tab intently before (thank you Nick!), but after investigating that information you really get the sense that there is a collective effort to get the best and most accurate information to the general populace.
      Now that the veil has been lifted from our eyes, Robertson walks us through the benefits of Wikis in a classroom environment.  Thinking a little more critically about the typical classroom setup, it really is not difficult to envision where a Wiki can fit in.  How many times are small group sessions used throughout a curriculum unit so people can collaborate and benefit from their group's collective ideas?  Frequently.  Wikis are simply extending this idea into the Web 2.0 classroom, where collaboration between not only students, but schools, states, and even countries is becoming more of a reality every passing day.  More importantly, Wikis are created for a very specific reason, to help people!  Whether it is students collaborating throughout the year to create the ultimate study guide for a final exam, or two schools are working together to create a contrasting study about their two cultures, Wikis are an incredible source of information that is meant to be shared by all.  How long before spiral bound notebooks are a thing of the past?  Handouts are no longer used in lieu of a organic website created by the students in the class.  Viva la revolucion!

Google Earth: Big Brother Done Right?

       My first step to creating my final project was re-discovering the wonder that is Google Earth. I know that we have all heard dozens of stories of people being caught at their worst on street view cams, and for one robust English town they completely blocked the street from my now infamous Google Street cars.  There have been numerous buildings removed from the street view as the privacy complaints have steadily increased since the creation of the exciting technology in 2007.  However, as Google Street View has become very recognizable, Google Earth continues to become a more and more refined tool, flying quietly under the radar.  With the recent updates to Google Earth 6, the additions of truly incredible filters makes Google Earth a tool that must be re-visited and explored again.
       Let's begin with the GPS tracking of ocean animals. I will repeat that...GPS tracking of actual ocean animals.  Not only can you see the location, but I took a swim with one of the Fin Whales that was tagged and was able to see the path along the ocean floor that the whale took.  Incredible.  Don't trust the weather channel?  No problem.  Use the tracking of clouds and radar to see the weather coming before the 6:00 news will even mention it in passing.  Taking a human rights perspective, I dare you to click on the Darfur filter under Global Awareness and not be moved as the vast database that is Google Earth will show you villages that have been damaged and destroyed.
       The technology that goes into this vast database is only more impressive as Google encourages the users to contribute their ideas, their pictures and their dreams.  Always wanted to climb Mt. Fuji?  Race to the top of the Eiffel Tower?  With the 3-D models and recorded tours ready to take you there, slip on the bathrobe, you are on your way.  I could not be more excited about starting the LitTrip, HistoryTrip, whatever I can think up.  I am only worried that I will let the power that is Google Earth down.  Now if you can excuse me, I am going to go investigate every shipwreck that has ever been tracked...yeah...it does that too.

Technology is a Team Effort

Throughout his book, Will Richardson brings a number of ideas to light for the education community as a whole. From Blogs to Wikis, back to RSS feeds and finishing up with Flickr he gives many excellent examples of where these once baffling technologies can fit in with everyday classroom use. However, the interesting idea that is not as visible as his others is the idea of the many different technologies working together. Like a good curriculum map Will Richardson begins with a large idea, and slowly finds tools to add to it throughout the book. A blog is a creative outlet that can be whatever you want it to be, and as a result can be as effective or ineffective as the content in it. Once you being to augment the blog with Flickr, get the students to follow you using an RSS feed, allow the class to create a Wiki regarding class material and link it to your blog, you are now not creating a blog but rather creating a mindset within your classroom. A more in depth review of his chapters and ideals are in the works, however this is just a quick thought regarding his book. After giving it a brief read it really hits you how tightly these different technologies can intertwine with each other. In an ideal world this would create a snowball effect where students and teachers alike would find new and exciting ways to introduce even more technology into the classroom. That is the dream.

Google Forms

This is an example of using the embed function within Google Forms to not only enhance your blog, but turn it into an evaluation tool as well.  Explanation to follow!

Richardson Phase One: Blogs

Devoting nearly half of his book to the idea and implementation of blogs, Will Richardson does a great job highlighting the features of blogging, and ultimately what makes blogging so appealing to the education field.  However, before blogging can be discussed in-depth Richardson first identifies the current trend in education that carries on well past the classroom, Social Learning.  Education is at a crossroads, "that pits a student body that has shown up immersed in technology against a teaching faculty that is less facile with the tools of the trade" (Richardson, 2009).  Although this is the very thing we are looking to counteract with our studies, this is a common theme that has shown up every time we talk about teachers and their technophopia.  Social Learning is a theme that has emerged as a result of this technology boom.  Students and colleagues alike are able to reach out across the world and collaborate in ways that our predecessors could only have dreamed.  This is the very essence of blogging, working with others and learning even more from their feedback.

With this new ability at the disposal of students and teachers alike, what is the best way to implement this into a classroom setting?  This perhaps is the easiest answer of all...with such a versatile tool, you can use it anyway you can possibly think of.  From something as simple to a nightly homework updates to full-blown student interaction including examples of their work, guest blog spots, ideas on your curriculum and so much more.  Richardson gives an impressive list of the uses of blogs that people have found in their classrooms, but it must be stressed that creativity is key.  A unique idea will capture students imagination and creativity and keep them invested in the blogging.  The distinction for who the blog is for must be thought out before the classroom blog is established.  If the blog is for the teacher, the content might be more homework related, quizzes, projects criteria, strictly classroom business.  If the blog is for the students then they need to be given a voice and a reason to use it.  Debate forums, discussion groups, reactions to ideas and events and a chance to view their work is just some of the many reasons that students are already eager and willing to participate in blogs.  

As blogs give the students the voice they are looking for, ground rules must also be established for posting.  As this is uncharted territory for many educators, those interested should first familiarize themselves with the proper etiquette and manner in which blogging occurs.  Gone are the five paragraph essays as blogging captures moments and ideas, not polished final drafts.  Those who participate must be applauded they are also opening their ideas up to comment and feedback from others.  Furthermore the authors should be encouraged to blog pictures and video along with their words, making their post as immersive as possible.  Students are ready to make these jumps, as Will Richardson makes clear we just have to open the channel for them.

Brilliant Weekend

Wow...not even at the top yet

There is something about a Snow Day that transforms an ordinary mundane day into something incredible.  Turns a boring grey day into a beautiful pure white memory.  Albeit this was not a Snow Day, but this weekend was the result of one, with Mount Monadnock covered in a blanket of fresh powder that slowed down the ascent greatly but allowed for some amazing pictures.  As grueling as the ascent was, it was well worth it for not only the views but for the climb down!  We made incredible time down as gravity was our copilot and we slid nearly the whole way.  Well played nature...you've done it again.

Well deserved view

At least we can see the top...

Nuclear Timeline Video

When I uncovered this video a months years ago, I was blown away.  The video itself is so simple, but has so much to say.  Certainly a little discouraging and dark, however the message is universal and should be heard by all nations, not just those responsible for over half of the detonated bombs *cough* USA *cough*.  The dream is that countries will stop worrying about "Assured Mutual Destruction" and starts focusing on dealing with the cornucopia of other issues that threaten our global community.  Irregardless I will begin to stockpile various canned goods, I want to believe...I do.

Well done nature...well done

Thanks to YoTuT for this great action shot

Thanks to Gin Fizz for the amazing picture

 The Grand Canyon is absolutely amazing, and one of the greatest natural wonders in the world.  For the classroom in particular it is an excellent example of weathering, erosion and sedimentary rock.  Nothing can truly show weathering like the rushing power of class 5 rapids.  The generations and generations of the rushing water is an excellent example of how water can cut through rock given enough time.  I have found this to be a difficult theme to express to students.  The ridges on the sandstone clearly show the distinct layers that define a sedimentary rock.  After going white water rafting in Maine, I desperately want to get out to Arizona and try the rapids that attack the canyon walls day after day.  I cringe to think that the canyon is always changing and one day may not exist as it does today, giving me all the more reason to see it soon!

What would I like to learn?

A simple question, yet a question that requires quite a bit of thought.  After viewing Sir Ken Robinson's discussion on schools killing creativity, I really want to learn how to give students enough freedom to express themselves, while still keeping the programs leashed to the curriculum.  My other thought that came from the series of videos was how students are so fluent in technology, yet have no idea the seeds they are planting.  Their digital self needs to be given with the same amount of respect they give their physical self.  Stressing the concept of a digital footprint is key, but getting them to think a month in advance is hard enough without even introducing the consequences of their digital shenanigans years from now.  It truly is a brave new world.

My Wordle

This is the graphical representation of me...if I was a mess of jumbled colorful words.  Wordle is an interesting tool, and I was excited by the idea of Tagxedo, I have some promising ideas of the opportunities that this program could offer.