Improving Student Engagement

I was privileged to have the opportunity to create a guest post for one of my favorite education blogs Secondary Farm this past week. Here are my thoughts on Improving Student Engagement.

Basic Copyright Information

Matthew Wolf, a student in one of my graduate classes at Concordia University Wisconsin, put together a simple WordPress site that shares basic copyright information for educators. The pages were put together in a clear and concise manner and have value for teachers and school leaders. Take a look at his work and share the site with colleagues as you see fit. We all should be seeking and striving to honor copyright appropriately.


http://edt970copyright.wordpress.com/

Document Ownership and Google Apps for Education

A funny thing happened along the way as I sought to transfer my Google Apps data from my account with my previous school to the new account at my current school: I found out that one cannot transfer ownership of documents created in Google Apps for Education to another account. So I am left with many collaborative documents inside an old account.

Fortunately, this is not a critical issue for me as I have a good relationship with the folks at my previous school. They will keep my account there open as long as needed. However, this was an unforeseen complication. Perhaps I missed a memo someplace, but I did not realize that document ownership rules were so strict inside Google Apps for Education. Ownership may be transferred through common Google accounts, but not with Google Apps for Education.

Don't get caught unaware. For those of you using Google Apps for Education, here are two considerations and ideas for managing document ownership:

• Transfer the documents to a new account using Google Takeout. This is an official protocol used by Google for transferring files between accounts. While your data is preserved in a new account, the files are saved as traditional document files, not interactive documents, so any shares would need to be established once more. This is not the most convenient method when one does a lot of collaborative work, but at least one's data is preserved.
• Consider creating a separate Google account outside of Google Apps for Education for the creation of documents that are meant to be shared. With this step one has no issues with document ownership.

MTM and You

As you may already know, I provide some outside support to Ministry Technology Mentors (MTM), an organization committed to supporting Christian ministries through technology training, graduate course work in educational design and technology, seminars, and any other means that will make a difference in championing the cause of Christian education through support of educators and other church professionals. It is exciting for me to see some of the upcoming opportunities that are available for Christian educators to learn and grow so that they can better serve the children and families under their care.

Here are several specific opportunities for you to learn and grow in your service for the Lord:

• Summer session graduate courses begin next week with the first summer session. The second summer session begins on July 8th. Each session lasts for eight weeks. Here is the list of summer classes. Remember that by joining MTM your are eligible for significant tuition discounts. Build your professional expertise through individual courses or through an entire graduate degree program.
• Are you or your school wrestling with how to implement a 1:1 technology program that focuses on student learning? If so, join MTM in beautiful Mequon, WI on the campus of Concordia University Wisconsin from June 17-19 for Considering the 1:1 Initiative, an intensive seminar that studies the education strategies and practical implications when establishing a 1:1 technology program in a school. Click here for more information or to register for this important event.
• Watch for a new initiative to be announced soon that provides a service for Christian middle schools. It is exciting to be building something specifically for these classrooms and their teachers.

Questions? Contact me at any time. I want to do anything I can to support you in your important educational work.

Who Are Your Gurus?

I saw the Twitter note below earlier today. There is great wisdom in this post. Who are your education and technology gurus? Who are your go-to people? If you don't have them, find them today!

For me, fellow leaders such as Dennis Grice, Rob Jacklin, Matt Bergholt, and Josh Sommermeyer serve that role for me as colleagues. My student leaders are those that know Minecraft inside and out. I thank God for all of them and for their presence in my life and work.

New Recommended App: Haiku Deck

I have discovered a new presentation/content creation app for the iPad that I highly recommend. It is called Haiku Deck and it has a beautiful design for sharing content and ideas.

Here are some things I like about this app:

• There is an internal image search that seeks out high-resolution copyright free images without going outside the app.
• Text is limited so that the app really serves as a visual tool to engage viewers.
• Presentations may be stored online as video slides by setting up a free account.
• The app is free (there are some purchase opportunities for new slide templates inside the app, but the program provides five initial templates -- more than enough for one to get started).
• One is also able to incorporate video into the presentations. See this article for information on how to do this.

I highly encourage all students, parents and teachers to give this app a test run.

Here are a couple additional Haiku Deck resources:

• Here is my initial Haiku Deck presentation, a presentation and discussion for my 8th graders on the Trail of Tears.
• Here is the direct link to the app in the iTunes Store.

My First MOOC Experience: What I Learned

My first MOOC (Massive Open Online Class) experience ended abruptly this morning with an email from the instructor. The course, opened on Monday, was plagued with numerous technical and design issues -- so many that the course was suspended until these issues could be fixed.

I had decided to enroll in an MOOC through Coursera, a site which hosts online course offerings from 33 different universities. The course I selected was Fundamentals of Online Education: Planning and Application. I opted for this title because I already have a background in this topic and I wanted to learn about MOOCs in a setting where I did not have a great deal of academic pressure on a topic. Unfortunately, the course was a mess from the start, and this blog post accurately describes the experience:

How Not to Design a MOOC: The Disaster at Coursera and How to Fix It

While this experience was far from optimal, it has not soured me on the potential of MOOCs. However, there are several things I learned from the experience:

• Design matters. Taking the time to study and design engaging learning experiences makes a difference in student learning and course satisfaction.
• Make sure your infrastructure can handle the load. Sounds obvious, but that clearly did not happen in this case.
• If you are going to lead a MOOC, you better have a thick skin. Out of 40,000 participants there are bound to be some that are absolutely brutal in their critique of your work.
• While the course design was clearly not strong, there were also many students who had no intention of trying to figure things out on their own. A significant sub-set of those enrolled was not going to use the tools and mechanisms available to make the course work for them. They simply quit. That made me think about what would happen if MOOCs became more accepted as a credit tool. Would students simply drift to the "easiest" MOOC course -- the one that would spoon-feed them the most? If so, how would that practice support innovative education and advancement. It seems to me that some sort of tracking may be needed, especially to track the number of times a student enrolls in a course and then actually completes the course. That would create a larger investment in the process instead of simply giving up at the first sign of difficulty.
• I was anxious to converse with a diverse body of students, including several from other countries (Jamaica, Finland, Saudi Arabia) who were assigned to my discussion group. Alas, our discussions never got off the ground, but that has the potential to be a rich experience.

I am anxious to find a good course fit to explore a full MOOC in the near future. While the model has potential to bring educational opportunities to the masses, both nationally and internationally, MOOCs are still in their infancy. I hope to have more to report from personal experience about MOOCs in the very near future.

What the Great Chicago Fire Can Teach Us

As many of you know, I grew up outside of the great city of Chicago. But this urban area was not always a modern one. Over 140 years ago, Chicago was a bustling town of ramshackle wood structures. One evening changed all that. On the evening of Sunday, October 8th, 1871, a fire of unknown origin (often colorfully attributed to Mrs. O'Leary's cow) made its way through the city on a warm and windy evening, burning on through the next day until finally being extinguished on October 10th. A significant portion of the city (see the colored map) was destroyed. While only 300 people died in the fire, an estimated 100,000 were rendered homeless.

The Chicago of 1871 was living on the edge of disaster. Growing far faster than city services, water borne diseases and epidemics were on the rise. Unsafe structures abounded in the city. Most residents lived in dilapidated dwellings. The city, while growing, was also dying. Some reformers recognized this and called for action. Others saw the issues but hoped for the best -- that the city would be able to survive and thrive despite its issues, contrary to common sense.

In the end, a near total destruction of the city brought about a vibrant new era. Post-fire Chicago had the opportunity to rebuild completely, utilizing new materials, such as fireproof steel, in major buildings, creating city plans for water, lighting and transportation, and developing new building styles that would make Chicago renowned around the world for its variety of unique and exquisite architecture.

In other words, destruction needed to take place to bring about change. I have been pondering whether this is the case for many Lutheran schools. Many schools are living in the patterns of the past, recognizing that the world is changing around them, but hoping to survive -- hoping for the best. In short, they act like the Chicago of 1871.

In my view, many of these schools will not survive. While this is heartbreaking on many levels, especially for those schools which have significant institutional histories, perhaps this is necessary in order for them to be re-built. Instead of rebuilding with steel, we can rebuild schools with flexible structures and governance, emphases on collaboration, project-based learning, increased student ownership of learning and inquiry, that better model real work experiences. These are needed to be able to share the timeless truths of God, His love, and His forgiveness and salvation to our Digital Age world and culture. We can adapt or rebuild with educational opportunities that leverage digital and online tools, with flexible face-to-face, blended, and online models, meeting the needs of each uniquely gifted child of God in very personal ways.

We can stand by, hoping for the best, and perhaps watch Lutheran schools as they have been traditionally structured "face the fire." Or we can now actively, intentionally, and joyfully embrace the changes that we see needing to be made. The choice is ours.

Latest Links List

Here is my latest list of interesting links I have discovered for innovative educators:

• Virtual Heart: A free iPad app from the Museum of Science and Industry in Chicago that takes a user on a journey inside the human heart.
• Anti-Bullying video created by Lutheran High students:

• Leadership Thoughts -- Lessons From the Ordinary
• iPads, AUPs, and Good Classroom Management
• 15 Tools for Better Project-Based Learning

I Am Wondering.....

....... how many Lutheran schools look like what is described in this video? How many schools have tried? What do WE (note the "we") need to do to make this happen more often in Lutheran schools?

Using Badges in the Classroom

Since the start of the new calendar year I have been experimenting with using badges in the classroom to acknowledge student achievement. I have long been intrigued by badges as a way to codify accomplishments that might not otherwise appear on a student report card. In addition, I see badges as a way to personalized goal setting with students and help students at all levels continue to improve and achieve.

At first I looked at Edmodo as the mechanism for awarding badges. This seemed like a natural first step since we use Edmodo extensively with our 6th-8th graders in our iPad 1:1 environment. However, using Edmodo for this was awkward and clunky. Coincidentally, before Christmas I was pointed to a new service called ClassBadges. As I worked with this site I became much more comfortable with using this with students.

 ClassBadges has a simple account set up and allows me to create as many badges as I want, complete with descriptions. There are also many pre-created images for badges, so it is easy for me to find icons which fit for awards. Here are some examples of badges I have created:

As I have worked with ClassBadges, here are some successes, questions, and considerations I have encountered:

• I would love for ClassBadges have the capability to set up parent codes, similar to what is available in Edmodo, to share student accomplishments with parents.
• The ClassBadges interface is clean and usable, which makes creating and awarding badges quick and easy.
• It would be great if ClassBadges provided the tools for teachers to create and share their own badge designs. Apparently this feature is planned but not yet rolled out.
• I created several initial badges but allow students to suggest badges they would like to see. This has proven to be an excellent motivator for students who regularly contact me with badge ideas.
• Right now I have no set standard for the awarding of badges. The only requirement I have is that I must have confidence that students are able to replicate the skill each time they submit work. I will not award a badge unless I believe that students are doing this.
• Students must request badges from me and point to the work which shows mastery of the skill.
• As of now, I have no scheme for including badge awards as part of a formal grade. These badges are for use for understanding student improvement when speaking with parents and colleagues. However, I am open to using them for more formal assessments as we grow with the program.
• I likely have a lot of communication work to do with parents to help them better understand the purpose of the badges and how these help mark specific achievements of their students. This process is in its infancy.
• The analyzing of work and awarding of badges is a time-consuming process. It is also mentally challenging. However, it also helps me better know the academic strengths and weaknesses of my students than ever before.
• Badges work well when flipping the classrooms since there is more time to personally monitor student work.

Have you attempted to used badges for education? If so, share your experiences as a comment to this post.

Blessings in Challenges

This Christmas Break was a challenging time for my school, Shepherd of the Hills. On Saturday, December 29th, a broken water main outside our building sent water cascading into the lower level classrooms of our building. Six classrooms and several key hallways were affected. Thankfully, we are drying out and assessment and reconstruction, where necessary, is already planned.

None of us wants to deal with these unexpected challenges in life and ministry. Yet we are blessed to see the way the Lord continues to work through this situation. These blessings include:

• We will only lose one day of school. The building is ready for children tomorrow (January 8th), albeit with some relocation of classrooms.
• My colleagues at Shepherd of the Hills are amazing! They worked tirelessly and unselfishly all day to move classrooms, create lists of damaged items for insurance, and carry out general clean up. What a blessing it was to see this team working together for God and for the good of children and families!
• We were blessed that a school/church facilities supervisor came across the water when he did. We were told that if the water had been allowed to build for another two hours our entire lower level would have been affected.
• Our school has insurance for the necessary replacements and repairs.

We are ready and anxious to serve students once more tomorrow. Thanks be to God for all His good gifts, even amidst unwanted challenges!

Media and You

Wondering why images have so much more power than text for learning and retention? Check out this video, created by Lutheran education colleague Dennis Grice, for the answer.

Preparation For Working From Home -- Please Comment!

Today's post is the first of many planned for this year (remember my New Year's resolutions?) designed to generate discussion among educators. The topics will be intentionally provocative to build a meaningful conversation. I am convinced that we all need deeper conversations, considering the ideas and views of many others, if we are going to have a chance of making sense of this revolutionary digital era and the changes that are taking place around us in life and education. Therefore, I am humbly asking for your responses and participation to this post, as well as others throughout the year, not for my sake, but for the sake of our shared work in education and in proclaiming Jesus Christ as Lord.

This morning I read a statistic from the Harvard Business Journal which stated that in a few years 1.4 billion people around the world will be working from home. That got me thinking about whether we are truly preparing our students for this type of work. Our educational structure was formed as a response to the Industrial Revolution, not the Digital Revolution. These 1.4 billion workers are regularly collaborating with colleagues using virtual tools. The also must learn to manage both time and digital distractions in new ways for improved productivity, taking responsibility for these tasks when there is no manager physically watching over their work.

What we need to provide our students to prepare them for this work role that many will have? Here are a few ideas:

• Regular collaboration with others using digital tools such as Google Docs, Skype, and other communication tools. 
• Collaborate in a variety of different manners. For instance, collaboration with classroom peers, with other school classes, with other schools, with those with similar interests and aptitudes, etc.
• Create intentional discussions with students about the similarities and differences between the traditional workplace and working from home or within virtual environments.
• Work with students to plan for dealing with digital distractions, listing those potential distractions, as well as identifying specific management strategies.
• Build classroom activities to incorporate shared virtual tools whenever possible.

What specific strategies can you identify to help prepare students for this increasing work reality? Help us all work together for the good of students by sharing your ideas as a comment to this post.