Wanting a Drink of Water

You know, we never appreciated meeting together as a team so much as we do right now!  At one time we all shared a classroom as an office.  Each person had a desk and they were scattered round the room.  Then, we were moved out to a school building that was in a remote area and shared a classroom as an office there.  The drive was a killer but when we all were there together, we could collaborate face-to-face and quickly make plans.

Now, we are are all working from home and we exchange group emails and text messages and hold Zoom meetings.  Then, it seems that only a few minutes after these meetings are closed out I have questions or good ideas that I wish I had shared. 

My grandmother used to say, "You never appreciate a drink of water till the well goes dry."

Isn't that what we all are living right now?

Looking at the Basics

When I started this aspect of my blogging life, I decided that I wanted to post images that were of my own creation.  At work I feel obligated to cite image resources because, well, it is the right thing to do.  I've always done that on my personal blog as well.  If I borrow an image, I cite it's origin.  So, that led me to creating my own simple graphics. 

This has certainly made me look at the basics of how things are made.  I look at shapes.  I look at colors.  I look at layers.  When Tony Vincent first started with Shapegrams, I thought it was a wonderful idea and that sort of spurred me to create my own graphics for my work icons and graphic needs.  Google Drawings is probably my favorite app anyway, well, at least for creating things for teachers and students.  So, one thing kind of led to another.

I use Google Drawings to create the clip art type graphics.  I just add shapes and manipulate them and layer them to get the general concept of what I want.  A simple example is the wrench and screwdriver that I used in a recent post:

When that drawing is deconstructed, it is just a bunch of shapes like this:

The shapes forming the screwdriver are on the right of the canvas and the shapes for the wrench are on the left. 

I think that is what teachers are wanting in our district right now.  Nothing complex - just the basics.  So, we are trying to provide basic support for them and their students.  We have offered Zoom sessions that last an hour on Tuesday and Wednesday for the past couple of weeks.  We show some basics, share basic, introductory information, and field questions related to what we are sharing in a Chat window. 

There is nothing exciting and extraordinary about what we are doing to help teachers but many of them are grateful for what we are sharing.  There is also nothing exciting and extraordinary about creating your own graphics either it but it is a fun adventure to see what I can create.  I would encourage you to do some creating yourself!

Good Teachers!

Everywhere I look educators are sharing ideas for ways to communicate clearly, visually, and digitally.  They are reaching out to their peers.  They are reaching out to their students.  They are seeking support and they are providing support. 

Times like these just prove that good teachers are the key to learning.  Good teachers are going to do what it takes no matter what obstacle comes their way. Good teachers get the job done.

I was so grateful to get a message from a young woman who I consider to be one of those Good Teachers.  She and I have worked collaboratively for several years and she said:

"No help needed at the moment, but just wanted to say thank you.  Your guidance and help over the last few years has given me the confidence to easily tackle all the new things coming my way these days."

I think the 'good' teachers are rising to the top right now more than ever before.  I see those who are strong, well prepared, versatile, risk-takers excelling even in this unusual situation of distance learning and staying at home.

I am really interested to see how this time impacts the future of teaching and learning!

Grasping the Tools

We got responses from folks who participated in our Zoom sessions last week.  For the most part they are positive.  There were also quite a few requests from folks who needed a bit of clarification or needed a bit more support.  Because we had 'sold-out' crowds last week, we decided to offer the exact same thing this week.  So, tomorrow we will be hosting another Zoom session for teachers in the district.

One of the responses sort of set me back. 

Now, this year I have been working as a support for a school which was piloting a rather in-depth 1:1 initiative.  It involved the introduction to the use of a learning management system, integrating new touch-screen Chromebooks, etc.  So, there was a LOT of new for this school this year.  The administration has been quite flexible and allowed teachers to keep doing what was working for them without trying to embrace too much newness and we just nudged them ever so slightly week-by-week to integrate something new.  Then, suddenly, school was dismissed and we are staying at home.

My concerns for those teachers at 'my' school were great but I was pretty confident that they were going to be alright and could continue using the tools and materials they had been using.  After all, we started with a small core team in training back last May.  Then, in July we did a bit of training with all of the faculty.  Then, we have provided ongoing training and support daily at the school.  We had plan and learn sessions where teachers could work with me in small groups to learn new things, build on what they already knew and were using, and get tips to make things simpler for them and their students.  We had a couple of faculty meeting sessions where we worked as a whole group and I followed up with visits to teachers' classrooms as requested.  I shared step-by-step tutorials, videos, and did a few co-teaches to support them and their students.  I even made little newsletters with QR codes and short URLs that I posted as bathroom graffiti.  Plus, I was always there every single day to answer questions, share tips and ideas, and work elbow-to-elbow with teachers and students. 

So, when the one response came in, I paused and did some thinking.  The response was this: "I would like to request that at least one Zoom session be paced so that I can follow along with my laptop and set it up for Screencastify."  There was more in the response but this was the key statement. 

At first, I rolled my eyes.  Did this teacher not realize that we had 300 people following along in that Zoom session?  Did this teacher not realize that we only had an hour to share info about using this tool?  Did this teacher not listen when we said we could not do an actual step-by-step modeling session because our computer's system was already using the camera and microphone for the Zoom application and could not also be used for Screencastify?

Next, I laughed.  To me this was the perfect example of how each of us will personalize something instead of recognizing that our personal need is not what is most important.  The needs of the group as a whole are what is being targeted.  I get it.  I sometimes do that, too.

Then, I got angry.  How dare this teacher make such a request.  Where had this teacher been all year long?  All.  Year.  Long.  Why hadn't this teacher requested a one-to-one with me back last October when this tool was first introduced to the staff?  Why hadn't this teacher sought me out in November when I set up plan and learn sessions?  Why hadn't this teacher requested a follow-up after I posted the February newsletter with a big ole blurb about this tool on it?

Finally, it hit me and I just sighed.  I think I talked about it HERE.  This teacher has finally begun to feel it. 

Maybe.

BTW: Screencastify is one of my most favorite tech tools!  It is a Chrome Extension that anybody and everybody can use to make short videos.  If you cannot have a live face-to-face moment with others, make a quick video and share it.  Check it out! Screencastify in the Chrome Web Store

What Kind of Amazing?

I think this experience of staying home is sort of like a roller coaster ride.  In my profession we often experience elation of learners reaching a new level of understanding.  We also sometimes feel frustration that learning and understanding were not achieved.  Every single day is something new and amazing in this profession of education.

I thought about the distance learning experience I had with my mother yesterday.  She was a willing and eager pupil because she needed to know and needed to advance beyond where she was.  That is just like how some students in the classroom are everyday.  Then, there are some students who are not so eager and really don't value what we are trying to teach and that is where the educator's frustration sets in most of the time.  Then, sometimes, though, there are students who start out eager and feeling the need and desire to know but get bogged down because learning is not easy. 

When you know your students well and recognize how they learn best, teaching becomes easier and learning for them becomes easier.  Even when you have a classroom full of learners who have different needs, teaching can sometimes be easy.  As educators, we just adapt and offer options and teach the same thing in different ways.  We will set up stations where students can perform a hands-on learning activity or we will have something for auditory learners or have a visual for those who need to see something to understand it better.  I maintain that all learners are smart, we just have to find their strengths and build upon them.

Maybe my experience as being a part of a school's special education department helped me to develop that mindset.  I know that it helped me to better understand that we need to meet students where they are and that sometimes some students need something more or something different than what the majority needs in order to move from where they are closer to where they will find more success.

I pondered the situation with my mother and wondered how many folks are out there who don't have a daughter who is an educator to do a little distance learning via text message.  I wonder how many folks don't understand all of what is going on in our society today and don't have a close, trusted person they can call on to help them better navigate this journey.  I went to sleep thinking about that.

Then, as I always do, I looked at the headlines and caught up on what the news blurbs for the morning were before I ever really started my day.  The first headline that seemed to hit me in the gut was this one: Coronavirus Bill allows DeVos to waive parts of special education law.  Then, another source reported the same thing.  Then, I saw this: Toward a New and Better Normal. 

In times like these it is so easy to become self-centered and think poor-pitiful-me.  It is easy to get angry because others don't do exactly what we want them to do.  Yet, when we take a moment and pause and think about all we have to be grateful for, things generally seem to feel better.  We seem to feel less pitiful.  We seem to have a better outlook. 

I'm trying so hard to do that right now - that pausing and being grateful. 

I'm also thinking about those who might not be as fortunate as me.  I'm thinking about how distance learning is going for lots of different learners.  I'm trying to think that we are all "growing through this" together as author, Couros, said in his post.  I'm asking myself, "How do we ensure that we honor the different situations of every one of our families?"  I hope that our country's leaders are asking themselves this question as well. 

I think about what might be happening for those who are going through this instead of growing through this.  I'm thinking about those who might be growing through this but it is not a positive kind of growth.  And when I do think about some of those things like I read in the headlines, I break down and cry.  It's an ugly cry like I did this morning.

I'm trying to convince myself that this "change is an opportunity to do something amazing," and we certainly are doing something amazing.  I am just hoping that it is amazingly good!

Distance Learning

We are all coming to know what distance learning looks like in these days of staying home.

Oh, I took online classes way back twenty years ago when I went to graduate school as a 'non-traditional student.'  I would log on to my school course site from my home office and complete my work and submit it to my professor at the university and wait for a response from my professor.

I have facilitated professional development as online courses which last for six weeks and teachers will complete a project each week to earn their professional development credit. They might be at home in their PJs on a Saturday morning and I had posted the instructions and checklist for their project earlier in the week from a district school.

This week, however, distance learning took on a new dimension for me.

I got a text message from my mother who lives across the county.  She asked about logging on to a Facebook Live event that was a virtual tour of a historical spot nearby.  I had been trying to join it myself and was having poor results.

I'd never joined a Facebook Live live.  I mean, I had watched the videos of a broadcast hours after it had taken place but never joined one while it was actually taking place.  I could see what looked like a video but it wasn't playing and no matter how many times I tapped the start arrow, it just sat there or I got the circling wheel of death.  So, I called my daughter to see what I was doing incorrectly.

Do you see the circle of life happening here?  Anyway, she assured me that I was probably doing the right thing but the broadcast was glitchy and not going well.  The broadcast was just jerky, intermittent, and not going well at all. So, I passed this info along to my mother.

Then, she texted me back that she had a problem with her phone.  She was not receiving calls and didn't think she could call out either.  So, began a distance learning experience - all in text messages.

 I probably did a big eye-roll at that point.  So, I told her to go to her computer and was going to do a Google Hangout or Zoom session with her.  She asked if she could use her iPad.  So, I said, sure.  After a few minutes, she lets me know that she needed to add an app but didn't know her Apple password.  I KNOW I did a big eye-roll at that point.  I also know that she has all her passwords written down on some scrap of paper in a higgledy-piggledy fashion and stashed that scrap somewhere.  So, we continued to text message - her via the iPad, I guess, and me on my phone.  I sent her this screeenshot with my drawing atop it:

At this point, I was looking into my phone's settings, making a screenshot and drawing, opening text message stream, and pasting before sending.  So, I was back and forth.  But, mother was just looking at both screens at the same time and not giving me time to send both text and photos.

I thought for a bit and pondered what might be lost if she just reset everything.  Then, decided I'd better go for it because she really needed the phone to communicate with the outside world beyond just text messaging.  So...

I don't know what the semi-colon message was about but I do know there was a l-o-n-g pause.  So, I decided that I'd take a bit of a break and went into another room.

Then, I came back to this:

I gave her a call and could just hear the relief in her voice.  What is so funny to me is that it sounded just like countless teachers and students who I work with every single day.  They encounter a problem that is a pretty simple one but they cannot figure out what on earth they should do.  Sometimes they try several options just like my mother and I did and sometimes they are just crippled and reach out for support.  Sometimes I'm not sure what to do and we just troubleshoot together till we figure it out.  These encounters are just run-of-the-mill happenstances for me and I don't consider them breakthroughs.  I'm going for the big cheese.  I want to see that light switch go on that true learning has taken place.  I want to see a revelation or epiphany that someone has moved to a new place of knowledge.  I want to see an evolution in practice.  I want to see a new level of wisdom.  I want to see dawning of understanding of new and difficult information. I want to see transformation.

However, sometimes it is just the little things like clicking reset that make all the difference.

Videos! Everybody Loves a Video!

When you want to learn how to do something, what is one of the first things you do?

I'd be willing to bet you look at 'the YouTube' to find a How-To video.  My son repaired their clothes dryer after watching several videos.  My husband learns about cooking different cuts of meat on the grill in new and delicious ways by watching videos.  When I want to learn about a new tech tool or program, I watch a video.

If you enter a search into Google, chances are you are going to get a link to a video relating to that search.  In this time of staying at home, I'd bet more videos have been watched than ever before.

I've been encouraging teachers for the past couple of years to create mini lessons using a video platform.  I have loads of tips and suggestions for how to make them effective.  I have a multiplicity of resources which offer suggestions for ways to have students show what they know after learning about a topic by creating videos.

So, today, our tech coach team offered webinars to teachers showing them how to use a simple video maker and providing links to those resources that I've been curating for the past couple of years.  The first webinar was mid-morning today and the spaces allowed were maxed out as soon as the webinar began.  Requests started coming in asking why they couldn't access the live webinar link.  Over 300 people suddenly saw the reasons for creating a simple video to help students learn - and that was just in the first session!

During the second webinar session at mid-day, I was watching the numbers grow for participants to join the webinar and they were growing by leaps and bounds beginning thirty minutes before the webinar even opened up to accept participants.  There were over a hundred in the waiting room when I clicked the Admit All button a couple of minutes before it started!  I kept noticing more and more being added as we were giving the welcome information.  By ten minutes in to the second webinar, I glanced at the numbers and we had admitted 283 and I stopped counting and just accepted requests as I continued to talk.  There was a mid-afternoon webinar but I didn't get a report on it before I logged off for the day.  I'm sure it was quite busy as well.

What is it about video that has us intrigued?  What is it about video that appeals to all of us?  Is it the fact that we crave that visual connection?  Is it that no other means besides face-to-face really suffices when it comes to providing information and teaching different concepts?  Is it because we know that when we see something we quickly learn how-to.

I remember when our first granddaughter was younger.  She came to her mother one day and said she needed to borrow her tablet or phone.  My daughter asked why she couldn't use her own tablet.  She was told that it wouldn't work.  Soon Mom discovered why.

It was filled to the max with videos.  Lillie hadn't downloaded so many videos.  She had created them!  There were videos for how to style your little pony's hair. There were videos for how to line up your little pony's for a parade. Loads and loads of how-to videos!

Today, I shared resources such as a Storyboard Template, ways to app-smash with videos, and several blog posts which provide suggestions for student video creation - ways for students to put their own creative spin on a video much like Lillie did for her little pony how-tos.  I am anxious to see how teachers and students will put this information into practice and intrigued to learn whether the fascination with video creation will continue to grow even after we are not staying home.