Moving Away from "Teaching" Toward Empowering Students

Vicki Davis is a Cool Cat Teacher.  Actually she is THE Cool Cat Teacher.  You may have heard of her blog, CoolCatTeacher.com  It is the most visited education blog followed on the planet. 

Fortunately I had the opportunity to meet Vicki a few years ago and become good friends over the year. I am in absolute awe of her as a teacher, blogger, educator, motivator and organizer (do you know that she has over 100 people come to her house for Thanksgiving and she LOVES it!!!)

One of Vicki's latest projects is her Every Classroom Matters Podcast through the BAM!RadioNetwork. Vicki uses this podcast to interview a variety of educators from around the world about their areas of passion. These 10-minute interviews range from 21st Century Learning to Financial Literacy to Empowering Students.  Fascinating stuff.

A couple of weeks ago, I had the privilege of being interviewed by Mrs. Davis.  She asked me some interesting questions about my teaching philosophies and practices. She wanted to know about how I interact with students and what happens in my classes. In listening to the interview, it turns out that she didn't have to ask me too many questions at all because I just kept talking . . .

Anyway, here is the link to the interview.  I would suggest that you click on the iTunes link to listen to it.

Listen to the podcast by clicking below: 

It is #6 in the iTunes list. They named it "Steps away from Teaching . . . "

Moving Away from "Teaching" 
Toward Empowering Students
Audio Interview with Dr. Z

Tech It To the NEXT Level

I am privileged to be Skyping with Amy Kangas and her wonderful class of educators who are spending the next week exploring what it means to be a 21st Century Teacher.  

While I will just be there to answer questions and share some experiences, here are a few resources that might be useful for our discussion.

BackChannel:

• http://todaysmeet.com/techit2drz
• Using BackChannels in Lectures - Dr. Z

Technology Integration Matrix:

• Building Learning Through the Technology Integration Matrix
• Bloom's Taxonomy Blooms Digitally
• Florida's Technology Integration Matrix 
• Arizona's Technology Integration Matrix

UNI Instructional Technology Masters Program

• Instructional Technology Program
• Master of Arts: Instructional Technology
• 2014 Instructional Technology Cohort (2-year program)  

MY GAWD! It's Saturn thru Google Hangout!!!

There's Saturn. I can't believe it!

Fraser Cain in Courtenay, British Columbia, is SHARING THE UNIVERSE!
He is using Google Hangout to share this image on his telescope with other astronomers from all over the world.

English: Auroras on Saturn. Français : Des aurores polaires sur Saturne. Русский: Полярное сияние на Сатурне. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I know that the technology is here and I have connected with people all over the world, but this video brought me to tears.  I don't know why, but the idea of connecting people from all over the world to through Google Hangout to see Saturn through a personal telescope in British Columbia, Canada, was incredibly moving for me, the teacher.

Sure, we have seen telescopic images on our televisions or even our computers, but this experience is not being directed by "The Establishment." It isn't something on PBS that someone in New York decided would be good for us to see. It is about a Canadian amateur astronomer connecting through Google Hangouts with individuals in Pakistan, Australia, U.S., Mexico, South America, South Africa and ??. It is an example of people sharing/learning/teaching with one another in a way that wasn't possible even 5 years ago.

This is what 21st Century Learning is all about. It is about connecting and collaborating and exploring on a global basis. It is about using our daily resources to constantly expand our opportunities with others. 

What are you doing in your classrooms to encourage such collaboration?

Z

Happy Father's Day

Related articles

• 3 Creative Ways to Use Google Hangouts
• 27 Ways to Be a Better 21st Century Educator
• Learning Tools Every 21st Century Teacher Should Be Able To Use
• 21st Century Teachers
• Think You're a 21st Century Educator?
• What Does Teaching in The 21st Century Mean ?

EduCon 2.5 in Philly this Weekend!!!

EduCon 2.5 is happening in Philly this weekend!!!!Educon 2.5 is a national conference in Philly this weekend. It has some of the leading minds in 21st Century education attending. http://educonphilly.org

Here are the guiding principles behind EduCon

1. Our schools must be inquiry-driven, thoughtful and empowering for all members.
2. Our schools must be about co-creating — together with our students — the 21^st Century Citizen.
3. Technology must serve pedagogy, not the other way around.
4. Technology must enable students to research, create, communicate, and collaborate.
5. Learning can — and must — be networked.
6.  

At this time, there are 278 attendees.  Here is a link to a page with their names and photos. http://educonphilly.org/attendees

You can see the schedule of presentations down the right side of the page. 

Wish I was there, but instead I can watch the conversations through live streaming video.  You can TOOO!   

1. You have to begin by signing up and creating a profile. http://educonphilly.org/register
2. Go to the Conversations and find ones that interest you. http://educonphilly.org/conversations
3. You just need to select the conversation and then sign-in.
4. The list of conversations look appetizing and the people presenting them are leaders in our field.  These aren't lectures, they are interactive sessions with attendees discussing ideas and the presenters facilitating discussion.
5. You can watch it occur as it happens because they are using YouTube Broadcast to stream the presentations.  The greatest part is that if you miss a session, the session is posted immediately for your enjoyment.

You can also follow some of the happenings through Twitter using #educon

This is a MUST experience.

Good luck and enjoy your first Virtual conference.

Your Class Might be Learner-Centric If . . . (a work in progress)

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 I woke up this morning thinking about learner-centric learning environments. Hmmm, is that dedication or distraction if you dream about 21st century learning? 

Anyway, I had the opening phrase "Your class might be learner-centric if . . . " on my lips when I awoke. I am interested in making a conscious effort to make my courses learner-centric.

Many of my activities and my teaching philosophy tends to be learner-centric, but I want to finding a set of guidelines that I could use in refining my courses. 

So I began my search for such a list and composited the list below. This is a work in progress, so please provide me with feedback or your ideas about the list.

Please note that I have stated that your class MIGHT be learner-centric if it has these characteristics. A learner-centered learning environment is more than a few characteristics.  It is an overall learning experience that can be created when these characteristics are present.

Add your ideas to the comment section down below.

Your class might be learner-centric if: (apologies to Jeff Foxworthy . . . )

• ·      Your students talk more then you do in class.
• ·      Your students are working harder than you.
• ·      Your students are explicitly learning the required thinking skills for mastering material in the discipline.
• ·      Your students are reflecting, analyzing and critiquing what they are learning and how they are learning it.
• ·      Your students have some choice about which assignments they complete.
• ·      Your students help create the assessment criteria/rubrics.
• ·      Your students are collaborating as learning communities.
• ·      You share the learning commitment with your students.
• ·      You and your students see learning individually and collectively as the goal of education.
• ·      Your students demonstrate their knowledge in unique ways.
• ·      Your students are actively engaged in individual and group learning activities.

What do you have to add?

Weimer, M. (2012). Five characteristics of learner-centered teaching.

Characteristics of effective instruction: Student-centered classrooms

Delaney J. (1999). What are learner-centered schools?

1-to-1 Pedagogy: Curriculum for the 21st Century Classroom - Hot Topics Webinar

What is this 1-to-1 curriculum all about?

Dr. Ping Gao and I will have an opportunity to share our ideas about Curriculum for the 21st Century with you in a Webinar that we will be giving on April 26, 2012 at 4:00 CST.

We will be discussing the need to rethink how education should be framed and explore some tools for making the changes.

Here are some links to the resources we have shared.  If you don't find something important here that you think should be included, just add it in the comment section below.

Watch our hour-long webinar. We have participants from Oklahoma, Arizona and around Iowa.

Watch this Slide Show on SlideShare

1-to-1 Computing: Curriculum for the 21st Century

View more presentations from Leigh Zeitz

Included Videos:

• 21st Century Video - Greg Whitby talks about the curriculum DNA.
• Van Meter Social Media - Interview with students about how they have used Social Media in their learning.

Included Resources:

• Iowa Universal Constructs - The universal constructs identified following an analysis of the competencies and habits of mind needed for future successes in careers, college and citizenry.
• Technology Integration Matrix  - Florida Technology Integration Matrix creates a 25-cell table that integrates 5 types of Meaningful Learning Environments (Jonassen et al) with 5 levels of Technology Integration (Apple Classroom of Tomorrow).  Filled with 100 short videos of best practice examples for Math, Science, Social Science and Language Arts.
• TPACKing for a Wild Learning Trip - This is a link to a resource page that I created for my students when they were studying TPACK. It is filled with a plethora of resources about the Technological, Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPaCK) model.
• Book: From Fear to Facebook  by Matt Levinson  Pub: ISTE
  Exceptional book where a school administrator chronicles his many adventures while directing a school into a 1-to-1 paradigm. Must read!!!

What ideas or accomplishments or resources would you like to share about 1:1 curriculum?  Please share them in the comments section below.

Z & G

Iowa Core Curriculum - Dr. Nadene Davidson @ UNI

The Iowa Core Curriculum (ICC) is a curricular program that provides guidance for educators in "delivering challenging and meaningful content to students that prepares them for success in life." This curriculum identifies the "essential concepts and skills for K-12 grade in literacy (read, write, speak, listen, and think), mathematics, science and social studies. It also identifies 21st Century Skills (civic, employability, financial, health and technology) that people must master to be successful in life. More than just identifying the content area, the ICC is designed to develop deeper learning engages students by "emphasizing interesting, robust, and relevant learning experiences."

The ICC is intended to be more than just another curriculum that is written by a group of specialists and then placed on a shelf to collect dust. The Iowa Legislature enacted Senate File 2216 that requires all Iowa school districts and accredited nonpublic schools to implement the ICC by 7/1/2012 (grades 9 - 12) and 2014-15 (K-8th grades).

This Iowa Core Curriculum is well researched and forward looking. It is still in the process of being developed. The Intent is there but the content/requirements haven't been completed. The key to success in learning and using the ICC will be in developing your knowledgebase.

In Spring of 2009, I taught a Selections and Integration of Instructional Technology Materials course at the University of Northern Iowa. I knew that I couldn't didn't know enough about the Iowa Core Curriculum to benefit my students so I asked Dr. Nadene Davidson, the Interim Director of Department of Teaching, to share her vast knowledge of the subject. Dr. Davidson has been an active participant in developing the ICC so she was able to provide the necessary insight.

I have linked to Dr. Davidson's 1 hour 40-minute lecture for your enjoyment. She does a wonderful job of describing the background for the Iowa Core Curriculum, its structure and the process of implementation. This video requires Real Player to watch. (Dr. Davidson's presentation actually begins 4 minutes 37 seconds into the video.)

Please review this presentation and share your comments.

Z

Habitudes for College Students - Angela Maiers

Are you ready for tomorrow? It's almost time. Time to put all the years of schooling and studying to work. Some students have already begun dipping their toes in the water. Some have already jumped into the pool called the life/workforce. Whatever depth you're at today, it's a good idea to take inventory. A self-awareness exercise to make sure you're ready to weather any possible storm, to equip yourself with mental ammunition to create and innovate into a world where the only constant is change.


What habits and attitudes - Habitudes will carry you to heights beyond your vision? Your success as a 21st Century student, worker, and citizen lies in your passionate:

• Imagination
• Curiosity
• Perseverance
• Self-Awareness
• Courage
• Adaptability
  

Join us for a Habitude conversation at the University of Northern Iowa College of Education and the UNI Educational Technology User Group (ETUG) at 7 p.m. Monday, March 30, in Schindler Education Center room 252 at UNI (virtual map).

I'll be co-presenting with my good friend, Andy Drish, a recent graduate who lives his life in Habitude abundance. Our presentation will focus on the differences between being creative on occasion and living each day creatively as a habit and attitude.

For more information about the event, contact Leigh Zeitz (zeitz@uni.edu), associate professor of curriculum and instruction at UNI. (319) 273-3249

The information is free and open to the public. Join us! Join us for a conversation about the Habitudes.

IT WILL BE STREAMING!!!!

We are happy to announce that we will be streaming Angela's presentation. You will be able to watch it live using Real Player.
You will also be able to interact with us through our live online chat.

You can access the presentation or the online chat at the our Habitudes homepage at UNI.

Instruction & Tech Conference for 21st Century Learners

I am attending the Integrating Instruction and Technology for the 21st Century Learner conference in Storm Lake, Iowa today. It is being sponsored by the Prairie Lakes Area Education Agency.

There is a wonderful collection of offerings today. The keynote on all three days is Doug Johnson. He is a good presenter and today is doing a great job of laying the foundation for integrating technology into our curriculum in his presentation "The Technology? Skills Every Student Needs."

I will be presenting later today. This presentation, "Web 2.0: Gadgets, Gizmos and Widgets." It is my review of over 20 goodies that I like. You can find the wiki I have created with all of the links that I will be using.

This is also the first day of the Emerging Instructional Technologies class that I am teaching this summer. Robin Galloway is subbing for me today. Even though I am away, I can't stay away so I Skyped with the students this morning before the keynote address. It worked quite well. Good to see the students. Can't wait until I get to meet them in person tomorrow.

Sitting in Doug Johnson's follow-up session. Cited the Mitri Group's report on the success of technology in education.
He has provided a wealth of information in his 28-page handout.

Well, I better get back to the conference. Will update this blog posting as time progresses. This is how you can get an on-going update of this conference.