Wednesday, July 10, 2013

Who Owns the Learning? #cyberPD Part 2

Our Event
Today is our second installment of our #cyberPD event around Alan November's book, Who Owns the Learning? Last week's reading and sharing was A-MAZING! If you missed out, be sure to visit Cathy Mere's Reflect and Refine blog and get caught up. Cathy has also been getting some extra workouts as she created her "Jog the Web" to collect posts related to our event. This week, you'll want to be sure to visit Jill Fisch's post at My Primary Passion to follow the conversation.


My Thoughts
Much of the beginning of chapter 3 affirms what I believe to be true about how online/digital forums are especially powerful for our quieter learners. It gives them a way to be heard, without the sweaty-palms feeling of sharing in front of the class. When he mentions the social dynamic of the classroom, he hits on the fact that offering these opportunities to kids really brings together the concept of a learning community that connects both inside and outside of the confines of classroom walls. The quote on page 43 says, "...when you blow the walls off [the classroom] then learning happens anytime, anywhere." I think that's really the key point of what we are all trying to accomplish! Ooh, and did you catch when he talked about inspiring the "learner's mind" throughout kids' lives? Love that!

When Alan shared Darren Kuropatwa's story in chapter 2, one thing Darren said really struck a chord with me. "I wanted the blog to be in their voices, not mine." (p. 41) This is one of my big goals for next year in 4th grade. I will probably still contribute to our class blog, but I really want my students to have ownership over what we share with the world. I know it will take some modeling and the gradual release of that responsibility, but I want my kids to be able to share what they feel is important... in whatever way they choose. In first grade, our class blog was more of a shared writing and modeled writing platform. I never took it to the point of truly being "their" space. (Although they did have their own individual blogs!)


In my new school, I know they are utilizing a "SWAT" team. I know this was crucial, especially last year when the tablets were new to both students and teachers. While these kids in each classroom specifically help with tech issues, I can see it becoming much bigger than that. I loved reading the chapter on page 46 where he talked about having kids help each other out. That is a major community/team-builder! And it also allows for different learners to shine at different times.

Ok. I'm going to put this out there, because I was stunned as I read more into chapter 4. I didn't know a lot of the information he talked about as far as validity of sites and building custom search engines. Yes, I knew about the different endings (.com, .org, etc.) but never really felt the need to teach my first graders about that, since most often, I was their tour guide to many of the sites we visited. But with 4th graders, I can see this information being absolutely essential! When faced with a question we couldn't answer, my first graders would giggle as they suggested that I just "ask my friend, Google." Now, I guess I have to learn more about customizing "my friend" so I can share that with my older students!

I digress, but...have you used the Kid Rex search engine? I stumbled upon it last year and showed it to my first graders. It's a kid-friendly search engine (that might be connected to Google somehow, I think.) We used it quite a bit to glean more information on topics we were interested in. Just thought I'd put it out there!

I have to go back to page 47 before I quit rambling. There, I found my favorite quote from the book so far, and it's from Darren again. It speaks to a sense of agency and a growth mindset (see, Peter? I didn't forget your wise words!) It also encompasses so much of how I feel about improving my teaching craft. Ready?!
"As long as you're asking what's next, you'll get there. 
But never be content with where you're at." 


Next week
I'm thrilled to be hosting next week's installment of #cyberPD, right here at Ruminate and Invigorate! We will also be having a follow-up/wrap-up live Twitter chat at some point after next week.

I wonder what you're all thinking about this week's chapters. Off to find out! 



17 comments:

  1. Laura - I enjoyed your reflection on the chapters especially the quotes. I’m a fanatic about underlining lines I like while doing professional reading. When I go back to review a book, I love seeing what I underlined... always gets me thinking again. I liked your point about what is appropriate for teaching to 4th graders, but maybe not necessary in 1st.
    Pat Johnson

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    1. Pat,
      Thanks for your comments! I'm a big fan of post-it flags when I do my professional reading. I love to go back after I've finished reading and find all of the flags! The switch from 1st to 4th will be an interesting change in thinking for me.

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  2. Laura,

    I love the quote:

    "As long as you're asking what's next, you'll get there.
    But never be content with where you're at."

    I think that we all do tend to keep asking "What's next?" and that we need to teach our students to do the same. It goes along with that whole growth mindset that we learned about last year.

    A funny thing is that I did use KidRex the year before last but then I forgot about it last year. I think that is one of the biggest challenges with all of this -- it can be difficult to keep up with "What's next?" and even when you try you still leave some pieces behind at times. I think that ends up being okay as we are constantly changing our focus and working on new areas. Still lots to think about (and remember)!

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    1. Jill,
      Yes - and the more I read on Twitter, the more I feel like I need to go to "what's next?!" There are so many powerful tools/sites/strategies out there that we can always move forward and nurture that growth mindset. At least we have our support network to help us remember everything!

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  3. I pulled the same favorite quote! And I, too, was blown away by chapter 4. Like Jill says, "...lots to think about (and remember)!

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    1. PS -- thanks for Kid Rex! Did you notice that it is a Google Custom Search Engine? We could have built that! (NOT...yet...)

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    2. Ha! I did notice that it said something about being a Google Custom Search... but I still have no idea how to build something like it... yet. ;)

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  4. Laura,
    I, too, look forward to our class blog being written in everybody's voice- this seems like such a no brainer move to me (now)! I also feel like I have a lot to learn about custom searches, but I look forward to learning with others.

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    1. I'm hoping we can keep this conversation going throughout the year so we can all continue to support and learn from each other!

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  5. It's interesting that we were on the same page for our thinking. I didn't blog about it but I learned more about websites and information to share with my 5th graders to be stronger researchers. I have always discussed how pulling one fact out of a site might not be the best one for your topic but need to extend those lessons in the upcoming year. Again welcome to 4th grade-

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    1. Thanks, Maria! I'm looking forward to connecting with you and your class more, now that I'm a fellow upper elementary teacher. I know I have a lot to learn!

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  6. I have yet to blog about chapter 4 because I am still thinking about how to best present my learning from that chapter. It IS chock full of useful information! One thing that came to mind is the digital literacy/citizen tie in to researching. A favourite site for lessons on attribution, citation, and responsibility is Common Sense Media. There are lesson for K to 12; this link is for grades 3-5. Have a look!

    http://www.commonsensemedia.org/educators/curriculum/grades-3-5

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    1. Thanks for sharing that link, Julie! I've seen some stuff from Common Sense Media but hadn't run across that particular part of the site. Off to check it out!

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  7. Laura,
    This quote you shared..."As long as you're asking what's next, you'll get there.
    But never be content with where you're at." reminds me to always keep learning and share that passion to learn with students. It's funny that I remember learning about Kidrex from you and I just shared it on LitProf Suz's blog comment before I read yours...that's funny how the resources are popping up.

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  8. Laura,
    As I was reading your post, I was reminded of some thinking I had while reading. Thank you for his quote about making the blog their voice. I missed that quote. This is something I'm going to try and shift this year. To date my class blog is all created by me. I'm really going to try and give my students more of a voice on the blog. I update the parents weekly, but students need to take more ownership in this process. Thank you making me to think more deeply about my class blog.

    I look forward to following your journey in 4th grade this year.
    Barbara

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  9. It is a great idea to have students' voices on your blog will surely give students ownership of contribution. I like the SWAT team idea it gives connects students to the school community. Thank you for bringing our attention to "As long as you're asking what's next, you'll get there. But never be content with where you're at." Very powerful words for reflecting on our next steps and learning journey with our students.

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  10. Laura,
    Kidrex has come up twice so I am off to check it out. Like you, I knew this about search engines, but I really don't do much about it. I want to learn other ways to search to get to information. I was intrigued by suggestions for finding information from other countries. I am going to have to play with this a bit.

    Cathy

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