Making a Case for Interactive Fiction - Part 1

I’ll wholeheartedly admit it, Atticus Finch is my hero!  To Kill a Mockingbird is one of the novels I look forward to reading each year with my freshman students.  Integrity, character, and standing up for what’s right are concepts that students seem to understand through Atticus’s struggles while defending Tom Robinson in a community that is seemingly against him.  To Kill a Mockingbird is undoubtedly a wonderful novel.  But I have another admission: Sometimes I need more! 

And I’m not alone.  Over the last five years, I’ve heard excellent discussion amongst my students about character and story development from reading To Kill a Mockingbird, but the “real” conversations about these topics takes place after class is over—when students crowd around my desk to talk about video games.  It is in these conversations that my students skillfully analyze character and story through interactive fiction.  It is from these conversations that I slowly realized that my students demand more interaction with characters and story than a novel can provide. 

As the increase in technology pushes our capabilities of teaching in the classroom, it also increases the level of collaboration and interaction students have with each other and the world.  Growing up with Twitter and Facebook, today’s students need interaction in order to understand and make sense of the world around them.  The same is true in the classroom.  Reading a book “the old fashioned way” doesn’t offer the same level of interaction that our students have grown up enjoying; it just doesn't seem as relevant.

Over the course of the last twenty years, video game technology has also improved from the seemingly archaic visuals, characters and settings of the 8-bit Nintendo Entertainment System to lush, vibrant vistas of the Xbox 360 and Playstation 3.  These artfully rendered games immerse players into a world that a written novel could not begin to describe.  Look at the Playstation 3 downloadable title Flower for example.  In this game you play the role of a flower petal seeking to re-populate a world devoid of color.  Using the intuitive controls, players are able to engage in a truly unique, "Zen-like" experience. 

In the end, as a teacher seeking a relevant entry point for students to engage in literature, I can't deny the power and influence of video games.  While there are many games on the market that I would not use in my classroom, there are twice as many that I would.  The same could be said for books, of course.  Regardless, I know the majority of my students are playing video games at home with greater regularity than they read books.  And with that said, it's time to start making the case for interactive fiction!

Battelle For Kids - Common Core Verticle Progression Training

As the deadline for the full implementation of the Common Core draws closer, I am fortunate enough to have the opportunity to attend professional development dedicated to "unwrapping" the Common Core standards in order to make them easier to implement in the classroom. 

With some major shifts in focus and rigor, I am looking forward to pushing my students to think creatively and collaboratively.  Today, at the ESC of Cuyahoga County, I took part in a Battelle For Kids sponsored training that presented the vertical progression of the Common Core in English Language Arts.  And I must admit, there is much work to be done. 

So what does all this mean?  This is the beginning of a very exciting shift in how we teacher our students.  Using technology to add depth to they types of lessons I teach is certainly appealing.  The expectations are greater, the rigor is increased, and the urgency is clear. 

I'm excited to experience the future with the Common Core! 

ETech Ohio Conference...reactions

Blogging from the ETech Ohio Conference!

9:00 - Batelle Hall is jam packed with teachers and educational leaders waiting to hear Dr. Michio Kaku discuss education and technology in the next 20 years. He has a long list of credentials and has an excited crowd. Looks to be a great start to the day.

Predictions are difficult to make...
1. Augmented Reality - unlimited virtual information imposed on reality (the Internet will be everywhere, all the time)
2. Intelligent paper, intelligent glass (doctors, lawyers, mechanics in the wallpaper)
3. Classrooms of the future - learning in a holo deck
4. Office of the future - the computer is nothing, the scribble is everything, flexible screens
5. Cars will drive themselves using GPS, radar, and computer chips

To see and hear more from Dr. Michio Kaku, visit http://mkaku.org/

10:45 - Shut up and Teach! Nevin Jenkins
Jenkins focuses on removing The teacher from the front of the room and creating collaborative learning spaces for students.

1 If students don't know something, teach them to find it!
2. Project Based Learning
3. Kahn Academy
4. Show Me (iPad)
5. It's about the conversation!

Great presentation! Jenkins is truly leading the charge to teach 21st century skills in the classroom.

1:00 - Game Design Fundamentals

As an avid gamer and believer that video games can teach 21st century skills, I'm excited for this one!

A good presentation that focused on board game design and the use of board games in the classroom. Discussion of strategy, tactics, and mechanics were primary areas of focus. This was part one of a two part presentation.

Visit www.gamestarmechanic.com for more info.  

2:30 - Why Games?  How Playing Games Can Help Us Be Better Learners

What a fantastic session!  Colleen Macklin, professor at the New School For Design in NYC discussed how using video games in the classroom can improve teaching and learning.  Macklin discussed using games like Portal, Stacking, Katamari, and Minecraft as entry points to hook reluctant learners into making the most of their "game time."

To learn more about Colleen Macklin, click on the link:  http://ctm.parsons.edu/people/colleen-macklin/

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Overall, a great day at the ETech conference! I know there is much more to see and learn, but I am only here one day.  A congratulations is in order for Sean Wheeler and the 2.0 team for presenting their Wikiseat project and inspiring teachers across Ohio.

New Year's Resolutions for a Principal in Training

It's been a while since my last post, but the new year brings with it much opportunity to forget about the woes of 2011. As a welcome back post to myself and all readers of my blog, I wanted to share my top 5 new year's resolutions for a principal in training.

5. Communicate better with my staff - While I am the chairman of the best English department in the world, I sometimes feel as though I could communicate with them more clearly the initiatives our principal and district leaders are hoping to implement this year.

4. Eat a healthy breakfast - I'm guilty of being one of the first teachers in my school in the morning and one of the last teachers to leave at night. For that reason alone, I just don't eat breakfast. By noon each day, I've hit the wall and feel like a teacher zombie!

3. Effective TBT meetings - As this time of year brings with it semester exams and grades, I want to work in my Teacher Based Team more efficiently and effectively.

2. Common Core - As the 2014 deadline approaches, I want to learn more about the Common Core and help my staff to align our existing curriculum to the new Core Standards.

1. Spend more time with my daughter! - She's the best and growing everyday. While I am a work-a-holic, I want to make sure that my daughter gets all of my attention as she approaches her 2nd birthday.

There you have it! I know these are great resolutions for a principal in training and I know they are achievable. I just hope I don't keep adding to the list!

PBL Conference - Day 1 Reflection

After spending the day working at the Buck Institute Project Based Learning conference in Columbus, Ohio, I finally have a chance to reflect on what I've learned after the first day. And it's clear that I didn't know as much as I thought I did! Here are some initial thoughts:

1. Project based learning isn't as simple as presenting a project and expecting my students to create. The depth, rigor, and relevance of the projects is certainly something that requires extensive consideration.

2. Students need to buy into the process! Presenting the project to students is almost as important as the implementation of the project. If students aren't invested in the learning from the beginning, the end product will not be good!

3. Projects must be rooted in the common core standards. With the new standards on the horizon, teachers must look to them to help guide the creation of their projects.

4. Keep technology in mind! Students and teachers need to have access to technology throughout the entire process.

5. This is hard work! Thinking deeply about student learning is a hard process that requires us the think critically about what we really want our students to learn.

6. Above all, we must give our students opportunities to create; and we must assess them along the way.

At the end of the day, we spent some time beginning to create our own projects to implement in our classes and I must say that my group has a great idea. After some critical feedback from other teachers at the conference, I think we're ready to get to work tomorrow. I'll share that with you in my day 2 reflection! Stay tuned...

Digital Natives, Digital Leaders

While Marc Prensky’s “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants” is a decade old, his words still ring true today.  Those “digital natives” Prensky discusses in his article are now “digital ancestors” who have passed the torch to today’s natives.  And it is today’s natives that are driving change in politics, society, and education.  So what must school leaders do to evolve and manage the pressure to change for the future?

·         Be Transparent! – With social media outlets like Facebook and Twitter, digital natives use these tools to stay connected but also to share information at lightning speed.  And with so much available at their fingertips, natives demand to know all the information.  As school leaders, we need to be able to use these resources and understand that the natives that are shaping our organizational structures demand to be in-the-know. 

·         Be a Practitioner! – While there are thousands of new apps that emerge each day, school leaders need to be aware of popular educational technology tools and know how to use them properly.  If teachers in a school district are utilizing Moodle, for example, it is the leader’s job to also understand Moodle.  If students in a school district are blogging, school leaders need to know how to blog.  Leaders can’t afford not to know.

·         Forget Top Down! – The digital immigrants are now at the top.  And while they handle important aspects of teaching and learning, school leaders like principals, curriculum directors, and department chairman need to be the driving force for change.  Leaders need to listen to teachers who use technology every day and make changes in their schools that reflect the needs of the natives. 

·         Be Available! – Leaders today need to join the natives and develop a professional learning community via Facebook, Twitter, Blogger, etc.  As the natives become parents and contribute to society, they demand to know how and what our school leaders think.  Provide students, teachers, and parents with your own thoughts via a Principal’s Blog or Weekly Newsletter via Facebook.  This will open the doors for parents, teachers and other educational leaders to share ideas for the improvement of our schools. 

·         Create Opportunity! – In the end, it is impossible for anyone to know everything about technology; when technology changes so quickly it seems outdated after a week anyway.  However, it is extremely important that educational leaders create opportunities for their staff to learn how to use new and exciting technology in their classrooms.  Without these opportunities, we may all remain immigrants. 

To read Marc Prensky’s work “Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants” and other new and classic works, visit www.marcprensky.com.

Walk Across Lakewood Project - 2011

Project based assessment and 21st century skills seem to go hand-in-hand.  Allowing students to collaborate, think critically, and be creative can yield some exciting results.  And in so many ways, the measure of learning from a project based assessment goes far beyond that of a standardized assessment. 

Lakewood High School ninth grade English/Language Arts students created projects that connected their understanding of Peter Jenkins' book A Walk Across America to thier understanding of the city in which they live.  The video below shows the culmination of six weeks of walking and writing about their town  They looked to Jenkins, Thoreau, Whitman and Frost for guidance, but in the end, found a voice of their own.