Today is Open House

Screen Capture from MHS Open House Site

Today, Mercy will be hosting its Open House.  I'll be posted in the Media Center where instead of a featuring a particular 1:1 computing device, we will have students on hand who will demonstrate or comment upon activities such as

* a science app on the iPod Touch
* Art Rage animations
* a video explaining how a class uses its Ning
* a video created for Spanish class contest
* a e-portfolio demonstration
* the M-Hub web site.

We are not stressing a device for the practical reason that we are in the process of switching.  But more importantly, why stress the tool itself?  Anyone can buy it tool.  It's what one does with it that makes a difference.  As I noted at a staff blog earlier this year:


Why are we stressing our tools or resources? The teachers are by far the best resource.  And sure, a new science lab or huge auditorium needs to be leveraged.  But after that, don't parents want to see how $45,000-$50,000 will affect their kids. (Don't you think the student guides themselves are a major factor?). That's why I keep harping on exhibiting student achievement.   If your department is producing terrific standardized tests, make a chart!  If in math you have produced a doctoral student at M.I.T., play her testimonial.


Now certainly there is a difference between marketing to incoming families and performance based education.  But as we seek authentic audiences for our challenge based learning projects, there is a natural convergence.  One year I sat at two long tables of books with a couple of tenth graders who explained what they were doing in their bookless course.  Sure, folks poked at the books, but they seemed more engaged by the girls.

I think we are on the right track.  Why put our a bunch of books or gadgets?  As we usually do, I'm anticipating that the students and staff will be the ones who "close the deal" at Open House.

M-Hub Student Leadership

M-Hub is my new passion. Its object is to "help students build personal learning networks through contact with real persons in real time".

My inspiration is most directly based on recent experiences with Apple's Challenge Based Learning. I have watched my students network with amazing "experts" when they have ventured outside of the box.

As I reported last week in Hub-Cap,we had very strong student participation at our launch. In order to take advantage of this initial burst of enthusiasm, I invited these kids to form a core leadership group for the project.

I was thrilled by the response. Nine of the ten invited students attended the meeting forty minutes before school. And they are already busy with tasks:

* We are setting a platform discussion meeting the database manager in our school "Advancement" office and one of our top-notch IS guys, next week. We hope to have 3-4 student leaders in attendance.

*"Branding" M-Hub. We are developing a logo and trying to express our "mission" in an easy-to-understand statement. We will receive reports back to the group, next week, from the individuals who are leading these explorations.

*Club Life - We are exploring how to incorporate ourselves into the school culture. Will we be a "club" that any student may join? Right now, the thinking is that leadership will meet before school but that the club schedule may be used for general meetings.

We scheduled a follow-up leadership meeting after school on May 6. I will report on our progress!


P.S. One of the coolest things observations about M-Hub came from Bob Kirkland: M-Hub can serve as a type of "collective memory" for MHS. I love the idea, and continue to receive support for M-Hub from alumnae around the world.

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"Athena" Flickr Creative Commons Photo by brianglanz

Personal Branding

Personal branding? Isn't that incredibly narcissistic for a teacher? After all, aren't we supposed to be quietly and diligently urging our students along? Decorating bulletin boards, preparing lessons, handing out work sheets, staying after school to give extra help, correcting spelling, meeting with parents, recording grades, passing them along to the next grade, and then enjoying a few relaxing summer weeks at the lake are all pretty below the radar activities.

Pardon me if I make a little more noise than this. I see myself in much different terms than a tutor, clerk, or classroom manager. I don't see myself as the teacher of a "subject". And I no longer see myself as I used to in terms of my notes, my books, lesson plans, or my "stuff." These days I would no more put one of my books out at Open House than I would t a pencil, a stapler, or a shoe. Instead, I send my students have them discuss their projects and show off their communications media.

Going through two days of exercises on personal branding exercises at the ADE Summer Institute was a valuable experience for me. It allowed me to really focus in on a digital educator with a unique skill set. A series of exercises called for us to think hard about who were professionally. The exercises culminated in our writing a one minute television script and making an HD recording of it in the Full Sail studios. Recently, Apple gave us the edited versions of our cuts, so I decided to hang out my shingle here. Behind this video, there is some real serious thinking about myself as an educator. With this in mind, check out my "brand":

The Child is Father to the Man (ADE Institute Reflection #3)

From what I can see, the best scientists and engineers nurture a child-like mind. They are playful, open minded and unrestrained by the inner voice of reason, collective cynicism, or fear of failure. -- Steve Jurvetson

During the ADE Summer Institute I sometimes took very brief notes. Looking over these, I spotted "finding the inner child", certainly not a phrase original the session or the speaker. What is more, I can't remember the context. Was it about connecting learners with the "inner child"? I don't think so. If I had to bet, I think it had something to do with the "personal branding" activities we experienced. I believe we were being urged to connect with something deep and authentic within ourselves.

Regardless, I did have a realization about a desire deeply rooted in my younger self. I was trying to express why-- after 0ver thirty years of teaching high school-- I suddenly felt a strong urge to make ed tech presentations to adults. Examining this urge more closely I remembered that when I was young, I loved organizing activities for the kids in the neighborhood-- my peers. I set up little carnivals. I organized whiffle ball tournaments. I kept detailed statistics on our dice baseball card games. Once I got hold of a stop watch and recorded times of everyone's dash around the block. I enjoyed figuring out these systems, organizing the plan, and being in charge.
I still do! As I write, I have three presentations coming up in the Fall. I'm already up to my elbows in the plans. I'm not doing this because I am anxious and neurotic-- I truly enjoy the projects. I'm as happy as I was back when I had that stop watch in my hands.

The personal branding exercises culminated in a one minute video that was shot in a studio at Full Sail University. We authored our own one minute scripts. Mine ended with the statement, "I'm lucky to be teaching at a time when technology provides so many dynamic possibilities." For someone like me who loves to design plans and orchestrate, it seems like I get to stay out in the yard, playing with my friends.

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"Child's Eyes" Flickr Creative Commons Photo by Joe Lencioni

The Web Warriors Collaboration

Friday, I ranked My Vast Tinker Toy Playground as one of my favorites posts. In a nutshell, it reflects that my web interests usually shoot off in multiple directions simultaneously. They then connect and mutate in ways that I never could have imagined when I embarked.

Case in point-- The Web Warriors. Web Warriors was originally conceived as an extracurricular club for students at my school who could network with design professionals and provide service for the school community. I broached this subject with web designer and Facebook friend, Rick Strobl. He became quite enthused and immediately developed a logo, which somehow made the club seem more real, despite having no members!.

The convergence of FaceBook, blogging, and the cold, cruel world pulled my original conception of the Warriors apart and reassembled it tinker toy-like into a very different shape. The tepid response from teachers, students and administrators convinced me that a web design club was not in the cards. My faithful reader knows that I rebounded with the idea of a Blog Squad, instead. (Much stronger response from teachers and administrators). This mutation is going forward.

But wither the Web Warriors? Through our heated Facebook correspondence, Rick's protean energy, and Weebly; the Web Warriors is now a web site, instead of a school club. For the time being, Rick and I are the only two warriors in the tribe, but in a matter of a few days we have put together a pretty large Web 2.0 shed of our favorite tools and toys. You are welcome to visit and borrow any of them. Better yet, join our virtual club and contribute a tip or two of your own. How do you visit? Just click our good, old logo, below. It's the only aspect of the original plan that has not changed at all!

Tooting Your Horn

WHY NOT?
In early February I shared MHS staff development recommendations with the Technology Integration Committee and school administration. Some of the proposals called for organic change to the school culture. I think I made a strong case, but experience tells me that this kind of institutional change of course is rare in an organization of any size.

Nevertheless, I can't for the life of me see why one of my recommendations hasn't been seized upon. I suggested that we take on the school-wide project of creating "a virtual exhibition space for student performance / exhibitions". Why not? Our students respond with exceptional motivation to performance. Parents and alumni would be pleased. And if we were even somewhat selective about quality, how could this not be an effective marketing device? I really can't see a downside. But rather than railing against the the lack of impact this recommendation has had on the school, I have decided to whip up exhibitions from each of the courses I teach this semester.

Wiki Hall of Fame
I recently sent a press-release of sorts to our communications coordinator with the object of getting my American Government classes' civil rights/liberties wiki projects published in the parent newsletter. After creating the wikis, students then taught this portion of the curriculum to their classmates. I created a web page attached to my course site for a Wiki Hall of Fame featuring three wikis. Of course the kids were thrilled to be photographed and selected. And less the others feel left out, all the other wikis were linked to the Hall of Fame page as well. So please check out the wikis and give us your feedback!

Shameless Self-Promotion?
Old school sorts may react to the school newsletter "press release" and web site as an exercise in Larry Baker self-promotion. Fine. I plead, "Guilty with premeditation." First, I am consciously trying to define myself as a "go to" educator whose practical classroom experience, creative curriculum development, and enthusiasm for Web 2.0 technologies give him a special skill set. I am certainly not going to let others define me as "techie", "traitor to Luddite cause", "Shakespeare lover", Washed up Basketball Coach" or whatever. (Schools are keen on slotting people that way). And secondly, as I expressed in "Geometrically Progressing. . . ., I am determined to seek multiple consequences from any project that I adopt. In this case, I am executing one of my own proposals (no hypocrite, I!) and doing some branding of "Larry the Consultant" at the same time. TOOT!

On deck?
I have asked my AP students (and their parents) to lift password protection of their Vlogs/blogs, and I am collaborating with another teacher on exhibition of work from Lit into Film students. If all goes according to plan, you'll be able to sample this fare before the school year is done. Stay tuned for more tooting.
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"Toot Your Own Horn" with generous permission of 11:30am