Life-Long-Learners

Today’s “Teacher Feature” focuses on remembering. I have been reflecting on which moments in my life have left me with an indelible memory. For me, there are important images that come to life such as when I first met my wife, being present at the births of our sons, certain classroom “teachable moments”, outstanding family get-togethers, and images linked to various vacations.

Teacher Feature #33 – Eve Merriam – November, 2013

Today’s remix was inspired by an unforgettable memory that I had while cycling through Holland. Although this experience happened more than 43 years ago, it left me an important memory and message that seems fitting to share with readers prior to November 11th. I encourage readers to view my YouTube video entitled “Are two minutes, too much, to ask?” to learn about my most unforgettable experience.

 [http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=77TKyIU02gM]

What will you be doing … this 11th month, 11th day, 11th hour?

Larger Image: Brian Metcalfe’s Teacher Feature “photostream”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-long-learners/

As an educator who taught junior and senior high students (Grades 7-12) Mathematics and Computer Science, I was proud of my assessment strategies. The percentage mark that appeared on each of my student’s report cards was extremely precise. In fact, it was so accurate that I never had any difficulty explaining to parents the mathematical formula that I used to determine each grade.

Teacher Feature #32 – Irmeli Halinen – October, 2013

However over the years, K-12 assessment has moved from my somewhat analytic procedure to a more anecdotal process to better capture the essence of the individual student’s strengths and weaknesses.

One of my past serendipitous learning opportunities, led me via Twitter to Joe Bower’s thought-provoking blog “for the love of learning”, which was subtitled “Assessment is not a spreadsheet — it’s a conversation”. I was so impressed with this assessment quotation, that I emailed Joe asking who was the originator of this powerful idea. He replied that he had heard this awesome statement from Irmeli Halinen who was Head of Curriculum Development for the Finnish National Board of Education. For more background, Joe recommended I read his blog post entitled “Irmeli Halinen on Finnish Curriculum”.

As I was writing this post and reviewing Joe’s blog, I was once again, by chance, exposed to a powerful assessment question entitled “Who Will Pack Your Parachute?” by Cherra-Lynne Olthof.  For those, like me, who used to feel so confident with our formula-driven, assessment procedures, this parachute packing anaolgy might causes us to think differently. Do you not agree?

Take care & keep smiling

Larger Image: Brian Metcalfe’s Teacher Feature “photostream”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-long-learners/

Today’s “Teacher Feature” remix has a special connection for me. I have been lucky throughout my educational career, both as a student and as a teacher, to have usually felt confident enough to ask questions if I did not understand. For some students, this can be a challenging task. However, with human knowledge currently doubling every 13 months and, with IBM predicting in the next couple of years, knowledge will double every 12 hours, it will be impossible to know even a small amount of all the answers.

Teacher Feature #31 – Chinese Proverb – September, 2013

Although I am able to increase my knowledge and tap into vast resources of information on the Internet, it is still my friends and colleagues in my Personal Learning Network (PLN) who help me find meaningful answers to my questions.

As teachers we should foster collaborative activities in our classrooms to encourage students to ask questions and learn as much as possible from their classmates.

Perhaps Bruce Lee said it best … “A wise man can learn more from a foolish question than a fool can learn from a wise answer.”

Take care & keep smiling

Larger Image: Brian Metcalfe’s Teacher Feature “photostream”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-long-learners/

As the Canadian school year officially draws to a close today, I thought I’d take time to reflect on the future.

Teacher Feature #30 – Yogi Berra – June, 2013

To help readers understand my “future perspective”, I thought I’d share the process I use to create my monthly “Teacher Feature”. My procedure is based on an activity I created called “Image with a Message“. I maintain a list of thought-provoking, educationally-related quotations. Whenever I wish to create a “Teacher Feature” image, I choose an appropriate quotation. Next, I use the Flickr advanced search process to select a Creative Commons-licensed image which gives one permission to “modify, adapt, or build upon”. After downloading the appropriate image, I insert it into PowerPoint, add the quotation and Flickr URL credit line, and save the resulting slide as a “Teacher Feature” image.

While searching my list for an applicable June “Teacher Feature” quotation, I thought that Yogi Berra’s statement about the future seemed fitting. In particular, the future of education has changed dramatically over the years as technology and the Internet resources have impacted on students and staff.

When I began teaching Grades 7 & 8 Mathematics, the future was so much simpler. As a new  teacher, I could focus exclusively on curriculum. For me, there were fewer non-classroom-related issues. By comparison, today’s teachers have to worry about a plethora of responsibilities and are often forced to teach a multitude of different subjects to a wide variety of student needs.

True, I did “network” and share resources and ideas with other Mathematics-teaching colleagues in our school. However, with the introduction of technology, the Internet, email, blogs and a host of social media apps, teachers today can “connect” with teachers within their same school with the same ease as like-minded teachers throughout the world.

Without a doubt, I believe the key to survival of overworked educators is to belong to a supportive Personal Learning Network (PLN). To better understand what my PLN means to me, I encourage readers to peruse my earlier post entitled “My PLN: A Teacher’s Resource“. In fact, it was a serendipitous sharing opportunity that motivated me to write about the power of joining a PLN to be better prepared for the future.

As you recall, I had already selected Yogi Berra’s quotation “The future ain’t what it used to be.” Normally, I would have proceeded to the advanced Flickr search to find an image that I could use to enhance the quotation. However, I first happened to check a series of tweets of individuals and educators that I follow on Twitter.

In scanning my tweet feeds, I was intrigued by the following “Cloud busting” message shared by Darren Kuropatwa. Darren is a talented Curriculum Coordinator for Digital Learning with the St. James Assiniboia School Division. When I clicked on the link in Darren’s tweet, his creative Instagram image was displayed.

Darren’s innovative image of clouds, viewed through a pair of glasses, was a perfect image to complement Yogi Berra’s quote about the future. So, it was Darren’s sharing of his creative image, that motivated me to write this June’s “Teacher Feature”.

Below his innovative image of clouds viewed through a pair of glasses, Darren asks viewers “What do you see?” ….

I see educators connecting and sharing resources so that the future with technology can be an exciting place where students and teachers learn together.

Take care & keep smiling

Larger Image: Brian Metcalfe’s Teacher Feature “photostream”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-long-learners/

My father was a very wise man. He claimed that he got to be so smart because he attended “the school of hard knocks”. Ever an optimist, he said that it was important to learn from one’s experiences. In creating this month’s “Teacher Feature”, I was thinking of Dad’s outlook when I searched for motivational quotations and found the following Chinese Proverb that definitely applies to both students and teachers.

Teacher Feature #29 – Chinese Proverb – May, 2013

My own experience was enhanced today as I searched for the components of this month’s “Teacher Feature”. As many of my readers know, these motivational or thought-provoking messages are created following the steps outlined in my “Image with a Message” educational activity. When I decided to enhance this Chinese Proverb, I used the Flickr Advance Search process to find a Creative Commons-licensed photo that gave me permission to “modify, adapt or build upon”.

I searched through several photos before I chose this one, depicting a student falling down stairs. However, my experience was definitely enhanced, when I discovered that although I could have selected a photo from a multitude of world-wide Flickr contributors, the image I finally chose had a very important connection. This photo was taken by middle-years students from the province, of Manitoba, where I live. Furthermore, it was shared online, as part of a Bias Photo activity, by their teacher Clarence Fisher from Snow Lake, who I have met on several occasions and follow on Twitter.

In summary, not only was I able to create my monthly “Teacher Feature”, I was able to experience and learn from other students and teachers who willingly shared their Creative Commons-licensed photos. Thanks to Mr. Fisher and his talented students for making my experience so positive.

Take care & keep smiling

I must admit that I look forward to reading the regular Saturday’s “Random Acts of Kindness” page in our local Winnipeg Free Press newspaper. With all the drama and sensationalism, that is often dispensed through our news media, it is so refreshing to read about individuals who do good deeds for others without any thought of thanks in return.

For this month’s “Teacher Feature” remix or mashup, I thought that I’d attempt to accomplish two tasks – one to inspire and one to remind:

Teacher Feature #28 – Aesop – April, 2013

Following the inspiring pattern that I have established in my previous 27 “Teacher Feature” remixes, I blended a powerful message with a complementary Creative Commons licensed photo, together with its Flickr address. However, I also took the liberty of including a reminder for teachers and students that, each year, the last Thursday in April is reserved as “Pay It Forward Day”. Unfortunately, due to family commitments, I have not recently been blogging as regularly as I would like. As such, I missed giving adequate warning this year of the very powerful teaching opportunity of the “Pay It Forward Day”. It is hoped that teachers will print out this image reminder, or at least mark their calendars well in advance, to take advantage of this teaching opportunity in future years. Perhaps, Aristotle said it best … “Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.”

Take care & keep smiling

Larger Image: Brian Metcalfe’s Teacher Feature “photostream”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-long-learners/

This month’s “Teacher Feature” displays the results of my “Image with a Message” activity. I believe that all students, regardless of subject area, should be able to use technology to accomplish the following three basic tasks:

• search the Internet critically;
• enhance projects with images from Creative Commons; and
• give appropriate credit.

Teacher Feature #27 – Jesse Jackson – March, 2013

To create this combination visual display, I first searched through a variety of motivational quote sites. I particularly like resources such as “Brainy Quote”, “Motivational and Inspirational Quotes”, or “World of Quotes” because it is possible to search for quotations by topics such as “Education” or “Teaching”.

Once, I had selected this powerful quotation by Jesse Jackson, I then began using the Flickr Advanced Search mechanism to search for Creative Commons licensed images that I could “modify, adapt, or build upon”. I entered the terms “reach” and “hand”, into the upper Flickr search field, and was delighted to find this powerful “Reaching Hand” image by Brett Sayer. I downloaded the “large” size of this Creative Commons image and recorded the Internet URL address for giving proper credit.

Although there are many ways that Jesse Jackson’s quotation and the Internet address could be added to this image, I chose to use PowerPoint. I simply start with a blank slide and inserted the downloaded image into the slide format. Once the image was positioned appropriately, I inserted text boxes to contain the quotation, the individual, and the Flickr credit address.

The last step in the process is to use PowerPoint’s “Save as > Other Formats” and pick “JPEG File Interchange Format (*.jpg)” under the “Save as type” category. On the next screen, one need only select “Current Slide Only” and save the resulting remix image to your computer.

Once I publish the remix in a blog post, I usually try to remember to go back to the site of the original Flickr image and enter a comment thanking the individual for sharing her/his creative images with me through the Creative Commons process.

I trust that some readers may be able to use this “Image with a Message” activity with their own students.

Take care & keep smiling

Larger Image: Brian Metcalfe’s Teacher Feature “photostream”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-long-learners/

Wow … the month is almost over and I have yet to share my monthly “Teacher Feature”. I’m always looking for educational quotes that I can add to my random “Quote of the Day” displayed in the top right corner of my blog. I recently came across Tom Bodett’s quotation which really resonated with me:

Teacher Feature #26 – Tom Bodett – February, 2013

As educators perhaps we might strive to make our teaching more engaging and life-like. Having participated in two Massive Open Online Courses (MOOCs), I realize that there is considerable difference from the way I learn today and the way I prepared past lessons for students and teachers. If we closely examine how students learn outside the classroom though searching online and sharing and collaborating with friends, perhaps we can improve their classroom learning experiences.

Take care & keep smiling

Larger Image: Brian Metcalfe’s Teacher Feature “photostream”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-long-learners/

For my January, 2013 “Teacher Feature”, I thought that I’d remix a famous Vince Lombardi quote with this very appropriate Flickr image from Jeffrey Cuvilier which he shared with a Creative Commons license.

Teacher Feature #25 – Vince Lombardi – January, 2013

I encourage educators to demonstrate the hard work that goes into teaching. Students and staff need to realize how much extra time is invested as innovative risk-takers explore how technology can engage students and improve learning. Furthermore, it is important that students understand that their teachers do not “always have the right answers” and that educators are on their own learning journey. If youngsters see teachers hard-at-work, in a more transparent learning model, it is hoped that, in time, these same students will develop their own work ethic and be successful.

Take care & keep smiling

Larger Image: Brian Metcalfe’s Teacher Feature “photostream”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-long-learners/

Technology empowers students. Certainly this brief sentence contains three important words. However, when creating this month’s “Teacher Feature”, I remembered “three little words” that will help reduce teacher stress while empowering students. It is recommended that teachers start responding to student questions, for which they don’t know the answer, with the three little words … “I don’t know”.

Teacher Feature #24 – Stephen Heppel – December, 2012

Undoubtedly, for some teachers, such a confession will be difficult. Especially if they have prided themselves on always knowing everything about their particular subject area(s). However, with technology invading our homes and our schools, it will be impossible, for even the most tech-minded individual, to always have the right answer. Therefore, I recommend that each teacher become more transparent and acknowledge students more frequently with “I don’t know … but if you find out, I’d love for you to share it with me”. With such feedback, the individual pupil is empowered as the traditional teacher’s and student’s roles are reversed.

In order to survive the barrage of questions posed by inquisitive Early Years students, some teachers direct their young students to “Ask three, before me.” What an amazing catch-phrase! This strategy asks that students search for answers in other ways as opposed to always relying on the teacher. Not only does it take pressure off the teacher, it also encourages students to learn new problem-solving techniques. Teachers, who are hoping to infuse technology into their classrooms, cannot know all the myriad of details about each software application. Neither can they know how to accomplish all tasks on each particular gadget in a Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) classroom environment. Rather, empower the students to collaborate and problem solve as a community of learners. Such action will benefit them when they are employed in the real world.

I was very lucky to be exposed to such a “real world” learning experience when I enrolled in the popular “Digital Storytelling” course offered by the University of Mary Washington in Fredericksburg, Virginia. This massive, open, online course (or MOOC), affectionately known as “DS106” (www.ds106.us), ran for 15 weeks and exposed me to the realities of learning in the 21st century. No, there were no recommended textbooks nor required software applications. Neither were there specific handouts on how to create GIFs or a special effects using Photoshop or Gimp. Although the instructors worked hard, they did not take ownership for creating up-to-date instructions on how to accomplish a task using different versions of Photoshop. Rather students were empowered to search Google for “Photoshop tutorials” or communicate with others taking the course to learn how certain tasks were best accomplished. Furthermore, students were encouraged to share their creative assignments providing “behind the scenes” insights into how their projects were accomplished. Following the “ABCs” of DS106, students were encouraged to “Always Be Creating” and “Always Be Commenting” on other students’ work so that a true sharing and learning community could be fostered.

• Can you move towards harnessing technology in your classroom?
• How can you become less of a gatekeeper of knowledge and more of a facilitator of learning?
• Are you willing to be more honest with students by saying “I don’t know”?
• Would you be willing to explore one new educational application each month?
• Could you connect with other educators to form a Personal Learning Network?
• Will you encourage students to explore creative ways that technology can empower them?

As the year 2012 comes to an end, I want to wish all my readers and friends a warm Seasons Greetings and finish this post with three little words … “Happy New Year”.

Take care & keep smiling

Larger Image: Brian Metcalfe’s Teacher Feature “photostream”
http://www.flickr.com/photos/life-long-learners/