Reflections

Online friend, Paul Bogush has noticed I haven't written the obligatory follow-up to my experiences at NECC....Well, here they are, just for you, Paul.

I have already responded via comment to one post about NECC on Lee's blog. But that was sort of a negative slant. Here, I want to talk about the other side of my experiences...The all-consuming positive side.

After an unexplained one hour delay at the Detroit airport, we arrived at the Baltimore airport about 4 p.m. We hopped in a cab bound for downtown D.C. Forty harrowing minutes later, we arrived at our destination, The historic Mayflower hotel. The cab driver broke the handle on my luggage while yanking it out of the minivan and I was not in the best frame of mind after having to brace myself against the front seat as we hurtled from 75 mph to 0 at one point. However, the rest of the trip was nearly magic.

As everyone undoubtedly knows, I work very part-time for FableVision. The company and the people who work there are so close to my heart, it's like we are all very best friends even from the first minutes of meeting. I run a program for educators who believe in the work FableVision does...which is almost everyone who comes in contact with them. I am not a salesperson...nor do I want to be. I just enjoy sharing the experiences my students have had. The first night, pure bliss...A dinner with the amazing software designer and dear friend Peggy Healy Stearns, Julia Young, and the newly formed sales team and my wonderful wife.

On Sunday, I was the FableVision representative at the Contructivist Consortium Celebration. If you haven't been to the celebration, you must give it a try. It is honestly the best of what education can be. TRUE Professional Development. Here is how it works. The morning launches with a talk by Gary Stager and Melinda Kolk (Tech-4-Learning)...stirring the crowd. Then, the educators present devour some of the best Constructivist software out there. Working with peers, talking, dreaming, imagining, creating...Watching teacher being given the most valuable commodity (time) is a rare treat. As my school is filled with distrust and derision, it is spirit renewing to watch people do exactly what they are charged to do....create! The day ended with a talk by my friend, Peter H. Reynolds. The funny thing for me was watching the people who did not know him...To see the spark that has motivated so many...The inspired talk and the information that we all knew at one point, but maybe forgot.... It is KIDS at the center of all we do. It will never be tests that motivate us ...or the kids for that matter. It's the genuine love and connection that gets us out of bed every morning.

Joining me in the Constructivist Celebration was a phenomenal force of energy, Cristine Goldberg from Georgia and Peggy Healy Stearns. The true wonder of this experience for me was meeting some online friends. Andrea Hernandez, Lee Kolbert, Anna Adam, and Cheryl Woolwine. ALL gentle wonderful human beings that I felt an instant connection to. What a glorious feeling. (My apologies if I forgot someone)

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday were spent in the FableVision booth. An amazing time as I watched the company I have represented so many times become "the" place to be. It was a non-stop stream of positive and wonderful people stopping by to chat and get the full experience. I was again able to meet LOTS of people I have met online.....TOO many to name individually. It seems that many people now see what I have always known...it's a company with heart and a mission.

Nights were spent with my Fablebuddies and frequently we wound up back at the hotel to hang out with Peter H. Reynolds or the Twinspiration (Peter and Paul Reynolds). GREAT TIMES! When have you ever sat at a table and, instead of meaningless chitchat, been asked what book you are going to write? That's what it's like to hang with FableVision!

So, the big learning of the week.... Well, people are pretty much the same in person as online. OK, that was a bit of a shocker. The guy who I thought was completely full of himself...so much that I had to stop reading the blog, was, indeed full of himself (I am not naming names).

Everyone who comes across online as kind/sweet/generous, was exactly that. Only one sort of surprise...Sherry from South Dakota, Lee Kolbert, Andrea Hernandez, Shannon Smith and Cheryl Woolwine are sweet online and actually MORE sweet in person (hard to believe). Hanging out with the five of them (separately) was amazing. I was glad I could introduce a few of them to Peter H. Reynolds because I could tell their spirits collide in a positive way.

My final thoughts on NECC 2009.....Life changing. I miss my NECC friends more than any other time. The relationships grow deeper and it is harder to think about going back five weeks from now to a place where I have a few friends and am not appreciated by adults whatsoever. So, I shall savor my memories and dream of a better place and a better spirit that shall sail me through the bad times.... For I am truly on a journey-- a wonderfully bumpy journey. Sometimes my suitcase gets broken and I get delayed, but I always have hope....and in my constellation, I have some of the greatest people the World has ever known.

NECC-- Feeling Lucky?

In nine days I will fly to Washington, D.C. to be with some of the greatest minds and hearts in the country. To say I am looking forward to the trip would be an understatement. Where else can you be around so much energy, excitement, and hope?

Here will be some highlights for me:

I get to hang out with my FableVision friends! I have spent a great deal of time on the phone with my FableVision friends and I will get to be in the same room with them!! I get to meet Nicole, Paulette, Ryan, and hang out with Julia and Bill.... Lucky me!

On Sunday, I will be at the Constructivist Consortium. What a fun day and one that represents every teacher's dream...Great ideas and time to check them out! Perfect! Add a bunch of great friends, you have a dream day. Lucky me!

On Monday, I will make a guest appearance in the session of my dear friend, Dr. Peggy Healy Stearns. Glen Bull will also make an appearance

Get Real! Personal Connections Make Learning Motivating, Meaningful, and Memorable

Add to Planner
[Formal Session: Lecture]
Peggy Healy Stearns, Independent
Monday, 6/29/2009, 12:30pm–1:30pm WWCC 145 B

Explore cross-curricular projects that link learning to students’ past and present while promoting the skills of the future.

Probably one of the best stories from the last few years, which I have told many times, is that I got to know FableVision through a great piece of software called, "Stationery Studio," I never dreamed at that time I would know the person whose name appears on the front cover. In D.C. I will be making my second appearance as a guest in Dr. Peggy's session and the third year I have been able to spend time with her... I also have been on the early preview team of some of the new Stationery Studio add-ins. But, best of all, I am so fortunate to call Peggy a friend. With the exception of my wife, Peggy might very well be my biggest cheerleader. . . Lucky lucky me.

Through out the time I am in DC, I will be meeting with FableVision Ambassadors....SUPER amazing educators who inspire me daily!!! You can't imagine the joy I get hearing stories from around the country about people who are impacting kids and education and moving the world to a MUCH better place. Very soon, you will see exactly what I am talking about.... Details soon! Inspired and Lucky and I.

Another great experience for me will be spending more time with the amazing and inspirational, Peter H. Reynolds and his twin brother Paul. Both men are a wonder to me. So giving and kind...So supportive... So on a two hundred year journey to help all kids reach their true potential....And, I also believe, helping a music teacher from Iowa reach his true potential. Double lucky.

Best of all after the long days of standing and talking and being moved and inspired...I get to hang out with my lovely wife...Who is also an amazing person.

Great Summer!

The summer of 2008 was a really good one. I have been staring at this blank post all day, dreading the second day of in-service tomorrow. I decided while talking to the Julie Everett (@j_everett http://iteach2create.blogspot.com/ ) that I would spend a few minutes reflecting about the summer and the great things that happened.

Of course the highlight of the summer was attending NECC in San Antonio. So many great things happened.
Beginning on Friday night, my wife and I were fortunate enough to go out with Jane Reynolds and Peter Wright, the UK contingent of FableVision. The two of them are great fun to hang out with and we had a lovely meal very near the River Walk. While we were walking the River Walk, Peter W. was telling me about his trip to Australia and seeing someone he had went to school with. He described the feeling of 'picking up where they left off' as being "Like seeing someone on Monday after a long weekend." It thought that was one of the most beautiful expressions I had heard (though paraphrased from my memory).

Saturday I had the opportunity to just hang out with my wife. We did some sightseeing and shopping. We had a great time. She bought 'the' shoes which have been mentioned on Twitter and Plurk. She actually took one of them in her purse to the Ambassador dinner to show our dear friend, Peggy Stearns.

Sunday was the Constructivist Celebration. It is always fun to be with creative people and I had the good fortune of working with Dr. Peggy Healy Stearns, Gary Goldberger, and Cristine Goldberg. Super software designer, Peggy Stearns, and I came up with activities for the attendees to accomplish if they wanted some ideas. Gary Goldberger was the Animation-Ish expert and was able to show off the program. Cristine Goldberg is the most energetic person I know and she is a fellow FableVision Ambassador. I got to meet Twitter friend, @dmcordell in person!

On Monday, the actual conference got under way and it was a great time getting to meet a lot of new people and meet people I had 'met' online. There were many highlights that day, but the amazing thing I think back on was that I got to eat a wrap with the wonderful Dr. Stearns out in the hallway and we were joined by Peter H. Reynolds. Peter showed us a book that he had the publisher's proof of. I am not sure if I am allowed to say the title, but it is a remake of a book that I loved (and my wife loved as a child). It was a very important book in its time and the re-release is amazing! It was amazing to me to see something before it was published. I felt very honored.

Monday night was the annual Ambassador get-together. Always a fun time! I was able to meet Julie and Jason Everett and hang out with the wonderful FableVision gang. All are truly great people who are creative and love education. Crazy loud and crazy fun, it is not a night I will forget soon.

Tuesday was the presentation with Dr. Peggy Healy Stearns. Let me tell you it was a wonderful moment when I got to present with one of my heroes! I love the software that Peggy has designed, but more than that, I love the person that she is. Very kind, incredibly supportive and most of all....very humble. It was very kind of her to allow me some time in her presentation to show the things my students have created.

Tuesday night was another great dining experience with my FableFriends! I was lucky to be at the end of the table with Bill and Paul at the beginning of the meal and Peter and Paul at the end. Wow, that is another pile of inspiration! All the FableVision crew have been very supportive of my mission and work, but having the chance to sit and chat with Peter Reynolds, another hero, it doesn't get better than that. Again, Peter is a hero because of the person he is and not only because of the acclaim he as amassed. Truly kind and inspirational.

One truly funny moment at NECC was when I signed my first autograph! Two educators came to talk about Animation-Ish. They asked me a question about the system requirements of Animation-Ish and when I turned the box over, I laughingly said, "Oh, that is me" because the box features a quote by me. As they were leaving, they laughingly asked me to sign an autograph on their catalog. I am pretending that they were really impressed with my vast knowledge of all things Animation-Ish, though.

Since NECC, there was a golf round with a friend from school and a little bike riding...but a lot of relaxing and dreaming. I have been teaching a night class called, "Computers and Instructional Technology" which has been a lot of fun and a learning experience. Adding in Skyped experts has really added a lot of meaning to the class.

All in all a great summer. Now must survive three days of inservice and then the kids come back!!! Can't wait to see them again.

Please share one of your great summer memories!

Cell Phones Banned? Whoops!

Cell phones are banned in most schools in my area and all around the country. Have you ever stopped to wonder why this is an accepted practice? How can we, as teachers, allow this powerful tool to be taken away? This quote, from "A Plethora of Technology" blog, really made me do some thinking,
"The need to know the capital of Florida died when my phone learned the answer."

-High School Student Anthony Chivetta on Student 2.0

Last summer, I attend the Constructivist Consortium Celebration in Atlanta with my pals from FableVision. While at the celebration, I heard someone say something about cell phones that made me think...a lot. I don't have an exact quote, but I think it was Gary Stager who suggested giving kids something to do with phones, instead of banning them.

"Deer caught in the headlights" is how I refer to the facial expressions of my high school chorus as they are singing. This year, I was determined to make that different. I did several different things with the intention of getting kids to be more involved with the text of the song. I invented a game (which I will describe in another post) and I had the students interview someone about the songs they loved and why they were significant.

With the permission of my principal, I stunned the kids in chorus one day by asking them to take out their cell phones and call or text someone outside the school and ask them about their favorite song. A few students looked at me as if I were tricking them into giving me their cell phone, which is the punishment for having a phone in plain sight. Two or three students were unhappy because they had left their phones in their locker and wouldn't be able to participate. Kid who didn't have a cell phone were able to interview someone in the room.

What happened was truly amazing. Students in my tiny little Iowa town were talking to friends and family in all parts of the state and country. Many were within the local area, but some were as far as Oregon and California. Instantly, I had taken my lesson to a more global reach.

Some of the teachers in my school are a little uptight...I expected some backlash. However, I explicitly told kids that this was a one-time deal and they were not to try it or suggest it in another class. Then, I sent out a message to the whole faculty and described the experience. Interestingly, the only comments I received from teachers were questions on the effectiveness and exclamations of "how cool" the assignment was.

Sadly, my cell phone usage didn't catch on with other teacher risk-takers. I do think it had some impact on how the kids approached songs. Most importantly, I proved a concept that in this 'flat world' we need to allow kids to reach out of their own tiny corner of the world and tap into the vast knowledge that is available.