The Directors Cut

A self-directed learners guide to the galaxy

We live in a "Brave New World" where we can access and consume knowledge 24 hours a day. This access provides an opportunity to be choosy with what and when we learn, we can choose to learn alone or with a group.
While working on my M.Ed. for Adult Education and Training I discovered the idea of "self-directedness". I teach mid-high school students and was curious if there was a way to help them become more self-directed and build the capacity to become a lifelong learner. I decided to explore the idea which culminated in a project I presented at the International Society for Self-Directed Learners Symposium.

Building Community, Collaboration & Communication In Urban Low Socio-Economic Schools Using Self-Directed Learning

Abstract: This project promotes lifelong learning for urban students in low Socioeconomic Status communities. High school Capstone students use research questions to guide their project, set learning goals, complete self-assessments and evaluate learning through reflection. This project helps bridge the gap between pedagogy and andragogy toward self-directedness of young learners.

Everybody has to Eat

My personal challenge: How do I excite (motivate) a learner of any age to learn. I always go back to Maslow’s Hierarchy to consider the learner. Where are they and what do they need physically, mentally and emotionally to learn?
Self-directed learners have to be ready to learn, set goals, engage, assess and evaluate their learning. Since I am a chef I always think about things in the context of food. Here are some ideas about the venue one might choose to learn in.
Buffet - Lots to choose from, potential to get overwhelmed and lost (surfing the internet, conference)
Quick Service - Get in and get out, go through the drive through, time sensitive (blogs, podcasts)
Family style - Relaxed, collaborative (Twitter chats, PLNs, video chats like Zoom, Hangout)
Fine Dining - Specialized learning, time sensitive (conferences, MOOCs, webinars)

It’s my learning and I need it now!

Consider the microwave. As teachers we have so many demands on us professionally and personally that time is a huge consideration in professional development. How can that mountain be conquered? I am sure you have probably heard of chunked learning where you break up units into small pieces of information to help learners retain it better. I have a lot of absenteeism with my students and I came up with this idea to “micro-chunk”. If I only have a student for one hour, what skills and knowledge can I help them learn. I feel like this strategic thought and process has helped my students be more successful. I often look to news broadcasts as an exemplary example for teaching content, engaging and holding the attention of the audience in micro-chunks.

The Elevator Course

Last year, due to massive budget cuts in Oklahoma, common planning time and professional development (PD) in the school day was eliminated. This made learning new instructional strategies a real challenge. Almost 50% of our teaching staff was new. I just kept thinking about a way to support teachers.
I was working with my students on their portfolios and they were developing elevator speeches for job interviews, entrepreneurship and branding.  It got me thinking about something I call an “Elevator Course”. This is PD that can take place in about the length of time it takes to ride an elevator. These short modules consist of a video and link to a resource to do an instructional strategy. The idea is the whole thing should take 5-10 minutes. Then the teacher can practice using the strategy during the week, take at least one picture with the strategy in use and post it. If you want a contained environment this could be done on Edmodo or Google classroom. Teachers could share a photo and reflection via the online platform. If you use Edmodo, you can create a small group for each topic so things don’t get so messy in conversations. Teachers could also choose which small group topic they wanted to learn instead of assigned. As far as I know, Google Classroom does not have this feature yet.
Another way to do this could be a Hyper Doc or Google slide that was open for everyone to view the weekly task and to post photos and reflections. You could integrate Flipgrid or Padlet for photos, videos and reflections. Incidentally, Microsoft bought Flipgrid and it is now free for teachers. Depending on your audience and desired outcomes, you could use Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or Snapchat.

Ready, Set Cook!

Self-directed learners have to be ready to learn, set goals, engage, assess and evaluate their learning.
-->Decide on the time and place you learn best or your learners learn best otherwise it might not happen.
-->Set a SMART goal. Be sure it is something you or your learners can attain in a timely manner.
-->Either find something you are interested in or create interest for the learners – sell the outcome, not the product, because “Who needs one more thing?”
-->Be ready to answer the question, “Did you learn anything? Did they Learn anything? How do you know?
If you are reading this, there is a good chance you are already self-directed and a life long learner. There is a name for that - IMPRESSIVE!

Ready Teacher One: Why We Need To Embrace Technology In The Classroom

Technology " Its continuing mission: to explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations, to boldly go where no one has gone before." My dad was an engineer and a Star Trek fanatic. We had the entire book series and of course watched the television shows. This was the time before VHS recorders. To watch, you had to have the television on and be in front of it. We would all sit and watch as the crew explored new worlds, fought adversaries and worked as a team to solve problems. I remember when my dad got the black and white two player video game Pong. We were beside ourselves and would sit on the couch clicking and hearing "boop" "boop" as the ball hit the paddle and was returned back and forth between players. My dad would be beside himself now with holograms, tracking chips in animals and humans, Find Me apps on "devices" and 24/7 connections to the world. I come from a family of explorers and question "askers". Christmas and birthday presents were socks of course, and a red Craftsman toolbox with a new tool added when opportunity for celebration presented itself. The magic device - a Phillips head screwdriver:) If it had screws we took it apart and explored "I wonder, how, why and what".

Now I am a teacher and I still have my toolbox however, now it is filled with different kinds of tools. I feel like I am in a galaxy of technological resources. With the click of a button or the swipe of my finger I can talk to educators who are like minded in my Personal Learning Network (PLN). I learn about the newest websites and applications and I can share my ideas and strategies. I have owned a number of businesses and worked retail. If you want to be successful then you have to make sure you are anticipating and meeting the needs and wants of the customer. Educational leaders who continue to stay in their classroom, alone may be be passed by because "honey there's a new kind of student in town". The students in middle and high school have now lived a life embedded with technology. They talk to their phone for goodness sake! And it talks back! Siri, Alexa, Echo, Cortana and Google are the "new life". We are on the edge of new civilizations with robotics, holograms and virtual reality. 

I love learning, sharing and collaborating. Giving and receiving constructive feedback is how we grow and make things better. I use Twitter education chats to have productive and reflective conversations with educational leaders around the world. The learners in these chats are innovative explorers. #edmodochat #LeadLAP, #5thchat #aussiechat  #formativechat #edtechchat #pblchat #blogchat #podcastchat 
I like to explore, review and rate resources on Edmodo Spotlight. Doing this with purpose is like a mini reflective professional development where I can learn applications, teaching and learning strategies. Playing in the Formative Community Center is another place I can chat, ask questions, share resources and learn how to effectively use technology in the classroom. More and more I participate in conversations with my extended family of educational leaders from around the world using Zoom and Google Meet.  I have started taking virtual selfies for fun and to document our time together. 

These learning experiences are a big part of what drive me to a conference session. I also consider, location, availability and seating that supports my learning styles. This year big conference sessions were Social Emotional Learning, Trauma, LGBTQI, Sketchnoting, Gamification, Autism, Global, Empathy, PBL, Ethics, Cultural Diversity, Career & Technology, Podcasting & Blogging. I believe Podcasting and Blogging will be addressed even more next year. Both are an impacful way to use technology to move students up the SAMR & Blooms Taxonomy for instruction, learning, assessment and portfolios.   

When I present at conferences I try to model and share resources that can empower teachers to use technology in their instructional practices. I find that providing first hand experiences can potentially excite any learner to explore, use and apply to their personal outcome needs or desires. #create #innovate #collaborate

I try to encourage other teachers to use technology by:

1. Using their phones to engage in learning and sharing. 

2. Sharing my twitter handle and encouraging them to tweet the session.

3. Using QR codes to take them to resources in the presentation.

4. Using Padlet or Flipgrid to have them collaborate.

5. Sharing the slide presentation. 

I recently saw the movie Ready Player One with my husband. It had music from when I was growing up so it was especially exciting. The digital effects with technology were super cool. The movie was centered around virtual reality, holograms, gamification and imagination. Today this is where our students live. However, the movie ultimately makes a point that we still need to nurture our relationships in person, even in the presence of amazing technology. My closing thought is technology is super fantastic and allows us to do things we were not able to do in the past but never forget the power of relationships, going outside and unplugging for our personal wellness and our students. 

Heigh Ho Heigh Ho a Tweeting I will Go!

Family Time

I was first introduced to the Twitter Chat world with #edmodochat. Before then I didn't really see why I would want to get involved in one more thing on social media. After all, that just takes more time which is something I have "tons" of (LOL - Not! seriously!) Edmodo has a workspace / learn space called the Hub. It really is a Hub to learning, growing, sharing, playing and connecting. A challenge was presented to "Come to the #edmodochat". Out of all the groups of people I am connected to, I would say I feel the safest with my Edmodo family. For me, they are encouraging, informative, timely and current. For these reasons, I stalked like a ghost my first chat. Of course, I had to set up a Twitter account first (Bardehar!) Step by step, I get where I am going. I "opened" the door to the chat room, peered inside and found many of my Edmodo family had already arrived. Even though they are family, I was still timid to join the chat. I saw there was vocabulary I did not know, extra places to log in before and after chats, back channels, navigation, and technology. What the heck was all this stuff? So I followed as best I could turns out that was something else I needed to learn. How was I supposed to comment, retweet, message and so on? Talk about a roller coaster. My journey thus far has taken two years. I am sure I have not learned everything there is to know about tweeting, but now I can follow multiple conversations and chat with people from all around the world who are all interested in making education better. I need these kinds of positive conversations to help keep me encouraged motivated, current and creative. We have to keep these skills honed or we are going to be standing in a field of weeds in what was, not what is or what will be. If we are teaching to students futures, we have to be cutting edge in strategies and technology. 

My Learning

Virtually every month there is a #edmodochat. Now I am at the point I want to "go" to the chat to "see" everyone and of course what they have to say about the topic of the chat. I can safely say I learn something at every chat. I am always drawn into a chat from a topic I love like Culture, Service Learning and Global Collaboration which are like candy to me! I have found though that I should attend chats that stretch me to think more about the way I teach like Digital Citizenship, Project Based Learning and Whole Child Development. Additionally, I learn what my peers are doing within their sphere of influence and it challenges me to do more than I had dreamed before. 

Impact

There are many more #edmodochats I have attended this year, but let me share some of how what I have learned has impacted my school - not just my classroom. 

I applied for our school to be a Global School of Service with Youth Service America. We were accepted! This opened the door to eligibility to apply for grants. I applied and we received two grants $1500.00 each. We had the single biggest day of cultural shift in our schools history on September 11th, 2017 for the Day of Service and Remembrance. A week later I debriefed with the principal about the event and we could feel the shift in the atmosphere. This is significant as we are an inner city school with 100% free meals, a large percent of the student population are in displaced homes and recognized on national news in 2017 as the 18th worst neighborhood in the nation and low performing school. At the end of the year I applied to become a certifying organization for the President's Volunteer Service Award and was accepted. This week, as part of our summer service project, we completed our first elevated bed with trellis. We plan to augment an addition 9 beds to the same style. This will help with weeding, shade, climbing plant and aesthetic beauty. I helped my students experience and learn more about global collaboration by participating in Global Collaboration Day, Global Maker Day International Dot Day, and MLK Day of Service to mention a few. 

 

Discussions from #edmodochat about Digital Citizenship have encouraged me to look into technology and literacy, learning how to influence and transform a student to be a respectful, responsible and resourceful citizen on and offline. I have used the Edmodo Spotlight resource center to search for creative lesson resources, used KQED to strengthen my media literacy skills and get ideas to teach students, ISTE to learn about student and educational leader standards, EverFi for self-paced courses and  Common Sense Media to help with discussions about digital citizenship, character just to name a few. I worked with my school academy team to add a Digital Literacy & Citizenship element into capstone projects for graduation requirements.

The focus on Project Based Learning has been fuel to service learning projects where students discover the need, do the research and implement a program. Two 8th grade students wrote and applied for a grants for a recycling program and breakfast program. Their passion lead them through research, data collection, budgets, team building, leadership and impact. Together they received $1500.00 for their projects.

  

I was accepted to present at ASCD Empower18 in Boston and the #edmodochat about Whole Child Development were informative and made me feel even more prepared for the conference. The Whole Child Initiative is a focus from just academics to the long term success of all children. I was able to attend the Global Leadership Summit pre conference in Boston and finally met Lucy Gray, part of the Edmodo Family, #edmodochat and global guru. I went to a session with Barbara Boroson and did my first full session sketchnote, a method of communicating I learned via twitter chats. I was exhausted from so much information processing, but pretty excited. When I shared with Barbara, it turned out to be her first encounter with sketchnoting and was pretty excited to use it as an additional method to encourage students with autism to take their notes and share what they learn.  Additionally, I applied for a grant to support Social Emotional Learning (SEL) for students in our school. As I went through the grant writing process I reflected on the Whole Child and SEL needs of our school. 

Participating in each #edmodochat challenges my metacognition to give reflective responses that contribute to the chat conversations. This process helps develop me as a learner, leader and innovator. I am able to apply digital literacy and citizenship, build my personal brand, add to my portfolio and inspire others. This journey which started with #edmodochat gave me the confidence to take on building and managing our school twitter account @ocmhsbison. It also was a foundation for our administrators to start a school #TheBisonHerd to help teachers grow, collaborate, celebrate, share and strengthen a positive school culture of digital citizenship. I recently explored a new chat with #aussieed and have started a new PLN family on the other side of the world. The adventure continues. 

Flippity Do Da!

Thinking about Flipping Instruction?

     Faced with the continuous changes happening in education I feel compelled to break out of the classroom any way I can. The students who are in the classroom today are different than any student who came before them. The state of education is volatile - both in good ways and bad ways. In good ways because we know more about the brain and how people learn, we have access to all kinds of technology, the world is available 24/7/365 days a year. Bad because our country is suffering from a commitment to education. Not just education but many important and necessary public services that keep our society in balance. So how does a dedicated teacher handle all the change? They flip out! Ok, maybe not lose their mind although some days.... : )
     On a serious note, teachers are having to become more innovative than ever before. Absenteeism is high. Students are having to work to help support their family or watch siblings while parents work. Schools are shortening days, getting shut down or consolidated and rural travel is costly. How will students continue to receive and education? One thing is flipping instruction. Now don't be scared or standoffish. Think about this. What if students could do the stuff that takes a lot of time and where they might need a quiet space to focus - like reading for instance and get it done before they come to class. Using an online platform like Edmodo and combining it with other resources can provide more productive time in the classroom.
     Here is how it would work. Create your classrooms on Edmodo (this is free by the way). Assign resources students might need to build background knowledge and learn more about a topic. These could be videos, something to read or something to listen to. There are many resources to choose from and if you need ideas, you should visit Spotlight on your Edmodo tab. It has thousands of ideas to choose from. I might suggest short and sweet. So check out @listenwiselearn. They have short audio records and even have discussion questions that students could answer in small groups on Edmodo or bring the answers to school and be prepared to have a discussion.
Read these blogs to learn more about flipping instruction with Edmodo.
Flipped Learning Using Edmodo: An Innovative Approach to Education
The Teacher’s Guide To Flipped Classrooms
Flipping My Classroom With Edmodo
Baker's B.Y.O.D.-- Bring Your Own Device, Dog, & Deconstruction of Literature