Flip2Facilitate

I remember Mrs. Jira, my freshmen English teacher/librarian.  You do remember librarians, right?  Those unicorn-like creatures that are being eliminated from school systems because ALL they do is check out books.... Okay.  So I'm bitter.  I am a former librarian....turned technology teacher....turned consultant.  I love my job, but I have to poke with my stick every now and then.  BACK to topic. Your librarian taught you some great stuff, and you might not have even noticed.  Librarians have been finding things no one else can find for years.  So here we are in the Twenty-first Century (living in a world with more information before), and we don't teach people how to FIND things on the Internet.  Logical. Here's a few things EVERYONE should know about finding things on the Internet.  Most people "google" information.  They type a few things into the Google search engine and peek at the results.  Most people only access information they find on the FIRST page

So did that title catch your attention? I bet it did. It's rather like beginning an essay with the word "sex" or anything connected to the word "sex." So, using this heading is for a reason. I want to talk about "Core Curriculum." You've heard about it. Your administrators have been tossing it your way, and you've been examining it in your professional learning communities. You either have a grasp of the changes heading your way, or you don't. I am one of those in the first category. Hence the title. Core Curriculum will change the way we teach. If it doesn't, we're not doing it correctly. That's why it's like war. Tell a large group of committed stakeholders that all of their lives must change and there will be chaos, pure and simple. Some are excited, others are fearful. Some are angry, others simply plan to do nothing at all. So for those of you who know nothing of the changes to come, here are my thought

Social media, social networking and "socialnomics" are mainstays in today's business world. Those businesses who want to stay ahead of the curve are using social media tools to tap into the Internet network to launch campaigns, entice customers, and recruit employable talent. What are schools doing? Blocking these sites with filters. If we don't teach our students who will? We need to teach our students the following: 1) How to use social media as a tool. 2) How to protect one's self while using social media. 3) How to leverage information and data in social media, and 4) How to use social media to make positive connections with the world of work. That means we as teachers have to be social media experts. Most teachers fear this task. Fear no more. We must wade into the social stream and navigate its depths. It is our job to protect, educate, and enlighten our students. Since common core curriculum emphasizes "college and career readine

"By better integrating academic, career and technical education, and work-based learning, the nation’s secondary schools can increase student engagement, boost student achievement, and provide students with more options after they graduate from high school, according to a new policy brief from the Alliance for Excellent Education." ---from Alliance for Education We all want to prepare our students for the future, a future we cannot see. We want our education to be work relevant and we aspire to make our assessments authentic. We are ever more aware of the push for this environment. In my state, Kansas, I am looking at multiple movements in this area: Kansas Common Core Standards and CTE (Career and Technical Education Pathways) . I, like many, find myself in this mix. Here's what I know. First, we need to look for methods (and tools) to help us shift accountability of learning from a teacher-based model to a student-learning based model. Please understand, I a

So you want to flip your classroom, but where do you start? I encourage the "sandbox" method: play in it. I am going to list what I feel are some of the best free technology tools out there. I'll tell you what they are and how I use them. Then, it's time for you to play. :-) Dropbox - Dropbox is a great cloud technology storage tool. It's also cross platform, so moving items between operating systems is a breeze. Simply download the application, install, create an account, and you are on your way. You can create public links from the public folder. Drop a video in the public box, right click (or control click if you're on a Mac) and copy the public link from the video. Send it away for others to view. I actually create folders for all of my students. When they join dropbox, I get more free storage. They drop all of their projects here for me to grade. This is a very helpful tool since many email applications have attachment size limitations.

My students don't wear wrist watches. Neither do I. Do you? Chances are if you are, you are not living the the mobile digital technology world that our teens and twenty-something users are. Before you cry, "Foul," realize this isn't a condemnation or a judgement. It's just a different style of living. I cannot listen to Ke$sha or Wiz Kahlifa without experiencing real pain, so I don't buy all of their lifestyle as well. We're different. That, however, does not excuse us from an awareness of that lifestyle and how we must harness it to stay current in the classroom and in life. Mobile technology is the future. The major computer companies know this and are planning accordingly. While we celebrate this move, I would like to know where your school's technology plan falls in this reality. If you are still existing in the world of a few scattered computer labs that teachers jockey to use, you can count your school clearly in the dark ages o

Technology has its buzz words. If you've been in education long enough, you have heard a great many of them: QPA, NCA, Graphic Organizers, Content Area Reading....the list goes on and on. Real veterans...cough...can point to cycles in the jargon. One of the most current in the last decade is the use of technology or one-to-one laptop initiatives. When the initiatives were launched, many looked to computers like a savior. Some wished to claim that use of technology could even boost test scores. Lots of hoopla followed. Fear was also part of the recipe. Often schools divided into two camps: those who supported technology and those who clung to the "days of old." Some saw the new technology as "the devil" in that it corrupted minds, lead students to possible "bad deed," and distracted from classroom teaching. Time has lead to a more middle ground. I teach technology. I use technology. I advocate for technology. But like all tools, it clea

Did you lose a student this year? I did. It always hurts my heart to say, "I lost a student."  I  had earnest talks about "motivation" in my classroom with him.  His parents and I had an earnest talk at conferences about "potential" and "motivation."  They looked at me with concern, nodding seriously. I lost him.  More than that, I believe it's my fault. So I'm the exciting, overly dramatic, nerd teacher.  Most kids love my class, but I have a few....some challenging few....whom I don't reach.  I believe I know why.  It's me.  As radical as I am.  As challenging as my program is.  As unique as my flipped curriculum is....I need to find ways to reach those gamer kids who would rather be playing Minecraft than learning how to use social networking.  But don't they NEED to learn some things besides Minecraft or Skyrim?  Of course.  BUT IT'S HOW I REACH THEM THAT MATTERS.   It's true.  The student I lost because he