Recharge Your Inner Artist - Teacher PD 2014

I presented to a group from our ISD this week about integrating creativity and technology into PBL. As usual, my session allowed for time for teachers to explore the tools and work in groups. I ran it as a project-based learning activity for them, in which they chose the content they were learning or practicing.

As I said in the presentation, I like to dump a truckload and let them sort it out.

If you're interested in the resources, you'll find two items below.

• First, here is the website where I housed the lesson the teachers worked through. There is a lot there, since I want my sessions to be useful to everyone regardless of their level of expertise with technology. The lesson is designed to be completed with any computer and possibly an iPad. They had about two hours to get started and most got about halfway through the standard project.

• And here is a copy of my slide presentation. It might not make much sense without me talking, but you'll see the main points. I compiled many ideas from this blog and my Teaching Like an Artist blog.

 

How to Be Good with Tech - Part 4

I've been posting some articles the past several weeks about how success with technology is not just about talent and experience.

Being good with tech is primarily a way of thinking.

In Part 1 and Part 3 I addressed some common myths that hold people back. In Part 2 I pointed out that successful people think "big picture" when they use technology, not step by step.

Now I want to get practical. Let’s look at the best advice I know and a few tips that will help you take it.

Tip #2: Move ahead fearlessly.

About a year after I started my job as an instructional tech coordinator I was helping a teacher learn to use a SmartBoard and student response system. She wanted to show the students an online quiz, gather answers from them and work out the problems on the board.

I spent her lunch period setting it up, then she came in the room with only a short time left before students returned. I showed her the basics of controlling the computer through the board.  I was not an expert on the equipment myself, so we ran into some glitches. I was running a demo and a test at the same time and it was going as poorly as you might expect.

As students were entering the room, I felt I hadn't given her much to work with. I probably had even made it look harder than it was. I told her I could come back later that day or early the next to figure it out. She surprised me by saying she would give it a try as soon as the students were all seated and ready to begin.

That was the first time I realized courage to move forward in the face of uncertainty beats any of the reasons to wait for preparation. After several more years of teaching people to use technology, I’ve seen this over and over...

Getting started makes all the difference. 

Imagine a spectrum where, on one end are those who avoid technology no matter what opportunities lie before them. On the other end are the people who will use it no matter what obstacles are in their way. Almost everyone will be at some point in between, but what matters most for success is which end you’re closest to.

Getting started trumps talent. Don’t think “good at tech” and “bad at tech”, as if those lead to effective use. Think “get started right now” versus “wait until ________”. Skill and knowledge follow getting started, not the other way around.

Getting started at the right time (i.e., as soon as you’re done reading this) makes everything else easier. All those misunderstandings about how hard or easy the tools are? Experience will make them disappear. Developing that big picture thinking? Start exploring on your own and you’ll see it forming in your mind.

On the other hand, have you felt the frustration of trying to get started too late? When the pressure is on, but you haven’t worked through the tipsheet since that training several months ago? Is it really a surprise that the encounter with tech ends in frustration?

Comfortably uncomfortable

The people I talk to who move ahead with new tools right away are not doing it because they’re comfortable, at least not in the ways we might think. The most innovative teachers I work with don’t have all the answers and all the bases covered in the first moment of truth. Being prepared to that level would take forever. When they jump in, they are simply comfortable with being uncomfortable.

It might look like they’re calm and collected, but they’re not resting in the familiar. They don’t know everything is going to work or exactly what they’ll do if it doesn’t. Instead of confidence in what they know, they have a confidence that they can figure it out.

It’s a step back from knowledge on the surface or all the emergency tools within reach. It’s being at ease with adapting and learning quickly, even if it’s in the heat of the moment.

This is a change in thinking, but you can start moving in that direction immediately.

Obstacles to get past

You might still see some looming obstacles keeping you from the first step.

If you’re afraid you’ll mess something up, start with something simple and small. I have my favorite example for easy exploration at the end of this article.

And remember what I said before about the tech being easier now. It’s very unlikely you’ll do serious damage when using a tool as intended. Deleted files can be recovered, crashed programs restarted and the physical equipment itself is built to take a few blows.

If you’re afraid of failing in front of others, practice will lessen this. Also (unless we’re talking tech for brain surgery) fail a few times (or have the tech fail) even when it matters. You’ll see life goes on. The times it does work will be well worth the experience in comparison to those minor setbacks.

Encouragement to move forward

If you still need encouragement, keep in mind...

Flexibility is a good thing. It is an essential skill in our quickly shifting world. Think about all the benefits to being able to deal with change. Obviously it makes for less anxiety, but think about the positive side. Being able to adapt to the unexpected will help you feel better about the situation and yourself. It’s a great relief for me to feel competent with new technology when I’m with people who are twenty or more years younger than me.

And beyond self-image, I’ve seen firsthand how important it is for others to view you as flexible. I work with administrators who oversee adults. I know how teachers view students. Whether we like it or not, flexible people are valued over inflexible. When you’re perceived as flexible and capable of learning it opens up more opportunities for you for growth and success.

I’m sure genetics and personal experience factor into our level of flexibility in new situations, but if it’s a skill, it can be developed. That won’t happen if you don’t start practicing the right thinking and the right actions.

Remember the overall goal. As I stated in my previous article, the goal of technology is not to make things simpler, but to accomplish more amazing things. The quality and quantity of your best work will improve and that’s exciting. Let the promise of accomplishing impressive things overshadow the discomfort of taking on a new tool. The clumsy first steps, the new tools you have to use but don’t care about, those are all just practice for eventually doing something big.

How successful people move ahead fearlessly

Tip #3: Know how to get back. 
Find Undo and locate the Home button. Save frequently or be sure the program automatically saves. We all make mistakes when we’re learning, but if you can get back to familiar state (even if that means rebooting the device) you can explore freely.

Tip #4: Trust the programmers.
When you forge ahead, trust that the people who set up the program did it with some logic. Trust you’ll be able to figure it out. I see some people struggle with new tools because they perceive the first error message or unexpected result as something wrong. It’s that stupid technology or that confusing computer stuff again. On the other hand, those who pick it up quickly will try to understand what caused the “problem”. They know there’s a logic behind it. There’s something to learn and they know they’ll be able to learn it given some time and effort.

Tip #5: Start with something that doesn’t matter. 
The quick studies do this a lot. When the trainer is telling everyone else where to click, the self-starters are zipping through menus and trying out buttons as they make a sample whatever. It almost certainly isn't something they'd use later. They’re not worried about doing it right. They don't feel they're wasting time. They just want to see how everything works. Try it. You might be surprised that you can do all that and still catch it when the trainer points out the real important stuff.* Better yet, do it before anyone even offers the training.

Your first assignment

So as an example of doing something relatively simple that doesn’t matter, I suggest playing around with Pixlr Express to edit a photo.

It’s a great application for fledgling explorers because it’s intuitive. It works on computers, iPads or Android devices. It has useful tools for cleaning up an image, but it's also filled iwth fun tools for adding effects and text. Just in case anyone has already used it, there’s always more to explore, better images to create and different devices to use it on.

So take 30 minutes right now to edit a photo with Pixlr Express. Use it to make something that didn't exist before. For extra credit, stick your results on Facebook when you’re done and tell everyone you wanted to do something new.

I’m not going to link to the site or tell you where to find the app. Just start with Google if you can’t find any other way. I’m resisting my teacher urge to give you a step by step** on getting a picture or importing it into the app. I'm not even putting an example here of a final result.

Your 30 minutes starts at whichever point you need to begin learning. Find the tool and do something with it.

Every minute is an investment for your future success.

Now, GO!

*If you do mess something up or you have to ask the person next to you what the trainer just said, so what? As long as it’s a rare occurrence, laugh it off. Have your impressive experiment on the screen when attention is drawn to you. Say something like, “I learn best by exploring on my own.” Maybe you’ll be an example to those around you.

**OK, I couldn't resist. If after five minutes you are still hopelessly lost, you can watch this short tutorial I made for the teachers and students in my district. Just don't count the tutorial time in your 30 minutes and be sure to do more than what I show there!

How to Be Good with Tech - Part 2

This is the second in a series of articles. If you haven't read the first one yet, it will be best to start there.

Helping teachers and students to use more technology (and working with some who resist) has driven home one point time and time again:

Being “good with tech” is largely a way of thinking.

There’s no magic involved. I'd even argue there aren't hours of training sessions involved. Instead there are mindsets and resulting practices that make it easier for some to pick up the new tools. In other words, these are things anyone can learn and improved tech skills will be the result.

So in this series I will point out a few myths the tech challenged believe that hold them back. I’ll also offer tips and strategies the rest of us use that give us an advantage in keeping up with the never-ending stream of new.

If you read through this article and, at any point, can't accept what I'm saying, please leave me a comment or send me an email. I hope to use any feedback to improve this series.

__________________

This time around I want to expose what I see as the get-rich-quick lie of learning technology. It’s a promise to those struggling the most that the job will be easier than it is. Instead of leading to success, it provides a false security and even hinders real progress..

If you've struggled with computers for years, you've most likely fallen into this misleading approach. You’ll probably think I’m making too much out of nothing. I urge you to keep an open mind as you read this, though, and try to see my point.

Instead of phrasing this as a myth to avoid, I’ll be positive:

Tip #1: When approaching a new tool or task, try to think “big picture”, not step by step.

There is a temptation to think knowing more steps will lead to success with technology tools. While it might help in the short term, I never see it lead to deeper, effective learning.

This is not just in the domain of technology. I saw it first when I tried to teach math. Struggling students would take pages of notes filled with lists of steps. They’d follow them faithfully to finish homework. Then they’d try without success to remember them all on the tests.

Now when I train teachers, those who are less comfortable with technology often ask for steps in tipsheets. They want training sessions where we go click by click through a new tool. When they realize I don’t usually start that way, they frantically write down notes thinking it will help later. When I do send a tipsheet out for some essential process, they file it away for when they need it. It's as if getting all the steps is the goal.

It’s easy to see why. Following steps can give a sense of accomplishment. The task at hand often does get done. There’s also comfort in knowing the list is nearby when needed.

The problem is I’ve never seen these teachers reach a level of competency with technology in general. Those people are the first to call when a problem arises. Regardless of how many times I explain the solution or how to work things out themselves, it never seems to stick.

When I start teaching and they start writing steps, I know right away I'll be back soon when they are stuck.

On the other hand, the students I work with in class or the teachers doing the most with technology adjust quickly to new tools. They almost never ask for step by step directions.

Preferring the steps is not a learning style. It’s a shortsighted approach that actually keeps the learner from ever seeing the necessary big picture.

Maps are better than lists

I recently had to find a friend at the University of Michigan. I haven’t driven those winding, busy streets in several years and I never really knew the layout of the campus. I don’t use a GPS, but I did grab a screenshot of the directions from my map app. I also took one of the map showing the general area.

When I neared the exit from the expressway I looked over the directions again. As soon as I got on the roads of the campus traffic was bad and I missed a turn within minutes. The name of one of the roads I was on changed at one intersection and I wasn’t sure if I was still on track. When I stopped at lights I quickly looked through the steps and scanned the scene for road signs to determine where I was in the list.

When I finally had a minute to gather my thoughts, I brought up that map instead. With just a quick glance I got my bearings straight. I knew the direction I was heading and the general direction of my destination. I knew immediately that even if I missed the next road I could take other side roads to get to the right building. I was even able to take in more of the surroundings, which will undoubtedly help the next time I have to visit.

I can’t emphasize this enough. When it comes to competency, the big picture perspective is essential to the learning process. Waiting for someone to tell you the steps and relying on lists for procedures will never be sufficient. Obstacles, problems and changes (which steps can never fully account for) will always lead to frustration in the times you most need to get where you’re going.

The best way to see that there is a real, significant difference between these two types of thinking is to ask a question to someone who is competent in any domain. Ask about directions to a location is in an area the person is familiar with. Ask a tech person to tell you the steps for some process. The first thing you’ll notice is they will have to translate from how they think about the task to steps. They never rattle off each turn or each click as if they’ve memorized them.

The thinking that leads to success comes from relationships in our mind between ideas, tools and experiences. They are connected in multiple ways like rooms in a building or locations across a landscape.  The mental organization necessary is too complex to be contained in lists of steps. A map is a better way to imagine what’s going on in the heads of those who successfully navigate from problem to solution.

A couple clarifications

To be clear, I’m not saying steps are useless. I still look up those “click here, then press this key” lists now and then. Those are best for the first time you have to use a tool to get something done. They’re handy for important tasks you only complete once in a while with tools that aren’t used otherwise. There will always be those tools you really don’t have to master and steps are good reminders.

Also, I am not offering any practical advice here on how to see the big picture. There are some things we can do to form those essential mental maps. My goal for now is only to relentlessly call out this important distinction and to point to a better way for success.

Where are we going?

I keep referring to success with tech tools, but let’s get more specific. This goes beyond just doing routine tasks. It also includes:

• Learning new tools quickly
• Applying the tools to new situations
• Communicating effectively to a variety of audiences through the tools
• Finding a solution when something goes wrong
• Using the tools in new ways to create things that didn’t exist before

These skills make up what we call technology literacy. At that level, people are thinking with and through the tools. That level of understanding is required for problem solving and meeting specific needs with the tools at hand. Achieving such a high level of comprehension requires a higher level approach.

If thinking in steps is like getting only where the roads and sidewalks already exist, technology literacy is like finding a new path to a new place no one has visited. Imagine how that’s easier with a rugged mountain bike compared to someone who wants to keep their training wheels on. After a while, wanting the training wheels on is probably what’s making it harder.

True literacy and expression through the tools requires a deeper understanding of what they can do. More than just how, it also grasps the why behind the various tools and elements of a problem or task. Meaning is significant in the process.

Imagine learning to write by simply copying down words void of their meaning. I could probably get a good student who doesn’t speak English to copy all the words of this paragraph. In the end, every time he does it, all he could ever say would be what this paragraph says.

Being literate with tech tools goes beyond forming letters and then words. It’s using those letters and words to write the sentences, essays, poems and more that only you can write. And then it’s saying those things with enough volume and clarity to reach more people more effectively than you ever could have otherwise.

You can see examples of this in projects I’ve written about on this blog. Here are two of my favorites:

• Ecosystem and game design lesson for middle school science 
• Smart Jams music video project at the elementary level

In those we accomplished new things with a personal touch and then presented them to the world within constraints formed by our skills, personal experiences and resources. To accomplish that, we had to approach the work from a big picture perspective.

On the other hand, limiting yourself to memorizing steps is limiting how far you'll go.

Getting personal

I wonder sometimes if those people I train ask for steps because they really think steps will help or if it’s just a way to put off the real work of learning. You will have to decide that for yourself. I only hope my examples and analogies here have made the options clear.

In that way, this article is a call to clarify the level of tech use you want to achieve. Do you want to just finish the routine tasks or do you want to use technology to accomplish far more of what you love to do?

I think it’s valuable for anyone to become more literate with digital tools. In many fields where we help others, we owe it to them to learn more so we can do our best. Still, learning happens best when everyone sets their own goals.

If do you want to develop that essential “big picture” thinking, please check back over the weeks ahead. Upcoming articles will provide practical ways to accomplish it. Also, please send along any comments questions so I can better suit the series to your needs.

How to Be Good with Tech - Part 1

Photo from Kevin Jarrett from Flickr -
https://www.flickr.com/photos/kjarrett/

I’ve been working with computers for over 30 years. I have also worked with teachers and students as an instructional tech coordinator for the past six years. Helping them use more technology (and working with some who resist) has driven home one point time and time again:

Being “good with tech” is largely a way of thinking.

There’s no magic involved. I'd even argue there aren't hours of training sessions involved. Instead there are mindsets and resulting practices that make it easier for some to pick up the new tools. In other words, these are things anyone can learn and improved tech skills will be the result.

So in this series I will point out a few myths the tech challenged believe that hold them back. I’ll also explain some approaches the rest of us use that give us an advantage in keeping up with the never-ending stream of new.

Since I work in education, I’m often thinking of the teachers and students I encounter there, struggling or resisting to use more technology for learning or sharing ideas. Beyond that, though, I’m writing to anyone who finds digital tools to be an obstacle, but knows the tools can help them accomplish more of what they want to.

If you read through this article and, at any point, can't accept what I'm saying, please leave me a comment or send me an email. I hope to use any feedback to improve this series.

And for now, I will start by tackling the biggest myth of all:

Myth #1: Technology is hard to learn.

I start with this myth because:

• For as often as I hear it and the thoughts resulting from it, I don’t believe it for a second.
• Believing it leads directly to some of the other inaccurate thinking I’ll address later in the series.

When a new tool comes along, maybe you fall victim to a very real fear because of this myth. It’s hard to learn and no one wants to look dumb, right?

And of course many have discovered this view of technology makes an easy excuse to avoid the necessary work of learning or using something new. A good share of the population heartily agrees that computers and all those gadgets take more effort to learn than they’re worth. Point out just one instance when time was lost, more problems arose or someone was frustrated by a new tool and nearly everyone in the room agrees: There’s no time for learning that complicated stuff. Back to the old way!

Regardless of why you’ve held to this notion, until you get past the false perception of how hard it is to use technology, you’ll always see yourself in the ungifted group. You’ll keep waiting for some convenient time when you have days to learn and nothing else to do. In other words, you’ll never start.

I hope by the end of this article you'll be open to this simple fact: Learning to use technology effectively is not as hard as you think.

A simple first step

So let’s start with an exercise. Next time you’re amazed when you see a person (maybe even a child) do something impressive with a new tech tool, don’t immediately attribute it to a gift you'll never possess. Instead, be open to the possibility that digital tools are simpler than they used to be.

I feel like I’m giving away a secret here. I like to appear really smart when I help teachers with new programs. I love it when I’m the hero that bailed out the teacher in front of the whole class. (Early elementary students will break into applause for these feats. It feels amazing.)

But I’m just trying to be honest. Instead of new tools confounding me now and then, I am regularly amazed at how much simpler they are.

Yes, I remember how long it took me to hook up a new printer or connect to a new internet service years ago. New software was hard to configure, and that was if I managed to install it correctly.

I understand that many adults of a certain age had years of those experiences (or maybe, years of witnessing others going nuts with those experiences). This formed the idea that technology is hard to use. 

Now, relatively speaking, that’s simply not true.

Photo from Brad Flickinger on Flickr -
https://www.flickr.com/photos/56155476@N08/

Think about this for a minute. I mean no disrespect to your kids or grand kids, but isn’t it possible that all those young people who quickly learn to work the new gadgets simply don’t hold this myth in their minds? They come at the new stuff thinking it’s meant to be intuitive and work effectively. They act accordingly and success is the result.

Technology is wildly popular and used throughout our society now not because the younger generation is so much smarter. It's largely because the tools are easier to use. Nowadays if a new tool is hard to use, you’ll never see it survive the market long enough to reach the masses.

But what about...

Before you hit me up with recent horror stories of incompatible software destroying your meeting or network failures that brought the office to a standstill, please keep a few things in mind.

First, I’m talking about technology that’s working as intended. Realistically speaking, that happens the vast majority of the time. Organizations dealing in a day with hundreds of times more money than you and I make in a decade trust their fortunes to this fact. It doesn't let them down in any significant way.

I’m also talking about average use. The amazing wizardry we see from people who live in front of their computers, have budgets for the what’s beyond the cutting edge and who work in specialized fields is difficult to replicate. That's why they are paid good money to do it.

But I’m taking about common tools that allow normal people to achieve more than they do without them. And that's an important goal I'm glad to help people move toward.

And if you’re still doubtful, I’m not saying the skills are so simple that no brains or effort is required. My later articles in this series will address what and how much is required to become competent.

Examples of positive change

To get specific, here are a few ways I regularly notice the tools have become easier over the years:

• Language in the apps is far less technical than it used to be. Menus, buttons and even error messages use common words instead of all the specialized terminology we used to see.
• Help features of programs are written better and many are making excellent use of video to explain exactly what you need to know. I’m very impressed with the quality of virtual training involved in much of the new software I encounter.
• Apps only do a few things, so options are limited. It used to be software companies boasted of all the things their programs could do. I guess the goal was to make tools like Word, Publisher or PowerPoint so flexible they could be used to turn out many different types of content. That made software complicated, with features buried in menus requiring many steps. Now apps are specialized. You find out what you need to do, look up the best app for it and it does just that with a few taps.
• There is more consistency across tools. Yes, we still have the PC versus Mac and iOS versus Android divides, but overall similar icons and terms appear across many common programs. Once you realize this, it won’t look so mystical when your teen figures out your new iPad app within seconds of opening it. 
• If common problems and questions weren’t addressed in the Help features of the software, they are only a web search away. Anyone who works regularly with technology will tell you the power of a simple Google search when it comes to using a tricky feature of a new program.
• You can hook up most new hardware by plugging in a cable. Sometimes you have to download a driver first, but do I even have to give examples of how difficult this used to be? I am continually grateful for these improvements.

_________

I’m not expecting now that you'll sit at a computer and churn out an amazingly easy, yet visually stunning video to upload to YouTube. I’m just hoping when the next person bails you out a tech bind you won’t immediately attribute success to his or her mad skills. Instead, think...

Maybe the tools are easier now. Maybe I could learn to do that too.

Try thinking that way for a few days. Once you’re open to that possibility, you’ll be ready to take the steps I’ll address in part 2.

Four Tips I Learned in the 2013 - 2014 School Year

I just finished up 20 years in my career in education. Many times I said it was my best year yet. I saw students get excited about using their talents and pursuing their dreams. I worked with some great teachers who were stretched and who stretched me. I received heartfelt thanks from administrators, colleagues, students and a few people who encountered my work online or at conferences where I presented.

I also had some setbacks. Several teachers took action through the local union in response to a professional development program I had been excited to share. This year also marked my sixth full year as an instructional tech coordinator. In evaluating overall growth of the staff over this time, I had to face some harsh facts. Not everyone has been following where I'm supposed to be leading. I have to claim responsibility for my shortcomings and oversights in that area.

In reflecting on the highlights and challenges, I came up with these four main lessons I found.

Teach like an artist.
Just before school started last year I wrote a blog post about some parallels I see in teaching and creating art. It struck a chord with some teachers and it fueled my passion for months afterward as I put the principles into practice.

In short, it is my way of staying inspired so I can inspire. It involves chasing a vision. Pushing through all the fear, risk and doubt, we do what it takes to make that vision real in our classrooms and for our students. Everything I learned and continue to learn about this shows up at my new blog.

It's OK to learn together.
I worked with a few teachers this year on ambitious first time projects. They made for quite an adventure. Either I or the teacher started things off saying something like, "This is the first time any of us have tried this, so we're not sure what to expect. We need your help."

Contrast that with the classroom environment most of us grew up with. In the past the teacher was the expert in the room. He or she had the answers. The game was to guess what was in the teacher's head. I consciously made it a goal in my writing to simply tell the teacher what she had told us. I knew it would earn the A. And why shouldn't it? There was comfort in certainty. The right answer was known and had been spoken.

But now the only certainty is that there's more to know. This is not just true in the classroom, but everywhere. When the goal is to do better, the learning never ends. The comfort of knowing right answers is gone.

This year the students I worked with saw me turn to Google more than ever when it came to a new tech obstacle we encountered. I had to take notes and tell them I'd look for solutions after class. I had to admit I was stumped. I had to thank students for finding an answer before I did.

Giving up my "expert at everything" status is still uncomfortable at times. It is hopeless to perpetuate the illusion, though, and it is far more important to model good learning strategies.

Go with the goers.
There's nothing fresh or insightful in this thought on its own. It's obvious that personal growth takes place most when we surround ourselves with others who are growing. I most recently reflected on this, though, when I read Jeff Goins' blog about what makes a great leader. Quoting one of his mentors, he put it that way: Go with the goers.

I will add only two thoughts here. First, it might be easier for writers and speakers to hang out only with the movers and doers as they share their insights with those who pay to hear what they have to share. Those of us in education are paid to reach everyone, though, and that means we also have to stay in touch with those who are not yet goers.

And I also have to speak to the power of connection and my virtual PLN. Going with the goers is a lot easier now when we can almost continually be in touch with experts online. I learned so much this year skimming recent blogs in Feedly and finding wisdom and best practices on Twitter. This year more than ever my online presence transitioned to face to face meetings. I was able to see the reach to which my thinking was bound and I found help in stretching beyond that.

Find strength in personal growth.
I rarely hear this advice offered, yet I had to return to it a lot this year when it was tough to go on. I hear my colleagues turn to any number of hobbies and (more or less jokingly) chemicals to recharge amid the stress of the school year. I want to submit this additional option:  Take strength in measuring your progress toward your personal potential.

I know it can sound very prideful to point this out, especially within the circumstances and conversation in the teachers' lounge. I can only say there's a strong spiritual element in this for me and I see the insight, practice and the strength I find in its truth to be a gift. It is with gratitude and humility, not my own ability, that I return and rely on the blessing.

Lifelong learning is a process of becoming who we were meant to be. The journey will be necessarily difficult. There's nothing innately wrong with recharging through moments of recreation, but let's remember when there's no time for that, fulfillment of purpose and further steps toward our potential provide deep peace and energy necessary to continue.

As teachers (the lead learners) we should know this best and pass the lesson along to our students.

Along those lines, I'll end with a suggestion to all teachers: Take a few hours to reflect on what you gained this past school year. If you write anything online, please share it in the comments.

17 Short Learning Activities for Extra Computer Time

I wrote this list of learning activities for middle school teachers so they'd have some options to give to students who finished work early in the lab. There's nothing terribly innovative here, just some open ended starting points that result in exploration and a written reflection or summary of what they learned.

What are other sites or activities come to mind for this purpose?

This is the list as a Google Document.

Complete one of the activities below.  In each case there’s an opportunity to learn something new and to sum it up.  Do not copy and paste writing from websites unless it instructs you to.  All assignments will be checked for plagiarism.

1)  Wolfram Alpha - This is a computational knowledge engine that creates knowledge by combining several sources.  Go to http://www.wolframalpha.com/examples/ and see some examples.  Click on one that looks interesting.  Search for something similar and write a summary of what you find in either a Word document or a PowerPoint presentation.

2)  Wikipedia - Start with an article related to a personal interest.  In that article, find a link to another article that teaches you something you didn’t know.  Read that new article and write a summary of what you found interesting or what you learned.

3) Physics Simulator - Go to http://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/category/by-level/middle-school  Browse and experiment with the simulator.  Summarize something you learned.

4)  Blogs - Search for a recent blog or news article about something that interests you.  Summarize the author’s points and write your response.  Be sure to quote parts of the original blog post or article in your response.

5)  Reviews - Read a review about a movie, book, music or game that you like.   Summarize the author’s opinion and write your response.  Quote parts of the original review in your response.

6)  Another Middle School - Look up a website of a middle school that you don’t already know about.  Browse the pages of their website until you have learned some things about the school.  Summarize what you find.  Here are some questions you might answer:  What appears to be the best thing about that school?  What suggestions do you have for their website that would help you learn more or make it easier to use?  What do you dislike about the school based on what you see on the site?

7)  World News - Use Google news to find a current World News event that is of interest to you.  Summarize the article and write your thoughts about it.  Be sure to quote parts of the news article you read.

8)  U.S. News - Use Google news to find a current U.S. News event that is of interest to you.  Summarize the article and write your thoughts about it.  Be sure to quote parts of the news article you read.

9)  Local News - Use http://www.mlive.com/flint/ to find a current local news event that is of interest to you.  Summarize the article and write your thoughts about it.  Be sure to quote parts of the news article you read.

10)  Khan Academy - Watch a video on any topic you don’t already know.  Summarize what you learned.

11)  Fascinating Facts - Make a PowerPoint presentation with at least five interesting facts about a topic of your choice.  Pick facts that might make anyone want to know more about your topic.  Make a slide that lists the websites you used for your information.

12)  Found Poem - Read this article about how to write a found poem:  

http://www.creative-writing-now.com/found-poetry.html  

After reading it, find any webpage that you want to use and create a found poem from it.  Write your poem and list the URL for the webpage that you used.  Write a sentence or two explaining why you picked the words and phrases that you did for your poem.  

13)  Suggestion for Class - Find a website, game or online program that you wish a teacher would use in class.  Write the URL of the resource and explain why you think a teacher should use it and how they could use it.

14)  Computer Terms - Find definitions for 10 of these computer terms.  Copy and paste the definition you find online, include the address of the site where you found it and then rewrite the definition in your own words.

Hard Drive Monitor VGA Cable Processor Speed RAM PDF Desktop CPU

USB IP Address HTML URL PNG Intranet Internet GIF

Browser Search Engine mp3 Open Source Blog Virus GUI Router

15)  Make a Timeline - Use this online tool to make a timeline with at least 6 events from start to end.  It can be about your life (from birth or maybe just a single season of life) or it can be about some famous person or event(s).

http://www.softschools.com/teacher_resources/timeline_maker/

Get a screen capture and paste it into Word.  If it’s too long to fit on the screen, copy it in parts.

16) 100 Word Challenge - Go to http://100wc.net/ .  On that blog you will see many prompts and some links to responses that other students wrote.  The object is to write 100 words based on the prompt.  Pick a prompt you like.  You might have to do a lot of scrolling and go to other pages to find one.  Write 100 words as a response.  You can read some sample ones first if you need to get an idea of how these should look.

17)  Career Research - Do some research online and find information about a job that you would like to have.  Summarize information about the career and explain why you think it would be a good career for you.  Also copy and paste the address to the website(s) you used for your research.

6 ways to teach like an artist

New for 2014: Follow the continuing Teaching Like an Artist series on TeachingLikeanArtist.com.

Note from 11-8-2013:  I wrote this post at the end of summer.  I've been developing the idea both in writing and by trying to live it out.  After three months of that, I wrote a related article here:  Five Benefits of Teaching Like an Artist

“I am enough of an artist to draw freely upon my imagination. Imagination is more important than knowledge." -Albert Einstein

"I am an artist....  I am here to live out loud."

 -Emile Zola

We've probably all seen the websites and books that encourage us to teach like different things--pirates, rockstars, champions.  I didn't search long and hard, but I imagine there are probably lists out there already about teaching like an artist.  In one way or another, we're probably saying the same things.

I like the idea of teaching like an artist, though, because it allows for passion, personality and maybe even some insanity.

Artists dream and bring the dreams to life.

It's fun to hang out with artists.  They can straddle the line between deep insight and admiring things that just look, sound, taste or feel good for reasons they don't care to figure out.  They show us another angle we wouldn't have seen on our own.  

Our students would have a great time hanging out with people like that day after day.

To me, art is love expressed freely.  It might involve a lot of other emotions too, but behind it all there is love for something.  Art is something powerful + you, the artist.  And what comes out is unique.  Artists know how to capitalize on that uniqueness and make the world a better, more beautiful place because of their work.

Almost everyone falls in love with another person.  We go through the stages like most people and similar events happen in all the stories.  But artists put those things in words, songs, pictures or other creative works in ways that inspire, connect and encourage those who experience the art.  Artists remind us we're not alone, that there's something worth getting out of bed for and that at times life will demand everything you can possibly give.

School needs more of these people!

I could go on, but for now, here's the list:

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6 Ways to Teach Like an Artist

1)  Think of a new way.

Make a habit of putting a new spin on something you always do.  Give it a new name, retype the version you've used for a decade or use some other tool to present it.  Don't change it for change sake, but make it your own.

Artists let personality and talent shine through what they do, but when we have kids showing up at the door every morning we forget to let that happen.  Purposely put your touch--some twist no one else you know would come up with--on something new each week.  If you can sing a little, sing more.  Draw?  Draw more.  Write poems.  It will be worth the extra couple hours on a weekend.

2)  Share your work.

This might be the best way to stay inspired and inspire others. It is certainly easier than ever to share your best work now, yet I'm continually amazed at how few teachers do so.  Artists know it is rewarding to see how far their ideas go.  Whether it's a blog, website or Pinterest, start an account and start sharing.  The joy of finding that someone else, possibly on the other side of the planet, used your work with her students will add significance to your hard work.

3)  Notice what you love and love it out loud.  

Students need to see more adults who are passionate about something.  I go from class to class in my district working with many teachers and too often the only real life examples I hear are related to jobs and making money.  Too often it's in the language of the mass market and commercials.  No wonder the kids are bored.

Life is filled with exciting opportunities to learn, grow personally, meet deep needs and leave a mark.  There are reasons to be so grateful you can't help but tell about it.  Do your students know what you're passionate about and thankful for?  Do they know why you decided to be a teacher?  Are these things expressed in ways that only you can?  

This isn't necessarily to make them love those things too, but it can show them what passion and joy for living look like.

4)  Let yourself feel and express the negative emotions too.

Let's face it, artists can be troubled people.  We know the stories, but chances are if you've made any serious attempt to be an artist of some sort you've felt it yourself.

It is frustrating to care so much and have your hopes dashed.  It might have some benefits to always see what others don't notice, but sometimes it can feel like you're the only one one the planet dealing with reality.

We can either avoid the things that cause the negative emotions or we can accept them as part of the work.  I've dealt with this personally for my entire career in the schools, but I'm trying to be brief.  When it's all said and done, here's what I've got: 

The heart that makes great art is also more sensitive to the pain of real life, so expect it to hurt.  Just keep doing the work because the only alternative is to stop really living. 

5)  Risk failure.

Seth Godin convinced me of the importance of this in The Icarus Deception.  In fact, he said if there isn't risk, it isn't art.  As with #4 above, fear of failure will always come along if you're working like an artist.  Expect it and live with it.

The best teachers I know are the ones who give everything knowing very well it won't always work.  They might look stupid for a few minutes when the new technology isn't coming through.  They might waste hours planning a lesson that is ruined by a snowday and some students in rotten moods.  They might have to reteach another lesson because the video they made didn't really do the trick.

This isn't a suggestion to be completely stupid.  Know the cost and proceed like a professional who does have bills to pay.  

It won't hurt to loosen up though.  Face the fear of failure and press on.  You'll learn some of your best lessons when you realize you survived the awkward moments.

6)  Tell the story in your way.

I know you'll be busy if you're teaching like an artist, but be sure pay attention to what's going on.  Tell that story.  First of all, tell it to yourself in a journal.  Record what you're learning.  I don't care if it's a sticky note or an email to yourself, don't let the moments slip by.  Keep track of them and polish them later if you find a reason to show them off.

But definitely show some of them off.  Tell the stories to colleagues and tell some to the world.  This goes along with sharing your work, because the story itself is art, but by the story I also mean the big picture.

It's not just about the art you made, but it's how it was accepted.  What did the students learn?  What did you learn?  What did you notice that everyone else should pay attention to?

Obviously you could write these things in a blog or maybe you'd even write a book over the summer.  It's all easier than ever.  But don't limit it to written narratives of what happened.  You could also write a poem, a song or a video (or a video with your poem turned into a song) inspired by what you learned.  Find a creative way to present it.  Call it an example for a student project or show it off at parent night.  

Just keep reminding everyone that it's worth doing the work.  

---

The world needs what only you can do.  

Dream big,

work hard 

and do it with passion.

What would you add to the list?

Note:  I already mentioned Seth Godin's book The Icarus Deception   I also want to point out that his book Poke the Box had a huge impact on me.  Steal Like an Artist by Austin Kleon also influenced how I view my work, which in turn inspired much of this article.  All the books are pretty quick reads, so check them out at a library or buy a used copy on Amazon.

Games and thoughts for the start of the school year

We still have a good amount of summer to enjoy, but with all the back-to-school stuff showing up I figured I'd compile some of my own resources appropriate for this time of the year.

First, here are the presentation games I made for ActivInspire that are great for those first days back:

• Oh, Really* - Students rank items in order from most important to least important.  This is based on my published party game What's It to Ya?*.  Another related way to play online, not requiring ActivInspire, is here.
• Say Anything - This is a very simple creativity game where some students compete to come up with the most popular answer.
• This or That? - Here's another game based on a party game I made.  This one gets attention year round, but it's great for introducing students on the first days.

*Update 8/7/2013:  My friends at Fair Play Games have one edition of my party game What's It To Ya?game on sale for $7.99 for four copies.  That's enough for the whole class to play if you're using the physical party game!  Check this post out for more information.

A new school year means a great time for some fundamental changes to how we run our classes.  Here are some thoughts I shared earlier for engaging students with meaningful work.

• Do something big NOW - I added our music video to this recently too. Why I'm not big on career planning lessons anymore
• Lifelong Learner Challenge - A philosophy for ongoing learning and meaningful contributions
• Learning for Doing - Is it bad that I finally gave up on making everyone love to learn?
• The 4 C's of Success - One way I presented the importance of making commitments and doing what it takes to follow through
• The 3 P's of Success - What I learned about success from working with high school seniors
• Advice to a New Teacher - Some overall lessons I learned that I'd tell myself 20 years ago when I started teaching.  I think every teacher could benefit from writing similar advice to themselves.  Also, this post ends with the "Key to Success" that I always told students on the first day of school.

And here's a favor if you've got any interest.  Let me know if this pet project of mine looks interesting.  

Helping Students Live Better Stories

I haven't elaborated much on it since this original post, but it could be a great, ongoing project for a class.  If you like the looks of it, tell me and I'll work on it some more before school starts!

The other blog

I've been on a short term mission trip with my family this week. It fits with the lifelong learning posts I have put on this blog, so I wanted to mention it. I started a new blog here about worship and spiritual matters. I started one like this a couple years ago that fizzled out. I'm glad to revive it this week and see where it goes.

B&W Worship

Forget career planning - Do something big now

Update 5/22/2013: Here's a motivational song and lyric video for the classroom I created based on the idea in this blog post. It comes after a year of putting these thoughts into practice.

I was very excited this week to talk to our middle school Digital Media class. I don't regularly teach in that classroom, but I am considered to be a teacher in my district.  That means I end up as sort of a guest speaker in various classrooms K - 12 and I especially love it when I get to address this particular group.

I tell them why I think Digital Media is the best class we offer.

This year as I prepared my talk I realized how insane it is to talk to these kids, ages 11-14 about the career they'll have someday. When I taught high school math I would always talk about the world of work as a motivation for learning, but I’m done with that approach.  It wasn’t terribly effective five years ago when I taught math and it feels even less so now, especially as I see more apathy in grades 4 - 8.

Now I try to motivate them with what gets me excited.  I am pumped (honestly, I lost sleep over this) when I can tell them about the powerful tools that allow them to connect like never before so they can realize their dreams.

Never in the history of the world have we had tools that made it so easy to start on those dreams right away. It makes no sense to me to try to motivate students with the promise of a good job in 8 to 10 years when a tidal wave of fascinating entertainment will hit them seconds after we let them turn their phones back on.

So I gave my talk and I saw that glimmer of hope in some of their eyes. I told them about the books, movies, songs, games and other great gifts that I know are in their minds waiting to get free to the world. I believe it completely and I look forward to encouraging them more as I continue to work with their teacher.

I summed all this (and more) up this way in my presentation:

It has never been easier to start something big RIGHT NOW.  

And it has never been easier to just play.  

Choose wisely.

On the way to work that morning I saw the sunrise (we haven’t seen a lot of the sun recently here in Michigan) and I grabbed a picture.  I combined the two here:

But after the talk I got thinking, what exactly can they start?  Our culture bombards our kids with so much to do that some don't know how to begin anything original.  I made a list of goals they can start on not in weeks, months or years, but right now. I will use and develop the list as I continue working with learners of all ages.

First, the basic rules:

• Start a blog.
• Copy nothing.  You must make all elements from scratch.
• If you succeed in a goal, blog about it and include pictures. 
• If you fail, blog about it and include pictures. 

Some goals you can starting working toward right now:

• Make something digital that your parents will be so proud of they’ll share it on Facebook.
• Make a video and get X views in week on YouTube video.  Keep increasing X each time.
• Whatever your teacher assigns, ask if you can do a different project.  If the teacher says no, do it anyway (along with the real assignment!).  Show the teacher your work.
• Make a digital lesson for a younger sibling or family member.  Pick a topic he or she will study in the future so they will already know it when they get to it.
• What type of entertainment do you usually turn to in your freetime?  Instead of sucking up someone else’s idea, start making your own. 
• Make a gift for someone's birthday or a holiday on CafePress or some other site where you can create and order products. 
• Pick your favorite charity or cause. Make something online and sell it.  Donate whatever you make to your charity or cause.  

I'm confident that seriously working toward any of these goals will help our students acquire at least as many career skills as our other efforts have.

What are some other great goals students can start on right away?