When I was a kid, I remember my parents harping on me about who I hung out with and how important it was to choose my friends wisely, to surround myself with "good" influences. Honestly, I got pretty sick and tired of their advice and had to make some mistakes of my own before I figured out they were right.
Now I'm a dad, and I can see exactly how right my parents were, and even how carefully they led me without forcing me, and I can take their parenting cues to lead my own children.
I'm also a teacher, and I notice the relational decisions that face the middle schoolers I see every day, not to mention my own 5th grade son who is approaching middle school himself.
But I would like to speak to the relationships we form among teachers and how important it is to surround ourselves with good influences. I can share with you how I try to do this, and you can use my opinions to shape your practices if you wish.
Beware the teachers' lounge...
You've heard it before. That teachers' lounge can be a hotbed of negativity. Yes, I understand it's your sanctuary, a place to escape the little rascals running through your classroom, somewhere you can let it all hang out. I can't count how many times I've heard (and said), "Little Johnny is driving me crazy today!" It's only natural to seek out other teachers with whom we can commiserate, but I think we must be careful when venting without looking for solutions to problems we come across. Use the lounge for problem solving, and then celebrate your successes together! You might need to be the one who turns a conversation around.
...but don't isolate yourself
I am an introvert. I like to study up and do my own thing. I've had many times in my career when I've hidden away in isolation and have taken care of my classes, quietly proud of my own accomplishments. As I reflect, I see an issue when teaching in this manner.
I don't want it until I see it
I view it like I view advertisements for products on TV: I don't want it until I see it. In my own little bubble, I design my lessons the best I know how, but when I pay attention to what and how my colleagues are teaching, I can consider my approach afresh. It's when I open myself up and share my ideas and listen to others' perspectives that I feel I need to continue to extend my pedagogy; I have a desire to improve my teaching. My wife checks Zulily almost every day, and man, I didn't even know I wanted new flip flops until she had me looking through that awesome deal online. Similarly, when I see the innovation in education, I want it for myself, too.
Enter social media
I like setting goals. I continually need to earn continuing education credits. Put the two together, and I signed up for the Innovative Educator Advanced Studies Certificate, aka the IEASC. Fast forward 6 months...I finished the 18 credits and have a fresh perspective on technology and the need to be informed. Within the program, I took an elective course through FPU called Twitter for Educators from a stand up instructor who jumpstarted my twitter heart. Through the online course and the interactions he encouraged, I was brought way back to my parents' advice: "Choose your friends wisely."
The Twittersphere
With Twitter, I can choose who to follow and build a Professional Learning Network (PLN). I can consider their ideas. I can unfollow them if I feel like it. I can have a big group of tweeps, or I can keep it small; it's completely up to me. I don't follow any celebrities (I don't care that LeBron James just gave his mother a new car--and I only know that because I just Googled it for my purposes here), but I've slowly learned to focus in on the cutting edge themes, ideas, and technologies in education. I can choose my friends wisely, those who can counsel me and help me grow as an educator. And with the Internet being the social monster that it has become, I have multiple options: Google Plus, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, EduClipper, even individual blogs through RSS feeds like Feedly. For me, I keep my social networks to a minimum and try to dive deep into the few I care about. They say Twitter is an ocean in itself, and you can really only take a dip.
A little help from my friends
I'm finding, too, that educators on social media are truly helpful and positive, just the sort of influences we all need in our lives. I've been watching back some episodes of The Two Guys Show with @Techbradwaid and @Techminock. One of their guests (see episode 7 with @4_teachers) created an app called QuickKey that acts as a scantron machine right from your device. I thought I'd try it out and give him some feedback, you know, as an encouragement, so I created a quick video demo of his app and shared it on twitter with him. He was ecstatic with the demo and retweeted it right away. I wanted to share with teachers at my site as well, so I shot them an email of the video. Alternately, I've been encouraged by others to try new and innovative things, and others have given me a +1 on a blog post within Google Plus. To steal a line from The Beatles out of context: "I get by with a little help from my friends."
Take back the teachers' lounge
Somehow we've got to transform the teachers' lounge into the type of place where ideas are shared, problems are solved, and real innovation occurs. It starts with you; yeah...it starts with me. We have got to make our schools safe places to try new things, where failure's just a quick stop on the road to success. And as teachers, we have to build our students up, not only in front of them, but also behind their backs. Surround yourself with the teachers who you know will help you do that.
One last challenge
I learned an important lesson as a kid that I didn't fully realize until I was much older--influence is a two-way street. I strayed a bit off the straight and narrow to become friends with the guy across the street, and though he may have been a poor influence on me (granted, I was no angel), my positive influence turned out to be life-changing for him, my best friend. Is there a teacher who needs your positivity today?
Friday, February 21, 2014
Monday, February 17, 2014
4 Excuses of the Tech-Nervous
I recently led an iPad workshop for our elementary and middle school teachers. Valentine's Day was an inservice day at our school mostly for curriculum mapping, but I was given 45 minutes to share how the iPad could be implemented into classrooms K-8. While the middle school teachers have been sharing an iPad cart of 30 since early in the school year with varying degrees of success, elementary teachers recently received 2 iPads per classroom. Some teachers have been researching iPad implementation on their own, but others struggle with where to start. Others don't want the iPads anywhere near them or their classrooms.
I know a widespread issue surrounding technology integration in general, and iPad implementation specifically, is the lack of professional development for the teachers. I think sharing within the workshop was a good first step, and I supplied a resource for iPad implementation that logically takes a teacher from learning the basics of the iPad to full integration into the classroom. You can see it here. But after presenting, I feel some common excuses abound. Before the iPads get shoved into drawers and forgotten, I would like to refute a few of the excuses I commonly hear.
Excuse #1: My current strategies work just fine.
Now, if you're okay with "fine", I can understand where you're coming from. A few years back I was on cruise control. I taught Spelling, English, Reading, and Social Studies in the sixth grade, and I had fine-tuned an efficiency standard for myself and my students. I taught well, the kids learned well, and I merely tweaked lesson plans from year to year. While I still feel I had designed above average lessons for my students that taught depth of reading and writing skills, there was something missing. The something that was missing was a focus on student learning style and strength; I relied on my strength as a teacher. Students learned the way I taught, but since then I've discovered that I need to teach the way students learn, and technology is a huge piece of that process.
One thing I hate to see on my iPad is the little red notification on my app store icon that shows how many of my apps are in need of an update. The higher the number the more frustrating it is. One thing I love, though, is how simple it is for me to tap into the app store and press "update all". App developers are always looking for ways to improve their particular apps, and they listen to the critiques of their customers by using the reviews we submit. What an ideal situation for the classroom! What do our students and constituency need? What do they want from me? Am I willing to change with the times? Am I willing to ask my students or their parents what they desire? Check your current strategies and see if it's time for an update. I am willing to bet that using your iPad(s) or other tech tools will add to the students' learning.
Excuse #2: The 3 R's R all we need.
Reading, 'Riting, 'Rithmetic. I teach the reading and the writing in my role, so you're preaching to the choir if you say these things are important, but I have two things to say about the 3 R's. First, I think we need to be careful about how we approach the 3 R's in education. Instead of a focus on the actual reading, writing, and math skills as an end, the 3 R's must be taught through discovery using critical thinking and problem solving. Second, we've got some new literacies to deal with. Since the explosion of the Internet into our culture, new purposes for reading and writing and even mathematical thinking have emerged. Students access the Internet daily and sometimes exclusively. The reading skills we need to teach students include interpreting and discerning the mass of information on the web. Information on the Internet is much more current than the textbooks we keep referring to in classrooms year after year; literacy education has changed dramatically. Students must be taught how to navigate the types of writing that appear online; it's our task to put the proper tools in students' hands in order for them to understand the world around them. Writing has also changed. I am teaching my sixth graders to blog--see my blog2buds site--for the first time this year, and their purposes for writing have expanded greatly with a chance to connect with others across the globe. Teaching proper responsibility while posting and commenting online is necessary when understanding the new literacies that result from an always connected culture. Additionally, mathematical thinking in our digital age will likely produce the computer programmers of tomorrow. Times have changed, so our teaching must as well.
Excuse #3: The technology is too overwhelming.
This one, I believe, takes a change in mindset. Do you remember when you were in college earning your education degree, or afterward earning your masters' degree or taking classes, going to workshops, perhaps earning a certain certification? I've done each of these things, and I constantly fight the temptation to achieve a letter grade and then fall back into my old routine, the one that I was so comfortable with before I was challenged within the classes I took. I have to battle the mindset that my continuing education is a series of hurdles to leap over in order to finish the race. Don't get me wrong, it is nice to finish, take a breather, and celebrate. But what if we could change our view so that we're not jumping (or stumbling) over hurdles. Instead, we could choose to see those hurdles as gateways, and with each pass, the new opportunities that abound.
When I was in school at Calvin College (Go Knights!), the catch phrase in the education department was that we were preparing to become "reflective practitioners". Instead of taking a course or workshop to earn a required credit, we must use the courses we take to carefully reflect on our current teaching and learn new strategies for quality implementation. The same is true for technology integration. You've been handed an iPad--now what? It will take time and research to figure out how to use it to the students' advantage within the classroom, but isn't it worth the work load? Have you seen the student outcomes when you try a new cutting edge technique? Have you seen the student engagement? Do you have class management issues that have disappeared? I have. The students are excited to try new things. Please continue to be a "reflective practitioner" in your teaching and don't fall into the trap of efficient routine. Energize your teaching with some engaging possibilities, including tech, and I think you will find new joy in teaching rather than focus on how overwhelming your job is.
Excuse #4: I'm too afraid to make mistakes.
I am an analytical person, and I like predictable outcomes, but this school year after completing the Innovative Educator Advanced Studies Certificate (IEASC) through Fresno Pacific University (FPU) and Computer Using Educators (CUE), as well as receiving an iPad cart in our middle school, I've chosen to let go of the reins (mostly) and allow the students to run out of the gates so that I can feel out where their strengths lie. Interestingly, I found that toward the beginning of the year many students were wary of my new approach. Though sixth grade is typically quite a transition anyway, a lot of kids still weren't prepared when I handed them a Google Apps for Education (GAfE) email, and only now they are beginning to better understand the power behind the Web 2.0 tools I've presented. It was slow-going at first, but now my students are coming up with their own solutions to problems that occur.
They and I have made mistakes along the way, and we've found that failure is a completely natural piece of the educational process. My students have seen me try to present something (with or without technology) that failed to work, only to see me make decisions to alter my approach. From there, they settle into taking their own risks with the iPads I hand to them on particular days. Similarly, I've heard stories from frustrated parents who have had tech breakthroughs at home because of the problem solving they've had to spend time on related to course work I've assigned.
Every day we ask our students to take risks and to try things that are uncomfortable for them. Why won't we?
What now?
In my previous post, I played with the phrase "failure's not an option" and instead titled it Failure's Not Optional. I just re-read the last part of it, and one of the sentences I shared about students was this: "Let them loose." I guess a related idea would be, "Let them lose." And by losing, by failing, students learn to approach the problem from another angle; isn't that what learning is?
So what about you? Have you used one of the above excuses when considering technology? Do you visit the teachers' lounge and complain about what is required of you regarding the technological nuances you face? Do you find that your established routine is paramount to your teaching? I would encourage you to step away from your comfort zone.
View the hurdles in education not as an obstacle to overcome but as a gateway toward further success. Perhaps your change in mindset will spark a movement in your classroom or school. Collaborate with your colleagues, check with your PLN on social media, and get on the cutting edge.
I know a widespread issue surrounding technology integration in general, and iPad implementation specifically, is the lack of professional development for the teachers. I think sharing within the workshop was a good first step, and I supplied a resource for iPad implementation that logically takes a teacher from learning the basics of the iPad to full integration into the classroom. You can see it here. But after presenting, I feel some common excuses abound. Before the iPads get shoved into drawers and forgotten, I would like to refute a few of the excuses I commonly hear.
Excuse #1: My current strategies work just fine.
Now, if you're okay with "fine", I can understand where you're coming from. A few years back I was on cruise control. I taught Spelling, English, Reading, and Social Studies in the sixth grade, and I had fine-tuned an efficiency standard for myself and my students. I taught well, the kids learned well, and I merely tweaked lesson plans from year to year. While I still feel I had designed above average lessons for my students that taught depth of reading and writing skills, there was something missing. The something that was missing was a focus on student learning style and strength; I relied on my strength as a teacher. Students learned the way I taught, but since then I've discovered that I need to teach the way students learn, and technology is a huge piece of that process.
credit: www.usm.edu
One thing I hate to see on my iPad is the little red notification on my app store icon that shows how many of my apps are in need of an update. The higher the number the more frustrating it is. One thing I love, though, is how simple it is for me to tap into the app store and press "update all". App developers are always looking for ways to improve their particular apps, and they listen to the critiques of their customers by using the reviews we submit. What an ideal situation for the classroom! What do our students and constituency need? What do they want from me? Am I willing to change with the times? Am I willing to ask my students or their parents what they desire? Check your current strategies and see if it's time for an update. I am willing to bet that using your iPad(s) or other tech tools will add to the students' learning.
Excuse #2: The 3 R's R all we need.
Reading, 'Riting, 'Rithmetic. I teach the reading and the writing in my role, so you're preaching to the choir if you say these things are important, but I have two things to say about the 3 R's. First, I think we need to be careful about how we approach the 3 R's in education. Instead of a focus on the actual reading, writing, and math skills as an end, the 3 R's must be taught through discovery using critical thinking and problem solving. Second, we've got some new literacies to deal with. Since the explosion of the Internet into our culture, new purposes for reading and writing and even mathematical thinking have emerged. Students access the Internet daily and sometimes exclusively. The reading skills we need to teach students include interpreting and discerning the mass of information on the web. Information on the Internet is much more current than the textbooks we keep referring to in classrooms year after year; literacy education has changed dramatically. Students must be taught how to navigate the types of writing that appear online; it's our task to put the proper tools in students' hands in order for them to understand the world around them. Writing has also changed. I am teaching my sixth graders to blog--see my blog2buds site--for the first time this year, and their purposes for writing have expanded greatly with a chance to connect with others across the globe. Teaching proper responsibility while posting and commenting online is necessary when understanding the new literacies that result from an always connected culture. Additionally, mathematical thinking in our digital age will likely produce the computer programmers of tomorrow. Times have changed, so our teaching must as well.
Excuse #3: The technology is too overwhelming.
This one, I believe, takes a change in mindset. Do you remember when you were in college earning your education degree, or afterward earning your masters' degree or taking classes, going to workshops, perhaps earning a certain certification? I've done each of these things, and I constantly fight the temptation to achieve a letter grade and then fall back into my old routine, the one that I was so comfortable with before I was challenged within the classes I took. I have to battle the mindset that my continuing education is a series of hurdles to leap over in order to finish the race. Don't get me wrong, it is nice to finish, take a breather, and celebrate. But what if we could change our view so that we're not jumping (or stumbling) over hurdles. Instead, we could choose to see those hurdles as gateways, and with each pass, the new opportunities that abound.
When I was in school at Calvin College (Go Knights!), the catch phrase in the education department was that we were preparing to become "reflective practitioners". Instead of taking a course or workshop to earn a required credit, we must use the courses we take to carefully reflect on our current teaching and learn new strategies for quality implementation. The same is true for technology integration. You've been handed an iPad--now what? It will take time and research to figure out how to use it to the students' advantage within the classroom, but isn't it worth the work load? Have you seen the student outcomes when you try a new cutting edge technique? Have you seen the student engagement? Do you have class management issues that have disappeared? I have. The students are excited to try new things. Please continue to be a "reflective practitioner" in your teaching and don't fall into the trap of efficient routine. Energize your teaching with some engaging possibilities, including tech, and I think you will find new joy in teaching rather than focus on how overwhelming your job is.
Excuse #4: I'm too afraid to make mistakes.
I am an analytical person, and I like predictable outcomes, but this school year after completing the Innovative Educator Advanced Studies Certificate (IEASC) through Fresno Pacific University (FPU) and Computer Using Educators (CUE), as well as receiving an iPad cart in our middle school, I've chosen to let go of the reins (mostly) and allow the students to run out of the gates so that I can feel out where their strengths lie. Interestingly, I found that toward the beginning of the year many students were wary of my new approach. Though sixth grade is typically quite a transition anyway, a lot of kids still weren't prepared when I handed them a Google Apps for Education (GAfE) email, and only now they are beginning to better understand the power behind the Web 2.0 tools I've presented. It was slow-going at first, but now my students are coming up with their own solutions to problems that occur.
They and I have made mistakes along the way, and we've found that failure is a completely natural piece of the educational process. My students have seen me try to present something (with or without technology) that failed to work, only to see me make decisions to alter my approach. From there, they settle into taking their own risks with the iPads I hand to them on particular days. Similarly, I've heard stories from frustrated parents who have had tech breakthroughs at home because of the problem solving they've had to spend time on related to course work I've assigned.
Every day we ask our students to take risks and to try things that are uncomfortable for them. Why won't we?
What now?
In my previous post, I played with the phrase "failure's not an option" and instead titled it Failure's Not Optional. I just re-read the last part of it, and one of the sentences I shared about students was this: "Let them loose." I guess a related idea would be, "Let them lose." And by losing, by failing, students learn to approach the problem from another angle; isn't that what learning is?
So what about you? Have you used one of the above excuses when considering technology? Do you visit the teachers' lounge and complain about what is required of you regarding the technological nuances you face? Do you find that your established routine is paramount to your teaching? I would encourage you to step away from your comfort zone.
View the hurdles in education not as an obstacle to overcome but as a gateway toward further success. Perhaps your change in mindset will spark a movement in your classroom or school. Collaborate with your colleagues, check with your PLN on social media, and get on the cutting edge.
Friday, February 7, 2014
Failure's Not Optional
I was watching as the sixth grader was tossing his pencil in the air, then catching it.
I gave him about 10 seconds to have his fun, after which I firmly reminded him to keep it locked down in his hand. We've had this conversation many times; it's a work in progress.
It got me to thinking about how distractible my middle school students can be. If the pencil isn't in the air, it's on the floor or in a neighbor's lap. Chairs scrape noisily on the ground, materials slam on the table, zippers unzip and zip again, pens endlessly click, and if somebody has something they really want to say they grunt as their hand goes up, as if the visual cue wasn't enough.
Does this mean the students are bored? Maybe... But there's no lack of discussion in my room. At every pause there is some sort of response. Tommy has to nudge his buddy Jack and tell a 2 second story in what he thinks is a whisper but definitely is not. That's not a problem necessarily, but Jack has to respond for 2 seconds and Tommy has to finish his thought after that. In the meantime, they've lost track of the larger discussion and distracted Charlene and Maria across the way who have missed their cue to respond to the teacher's question. The noises continue, and as I look around to see whose low, recently "changed" adolescent voice is rumbling continuously in the distance, the classroom has been thrown into a random series of separate conversations. I've been teaching for 15 years and I still struggle with keeping the environment fun while maintaining control.
Is there a lack of engagement? No! In fact, I think it proves the students are excited about their learning; but it does show a lack of respect for the rules of the classroom, which is why a clear management system is necessary. Once all systems are go, it's the classroom teacher's task to harness that middle school, or elementary, or even high school, energy.
Does traditional teaching work? There are teachers who would tell you it does, but I'm torn. I want students to be disciplined. I believe there is character to be gained by sitting quietly and listening to somebody speak, teach, lecture, what have you. Just because students' attention spans may not be what they used to be doesn't mean we should throw out lectures when frontal teaching is the best option. Students still need to receive information sometimes. I also want students to figure things out for themselves, to solve problems without the teacher's solutions, to discover information. I want them to come up with new ideas and create things I couldn't predict for them.
Tap into the students' energy. In my experience, students (especially middle schoolers) are up for anything. If they have a tough time sitting still, get them out of their seats into groups and put a challenge in front of them. They're not shy, particularly when they can lean on their peers for support.
This is the first year we've tried to use iPads in the classrooms. In our middle school, we share an iPad cart for check out. We've discussed security, privacy, policy. We've tried to be careful in the technology integration. When we finally got the iPads the way we wanted with the right procedures and the right apps, and when we felt the students had been prepared enough, we put the iPads in the students' hands. And do you know what they did?
They dove in. Without inhibition.
They were craving the discovery.
Yes, students need some structure. But they also need some freedom. Freedom to explore, to create...to learn. To get on the wall to look out at their world. And sometimes they need to do this on their own terms.
Listen. You've got some pretty intelligent little humans in your class. Ask them what they'd like to do, how they'd like to learn. With a little feedback from your colleagues on site, your PLN, and your students, you could design some amazing lessons using the technology at your fingertips...ahem...your students' fingertips. Ask them what tech they use, with which apps they've been successful, what's fun, what's boring...you get the picture. You'll have those rambunctious little rascals eating out of your hand in no time.
Fail. My biggest fear going into the classroom 15 years ago was failure. My biggest fear 15 years later is still failure, but I'm finally learning to take risks, especially when integrating technology into my classroom. There are days when the tech doesn't work and we have to try Plan B or Plan C. My students don't look at me and decide the period was worthless. They know we'll try again another day. What a terrific way to model problem solving and perseverance, ingenuity and innovative thinking. Take the risk. What did Thomas Edison say? "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."
I tell the kids almost every day that I'm easily distractible. They probably don't care, and yes, they continue to distract me and others. I learned a long time ago that mini-lessons are best. Take that first part of class to explain what's going to happen, to teach content and to show students what it is to sit quietly and listen, but don't drag on too long like I do. As soon as you can, get the students physically involved, whether they're moving around the room, working on a particular assignment, making a poster, targeting a certain project or problem to solve, or manipulating the iPad or some other tech tool.
Let them loose.
Let them fail, and see what they discover about the content and themselves.
I gave him about 10 seconds to have his fun, after which I firmly reminded him to keep it locked down in his hand. We've had this conversation many times; it's a work in progress.
It got me to thinking about how distractible my middle school students can be. If the pencil isn't in the air, it's on the floor or in a neighbor's lap. Chairs scrape noisily on the ground, materials slam on the table, zippers unzip and zip again, pens endlessly click, and if somebody has something they really want to say they grunt as their hand goes up, as if the visual cue wasn't enough.
Does this mean the students are bored? Maybe... But there's no lack of discussion in my room. At every pause there is some sort of response. Tommy has to nudge his buddy Jack and tell a 2 second story in what he thinks is a whisper but definitely is not. That's not a problem necessarily, but Jack has to respond for 2 seconds and Tommy has to finish his thought after that. In the meantime, they've lost track of the larger discussion and distracted Charlene and Maria across the way who have missed their cue to respond to the teacher's question. The noises continue, and as I look around to see whose low, recently "changed" adolescent voice is rumbling continuously in the distance, the classroom has been thrown into a random series of separate conversations. I've been teaching for 15 years and I still struggle with keeping the environment fun while maintaining control.
Is there a lack of engagement? No! In fact, I think it proves the students are excited about their learning; but it does show a lack of respect for the rules of the classroom, which is why a clear management system is necessary. Once all systems are go, it's the classroom teacher's task to harness that middle school, or elementary, or even high school, energy.
Does traditional teaching work? There are teachers who would tell you it does, but I'm torn. I want students to be disciplined. I believe there is character to be gained by sitting quietly and listening to somebody speak, teach, lecture, what have you. Just because students' attention spans may not be what they used to be doesn't mean we should throw out lectures when frontal teaching is the best option. Students still need to receive information sometimes. I also want students to figure things out for themselves, to solve problems without the teacher's solutions, to discover information. I want them to come up with new ideas and create things I couldn't predict for them.
Tap into the students' energy. In my experience, students (especially middle schoolers) are up for anything. If they have a tough time sitting still, get them out of their seats into groups and put a challenge in front of them. They're not shy, particularly when they can lean on their peers for support.
This is the first year we've tried to use iPads in the classrooms. In our middle school, we share an iPad cart for check out. We've discussed security, privacy, policy. We've tried to be careful in the technology integration. When we finally got the iPads the way we wanted with the right procedures and the right apps, and when we felt the students had been prepared enough, we put the iPads in the students' hands. And do you know what they did?
They dove in. Without inhibition.
They were craving the discovery.
Yes, students need some structure. But they also need some freedom. Freedom to explore, to create...to learn. To get on the wall to look out at their world. And sometimes they need to do this on their own terms.
Listen. You've got some pretty intelligent little humans in your class. Ask them what they'd like to do, how they'd like to learn. With a little feedback from your colleagues on site, your PLN, and your students, you could design some amazing lessons using the technology at your fingertips...ahem...your students' fingertips. Ask them what tech they use, with which apps they've been successful, what's fun, what's boring...you get the picture. You'll have those rambunctious little rascals eating out of your hand in no time.
Fail. My biggest fear going into the classroom 15 years ago was failure. My biggest fear 15 years later is still failure, but I'm finally learning to take risks, especially when integrating technology into my classroom. There are days when the tech doesn't work and we have to try Plan B or Plan C. My students don't look at me and decide the period was worthless. They know we'll try again another day. What a terrific way to model problem solving and perseverance, ingenuity and innovative thinking. Take the risk. What did Thomas Edison say? "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work."
I tell the kids almost every day that I'm easily distractible. They probably don't care, and yes, they continue to distract me and others. I learned a long time ago that mini-lessons are best. Take that first part of class to explain what's going to happen, to teach content and to show students what it is to sit quietly and listen, but don't drag on too long like I do. As soon as you can, get the students physically involved, whether they're moving around the room, working on a particular assignment, making a poster, targeting a certain project or problem to solve, or manipulating the iPad or some other tech tool.
Let them loose.
Let them fail, and see what they discover about the content and themselves.
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