Cathy Nelson’s Professional Thoughts

Sunday I posted about our PACT that has commenced this week. I was reading a fellow SC educator’s blog here and he was sharing about ways to motivate kids to perform well. He asked for anyone to share motivational tools and techniques used, so I posted a comment on his blog. But as I thought about it, I thought I’d share here too–why not? Plenty of my readers are facing high stakes tests about now too.

A Typical Morning…

Our school has a morning news broadcast at school that I’m sort of in charge of–some days I think the kids and the show are in charge of me! I get to school each morning at roughly 7:15 to check their scripts, make sure our glitchy distribution system is up and running (and have time to troubleshoot if necessary–knock on wood–lately it has been running like a dream!), and then prepare my own materials for my to do list, classes that will venture into the library, or classes I’ll visit elsewhere.

Game Plan - A Meeting of the Minds

So anyway, in one of the principal-curriculum coach-LMS “meeting-of-the-minds” we brainstormed some ways to get students to pay attention to tips that may help them perform better on PACT. Our concern was that since our students are “tested” so frequently (3 times already this year using MAP) we thought we needed to impress upon students the importance of the test, how to approach this high stakes test, and give them incentives to pay attention and attend school. Here is what we came up with:

• Attendance was easy–huge ice cream party for all students who attend all six days of PACT. But reviewing test taking tips was a boring and dry topic, but one we felt was important. So we agreed upon the tips we would stress, and then came up with two projects. Here they are:

• Project one–take an ABC Powerpoint of test-taking tips that the principal had and present it on the news show. But the difference would be to have kids voices doing the preso, and lively, snappy, jazz-like music to accompany it, and make it enjoyable. We actually saved it as a video, and our students used (some 8th graders, some 6th graders) were allowed to voice record until they were happy with the product. The final video was just under four minutes, and I feel the kids enjoyed it. I may post it here later. It’s at school.

• Project two - A Test Tip Call-in Style Trivia Contest
  For the three weeks leading up to the week of PACT, we did test tips on our news program. But there was a twist. We gave the tip early, making it so the student viewers read it off the TV during the show and heard it on their tvs at the same time, done sometime early in the show. Then last thing we did before signing off, we sponsored a call-in contest, and students would have to use the class phone to call the library to answer. We would showcase four statements (seen and heard) on the TV, and then encourage callers to call the library and tell us which statement was true. We entertained the eighth caller, or the first caller after 8 calls who correctly identified the correct statement. By adding the competitive twist, teachers said the students were really paying attention to the news broadcast, and we were giving the kids information that was important to boot!

Did this work?

My students this week keep asking why we are not continuing the call-in contest since PACT is far from over. Good point! (Their prize was a coupon for a personal pan pizza from Pizza Hut. I really don’t think the kids use them, but they love winning. We would recognize the winner on the next day’s show.) Hopefuly they remember the tips we gave. There were many.

Final thoughts…

My students who work the news broadcast wanted me to string a phone into the studio, but we could not find a cord long enough. I told them perhaps next time, and in the meantime, we are hunting for a LONG telephone cord or perhaps investing in a cordless JUST for this purpose. It was a lot of fun, and the news crew for once focused on something besides playing with the chromakey and funky backgrounds!

So now, what are you doing at your school to motivate students??

Image Attributions:
Image ‘Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test Logo‘
http://ed.sc.gov/images/PACT.jpg
Image: ‘Push Me, I9m a Button‘
www.flickr.com/photos/26591882@N00/239370396

This week SC marks the annual state-wide testing known as PACT. PACT stands for Palmetto Achievement Challenge Test, and yes our state testing program is truly a challenge, much more rigorous compared to other state testing programs. While SC traditionally falls low in state ranking for performance, we equally rank high for our rigorous standards and this test being a pretty tough assessment program. Most SC teachers I know lament many issues with the test, including the fact that the length of time to get results back is way too long–and the test does not really give any diagnostic information to assist teachers in improving student performance.

The answer to that in many districts across SC is to implement the MAP Test, which supposedly correlates highly to PACT.

Here is the funny part–the test, claimed to be flawed even by the Jim Rex, our state superintendent, is funded again for another year. But look at one of the headlines in the Sunday paper today (really this is the opening line):

The House approved a final version of the state’s $7 billion budget Thursday that falls short of meeting a basic state function: getting children to schoolhouses.

Essentially it will pay for testing, but not for gas to get our kids to school on our SC Buses. Oh well, unless we speak to our legislators, this will continue to be the case. At least there is evidence in Anderson of a legislator asking the hard question–why do we continue to use PACT. Best, State Superintendent Jim Rex answers this letter, pointing that his hands were tied regarding this year’s state assessment, and that until the governing body comes up with another acceptable state assessment, this one will continue to be used. Read that letter and Rex’s response here.

SC is not the only state arguing the merit of high stakes testing. So as we educators (and our student and parents) face arguably a 2 week period of stressful testing, turning our schedules and routines upside-down, and making some endure self inflicted suffering, let me leave you with this video titled “Not on the Test.” NOTE–this is intended for educators, not students.

Last, remind educators to be positive with students no matter how you feel about the assessment program. Having high expectations and a positive attitude can go a long way in relieving student pressure, test anxiety, and tension, and that can mean the difference b/w advanced, proficient, basic, and below basic, which defines our students performance according to PACT.

About a month ago I noticed my MacBook Pro was not able to stay on very long without warning me that it was low on battery power. I usually keep it plugged in at home most of the time anyway, but a new kitten and dangling cords usually meant I would be unplugged without realizing it until that pop up warning message would let me know about being low on power and suggest I seek alternative power.

WARNING-Seek Alternative Power Source

Last week, though, the warning stopped coming, and the mbp would just suddenly die midway through whatever I was doing. I noticed upon reboot that the battery indicator stopped showing me a percentage of charge at all, and instead had a little x across the battery. I figured okay, the battery is dead and now unchargeable. So I planned a trip to the Mac store. The only one I knew about close was in Charlotte, just a short drive north on I-77 (exit 5) and over to South Park Mall.

I need a reservation? U are kidding, right?

Upon arriving Saturday around noon with laptop in tow, I was saddened to be asked for my reservation time, then told I could make a reservation and they would look at it in roughly four hours. The store was packed. I was shocked, but thankfully my husband said in a rather discontented voice–”Just to check her battery?” The sales rep running triage for the help area said she could check that, and the manager came over too. They opened my laptop, determined the battery was indeed dead, plugged me in, and then chastised me for the many desktop icons, telling me those little things drain power too, and make my laptop sluggish. The manager brought over a new battery right out of the package, popped it in, and made my battery icon show itself charging. The bottom underside also lit up with green dots. Guess what else? After the admonishment of proper mac use of icons, they sent me on my way, and did not even charge me for the replacement battery. (Of course I do have an extended warranty, so if it had been checked, they would have done this anyway.) That they didn’t shows they have great business sense, and are in tune with clients’ needs.

Full-fledged mac convert–finally!

So, I have cleaned off the desktop–guess that was my last holdout to the pc world. And the battery is now fully charged. I don’t have to worry about little Willow (the kitten) unplugging me in her quest to conquer all loose and dangling cords either. I’m once again a happy Mac user.

Attribution:

Lisa’s blog post written as a response to my tag from a meme made me remember this. One time a teacher I worked with chastised me and told me I was an “enabler.” When I looked at her quizzically, she said, “You enable me to be computer illiterate.” I had come to her room to help her with some kind of problem she was having, and instead of showing her how to fix it herself, I just fixed it.

Am I?

She assured me she was teasing me, but as I left, I realized she was probably right. At that time I was in an elementary setting in the library, and I had a tight schedule of classes, but was on a quest to help teachers effectively use technology. Many made great strides, but I always tried to find a way to help when a need came. My thinking was that if they needed help using their technology, than I should rush to assist when needed else they might abandon it, and go back to the old way of teaching. I really thought I was doing a good thing, until that day.

Goal: Change that title–Enabler

Since then, I have changed jobs, and now work in a library in a middle school setting. I always try to help teachers now help themselves. I point them to tutorials, or make screenshot tutorials for them to help themselves. Just this week I had a teacher thank me profusely for the directions for a mailmerge so she could make letters telling kids how much more was owed for a field trip. She said it was so nice to be able to do this without any struggles, and she’d keep the directions for ever. I just smiled and told her in no time she’d abe able to do this w/out needing the trusty directions.

Another teacher couldn’t get his printer to work. I remarkably walked him through checking the print que, clearing out jobs, and finally getting his printer back into working order—all from the phone.

So far, so good

So I can say that I am keeping my promise, and instead of enabling teachers to be technology illiterate, empowering them to make the tools work for them–independently. W00T!!

So, is anyone else guilty of being an enabler?

Attribution:
Image: ‘Help‘
www.flickr.com/photos/82625518@N00/5228173

This is really a meme–yes another one.  No rules really, but author Joyce Valenza began by asking for blogging advice, and then ended it with the question listed above.   So I will answer the question with a few thoughts:

1. And this is the BIG 1:  My off switch turns on when I must choose between family and the virtual friends and locations.  I would MUCH RATHER spend an evening with them–eating out, going to the movies, watching fireworks, hang, even driving with my husband back to the office late in an evening if he forgot something is so much more fun than blogging, my reader, twitter, Second Life, or any other online presence I might have.  It doesn’t have to be fun or special either–it can be simple, like the drive back to the office, watching a silly tv show together, or dealing with sickness or pain. When it revolves around them, they come first. Period.
2. I will turn the off switch on when I think people are rude, unnecessarily mean, or insensitive. You know the old saying (biblical based) turn the other cheek?  Well I turn the cheek to remove myself. I will avoid things, people, and places that cause me pain or discomfort. It’s only natural. And that can be something mean online or off-line (i.e. that nasty driver who flipped me off b/c I unknowingly cut him off–just steer clear of him.)  I really try not to dwell on these things, just remove myself from them.  It can be difficult though when friends or family dwell on them.  Advice–try to take the high road and don’t dwell on the negative.   I find myself every now and then trying to heed my own advice.

Okay since this is a meme, let’s tag a few people.  She did not say to, so you can disregard if you like.

• Diane Cordell
• Lisa Parisi
• Carolyn Foote
• Sue Waters
  

Okay now back to the task at hand–dinner with my family at home, sweet home.

Attribution:

Image: ‘Prius Power Button‘
www.flickr.com/photos/73621375@N00/1132365

Another Meme fluttering wings to take off in the blogosphere. Thanks Lisa.

Write out your view of education using the “This I believe…” format.

Since I have done something similar a while back, I will simply point to that post here.   I hope it will suffice. My feelings have not changed.

Tags:

• Fran Bullington, another SC media specialist and friend
• JenuineTech Wagner, Jen to her friends.
• Al Doss, a new voice in the blogosphere–new to me anyway.
• Jon Becker, another new voice to me, and recently touched off a hot topic (a cocktail party in the blogosphere)
• Chris Lehmann because my last post was written to point to some awesome k12 administrators who blog, and I left him out because he resides in my folder reserved for “expert voices.” Note to Mr. Lehmann: I apologize for the oversight but not for the location of your feed. Sorry!

Okay, I hope they see their pingbacks, or maybe I’ll @them in twitter.

Attribution:

Name: 1.0 k12 administrator

Infraction: 1.0 ways

What have you tried to improve the behavior? Prescribed involvement with 2.0 tools

Isn’t this sort of how most discipline referrals start? No, seriously I am not making a joke out of discipline referrals, nor am I insinuating that school leaders are not doing a great job, and besides the vast majority of referrals are written by other educators, and not necessarily administrators. My own husband is an assistant principal at a high school, and so I know how crazy a typical day can be. Please hear me out. I’m more than likely going to add to their already full plate, but hopefully they will develop a hunger for this if they will just try it.

Try what?

Read a few blogs. See what the hoopla is all about. No, administrators do not have to begin with publishing their own, though it may come eventually, but not necessarily. My recommendation is to simply read some. Maybe comment here and there. That would be a fabulous start.

Why?

I have recently pushed some local voices and some teacher-librarian voices in my blog. Today I want to push some administrator voices. These are not just any voices mind you, but voices who can attest to the power of forward thinking, student engagement, and learning through the use of 21st century tools–namely, blogs. I have heard (and read) Will Richardson say the embracing of 21st century tools comes when educators jump in and use them. From their experiences using the tools comes the realization that the tools quite possibly could be a catalyst to engaging learners. (See the You Tube video below to hear his exact wording.) The key though is experiencing them yourself first. So here are some administrative authored blogs I read and/or recommend:

Leadertalk (a group blog written by school leaders)

Dave Sherman’s The Principal and Interest

Random Thoughts of an Admin-Lifer

Glenn Moses’ MrMoses.org

Jeannette Johnson’s From the Principal’s Desk

Melinda Miller’s The Principal Blog

The Principal’s Page

Edhocracy

Dennis Richards’ Innovation3 (Surprise - a superintendent’s blog!)

Homework: Read

Okay this is a good start. Now it will help tremendously IF a reader is used, and I can speak from experience when I say Google-Reader or Bloglines work well. These make this reading happen in one location rather than visiting all of them individually. The reader also has a way to show when there is new content, so no time wasted. Sorry, it’s hard to plug reading blogs without talking about using an RSS reader. But fear not, just jump in and use the tools . Then it will all make sense. The result will be a new and improved school leader if this prescription is followed.

Want to hear Will’s exact words? Watch this video.

Attribution:

Image: ‘3D Team Leadership Arrow Concept‘
www.flickr.com/photos/22177648@N06/2137729430

The other day I blogged about some local new blogging voices from South Carolina, my home state. Today I am adding to that some voices that promote information literacy through school library programs using the vehicle of blogs, and the net is a wider global area, way beyond just South Carolina.

Don’t forget that I spotlighted 2 SC LMS blogs of those in the post the other day. Here is a list of my favorite related to my field, school libraries. I will follow up with more SC Librarians who are blogging and adding depth and dimension to my thinking. Note: I know roughly 30 more but want to give them time to develop some meat before spotlighting them.

Testing my “table creating skills” too in the body of a blog. Hey, if you have some recommendations for me to read, please comment and add them in!

_Attribution:

_{Image: ‘dewy? indeed he do.‘
www.flickr.com/photos/35237093637@N01/45249090}

After reading Clay Burell today and seeing his Tweet Cloud, I decided to rerun mine from earlier. Why would I want to revisit something that has seemingly caused unrest and turmoil? Well first off, it is now a meme thanks to Clay. I don’t know, but my earlier stab at a tweet cloud was ran without including my @ symbol. That is really not a fair representation, because according to the new Tweet Cloud where I did include it, I spend the vast majority of my Twitter posts using that little symbol we know as “at.” So this is probably a truer representation of my tweets because I have a tendency to respond to my network rather than lead, self promote, or introduce them to my ideas or ways of thinking. Anyhow I’m proud to see that my Tweet Cloud shows this! I don’t have to say it, and you don’t have to believe it. Let my tweet cloud speak for its self.

Oh and <blush> the word “form” made it! My keyboard will not type “from.”

And last, speaking of those in my network who “tweet” new blog posts, I say THANKS. I love getting this preview before it hits the readers. It is like a sneak peek of something that has not been released, and my opinion is valued so much so that I got an early invitation. It makes the post even more special to me. So please keep them coming. Also, remember all the confessions lately where some have allowed twitter to replace their reader? And I confess too–once I am behind by 300+ new posts, I mark all as read and pray that my Twitter network has kept me in the loop. So far that has worked well.

Yes, this is much more reflective of my Twitter use, for good or bad.

UPDATE:  Twitter Cloud Poetry:

beach best

needs network

friends from fun

today tomorrow tonight

tools trying tools twitter

class cld come comment

students sure talk

kids know

These are certainly some interesting strings of words….

LARGE words strung together:

blog day no need network new pix post thanks time today twitter – Now someone make me a prolific and memorable sentence.

I want to share some favorites from my reader that may not be widely known. I do have my favorites (many that reside in my “Experts” folder or my “Women Bloggers” folder.) You can see many of these by glancing over at my blogroll if you visit my actual blog site.

But today I want to highlight a few of the reads I am excited to click on when I see my reader boasts of new content on their blogs. Maybe you are already aware of these people, maybe not. Either way, I want to know who the unknowns are in your reader too—people that perhaps are unknown to me. In my spring-cleaning I am cleaning out the reader too, dropping a few blogs to make room for new voices. So I am up for recommendations.

Here is a short list of new (or new to me) bloggers who I think you might enjoy adding to your reader. Best, they are of the local flavor, meaning they are from my home state, the “Palmetto” state, South Carolina, right here in the good ol’ USA:

• Heather Loy’s Tech Tips and Timely Tidbits In her own words my SC LMS friend strives to share a lot through her blog, with her primary target being the extended family she knows as faculty and staff right their in her high school. But she can also add a refreshing voice to your mix too, and seems to give great reviews and real life application of tools you may be considering. I am so glad she jumped into the blogging world, as I think I have a lot to learn form her. She is a teacher-librarian, aka school library media specialist. She has much to offer to expand your mind and thinking. It just so happens she is also another cutting edge educator from South Carolina.

• MaryAnn Sansonetti blogs over at Snapshots of Technology Integration. She’s a rising star (literally—A Discovery Education Network Star Educator) and has her hand in many areas of the educational technology arena. She writes about her thoughts on how to merge technology and education, looking for seamless integration and opportunities to showcase engaged students in learning atmospheres.

• John Woodring over at TeacherBytes has spent his blogging trying to bring technology news and information for educators together. What John offers is a mix of his opinion, reviews of tools, and a perspective form his own experiences using digital tools in a teaching environment. Yes, he actually works directly with students, and seeks to hook other educators (the professional learners) up with innovative ideas, new tools, and best practice in the classroom. He provides staff development often, and I’ve never read a rant on his blog (something I sometimes am given to do.) A true southern gentleman.

• Bill Gaskins, author of Blogging on the Bay is one I discovered not to long ago, but it has been fun reading his posts. I am amazed at how we think a lot alike, and I find that we face similar frustrations concerning filters, and we both have a strong desire to see our environments become more relevant to our students by using 21st century tools. Like me, I sense that Bill is very passionate about being a catalyst for positive change at his school.

• Stacey Samborski is the author of Reading Rocks at D.R. Hill Middle School. Her byline on this blog says it all: Where we read to succeed… Stacey’s primary goal is to blog about books that her middle schoolers are reading, engaging them in finding their digital voice in the review process. While I am about so much more than reading (horrors I confess, I push digital learning as much as the printed word in my library!!) I find Stacey’s blog refreshing, thorough on reviews of books, and downright pretty. You will also find a few podcasts of different material as well. A great mix of material for a focus on reading, and yet another South Carolina educator. I also like that I can see what the kids think about the reviews there. I recently used her reviews to add some books to my own library shelves. If you work with middle schoolers, teachers of reading, or librarians, Stacey has a great blog to follow.

Okay, there are several other South Carolinian voices to share, like the widely known Chris Craft of Crucial Thought and lovable Pat “Loonyhiker” from Successful Teaching. There are more, but I think I’ll wait and highlight them later. Check these voices I’ve highlighted out. Try them on in your reader for size. I don’t think you’ll be disappointed.

So, now that I’ve shared some voices you may not have known that are somewhat local to me, who are your local rising stars?