Angela Maiers Educational Services

Leadership Day 2009: Hey Leader - Tell Me a Story!

Pop Quiz:
If your school became the subject  of a Hollywood movie, would you characterize the story as:

• A Drama
• A Comedy
• A Hero's Journey
• An Inspirational Tale
• A Tragedy

 This may seem like an odd question to pose, but  it came to mind as I was preparing this post for a global discussion on Educational Leadership; a challenge from my colleague Scott McLeod.

Scott encouraged educators around the blogosphere to contribute advice and insight about the role technology plays in teaching and learning in hopes to help the leaders of our schools guide their students and staff  in finding ways to utilize its power more efficiently and effectively.

So what does a Hollywood movie have to do with this? Everything!  We are not moved and motivated by statistics and factual data.  We are driven to action and empowerment by hearing stories of people who have overcome and turned those hurdles into triumphs. Yet that is not the story being told.

Right now the story of technology and education is one of disruption, change, fear and destruction. We are broadcasting this story to teachers, members of the community , and most importantly the children we serve. Our belief in this story deepens as the messages we convey is one of loss for the good ole days and  worries for the future. Soon enough we will find ourselves playing the lead roles in the horror we have been describing and predicting.

What we often fail to recognize is that we have more control than we think. We create the setting, we choose the lead characters, and we have the power to design the script. Just as a director of a movie utilizes different perspectives, camera angles, and colors to create a look and feel of a movie, we too can redefine the experience of school with new perspectives and actions that could change everything.

I want to encourage our 21st Century leaders to tell this new story. Tell the stories of how technology is allowing millions of students to connect like never before. Of how teachers are collaborating globally. And how together, teachers and students are changing the world in big and small ways

Check out the roster of Leadership Day 2009 in the comments section of Scott's call for Leadership Day.

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Classroom Habitudes Lesson: Imagination - Reading and Role Reversal

Imaganitive reading involves more than just getting lost in the text. As readers step into the roles of the characters and move around in their world, the text literally comes alive in their mind. Here is one of the 45 mini-lessons from Clasroom Habitudes

Classroom Habitudes - Imaginative Reading

View more OpenOffice presentations from angelamaiers.

Related:

 - Classroom Habitudes Lesson: Perseverance - Failing to Succeed
 - Classroom Habitudes Lesson: Courage - The Fear Gradient

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Chalk Talk: Breakout the "Cs" Edition

Chalk Talk Friday represents conversations and brilliance I've discovered traversing my way through the Blogosphere.  From professional to personal development, these are the posts and links have in some way touched my head or my heart!

With less than two weeks to our Des Moines 21C Literacies Day, I thought we'd share the C's of the breakout sessions:

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Breakout Session Descriptions

CORE HABITS: Habitudes
Core habits - The Habitudes of the 21st century learner is really a core piece of this day, and every day going forward as learners. Without the right Habitudes, their future success will be limited. This session will explore tools and strategies to help identify and teach students the importance of Imagination, Curiosity, Perseverance, Self-Awareness, Courage, and Adaptability.

COMMUNICATION: Read/Write
Images, sounds and animations — like words — become important building blocks whose meanings to help all voices be heard. Just as the same words and phrases can be arranged or manipulated to express different meanings depending on the author’s intent, so can sounds and images. In this session, tools to create various content and message types will be explored.

COLLABORATION: PLN - Sharing/connecting

You know my motto: We are smarter together. Time, space, and geography are no longer limits to collaborative possibilities. We will explore tools and projects that will help you create a personal learning network so you can take charge of your own professional learning, make collaboration and connecting easier, and give you ideas for classroom implementation to meet Iowa Core Curriculum standards. 

CONTRIBUTION: Publishing Web 2.0
 Information and content have traditionally been relatively static things, created once and rarely if ever changed. People don’t just refer to information, or just copy it, they interact with it. They modify it, they create it – and this is to be encouraged. Tools such as podcasting, video-casting, and photo sharing will be examined in this session.

CONTENT INTAKE: Infosumption
The amount of content available is growing at an exponential rate, and can become overwhelming to even the best of researcher.  The ability to use rapidly changing and evolving technologies to safely filter and find content in order to achieve our personal or professional goals is a critical 21st century skill.  This session will support teachers and students to be able to find information they need, determine its importance and authority, and how to use itor share it.

CHANGE: Change Agents 
For leaders and school administrators, this session will support you with resources and practices as you continue to move your schools forward in the process.

There are still a dozen seats remaining. Register Today.

Questions regarding college credits, timing, and other bits of info will be covered by both email and the blog. Thanks!

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21st Century Literacy: New Relationships with Content

Today marks the first day of my six summer literacy institutes. 

This week I am thrilled to be working with secondary content area specialists in Clinton, Iowa as we focus on 21st Century Content Reading and Writing strategies and examine content area reading and writing strategies.

To prepare for the conversations, I asked students to describe what reading and writing is like in various content areas. The most immediate answers centered around "facts to be memorized," "vocabulary to be defined," and strategies to "remember EVERYTHING to pass the test!"

In school, content reading and writing instruction revolve around consuming and remembering what someone else has produced.

In stark contrast, outside of the classroom, "content" is positioned in a drastically different way. We are simultaneously filters, producers, and co-creators of content. Successful producers of content must do more than simply churn out meaningless facts and ideas.  

Successful online writers use their creative and curious spirit to generate content not only to inform, but will inspire, even transform the lives of their audience. Success on this age of read/write web is not determined by how much you know, how many pages of content your produce, or how long you have been "expert" in your content area. Success is determined by how your audience responds. If your readers are not impacted by your message, then how much you know matters little.

We must prepare our students for a very different relationship with content. Perfect penmanship, knowledge of participles, and the perfect 5-paragraph essay will not be enough to adequately prepare students for the content that will be mediated and vetted by a global audience that demands consideration.

Our students must leave our classrooms understanding how to communicate what they know and beleive in a way that considers, honors, and believes in their audience. Author and Entrepreneur Rajesh Setty writes a brilliant piece on how audiences respond to content.

1. Spam: If your content does not provide a reasonable ROII (return-on-investment for an interaction) for the reader or is self-serving or simply useless, the reader will mark it as spam. Posting something that may be assessed, as “spam” is the fastest way to losing credibility.
2. Skip: The reader makes an assessment that he or she won’t lose much by reading it. In this case, the reader has not written you off yet but if you consistently create content that is worth “skipping,” the reader might write you off.
3. Scan: The reader thinks there are only a few parts that are of relevance and wants to get right to the core of the content and skip the rest.
4. Stop: The reader is touched by the article and stops to think about the article, it’s relevance and what it means to him or her personally and professionally.
5. Save: The content is so good that the reader might want to re-visit this multiple times.
6. Shift: The article is transformational. The reader is so deeply affected (in a positive way) by the article that it shifts some of their values and beliefs. In other words, this piece of writing will transform the reader and make him or her grow.
7. Send: The content is not only useful to the reader but also to one or more people in the reader’s network. The reader simply emails the article or a link to it to people that he or she cares.
8. Spread: The reader finds the article fascinating enough to spread it to anyone and everyone via a blog, twitter or the social networks that he or she belongs.
9. Subscribe: This is the ultimate expression of engagement and a vote of confidence that you will continue to provide great content. When the reader wants to continue listening to your thoughts, he or she will subscribe. 

I might suggest SCAMPER as a 10th 

The article also uncovers four things every content producer (writer) should think about before writers hit "send."

 What would instruction be like if THIS was our new 21st Century writing rubric?

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21C Literacies & Habitudes Day: Early-Bird Ends Tonight; 30 Seats Remain

We're gearing up for our 21st Century Literacies and Habitudes Workshop (see more details of June 22nd event) with team meetings, catering arrangements, and material gathering.  And we're getting pretty excited.

Today is the last day for Early-Bird registrations (a $30 savings off $169). In addition, we have only 30 seats left -- and three weeks before the event.  We may have to remove a few walls and boundaries.

Early this week, we'll be introducing our breakout team and the flow of the day (and remember, it's not a Technology Day).

Hope to see you there!
Register Today!
Download Flyer (PDF)

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Passionate Teaching : A Gift Every Student Deserves

I was just getting ready to publish Part Four of my Passion in Education Series. The final topic: Passion  as a Difference Maker.

And then, Nicole Badgley's passionate post came across my reader. As you read her heart- felt letter to her seniors, you tell me...is passion a difference maker?

Today you mentioned that tomorrow is your last day. I am not sure if that means your last day in my class, or the last day of high school, but what I realized is that it is the my last day with you. I am going to miss you so much. I will miss your triumphant emergences from the “writing closet.” I will miss "kick starting" your creative process when you get stuck. I will miss hearing your stories about your “boyfriend” whom you babysit. I will miss your sweet smile when you have just helped another student and you look to me for approval. But the hard reality is that you will move on. You should move on. It is your time to move on. Your life will get really exciting, full of new firsts, new struggles which lead to new triumphs, and new loves. Loves that hopefully involve learning, experiences, and someday people. You will go on to college, and then on to a job you love, and eventually into a family.

When I look at you I see a lot of myself when I was the same age. I know, I know, this likeness could be perceived as a curse because of the way I turned out, but let’s call it a good thing for the sake of this letter. The things I see that we have in common are numerous.

I see in you as a dreamer with goals. You know what you want to do, where you want to be (philosophically) a few years down the road. I knew I wanted to be a teacher, and that I wanted to work with kids, even though I knew I would never make it rich. But the best advice I can give is to follow your passion. If you dare to dream you will be happy and fulfilled. If you have goals that go with those dreams, you will find that the money will find its way into your wallet.

I see in you an accomplished writer. You seem to thrive on being able to put into words the thoughts you don’t really have a verbal audience for. You see the value in preserving those thoughts, because they can be fleeting. I was the same way. I have many journals, but I have more backs of envelopes, scraps of paper, loose-leaf notebooks of pages from all kinds of notebooks, and many digital files of writing. The difference between you and me? You are confident enough to share those pieces of writing. I didn’t have that confidence when I was young. In fact, it took many years to want to even share the very best – let alone the drafts. Don’t be afraid to share your ideas and your writing. You have a great talent, and someday I hope to see you (and Allistair Graves) on the best-seller list. I promise to even stand in line for your first book signing.

I see in you a compassionate leader. You are someone cares about others, their well being, and their progress. You are fair and caring towards other people, and that shows in the manner in which you help others, including those who frustrate you. At your age, I loved being a waitress, helping with the Special Olympics, tutoring in college, teaching Bible School, and eventually moving into teaching. I can see all the same in you, which can be a heavy burden, but rest assured, “paying it forward” in your community is well worth the time and energy, and you get paid back in love and respect twofold.

Now you are probably sick of hearing nice things from me, and this letter might be getting a little long, but I can’t stop without telling you that when you are older, like me, you might look back and appreciate something I have taught you over the last four years. What you probably won’t realize, is how much Iyou; and if I don’t tell you specifically, then you will never believe it. You have to know that you have inspired me through you columns. You make me stop and take a moment to appreciate the moment. Adults can get caught up in working toward the future so much, that they forget to appreciate and enjoy what is happening right now. You have given that back to me. I am stopping to smell the roses, or the coffee, or whatever.

You have also reminded me how much I love to write. Just as I said earlier, I have been so caught up in work, raising a family, grading papers, cleaning toilets, making meals, balancing the books, and all my other chores, that I forgot to stop and do something for me. I remembered how much I had to say, how much I had to write, and more importantly, I realized that I am good at something and I should enjoy it while I can. You reminded me that I once had a goal to get published, and to write a novel. I have been published, and now I am working on that novel – thanks to your enthusiasm.

It seems that at the end of each year I am sad to see the seniors go. I am sad to see them graduate, and I am sad to realize that they stop coming back to visit after the first long holiday or summer. I know in my head that it is normal – and as it should be, but it still makes me sad. It will be a sad day when you walk out that door, and when the only information I get about you comes from your younger brothers, and then from your mom and dad when I run into them, and eventually from announcements in the newspaper. It will be a joy to watch your life unfold, because that is what is really happening; your life is just beginning. So go out there and make all of us proud, and know that you have an unofficial cheerleader waiting on the sidelines to cheer you on. Good Luck and God Bless you with your future. -- Mrs. Badgley

Mrs. Badgley- Your passion for students, for teaching, and for this work comes through in every word. You, my friend,  are a difference maker! 

Related Posts: Passion in Education

Part One: Education is for the Passionate - Isn't it?

Part Two: Passionization

Part Three: Passion....A 21st Century Skill?

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Is 21st Century Literacies and Habitudes Day (6/22) a Technology Day?

A few folks are asking if our workshop on June 22nd is "all about technology". Nope. Not today. Probably not ever.

This workshop is not about the tools or technologies. It is about what the PEOPLE are able to do better, smarter, and more efficiently with the tools at our disposal.

Instead of getting distracted by the tools and the terminologies, we'll focus on the these underlying themes

• Collaboration 
• Communication
• Connectivity 
• Consumption
• Core habits
• Change agents 

Again - this workshop is not a "technology day," though technology and tools will be discussed and dissected. This day is about teaching and learning.

Register Today!
Download Flyer (PDF)

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Education is for the Passionate - Isn't it? (Part 1 of 4)

Seth Godin is masterful at making obvious things so much clearer. In a post on passion and excellence he asked:

• Should the person who runs the customer service operations at a ski school also be required to love skiing?
• Can the CFO of a large church be an atheist?
• Does the head of marketing at Kodak have to have a passion for chemicals?

He goes on to say:

I think if the work is important, it should be done with passion and skill and flair.

This seems so obvious - right? Then, how do you feel about the following questions:

• If the work we do in education is as important as we claim, should passion be required?
• Would you expect someone in education to be passionate about kids? teaching? changing the conditions of learning?
• Should we expect to see that passion in our teaching, learning, and leading?
• And, most importantly, what do we do if we answer yes to all these questions and encounter an educator or learner "passion-less" for their work?

Not so easy! Here's what I find interesting. If love and passion make sense, if they seem an obvious trait, then why do we have so little information about love and passion in our field?

Worldwide there are countless educationalists writing about educational reform but very few spending their time and energy talking about, working on, or addressing passion. Why is that?

The connection between emotion and cognition has been widely established, yet love and passion for our work is considered a "warm fuzzy" with little or no place in the conversations around rigor, standards, and high stakes assessment. Don't you think it is time to change that?  Isn't it time to get passionate about passion?

I think so - stay tuned! This is only the beginning!

Photo on Flickr by insashi

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Classroom Habitudes Lesson: Perseverance - Failing to Succeed

This is an excerpt from my book, Classroom Habitudes. The following presentation and mini-lesson is one I share with students in teaching the Habitude of Perseverance. The italicized text in the mini-lesson (below presentation) is what I say to the class.

I want students walking away with one big idea: they are stronger than they think they are. If I can help them find a goal, however small, that is worth enduring, they can experience in my classroom their abilities to clear the pebbles, and by doing that, cross the mountain.

Habitude Lesson: Perseverance - Failing to Succeed

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Persevering learners view failure as a learning experience, using each mistake as tuition, and each situation as an opportunity to glean something new.

Stories of individuals overcoming the odds are inspiration to all, but the heart of perseverance, and the reason a very small percentage of people ever achieve their full potential is they give up after the first sign of struggle.

The phrase “try, try again” is not just fodder for encouragement, but are the reason so few achieve if they don’t hear that clarion call. It is estimated that 90 percent of people gave up just about the time they were ready to succeed. If they had only kept on going...

To illustrate this point, I give students the following “Success Quiz” As I read the statements about each of these true-life persons, students decide whether or not the person was a success or failure in their field. Go ahead-give it a try yourself, and feel free to add others, famous or not, to the list.

SUCCESS OR FAILURE?

____ Artist: All he wanted to do was to sketch cartoons. He applied with a Kansas City newspaper. The editor said, “It’s easy to see from these sketches that you have no talent.” No studio would give him a job. He ended up doing publicity work for a church in an old, dilapidated garage.
____ Writer:Trying to make ends meet, this writer submitted his first childrens book to 27 publishers. He was rejected each time.
____ Athlete: As a baseball player, he once held the record for striking out more than any player in the history of baseball: 1,330 times.
____Politician: defeated 7 times in run for political office.
____Athlete: missed his target 9,000 times, lost 300 games

So, what were your answers? Whether you answered success or failure, you’re right! Each of these people was both a failure and success. Here’s a bit of the conversation that follows:

Boys and Girls,

Let me ask you this, would you have kept on playing baseball if you struck out 1,330 times? Babe Ruth did and wound up with 714 home runs.

Would you have kept on in politics if you were defeated 7 times? I am so glad that Abraham Lincoln didn’t. Would you have given up on the third time, fourth, sixth? Abe hung in there and succeeded in becoming the 16th and one of the most respected, presidents of the United States.

And what about the cartoonist whom no one would hire? The one who was told that he had no talent? The old garage he worked in was in such bad shape that it had mice. One day, he sketched one of those mice. Any guesses as to the name of that mouse? The mouse one day became famous as “Mickey Mouse.” The artist, of course, was Walt Disney.

The writer whose childrens book was rejected by 23 publishers? Take a wild guess. Dr. Seuss. By the way, the 24th publisher sold six million copies.

And NBA great, Michael Jordan once said, “I have missed more that 9,000 shots in my career. I have lost almost 300 games. On 26 occasions, I have been entrusted with the game winning shot...and I missed. I have failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is precisely why I succeed.”

Successful people never give in. They just keep on going and going, and here is why: Failure is a part of success. Successful people expect to fail. You cannot choose when success is going to be, so you have to keep on going, keep on giving, and keep on practicing, so you will be ready for that moment when it comes. These are great points to ponder as lead perfectly into our next discussion; failure-our best teacher!

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21C Literacies & Habitudes Workshop: Early Birds and Hotels

I am getting very excited about our 21st Century Literacies and Habitudes Workshop Day on June 22nd. Seats are filling quickly and the calendar is moving fast. Remember the deadline is May 31st for the discount (from $169 - $139).

On the top right of the site, I've included a link to the flyer you can print off and pass around your school (hint, hint). Or you can register online (payments due at the door or via PO#)

Many have asked about hotels, so I've included some information here.

Though there are several hotels in the area, the closest will be the southern most on the map (below the 80/35 split). Click below for a larger map and directions from any hotel to the Workshop.

View Larger Map

We'll share more information on breakouts, college credits, and sponsorships as we get closer. Looking forward to seeing you there!

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