Daniel Pink didn't have to Drive! (clever, right?!) :)

My good friend (@ketelsen of TimberPine) is always sending me invitations to great events or area “happenings” so it wasn’t a surprise when I got an invitation to Daniel Pink’s book signing.  It was an event put on by @justbrady (Justin Brady, owner of Test of Time Design), and it was to be held via Skype – a virtual book signing. Obviously, I was interested in the idea of it being held online (love to see technology being used in new ways), and I enjoy Pink’s work, so I was quick to register for the event.

The “signing” was held in the HUGE metropolis of downtown Des Moines at the Des Moines Social Club.  We hustled downtown after work, trudged our way through the slush and muck of the ten thousand feet of snow (picture out of my classroom window) we’ve gotten this year, and arrived mostly starving, with wet feet.

I have to say, though, weather and hunger aside, I was excited to witness a virtual first (ok, maybe not a first, but a relatively fresh and innovative idea). 

The first hour was spent networking, mingling and chatting as the crowd gathered.  It wasn’t a huge crowd, but a very diverse one - business owners, educators, managers, authors, you name it. Among the gatherers were @mikesansone (owner of ConverStations), @admavericks (Josh Fleming of Lessing-Flynn), @johnccarver, @derondurflinger and I all represented Van Meter Schools, and @RendaInDSM was there taking pictures for the Des Moines Register.

When @danielpink came on, we all sat in chairs around a projection screen, and the second he started talking, I knew the event would work the way @justbrady was hoping.  Pink’s image was clear, his voice was loud and strong, and the message he gave was powerful.  He discussed his newest book, Drive, and the motivators within us.  His son was in the background, very well-behaved, causing some funny moments, and allowed Pink’s off-the-cuff style to shine.   It started out as a book talk, with plenty of Q&A time, and ended up as a book signing when @mikesansone “officially” placed the first signed sticker (that had been mailed prior to the event) inside his book cover.

It was Pink’s message that really stuck with me, though…and I am thinking about the connection it has to education.  Stay tuned – my next blog is developing rapidly. :)

When I'm 50 - AARP Contest...

This video is amazing. It's worth the 2 minutes of your time to watch it.

Snow days

Watch the video on KCCI to see what we are doing about snow days. Also, my classroom is videotaped for the news section as they learn social bookmarking.


Schools Face Growing Snow Day Dilemma - Education News Story - KCCI Des Moines

Pass or fail. It's that simple.

A-, B+, D, F...What does it all matter anyway?  Who determines if a B+ student is any different than an A- student?? I sure can't do it.  Yes, the "numbers" might tell you it's an 89% vs. a 92%, but that fine line, when considering ability and knowledge, really isn’t what matters.

First of all, grades are for the parents and bumper stickers, not for the child.  If grades were truly designed to help a child, they would be pass/fail (some med schools are considering this beneficial as well), or satisfactory/unsatisfactory - standards-based grading.

We need to determine if a child is really understanding and mastering a concept or skill, and that’s it.  When in the “real world” will you ever be graded with letters? And when will it ever be ok for you to do below average work and move up? Either the report you wrote for your boss is excellent or you fix it and you work on it until it’s satisfactory, and then you move on – why not use that model in education?

I say when students are proficient, they move on. There should be no time limit...and that might mean that we don't have grade levels, either. Hold on to your seat...no grade levels?! They could then take classes at various levels depending on which subjects they had “mastered” and they wouldn’t be held back by a grade level.  Again, if you go look at any job – you start at the bottom, and you work your way up.  It doesn’t always take 13 years (K-12) to get your promotion (graduation), everyone has their own speed.

Like I always say, its important to create an educational atmosphere that is most like what students will experience in their future.  It’s unfair for us to do what has always been done - just because.  It’s time to think about our system.  It’s time for a change.

(Check out Bob Marzano's Formative Assessment & Standards-Based Grading)

Junior high classes offered online - brilliant!

So, after lengthy discussion about online learning platforms (@eabbey), I started pondering the idea of taking my 7^th and 8^th grade language arts classes to a predominantly online structure. I could see this working.  Not only working, but becoming a much more efficient and educationally sound way of teaching and learning.

Here are my thoughts.  So, students have your class material online. What material? Well, this would depend on what you wanted them to do.  It might be a video or podcast of you teaching, discussing, modeling, etc. It might be a link to a website, or a Keynote/PowerPoint type slideshow.  It might be an activity or a discussion topic. It would depend, but it would be appropriate and relevant to your topic.

The students would then work through your class while posting to forums, creating projects and utilizing the internet and various resources…and you could just sit back and relax, right?! HA, yeah right!  This is your opportunity to do what you love the most (at least if you are the type of educator I’d want for my child).

This is where you have a chance to post back to questions on the forum, or comment on your students’ posts.  This is also where you have your ONE-ON-ONE time with students!  That’s what we all want and need, right?  You’d have time to assist the students that need help, and challenge the students that excel.  This is our chance to differentiate instruction and meet the needs of students on different levels.

Would this be hard work for the instructor? Yes, more than just opening a book and assigning number 1-20.  At the same time, it wouldn’t be more work than what you are already doing if you are teaching at a rigorous and relevant level…

Online college classes have been around forever, but online instruction in the K-12 setting? That’s an idea that needs explored. 

Other schools/institutions have done this - check these sites out - Laurel Springs (school), Eagle Christian (school),  Online Classrooms (article).