Relationships Trump Data

Those of us growing up in the card-playing era of Bridge and Pinochle really understand the value of trump cards. These cards rule in other words they have the most value. To be successful at these cards games you must not only having trump cards but also knowing how to play them. I see the same connection with the ingredients that make for successful students learning in our classrooms. Most of us as parents and educators would agree that planning, curriculum, data, organization, and relationships are essential elements successful teachers use to assist students with their learning. As an educator, my mantra over the years has been that to maximize our effectiveness as teachers we must make connections and build relationships with our students. As a principal, my charge to teachers was to have their students tightly bonded as a family unit by the end of the first three weeks of school. It is so affirming when one’s belief is validated by others and especially in this day and age of research based demands. Valerie Strauss of the Washington Post offers a new report from the Consortium on Chicago School Research at the University of Chicago giving key findings on the value of relationships in school. Others in education feel the same. Salman Khan on the Forbes Names You Need to Know: Khan Academy video has this quote, “Internet-based video lessons are great to help ….., but it takes a relationship with a real teacher to educate deeply.” This is why I believe the relationships you build with your students to be the number one factor in their successful learning while in your classroom. I observe most schools today living in a data driven mode. What do you think will promote the following: a warm, supportive classroom climate; students taking responsibility for their own learning; an environment where students feel safe, take risks, and make mistakes; a place where play in valued; honesty and openness is observed between students and teacher; and most importantly students that are happy and enjoy coming to school; data or relationships? The answer comes to me loud and clear: RELATIONSHIPS!

How would you rate relationships on your value scale? I look forward to your comments.

To help with building relationships @tombarrett offers this google doc: “20 Interesting Ways to Get to Know Your New Class”.
PS: As I am finishing this post on relationships, what should appear in my google reader? Mrs. Ripp aka @4thGrdTeach posting this: “Kids Shouldn’t Feel Like Tourists: How Every Classroom Should Be a Tribe”. This feels, smells, and taste like relationships to me. What is your take?

Summer Fun and Technology

Kevin Jarrett is a dynamo technology teacher in Northfield, NJ. He loves kids and technology. This is a perfect combo for connecting with his students. Knowing that learning doesn’t stop at the classroom door or when summer vacation comes along, Kevin is busy creating a fabulous site for kids to use during the summer. Here is the title of his recent post: Summer’s here. You’ve got plans. Amplify the fun with technology! He is creating a place to share FREE technology tools so that kids and their families can use the technology they have to create wonderful digital memories of the Summer of 2011. What an awesome idea. Don’t you just love teachers with passion!
Check out the summer tech fun at: http://tiny.cc/t7fp2 and then share it with your family. The first post is coming soon and he guarantees it to be a hit!
Photo Flickr - Creative Commons

Your Birthday Can = Clean Water For Someone

When I first came across Nathan Hidajat and the plans he had for his eighth birthday, I was touched by this young boy’s desire and commitment to help others obtain clean water.
Nathan Hidajat, a second grader at St. Cecilia School in Iowa, has something different planned for his recent eighth birthday. He is dedicating his birthday to a campaign to raise money to get people clean water. His goal of $1000 is to help 50 people have clean water for the next 20 years. Instead of a party or gifts, he is asking for donations to the cause.
I was moved but did not make a contribution at the time thinking I will come back later to make my donation. Before getting back to Nathan’s web site, I am checking my google reader and find this from Digital Literacy Resource/e-Learning Today TV via Tips, Tools and Technology for Educators.

Nathan Hidajat Charity
· Little boy who is dedicating his birthday to a campaign to raise money to get people clean water. His goal of $1000 is to help 50 people have clean water for the next 20 years. Instead of a party or gifts, he is asking for donations to the cause.
· Donors will see their name on the Donors page of the website that Nathan’s parents helped him make. They will also receive a signed picture from Nathan, mailed using stamps from his own savings.
· In his plan, he states that for every $100 of his goal reached, he will play the piano, another passion along with drawing, at the retirement home in his area.
· This is a great example of how a little bit can go a long way. This young child is already passing on his generosity and kindness to the people around him. More acts like this in the world will hopefully make a lot more people more generous too!
Through exploring e-Learning Today TV, I come across what I think is the source of the inspiration for Nathan Hidajat’s birthday charity project. It is Charity:Water and Scott Harrison. This is a must view video from Omaha of Scott giving history of Charity:Water.

Scott Harrison - charity: water from Big Omaha on Vimeo.

10 Pictures of Longs Creek Elemenatry School

I followed the five easy steps suggested by Cale Birk, principal of South Kamloops Secondary School BC Canada, as he called for educators to post 10 pictures of our school. This sharing will give us an idea of what learning environments look like. Here are my pictures of Longs Creek Elementary, a K-5 school, in San Antonio, Texas.

The front view of the Longs Creek

The view as you enter the school The commons area

The first grade hallway

A Flat Stanley project bulletin board

4th Grade "Got Milk" writing project

3rd grade brochure project

The Library

2nd grade Leaping Into Books project board

2nd grade work displayed

I found it difficult to limit my picture selection to ten pictures. In keeping with the request, I reluctantly followed the directions. As visitors come and go at our school, the most often heard comment is, “This feels like a happy school”. I cherish that observation. Schools should be happy places. It should be a vibrant place where students are living, loving, and learning. Remember children are little people. They deserve the same respect and attention that is given to adults. Thanks for viewing the Longs Creek picture tour.

How do you feel after the tour? Will you be next to share a 10 picture tour of your school?

ISTE11 Newbie Project

Beth Still, a passionate educator, from Scottsbluff Nebraska started the ISTE Newbie Project in 2009. She started the project to show the value and power of a Personal Learning Network (PLN). Each year for the Newbie project, Beth finds someone that has not attended an ISTE conference and organizes a fund-raising campaign to raise money to help that person attend the conference. Look at the first two selections she made: Richard Byrne and Jason Schrage. You can see she has a great eye for educators that are making a difference with kids! Richard and Jason are both social studies teachers. They are making a difference not only with kids, but they are also making significant contributions to educators’ worldwide.

This year Beth has chosen George Couros, a principal from Stony Plain, Alberta Canada. Here is what she has to say about this year’s selection:
I had a feeling I would face some tough questions about why I selected an administrator to be the Newbie for 2011 and my personal learning network did not let me down. Over the past 5 months quite a few people have asked me to defend my choice. Since this project would not be possible without your financial support I am more than happy to explain my reasoning. I cannot emphasize enough that I really believe in George and his ability to have a positive impact on education. He is a role model for both teachers and administrators. He is passionate about sharing, learning, teaching, and communicating and I believe he deserves the opportunity to attend ISTE. If you believe in either this project or in George Couros please click here to make a donation to help send him to Philadelphia this summer.
The magic equations to make this year’s Newbie project successful:

A Small Donation From All = The Project Goal

Add your support to the Newbie project by making a comment.

My Tech Teacher Was A Fifth Grader

photo © 2007 faceless b more info (via: Wylio)

I have read it on twitter and seen it in many blogs: Let’s let the students take the lead with teaching some of the Web 2.0 tools. It recently happened in a large suburban San Antonio, Texas school district, North East ISD. Each semester the district sponsors a Saturday staff development day called Super Saturday. The technology session included the GT class of Mrs. Kimberly Ball from Wetmore Elementary School. These fifth graders were very excited about having the opportunity to present to teachers. They were so pumped in fact that they spent hours on their own time during the weekends creating a web site titled “Teachers Come to Learn”. The Saturday before the Super Saturday presentation, the fifth graders held a class for the teachers of Wetmore. According to their principal, Wilbert Morgan, the Wetmore teachers increased their knowledge of web 2.0 tools and enjoyed being taught by their own students. This was an excellent ice breaker for the students and they were now prepared for the twenty NEISD teachers that had signed up for the Web 2.0 technology class that include: Animoto, Voicethread, and Weebly. During the Web 2.0 class, with coaching and assistance from the fifth grade students, teachers logged on and created their own accounts for Animoto, Voicethread, and Weebly. During the class the teachers also created a short animoto video and voicethread. They also received instruction on setting up blogs for their students on Weebly. This was a terrific day for the Wetmore GT class and they can be very proud of the quality presentation given to the NEISD teachers. This was certainly a win-win for students and teachers.
A short video from class

What are your experiences of students teaching a tech class for teachers? I would enjoy hearing from you.

Reform Symposuim January 8, 2011

I attended the July Reform Symposium 2010 and could not have been more pleased with the weeklong presentations. I expect the same from the one-day conference on Saturday January 8, 2011. Mark you calendars and don’t miss this educational experience. The following outstanding educators have planned this free conference just for you: Shelly Terrell, Chris Rogers, Kelly Tenkely, Greta Sandler, Lisa Dabbs, and Melissa Tran.

This worldwide education conference will take place on January 8 (and 9th depending on your location), 2011. The conference is free to attend from the comfort of your home or anywhere you have Internet access! The Reform Symposium offers the opportunity to connect and learn with educators and professionals in the field of education worldwide. Over 2,400 educators from 59 countries attended our last conference in July! This year the conference will focus on interactive presentations that help teachers with creating engaging classrooms and lessons, building relationships with students, improving literacy, working with interactive whiteboards, and much more! We look forward to 2 keynote speakers, 18 presentations, an open discussion on classroom management, a panel discussion on parental engagement, a mentor program, and an open lab for hands-on support in helping you continue your professional development in online educator communities. You have never attended a conference quite like this one! Join us by registering below for the conference and start connecting and participating now! View the linked video for help.

Home « The Reform Symposium

Check out these videos for a sampling of the presentations:

Joan Young

Pernille Ripp

Kyle Pace

Let’s get ready for a fabulous day of learning and sharing. I’ll see you on Elluminate Saturday January 8, 2011. Share this exciting news with those in your PLN.