iTunes U

Lately I've been exploring iTunes U (iTunes University)--see the giant red arrow to help you find it on your iTunes.

According to Apple, 

"iTunes U — a powerful distribution system for everything from lectures to language lessons, films to labs, audiobooks to tours — is an innovative way to get educational content into the hands of students."

Before our recent vacation I briefly browsed through the history and humanities section of iTunes U and loaded up my iTouch.  It was awesome to sit in a jeep ride through Mongolia while at the same time listen to a lecture about the American Revolution.  It is truly amazing what we can get our hands on these days.  Right now I'm plowing through part of the "Colonial and Revolutionary America" lecture series from Stanford University.  I have my eye on "European Civilization" from Yale next.

Have you found anything interesting on iTunes U that you'd recommend?
And an even better question...How are tools, like iTunes U, going to change the face of education in the coming years?  (I think there is a lot that can be said on this topic.) Any thoughts?

technology in the classroom

One of my educational interests is the integration of technology in the classroom.  I've become more and more interested in this topic since I work at a 1:1 laptop school that is very supportive of edtech professional development.  This year our school has started cohort with a mixture of teachers and administrators that are committed to learning more tech integration, and I feel really excited to be a part of this group!  Our first learning opportunity came this week as we got to spend an entire school day working with Kathleen Ferenz, who works with the Library of Congress and Apple Professional Development.  This lady is awesome!!! She offered a lot of great tips and tidbits, most of which we can practically implement in the classroom.  We covered a lot of stuff in one day--way too much to post here, but I hope to share some of what I learned as I use it with my classes...starting right now:

During the morning session we learned about the power of using iPhoto as an educational tool.  Kathleen taught us how to create albums of primary sources/pictures (go here to find some pictures that are free to use) in iPhoto and take those pictures to create slideshows or eBooks.  In my IB World History class we are learning about the Chinese Civil War and we are hitting a new phase of the war, which is from 1937-45 (right before and during WWII when the Chinese were fighting against the Japanese).  To introduce this new topic I found about 10-12 photos and made this slideshow:

I created the slideshow using iPhoto, which only takes minutes to create (it's not perfect but it gets the job done quickly).  So today I started class off showing the slideshow.  After which I allowed the students "time to wonder" (a Kathleen phrase) about the topic.  They did this by discussing what types of things they learned/noticed from the pictures and what they hoped to learn about this topic in the coming classes.

Next, I asked them to take the pictures they just saw, investigate what they're about, and create a "storybook" that gives the basic story of this time period in China.  If you have iPhoto then you can create eBooks easily (see this example of an eBook about an unrelated topic).  Many of my students have not converted to Macs yet, so this presented a bit of a challenge because my students in PC land do not have iPhoto.  My temporary solution was to put the pictures into a Google Presentation on Google Docs.  Click here to see what I sent my students. (side note: I went to "View"-->"show speaker notes" on my Google Presentation and then I was able to leave a few tips for my students along the way. i.e. topics to cover, more background on the picture, etc.)  Next, I shared the presentation with my students, they made personal copies of the file, and now each student is in the process of creating their own photo story about China's war with Japan.

They worked on their stories in class, which went really well, and they should be finished by Friday.  I'm still deciding on what to do with them next class.  Some options I'm tossing around: have them read and evaluate each other's stories, pick a few exemplars and have students share them with the class, and/or have a class discussion about each of the pictures and let the students tell me the story they uncovered.

I need more leisure time

Do you get enough leisure time? 

The book I just finished about Joseph Priestley talked about another thought provoking concept--that of leisure time.  Webster defines leisure as being a "time free from work or duties." In writing about Priestley, Steven Johnson argues that one of the reasons that Priestley was so successful at making numerous discoveries was because he had an excess of leisure time.  Early in his life Priestley worked hard as an educator, but over time he was able to connect himself with wealthier families that financially supported him so he could have significant amounts of free time.  It was with this excess of time that Priestley began to get creative, run experiments, and make big discoveries.  As Johnson states, "Leisure time was where ideas happened.  You can't dabble in scientifitc experiments when you've got to use all your cognitive resources just to put food on the table..."

Similarly, time management consultant David Allen, in his book Getting Things Done, proposes that "our productivity is directly proportional to our ability to relax. Only when are minds are clear and our thoughts are organized can we achieve effective results and unleash our creative potential."  

Thus we have two different men, from two different time periods, in two different professional fields that both came to the same conclusion--quality leisure time matters.   Both men seem to be postulating that leisure time allows your mind to rest and wander, and in the midst of that think creatively and/or effectively. 

I have mixed feelings in response to these claims.  On one hand, the amount of free time a person has may be out of their control (like the person that does need to worry about getting food on the table).  On the other hand, there are some people that have large quantities of "leisure time" and they aren't using it to do anything or think anything, unlike our friend Priestley who discovered oxygen as a hobby.   And then there are people, like me, who exist somewhere in the middle of those two extremes.  I think the conclusion I have come to is that even when my schedule is busy I need to fight for down time.   I need to give myself permission to disengage from work and engage my mind in other ways, like reading, conversing, and lately, blogging.  

As a result of these musings, this year I've made it a rule that each week I will do absolutely no work for a 24 hour period, ideally Sundays (and let's give credit where credit is due--this was the model God had when he followed the creation of the world with a time of rest).  I believe this act of rest/leisure time has actually made me a better, more joyful worker.  It seems to give my mind and body time to recover and prepare to jump back into work when it comes.  And I think it's made me more balanced--I'm not defined by my work; I can have hobbies and friends outside of my job! It's been quite liberating.  All in all, I tend to agree with God, Priestley, and Allen that leisure time is essential to success. 

What do you all think?  Is leisure time important or a waste? 

lessons from Joseph Priestley

Have you ever heard of Joseph Priestley?  Until a week ago I never even knew of the name.  Then I started reading the book, The Invention of Air, by Steven Johnson and I quickly realized that Joseph Priestley is a man with a great story and a great impact.  Here are a few ways you can sense the impact of this one man:

• John Adams and Thomas Jefferson wrote each other 165 letters toward the end of their lives that have become legendary.  In these letters Benjamin Franklin is mentioned five times, George Washington is mentioned three times, Alexander Hamilton is name dropped twice...Priestley is mentioned 52 times.
• He wrote historical accounts about Benjamin Franklin (the two men were friends).  The famous story where Franklin flew a kite in a lightening storm comes from Priestly.  There are no records of it from Franklin himself.
• He helped to found the Unitarian Church. Additionally, the Jefferson Bible was inspired by Priestley's religious ideas.
• He "effectively invented ecosystem science." (This was one of my favorite stories from the book.)
• And maybe most notably he "invented air."  In other words he was one of the first men to discover oxygen.  For this reason he is considered one of the founding fathers of modern Chemistry. 

All that to say, Priestley was a busy man!  One of the things that has struck me most in reading this book about Priestley's life is that he not only made significant contributions to humanity, but he did so in numerous fields.  Priestley had deep roots in scientific discovery, religious teachings, and the political foundations of the American Revolution.  This man is the antithesis of specialization.  He was a utility player in the true sense of the word.  Furthermore, Priestley went as far as to condemn people that only looked at the world through a narrow lens that segregated thoughts on religion from that of science.  "[He] refused to compartmentalize science, faith, and politics.  [He] saw those three systems not as separate intellectual fiefdoms, but rather as a continuum, or a connected web."  (Johnson, 236)  The author then goes on to point out many of the hot button topics of today like global warming, stem-cell research, and intelligent design cannot be discussed without considering this "connected web" of science, religion, and politics that Priestley understood so well.

Now I am not out here to completely condemn people that specialize in one field or on one topic.  You better believe that if that I get sick or break a bone (knock on wood) that I will go to a doctor that is an expert in dealing with whatever issue I may encounter.  Specialization does have its place, but then again, it is thought provoking that one man pushed himself to be at the forefront of not one discipline, but rather three.  What would Mr. Priestley think of the way our 21st Century culture seems to compartmentalize so many topics?  What would Mr. Priestley think of the way we structure our schools?

I write these musings humbly knowing that in my own classroom I fail to extend my students learning across disciplines; rather I can get focused in "teaching my students history."  It's easy as a teacher to get caught up in our own classroom, our own assessments, and our curriculum standards that we must reach.  But Priestley makes me wonder, how can I make make my students not just better at history, but better at being inquirers and discoverers in numerous facets of life? How can I encourage my students to see the interconnectedness of all these classes they are taking and all the information they are processing?

One may argue that Priestley was a unique man living in a unique time.  Maybe that is true, but what if I have a future "Priestley" sitting in my classroom?  How can I encourage students to see there doesn't have to be limits to our knowledge, expertise, and impact?

the vision

Growing up I was constantly playing sports.  I literally spent all my free time playing on some sort of competitive team, and as I look back on that time of my life I can honestly say that I learned so many great life lessons from my time as an athlete.  One of those lessons was that being a utility player has its advantages. 

Early on in my athletic career I struggled because I never felt like I was great at any one thing.  I felt like I was an all around good basketball player, but I was never the fastest kid, the tallest player, or biggest scorer.  When I played softball I was not known for being "the best" shortstop; rather I played almost every position throughout my short career.  In an effort to show transparency I must admit that I'm an overachiever to the core, so this sense of never being "the best"or having a "specialty" really nagged at me.  I felt like I was never good enough. I was incomplete, dare I say, even a failure.  

Then one day it dawned on me....Maybe not having just one specialty or focus is okay. In fact, maybe it's even a good thing!  I slowly realized that because I developed a variety of skills that I was good at (even though I may not have been "the best") I got to become a central part of my team.  I began to notice that I was a utility player; I was a person that could play many roles with a sense of competence.  I could effectively play numerous positions or perform a variety of skills, and as a result, I was able receive a lot of playing time on the court and offer substantial contributions to the successes of my team.  

Now here I am, years removed from my athletic days, and this concept of being a utility player still seems relevant in my life.  This is my third year as a high school social studies teacher at an international school in South Korea.  I love teaching and blogging (see my personal blog here) and after getting some experience under my belt in both arenas I have decided that I want to contribute to the conversation of how to be an educator in the 21st Century.  However, as I have been mulling over this idea to start a professional blog I have felt discouraged because if I am going to start a blog I need some "thing" to blog about.  In order to make a worthy contribution to my field I need to be an expert at something like history, technology, or educational pedagogy.  And I am not an expert.  I am not "the best" at any one educational topic so it seemed that the idea having my own professional blog would be an impossibility. 

Then it dawned on me. I may not be an expert on one facet of education but I have a little bit to say about a variety of educational topics.  I realized that as a teacher I am a utility player and that can be a great thing.  Teachers are, to some extent, forced to be a jack-of-all-trades.  As a teacher I must demonstrate proficiency in being a communicator, researcher, technological leader, club sponsor, coach, lesson planner, collaborator, listener...the list could go on.  Teachers are by nature utility players in school communities.   So instead of doing a blog about one thing I've decided to make this blog about the all different facets of education that I get to participate in.  At times this blog may seem disjointed or scattered and I am okay with that.  Being a teacher is about juggling numerous ideas, activities, and interests, and I'm excited to share some of my musings and experiences in my various roles as a educator in the 21st Century.