Things I'm Thinking About

I have been thinking about a lot of things lately. Here is a random list of a few things that I intend to expand on in future posts:

• What is it that I am doing here? Many people ask me what my job entails and I don't really know what to tell them that I do. 
• Never ask a kid what they want to be when they grow up. Always ask them "What problem do you want to solve when you get older?"
• Why do we want to open up a STEM Lab or STEAM Lab? Why, what's the purpose? 
• What is the purpose of morning work? 
• I'm practicing being more mindful. I think it is helping my outlook. How can I model this to others without imposing beliefs (or people thinking I'm a weirdo)? 
• I'm ready to write, to document my journey, to put ideas out there. I have to find the courage to do so. I have posted here many times saying that I was ready to write, and each time I failed to follow through. I thought it was about time, but it is about courage. 
• What is my definition of success? (Thanks, Tim Ferriss.)
• What is my definition of greatness? (Thanks, Lewis Howes.)
• What's next for me? 

Start-Up Model

Last night I caught this via Twitter:

How can the "start-up" mindset be utilized in a classroom? #pbl #NYSCATE14 interesting thought.
— NYSCATE (@NYSCATE) November 24, 2014

This tweet stuck with me for a few hours before I could finally put it all together. Here's my response:

@NYSCATE Projects. Tell a story. Connect. Do good, right. Take risks. Define your audience. Make something that stands out.
— Travis Wood (@travers34) November 24, 2014

A 'start-up' business is formed by someone who believes that they have an idea that can lead to success. They have the courage to put their art (nod to Seth Godin) out there and to deliver it. They make connections through telling their story and showing that what they have to offer is of value. They often fail at their first approach to a business and, after many iterations, maybe one that is far away from the first idea, they break through. Their mission is often to do good, change the world, not to break the bank. Often the start-up mindset is more about the journey and the craft, than the finished product. And when they are making a finished product, a start-up owner dictates who their are delivering to and they know that they cannot make for everyone. If they did they would be making boring art and it wouldn't stand out.
Can this mindset translate to school? Why not? If I look at the previous paragraph and think about students as opposed to a 'start-up owner,' I see a ideal vision of what could happen in a classroom. It would require forward thinking, creativity and innovation in the design of the classroom environment. It would take original ideas from all involved (teachers, administration, students, parents and community). It would take time during the day, not an hour or 40 minute block. It would probably take a revised vision of curriculum. And it may take equipment, but it can be done. (Man, this is a grossly simplified view...)

Utopia. That's what we should shoot for right? That's what 'start-ups' shoot for, so why not the classroom?

Revival?

I have written this before. Twice, in fact. I am a baseball fan and the last two tries were whiffs. The last pitch is on the way...

This week I am attending the 2014 NYSCATE Annual Conference for the first time in 2 or 3 years. My absence is not because I lost interest, but because our district no longer had conference funds available (another story altogether). Also, I have recently changed roles. I am no longer a leader of a classroom, but I am not now the lead teacher at my school (upcoming post). Let's put it this way, I'm energized. With my new role and a continued focus to leave something behind, I will try to revive this learning space. Or let it fade away for good.

Squishy Circuits!

It's a rainy Tuesday here, a perfect day for Squishy Circuits!  About a month ago, Tessa and I watched Super Awesome Sylvia and we've been excited since. 

Over the weekend we stopped at RadioShack and bought our electronic gear and we also made sure we had all of the ingredients to make the dough. At RadioShack we bought:

• A battery pack
• LEDs
• A buzzer
• A motor 
• And a bunch of batteries

Recipe for the Conducting Dough: 

1 cup Water
1 1/2 cups Flour

(A gluten free version of this dough can be made by replacing the flour with gluten-free flour.)  
1/4 cup Salt
3 Tbsp. Cream of Tartar*
1 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil
Food Coloring (optional)

Recipe for the insulating dough: 

1 1/2 cup Flour
1/2 cup Sugar
3 Tbsp. Vegetable Oil
1/2 cup Deionized (or Distilled) Water

(Regular tap water can be used, but the resistance of the dough will be lower.)

Play!

The Gears of My Childhood

I've read the introduction to Papert's Mindstorm's multiple times. I grabbed the book off of Amazon a few years ago and plowed my way through the first few chapters, reading but never paying close attention to the introduction. With the intro being part of the assigned readings for the Learn Creative Learning course I am participating in, I read it again at at least three more times. (Side note: I guess it's important to read and pay attention to the intro...) As I sit here trying to connect to Papert's play with gears and his future learning, I struggle to pinpoint one particular 'thing' that led to my profile as a learner, but maybe that's not a bad thing.

First, I'd say my profile as a learner is that if I get hooked, I jump in with two feet. I will not say that I become obsessed with a topic that becomes interesting, but I dig deep. I'd also say my interests are rather diverse. Sports, home brewing, reading, running, gardening, music and cooking are a few interests that I'm deeply involved with now.

I cannot think of one 'gears' example leading to who I am as a learner, but many opportunities that I latched onto as a kid. For example, my dad had EVERY record (and 8 Track) under the sun from the 80s. To this day, I can name and sing every Asia song on their first album. I could identify nearly every Journey, Kansas, Foreigner, etc. song on the radio to this day. Hell, my first concert was the Beach Boys. So, I now think it is right to blame my dad when my wife questions my extensive 7.6 day collection of Phish concerts in my iTunes catalog.

I now think it is then right to blame my mom for starting me on baseball cards (which has led to an interesting interest in stats and numbers). I first started collecting baseball cards in 1986, the year my beloved Red Sox nearly broke the curse. She started me out with the 1986 Topps Red Sox team set and not only did the collecting snowball from there, so did the passion of becoming a Red Sox fan. I remember coming home to wax pack upon wax pack of cards which were opened, studied and meticulously sorted and arranged over and over.

I had many more opportunities:

• Aunt Mildred and the dinosaur books- Probably the cause of my preference of nonfiction over fiction, and the beginnings of reading to learn.
• Legos, etc.- May be the cause of my new found passion for building 'stuff' out of palette boards and the tinkering idea that is prevalent in home brewing. 
• My dad's garden when I was a teen- clearly evident in my garden and my ever-growing hop garden.
• The neighborhood games- No adults = we make the rules and enforce them. I think this led to my desire to play sports and coach soccer for the past 12 years.

I could go on, but I appreciate the fact that I had broad interests as a kid. Yes, my interests may be a mile wide, but they surely are not an inch deep. All of the things that I latched onto as a kid, opportunities my parents provided to dive deep or simply my parents modeling passion shaped who I am as a learner.

Career Moments

They don't happen often, but I have had a few serendipitous moments that are career defining moments. Today, as I was talking about 'Be a Woodster,' family, and strengths, my students grasped the symbolic chain we were making one by one and they raised it to their chests. It was such a moment, one that said to me, "we are a family, Mr. Wood." If only I could have had a video of the students in that moment.

We tried to recreate the moment, not nearly as perfect...

New Year, Big Changes

With change comes adversity. It's especially tough when everything seems to change all at once: 

• Curriculum
• Resources
• Assignment
• APPR
• Schedules

How about when things change at home, too? What to do with change? Run and hide or face up to it. I choose the latter.

I'm refocusing the content of my professional blog and this  blog will chronicle this year's journey through change. This blog will also serve as my place to "leave something behind." It'll also be a place to share my reaction to articles, books, and other's posts.  

It's time. Tomorrow, I begin anew.

 

Thank You Mr. Jobs

The world lost a genius on Wednesday. An innovator. A visionary. Someone who thinks differently than most of the rest of us. I would personally thank  Mr. Steve Jobs for his contributions to the world and how his hand has touched me as a teacher.

 

Mr. Jobs-
Your Apple computers were the first in my classrooms as a kid, the ones that inspired my wonder. Your iPods are the ones that carry my music on the long road ahead  and allow me to get lost in music and dream. Your iPad is where I post this message from and where I watch my young daughter interacting with the world at her fingertips. Your Mac Books are what we use to produce and share all of the amazing occurrences here at Northside School.  Your tools have transformed my thinking, doing, and producing.  For that I thank you.

More importantly, your creativity, innovation, design, and approach to thinking is at the roots of who I am was a teacher. I hope to inspire my students to think differently as you have inspired millions to do.  I will forever push my students to "stay hungry, [and] stay foolish," and attempt to inspire them to leave a "ding in the universe."  And of course, I strive to make my students "the round pegs in the square holes."

Here's to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes... the ones who see things differently -- they're not fond of rules... You can quote them, disagree with them, glorify or vilify them, but the only thing you can't do is ignore them because they change things... they push the human race forward, and while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.

Mr. Jobs, thank you. Your inspiration and innovations have had a profound influence on me, as well as the students I teach. You will live on forever.

Fondly,
Travis Wood

Getting started on 2011-2012

Ideas come in the most awkward places sometimes. After quite a bit of summer reading and some time thinking, here is a new and MUCH improved list of classroom expectations. I am taking Derek Sivers advice in making my classroom utopia and Tony Dungy’s advice in that he didn’t have rules for the Colts, just high expectations for them.

Be Uncommon- from Tony Dungy’s Uncommon, about integrity, taking risks, failing, care for others, setting the example, optimistic

Be Remarkable-from Seth Godin’s The Big Moo, about taking risks, showing up every day, going above and beyond, best every time

Be Creative, innovative, and playful- Sir Ken Robinson, Papert, Reggio, project based learning,

Be a leader, be part of a tribe- from Seth Godin’s Tribes

Be reflective


In the next couple of weeks, I plan on breaking each of these ideas down in more detail if for nothing other than spelling them out for myself.


- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

Doodle 4 Google

In case you haven't heard by now, Goggle is sponsoring a competition for students to earn a $15,000 college scholarship AND $25,000 for the students school to spend on technology.  Pretty cool!

We decided to participate in this project to give our students an opportunity to create, design, and innovate (there's that word again) on an artistic level.  The excitement was palpable.  There was major disappointment when it was time to pack up for the day and many questions of whether or not they could take it home to work on over the weekend.

The theme for this year's contest is, "What I'd Like to Do Someday..."  We expected many of the designs to be about careers, but we were astounded with the way the students interpreted Google's theme. One student she wanted to travel the world and one student said he wanted to invent 'things'. Another student, in particular, captured my attention. He said he wanted to be a father. I was struck by this for some reason.  Maybe it was that I never knew this about him.  Maybe it was that I never thought kids thought about being parents. Maybe it was the beauty of his illustration. (I mean the l in Google is a rolled up birth certificate!) Regardless, I was in awe, not really knowing how to respond. 

Neng's Doodle 4 Google- Someday I want to be a Father.

His illustration, and those of his classmates, demonstrates what hope, creativity, design and innovation are all about. If you give kids the challenge and a platform, they respond.

Note to Self

Our Pad for the Weekend

Always confirm room reservations.  Or book them yourself.

This morning, one of the guys (Mark) that is in this years EduCon crew stopped in and asked if I had heard anything about our room reservations, of which I had not. I placed a quick call to the Windsor Suites and they had no reservations for us.  In addition, they already had a wait list of 7 or more. Not good.  I'm not sure where our reservations got lost, somewhere between our building secretaries and myself, I think.

After some quick phone calls and some finagling, and an additional 70 bucks per room, we scored a room at the Embassy Suites just across the street from the Windsor. I hear that it is actually much nicer that the Windsor. We will see.

Oh, and I hear that Wilt Chamberlain once lived there when he played for the Sixers. That's pretty cool.  Not sure I want his room though...

Innovation

I was very excited to see the topic of the opening panel at Educon, innovation. The opening panel is always a highlight of Educon, perhaps because of the venue or the brilliance on the stage that night. This year the contingent coming from my school is growing again (I was the only one at Educon 2.0 from my school, last year my coteacher joined me) and I have been talking Educon up to them, big time. The topic of innovation, the Franklin Institute, and the great minds on display should prove my contention that Educon is where its at. I digress...

This evening as I thinking forward to next weekend, I settled down and I did a quick google search on innovation. I started with the wikipedia page about innovation.

Innovation comes from the Latin innovationem, noun of action from innovare. The Etymology Dictionary further explains innovare as dating back to 1540 and stemming from the Latin innovatus, pp. of innovare "to renew or change," from in- "into" + novus "new".

Innovation can therefore be seen as the process that renews something that exists and not, as is commonly assumed, the introduction of something new.

As I continued my search, I found a great post that really made me think how I approach teaching.

“Just pretend you’re teaching you. How would you do that? What would you want to know? What did you dislike when you were taught? What stories would you tell to make it understandable? What would keep you interested and engaged?”

Should I really be thinking about myself as a learner as I design learning experiences?

Shortly after, I found another great post, this one by George Curos. Shockingly coincidental at I come across two posts with similar thoughts. Curos suggests that we need to ask ourselves, "Does this work for me?" as we design our classroom environment and experiences. Of course, we need to think of our students at the end of the day (Curos suggests this also), but I thought that this was an interesting approach to designing opportunities for my students.

So, in the spirit of innovation, I am going to try to renew my approach over the next couple of days and weeks. I am going to think about myself as a learner, with the hope of this reflecting being that my students get more.

Happy New Year 2011

Downtown to see fireworks... Happy New Year!

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NYSCATE 2010

NYSCATE was great again this year, thought provoking as always. It was great to catch up with old friends and meet new. I'm left with a tired brain and more questions than answers. (Mission accomplished NYSCATE, I am always trying to do that with my students.)

Over the next few days, I'll dig through my notes and tweets and I will share some of what I gathered from the conference and some of the questions I'm left with.

Happy Thanksgiving break!

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Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5

Dusting the Blog Off

Brian Smith is someone who I consider a good friend.  I also respect him as a colleague. He challenges me to think and pushes me to do more. Last week, at a Rocheater Area Literacy Council meeting he sat on a panel and remarked that we have an obligation share what we are doing.  We have had conversations about this type of thing before.  We have had conversations before and he has told me to write, share, reflect, and be transparent, but I didn't bite.

Here I am, sitting on the couch at 10 on a Saturday night, still thinking about Brian's comment (perhaps inspired by NYSCATE starting tomorrow).  So here it is... A concerted effort at reviving my blog and sharing. 

Today, I had the privilege of presenting at the NYSCATE Preconference Session.  My session was entitled Using Technology to Transform the Writing Process and I felt that it went very well. There was some good conversation in the beginning and lots of great questions at the end of the session.  During the session, one of the questions I brought up came from a quote by Arthur Ashe, 

Success is a journey not a destination. The doing is usually more important than the outcome.

My question was more specific to writing, but in essence, the question was something like this: Is it more important to give a student a good experience to learn from or is it more important to get to understand or be able to do something?  I bought up taking road trips with friends. (When you begin one you don't yell "ROAD TRIP" for nothing, right?) You remember a particular trip with friends just as much as I do, and I am sure that the destination was not the only thing you remember.  I'm sure you remember getting pulled over, running out of gas, and/or getting lost in the middle of the night just as much as, or more than, the actual trip itself.

That said, why, then, do we focus so much on end destination for kids? Do we really know where their journey will take them? Of course we need to have a goal in mind, but is it OK to say everyone in our classes isn't ready to 'get it' yet? Does my road trip theory apply to learning?

I would argue that it does. 

Transparency: Do you see through it?

Are incompetence or lacking confidence synonyms for transparency? Do you view someone who is transparent as weak and not up to the task? Or do you value transparency in others?

In the past I have had interesting 'discussions' (more like, "How could you write that where people can read it?") because of things that I have written or said. Namely, a post that I wrote a few years ago at the end of a school year about feeling like I failed. My colleague could not get past the fact that I admitted that I think I may have been able to do better. He kept saying, "What if one of your parents sees that post?" "What is your administrators see that post?"

I'll often get looks from passers-by when I admit to my students that I made a mistake. The looks on students' faces at the beginning of the year when I say I made a mistake are priceless. They act as they have never have heard "my bad" from a teacher before.

In others, I value humility. I value someone who is not afraid to take a shot, and will claim responsibility for missing. I value when someone is self-reflective and is not afraid (or too wrapped up in being 'right') to admit a mistake. The people with these qualities are the leaders I choose to follow. These are the qualities I try live and pass on to my students each day.

So, what do you think? Is transparency a weakness? Or is being 'right all of the time' not all its cracked up to be?

Question of the Day?

“What does it mean to be well educated in the 21st century?” -David Jakes

NYSCATE Quick Hitters

This year's NYSCATE Conference was a great experience. There was a great blend of 'tool' sessions and Educon-like conversation sessions. My bucket is completely full, so here's a list of some important notes, quotes, opinions (if they are worth anything), and tidbits from the 3 day barrage. Expect more elaboration after I wrap my head around the following ideas.

• Chris Lehmann, David Jakes, and Sir Ken Robinson (among many others) are equal parts depressing and inspiring. They paint a clear picture of where 'we' (you decide who we refers to) are in education in America. They also make it clear that there is hope and plenty of opportunity for change. 'We' just need to make that happen.

• Jim Klein gets it. He does some really interesting things. How would you feel about letting kids Tweet out during a test when they come to a question that they need help on? Don't we do that in the real world? If you're not sure how to do something you ask, right? Not in schools though. I know this seems to be a far out idea but he suggested, and I paraphrase, "Start simple and gradually expand your reach." Words to live by.

• Here's a quote from Sylvia Martinez to think about: "If you can Google it, it shouldn't be on a test." Thoughts?

• Everyone needs to have the 21st century skills discussion with their colleagues. Kind of feels like the birds and the bees conversations I had with my dad.

• Old texts and ideas are relevant: Abe Lincoln was quoted by Sir Ken Robinson (still looking for the exact quote), Seymour Papert's work from the 70's still rings true, and Gandhi's "Be the change you want to see," quote just may be my new motto. Not everything has to be 21st century.

• Wait until you see GE's Augmented Reality. Think: What are the possibilities?

• In terms of tools, Fairport is in GREAT shape compared to other schools. We have access to the stuff, now it's getting the teachers on board in using it. Making it happen is the next hurdle. (Much more to come on this topic.) See Gandhi's quote above.

• This last one is not exclusively a NYSCATE idea, but as I drove out of the parking garage I was thinking its time I do what I ask of my students, be a leader and take a risk. (Much more to come on this topic also.)

What did you take from NYSCATE?

Letter to My School

I thought I'd share this. It is a copy of an e-mail that I sent to my school regarding Earth Hour and the grassroots work my students have done.

Northside School-

This Saturday is the official Earth Hour. Since Earth Hour is on a Saturday, my students came up with the idea of having all of Northside turn off their classroom lights from 9-9:30 on Friday in honor of Earth Hour. We hope you join us and participate in Northside Schools Earth Hour. It would be so cool to walk through school school and only see necessary lights on!

Don't forget to turn off your lights on Saturday too, from 8:30-9:30. Don't forget to spread the word among other family and friends also.

Feel free to take a picture or a short video of what you choose to do either Friday OR Saturday and send it to me. I am planning on putting a movie together showing how NS celebrated this awesome day! Read on below if you'd like more info about Earth Hour.

Thanks for participating!

Travis

Earth Hour started out in 2007 as an initiative in Sydney, Australia. The people at the World Wildlife Federation came up with a plan to encourage as many people in Sydney to turn off their lights for 1 hour to save energy and fight global warming. They estimated that 2.2 million people participated and landmarks such as the Sydney Opera House even turned off the lights. In '08 Earth Hour grew tremendously. The WWF estimated 55 million people around the globe participated.

Fast forward to 2009: The goal is to get 1 billion people in 1,000 cities to participate. Earth Hour has been relying on social media (twitter, facebook, blogs, etc. )(yes I am a geek) and word of mouth to convince people to turn off their lights from 8:30-9:30. I came across it while searching for something cool to do for a conserving electricity lesson. I shared Earth Hour with my class decided to spread the word. They wanted to convince Fairport to participate, but aimed to start with Northside. We may not have reached our end goal, but we have reached as far as England via our class blog.

I could not more proud of a group of students. Nine and ten year old students stepped up and worked to make a change and a difference in the world. They ran the show, deciding on goals and how to achieve them. They split into groups depending on their strengths. The artists made posters. The computer 'geek squad' made digital ads via PowerPoint and GoogleDocs Presentations to share on our class blog. The writers wrote to school leaders, local newspapers and even wrote scripts for school announcements and video ads (see below). The Woodsters never cease to amaze me with their care and drive once they believe in something.

I'm looking forward to voting for the Earth Saturday and to spreading the word for next year's Earth Hour when the current Woodsters and next year's group can team up to see the difference they can make.

Check back for a video of what everyone did during their Earth Hour celebration!

Earth Hour 2009 Video

This is a video created by my fourth graders about Earth Hour.