NMSA Day One Reflection

My first day at the National Middle School Association conference has been fantastic and extremely busy!  I attended two sessions, a keynote, and had two great work sessions with the MSP2 folks!

First thing, and one of the most amazing things was the number of folks I met for the first time in real life today:

• Mary Henton
• Bill Ivey
• Rebecca Lawson
• Susie Highley
• Shawn McGirr
• Troy Patterson
• Eric Biederbeck
• Tom Jenkins
• Karolee Smiley
• Kim Lightle
• Jessica Fries-Gaither
• Ross Burkhardt

I’m almost certain there were many others, but these were the primary folks I ran into throughout the day.  It was wonderful to put real faces and stories with some of these folks who I had only interacted with online in the past.  It was a special treat for me to meet Ross, who I consider one of my educational forefathers.  Ross worked with Chris Cummo at Chris’ first school, taught him many things, and in turn Chris was my cooperating teacher for student teaching 6 years ago.  Pretty amazing moment to make that connection!

Sessions

The sheer number of sessions available at NMSA09 is staggering!  The program book is like a phone book, with tons of things available at each concurrent session time.  The sessions I attended today were fast paced and informative.  My first session was supposed to be about Science lessons using Understanding By Design but when I arrived the session was already full.  I quickly browsed through the book and found The Digital Facelift as an alternate session.

The Digital Facelift session started off on a positive note with an excellent analogy about the Digital Tattoo.  That one moment that you may regret the  next day but is very hard to remove later.  However, the focus of the session continued to be primarily about “scrubbing” your online image and removing the offending pieces of your Digital Footprint.  I would have preferred a focus on controlling the quality of your Footprint up front.  The final 10 minutes of the session did get to the idea that the information you Supply about yourself is the key to having a positive online image.  For me, and the presenter even mentioned this, that is the overall key to building an online presence.  For only the last 10 minutes to be spent on that aspect of Digital Identity was a shame.  This came after the presenter made the statement that while scrubbing you should remove any image that identifies you from the Internet.  Even going as far as saying you should remove albums that are uploaded to Shutterfly or Snapfish for printing purposes.  If someone is going that far out of their way to find images of you to sabotage, aren’t they going to find them no matter what? I’m still having a hard time stomaching that discussion.

My second session was a whirlwind tour of information about building positive relationships and questioning techniques.  The two topics seemed to form a bit of a disjointed presentation because while I was still trying to process the Relationships piece, I suddenly realized we had shifted topics entirely.  Mark McLeod made excellent points in both parts of the session, but a singular focus would have worked better for me.  Each part of his presentation could have easily stood on its own.  The overriding theme of the Relationships piece was that of students’ Emotional Bank Accounts.  In order to make a withdrawal you must first make enough deposits so that the account doesn’t get closed.  This metaphor was extended throughout the session, and was extremely powerful. Overall this session was as much a life lesson, as an educational one.

Keynote

Daniel Pink’s keynote was a composite of information from “A Whole New Mind” and from his TED Talk on Motivation.  In fact, between the two, I felt like I had heard about 90% of the keynote already.  Of course, that did not make any of the information any less powerful, it just made it a bit of a rehash.  From the responses of the crowd, I could tell many had not read Pink’s book before and some may not have even been familiar with his ideas.  Overall the focus of the session was about 75% AWNM and the final portion was about Motivation and rewards.  Glad to know this information was taken in by a large group of folks and perhaps many more will examine the role of the Right Brain in their classrooms.

Overall, a successful first day. I’m looking forward to the sessions tomorrow and will continue to pound out blog post after blog post. Hope you can feel like you’re here without being here!

NMSA09: Daniel Pink Keynote

MY THOUGHTS IN ALL CAPS

Daniel Pink being introduced by two 8th grade students from here in Indiana who collectively speak 7 languages.

Dan is the father of a middle schooler and one heading into middle school next year.

Topic: Education and the Economy

Admits he is not an educator and offers thoughts as an outsider…THANK YOU

The purpose of public education in America is not to deliver employees to employers…it’s about ensuring everyone can participate in civic society, that every kid can move to become the best version of him/herself.

“We need to prepare kids for their future, not our past.” Dr. Richard Moniuszko

OUR PAST IS VERY DIFFERENT FROM OUR KIDS FUTURE…SADLY WE DON’T KNOW FOR SURE HOW IT WILL BE DIFFERENT…HOPEFULLY WE’RE SENDING THEM IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION (OR SET OF DIRECTIONS)

Pink: Graduated in the part of his law class that made the top 90% possible

GUESS THERE’S HOPE FOR EVERYONE…NOW MOVING INTO BRAIN DISCUSSION…

A lot of what you’ve heard about Left and Right brain is garbage…but the science is catching up.  Our brain is really complicated, but really efficient.

Left: Logical, linear, sequential, analysis

Right: All at once, context, synthesis

Left brain abilities are absolutely necessary, but they are no longer enough.

3 Causes of above (From A Whole New Mind)

1. Asia
2. Automation
3. Abundance

Asia – Outsourcing is woefully overhyped in the short run, but underhyped in the long run.  India has an advantage in global economy: 1 Billion people a small percentage of whom are ltalented enough and able to compete in global markets, let’s say 15%…that’s 150 Million people, there are about 139 Million working people in the US today.  FIVE months until India becomes the worlds largest English speaking country. ZERO is the cost of communication between India and the rest of the world.

Anything Routine is racing to whereever things can be done cheaper.  If it has a right answer it’s no longer valuable, just goes to where it can be done cheaper and faster.

Automation – Software is replacing our brain. At least the logical, linear, rule-based side.  TurboTax ($39.95) is the problem for accountants that charge $1000 for their services.  22 Million Americans  did their taxes via TurboTax last year.  CompleteCase.com, 3StepDivorce.com, 123DivorceMe.com…sites for uncontested divorce paperwork rather than hiring a lawyer.

Abundance – More automobiles than licensed driver in America today.  Color TVs in 98% of American’s homes.  Mobile phones in 90% of American households which has more computing power than existed 50 years ago.

In a world of abundance there’s power in giving people something they didn’t know they were missing (a la the iPod) That’s an Artistic principle.

GLAD I READ A WHOLE NEW MIND BEFORE COMING…SOME OF THIS WOULD LEAVE ME TOTALLY FLABBERGASTED IF NOT…WHOO HOO I FEEL PREPARED 🙂

Abilities that Matter Most Now:

• Design
• Story
• Symphony
• Empathy
• Play
• Meaning

1. Explore New Metrics – we must measure the right things…not IQ, SAT or Grades…JSPE lead to Clinical Empathy being taught in every Medical School

2. Get Real about STEM – Medical schools sending students to Art Museum for diagnostic training.  Software does certain diagnoses very well.  Too many answers for any doctor to be a vending machine of answers.  Leads to higher need for observation skills, like those of painters and sculptors.  Schools taking out arts, while real STEM world is adding them back.  What are Engineering employer’s looking for? Passion, Life long learning, Systems Thinking, Innovation, Multicultural Environment, Context, Ability to Change…NOT ROUTINE SKILLS.

3. Rethink Motivation – The Candle Problem. Incentivized group took longer than non-incentivized group to solve a problem (NO FURTHER REFERENCE?)

4. More Forest, Less Terrarium – What does creativity mean? Superintendents: Problem Solving, Employers: Problem Identification/Articulation

5. Infuse arts education into the curriculum – thinking like an artist, giving people something incredible…signature of our time.  Creative Arts are essential to achieving a competitive edge.

GREAT KEYNOTE TO OPEN THE CONFERENCE.  FOR THOSE WHO HAVEN’T SEEN IT, HERE’S THE TED TALK THAT COVERS SOME OF THE MOTIVATION DISCUSSION THAT DAN SHARED WITH US.  COMPUTER BATTERY DYING SO I’M GOING TO GIVE IT A REST FOR A WHILE AND WILL RECAP DAY ONE LATER THIS EVENING AFTER I HAVE SOME TIME TO PROCESS IT!

Strategies that Motivate Middle School Students

Presenter: Mark McLeod

Session Description: Student engagement is the key to learning for middle school students. This session will explore many teaching strategies and techniques that encourage students to get excited about learning. The presenter will model various strategies that can be used immediately in the classroom. Both veteran and new teachers will leave this session with many powerful, yet practical strategies to motivate today’s middle school students.

MY THOUGHTS IN ALL CAPS

What is the #1 Quality you want in your students?

• Positive Attitude
• Treat Others with Respect
• Motivated to Want to Learn

Am I treating everyone in here with the attitudes I expect?

We can’t change other people, we can only change ourselves…so make sure you do that and enjoy what you do.

No one forces anyone to have a great attitude.  It’s your choice.

Has everyone spend a few minute encouraging others…return to seats when we hear YMCA, and do YMCA together.  FUN TIMES!!

Teachers have to be willing to step out and take risks. Take ideas, tweak them to work for yourself, and take the chance to use them.

Many teachers are afraid of embarassment and failure, so they never take risks.

BIGGEST MOTIVATOR: RELATIONSHIPS

Kids bring enough baggage, teacher doesn’t need to bring more into the picture.  Make desposits into kids emotional bank accounts. Are we making deposits or withdrawals from our kids accounts?  These are not accounts we want closed.

You can’t change what’s in the past, so don’t let it stop you. If you’ve made too many withdrawals in the past, don’t dwell on it, just start making deposits from then on.

Sometimes we have to INTENTIONALLY make deposits until it becomes habit.  WE ARE SO INGRAINED AS TEACHERS TO LOOK FOR THINGS TO CORRECT, SOMETIMES WE JUST NEED TO FOCUS ON WHAT ALREADY IS GOOD.

Developing positive relationships doesn’t just happen in the classroom, we have to do it everywhere in life so it becomes habit.

It’s not the teacher that sends students to the office, it’s the environment. Free time and inappropriate conversations happen when positive relationships aren’t established.

AGREE WITH A TWEET BY @MSMATTERS…MARK MCLEOD IS GIVING GREAT ADVICE FOR LIFE AS WELL AS THE CLASSROOM

Students AND Adults both need deposits into their emotional bank accounts.

What are some ways to make deposits into students emotional bank accounts?

1. ATTEND GAMES
2. GIVE JOB IN CLASSROOM
3. POSITIVE PARENT CONTACT
4. DISCUSS INTERESTS
5. PRAISE
6. RECOGNIZE BIRTHDAYS
7. STICKERS (haha)
8. REWARDS
9. FOOD
10. NOTICE THINGS FROM OTHER CLASSES SUBJECTS

Adults

1. FOOD
2. SHOW UP FOR SIGNIFICANT EVENTS (DEATHS, ILLNESS, WEDDINGS)
3. LISTEN
4. REWARDS
5. KNOWING WHO KIDS ARE
6. RECOGNITION

Practice attention getting strategies in the classroom…bells, sayings, etc…don’t just tell them, actually practice it.

Students don’t know how to make deposits…we have to help teach them.

“Cha-ching” shirts…on the back “Have you made a deposit today?”

2nd Biggest Motivator: Success

Set up students for success…self-motivated students blurt out because they want the thrill of victory

Don’t worry about the blurtter-outers…they’re self-motivated and will learn anyway. Target the kids who never raise their hands and set them up for success.

#1 Questioning Technique to add Tension: Ask, Pause, Call…Tension keeps all engaged, don’t start question with “Suzy, what is…” everyone else tunes out and learning stops. Random name generators add to tension as well. This keeps kids engaged…and no one has to know for sure who’s name is pulled out if you really want to call on a particular student.

#2 Questioning Technique is “Volunteers”…This gives a bad sampling because you get the same volunteers every time.  Ask Pause Call with random name generator causes more thinking, from a larger number of students, and allows you to climb up Blooms.

#3 QuestioningTechnique: Choral Response…Have a signal when you want students to respond together, otherwise they won’t know when to start or stop.

#4 Questioning Technique: Signal Response…Thumbs Up/Thumbs Down/Windshield Wiper…Whiteboards…SHOWING WHITEBOARDS WITH A HANDLE, MARKER, AND 4 DIFFERENT COLORS…HELPS WITH FORMING GROUPS, PAIRING, ETC…NEED TO SEE WHERE I CAN FIND THESE.

WOW INTENSE SESSION…LOTS OF INFO…KIND OF SCATTERED, BUT STILL GREAT INFORMATION!  NEED TIME TO PROCESS THIS ONE AS WELL!

 

NMSA09 Session 1: The Digital Facelift

My thoughts in ALL CAPS

Presenter: Dr. Matthew Broda

Session Description: In the digital age your online image is becoming just as important as your interview, practical experience, and instructional skills. Join us as we explore how to manage your personal digital content and give your online image a facelift.

Digital Tattoos…inability to take back some things that are put out there online.

Christopher Buckley “Boomsday” spider repellant…fictional book that talks about removing anything bad about you online…THIS ALREADY EXISTS FOR SOME…IF YOU HAVE THE MONEY 😉

S4 Method

1. Search – find out what exists
2. Scrub – clean up the content that exists
3. Secure – limit the access people have to your content
4. Supply – provide a location for the image you want seen

Search

• Not everything that is out there about you was presented by you
• How many times does your name appear in Google, Facebook, etc
• Try to be first to the fight for your digital name
• Facebook friends also show up when your name is searched
• Blog posts and comments…
• Twitter posts
• Academic work and associations
• Digital archives of newspapers and magazines
• Think about ways someone might misspell your name accidentally
• Asked who Google’s themselves…at least WEEKLY for me
• Include Name Associations: hometown, church, school dist…VERY IMPORTANT FOR COMMON NAMES
• Search “The Other You”…things that don’t mention you specifically or explicitly…If community knows you are on X committee and there is info on the committee, it is info on you
• Use lots of search engines: Google, Bing, Teoma, Metacrawler, Clutsy, A9, Dogpile, Alexa, Ask.com, Yahoo!
• Use Technorati, Google Alerts or Bloglines to help you search new times you are mentioned anywhere online

Scrub

• Delete or Disguse?  How do you negotiate the boundary? Creating a “disguise” works but creates lots of questions if realized
• Delete address or personal contact information that is available…even from Facebook…
• There are limits to the amount of personal info you want out there for folks
• Have a professional email
• Advocates taking down all identifying pictures of yourself online…people don’t get explanation, and might look really dumb to others…NOT SURE ON THIS ONE…
• Even talking about ordering photos online…SERIOUSLY?
• Professional “you” is out there for everyone to see…personal you probably shouldn’t be

SECURE

• Your information is only as secure as the next person who views it allows
• “Untagging” yourself doesn’t remove the photo
• Systematically review the networks you are a part of…refresh yourself on settings for blogs, twitter, wikis, facebook, etc
• Consider “repurposing” your Facebook or MySpace page

SUPPLY

• Services to scrub your name…
• Naymz.com
• RepuatationDefender.com  starts at $1000 per person…up to $3999
• Get out there and supply the information you want people to have…THIS IS THE KEY FOR ME!!
• Put down roots…TAKE CONTROL OF YOUR OWN INFO
• Sharing yourself through WordPress, Google Sites, etc
• Links between pages, include keywords, etc
• Supply is the biggest part of S4

“Face Time, not Facebook” for parents who want to communicate via Facebook.

INTERESTING SESSION, NOT SURE I AGREED WITH THE PHOTO THING, BUT OVERALL VERY GOOD INFORMATION. SUPPLY IS THE KEY AND MAINTAINING YOUR CONTROL OVER THE SUPPLY OF YOUR INFORMATION. GOOD FIRST SESSION TO GET ME THINKING.