The comfort of a warm blanket

A thought struck me as I was watching "Happiness is a Warm Blanket, Charlie Brown" with my children the other day.  Actually, a couple thoughts struck me but we can get into that in a bit.

As I look at my own practices at home, work and school, I find myself looking at my own "warm blankets"...things I do over and over because they are comfortable, familiar, unchallenging...They are my own safety net, just as Linus' blue blanket is his.  I think it would be safe to say that we all have our warm blankets.

What are yours?

A couple of weeks ago, I gave a presentation to a large audience about Social Media in Schools.  I have to admit...this is not my specialty.  As Principal J will tell you I am a "lurker"--someone who reads Twitter but doesn't tweet.  I am working on it, though.

We discussed, as part of the presentation, some transitions our society is experiencing currently.  The major transition that we, as educators and parents, face is that this generation of student, particularly at the elementary level, understand technology inherently.  They understand how and when to use technology to accomplish objectives and they understand what technology or device to use.  They are able to use it with little to no instruction.  They are able to create, build and share with technology as second nature, as an extension.  To my children as well as those I work with in districts, technology is NOT a tool, but an aspect of life.

So as I (we) race to "integrate" technology into our curriculum, or align technology standards, or define 21st Century skills, our children and students already have technology INFUSED into their lives.  Tremendous difference...integrate vs. infuse.

The bulk of my presentation focused on HOW to use SM tools in small and large ways with students and staff, how to facilitate creativity and sharing, how to think outside of our normal "box", how to even put down the warm blankets that we are familiar with and use every year to develop a new set of skills or lessons that encourage students to take responsibility and accountability for their own education, how to be proactive instead of reactive.

I am beginning to understand that "integrating" technology is the blue blanket I have held onto for the last several years, a mantra for a world which passed me by when I wasn't looking, a way to label a destination that has moved.  

When my 10 year old tells me he wants to make a website and a blog, I know I missed something important. 

So, as I put aside my inner "Linus", here are some ideas to get started:

1.  Experiment with a "Flipped" education.
2.  Have your students create their own e-portfolio (wiki) for your class...this works at all ages
3.  Try one or more of these ideas!
4.  Follow other professionals on Twitter...LOTS of good ideas out there.
5.  Make your own blog.

Please post ideas you have or want to try...always more out there.

Good helpers are hard to find

With the holidays coming up and the thoughts of thousands of Christmas cookies filling my head, I thought this video would be fun to share.  I have four awesome helpers at home, but I don't think they compare to these two little guys.

Hard not to enjoy this experience, even knowing how much work it will take to clean up all that flour!  

Jane McGonigal: Gaming can make a better world

Jane McGonigal, in Reality is Broken: Why Games Make Us Better and How They Can Change the World, argues that applying game theory to education and life will encourage innovation, increase our creativity and make our work more productive.

McGonigal describes four things that gamers are good at:

• Urgent optimism--the belief that tackling problems immediately will pay off in the end...the idea of the "Epic" win.
• Gamers can build a tight social fabric in a short period of time. Collaboration and trust are required to play games (of any sort).
• Blissful productivity--Gamers play games, and play them for so many hours, because they are optimized as a human being. Their productivity is increased to its maximum potential and they are happy working hard.
• Gamers are also believe in Epic Meaning--a belief that their activities mean something great and relevant.

Her research and ideas are incredibly interesting.  First, the thought of applying game theory to life (and for us, education) is a marvel concept.  As a basketball coach, it's the difference between practice and games.  A player might learn skills or techniques during practice, but you really don't learn how to PLAY until you play the game.  A student can learn a formula, but unless he or she can apply it, building a house for instance, does the formula have worth?

Second, games, contests, competitions are inherently engaging, first-hand experiences.

Third, I think competition in doses is extremely healthy, regardless of whether it is against a computer, another person or another team.  Games encourage "hopeful" competition or Urgent Optimism.

Let me know what you think.

Getting My Geek On...

Google and the Summit

I spent several wonderful days last week at the Google Summit in the Dells.  I really should get paid to sell Google products because I seem to be highly addicted and sell them to others...yes Blogger is a Google product.  Ease of use and access and uniform interfaces across multiple platforms makes using them an experience.

Two products I like the most:

1.  iGoogle...everything at your fingers!  The ability to customize your Chrome browser is awesome.  Here's what I have so far...

The ability to put email, calendars, documents and news all at the same place keeps me from opening 10 different windows at one time.

2.  Chrome...quickly becoming the standard browser.  Chrome is easy to use and customize (see above) and the Chrome store has TONS of free "apps" to use to enhance your productivity and enjoy the "Google" experience.  Angry Birds is even free...not that it will enhance MY productivity...