The Satisfaction of Being Done

It is hard to believe that I have submitted all of the work for my Masters of Education final portfolio.  It has been a long road. I selected the Portfolio option to complete my final requirement.  For me this option most mirrored Project Based Learning (PBL) which is what most of my work in my studies has been about and it is the pedagogy that I teach with.  

In my work I have developed a rationale for the integration of technology into PBL.  I also have created a how-to video series that supports my 4 rationale points with various examples of technology that can be used in PBL.  The videos can be found on my YouTube Channel http://www.youtube.com/user/technology4pbl

I have used this blog as the reflection component for my portfolio.  This blog has been a spot for me to write my ideas down, and reflect upon my own learning and how this reflection can help further shape my learning.

In my last post I said that I needed to figure out what is next for me.  While there still many regular duties that I have as a teacher and much planning that I have to do as part of the Ontario Christian Teachers Academy (http://teacheracademy.ca/Homepage) , there are more important things to do right now - I get to again be more committed to my family.  They have put up with a lot of "busyness" and I need to give back.  I cannot thank them enough for their support, patience, love and firmness when needed.

I also am in dire need of rest...for a little while.  While I intend to keep being a teacher-learner, I must confess that I do not yet know what this next stage looks like.  I have discovered that I do enjoy leading workshops, and being involved in teacher training (preservice and inservice).

When I started this process,  I told myself that I would learn to play a guitar when I finished.  It is almost time to go shopping!

Revision and Reflection - revised!

It has been a while since my last post.  January and February were busy months for me - coaching, night classes, marking and teaching.  Working on my Master's portfolio was pushed to the side and I attempted it when time

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permitted.  These two months were also a transition time in my high school classes - the end of one semester and the beginning of another.

Over the last 2-3 weeks I have put in more time for my project - A rationale for using technology in Project Based Learning.  I received feedback, had an honest conversation with my advisor and I did lots of revisions.  I am happy to report that there are only a few small edits that need to take place to this version of the paper before it goes to the next advisor for review.

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I also had a great conversation with a friend of mine.  I told him that I look forward to being complete so that I can become current again in my topic.  What I mean is that most of the articles, posts, and my own work, have not changed much in the last year, as I have focussed on my project.  I have revised and reflected but I have not been able to stay as current as I would like.  Is it possible that revision and reflection can take up too much time at the expense of new knowledge?

I definitely see the value and worth in revising my work and taking the time to reflect upon it but have I lost out on anything?  What valuable findings and conversations have occurred while "I have been out"? I know that there were great tweets, and tweetchats that I missed.  What about some new articles and tech tools that I have missed that others have shared?  I have wrestled with these thoughts for the last couple of months.

I have also considered and thought a lot about when is a "work" finished?  When can I, the author, say that it is done and move on?  There were times throughout the process when I wanted to just leave it and not just for a little while.  I wonder how my students feel about some of the work that they need to do in my classes?  While each stage of the paper writing process was a part of my learning, I will admit that I stopped being excited about my topic a while back and any excitement that I still had turned to the hope of completing my work. This has been the longest that I have ever spent and focussed on a single project or topic in my academic career.  Now I look forward (after the creation of some videos for examples to accompany my paper) to seeing what is next for me.  There are several Essentials of Project Based Learning that I want to look at more intentionally: public audience, 21st Century Skills, Revision and Reflection, and there are other interests to pursue (upon completing my M.Ed. I will be purchasing and learning to play my first guitar!)

An aside to my thoughts on revision, I was also thinking about the role of technology in revision and reflection and more specifically how revision and reflection were completed prior to the availability of technology tools.  There were many drafts to my initial proposal and to the paper itself, on top of the drafts that were submitted to advisers.  I would often edit a "draft" about 4-5 times.  Multiply this by the drafts that were submitted and you have about 35+ versions of my work.  I guess in this secondary thought about the role of technology in revision and reflection I have a  few questions:

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1. Does technology cause us to be sloppy, careless or perhaps not as careful with our initial work as we ought to be?  I think of this in light of always wanting to be a "one hit wonder" - to complete my work and have it be "good enough" on the first try.
2. Does the use of technology make revision too easy? In grade 9, I took typing in a room full of  typewriters.  It was difficult to correct a mistake, as simple as it might have been.  Now with online tools like Google Docs or TitanPad, we can revise and revise and revise.  As I have asked before, "is a work ever done" or can/should I keep editing?
3. A bigger question might be, "does anyone other than me really care about my reflections?"  I don't mean to say that reflection is not valuable and should not be completed - quite the opposite.  Personally, I have learned a lot about myself through this series of reflections while completing my M.Ed portfolio.  I have enjoyed blogging about the process, but how much reflection has really been shared?  What about the day to day reflections or more importantly, the thoughts that I don't let leave my head while I am revising my work.

As much as I will be glad to see this portfolio come to completion, there is this weird feeling in my mind.  The feeling is similar to "buyer's remorse" - that sense of let-down after you get that new item.  With the time, effort, stress, fatigue and commitment to this process by myself and especially by my

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family, it would be easy to say that I am not doing something like this again.  However, I am already starting to ask myself - "What's next?"  I will begin to work on this idea in my next and maybe final post.

Revision and Reflection

     Earlier this week I submitted the first draft of the written component for my M.Ed. portfolio.  The title of the piece is, "A Rationale for using Technology in Project Based Learning".  I must admit that in the week that my advisor had it, I kept my Lakehead University email window open on my computer.  I was both eager and anxious about getting the feedback that I knew would be coming. While I know that the work is well received, somewhere, in the back of any learners' mind, I believe that there is the hope that the work will be done, finished, completed.  I ran through a wide range of emotions while I attempted to figure out, or actually guess, at what the feedback might be.  I wondered what the comments would be, what areas would be well done, and in particular what areas I still need to shore up.

     It continues to amaze me at how important the PBL essential of Revision and Reflection is to learning.  It would have been awesome and a relief to have had no suggestions for revision but then again this is the first draft that I have submitted.  It is also somewhat refreshing to not receive a mark but to only have comments.  In an earlier course with Dr. Paul Berger, of Lakehead University, called Critical Pedagogy, I read a piece about assessment by H. Kirschenbaum (1971) titled
 Wad-Ja-Get? The grading game in American education - referring to how often learners simply want to know their "final mark".

 The final mark, however, really can't enhance my learning or make the final product any better. This reading selection was eye opening for me and has shaped the methods that I use for assessment.  I want to provide my students with rich feedback, praise, guidance and suggestions for improvement.  I also want my students to desire these same things and to create a culture of learners who work together to build and honour each other; I want my students to not be so concerned about their mark because they have constructed it and been a part of shaping it.

     The feedback that I have just received on my first draft is rich and valuable - I will be making some changes! One great great responsibility that I have, as a learner and the owner of the work regarding feedback, is that I have the choice to implement none, some, or all of the feedback.  However, if I truly desire to to learn and, to produce better work, then I need to see each comment, idea, and suggestion as a stepping stone to these desires. While the comments initially look intimidating, and overwhelming, the more I read them and piece them together, the more I can see how valuable they are and how they are necessary.
   The Ontario Ministry of Education's document titled  "Growing Success" does a great job of explaining its three levels of assessment - For, As, and Of - see page 31 for a table that summarizes them.  Each level of assessment plays a key role in shaping the learning, the learner and the educator.

   As I go back to school tomorrow after the Christmas break, I wonder if I have sufficiently provided my student with strategies to provide and accept feedback? More importantly, I wonder if I have blessed them and honoured them through the feedback that I have provided?  I also wonder if the revisions that my students have made have been completed out of a sense of duty or if these revisions have been completed joyfully?

     I am almost done - I was excited to read in the email accompanying the feedback that "maybe 2 more edits to go depending on how you wish to deal with the remaining sections of the work." and then it will be finished.  

Kirschenbaum, H., Napier, R., & Simon, S. (1971). Wad-Ja-Get? The grading game in American education. New York: Hart Publishing.

Perfect is the Enemy of Done

Two big things are occurring this week in my educational path - my students are doing their presentations of learning as they are wrapping up their Communication Technology Projects and I have just dropped off the written component of my Masters of Education potfolio to my good friend Eric for some edits.  These two events strike me as being quite similar as they both have a "finality" type of feel to them.  I hope that I am as successful with my written work as my students were with their presentations.  In October, while attending the ECOO (Educational Computing Organization of Ontario - if you haven't been I strongly encourage you to go! It ranks right up there with PBLWorld for being my favourite conference), I had the chance to attend many workshops and listen to excellent keynote speakers.  I cannot recall which presenter it was, but one of them used the line "Perfect is the Enemy of Done".

I have since used this line a number of times with my students as they sometimes get stuck on an idea, or more likely they develop an idea that is too grand to complete.  On a more personal note I have used this line on myself as a way to motivate myself to complete my work. Being in the role of a student concurrently while teaching has provided an interesting perspective on education.  I notice that I get stuck on similar things that my students also get stuck on.  There have been many changes from the initial stages of what my final Master's Project might look to what it actually is - Using Technology to Support PBL.

   Another similarity with a number of my students is that we sometimes struggle with getting things done - some of us for different reasons, but lately I am believing that we can always see ways to improve our work.  After each of my students presented their project this past week, the rest of the class did a quick "I like..., I wonder..." protocol.  In this protocol we could specifically state the things that we appreciated about their work and ask questions about how they completed things or even provide further ideas to make their project better.  On my paper, which I will post when it has been completed, I think that I could keep making edits and always find ways to improve it.  This does not mean that I don't like my work, rather, it means that our thoughts and learning continually grow and are dynamic.  However, at some time I just need to be done; I need to say that this work is finished so I can move on.  My work will never be perfect- it can't be perfect, there is always more revision and reflection that I can do.  Throughout my portfolio, I have been stuck on trying to make it perfect, but I have now realized that it is time to be done.  I know that there will be edits yet to do on my work, but it is time that I put my energy into other things, things that have been neglected, pushed aside, and people that have "supportingly" and lovingly given me permission to take up their time and focus on myself.  This change will happen really soon! It is feeling good to be done - well, almost done!

Can you add some technology to that, please?

My grade 10 Communication Technology class is about 3 weeks into our project.  I am excited and anxious about this project as it is the first time that I have really stepped back and let the students develop their projects .  The class had to create a project overview sheet to help them plan.  And while it has been difficult and a bit unnerving as I share control of the activities and learning that is going on in my class, I find myself continually asking my class, "How can I help?", as I want my students to be successful as they step into their projects.  My part in their learning experience now is to provide support. Aside from leaving the room so I stop bugging them, some ways that I am supporting them are by providing instruction and suggestions that can help them manage their projects.  The students have the choice of using Scrumy or Linoit  to use for their project management.  Both of these resources can be shared with me, allowing me to peek in on their progress from time to time.  These tools also bring in a level of accountability for the students.  They can no longer say, "I've got it all right up here." as they point to their heads.  The planning stages of their project is crucial to its success.

Earlier, the class did a Gallery Walk protocol. All students/groups completed their project overview, taped them to the wall and other students, and some other teachers, provided feedback on the project under the confines of "be positive, be helpful, be specific." On the project overview sheet, students need to intentionally consider who their audience would be. Many of the projects involve the creation of videos, so naturally, the response by many was Youtube.  After some discussion with our classroom guest teachers, it was evident that Youtube was not an audience but rather a tool to be used to reach an audience.  This led to a great opportunity for a mini lesson, Four Square Protocol, a discussion about the purpose of an audience, technology tools that can be used to communicate to an audience and how an audience can shape the actual project.  The conclusions that the class have reached mirror some of the conclusions that I am drawing from my own research; it is important to use technology for successful projects and it is also important to understand that technology should not be what is driving our projects.  Instead, technology should be tools that we use create artifacts and to convey our message.

For those of you who have been following my journey of completing my M.Ed. project on developing a rationale for using technology in PBL and the creation of video tutorials to accompany the rationale, I am please to say that I am in the final stages of my rough draft and have created several videos.  If things go according to schedule, I hope to be completed in the next month or shortly after.

Revision and Reflection are Allowing me to Learn!

I have been working on some of the video tutorials for my portfolio.  I am enjoying making the videos about technology and how technology can, and I would say needs to be used to, support Project Based Learning.  The creation of the videos could not be possible without the readings, research and thought that I have put into the topic of "how can technology support PBL," As I have been making the videos, a lot of revision and reflection has taken place.  I would sometimes revise a script, edit a video, recapture part of my screen shots and occasionally start all over.  I have so far created three video tutorials for this project, with the rest coming pretty soon.  I am enjoy the making of the videos because I am passionate about discovering how technology works best in education and I enjoy providing resources to help other teachers. The creation of the videos is the learning process in that I can now really put theory to practice in the creation of artifacts for an audience.

For the videos, I have been attempting to find out what tools and resources to include in the videos and which ones to not include.  I am trying to find resources that can be used by both the teacher and the student.  I am also trying to include resources that have multiple uses and tie into several of the 8 Essentials of PBL.  My favourite online tool right now has to be Blendspace.  Here is an example of a Blendspace that I have made for a workshop I will be giving on "Using Technology to Support PBL" at the Edifide Teachers Convention in a couple of days. Blendspace helps the teacher to manage the information and resources that students will need as they work on a project.  With its grid set-up, Blendspace organizes the online learning space.  To create a Blendspace the owner of the space quickly and easily drags and drops in resources from YouTube, Google, Vimeo, Flickr, EduCreations, Dropbox, Google Drive, bookmarks for links, or they can upload their own resources and multimedia files.  For the student, Blendspace can help them organize the videos, websites and resources that they are working on - it can be a digital notebook.  Blendspace can also be used as a digital portfolio tool allowing students to post their findings, creations and it can be easily shared with others.

While I am currently working at completing both the written portion of my Masters Portfolio and the video tutorials, I am finding that the two components really drive each other.  The theory aspect of having a rationale for using technology provides a necessary grounding that the foundation of the practical videos need.  

I am currently in the Revision and Reflection stage of my portfolio.  I must admit that it feels great to be able to say that because if you look at the 8 Essentials of PBL, as modeled by the Buck Institute for Education, in the following diagram, then you can see I am on the home stretch.  One of the challenges that I have recently experienced in my work is that I am looking at each essential separately rather than looking at all of the essentials as a collective process. This has put up some temporary roadblocks for me as I cannot see this topic ever being completed - which has been a really big struggle for me! It is my hope that in the next 3-5 weeks that I can complete my work - even though this area of work will likely never be finished due to its ever changing nature.  

A Boy, Constructivism and LEGO!

I have just finish a section of my final project for my M. Ed. degree.  My overall topic is the implementation of technology into a Project Based Learning. The section I am currently working on is about Constructivism. My research is pointing to how teachers who incorporate technology into their teaching practices generally become more constructivist in their pedagogy choice and delivery.  This often leads to teachers adopting an Inquiry Based Learning strategy.  In the school where I currently teach, Hamilton District Christian High, we have been implementing and using  Project Based Learning.

I like this simple definition of Constructivism from Wikipedia:

Constructivism, as a perspective in education, explains how knowledge is constructed in the human being when information comes into contact with existing knowledge that had been developed by experiences. 

As a teacher becomes more familiar with technology and begins to use it more for their own learning, the next step is to ask the same of your students.  The role then is to help students on their journey of learning by providing a safe learning environment, access to resources and a structured environment in which they can learn.

Now permit me a little brag moment about my son who is just entering grade 4.  Like many kids, school is sometimes fun, sometimes awesome and sometimes boring.  So far the start to this school year has been on the sometimes fun side.  
He needs a reason to learn - he wants to know "why this is important". He also loves LEGO - well really, who doesn't?  He normally gets a new set, builds it, plays with it for a while and then just has it for display on a shelf in his room, our family room, our dining room and our living room. 

Recently he has also developed an interest in super hero movies.  He was a bit disappointed to discover that he would not receive every super hero LEGO set just so he could have the characters to play with. He also realized that he had lots of parts from various LEGO characters of sets that he did not wish to keep.  It become his project to construct his own set of custom LEGO Super Heroes.  He did not just want to make random Super Heroes - he wanted to make his "customs" look as close to the real characters as possible.  It is amazing how much research that he did in order to create his "customs".  He would often just grab the iPad, find images (front and back) and YouTube videos of the authentic character, get his Sharpies, and model paint and start customizing his characters.  Throughout the process he would ask for feedback, not just to receive praise but also to make his characters better.  When he would run stuck on an aspect he would consult the experts - more YouTube videos, his LEGO books, his mom (a talented and precise artist) and his Papa (a talented and precise doll house builder with a big paint selection).  

Each character could take a couple of hours or even days as he patiently waited for paint to dry and the next coat or accessory to be placed. Not every first edition was exactly as planned. He would revise or "do over" until he was happy with the product.  Once a character was complete he would again grab the iPad and create a video about the character and the process necessary to make it.  We haven't uploaded the videos yet, he wants to wait until he is all finished but he has allowed me to snap a couple of pictures.


What has been amazing for me, as a father and teacher, to see is that there was a purpose that was driving the learning and that my son was able to learn from drawing on his past experiences, research how to make and create his "customs" and be able to share his results (soon) with others.

Having seen all of this unfold in the last couple of weeks fuels the fire for me to continue to ensure that my students also have a reason to learn. I want to provide them with authentic learning experiences in which they too can construct and shape their learning.