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Four Easy Steps to Classroom Skyping

By Educator Editor on March 30, 2011

Four Easy Steps to Classroom SkypingTech-savvy educators have been enjoying Skype’s benefits in the classroom, for years now.  Their software enables video chats between two computers, via web cameras and microphones.

Skype can be applied to many education objectives:  virtual lectures, weather discovery, geographic exploration, author or expert interviews, you name it.  The list of projects is nearly endless.

Yet finding other educators interested in creating collaborative learning projects has been problematic…until now.  Skype has responded to the growing number of educator-users through Skype in the Classroom, where everyone can share projects based on subjects, grade level or language.  So how can you get started?

Four Easy Steps to the World Wide Classroom

1.  Sign up for a Skype Account. Go to Skype.com.  It’s free and really easy to sign up for a Skype account if you haven’t yet done so.

2.  Create a profile. Go here. You’ll need to sign in using your new Skype Account login information.  Then walk through the easy profile creation process.  You’ll be asked to tell a bit about yourself and what you are looking to get from the community, in 450 words or less.  Confused?  Watch this video to to create a profile!

3.  Browse for other like-minded educators and get skyping! You can search for receptive educators around the world (currently over 4,000 in 99 countries and counting), sorted by curriculum areas, location, or grade levels.

4.  Create your own project. If you aren’t having success finding a good fit, put your collaborative project idea out there and wait to see if others want to play.  Not sure how to create a project?  Watch this video.

Looking for Interesting Skype Project Ideas?

If you haven’t tried Skype in the classroom, see these older blog posts for examples from educators who have been using the tool for a while. These educators have excellent tips for safely using Skype in schools, tips on etiquette, and incredible ideas for including this tool in lots of ways you may not even have thought of yet.


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Race To Nowhere, Defining Student Success

By Educator Editor on March 28, 2011

What defines a successful student?  Getting good enough grades or straight A’s in advanced classes?  Becoming a star athlete or musical prodigy?  Gaining admission to any college or a dream school?

“What type of individual are we trying to create?” asks Darrick Smith, an Oakland (CA) Tech High School teacher. “We have to change the ideology of what makes a good educational system.”

On the one hand, there are students who need community support to succeed.  This basic support includes proper nutrition, eyeglasses and even counseling to help them focus on learning, period.

Then there are other students who are pushed to succeed with extracurricular activities, heavy homework loads and advanced classes — leading to poor performance, stress-related medical problems requiring therapy or even hospitalization.

Filmmaker Vicki Abeles believes that the definition of a successful student may need to change now.  In her documentary, Race to Nowhere, she raises questions about what constitutes success in American education.  See a clip with educator viewpoints, here.

Tests, Grades and Performance

These days, schools are struggling to meet the rigidly stringent requirements of No Child Left Behind’s AYP (Accountability and Adequate Yearly Progress) benchmark.  With Obama’s Race to the Top hard on its heels, filmmaker Abeles is not alone in her worry that the nation’s educational focus may have shifted too far:  pure knowledge content transfer in pursuit of higher standardized test scores.

In the film, Stanford professors discuss the prevalence of students cheating as a means to an end.  There’s a dichotomy formed when the University of California, for example, sets high standards in GPA requirements for incoming freshman, and yet have record-breaking numbers of students requiring remedial English composition and basic mathematics classes.

Parents Challenge Testing

Some reviewers have dismissed the film as the whining of an ineffective parent.  Still, while students shrug saying, “that’s just how school is,” some parents are fighting back.  See how parents in one Pennsylvania school district found a legislative loophole which allows them to keep their children from participating in standardized testing as a moral objection.

Find out more about the film, or attend a local screening.  Many local screenings include panel discussions with local education experts.  One thing is certain: Race to Nowhere adds a new perspective and another voice to the dialogue about education reform.


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The Bee Eater: A Closer Look at Michelle Rhee

By Educator Editor on March 18, 2011

The Bee Eater: A Closer Look at Michelle RheeBiographers work to reveal hidden details about their subjects in explanation of behavior.  Still, there are those individuals who can be documented, yet elude simple explanation.

Noted education writer Richard Whitmire has taken on the task in his biography of ex-Washington D.C. Public Schools Chancellor Michelle Rhee, The Bee Eater.

If all you know of Michelle Rhee is what you’ve read in The Washington Post, Time magazine, or The New York Times, then Whitmire’s solidly researched book will provide another, more personal dimension.  Throughout the book, interviews with Rhee’s critics, along with former colleagues and childhood friends, provide a balanced look at this controversial education reform leader.

Though not an authorized biography, Rhee provided Whitmire with extraordinary journalistic access, allowing him to ride with her to school visits, meetings, even once to her Korean tailor before the White House Correspondents Dinner she was attending that evening.

Beyond the dismal performance data that drove Rhee to action in D.C., Whitmire searches for how Rhee became a fearless bee eater.  What surprises is Rhee’s unshakable confidence in her convictions.  While there are clues in her background, nothing quite pinpoints a single source of her confidence.  Whitmire uses the apt phrase “unvarnished directness” to describe Rhee’s method in executing her vision for improving educational outcomes.

Indeed, while others in the staid, risk-averse public education arena tinkered at the edge of change, uncertainly wringing hands while student after student washed downstream past the point of educator influence, Rhee waded unflinchingly into the stream and stood firm.

She refused to let the river of “this is how it’s done, because this is how it’s always been done” erode her conviction that students needed schools to offer pools of respite for learning as well as eddies of opportunity — all essential for students to not just survive but thrive before getting released into the wide open ocean known as adulthood.

Whitmire’s clear and easy-to-read style reveals the often-unreported efforts made by Rhee to reach out to both banks in an attempt to build schools into islands of refuge that would be “good for the students,” her constant filter for decisions.  He also points out Rhee’s strategic missteps and difficult lessons learned.

Whether you think Rhee’s reforms were right, wrong, mishandled, or spot on, most people agree that the river of education’s conversation has been irrevocably altered by her D.C. reforms.  The Bee Eater provides a fascinating glimpse into what has been done and what the future may hold for D.C. Public Schools and other under-performing urban districts nationwide.

Editor’s Note: A complimentary copy of this book was provided to Educator Life by the author.  Check out the publisher’s excerpt here.


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I See You: Opening Students to Learning

By Educator Editor on March 12, 2011

I See You: Operning Students to LearningHere’s a riddle:

What costs nothing, takes less than one minute to apply, and carries the potential to open EVERY student to learning?   (Hint: It’s already in your possession.)

Answer: Seeing your students.

Tara Brown, a former teacher now promoting 1:1 teacher-student engagement, speaks around the world on the difference “being seen” can make to students, teachers and the school community at large.

She knows that paying attention makes all the difference and often asks:  What are you teaching?  A subject?  Or students?   Brown insists that successful learning environments depend upon the answer.

We were inspired by Brown’s eye-opening list of ten things students taught her about the power of being seen.  Her under-resourced students were filled with silent opinions that often get forgotten: “If you help me have little successes in your class, it will help me believe that I can accomplish more things.”

Others Who Care

There are other leaders who march to Brown’s beat.  Dorothy Stoneman, who founded YouthBuild in East Harlem in 1978, recently wrote about how the power of caring is missing from the education reform debate.  Her program, centered on addressing education stressors to youth in poverty, has grown to 273 programs in 45 states.

Elmer Winner, a former educator and administrator in Ohio public schools, also offers an ever-growing blog full of inspiring and transformative stories about the power of caring to build healthy students and school communities.

Students recognize the power of caring, and recently expressed the need for it openly with U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan in a private meeting with the National Youth Summit.  Students are motivated when someone pays attention to them.

All agree that students who witness authentic respect are enabled to respect in return. It takes so much more energy to maintain a defensive posture; it can be a draining enterprise for both sides, teacher and students.

As educators, the time you have with students is short.  There’s a lot of subject matter to teach, and pressure to succeed with test scores and more.  Yet many teachers have witnessed the power of seeing in their classrooms — and caring matters as much as curriculum.


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New Textbook Models: Moving Beyond eBooks

By Educator Editor on March 5, 2011

New Textbook Models: Moving Beyond eBooksTextbooks. It’s interesting that we still use a term so anchored in, well, words to describe the artifacts that we use to capture, hold, and convey knowledge.

The world of electronic information delivery formats is changing so rapidly, with PCs, tablets and smart phones.  Yet few would argue that knowledge containable within a textbook has leapt beyond its print constraints, as a delivery model.

eBooks Fall Short

In Campus Technology, John Waters reported that digital books made up less than three percent of all textbook sales tracked by the National Association of College Stores (NACS).  He also pointed to last fall’s College Student Tracking Survey, where “80 percent [of students] bought new textbooks, 72 percent bought used textbooks, 20 percent were renters and only 8 percent bought digital textbooks.”

Nicholas Smith, COO at Agile Mind, recently recalled Henry Ford’s vision to create automobiles as a horse replacement.  Through an O’Reilly Radar interview, he declared that today’s eBooks have more in common with wheeled horses rather than autos!  Smith’s point is well taken:  though we have changed the paper to an LCD screen, we have not re-thought the linear, page-by-page model of the textbook.

eTextbooks must provide a different user experience, or will continue to be perceived as poor substitutes for the real thing.  While wonderfully functional for linear recreational reading, students find it difficult to flip back and forth in an eBook, and the lack of easy highlighting or note taking adds to their dissatisfaction.

This truth likely explains the rather lackluster adoption of Kindles, Sony Readers, and other eBook delivery tools on college campuses — and benefits don’t yet outweigh deficiencies.  However the adoption trend is starting to change, as noted in this report from the New Media Consortium and Educause Learning Initiative.

Developing A New Model for Learning

While the way in which students are using textbooks isn’t keeping pace with technology adoption, rising startup Inkling’s CEO Matt MacInnis believes the future lies in providing “an interactive digital experience.”  Watch as MacInnis demonstrates his company’s take on Ganong’s Review of Medical Physiology for the iPad, an Inkling “Title.”

With tablets in hand, authors have a new opportunity to explain, engage, and examine all aspects of their subject matter.  Along with various definitions and tool tips, it’s possible to deliver high-realistic 3-D renderings rather than illustrations.  These multiple layers also increase opportunities for assessments, taking the call and response of traditional classroom drills to a new level.

Enticing competitive students to test themselves for comprehension as they move through the lessons, or prompting reticent students to engage, the technology allows for immediate feedback on assignments or assessments.  Additional benefits include electronic study groups and peer interaction, or tools for involving the instructor.

Eager to see more?  The Inkling site invites you to download the app, and view sample chapters.  Beyond iPads, there other interactive digital interactive delivery systems getting used to “publish” new works.  Learn more about how mathematics education is being changed by creative instructors here.


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Poorly-Timed Law Prompts RI Teacher Dismissals

By Educator Editor on March 3, 2011

RI Law Prompts Teacher DismissalsAn unfortunate Rhode Island state law, which requires notification to teachers by March 1st if their employment situation may change, has forced a disheartening series of events — and 1,926 Providence teachers were dismissed.

The City of Providence faces a severe budget shortfall and school department expenditures account for more than half of the budget.  School closures already were inevitable, meaning some teachers would not have jobs next year.  Yet the situation has worsened in recent days.

Protecting Taxpayers: Mayor Angel Taveras explained that the Providence School Board opted to “dismiss” rather than “layoff” all teachers, as a fiscal protection to taxpayers.  With dismissals, the City ends all fiscal obligations to teachers.  Layoffs, by contrast, would place teachers into a reserve pool where they receive full pay and benefits, whether they are working or not.

Taveras has been quick to point out the potential fiscal liability of paying teacher salaries and benefits without receiving student impact may have been crushing to the city.  However he fully expects that many teachers will have the dismissals rescinded in the near future as, it becomes clear which schools will close and how many teachers will be needed.

The General Assembly in Rhode Island has been asked to extend the date of the notification requirement to July 1st, and Taveras is hopeful it will pass this year. A message from the Mayor’s Office states,

“If not for the March 1 deadline, no teacher would have received dismissal notices last week. Although the end result would still be fewer schools and fewer teachers next year, the process would have been far less disruptive and painful.”

Uproar Heard: Over 1,000 citizens, teachers, and union members attended a protest held in support of the dismissed teachers, who have undoubtedly been buffeted by the uncertainty caused by this one poorly-timed law.

Some union officials have characterized the move as a way around seniority protection in the re-hiring process.  However, since October 2009, districts in the state have been aware of the July 1, 2010 implementation of the state’s Basic Education Plan, which “requires districts to recruit, hire and retain highly effective personnel based on student and district needs,” not seniority alone, Deborah A. Gist, State Education Commissioner was quoted in the Providence Journal.

The next steps in the timeline of this difficult process for all have been laid out by Taveras’ office. This morning, specific steps based on the report of the Municipal Finances Review Panel, which the mayor convened after taking office two months ago, were revealed in a press conference.


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Celebration of Teaching & Learning 2011

By Educator Editor on February 25, 2011

Celebration of Teaching & Learning 2011Why not get out and celebrate?  The joy, the dreams and the optimism that our best teachers embody should be renewed together, at the upcoming Celebration of Teaching & Learning.

This two-day professional development conference, held in mid-March, offers a range of sessions and workshops, suitable for teachers and administrators.  Some 10,000 educators are expected to converge on the Hilton New York.

The headliners are top-notch as well.  Last year, Jordan’s Queen Noor spoke about teaching tolerance, Queen Latifah led a panel with outstanding urban students, and Bobby McFarren gave a heartfelt rendition of the Wizard of Oz.  This year, some well-known speakers include Newark Mayor Cory Booker, NBC News Anchor Brian Williams, Neurologist Oliver Sacks and many more.

Here’s a bit of the heartfelt declarations from past celebrations:

  • “This may the be most important time, in the history of the world, to be a teacher.”
  • “Teachers change the world. Teachers changed my life.”
  •  “I know that someday that child will invent something. I’ll say I taught that kid.”
  • “Remember the intensity with which a child wants to explore, to learn, to celebrate the new.”

Want to get inspired?  Watch this highlight reel from last year and we guarantee you will smile:  it reminds us why teachers teach.

Celebration Details: The Celebration of Teaching & Learning 2011 is billed as “a place where knowledge meets inspiration.”  There is still time to register for the March 18-19th conference, sponsored by WNET/New York.

This year, educators with an interest in literacy can attend talks by well-loved K-12 writers, or hear sessions on Common Core Standards in ELA.  Meanwhile, STEM teachers will find panels and workshops designed by Math for America, the U.S. Department of Education, new PBS programs, plus sessions on Common Core Standards in Math.

Special Ed teachers will find sessions on autism, School Administrators will find sessions on bullying, and everyone will find over 100 hands-on “In the Classroom” workshops, six plenary sessions and almost 40 featured speakers — plus exhibit halls loaded with the nation’s leading author educators and the newest educational tools.

Whew! All of that in two days has to be very inspirational, so register here.  If you can’t make it to the NYC celebration, then at least catch the spirit through WNET’s EdBlog and past videos.


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Common Core Curriculum and Mapping Webinars

By Educator Editor on February 23, 2011

Common Core Curriculum and Mapping WebinarsLooking to investigate or implement the Common Core State Standards (CCSS) in your district or school?

Currently, the CCSS math and language arts standards have been adopted by 41 of 50 U.S. States.  Since there are no federal or top-down mandates, each state is free to use its own processes to adopt CCSS — and local administrators and teachers have plenty of leeway about what to teach and how to teach it.

To provide more guidance, WestEd’s Schools Moving Up is sponsoring two special events this coming month.  These live webinars will present tips for implementing the CCSS as well as the K-12 curriculum maps.  Administrators and other Common Core experts will be on hand to provide insights and also field questions.

The first webinar takes place on March 2nd and addresses Common Core Standards: Transitioning to New Rigor.  Alamosa, CO school district’s administrator, high school principal and elementary school specialist will share their experiences along with the WestEd consultants.  It sounds interesting because, like other districts, they were trying to align their curriculum with these new standards.

On March 17th, a second webinar covers The Common Core Curriculum Mapping Project.  Lynn Munson, president and executive director of Common Core, will be presenting along with mapping specialists and several elementary school teachers.  The Common Core, a non-profit supported by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has developed interesting and useful maps to support CCSS.

Even if you can’t attend these March webinars, we encourage you to visit Common Core’s maps for elementary, middle and high school students.  All the usual suspects, ranging from Robert Frost to Anne Frank to Shakespeare, make an appearance on the maps.  Many districts have already implemented CCSS by following and using these curriculum offerings, which are free and available to download here.


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VIVA Teachers Recommend Practical Policies

By Educator Editor on February 14, 2011

VIVA Teachers Recommend Practical PoliciesEducation is a big word for a process that happens on a small scale:  one teacher with one student at a time.  While students may be sitting in a full classroom, learning takes place when the teacher connects with each student.

Armed with the notion that teachers should share their best practices about education, the VIVA Task Force set out to gather their actionable ideas.  Project leaders focused on teachers because their inputs usually are excluded from education reform discussions.

VIVA stands for Voices Ideas Vision Action, and some 150 teachers from 27 states were clearly heard.  Based on their task force contributions, participants recommended these practical policies:

  • Clinical Training for Teachers – including more pre-service training and effective professional development
  • Teacher and Administrator Evaluation – including redefinition of the purpose and practice of evaluation for improved classroom performance in a single school year
  • Performance-Based Compensation Systems – opening discussion of tax credits and other incentives for teachers who meet standards of excellence
  • Appropriate Support for Teachers – including class size equity and non-instructional support staff access to increase teacher time
  • Parental Community Involvement – including parent engagement from preschool onward and development of full-service community schools

With the recommendations in hand, VIVA’s teachers were able to present their thoughts to U.S. Secretary of Education Arne Duncan on December 17, 2010.  See how that meeting played out, through this video.

The VIVA Task Force is operated by New Voice Strategies, a Massachusetts nonprofit corporation specializing in the use of technology to gain input from individuals about various public policy decisions.

Thus VIVA is more than a one-time effort to gather educator ideas and deliver them to policymakers.  To find out more about the project and ongoing National Idea Mine, please view the discussion here.


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Yale Cancels Teacher Prep Programs

By Educator Editor on February 11, 2011

Yale Cancels Teacher Prep ProgramsA small, tightly focused 14-month graduate fellowship program at Yale University, designed to prepare teachers for urban education positions, will end this coming June.

The fellowship required two years of service in local public schools.  Over the past five years, some 20 students had completed the fellowship and 14 still serve in New Haven schools.  By that measure, the program seemed successful.

Yale’s urban education was designed around the ideology that every student can learn, regardless of their history or circumstance.  Their master’s degree was inspired by the National Study Group for the Affirmative Development of Academic Ability, which championed efforts to improve education for underprivileged minorities.

Other urban education programs are working. Urban Teacher Residency United (UTR United), is one notable non-profit organization which provides a successful model of classroom teaching opportunities, in conjunction with colleges and universities throughout the nation.

Why is Yale dropping out? Given the national shortage of qualified urban teachers and the proliferation of alternative pathways to certification at other institutions of higher ed, terminating their program is a curious choice.  Demand for the fellowship program had been strong, according to Jack Gillette, director of Teacher Preparation and Education Studies Program at Yale.

Fewer students want to teach. While we don’t know the exact thinking behind Yale’s decision, a survey by the Panetta Institute for Public Policy found that interest in becoming a public school teacher had fallen from 45 percent in 2006 to just 28 percent in 2010.  It’s true that Yale’s undergraduate program completions had dropped off, said Gillette.

Yale re-directs funds to high-schoolers. With funds saved from shuttering their Master’s in Urban Education program in 2011, and their undergraduate early childhood and secondary certifications programs by 2012, Yale plans to channel resources into a competitive academic scholarship program directly benefiting New Haven public school students.  These new “Promise” scholarships will provide full state college tuition, which should be applauded.

However, the school closures will make Yale the only Ivy League school without teacher preparation programs.  Read more about Yale’s changes here and here.


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