Students at Maple Avenue Middle School in Saratoga, NY got some well-deserved attention from their local newspaper, The Saratogian News.
“Sixth-graders in Tom Coons’ computer class linger after the bell rings, asking for passes to come back during their study halls and lunch periods.
The reason?
They’re excited to use mini Flip Mino video recorders, digital photography, PowerPoint and computer animation to create projects that will earn them national recognition through “student technology literacy certification.”
Maple Ave. is one of 45 schools participating in the New York State Student Technology Leaders (NYSSTL) grant, funded with state EETT funding. NYSSTL schools use Generation YES tools and curriculum to meet technology literacy standards (TechYES) and to teach students how to be leaders and help teachers and peers with technology (GenYES.)
It’s great to read a story about students doing good things with technology. This is the way to fight stereotypes and misinformation about youth. Students almost always do their best when given support and encouragement to raise the bar.
I love the part about the student who spent 6 weeks on his project about Mesopotamia, drawing and animating his own graphics, and memorizing and recording his own soundtrack. This student is so far beyond the normal checklist of tech skills it’s amazing. And yet, this is NORMAL when you give kids time, support, and the encouragement to go beyond the checklist.
This is exactly why we do what we do with schools – to help schools take that leap of faith that together, students and teachers can achieve tech fluency beyond everyone’s expectations, especially their own. This is the essence of Generation YES – Youth and Educators Succeeding.
“Even as I write this, I am amazed at how much kids did in just 20 minutes. I can’t wait to see where they go next and what they do when I introduce ideas such as storyboarding, clay animation, etc. It will be interesting to hear their conversations about the things they notice outside of school–times when photos are manipulated, etc I didn’t realize how much they would learn from this one tool.”
People ask me all the time – so what does project-based learning look like? This blog post is a great example of a teacher explaining just that. It’s the details that stand out – the choice of a good tool, the thoughtfulness of finding the right balance between too much or too little initial instruction, and the reflection on what happened.
People think that project-based learning is more difficult for the teacher, but this article points out that the teacher used the same tool and same lesson plan for grades 2-5. The projects were age-appropriate and varied because students brought their own experiences to their projects, not because the teacher designed the lesson differently.
I often ask teachers to share in sessions what happens in their classrooms when they allow these experiences to unfold. These stories share a sense of wonderment at what students are capable of when given the chance. Yet it’s hard to explain exactly how this happens or what the teacher does besides “let go.” To many people, project-based learning seems like an “if you build it, they will come” kind of mystical promise.
Articles like this explode some of that mythology. It’s clear that the teacher is actively guiding students in their natural pursuit of learning. And it’s clear that for technology based projects, open-ended tools like Frames allow students to not only succeed quickly, but support longer and deeper experiences as students gain fluency.
GenYes is the ultimate tech group at Shadow Mountain High School! We simply rock when it come to new tech and learning! In addition to tech support for teachers and students, we are implementing educational and social gaming in the media center, telepresence communication with students, academia, scientists across the globe, developing interactive Wii walls and more!
If you work with students (13 years and older) who have a strong interest in designing and creating their own computer games, definitely learn more about our plans for the Design Corps, which kicked off in the fall. This spring, the program is entering a new phase focusing on student design teams. We’ve opened this up to new participants — interested students can apply right here by Friday, January 22, 2010.
What does it take to apply between now and next Friday?
Teachers can suggest students by emailing us brief recommendations at design.corps [at] learninggamesnetwork.org. (If you’re a student, ask a teacher to recommend you.)
For applicants under 18, we need a parent or guardian to let us know that he or she approves of their participation in the program. They should send a brief email affirming this to, you guessed it, design.corps [at] learninggamesnetwork.org.
All applicants must tell us a little bit about their interests using the form on this page.
Voilà, you’re done! For this new group of students joining the Design Corps, we’ll have our first event on Jan 23, 2010. Remember, our events are online, so participants will need reliable access to an internet connection.
States are starting to distribute the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) funding, better known as “Stimulus Funds”. Much of the Title 1 funding has already found its way to schools, and now, the portion allocated to improve technology use (EETT) in schools is starting to trickle out.
California has released their guidelines and RFP here. 50% of the money will be distributed by formula, 50% will be distributed via a competitive grant process. This money is over and above the annual EETT funds from the federal government. It’s a LOT of money, but is a one-time only grant. This isn’t going to happen every year!
GenYES has been a very popular component of many California EETT grants in previous rounds, and we hope this continues! Over 40 schools in California are currently running GenYES programs funded by the EETT grants. These GenYES students are helping their teachers implement technology throughout the curriculum and assisting with tech support.
Here are a couple of great examples:
GenYES Students Shine in California. GenYES students at B. Gale Wilson school in Fairfield, California, were featured in their local paper with a story about their leadership and technology skills.
Kids Use — and Teach — Digital Storytelling. At Parkview Elementary in Chico, CA, students assist teachers on digital storytelling projects that support the technology plan and content standards.
Technology Success Story. In San Juan, California, test scores and student self-esteem rise as students find their voice and show what they know using technology.
These funds MUST be used for programs that will be sustainable in the long run. All Generation YES programs are permanent licenses, with no renewal fees.
It’s back to school time again in the US! Time for fresh new school supplies, backpacks, or maybe some new laptops?
Student Support of Laptop Programs – new laptops? old laptops? Are you getting the benefit of making students allies in your laptop initiative? Peer mentoring, student-led training on new hardware and software, student tech support and other ideas can be time saving, cost effective, and best of all, good for students and the whole learning community.
This whitepaper contains research, case studies, practical information that you can use right now, whether you have one cart or are a 1:1 laptop school.
Veteran fourth-grade teacher Don Kinslow often hears colleagues say they would use technology if they had the time to get training. At Parkview Elementary School, in Chico, California, he has found a practical solution to this dilemma: He engages students as technology mentors.
This article appears in the September issue of Edutopia magazine as part of their stimulus funding series, “High Tech at Low Cost”, and is online here.
The story captures the essence of what many schools see when they include GenYES students in their technology outreach to teachers and the whole community. Don says, “It’s a simple idea, but it’s had huge outcomes.”
One of Kinslow’s students, for instance, was consistently reluctant to speak in class. For a book report, she narrated a digital story. “Her voice was clear. Her ideas were well organized,” Kinslow says. “For some kids, this was the first time they’d ever heard her talk.”
And we all know, this isn’t about saving money, it’s about giving kids experiences that change lives, either by being a GenYES student who finds her voice, or a student in a classroom where the teacher feels supported enough to try technology for the first time.
Part of the fun of this job is meeting teachers like Don Kinslow. He’s got great ideas and he tries things, lots of things. He’s given me some great stories to tell! If you’d like to read more about Don and his students, they are also one of the detailed case studies in my Student Support of Laptop Programs article. Their school uses laptops on carts and the GenYES students are part of the team a teacher can count on when they use the laptops for small student groupwork, digital storytelling across all grades and subjects, and special request projects for teachers.
Once a year at the TED conference, invited speakers from all fields and backgrounds gather to give short talks about their subjects of interest. The conference website holds a treasure trove of brilliant, moving examples of storytelling about things that matter.
In this 4 minute video, Gever Tulley talks about his Tinkering School. This is a subject I’ve been thinking a lot about lately, especially in regards to technology. My post a few months ago, Technology Literacy and Sustained Tinkering Time was about how looking at technology through the lens of tinkering makes more sense than approaching it through checklists and skill acquisition charts.
But I think this TED talk is nice because it shows kids doing things, and he talks about what is necessary to facilitate this kind of learning — time, materials, and openness to the serendipity of both success and failure. Time is such a key element. Time to think, time to change your mind, and time to work through frustration.
In the comment page for the video, there is a a lively discussion of how computers fit into this world of “stuff” for kids to mess around with. Some people look at computers (and video games) as taking children out of the “real world” of making things with hammers and nails, but I know that computers are not in opposition to children tinkering. Children, especially with open-ended, creative software tools can flow seamlessly between creating virtual and real things that have meaning to them.
This fits in perfectly with my work next week at the Constructing Modern Knowledge summer institute. I’m looking forward to 4 days of tinkering with all the cool materials and software we bring in. According to Gary Stager, who leads the institute, teachers often see student frustration as a failure, and want to “help” students through it as quickly as possible. He says that teachers simply need to fine tune their reactions to differentiate between “mouth up” and “mouth down” frustration. No one wants to just leave a student stuck forever in an endless loop of problems. But to rescue them too soon means they never develop the problem solving skills they need. At CMK, the teachers learn that lesson by going through it themselves, tackling complex projects that have natural cycles of success, frustration, and more success.
Here’s a video from CMK last year, made during the event by one of the participants, that shows some of this in action.
By the way, there are a few places left, so sign up and come on down. What better way to spend a week than going to technology tinkering school!
Update – this offer is now expired. You can still get the e-book for $9.95 (or $7.95 if you are an ASCD member) using the link below. Still a pretty good deal if you ask me!
Last November, our Working with Tech-Savvy Kids article appeared in the ASCD magazine Educational Leadership. The good news is that Ed Leadership is one of the best magazines around for thoughtful articles about education. The bad news is that these articles are not freely available on the website.
But now, ASCD is offering ebooks with article collections with a short period of free access.
Better yet, I was very pleased to find out that Working with Tech Savvy Kids was selected for inclusion in a new ASCD ebook entitled Engaging the Whole Child, the first in a series of Whole Child ebooks. Educating the Whole Child ebook – free download link (valid April 15 – May 6, 2009)
As part of ASCD’s Whole Child Initiative, ASCD wanted to share with a larger audience—including preK–12 educators, policymakers, and parents—some of the fine articles on the topic of engagement that were originally published in Educational Leadership in 2006–2008. From April 15 through May 6, 2009, readers will be able to access these articles through a free ebook download. After May 6, sample chapters will be posted on the ASCD Web site and the complete book will be available through the online store for a small fee.
Don’t miss the window to download the ebook for free! Please share this link with friends and colleagues.
Sylvia
Update: Thanks to all the commentors who helped debug the link errors. They seem to be working now. The basic problem was pilot error, compounded by the fact that this is a LARGE download (366 page PDF) and the ASCD site seems to be very busy. Enjoy!
I’m happy to announce a new resource for laptop schools – or schools planning a laptop implementation. Student Support of Laptop Programs (PDF) covers all aspects of creating a highly effective student support team for your laptop program. Research, planning tips, case studies, and practical suggestions are packed into 16 pages.
Student tech support teams in a laptop school
Student support for teachers and students using laptops in classrooms
How (and why) to include students on planning committees
Students as trainers and mentors for new users
How students can make a laptop rollout go smoother
How to train and sustain a student technology team in support of laptops
This is a great resource to share with your laptop implementation team. I hope you enjoy it and share it widely!
A special thank you to the fabulous teachers who shared stories about their wonderful students:
Ann Powers at Tongue River Middle School – Ranchester, WY
Debbie Kosvedy at Shadow Mountain HS – Paradise Valley, AZ
Steve Spaeth at Mt. Ararat Middle School – Topsham, ME
Don Kinslow at Parkview Elementary – Chico, CA
Cherilyn Ziemer at Northland Christian School – Houston, TX
“Sixth-graders in Tom Coons’ computer class linger after the bell rings, asking for passes to come back during their study halls and lunch periods.
But now, ASCD is offering ebooks with article collections with a short period of free access.
