I Write For Me - Who Do You Write For?

http://www.flickr.com/photos/klytemestra/

Last week I attended Edcamp Austin. Then I sat down and started writing a post about my day. I didn't get very far because I wasn't feeling well and the creative juices just weren't flowing. So, the next day I started again. I re-read what I had written, fixed typos, wrote a few more sentences and called it a day.

A few days later I was starting to feel better and so I opened up the blog and re-read (yet again) what I had written. I rewrote a few sentences and maybe added two more sentences and then stopped. Later that night I read a really great AND INFORMATIVE blog post and I realized that I write, almost entirely, for myself. I don't try and write a great "how-to" post. I don't write posts about "20 Great blah, blah blahs.." And, not that I can't be deep, I don't write a post that makes the whole world take notice. I write for me.

Now, is that a bad thing? No, definitely not. The best educators, business people, and politicians take time to reflect on their work and on their thinking. Reflection is a key element in the PBL process and is a key difference between a great teacher and a pretty good teacher. I like to write reflective pieces.

And so tonight I started beating myself up because I hadn't finished the post I had started a week ago. But darn it - I'm not on commission. I don't get paid to write posts. My only deadlines are self imposed. So you know what I did? I opened up a new post and started writing. And what you are reading is what I ended up writing.

The other post? I'm about to go in and hit "delete" on that post. It was about Edcamp Austin and there will be another edcamp in my future. I didn't do anything Earth shattering in my session there. As a matter of fact I didn't do much at all because I felt pretty darn sick and only did a session because my friend asked me if I would. No biggie..

I can now finish this post up and hit "publish."  It may not get any views and that's OK. I'm writing this to remind myself that it's OK to just write for, well, myself.  And I hope that if you actually have gotten this far in this post that you stop and, just this once, write a post (or a journal entry or diary entry) just for yourself. You can even use the same title. But write down your thoughts and think about something you did this month, this week, or maybe this weekend or today.

When you finish it go ahead and post it - if you have a blog. No blog? Then attach it here in my comments section. Or, if you aren't ready to let others read it - put it somewhere with a set date that you intend to re-read it. And when you re-read it write another post or entry about what you're thinking about at that point. Before you know it, you might have created a blog that others stumble upon and decide that, maybe, they can write posts too.  Thank you for reading - and writing.

The Future Look of My Edcamp Presentations

Original Central Texas Edcamp

First, we all need to agree that one should never, NEVER, do a sit-n-git session at ANY professional development. This is especially true for edcamps. Just putting that out there.

If, for example, you have to start a portion of a PD with the phrase, " I apologize, but for the next hour or so there's material I have to give you. It could be a bit dry." Then, you've already lost the audience. Do your homework and figure out a way to chunk the material in 10 to 15 minute pieces with activity between the sets. You now know where I stand.

This is on my mind because I have started thinking about what I will do at the next edcamp I attend. I've signed up for two. There's Edcamp Dallas and a few weeks later Edcamp ATX (Austin).  These will be my 4th and 5th edcamps to attend (and I've run one edcamp (see the top picture)). For the first 3 I always did sessions on "Getting Started with PBL." The sessions ended up being standing room only and were well received.  But I want to do something different this time, while keeping the PBL-angle with whatever I end up doing.

(You can ignore the following edcamp thoughts if all you're going to do is present an app or two and let people work with them at the next edcamp you go to. Just like dessert, the attendees LOVE app sessions. Remember apps are teacher-tools. Give your audience examples of how you, personally, are using the app(s) in your classroom - with students - on a daily basis - like, all of the time.)

So here's how you keep an edcamp session going:  (1) Hook them as they are coming in. By that I mean have some activity that groups them in some fashion as they come into the room. Force them to sit with someone besides their best friend, too. (2) Do a few minutes of intro and then get them going on an activity. (3) Ask for feedback/reflection (4) Add a couple of minutes of great thoughts. (5) Have another activity (6) Repeat as needed...(7) Have time for a final reflection and discussions

PBL is a hot topic. It will always bring in people to a session. So I want to make sure my session is a little different while being an expected hour of doing PBL. Math teachers are hard to convince to use PBL. I might be able to lure math teachers into my session with the word "math" and the letters P-B-L in the title. So I'll work on producing a session title that ties the two together.

I think I need to have the attendees do a process that will lead them to solving a math problem. I just need to make sure the whole "doing math" part doesn't get out. If you are one of the 14 people reading this post, then would you please not let them know I intend to use math in my session? Thanks.

Starting with the end in mind, I want them to experience a PrBL (Problem Based Learning) unit that they can replicate at any grade level and with any subject. They must see that this can be used for not only a math problem but also for a Social Studies or English topic.  It will need a Driving Question. How about, "How can teachers create a 2 or 3 day problem that allows students to think critically while allowing for the inquiry process?" That will need to be improved upon before my session starts but it will work for now.

The problem we will be solving is a real life problem for me. I have a patio that needs to be re-worked. I'll give them the dimensions of the patio and the fact that I need new sand placed down for the tiles. They will need to figure out the amount of bags of sand to buy and whether I buy 5, 10, or 25 pound bags. I'll give them some info to help with their decision.  I'll use actual dimensions and costs. That will be good for the first edcamp but I'll have to come up with another scenario for the 2nd edcamp.

The chunks I will need are: (1) presenting the problem, (2) creating need-to-knows and questions (3) drawing a diagram of the situation (4) setting up equations that will be needed, and (5) solving and presenting the solution.  Between each of these I'll have the attendees working on the steps and asking questions/reflecting on the process.

People who come to my session will be getting the basics of PrBL. They will see it being used for math. They will see examples of the elements of a PrBL that they can take back and use in their classroom. But most importantly, they will NOT sit and wait for me - the old teacher - to talk to them for 45 minutes about what I think they should be doing in their classrooms. If I did that to them I'd want them to move down the hall to see if any of the Tech Ninjas are presenting. The Ninjas know how to do dessert that can be enjoyed like a main course!