Connecting Live With Educators

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December 15, 2015. That's the date on this draft post I was thinking about writing. It is the second of my 10 "draft" posts I have on my blog. I'm about to shift this blog over to Wordpress and away from Blogger. I have 276 blog posts altogether. Most were written over a 4 year period when I was actively writing (2011 through 2015). Additional Note: This is written from the distant past when classes happened in a school builiding - do you remember those days? 

Here comes another Tweet about "A Live Webinar....about to happen! Join Us!" -or- "Join us Tuesday at 2 PM PST for the next .... "  Who are they addressing this to and how are those people able to attend this event?

I get so frustrated and angry with these "incredible opportunities" to meet/talk/listen to incredible brains in the education world, when that "incredible opportunity" is during my school day. Even when I was an instructional coach and my hours were much more flexible, it was hard to make most  of these times.

I'm convinced that once teachers leave the classroom and become "experts" they forget that not everyone is able to hang out for an hour during a week day. When was the last time a teacher had an hour for lunch? And, should it occur during a conference period, how many teachers are willing and/or free to give up that time for something else besides grading papers/talking with parents/ or meeting with other teachers or administrators?

I'm not sure what else to do. I suggest via tweets that there should be a different time. I comment on this issue whenever I can. But, still, most of the great live stuff happens between the hours of 11:00 AM and 5:00 PM EST during week days.

People say, "there are always the taped and archived videos available to watch." Sure, and if you wanted to interact with anyone about a statement or question, how would you do that?  With connectivity better than at any time in my 58 years, there has to be a way to make these events available for ALL teachers in the US. I realize that there are awesome things going on in Australasia and in Europe and the Middle East. I can't expect those things to line up with my work day.

When I get up on a Wednesday morning and head off to school, I should be able to look forward to an event that is happening that day. To realize this it would have to happen sometime between 6 PM and 10 PM EST that night. If I have a personal conflict or a school event that is scheduled for the same time, then I won't be able to make it.  But if I am free I'll be able to be there - live.

Here are three possible solutions: (1) Have a webinar or GHO once a month that replaces a weekly Twitter chat. Why couldn't we have a #PBLCHAT, for example, once a month where people could see each other and there could be presentations to watch and interact with? The Twitter stream could still be utilized for a back channel. (I understand that some chats, like #edchat, are probably too big to do this).  (2) have a monthly webinar or GHO at set times and days (such as the third Tuesday of each month) with a web page outlining the agenda, days or even weeks, in advance. (3) Have more "live" podcasts that are streamed. There are some good ones now. Let's increase these.

There is a solution. And there are multiple ways to get it done. But to start we need those folks who insist on having mid-day live events to have a mind shift. Start thinking of the dozens (hundreds?) of educators who miss really great stuff because they are - gasp - in their classroom teaching!

2020 update - In our current state of online learning, educators have found ways to connect in new and different ways. Zoom is the most common tool being used. And, I am seeing so many more webinars and "conferences" being conducted this way. Maybe this will force us to understand the importance of being able to reach educators when they are actually available.

Putting Together a Design Class in a IB World School (Part 2)

Screen Capture from - https://goo.gl/VoUfRT

[NOTE: Originally written a week ago]
"So much time and so little to do. Wait a minute. Strike that. Reverse it. Thank you." Willy Wonka.

 Right now I'm feeling like a cross between the Scarecrow ( giving directions in OZ) and Willy Wonka these days. One minute I'm heading one direction and the next I'm heading in a completely opposite direction. But, the bottom line is that, wherever I end up heading needs to be a direction that helps our students and our school. I can live with that.

A long time ago (yesterday) I wrote the first part of this group of posts. At that time (yesterday) I felt like I was starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel - the tunnel of planning what my class would look like this year. Evidently the light I was seeing was a warning sign that said "Detour Ahead."

https://www.flickr.com/photos/shannonmary/

It now looks like my focus needs to be around the word Community. What does it mean to be a part of a community:   The classroom community, Our school community, Our "local community," and the world community?

The first project, that I will be doing with my science teacher neighbor, will now focus on my helping my teaching community. We will do the Rube Goldberg Machine because of the teacher's needs to teach certain concepts like momentum and speed.  We will build because of the need to have visual representations of the science concepts they will be learning. We will be doing all of the other components of the project so that everyone in my classroom community understands the parts of the design process.

For the school community I will be making sure that my students are learning the IB concepts at the MYP level. This will build on their years of learning these concepts at the PYP level. And throughout this unit, and the rest of the year, I will be referencing how our learning impacts (and is impacted by) the local and international communities.

It will be a time for me to join the Meridian World School community as well.  Let the school year begin!

[END NOTE: Stopping here. This was to have gone out last week. It's time to start writing the next post. School started today. And we are rolling! Come join my community. ]

I'm Not a Techie

Technology Cow via http://goo.gl/XR2MYi

In 1976 I went to the University of South Carolina to be a dual Math and Computer Science major. I got my math degree but gave up on computers after spending hours at the card punch machine at late hours on the university's one computer (that also had to do research and university business).

In 1985 to 1987 I attended the Naval Postgraduate School where I majored in Weapons Systems Engineering. I got a masters in engineering and the equivalent of a bachelors in physics while studying robotics. I worked on an IBM AT and an IBM XT for the robot work and I had a computer built to my specs for home where I could connect to the school's mainframe.

In 1992 I finished my masters in education and I co-taught a computers in the classroom course at Old Dominion University. We used the Apple IIE and I got to see teachers experience the world wide web (and accidentally find porn sites).

In 2008 I started work at Manor New Technology HS and the first question I was asked was whether I was a Mac or a PC person. I had never had a Mac but I knew the correct answer - give me a Mac! A couple of years later we added iPads to our repertoire.

During the years 2008 to present I actively reached out to like-minded teachers who were on Twitter, used Macs and iPads, and were discussing the future of education. So many of my first Twitter friends have become, what I like to call, Twitter Gods! They go to all of the cool conferences, hang out with all of the coolest people, and write books and have well-followed blogs. And many (most?) of them are techies. But not me.

That's right. I'm not a techie. I appreciate technology. I use technology to help me work more efficiently. I love discussing the latest apps, the latest websites, or a great blog post. But I'm not a techie. I still want to be where all of the "cool kids" are like SXSW, ISTE, or Ipadpalooza. But you know what? I can't afford to go to these conferences and I'm not in technology at a school district so I can't expect anyone to help me financially. Because I'm not a techie.

What I am is an education nerd. I love talking about curriculum and pedagogy. I love finding ways to help kids enjoy learning. I try new things in the classroom and want teachers to be better because our kids deserve the best teachers they can have. And if that means a cool app that improves inquiry and helps a student go deeper with their learning, then I'm all on board. But if a teacher has the latest bells and whistles tool, but can't reach the kids, then I don't want to hear about it.

Too many education conferences are focusing on those "precious" things called technology. Teachers by the hundreds are attending these and hanging out on the vendor floor with stars in their eyes. But what about learning about becoming a better teacher! What about finding ways to get students more involved with the content?

I just finished 3 weeks where I spent 11 of the 15 work days in front of teachers wanting to learn about PBL. They designed projects built on their content standards. And they designed these projects to help students make connections to the learning. Not once did I suggest an app, some software, or any hardware. Because I'm not a techie.

What I did do was help them understand how to turn the verbs written into their standards into some real-world, authentic, activity or problem. If, through examining this authentic problem their students might need some sort of technology we'd discuss that but technology was never at the center of the discussion. Because these were teachers - not techies.

It is 2015. It is time to FINALLY get to the point where we were at Manor New Tech 7 years ago - technology is the invisible tool. It is a tool. That is all. A tool. Like a pencil or pen. Like a chalk board, a white board, or a SMART board. A tool. We need to be tool masters not techies. What tool do we need to use to successfully complete this task? Whatever tool works best.

Can we finally stop sucking on the technology teat at education conferences? Probably not. But can we please get principals to the point where they see technology as just a tool? Then, and only then, will we be able to push teachers away from their "precious."

We just might get back to where we were in 1976 when I graduated from high school - we used the best tools that we had available. It just happened to be that it was a stick of chalk and a chalk board - although some of the rich kids could afford a Smith Corona electric typewriter - now THAT was cool!

It's Great to Have Awesome Instructional Technology Specialists

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This week I was sitting in on our ELA teachers as they were working with the Heart of Texas Writing Project. A discussion came up about publishing student work.  There was the usual talk about creating a newspaper or a magazine. But I instantly thought of online opportunities for sharing student work. That's because I am farther along the SAMR progression than many of our teachers. (To find out more about SAMR, I like to show people what Kathy Schrock wrote about it here.)

I spoke up and suggested that they think about doing something where the students can get their work out for a much larger audience. These teachers are great at what they do but they need to start thinking about the S (substitution) in the SAMR model - start substituting technology for that paper and pencil item.

I wished I had more time so I could walk these teachers through possible options when it occurred to me that we have incredible Instructional Technology folks in our district and this is exactly what they get paid to do - help teachers (and their students) create with technology. A short email to these talented folks and we had something set for when we return from the holiday break.

Do you have Instructional Technology people in your district? Do you utilize them the way they should ( and what they would like to ) be used? Do you ask them for help or to come in and model teach? All I have to say is use them, use them, use them.

We are very fortunate to have 3 awesome people: Jacob (@jacobtech), Stephanie (@Ms_Cerda), and Lacy (@whatifclass) who have come together and really made our district move in the right direction. I am thankful for a great school district who is starting to "get it" with technology integration. I'm thankful for many of our teachers who are starting to "get it" with technology and those other teachers who are out on "the tip of the spear" (to use my military terminology), pushing the limits on what their students are able to do in their 1:1 classrooms.

UPDATE: Since writing this post I found out that someone I knew was in the district, and is doing good things, is actually part of the IT world. She's mainly over at Manor High School which is why I wouldn't have thought of her. So feel free to say hi to Allison too.

Decker Middle School is a pretty darn good school. We have a long way to go to be where we want to be and to a level our community deserves, but we recognize that and we are moving in the right direction. Technology, "the hidden tool," is helping us with that movement. And our instructional technology specialists deserve some of the credit.

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!

Sometimes I Take Care of My Teachers

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Sometimes teachers can make me really cranky. Sometimes teachers come across as real babies. Sometimes I am so disappointed in teachers who won't try something new. Sometimes I question why I've been able to stay in this profession for over 20 years when I've had to hold teachers' hands since that very first Summer PD in 1992 with the Apple IIE - "Just push some buttons you won't break it and I'll help you if you get stuck."  Sometimes......

But sometimes I meet teachers like Jon Samuelson, known as @ipadsammy , who broke out of the classroom so he could truly help teachers. At first he tried new things in his classroom and then he would help his fellow teachers. He truly cares about teachers learning and being successful.

Sometimes I meet teachers like Todd Nesloney, known as @techninjatodd , who appears fearless in his passion for technology. He, along with his partner in crime Stacey Huffine, known as @techninjastacey, desire to help teachers be the best they can be and go out of their way to show teachers exactly what they need to do to be awesome teachers.  And they also blatantly state that all of this is so that their students can be the best they can be. Their website is awesome.

Sometimes I open up my Tweetdeck and just watch the Twitter stream flow by with hundreds of great teachers sharing their knowledge of technology and how it can be used in the classroom. And on those days I feel uplifted and happy. I think, "Darn it! We CAN make a difference in the educational world."

And then I think about my teachers at my school. And you know what? Sometimes they can make me really cranky.  And sometimes they can come across as real babies. And there are times when I am frustrated and disappointed with them when they won't try something new.

But I want to also tell you that I have some pretty darn great teachers at my school. And I also want to say that Decker Middle School is now a New Tech Network School and we're pretty darn good at what we do - which is educating students in both life and in academics.

So this year, when I start to get frustrated or disappointed I need to ask myself, "What is it that is frustrating me?" And I need to immediately analyze how I can make this frustration into some positive energy so that I can help my teachers even be better. Because, sometimes, I can really act like a baby and not take that extra step to help out a teacher with a really tough problem. And that can really be frustrating to my teachers who are looking for help - sometimes.

PLN's Help When You Least Expect It

On October 3, 2007 I opened my Twitter account. My wife had been on for a while (since it was introduced to the public the Spring before at the SXSW conference).

If you go onto Twitter and look me up (@cfanch ) you'll see that I have one list of people to follow: Edpros.  Most of the people on that list were in my original group of people I followed or who followed me and a majority of those names have been on Twitter in excess of 5 years now.

These educators were my original PLN (Professional Learning Network) before we used the term on twitter. I can still count on them to provide great insight into all things education and when I need an answer to a tough question I will send it their way.

During the years from 2008 to now, I have tried to get teachers, who I work with, to get onto Twitter so that they can glean knowledge from educational experts. At Manor New Technology High School I was totally unsuccessful.  I stopped trying and would just send links of great blog posts I had read because of my friends on Twitter. Or I would share a tech secret that I had learned about because of people sharing stuff on Twitter. But, as far as active users, I (again) was totally unsuccessful at showing them why it was a must to be connected to a PLN.

Now I am at a new school where the number of tech savvy teachers is at a minimum. Those that are good with technology are doing really great things. But there really is only one teacher (out of about 50) who are active on Twitter for professional reasons and a couple who have Twitter accounts but don't understand how to use them to help their teaching skills.

I have given up (or at least I think I've given up) on encouraging teachers to try Twitter.  I am sharing blog posts, occasionally, with my fellow teachers at school but I rarely mention that I found the post on Twitter. And, to be quite frank, I have gotten pretty darn bitter about not being able to share information with anybody I work with.

This leads to today and an exchange I had with a wonderful person I met on Twitter a few months ago and was able to say hello to at an Edcamp in Waller Texas. {Don't even get me started on getting teachers to go to Edcamps. I ran my own Edcamp 2 years ago that about 25 people came to and only one of them was from my school or school district.}

There was a time when I was always on Twitter - sharing things, having great times with my PLN buddies, learning things.  Now I get on occasionally but I feel like an outsider and not in on all of the jokes and innuendo.  And so I noticed a group of people talking about creating a Twitter for Educators panel for next year's TCEA conference.  Everyone on the list in the tweets is connected, doing great things with education, and are forward lookers in all things new and cool in education. I feel that that's where I was 3 or 4 years ago.

And so I said, " @RafranzDavis After 5 + years on here, if they havent' figured it out they won't ever figure it out (Twitter for PD), #mrnegative " And I meant it.  Why even try to get people interested in this stuff they'll just ignore you and laugh and call you "Mr. Twitter." But Rafranz didn't give up.  She replied " @cfanch which is why this "super panel" is needed !!!:) " She continued " @cfanch all that we can do is show how we use it. We can"t force people into changing how they learn best. However, we can't stop trying :) "

She's right of course. I just wonder if I have the energy to keep up the fight.  At this Edcamp I heard teachers asking all kinds of questions about how to get onto twitter and how to use it. Part of me wanted to yell "Where have you all been?" But I smiled and helped people get through the beginning steps of getting connected.

My wife is in the business of showing people in the travel industry how to use social media and she has the same reaction when one of her clients asks how to do something that is (for me and for her) very basic. But she keeps reminding me that there are people who aren't connected. There are people who really don't understand how to use the space. There are people who are afraid of looking dumb.  There are people with all sorts of excuses on why they haven't gotten connected yet. And they need people like Rafranz and people in her PLN - and, yes, they even need Mr. Cranky Pants.

Even though I knew everyone of those people she was talking with about the "Super Panel" for TCEA, I don't feel connected to them. Maybe I need to get back on Twitter and connect with them so I can feel like I'm a part of a PLN again. Because you're never really NOT a part of a PLN.

Nothing to Write About Today...

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I really want to write a blog post today. I wanted to write one yesterday.  This past week was pretty busy so I didn't think about it. But I wanted to write a post last weekend too.  It's not like I don't have anything to say about PBL. It's not like I haven't read some great posts that got me thinking that I should write my own post on that certain topic. No, I just can't seem to get started.

As a matter of fact I'm making myself write this post that may, or may not, get published. I do that quite often. I write a few paragraphs and get distracted and get up from the laptop. When I return I don't have any interest in finishing the post and it gets deleted (usually) or saved as  draft.  Currently I have 134 published posts and 4 sitting in draft.  One of those drafts is more like a diary entry and will probably never be published. But I do have a couple that I have kept and could dust off and finish and post in short order.

But not today.  It's lovely outside and I don't feel like writing a post. Yet, ironically, here I am in my third paragraph - not wanting to write.  What would I write about? There's PBL stuff I guess. I've done a lot of thinking about helping people get over their fear of trying PBL. I've thought about how schools, who are planning on using PBL as their primary mode of instruction, could set up their master schedule and their classrooms. Sometimes I feel like I'm ALWAYS thinking about PBL. But I won't be writing a post about PBL today.

Last week I went to Edcamp Waller (in Waller, TX) and I could write about Edcamps. No, just wrote one and there are tons out there right now because we're in Edcamp season. There were some great sessions about apps at the edcamp and I could write about them but I'm just not feeling techie today. No inspiration coming from edcamps......hmm.....maybe teaching, in general.

I'm about to conduct training, for our staff, tomorrow morning on C-SCOPE, which our district will be using next year. It houses curriculum and assessment pieces, as well as other great resources. C-SCOPE is a hot button topic in Texas because many school districts are using it as their curriculum, instead of a curriculum resource.

There are conservatives in this state upset with some of the lessons found within it.  Can you believe they portray those great heroes of 1773 (Boston Tea Party) as potential terrorists? All they did was destroy a ship's (flagged by the Crown) cargo. I mean it's not like they attacked a U.S. Ship - oh wait, we were under British rule....don't let me continue, I might say something wrong.  Not writing about that....

You see there's just nothing to write about today. So I'll wrap up here. It can really take forever to write a post. I've been at this for almost 15 minutes today.  That's 15 minutes that I won't get back.  Maybe I'll sit down tonight and start on a post. Or maybe tomorrow.... I've really got nothing to say.

Edcamps Are a Must

If you're reading this and either went to Edcamp Waller or another edcamp recently then I want you to send this to some friends who didn't go so they can read what I have to say.

Edcamps are the greatest thing since, well, just about any professional development (PD) you or I have ever been to in the last 20 years.

Yes that is an incredible statement. But anyone who has attended an edcamp knows that what I just wrote is true. The obvious reasons - it's free, there are great door prizes, and it's fun. The one simple reason that is important to your school and your students is that you will learn something you can use in your classroom.

How does an ecamp work? I'll leave that to the information at the Edcamp Wiki page and to this blog post from Simple -12. But the bottom line is that you sign up and then give up (usually) a Saturday. And then you have fun learning something.

While I have you (if you're from Texas), think about attending an edcamp in your near future. There's Edcamp San Antonio on July 15th (2013) and Edcamp Fort Worth on July 27th (2013).  If you have to wait until the Fall there's Edcamp Dallas on October 12th (2013). (If you're from somewhere else just look at the link, above, for the Edcamp Wiki Page and you'll see a listing of edcamps and their dates.)

Still looking for reasons to attend? Here's a look at the line up of sessions held at Edcamp Waller:

     There were 4 session times; two in the morning and two in the afternoon.

     During the 1st session there were  discussions about (1) Open Sources in Education (such as Ubuntu and Joomla), (2) Ways to use Google Apps, (3) A student presentation on a flipped classroom, (4) Standards Based Grading, (5) Twitter basics, (6) App sharing for the elementary level, and (7) Using SMART Notebook.

     During the 2nd session there were conversations about (1) Increasing student engagement based on the Teach Like A Pirate book (TLAP), (2) Using Google Chrome, (3) Using Wiki's for authentic writing, (4) Getting Google Certified Teacher Training, (5) School Pad and Class Dojo, and (6) Tech in the multi-ability classroom.

     During the 3rd session teachers talked about (1) Student discussion groups, (2) An intro to PBL, (3) iPad projects, (4) Basic Twitter, (5) Global/Connected classrooms, and (6) How to get free stuff for your classroom.

    During the final session there were discussions about (1) What you need to know about going to Google Chromebooks, (2) Google Stuff, (3) Ways to implement iPads and BYOD, (4) Techie tips and tricks for the K-2 classroom, (5) QR codes, (6) Flipped classrooms, (7) Genius Hour - unleashing student passion, and (8) Unconference 101

That's 27 conversations with around 150 educators over four 1-hour periods.  And in the middle, everyone went to lunch and continued conversations from the morning.  In all there were 7 hours of incredible learning and sharing and everyone - and I mean EVERYONE - enjoyed themselves.

When was the last time you spent a full day at a PD in your district where everyone was happy at the end of the day?  Heck when did you ever have a non-bitch session lunch during the middle of a PD day?  Go out and support these people putting on edcamps in your area.  You won't be disappointed. Then, when you get back, work with your district and host your own edcamp.

Change Can be Scary

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

Our teachers are pretty darn good at what they do. Oh, we have a few who are struggling with classroom management and a few others who aren't the best team players, but overall they really come together for our students and that's what it's all about - the students.

Next school year our teachers will be facing a LOT of change and not all of our current teachers will be along for the journey. There are many reasons for that last sentence and I won't get into why I feel that way, but suffice it to say the changes we are about to encounter are scary.

If you've followed this blog you know that the current school year saw 1:1 iPads for our sixth grade teachers along with the requirement for them to use project based learning as their primary form of content delivery in their classrooms.

There were major technological hurdles to cross along the way and we are still having log-in issues for some of our students. In spite of these distractions, some of our teachers have been real troopers and have exceeded our expectations. And because of their tenacity we've even had students present their PBL/Tech skills to our school board. In turn the board has given us the green light to make some key changes.

For the 2013/2014 school year we will have 1:1 iPads for all 850 students and we will expect project based learning to be the primary mode of instruction in all of our content-area classrooms. This information was presented to the teachers this week at our faculty meeting. Most teachers had expected us to be adding the pbl requirement to the 7th grade (with or without iPads) next year and our 8th grade the following year. Now? Boom - they're all getting it.

The other change they are about to face is the addition of a curriculum management system called C-SCOPE which they will be getting more information on during the month of May. The teachers will be using the Year At a Glance (YAG) and the Instructional Focus Document (IFD) from C-SCOPE. For some of the veteran teachers this might require the loss of some of their favorite topics. And it might force a sequencing change to their "normal" flow.

These losses can be troubling. And whenever there is change we, as leaders, must recognize these losses. Over the course of the next 4 months I need to help our teachers deal with the changes and their perceived (and actual) losses. It will be a challenging time for all of us but because these are great teachers we will survive all things scary.

It's All About the Conversations

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Anyone who has ever attended an Educon event knows that conversations are the key to having successful learning experiences at conferences.

In the standard conference we attend sessions where people talk to us, in a lecture format, and there may, or may not be time for questions. To truly have time to discuss what you just heard you have to join up (virtually or face-to-face) with others who attended that session or who have knowledge of the subject.

SXSWEdu is starting to have less lecturers and more facilitators of discussion and it is a welcomed change.  There are many things that are different, this year, from that first disappointingly bad conference two years ago. But, unfortunately, there is still too much emphasis on the business of education rather than the art of education.

So, if you want to have conversations about topics of interest, it is the hallways, restaurants, bars, and lounges where you will have the best and deepest discussions.  While in the hallways of SXSW you hear teachers talking with edtech people; startups talking with venture capitalists; and IT folks talking with school administrators.

Unfortunately, you don't hear many conversations between teachers and other teachers at SXSWEdu.  As a friend of mine said to me this morning, when I asked him how his week was, "They should call it an Education Industry conference.  It really isn't an education conference."

And this week was frustrating because of the huge emphasis on data.  There were startups who could give you a better dashboard for your data.  Edtech companies who could put all of your data from the various programs you are using into one data file.  There were companies who could do more meaningful data management.

Analyzing data can help teachers provide better and more meaningful instruction for their students. That is a true statement. God knows I spend hours upon hours of spreadsheet analysis of student scores related to various data points.  But with this much emphasis on data I felt like I was attending a math conference instead of an education conference.

SXSWEdu has grown in size and in scope.  It is immensely better than the poor excuse for a conference in 2011 that I had to attend - at my own cost even though I was a speaker. [Side Note: speakers at the other SXSW events get a pass to the conference]  But if we're going to call this an educator conference, let's bring in the educators in large numbers.  Let's have the break down be 70% educators and 30% industry folks instead of the current 70%(or more?) industry and 30% educators.

As I said two years ago and last year: Let's put together educators in the Central Texas area to sit on a panel and select key educators from around the globe and truly make this the "Can't Miss" education conference on the planet. Then we can discuss the data of its success.

Umm...That's Not Exactly PBL

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Have you ever had a teacher tell you a plan for an activity she was going to run in her class and she emphasized the fact that she loves "doing PBL?" This "project," that will last 3 days, is having the students demonstrate what they have learned in her 6th grade math class over the last 2 weeks.

Do you (a) tell her "that's not a project!"; or, (b) ask her "why are you wasting your student's time?"; or (c) tell her that she has great ideas and you'd like to help her plan for a more meaningful PBL unit.  Hopefully, through discussion, all three of those answers come up.

This evening I saw a link to a "pbl" where the students were to calculate the volume of a soda can and then redesign a new can that would hold the same volume of soda.  This is a standard activity and certainly is better than having students work 20 problems on volumes of a cylinder.  I even used that same thing as a 6th grade math teacher back in 1995.  I could easily have said (to this teacher), "Honey, that is NOT PBL! (while wagging my index finger)

So how should we, as fellow educators, handle this when we see it? Where do we take the conversation to make it truly meaningful for our co-teacher? We start by asking her to think about who might want to redesign a soda can.  Why would they want to redesign it? How would they redesign it? Now we tell her to imagine the students being the designers.  How would these designers be asked to make a change to the standard soda can? Then we tell her that she's thinking like a PBL teacher, now.

I worry, as more and more teachers become "experts" in PBL, that they will start squashing ideas and activities that other teachers want to do in their classroom.  Some of these activities can make great idea starters for a pbl unit.  Instead of squashing the ideas we need to be encouraging these teachers to use their ideas as jumping off points to greater things.  Some of these activities are great as scaffolding pieces for the middle of the project, for example.

Take the time to help your fellow teachers learn how to build inquiry into their lessons.  Help them teach their students to become better questioners.  Be gentle with their (the teachers) egos.  You want to help them not shut them down.  It is your (our) duty to help fellow teachers be the best that they can be so that our students can be the best that they can be.

Hey! Where'd You Get That?

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A good friend of mine, who has now been married for more than 30 years, used to use this expression whenever we saw a good looking woman:  "It doesn't matter where you go for your appetite, as long as you come home for dinner."

The same holds true with your projects.  Projects that you run in your classroom need to be  your projects but it doesn't matter where you go for your project ideas.  Projects that are taken, fully intact,  from someone else and then run in your class just won't work the same.  And your students will know that it isn't your project.

So stop beating yourself up about using someone's project idea.  It's OK.  You can use the idea.  Just make it your own.  Have your entry event totally unique to how you want to start the project.  And figure out how you want your project to end.  Allowing students to pick their own end product means that, even if a group wants to do something that was an end product in the original project idea, your students have ownership in it.

Now when it comes to some of the scaffolding activities, in the original project,  you may really like some of them.  That's OK.  But, until you have run the activity you won't know what could go wrong.  What material isn't listed that would really help.  What time changes did the original teacher make when they ran it.  Was it a "class period" activity and the original teacher was on a 90 minute block?  Or, was it a "class period" activity for a 45 minute class and you have a 90 minute block?  Work through the activity yourself (which should be your modus operandi anyway) to gauge the length of time needed.

Now that you've selected the project idea, you have your entry event, and you have determined how you will handle end products, it is time to really look at the theme of the project and see if there are any other things you might want to add or subtract to make it "your" project.

Hopefully you are starting to see that getting ideas from somewhere else is an incredible time saver BUT you still have to create your project.  You still need to arrange your calendar with content, scaffolding, and assessments.  I really like having someone's project to manipulate into my own.  What I present to my students may not even look at all like the original project except that the original content is there.

Remember, it doesn't matter where you go for your project appetite, as long as you come back and create your own project meal.  I know, bad statement.  But I had to come back to my opening.

Where to get project ideas:

•  Regional Education Centers in many states such as Texas, Ohio, and South Carolina may have links to resources.  Transformation 2013 in Texas has good project ideas, for example.
•   Edutopia has a whole section of their site devoted to Project Based learning.
•   Curriki is a resource I sometimes forget. They have classroom activities that can easily be molded into a project idea.
•    We Are Teachers is one I like to have in my pocket.  Great resources and activities.
•    Discovery Education has some great resources and is not always thought of as a place to come up with project ideas.
•     Buck Institute for Education is the most obvious one for me but I thought I'd put it late on the list.
• Your local newspaper, a magazine (hard copy or online), or current events aren't necessarily taking someone's project idea, but there may be a problem to solve or a concept to explore and there's your project.

Read Anything Good Lately?

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I read this great editorial the other day by Ross Douthat encouraging people to read things that they might not normally read.  His focus was on politics and how you learn more if you read from authors who you don't, necessarily, agree with.

I got to thinking what things I read related to education.  Most people think of me as a high school level PBL guy.  But I read about early childhood articles recommended by my friends who are teachers or administrators at the lower elementary level.  I read tech articles that are both education and non-education related.  I read posts by principals dealing with administration issues.  I read posts and articles by higher education folks.  And, I read articles about various teaching strategies and methods from all levels.

Most of the educators I interact with on Twitter seem to do the same as me but is that entirely true?  Do those #kinderchat teachers also read things recommended during #educoach?  Do the principals and superintendents I follow also read tech posts; and do they check in on various twitter chats not related to their school issues?

Well, they should.  And so should I.  That's what it means to be a professional.  I should read any and every thing related to my profession.  We all should.  Let that be your mantra for 2013.  If you need a list of people to read then start here.  Or, start following the hash tag of a chat you wouldn't normally follow.  Then read an article or blog post recommended by someone using that hash tag.  This is the year that we all get smarter.  Got to go read something.......

A New Years Rant

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It's New Years Day and my birthday is tomorrow.  I'll be 55.  I've been with my wife for nearly 25 years, my kids are 20 and 13.  And, I have 3 cats.  Other than the financial mess we've made, we have a pretty darn good life.

What makes me frustrated?  There are not enough people in the world who are willing to work outside of "normal hours."  What makes me mad?  That I get frustrated with these people who seem to have wonderful lives and are content to work those normal hours.

I think it all started when I was growing up.  My dad worked in a Ball Bearing Factory.  He worked a basic 40 hour week but would work whenever he was needed.  There was a time when he had to cycle his shifts working days for a couple of weeks, mid-days for a couple of weeks, and then grave yard for a couple of weeks.  This seemed to go on forever but probably "only" lasted 2 or 3 years.

But that was work for pay.  My dad would then come home and work around the house.  He was very handy.  He kept a very large garden (for Connecticut standards) that was probably more than 1000 square feet.  He repaired lawnmowers and snow blowers and various other pieces of equipment for friends and co-workers.  And, he always had time to throw the baseball or do some other father-son thing.  Even though he was 46 years older than me.

I was certainly lazy, by the standards set in those days, but I also learned from watching and helping my father that there are times when you do whatever is needed to be done.  And you did this until it was done correctly.

So, when I came home from college, the first summer, I decided that I would take a grave yard shift at the local Waring Blender Factory.  I was on a four year scholarship with the Navy (Naval Reserve Officer Training Corps - NROTC) and I knew that when I graduated I was guaranteed a job as a Naval Officer.  I'd NEVER have to work in a factory like my dad.  But I wanted to experience that life.  I learned a lot that Summer, but mainly I learned that I was right for saying that I'd NEVER work in a factory like my dad.  Ironically, I worked there the next summer as well.  Just not the grave yard shift.

In the military you learn that you do whatever it takes to get the job done right.  There were days that ran together.  And, you'd look back and realize that you hadn't slept in a couple of days.  But that's just what you did.  When you add that to my growing up you see that there is this work ethic there that won't ever be changed.  And it is that background that gets me so frustrated with my current profession.

Teachers work hard.  Let me get that out straight away.  They don't get a chance to go to the bathroom or sit and make a run to Starbucks for a coffee.  They come home and have to deal with calling parents of students even while they put their own children on the back burner.  Since the profession is mostly women (and men in this world are pretty much the same as they've been for hundreds of years), teachers end up going home and cooking dinner and playing with the kids and putting the kids to bed and helping the kids with homework, and.....(but that's a topic of another post) - BEFORE they grade papers, call parents, and plan the next day's lessons.

Teachers, these days, are expected to be actively learning or providing learning to other teachers during a majority of their Summer Break.  So very few ever take that 12 week vacation - even though there are a lot of cynics who decry the fact that "teachers don't even work during the summer!"  So, I understand why teachers get defensive when additional items are thrown on their plate.

However, I think it's time for teachers to remember who their consumer is and what their product is.  The consumer is the parent sending their child off to become all they can be.  The product is that child.  We need to do whatever it takes to make sure the product we deliver has been given every ounce of our ability.

All I ask is that teachers take a minute to think about my last paragraph.  Are teachers doing everything they can to create the best product?  Are administrators recognizing when teachers need a break and when teachers aren't putting forth the requisite effort?  Are instructional coaches doing what it takes to make sure teachers are armed with the best tools available?  Are instructional coaches identifying teachers who need a break or aren't putting forth the requisite effort?

Just because it is a Saturday or Sunday doesn't mean teachers can't meet and plan for the coming week.  Just because it is the middle of a Spring Break, Winter Break, or Holiday Break doesn't mean they can't get together for a coffee and discuss upcoming plans.  Just because it is 9 PM doesn't mean they can't get on social media or Facetime, or Skype, or IM and discuss things going on in the classroom that need attention.

Teachers need to work together better.  Teachers need to have "study buddys" who they can bounce ideas off of or that they can ask help from.  Teachers need to stop working in a vacuum.  Gone are the days when a teacher came to school and spent the day inside the classroom only to leave at the end of the day and not have to interact with anyone else.

My wish for 2013 is that the 2 or 3 teachers who read this go out and find someone on their campus who they can get together with outside of "normal" hours.  Then these same teachers need to get on twitter and find a group of teachers who is on twitter at times they are on and are willing to interact and help with plans and ideas.  Then these same teachers need to pick one day a week when they can devote to a twitter chat and start being an active participant.

My wish is that every student has a teacher who is willing to do whatever it takes to make sure they are receiving the best education available.  Happy New Year faithful reader(s).

So, What Do You Think?

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If this post sounds whiny I want you to tell me at the end of the post.  If it resonates with you then feel free to leave a comment telling me that.  If you found a typo in the third paragraph then feel free to let me know in the comments section at the end of the post.  If all of these questions/statements in the first paragraph drove you crazy then I want to hear about that too.

I have been writing posts here since St. Patrick's Day, 2009.  That's over 110 posts in 44 months.  My total comments on these posts? Somewhere between the number of months and the number of posts.  In other words less than one comment per post.

I can guarantee you that if I were to look at the last 100 "posts" I did on Facebook you would find plenty more than 100 comments.  In fact you might just find kloser to 500 comments, I'm betting.  I can always find 4 or 5 comments on things I say there.  And, how many comments have you (or I) written on other people's Facebook posts?  I have exchanges on single posts that went 30 or 40 comments - just by me!

Why don't I leave comments, more often, on blog posts?  I do try to leave a comment whenever I find a post that hits home with me.   I like to add comments after I read a good comment on a good post.  But sometimes I am in a hurry and I finish the post and then send the link out to my twitter stream so others may find it.  But does the author know I've sent out a link to the post?  Does the author know I thought it was great?

I see posts all of the time about teaching students to be good communicators and leave comments on posts by other students.  I even see students being told to leave comments on posts they read while doing research.  So why don't we educators take the time to leave a comment?  Well, I think it comes down to the time thing.  It really does take about 4 or 5 minutes to write the comment, go through the Captcha sequence, and hit "submit comment."   And do we have a spare 4 or 5 minutes?

Well, actually, I think we do.  If you can spend 4 or 5, (or 30), minutes on Facebook commenting on and posting items, then I think you can do the same with some one's blog.  It takes changing your mindset.  It takes me changing my mindset too.  I have gotten better about it.  And I intend to get even better about it.  Now it's your turn.  Go find a blog post you have read this week and leave a comment on there.  Then, the next time you read a post, at least scroll down to the comments section and remind yourself that you should leave a comment.  Before long it will become a habit and bloggers will thank you for it.

I've Got A Lot of Questions...

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Have you ever noticed that great teachers ask great questions?  That actually wasn't a great question.  I could have asked several related questions:  (1) Why is it that great teachers ask such great questions?  (2)  What great questions have you ever been asked by a teacher?  (3)  Have you ever been asked a great question by one of your teachers? - or - (4) Have you ever noticed that one of your better teachers was really great at asking question?

Since taking on more of a leadership role in school I have noticed the importance of  "good questioning."  As a TAP ( Teacher Advancement Program) mentor teacher I was told to look at teachers and how they asked questions.  And, as a teacher in a TAP school,  I was observed and reminded to use good questioning techniques.

When I moved to a school using PBL as its main delivery method I learned of specific types of questions that were important to getting students hooked on the theme of the project - Driving Questions.  In studying driving questions I discovered that it actually mattered whether the teacher presented the driving question or whether the students created the driving question(s).  I decided that at the K - 5 level it might be better for teachers to present a problem statement and driving question.  At 6 - 8, it was better to present a problem statement and help the students create a driving question that all of the students work on to answer.  And, at the high school level, teachers should present a problem where the students then create a problem statement and driving questions that they will pursue during their examination of the problem. 

As I continued reading more and more about the importance of having students derive a driving question, I became more sure that this was the necessary first step in having students "own their learning."  While reading a blog post about questioning, I first saw a mention of "The Right Question Institute " or RQI.  This group takes student ownership of learning to the next level by having them create questions around a central idea that they work on.  So now we have moved beyond teachers asking great questions and are moving to students learning how to ask great questions that fuel their learning.

My first paragraph was actually based upon the first few steps of the RQI's Question Formulation Technique (QFT).  Step one of the QFT, The Question Focus, was my blog post title.  It tweaked some interest that got you to read the first few lines of the post and started you asking yourself questions about why I might be writing this post.  In step two, The Rules for Producing Questions, are rules established by the teacher on how the students should create their questions.  I omitted this step.

The third step is where the students Produce Questions.  Like brainstorming in the Engineering Design Process or Scientific Method, this should be limited by only time. The students shouldn't think about whether it is a great question, they should just list their questions.  My four additional questions were an example of this step.  

Once they have their list of questions then they can think about the questions and they will have a chance to  Categorize the Questions , (step 4).  There are only two categories: Closed Questions or Open-Ended Questions.  My first question was an example of an open question and questions 2 - 4 were all closed questions.  While in the categorizing mode the students should be told to change one or two of the questions so that they might fit the opposing category.  For example my question 4 (closed) might be reworded to "How might a teacher ask questions that stimulate a desire to learn about a topic?" That is a more open ended question.

With their questions categorized they are ready to go on to step 5: Prioritizing the Questions.  The criteria for prioritizing can be set by the teacher or, for older students, stated by the students themselves.  This is the point where students can focus their work and as they are prioritizing the are ready to consider step 6, which is their Next Steps. The next steps might be simple like getting ready for a summative assessment or completing an assignment.  Or, they might be more involved like completing research for a project idea.

And so I end by asking, have you ever noticed that great students ask great questions?   Take your students to the next level by helping them learn how to question.  While they are learning the process remember that there really is a step 7 in the process.  Have the students reflect on what it is that you have purposefully done in the classroom.  Ask them to think about whether writing down and prioritizing questions helped them focus on what needed to be learned.  Ask them how they might use this technique in life.  Ask them great questions because, if you are using this, you are a great teacher.

Maintaining a Blog is Hard!

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     Watching the US Grand Prix practice rounds this morning and then opening my blog to see if there were any comments I had to respond to, I realized that I was attempting to maintain my blog so that it was functioning at it's highest level.

     Not quite like maintaining a F1 car like this Lotus team to the left.  Still, if I want to get the most from my writing, and I want my readers to get the most from my writing, I need to keep my hand in on the process.

     Before taking this tack with this post I went through my posts from November and December of last year.  What was I looking for?  I'm not really sure.  But last year was my most successful, as far as number of posts, and I know I had some posts that really resonated with some readers.  There were a few trends I noticed.  For one, beating my self up over not writing as consistently as I wanted.  I have been really hard on myself for not posting more because my "numbers" weren't at the level they were last year.

    Number of posts doesn't always go hand-in-hand with quality.  But, being a math guy, I do see the numbers and when I finished my 52nd post last year I was very excited because I had suddenly met my post-a-week goal.  And, this year, when I was behind my pace from last year I started getting mad at myself.  I really wanted to get posts up so I could meet my mark again.  Well, that aint gonna happen.  I am NOT going to write 52 posts this year.

   So why maintain a blog at all?  I write, mainly, to reflect on things going through my head.  I blame that on being a PBL teacher.  In Project Based Learning we are always having our students reflect on their learning.  We have them do journal entries and "tickets out" telling us what they learned or are still confused about as they leave the classroom, during the project.  Then we ask our students to critique themselves, their group partners, the project as a whole, and their teachers at the end of a project.  Reflection and learning go hand-in-hand.

     It naturally follows that I reflect on every aspect of what I do as an instructional coach and a teacher.  How could things have gone differently?  Notice I didn't say better.  That was by design.  It's easy to look at the negatives that come to the front when you reflect.  It's a better idea to look at every aspect, good and bad.  If I narrow my scope of reflection I can say that as a New Tech Network trained teacher I use a critical friends protocol when I examine how things have gone.  This protocol asks you to look at things you "liked," things you "wonder" about, and "next steps" you can take for future work.

    My next steps, in life, are to reflect upon what has occurred and write them down in this blog.  I like the fact that I do this.  I like the fact that a handful of people will read what I wrote.  I like the fact that 1 or 2 of the readers might leave a comment.  And, I like the fact that I do this on a regular basis.

     I wonder if I can ever get over looking at the stats for this blog.  I wonder if I will ever write a post that is suddenly read by hundreds of people with dozens of comments.  I wonder if I can be stronger with my content of my posts.  And, I wonder how many years I will keep this blog going.

     My next step is to hit publish on this post and not worry about what happens next..... PUBLISH....

Keeping a Focus on Learning

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     At Decker Middle School I have a principal who understands the difference between a focus on teaching and a focus on learning.  And, I don't have to say that because I want a raise - I am being sincere.

     He has really opened my eyes to the difference between these two and now he is starting to get through to our staff on how they are different.

    This afternoon he met with the department heads and we discussed how things are going so far this year.  I won't get into their responses here but I would like to make some observations:  (1) he is new to the school,  (2) I (the only instructional coach and a rookie at that) am new to the school,  (3) the superintendent and a large percentage of his curriculum and instructional staff are new to the district, and (4)  there are a lot of new systems and technologies in place to work with curriculum.

    All of this newness has added to what would normally be a stressful part of any school year - the first 90 days.  The biggest "new" expectation would be in our cycle of instruction.  First we look at the core curriculum in 3-week bundles.  Next we look at what the district pacing guide says should be taught during those 3 weeks and we look at those standards that should be included in the 3 weeks.  Finally we select a few standards that are considered the most important and we label them our Power Standards. (See my earlier posts on this: here and here )

    After we select our power standards we lay out our 3 weeks with what standards will be addressed each day of the 3 weeks.  Next we plan a 10 question formative assessment that is given towards the end of the 3 weeks.  This is so the teachers will be able to see how our students have done on the power standards and to set up plans for any reteaching that will need to be accomplished during the week after the assessment.  Once the test is given our teachers are expected to analyze the data and write down a plan about reteaching skills that were not mastered.  They are also expected to discuss, with others in their subject area, the successes or failures that other teachers may have had so that instruction can be modified for success.

   This process repeats every 3 weeks.  This week was the week for re-teaching from the third cycle.  But it also is the point where they are planning the assessment for the fifth cycle.  Next week they will be giving the assessment for the fourth cycle.  At the end of the sixth cycle they will also have to give their semester exam - a summative assessment that coincides with the cycle assessment.  Oh, and by the way, our teachers also have to turn in lesson plans each Monday for the week.  This is definitely NOT like it was when I first started teaching in 1992!

   All of these data driven decisions are for one reason - to help our students learn.  It really is all about their success as learners.  Our teachers would not be working this hard if all they wanted to do was be good at teaching.  I know a lot of teachers who can give awesome lectures and tests that make you think.  But how many of them really know how much each of their students learned?  They can tell you how many A's, and B's they gave though.

    At our school we are all about how our students are learning (or not learning).  And, we are all about improving on successes and stopping failures during our process of analyzing results.   This, in a nutshell, is a LOT of work for our teachers.  It has also been a lot of work for our administrators and our lone instructional coach (me).  But we are banking on this being a very successful year - followed by another, even more, successful year next year.  We owe that to our students and we owe that to our future leaders.

Where Do I Find Project Ideas?

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I'm just not a creative person.  I never had a big imagination.  I can never think of great ideas.  How do you come up with these project ideas?

I hear this all of the time from people new to PBL.  They really think that there will be a dearth of ideas and they will struggle when it comes to planning a PBL unit.  In fact, when you have standards that you are trying to plan from there will be ideas.

Standards are the key.  Until you have taught at least one school year with standards based PBL then I do not recommend creating a project followed by adding standards to it.  And, even then, the majority of your PBL units should be standards based.

There are several reasons I could list for this but the main two reasons are, first,  that by starting with the standards teachers guarantee that they have thought about the curriculum and, second, this is where the ideas are going to come from.

Teachers have been creating problems in mathematics, labs in science, writing themes in English, and the same type of things in every other course since we have had teachers.  The idea here is that teachers are good about taking standards and creating tasks for students to do in the classroom.  With PBL, teachers take that up a notch and they add an inquiry based atmosphere to the classroom.  That's really all it is to this stuff.

For example, I had to teach parallel lines with a transversal in geometry class.  I just happened to see an article about the rice business in South Texas and the canals that are used.  Suddenly I envisioned parallel canals with crossing canals.  So to take that to the next step I had the students design barges to carry rice through the canal system.  They got to be creative and design barges and these barges had to be able to turn a certain number of degrees so they could navigate from any canal to any other canal.

Another example: my co-teacher and I had seen where a teacher had created pieces of art with her algebra classes using basic algebraic functions.  We had to teach the idea of functions and suddenly we had a project where students had to take parent functions and create artwork.

In each of these examples there was a need to teach certain standards and the project idea came from that requirement.  Here is a post I wrote a year ago that talks about getting started.  It is one of a four part series on jumping into PBL for the new year.  Feel free to read that series if you are thinking about getting started in this process.   You can do it and, with the standards as your guide, you will have project ideas to work from.