Learning Spaces and Design

It's interesting that learning spaces and design is the topic of the week. I recently found out that I will more than likely be able to make the shift to flexible seating in my classroom next year. I was given a budget of roughly $3,000 to enact these changes. With that in mind, I tackled this blog post accordingly (hopefully it won't be a problem that I altered the assignment a bit, but I figured it would make for an even better blog post if the response was truly authentic). To begin, I took a panorama of my classroom prior to any changes. This was the before:

In all honesty, I feel that I have a pretty decent classroom set-up if you pay no mind to the cold, hard rows of standardized desks. I find that my biggest challenge is the size and shape of my classroom. It is fairly skinny in width and very long in length. My Promethean board is permanently drilled into the far end of my classroom, so there is not too much room for movement and diverse set ups. Especially when you consider trying to find room for 30 desks with their chairs attached. As you can see above, I have had the desks in rows, two-by-two (a la Noah's Ark) for a while now. Please don't mind the hunched over students in the front of the room. I bribed them to help me move desks around and they begged to be in the picture. Apart from that, I feel as though I have a fairly welcoming classroom. I have a good deal of color, a large classroom library, and several inspirational posters. I also had stations across the classroom along the edges for students to access if need be.

I made a couple of quick changes to my classroom at no cost. If you take a look below, my "volunteer" students helped me to rearrange the classroom so that the desks are in fairly functional collaborative groups. It's hard to see, but at the front of the classroom I dragged in an old section of carpet that has been hanging out in our storage compartment for a couple of months since our last IKEA trip. Finally, I moved the supply stations to more accessible locations across the classroom. As they are now closer to where the students actually sit, I hope it will encourage them to use them more often. I think these minimal, but effective changes will be good for our classroom as a learning space. I was unwilling to make additional changes to displays/objects on the classroom walls though, as we are required to have everything torn down for PSSAs in a week or so. 

When it comes to conceptualizing a revamped space, I have done a TON of thinking and planning for it. I've taken a lot of inspiration from a 7th grade English teacher at my alumni middle school. Brooke Markle has written about her experiences with flexible seating on Edutopia here. Knowing that it has worked so successfully for someone who teaches the exact same grade and subject in the same state with the same expectations makes me hopeful that it will work for me too. Below is the floor plan I sketched out for my superintendent during the planning process for this endeavor. 

I started with the concept seen in college classroom across the country: tiered seating. Since my classroom space is shaped so inconveniently, I thought tiering the seating would maximize my available space and allow students the best view around the classroom. I also wanted to take a bit of a do-it-yourself approach after reading Emelina Minero's article on Edutopia. I think one of my favorite takes from the article was this quote, "When preparing kids for the real world, we want students’ learning environment to reflect the environment of the real world". Our students will not be sitting in molded desks with an attached chair for the rest of their lives; they should start getting used to working in a collaborative space. 

The items shaded in orange are the ones that factor in to my $3,000 budget with the school district. The rest of the pieces are things I already own and have in my classroom or plan to repurpose from my own home. For example, the kitchen table is something I plan to coat in a hefty layer of chalkboard paint to make them more interactive, like the standing whiteboard desks I plan to purchase. Not pictured are the three area rugs I plan to set down and all of the flags and strings of ambient lighting I plan to have throughout the classroom. I believe these changes will impact my students in a massively positive manner. Minero's piece cites, "A 2012 study from the University of Minnesota found that students participated 48 percent more in discussions in a classroom with collaborative group seating versus traditional lecture-style seating, and also improved their performance on standardized tests." I expect to see the same, or similar, results in my own classroom!

Quotes from:

Minero, E. (2017) Flexible Classrooms: Assembly Required. Edutopia. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/article/flexible-classrooms-assembly-required

Personalized Learning: a Curated Magazine of Resources

Personalized Learning FlipBoard

I've curated a magazine on the pros and cons of personalized learning. I chose to explore this topic because it is becoming one of my district's initiative, and I want to get ahead of the learning curve. When I'm thinking of sources, I like to get a wide variety of formats: text, video, audio, images, etc. I also like to vary the sources themselves: teachers, technology experts, students, parents, etc. I do think that I've established a fair balance of formats and sources that subsequently provide a comprehensive picture of personalized learning.

When I'm thinking of which sources I would like to utilize, I always try to keep the things I teach my own students in mind. I always, always, always tell them that they need to consider all of the alternative perspectives. If those perspectives/counterclaims are accounted for and properly refuted, it can only strengthen your own opinion and argument.

I'm not entirely sure how to approach finding sources that are going to challenge me or help me grow. The sources that I've included stem from strategies, concepts, and methods that I have already heard of or work with. If anyone has suggestions, please share them below!

Unit 2 - Civil Discourse

Introduction

Perhaps selecting Option "D" was a poor choice for me. I feel rather heated after reading just the article itself. Then I read the comments, breaking my normal internet rule of "stay away from the comments and the trolls that live in them". I can say that I thoroughly disagree with Dr. Gary S. Stager's claims in his article, "Caution: Chromebooks". I won't spend time outlining that here though; I will wait for the 4 Corners activity at the end of this blog post.

Highlight examples of great civil discourse where there is disagreement in a respectful and yet challenging manner. 

One example of "great civil discourse" where there is respectful, yet challenging disagreement is the following one from "Hive Knowledge". 

Hive Knowledge

Oct 3, 2017

"The Hive Knowledge Group is made up of professionals from a range of disciplines who have worked within education and commercial sectors and have come together to support improved learning outcomes through the use of digital tools, technologies and resources. We have experience of implementing Apple, Microsoft, Chromebooks and other, more historical solutions such as Acorn machines. Our members have been involved in projects that include supporting the development of a serverless primary school to the implementation of multi-data centre, Office365 roll out.
We have seen, and worked with, many different schools that use Chromebooks, Apple machines, Windows devices and even those that run Linux.
The best schools think carefully about the learning outcomes that digital tools support and then use a mix of different devices to support the needs of individual subjects/lessons.
Without exception, educational organisations that plan the use of digital tools carefully gain the maximum benefit from their use of digital technologies. Where such schools choose to make use of Chromebooks we have seen no evidence that they are not as effective as the use of other devices. For the majority of student work and lesson activities a Chromebook can be used as effectively as any other device and the potential for reduced support costs can be a major benefit to cash-starved schools. Good Chromebooks, used in a positive schools environment, are as reliable as any other device (we have still use one of the original Samsung Chromebook machines as a test device for various projects and even loaned it to a student to complete her final year work when her Windows powered laptop failed — she received a 1st!).
The choice of Chromebook, Windows machine, iPad or Apple laptop is less important to improving learning outcomes than the ability of the school to have a clear vision and develop an effective strategy to achieve that vision."

This is a respectful, yet challenging response for several reasons. One, there is no negativity directed towards Dr. Stager. The only negativity is towards his claims; they are met with strong counterclaims. This is, further, a challenging response because it is a credible source challenging Dr. Stager. Furthermore, they give examples, evidence, and anecdotal observations that directly contradict the claims Dr. Stager made.  

One other stellar example was from Michael Taggart. Much like the aforementioned example, Taggart does a good job of using anecdotal evidence, his expertise, and specific evidence to dispute Dr. Stager's claims. He never resorts to name-calling or personal attacks, but still directly refutes Stager's core ideas, offering that desired challenge. 

Michael Taggart in The Forever Student

Sep 30, 2017

Dr. Stager,

"I am a massive fan of Dr. Papert et al, but I feel like your understanding of “computing” in the classroom and the reality of what these devices do are at odds. With Chromebooks, students have a device with an all-day battery that can move where they go, are durable enough to survive childhood, and have a user interface that is developmentally appropriate. We provide machines from K-8, and I can say without reservation that macOS and Windows absolutely impede learning, not enable it. (This comment typed from a ThinkPad running Arch Linux, by the way, which will factor in later)
Maybe you’re thinking only of high schools here, but as the Director of Technology for a K-8 school, I’m here to tell you that there is real tension between “power” and “access.” I want children doing and creating, not futzing around with an operating system designed for professionals.
Students use Chromebooks for more than the exciting acts of creation you’ve mentioned, although honestly we 3D Print and program robots and write JavaScript on Chromebooks now with no issues — in fact, with much greater ease than we ever did with Macs. Ever install a driver? You won’t with Chromebooks.
But this is not the majority of the “computing” done by students. They’re exploring, using the internet for the wealth of information that it is. They’re creating documents of many kinds, working collaboratively with their peers and teachers. Yes, we use Google Apps — I’m sorry, “G-Suite.” Yes, I live in fear of the day their Terms of Service become untenable. But I have my massive onsite “private cloud” ready to roll at a moment’s notice if that were to happen. And by purchasing Chromebooks with x86 processors, I guarantee that the machines will be useful regardless of my Google licenses. Worst case: I have cheap Linux machines that still run well.
Another area completely overlooked: management. Gotta say, managing the new fleet of Chromebooks at our school is much easier than doing so with Macs or Windows machines. With my IT hours not going to management of these devices, my team is freed up for more service, more improvement, etc. With our Macs, we had to use a third-party system to deploy software. While it worked, it was hacky and took significant time to maintain and update our catalog of software. As things move to the web, yes, I’m paying more in subscriptions to services, but my team’s hours are used on much more valuable work than tedious maintenance.
Look, the reality of modern software is that the web won. Literally every piece of software that I have deployed to our students in the last year has been a web service. Like it or not, this is the platform developers have adopted. And honestly, I love that when there is a bug, the patch can be deployed instantaneously.
Lastly, due to the low cost of CBs, there may be room for both “real” computers and the Chromebooks. It is appropriate that districts deploy primary devices that accommodate _most_ use cases. But with the savings, more powerful tools in lower quantities become a financial possibility."

In addition, point out specific examples where the conversation turns personal or mean-spirited. 

Unfortunately, not every comment made was challenging and respectful. Some were simply rude (those trolls I mentioned at the beginning of my post). 

James Welbes

Oct 1, 2017

"Well that was a garbage article.
'the only time teachers say students love something is when they’re trying to justify a bad decision'
…. Or when the kids love something…
Just another old guy stuck in the old computing days afraid to embrace the much needed change in the world of computers."

Welbes turns the conversation markedly more mean-spirited than Dr. Stager's original article (though, personally, I felt Stager's original article was a tad on the mean-spirited side). Welbes resorts to unproductive name-calling, rude adjectives, and sarcastic comments. His own comment lacks any real substance, counterclaims, or evidence. 

There was one other comment that I felt walked the line between the two aforementioned categories. I felt Machamer's comment, while it remained mostly respectful with its anecdotal evidence, bordered on too personally impacted. Machamer used the "we" pronoun over and over, which (I think) is what brought it to a more personal level. While Machamer does not directly name call Dr. Stager, there are still comments and labels given that are almost too direct.

Jackie Machamer

Sep 30, 2017

"Wow. My “reptilian adult brain” can barely process this attack parading as enlightened educational theory. I find this elitist, out of touch and cruel. And ironic that I read it on the same day that I read The Hardest Part of Teaching. This is certainly a case of the perfect being the enemy of the pretty-darn-good. Educational practitioners are doing the best we can. I assure you that people making decisions to incorporate Chromebooks in the classroom are not treating students as second class citizens. We are not being thoughtless. We are trying to make the best use of limited resources to do what’s best for our kids. We are constricted by regulations made by persons who have little to know understanding of educational pedagogy then kicked in the teeth by others who have so much they need to shame us with how we are doing it all wrong." 

Spotlight on Strategies

Four Corners Statement:

Teachers should be trusted to determine which technologies are ideal for their classes. 

Strongly Agree: Who knows student technology needs/abilities better than teachers?

• IT professionals are not in the classroom day in and day out with the students; they lack that practical knowledge to determine technology needs.
• If the teachers are the ones teaching the material/the technology, they should choose appropriate tools commensurate with their own teaching abilities and with the learning capabilities of their students. 

Agree: Teachers have a strong grasp on student technology needs. 

• Teachers design the lessons/activities for their students and should be the ones to select the appropriate technology for their students.
• Teachers spend hundreds of hours with their students in every situation imaginable; no one is more qualified to determine technology needs. 

Disagree: There are better-qualified people to determine technology needs and solutions.

• IT professionals have gone to school for this entire task. 
• IT professionals have more time and more of a knowledge base to make these technological decisions.

Strongly Disagree: Teachers are incapable of making that determination. 

• Teachers have not been trained in technology and technological capabilities.
• Teachers are not spending their time researching and working with modern technology, so the decision should be left to more qualified professionals (IT).

References:

Stager, G. (Sept. 28, 2018). "Caution: Chromebooks". Medium. Retrieved from: https://medium.com/@garystager/caution-chromebooks-5b019acb8c3d 

Stouffer - Unit 1 Blog

Where do you find the majority of your teaching resources?
For the most part, I create my own teaching resources. However, I do sample heavily from other sources. I follow a number of useful Twitter accounts, I attend teaching conventions and seminars as frequently as possible (NCTE is my favorite, though I think an ISTE conference would be amazing), and I troll Teachers Pay Teachers for inspiration quite often.

Who do you look to for support and research for new ideas?
I'm part of the technology team in my district, so I am able to get a lot of good research, support, and ideas from them and from our Google Group. I also look to my coworkers to see what they are doing, what they are finding success with, and what their students are enjoying.

Do you follow any particular blogs? If so, please share.
For the most part, the only blogs I follow are YouTube vlogs. I follow The Vlogbrothers, Crash Course, Sci Show, Veritasium, Minute Physics, Crash Course Kids, The Brain Scoop, Smarter Every Day, Grammar Girl, TED Ed, TED, & TEDx Talks.


What are some of the hot topics you face in your situation, particularly those that are controversial but also new challenges?
One major challenge is this year's district initiative. Our district is pushing for more and more and more use of technology. They want teachers using Chromebooks, using Google Apps for Education, and really using any technology we can. Unfortunately, there just aren't enough resources to go around to fuel this push for technology use. We have a few Chromebook carts, two computer labs, and some dinosaur laptops in the library. There is just no way for teachers to use the tech as often as it seems administration would prefer. Another challenge is that students can now (new for this school year), use their devices in the halls, during study halls, in the library, and in the cafeteria. This has caused, in my opinion, more problems than it has offered in advantages.

u07a1 - Stouffer

To begin, at this point I find it unlikely that I will use Glogster in my classes anymore. While I used to use it here and there, it is no longer free-to-use. That fact alone is a bit of a deal-breaker for me. I already invest a decent amount of my own money into resources, tools, and equipment for my students and my classroom; thirty dollars just for an individual use subscription seems a been steep for me, let alone the one hundred dollar classroom-sized subscription I would need to enable students to create their own Glogster boards.

This leaves the Discovery Education Board Builder. In all honesty, this project was the first time I ever used Discovery’s Board Builder. It was fairly easy to use as far as the user interface goes. The design and layout options are simple, yet visually appealing and linear. I think the limited design options would help to keep students focused on the content, rather than just on the design (clearly the content is weighted a bit heavier in importance than the design itself). There are several ways I think I could use the Discovery Education Board Builder to provide students with the opportunity and venue to develop their own respectful and ethical minds. One thing I do think my students would struggle with is the limited selection of pictures and videos that Discovery has to offer. To fulfill the image requirement for our project, I needed to extend my searches out to the free-to-use filter of Google Image Search, and then cite the images I opted to use on the board itself. While this would be great for students to practice ethical and respectful search criteria and credit declaration, my students still struggle with capitalizing letters without a Caps Lock button, so this aspect might be pushing it for them. 

Overall, however, I think it would simply be projects and assessments, like the one I created for this final, that help students to develop their respectful and ethical minds. The more that students work with people of other cultures, with each other collaboratively, and with diverse tasks and data, the more ethical and respectful they will become. It doesn’t need to be done on specific technological tools such as Glogster or Discovery Education. In fact, I think they may develop their respectful, responsible minds more if they are given their choice of technology/media to use to accomplish certain tasks.

One final note, I set the sharing settings of my board as instructed on live.wilkes.edu. Please let me know if you cannot access it, and I will share my login information with you.

Stouffer - u07a1

Video:
https://www.powtoon.com/embed/ftlOzEjc1we/

Video Transcript:
After reading Howard Gardner's book, Five Minds for the Future, there are several ideas I plan on implementing in order to continue developing each of the minds. More specifically I plan on working to develop the minds of my students, and hopefully my mind develops in the process. Despite being vastly different on the surface, Gardner's five minds (Synthesizing, Disciplined, Ethical , Creating, and Respectful) are closely intertwined in the classroom.

First up is the synthesizing mind. I would like to transform more of my assessments from traditional tests to projects. Gardner mentions projects and themed curriculum as being two ways to employ the synthesizing mind. This would be an easy way to begin developing my students' minds as well as exercising my own.

Second is the disciplined mind. I believe Google Classroom is one ideal tool for developing discipline. Gardner notes, "we acknowledge the importance of science and technology but do not     teach scientific ways of thinking", and while I'm merely an English teacher, I feel it is imperative to teach my students disciplined ways of thinking. Encouraging my students to take responsibility for their learning through the use of Google Classroom is one effective way of practicing this.

Next is the ethical mind. On page 19 of his book, Gardner stated, "Individuals without ethics will yield a world devoid of decent workers and responsible citizens: none of us will want to live on that desolate planet". For this mind, I would like to utilize Google's collaboration and editing features as often as possible. If my students are working to help their fellow classmates improve, they will be fulfilling the ethical mind by practicing serving the greater good and going beyond mere self-interest.

For the creating mind, I would like to use more applications like FlipGrid that allow students to fulfill Gardner's picture of the creating mind: a mind that goes beyond existing knowledge and synthesis to develop new questions and pose new solutions. FlipGrid and similar technology provide the blank slate and the tools that will allow students to employ this mind.

Finally, we have the respectful mind. For this one, I would definitely like to continue practicing activities such as Socratic Seminars with my students. It will be activities like these that help to teach our students how we relate, how we think, and how to value differences among us. All of these are described by Gardner as pillars of the respectful mind.

Reference:
Gardner, H. (2008). Five Minds for the Future. Boston, MA: Harvard Business Press