Living and Learning in Central Oregon

I have made the move to blogger.  My new address is…

http://skipoffenhauser.blogspot.com/

Thanks for finding me there.

Skip

NY Times – Contemplating the Boobs We Were

After reading this article I can’t help but reflect on the math that we are teaching out students and how our math curriculum lacks personal finance.  Why is this?   Do we not want students to understand the seriousness of credit card debt?  Are wanting them to leave college burdened with thousands of dollars in college loans?  Is there some kind of conspiracy here?

I firmly believe that we need to raise the bar when it comes to our math standards.  We should be leading the world in mathematics and science.  Emphasis on these subjects will lead us toward energy independence and provide us all with an improved quality of life.  But at the same time we are teaching advanced mathematics and scientific methods we should also be insuring our students can balance their checkbooks.  The current economic crisis is going to set us back several years. Money going to bailout banks could be have been used to finance scientific research that would make our world better.  Calculus and personal finance – they should both be required in a world class school system.

12-15-2008

Today was an interesting in the Bend LaPine School District.  First there was the single digit temperatures.  It was very cold which resulted in the diesel fuel used in the buses becoming like gel.  With the buses grounded school had to be canceled for kids but not for the principal of the school (me).  I had to make sure everything at the school was a-ok.

During the day, while I was making sure everything was “a-ok”, I also monitored my Twitter account.  Since Twitter is blocked by our filter I was using PeopleBrowser to stay up to date.  I noticed my Bend followers were concerned about how the school district announced the school closure.  Believe me, the district was put in a bind.  It wasn’t until late in the morning that the bus issue arose and no matter what communicating the news to all the parents and students was going to be difficult. Radio, TV, web, robocalls – these mediums were all used. But what about using Twitter?   I realize not everyone uses or even has heard of Twitter but there is a small percentage of Bend residents who monitor their Twitter accounts regularly via their computer or phone.  It was recommended by one Twitter follower that the school district should have a Twitter account.  Kind of hard since Twitter is blocked by our filter.  It was only because I was on PeopleBrowser that I was able to monitor this conversation – and who knows how long that will be open.

So what does all of this have to do with Twitterland to the rescue?  Well the tweets kept going back and forth.  When the district announced a 2 hr delay for the next day I sent out a tweet with that news.   Bam! – several tweets came back with thanks for keeping them posted and updated.  Then, via Twitter, one follower @SarahCofer organized  a cupcake & hot chocolate brigade to surprise and thank the mechanics who were pulling some long, cold hours at the bus garage – Twitterland to the rescue!

The bus difficulties made the headlines of our small local TV news.  I understand this was a big story but I think almost equally newsworthy was the power of the Twitter network in spreading the news and organizing a treat for the mechanics.  Way to go Twitter!

A tradition in my school district is the annual college day in which all staff members are to wear the colors from their favorite college.  Ducks and Beavers were well represented at my school but there were SDSU Aztecs, UCSB Gauchos and other non-Oregon schools showing their colors too.  It was a great way to show off our colleges and to put the goal of attending college into everyone’s mind.

Today is a tech training day for admins. Up on our screen is a slideshow that asks the question “A day without technology…” Each slide has an answer to that question that highlights just how we use technology and don’t even think about it.

Example:

A day without technology is…

…a day without phone systems.
…a day without online learning.

What are your thoughts? Please add your comments below.

Last Friday we had a discussion among our district leadership around the concept what being a world class school district really means. It was one of those times where we could share our thoughts in a very honest, non-threatening way. We did not come up with an answer but generated many ideas that will be revisited over the course of the year. So what does world class mean? Here is one idea that a small district in TN:

• At Home with HomeLink: Free Internet Access Connects Families and Schools | Edutopia

  how one small town is trying to make their schools world class

  tags: BLPwordclass

  • The Greeneville City Schools system has a logo that features a compass, a globe, and two phrases that aren’t often uttered in the same breath: “small town” and “world class.” In this context, at least, the words aren’t a paradox. They’re an expression of a community’s commitment to educational excellence.

    The 15,500 residents of Greenville, nestled in the foothills of Tennessee’s Unaka Mountains, support their 2,726 K-12 students with uncommon fervor and focus. Parents, philanthropists, taxpayers, and teachers all pitch in to ensure excellent programs, top-notch instruction, and a state-of-the-art learning environment, despite the school district’s small-town budget.

  • “We honestly believe that if we’re not preparing our students to effectively use technology, it’s the same as if we’d never taught them to add, because the world of technology for them is like a hammer for a carpenter — it’s just ubiquitous,” says Larry Jones, the lead technician and network administrator for Greeneville schools.

July 31st 2008 – Happy Birthday to me!

Today I turned 43. To celebrate my birthday I rode my bike down to the river, went for a run and then worked out at the gym – just my way of proving to myself that I am not old. There aren’t many things better than running along the Deschutes river. It is awesome and so is the city of Bend, Oregon. So here I am, 43, one year older and ready to take on a new position in a new district. For the past 5 years I have worked 14 miles north in Redmond. I
enjoyed my time in Redmond and take away some great memories and some
wonderful experiences. The teachers and administrators there are
wonderful people. But change happens and I am looking forward to
working in the district where I live, where my kids attend school, and where my wife teaches. As the principal of Buckingham Elementary I am in a position to help keep my school district strong and help make Bend one of the best places to live – my little contribution to society. I feel a little bit of pressure to perform but that’s because I care about what I do and want to my new school to be the best it can be.

Tomorrow is my first real day in the district – wish me luck. Stay tuned for updates on how my year is progressing.

Ciao!

I came across this on Edutopia.  As I move back to a school I am hoping to help my teachers realize the potential of a PLC and how we are all there to help each other.  Here are a few highlighted excerpts I cut using diigo: – it is not rocket science.

• Ask Ellen: TLC Through PLCs | Edutopia

  tags: no_tag

  • On the other hand, schools that are pushing through the discomfort that comes with sharing individual results and practice are experiencing important shifts in school culture and student outcomes that will endure.
  • In Oak Grove, California, every teacher and administrator analyzes and takes responsibility for instruction by deeply understanding the program and progress of "focal students" — three to five at-risk pupils — in a system designed to make the school-improvement process more concrete and specific.
  • Building a PLC at your own school is not rocket science. You don’t need expensive outside consultants or years of study. What it takes is having the understanding and vision that we are all professionals and learners, and that our job is to support and assist everyone in moving forward.

My attempt at using text speech in the title of this blog post was probably pretty lame so sorry for trying to be bilingual. I just read http://www.edutopia.org/text-messaging-teaching-tool . It is about texting in the classroom and how some people are worried that it is having a negative effect on our kids.  I will admit that I cannot text. I do not own an iphone or a blackberry so my text messages take very long to compose with a regular phone keypad.  But my lack of text messaging skill doesn’t mean I don’t understand the popularity and usefulness of this tool.

Is text speak going to ruin the English language? Doubt it.  Especially if we can use it to our advantage as Cindy Rigsbee did. I would encourage you to read the Edutopia article and then consider if you are going to try to hold back the texting tidal wave or if you are going to try to use it to help further teaching and learning.

My opinion – Because we have so many kids owning and using cell phones I think we are missing the boat on accessing their teaching and learning potential.  Is there a way to use cell phones as personal response systems using something like Jott?  Don’t know the answer to that.  What are your thoughts and ideas.

For those of you who offer professional development classes for teachers in your district you know how frustrating it can be when nobody shows up for a training or when people show up but are not really paying attention. The unfortunate piece in conducting teacher training is that they almost always have to happen before or after school. Before school leaves little time to learn and practice new skills. Teachers are understandably preoccupied with thinking about their class that will start in 30 minutes. After school training is not much better. During this time teachers are usually dead dog tired or would like to be attending to the commitments of their personal lives rather than listening to you talk about the latest tech tool.

However this year I think I tackled this professional development dilemma and succeeded in delivering quality professional development to a sizeable number of teachers. This year I taught 23 technology classes and had almost 100 people attend each one of those classes. Impossible you say? I would have thought the same nine months ago but with a little help from Moodle it did happen.

Teachers have lives too and we cannot expect them to devote 24/7 to school matters. My wife is a teacher so I know this first hand. Personal lives, family, and other “stuff” just get in the way. For me to expect teachers to regularly attend weekly after school trainings is not realistic. So instead of asking teachers to modify their schedule for me I modified my delivery and schedule for them. I created 23 lessons using Moodle as the tool. And with a little hype, a little cheerleading, some cool incentive prizes, and with some key building supporters I was able to have 90+ teachers finish all 23 activities.

The name of my project was 23 Things. I borrowed the name, the idea, and the Web 2.0 theme for all the lessons from PLCMC Learning 2.0 program. I decided to use Moodle as the delivery mechanism rather than a blog or wiki because it allowed for a controlled online environment and also allowed me to track who was working and who wasn’t. A new “thing” was presented each week followed by a simple assignment or discussion question. Sometimes it took 5 minutes to complete, sometimes half an hour. Some teachers worked independently, some worked in groups. After school, weekends, prep times – teachers worked when they wanted to work. They weren’t tied to any specific date, time, or place. They could even take a break from 23 Things and get caught up when they wanted. The only time limit was that they had to finish by June 6^th to be eligible for a prize. According to my Google form that is tracking participants there are 90+ people who have finished – awesome!

What’s Next?

Next time I do 23 Things, or something similar, it will be more structured. I would focus more on a particular theme like digital storytelling or the new NETS for teachers. I will be the first to admit that at times I had no idea what I was doing during 23 Things. Because Web 2.0 was such a broad topic it occasionally felt random. However, when I think about it that was ok. This was my first attempt at online learning so it was a learning experience for me as much as it was for the teachers. Besides teachers just needed some time to explore and have fun.

But no matter what the topic or focus I think the success of 23 Things demonstrates the power and effectiveness of offering professional development online. If I had hosted 23 Things as an after school class I would never have had almost 100 people attend each one of those classes. But by putting the classes online I did just that – 23 classes, 90+ people attending each class – it just didn’t happen at 3:30 every Thursday.

Links:

http://moodle.redmond.k12.or.us – click on Redmond School District then click on 23 Things.

PLCMC Learning 2.0 program