Wallin's Wave

What I am Learning in LASSO

2012-02-14T21:48:00.000-06:00

Every day I go to work with a plan in mind. I hope that my students are able to comprehend a weather report so they know what to wear outside. I'd like to think that folk music is teaching them a little about the values of the country they live in. I see them learning new words in reading and beginning to understand that words have meaning. I would like to think that they are getting comfortable with computers, not just to surf the Web and watch videos. Can they comprehend the role that math plays in our lives? Are they beginning to understand that they can write words to describe what their life is like? Do they know what is going on in the world around them? Can they go to the library and check out a book or video? Can they follow the steps needed to succeed at work? Most importantly, can they begin to calm themselves down when they get upset, instead of blowing up and striking those nearest and dearest?

To balance my introspection, I must also look at how the students influence me. It is so ironic that I have been given such beautiful, loving students my last year of teaching. It is going to be very hard to say good-bye, knowing they won't be there every day, showing me love in their unique little ways. I forgot today how important Valentine's Day is to students. I tried to have a normal day, just following our schedule. The students reminded me, however, that today is very special - a chance to show love to each other. I got my Perfectionism hat on and plow through my planned activities, while the students demanded their sweets all day long. Being a special education teacher in a high school setting can really have its challenges, like how to treat students like their neurologically-intact peers when they really need a party! Well, we did at least have treats in class and sent home gifts and goodies from everyone. Tomorrow is a new beginning and I relax a bit so that we all have fun. My students have taught me that.

NICE Miniconference 1/28/12

2012-01-28T14:54:00.004-06:00

Keynote Speaker:Steve Dembo is having technical difficulties with the Keynote, but EVERYONE in this audience understands. His title is 22nd Century Skills Today. Throw out some old ideas like textbooks! He is working on a TechBook with no table of contents. It's time to completely rebuild. He predicts flying cars in 2379 based on the NYT history and future of computing.

Information is malleable. Those who do not learn from the future will be forced to wait for it.

1. Play: Lego design can be photographed and loaded, app will show others how to make it. Cubelets are magnetic colored building blocks with different purposes. The company has taken the ideas of Montessori. Sifteo cubes are another toy that is interactive and problem-based. He also mentioned Scratch (free from MIT)

2. Applications: creating-a-business simulation, real-world application is to purchase old iPods and sell them on eBay, see who gets the most for product. Kickstart sells actual products such as a ruler pencil. Another group marketed their video yearbook on Kickstart.

3. Marketing: Singer wants to make a CD, student wants equipment for a documentary. Students give different returns on different levels of giving. Klout offers coupons related to interests based on access to all social accounts, and Wahooly is an example influence rewarded, gives shares in start-up web sites. Scholar Match is like Donors Choose or Kickstart for kids who want to donate for college. In Kiva, you can loan to third-world businesses.

We are in the midst of a tremendous transparency shift.

4. Sharing: Instruments now measure actual movement and sleep and post it to social media. Jawbone Up. May find it at Target. Wii Scale will keep track of weight and tweet it.

5. Social Learning: Can receive applause for running a marathon, kids are tweeting what music helps them work when they do homework for support. Oprah Winfrey app on Discovery: second stream, has sync button. Listens to room and figures out where you are in show you are watching. Ambient devices show info pertinent to you. Printer, too.

6. Aurasma is like a QR code. Free app can link up to logos, etc.

Closing the Learning Gap with Powerful TechnologyAnthony Reibel (areibel at d125.org)

1. Paperless Classroom

Evernote or Newnote

Bluetooth Battleship

Google Maps Direction Activity

Create House Floor Plan

QR Codes/ Simon Says

AudioBoo Speaking Activity

Viaje a Madrid Project

Story Kit/ePubs

2. Checking Understanding LevelsUsing Google Doc Quizes, students can get immediate feedback.Kia, ProProfs are additional resources.Self-grading quizes, tiny url, google docs shows which problem number is missed. Create new form. Conditional format color incorrect answers, identify gaps.Formative feedback until they get it right. Reminder, then it returns to previous question.Differentiated quizes: change colors for difficult/easy questions.

3. Providing Immediate and Meaningful FeedbackQR codes: students scan QR codes to find what to do next. QR code creators work with YouTube. You can create a screencast at screenr, TechSmith, Jing, Screencastomatic. Students create a document in google docs, you can comment and create a screencast, QR code creates a link and it gets sent to student, they can go to url freely.The Living Rubric is QR codes with video that tell what each item is and gives video instruction on that particular skill.

4. Increasing Student Engagementupload toUsing an iPad, the following activities are used: Video Charades, Quiz, Quiz Trade, Audio Gallery Walk using Audio Boo, Test Reflection with Progress Points, Animation Pictionary with FlipIt, 10,000 Dollar Pyramid with FlipIt, Create your Ideal Style using Pages and Google Images, Vocabulary Popcorn, Haiku Writing, Oral Exam using Audio Boo, Directed Dialogue Reflection, Children Writing Book, ePub Editor Activity, and Directed Dialogues.

5. Time for Personal ReflectionTime for Personal ReflectionProgress Points helps them id their learning gaps and fill them It is a skill practice and organizational tool, home-bound student portal, special ed IEP communication tool. Give students envelope, put in test scores, shows learning gaps, give them assignment. Students who used this averaged a grade higher than previous trend.

techgap.weebly.com powerfulformativeassessment.weebly.com

Google Earth - Do More Than Find Your House

I love it when people have all the info online! They began with some basics, and moved on to showing us about LitTrips. Alas, everyone fired up their Google Earth and no one could access the Web. A timeline appears in Google earth which allows you to go back in time for previous civilizations. This presenter's English class put a link to a deli in the book they were studying. The use of little man takes you to street view. The most powerful part is the street view. The Civil Rights marker has extensive information about each event in history. This is also true of international events. Due to lack of network connection, presenters were unable to demonstrate their favorite projects. They recommend kmz files. Moon gallery has information about Buzz Aldrin and the moon landing. Use primary databases to find kmz files. Make your own with a new placemark, give it a name and type in a question. Move trips to My Places on each computer. Student ID will work on any computer. Information about Twin Towers and Hurricane Katrina are available.

QR Codes in the Classroom, Cynthia Karabush

Definition: a mobile bookmark. Can also link to phone number, text messages, etc. Stores same amount of info as a barcode in one-tenth the size. Keeps students from getting sidetracked.

Getting information off the Internet is like taking a drink from a fire hydrant. Mitchell Kapor

Link to: syllabus online, pre-assessment, flipped classroom, assignment calendar, video game, scavenger hunt, GPS treasure hunt, take surveys, polling and voting.Students who do not have computers may have smartphones. Can be used for business card, Facebook pages, blogs. Teachers can put them by their classroom doors to let parent know what is going on in your class (goes to web page). Links to authors, interviews, book trailers, link for differentiation and for enrichment, class blog or wiki to review books for each other, link to Google lit trip or author interview. Audio podcasts for pronunciation, links to class Voice Thread. Go to I-nigma and put in URL, it creates QR code for that web page. Research support for assignments. In social studies, she showed a map of Rome with QR codes with information about each building. Virtual field trips can also used QR codes. It is also used to review topics, link to online texts, teacher can comment on class presentation, also archive class information. Genealogy Quest activity by Cynthia directed students to good resources she called a pathfinder (Grayslake North High School). Always post url as well as QR code. For community outreach, she created a postcard to distribute to board of education. For fundraisers, link to online shop. Oxfam did celebrity fund raiser with 1-2 minutes video attached to clothing donated by that celeb. Simpler addresses produce sharper QRs: use bitly.com or tinyurl. Need 4 modules of clean white space border, include a url as well, and always link to yourself for questions. Students love qrvoice.net. Other resources are classtools.net/QR, neoreader.com/get -neoreader/wapdownload, mashable.com/2011/07/23/creative-qr-codes/, flickr.com groups/10949441@N25/, flickr.com/photos/jpinlac5496433214, and Khan Academy Videos. Students don't have to retype the link to access web page.

Holidays and Family

2011-12-19T19:12:00.001-06:00

What makes the holidays so stressful for families? I think it is the unrealistic expectations we have of each other. We know the best of our family and, sadly, also the worst. What we want is a happy harmonious gathering where everyone shares the same interests. The truth is, we are all different. If our family members were people we met, we might not even be friends with them. Yet what we have in common is a history. I remember my older brother pretending to read a book about our favorite character, Keeko, when he was in first grade and I was not yet in school. We howled with laughter at his made-up sentences. My younger brother Paul (who cut off a toe at age 2) built a small house in our back yard out of boards he gleaned throughout the neighborhood. I loved going out there. I remember going to garage sales with my mom when I had small children, and her endless back rubs when I had a migraine. My dad always took us camping and fishing on his vacations. Can you imagine 5 people in a rowboat, 3 of them kids? Dad has been gone for almost ten Christmas celebrations, but I will still hear him speaking pretend Swedish and saying, "Deeeeeelicious!" when asked how the lutfisk was. My memories of my children and grandchildren are among the most precious to me. It is hard to describe the joy they bring into my life. I don't have a lot of money or status, but I do have 6 wonderful human beings that have come into my life with beautiful personalities, warts and all. They are perfect to me, although far from perfect human beings (oxymoron). I would have them get together every weekend if I could, but they have lives to live and I am no longer central to their existence. So I look forward to the Christmas gathering with excitement, trying not to get my hopes too high. If I can remember how blessed I am to have such an amazing family, I will have another happy memory to store away for the future.

The Economics of Health

2011-12-04T21:14:00.001-06:00

In 2009, I lost my first friend to the insurance industry. Susannah J. Kist was a beautiful woman with a beautiful voice. She had the misfortune to get cancer while uninsured. Months before she died, the hospital refused to treat her because her bill was too high. I was shocked that it could happen to someone I knew. I have never been willing to go without insurance, and have made the necessary sacrifices to always have my family insured, paying incredibly large amounts monthly, working in jobs that have insurance benefits even when they were difficult. I was also ashamed that I could not help her. I was enraged that the powers that be could allow this to be happening to the people. I was angry that a beautiful person was taken when she was doing so much good in the world.
Last year, I learned that my neighbor and good friend had retired, gotten diagnosed with lung cancer, and received chemotherapy. Her dental bill from the chemo was thousands of dollars. On a fixed income, that means fewer choices for fun activities.
Recently, a coworker admitted that she worked in catholic school most of her life. She and her husband retired, then he died. A few years later, she needed open heart surgery. Now her medical bills are so high she is losing her home.
In 1970, I read a book called The Economics of Being a Woman, by Dee Dee Ahern. The themes in the book still ring true. For the most part, women care for the home, their children, and their parents willingly. They want no money for it, are happy to do it. They earn less, so their social security is less. Their salaries are lower than men's, and if they are divorced, they are expected to support their children while the father pays only a fraction of his income.
You don't have to be a woman to experience such loss these days. Poverty is an equal opportunity unemployer. What all this means to me is that if you are off the financial grid, just as much of the third world is off that grid, you don't get medical care. It's as simple as that.
I remember my mother telling me when I was an adult that I had a friend in eighth grade who was Mexican. Her sister died of the measles. I have no memory of it, but the idea was inconceivable to me at the time. Now, such things are becoming commonplace. When are we going to turn our health industry around and take care of the sick? Am I next? Are you?

Giving Thanks

2011-11-19T09:13:00.001-06:00

I have thoroughly enjoyed posting something I am grateful for every day this month on FB. Even an early morning Saturday awakening can be funny if you see the humor in it. (My dog woke me up at 6 today because I had set my alarm to a door bell.) What's more important is developing an attitude of gratefulness about all of the conditions of life. I keep having a recurring dream that I am married to my children's father, although it's been 22 years since I became single. Someday that may be funny, too. This month was rough for my son's in-laws because of the death of Mitch Robinson, age 16, in a tragic truck accident. Yet they have found things to be grateful for as well. Listing the things I am grateful for has been a habit with me. I have an alphabet book of "gratefuls" and try to write something each day. More importantly, I have learned not to sacrifice my happiness too much in the service of others or I will become resentful or depressed. My job can become oppressive, with lots of individualization and paperwork, but I have learned to enjoy the students, parents, and coworkers every day. That is why I am truly there, to show how much I care by doing my best. If I push myself too hard, I lose sleep, gain/lose weight, or get sick. I find myself fighting compulsive escape behaviors or just isolating for relief. It has taken me a lifetime to let go of things that I can't get done without harming myself, and I am thankful for that. Last of all, I am thankful for a country that sets aside at least one day to give thanks. Happy Thanksgiving!

Hug Your Kids

2011-11-02T09:43:00.002-05:00

Those are the words of a dear relative who lost her 16-year-old son last week. He was driving to his aunt's before school to get a backpack he had forgotten. He drove a different truck than usual and hit a railroad crossing which caused him to lose control of the truck. Although he was buckled up, he was killed instantly when it rolled several times. Mitchell was a fine young man, the oldest of five children and a treasure. He was fun, nice, smart and kind. This is one of those events that makes us question the meaning of life. Why did such a good person have to die? Did he know how much I cared about him? Am I living my life with the most important priorities? My daughter-in-law had a profound comment that I must repeat here. She said that Mitchell had no idea how many people cared about him. He thought of himself as an ordinary kid and not necessarily popular. Yet there were over a thousand people at the visitation and about six hundred attended the funeral, which was held in a community of about a thousand people. Lynette wants us all to tell people if we care about them. Don't wait until it's too late.

I Love Parents

2011-09-30T19:02:00.000-05:00

When my second child was entering his second semester at college, he was taking wonderful classes. He commented that he was really looking forward to the semester. If his brain didn't burst, he would be really smart. That's how I have felt this fall. I have been overwhelmed with all the changes in my teaching. I have learned PCI Reading Instruction Curriculum, PCI Environmental Signs Curriculum, EQUALS math curriculum, and Discovery Vocational Curriculum. After six weeks of implementing them, I am beginning to feel more comfortable. The students are showing improvement, which is thrilling, and there are fewer meltdowns. I was able to meet with a group of parents to give them work to do at home, and they are working with their students on reading. The improvement was immediate. I could see results in a week. What a blessing to have such a supportive group of parents! I still have a long way to go, but I am feeling good when I go home at the end of the day. One problem I see even here in LASSO (Language And Social Skills Curriculum) is an emphasis on assessment. Let's face it, assessment is useless unless it is given to every child in the same way. Yet students with autism are entirely unique. No one-size-fits-all system is going to work. I am constantly calling on my intuition to empathize with students, based mostly on their body language. It's pretty easy to tell if they know something or not if I don't get hung up on vocabulary or other language skills. I believe in teaching to their strengths. Let's face it, folks. Who among us could learn to read by memorizing every word? These students are amazing! As I move through this year with them, I want to challenge their abilities and help them develop compensatory strategies for the areas they have trouble with. I know I can't learn it all, so please let me know what has worked for you.

Let the Learning Begin

2011-08-13T19:53:00.000-05:00

I spent two days last week learning techniques to use with students who have autism. The LASSO (Language and Social Skills Opportunities) classes use a variety of approaches in the classroom and I am familiar with some of them from my work with younger students. Learning what to teach older students will be my brain stretch this year. Thanks to a4cwsn (Apps for Children With Special Needs) for a weekend of sale prices on the apps for my iPod and iPad. Now all I need is some time to play with them and learn how to use them. a4cwsn has videos about each app, so I may take some time each day to watch them. For those of you with children who have special needs, Gary James does a great service by running this web presence. He also gives away free iPads to children in need.

I was stressing out on the making of TEACCH "work systems" since I have none, but I discovered in the classroom there were a few things that I didn't recognize when I was first there. I hope I will have enough to get started on Wednesday. I will be needing boxes and margarine tubs, baby jars (plastic) and applesauce/fruit cups. Luckily, I checked out my laptop when I took the training, so I have Boardmaker here at home. I have also ordered the rather expensive Tasks Galore for the Real World, by Laurie Eckenrode, and I am finishing A Land We Can Share: Teaching Literacy to Students With Autism, by Paula Kluth, this weekend.

Any tips you all wish to send me will be appreciated as I venture into this new area of education.

I am watching Harry Potter and I truly am glad I don't have to teach at Hogwarts!

Beginning My Last Year

2011-08-04T20:03:00.000-05:00

Two good things happened to me today as I went to my new classroom to get it ready for the fall. First, I can actually raise or lower my room temperature as much as 8 degrees! This could be a first for me - a classroom that is not too hot or too cold. Second, the pencil sharpener worked! Last year the kids drove me crazy sharpening and sharpening and sharpening until there wasn't much pencil left.

This is the time of year that teachers' moods are hopeful, but sobered by unpacking materials that remind us of the specifics of our job that are so difficult. Special education teachers may have twelve students at many different levels of reading, math, social skills and daily living skills. It's so hard to walk the delicate balance between challenging them and making the learning too hard. (I don't think I've ever made it too easy, don't know why.) Hats off to Matt Damon for putting into words so much of what I believe about education.

Finally, I always try to have a theme for the year. One year, it was "Humans swim in an ocean of language," Mark C. Baker (The Atoms of Language. 2001) Please excuse the informal citation there. Last year, it was "Children of the Future". This year, because I am reading Paula Kluth's You're Gonna Love This Kid, I decided to put up "You're Gonna Love This Class!"

Amazement

2011-07-13T18:33:00.000-05:00

I have been slow to post in the second session of Lego robotics, partly because the power went out Monday and I am tending my elderly mom until hers goes back on. One thing that happened today stuck me with such force, however, that I felt the need to write. One of the students had spent 4 days putting together the "Shooter Bot" which shot small plastic balls out rapidly. We demonstrated it today and I told him I would try to keep it together until tomorrow.

Normally we have to share six brains with all three classes, which have six teams in them. The students were so impressed that they, of course, wanted to use the bot and not tear it apart. To make it more challenging, I asked them to aim it at the wall and see if they could bounce it into a plastic box on the floor.

The first shooter put the box against the wall and I wanted to say, "No, that's going to be too close." I have learned to shut up, however, and observe. The students will see if it doesn't work and make adjustments.

Imagine my surprise when all 8 balls bounced off the wall and landed directly into the box! That is the kind of thing that is hard for me, even after years of playing Jardinains. Some people instinctively learn by knowing, as did my middle child. There's no way to explain it, any more than you can explain the ability to spell or draw. I am just grateful I got to see it in action once more.

Diverse Interests

2011-06-23T14:43:00.002-05:00

In today's Daily Herald, there is an article about a student who was a talented artist and also valedictorian. I believe the article was titled something like: good at art and everything else. This is not an unusual profile for a gifted student. Students who are good at everything find themselves pressured by teachers, coaches, parents and musical directors to dedicate themselves to only one thing. They see such talent and want to direct it into their chosen field. This creates somewhat of a dilemma for multiply gifted students. How do they decide what to do with their talents? What if they love to do something that is not one of their talents? I was blessed with a wonderful German teacher in high school who asked us to take some time to think about what we wanted to do with our lives and actually discuss it in class! Imagine how revolutionary that was in the 1960s, when most kids were following in the footsteps of their parents and the idea of having a job that you actually enjoyed was a far cry from reality. How do people decide what to do with their lives? I love the Parachute series. It really helped me when I had to make that decision as an adult. I had always been someone's kid, or someone's wife or someone's mother. Suddenly, I had to choose how I would spend the next twenty years. It was not easy. I was fortunate to be in a field that encouraged growth and my passion for technology in education was an asset. Now that I am retiring next June, I shall have to rethink this all over again. I believe there's a Parachute book for that, too.

Worlds of Wisdom and Wonder

2011-06-18T14:45:00.000-05:00

It's just about time for my summer job to begin. I get excited about going to work at the Center for Gifted. The kids are happy to be there and want to learn what I am teaching. They take whatever I teach them and go to new heights with it. The staff treats me like royalty and I think they are amazing! This year I am going to try some obstacle course work to challenge the kids. I hope you will follow along in my blog as I update it. I haven't uploaded pictures in the past, but hope to get them online or on a CD this year. The kids love their machine inventions and take pictures just like proud parents. Here are some Lego web sites I have used.

nxtprograms.com
robotbooks.com
My Lego Logo page
YouTube Tutorial

Stress, Anxiety and Coping

2011-04-26T20:02:00.000-05:00

I have been multitasking, and the Senginar on "Stress, Anxiety and Gifted: Coping with Everyday Life" has had some wonderful recommendations. First, one of the recommendations by Michele Kane was to have your child spend more time outside. A new network formed by Richard Louv is the Children and Nature Network. I once read a book called Why Children Need Wild Places, which I picked up in the Grand Canyon book store. Many of my students are not allowed outside because there is no responsible adult to watch them; the adults are all working two jobs. Even families that make sure the children play outside may not make trips to beautiful wilderness. If adults are not aware of what's out there, they don't necessarily know what they and their children are missing.

Another system of looking at the world is Martin Seligman's new work on well-being. Instead of Learned Optimism, his newest work is being called Flourish and he is revising happiness into a "Theory of Well-Being." He is starting a curriculum for teachers. Now I kinda wish I wasn't retiring so soon!

National Poetry Month

2011-04-26T19:57:00.000-05:00

I admit it. I torture my students. Here I am given a room full of language-disabled English-language learners (with 2 exceptions) and I am making them write poetry. They get pretty upset with me as I pull some of their words out and throw out others. Part of me is wishing I had more time to spend with each student to coax them into understanding on the "show, don't tell." Reality being what it may, I get them to describe what they see, hear, feel, taste, and touch. Then I write it for them (only one has access to Co:Writer) and encourage them to embellish in Keynote. That part they love. We will post these poems in the hall at school next week. I hope these beautiful individuals will learn the process of creating impressions to work through whatever emotional issues they cannot express with their everyday language.

Too Many Tabs

2011-04-24T10:55:00.002-05:00

My children tease me about the number of tabs I leave open on a regular basis. Like so many things in my life, I have trouble setting limits. I often open a tab because I find it interesting, but don't have time to read the page or watch the 48 minute video. I ultimately do go back and learn from them, but only when the demands of my job and activities allow it. Two of the more recent tabs I have opened are Zooniverse and MIT Open Courseware.

Zooniverse is a project that calls on anyone interested in science to help scientists scan the 950,000 images from Hubble Space Telescope. At least, I hope I have that right, for I have lost the link that sent me to this web site. (Found it in my history: NASA Science.) Like so much in cyberspace, we float from place to place and don't remember how we got there. This site links people to eight projects that need more eyes on information to find things. I remember reading in the Wall St. Journal that NASA had a building the size of a football field with images from space vehicles. That was in 1990 or so. The projects involve finding new planets, new objects of undetermined matter, the Milky Way, the moon, galaxies and old weather, to name a few.

MIT Open Courseware has been around for ten years. I have downloaded courses before, but I am hoping that retirement will allow me the time to actually study the subjects that interest me. Most recently, I downloaded a study of Twentieth Century Literature. I am really feeling old, since most of my life was spent in the Twentieth Century. Specifically, I am interested in the Existentialists and how they perceived the world. After viewing a Senginar on Existential Depression in Gifted Adults and Children, I am fascinated by the challenge that others have struggled with these issues and found solutions.

So there you have it. Happy Easter to all those who celebrate it, and enjoy Passover, to those friends, too. Now I can shut those tabs and post some blogs that friends of mine have started. See the sidebar if you're interested.

Regrets

2011-03-13T14:32:00.000-05:00

There are some times as a teacher that you are doing what you have to do even though you know it is not best for the students. Last week and next I am giving ISATs (Illinois Standard Achievement Tests). Some of my students are taking IAA (Illinois Alternative Assessment). All of my students are anxious and stressed out. Despite the fact that I give them a test whenever I can in class, and preface it with the words, "We LOVE tests. We can show what we know!" My students really can't show what they know on the ISATs. I was distraught on Thursday when one of my students tried to do an extended response item in the Reading test. He could not do it, because he could not read the question. I was not allowed to read it to him. How is that testing his knowledge?!

Kildeer School District was blessed this month with a visit by Robert Marzano. He had some interesting facts about standardized test scores. The reliability for the state test in a large Midwestern state is .87 (the best reliability is .99). This means that every time you give the same test, there is a 13 percent chance that random errors have influenced the score. Subscale reliabilities are lower; .33 to .57. The reliability of flipping a coin to get heads is about .5, so you can see the problem.

What all the hoopla is about is just numbers. It doesn't mean that the children are not learning if their scores don't go up. Maybe it just means they became homeless on the day of the test, or they had surgery that year, or their parents got divorced. Marzano gave me great hope that a new system of assessment is being born that will show what students know: formative assessment or rubrics.

Still, there is one issue that is never addressed because there is no practical measure. "Imagination is more important than knowledge," is Einstein's famous quote. Some of my learning disabled students are talented and creative in nonverbal activities such as music, theater, and technology. Decades have gone by with no state testing knowledge of computers. It was the great promise of the 1990s that technology would not just change the way we teach, but the way our students learn. In the last five years, multidisciplinary collaborative projects have been replaced by emphasis on test scores. Science and social studies take a back seat to reading and math. Technology is allowed if it is related to the curriculum, which is now based on standards.

Resentment against teachers has flamed into political retribution. When will we return the school system to the instructional experts and tell the politicians what should be taught and how? Ask any professor at any university and they will support the view that standardized testing limits what can be done in the classroom, and does not allow for creative possibilities. The students of today need skills we haven't even thought of yet, and their best chance of success is to teach creativity and problem-solving.

Patircia Gangas

2011-01-25T21:04:00.000-06:00

The Poets and Patrons has lost one of its best poets. Patricia Gangas. Pat was a beautiful lady with a flair for unconventional appearance. She often wore a hat over her raven-colored hair. Her makeup and hairdo were unusual and suggested she was a creative soul. Whenever she attended the P & P workshops, her poems were startling and poignant. I was privileged enough to take a class with her at College of DuPage. The teacher was Mardelle Fortier, and many of the students were poets who repeated her class every summer. Pat did not discuss her personal life, but I remember a poem that described going gambling to forget about the loss of a loved one. Those two ideas were juxtaposed in a work that described precisely how difficult it is to cope with loss.

Our group has also lost Gert Rubin, who wrote beautifully and was as encouraging a mentor as I have ever had. We have lost Maggie Cantrall, who wrote beautiful sonnets and made me feel like an honored guest at the nursing home in which she spent her last years. While I plan to write after retirement, I am becoming painfully aware of the passage of time and the precious lives that have been beacons for me in the fog of my uncertainty. For you, ladies, I will give it my best.

A Cash Society

2011-01-05T19:11:00.000-06:00

Has anyone else out there noticed it? Suddenly I am paying for services I have not yet received. Sometimes, I can't write a check for groceries (thanks, Whole Foods) and sometimes I can't even pay for something with my check card (thanks, National Car Rental for making a miserable day). It is more and more common to have checks cashed immediately, which is no problem if you have money in your account. How ironic, then, when Gap would not return cash to me when I had to return jammies that were too big for my granddaughter! I had to wait for their check in the mail. What all this mean to me is that our "cashless" society is over. Money is always an agreement between two people about how much something is worth (thanks, Colin, age 6, for explaining that to me). But when times are tough, only the real thing will do. Holding those bills in your hands, you can buy most anything but a rental car.

I have been telling friends and family for decades that we are in a long, slow inflationary depression. Whether that is true or not remains to be seen. Ironically, Greenspan kept salaries low to suppress inflation. He should have checked the prices people had to pay. If you're making the same amount of money, but everything keeps costing more, that's inflation! A neighbor of mine in California once gave me a handful of bills that she brought over from Germany. She remembered the time in the German economy when people had to take their paycheck and cash it, then take wheelbarrows full of money to buy a loaf of bread or a few eggs. The Marks are just stamped over with Tausend Mark (thousand)or Millionen Mark (million) or even Milliarden Mark (billion). I don't know how societies break out of these cycles, but I am certain the government does not bail out the little guys.

Does anyone else out there wonder why the oil companies can continue to charge exorbitant fees for their products? Isn't there a bit of a monopoly? How many new oil companies have you founded this year? Have you even heard of any? Why didn't rates go down for telephone services when the industry was deregulated? Wasn't that what they said would happen? How about insurance and medical costs? The last time they even stayed the same was when Hillary was trying to grapple with a solution to that problem.

I may be misinformed here. After all, I spend most of my waking hours trying to reach learners who have difficulties learning even the most basic academic skills. If you can explain this to me, I'd be happy to hear from you. Be sure to leave a comment.

Newspaper Intelligence

2010-12-29T09:28:00.001-06:00

As I picked up my paper today, I reflected on the memories I have of my parents reading the paper. My dad would come home from work about 3 or 4, sit down and read the paper. He was the smartest man I knew, and I could ask him about any situation in the world. He would explain it to me. He read magazines, as well, with an avid interest in current events, science, and music. He had turned down a chance to go to college because he wouldn't accept "charity." It was the depression and there were no jobs to be found. Ultimately, he fought in the front lines of WWII and came home to raise a family. He opted for a truck-driving job with Dean's Milk that paid well and a home in the suburbs of Chicago.

Mom is 95 and reads the paper every day. She is equally smart, and able to point out things I may have missed because I work full-time and don't read the paper every day, except to skim. She does the crossword puzzle and reads the bridge column as well. She is another reader passionately interested in current events, music, medicine, and now, technology.

I subscribe to a paper and scan it in the morning if I have time. Sometimes the papers pile up for a week before I go through them and pull interesting articles. I have given up saving recipes (no time to cook) and reading in-depth analyses of situations. I save the articles, but get more information from public radio and TV news coverage. Still, the paper covers topics such as psychology, medicine, business, food, health, ecology and information about local places and events that would never enter my consciousness if I did not read the paper. I am a sudoku and crossword-puzzle addict as well.

I once talked to a man at the railroad station. I had always been unsure of which track the train would be on, and you have to cross the first set of tracks in our station to get to the others. He replied that the tracks had been built by a British engineer, so they are the opposite of our highway system. Tracks going into the city are on the left, coming out are on the right. I asked him how he had learned this and he replied, "I read the paper."

My children do not subscribe to newspapers. They are gifted individuals who have access to the Internet and are avid readers and learners. However, are they being exposed to the wide variety of information contained in a single newspaper? How is this going to change society? They are instantly in touch with each other and the world. They are producers of content as well as readers. But what will their world be like without papers? Without books? Or are these media just disintegrating and reorganizing into a metamorphosis that will be better able to inform the public? What will the public look like? Stay tuned for further adventures.

Holidays and Family

2010-12-22T17:06:00.000-06:00

It's that time of year - the holidays! To help you all get along better with your families, I recommend pet stories. Someone in the family must have a pet. If not, feel free to borrow one of my stories. My mom and I were laughing today about my dog Tonto. Tonto was an American Eskimo dog that was taken home by a bachelor who wasn't home much. His idea of training the dog was to let it out in the morning and then chase it all over the neighborhood because it wouldn't come when called (this would later play an important role in one of the stories). The dog was kept in the basement, where it was free to go where and when it wanted. Our neighbor asked my daughter to walk the dog for him after school each day. Tonto was a fluffy little guy and we fell in love with him. All, except my cat, Lil the Pill. When Kim brought Tonto in the house after walking him, the cat would attack and corner the poor little puppy under a chair. He didn't know he was twice her size and more powerful at 9 months than she was at 6 months. I digress.

Tonto was a bit high-strung. After we adopted him, he never outgrew his tendency to "piddle" in a submissive reflex at the least convenient moment. Once, my daughter and I laughed so hard we wet our pants trying to shave off his heavy fur on an especially hot summer. We tried taking him to a training school for pet groomers. They said to have him there by 8 AM. We were kinda concerned when we hadn't heard anything by late afternoon. Finally, my mom got the call. She had to take Kim over to the school, where she had to hold him so they could finish the job. They advised her, "He's not really a good training school dog." We all had a good laugh at what must have happened.

The kids and I moved five times in five years while I was getting divorced from their dad. When we were finally settled in our own house with a fenced-in yard, we all began to enjoy life more. I was sitting at the computer in the living room one night when I smelled skunk.
I thought, "Hm. I'd better get Tonto in. There's a skunk in the neighborhood."
I opened the back door and in came Tonto, reeking of fresh skunk spray. If you've never experienced this smell, let me just say it is more of a taste. Pretty soon, the whole house smelled of fresh skunk spray. Two of my kids were living at home at that time, and asked if they could go to their grandma's house two blocks away because of the smell. I said, "Sure." I stayed with the dog and would have been angry if he hadn't whimpered in pain all night long. I called a friend, who told me to treat the dog with tomato juice. (It's hydrogen peroxide, water and a touch of mild detergent.) I told my daughter to run to the store on the way home and pick some up. She brought home three large cans of tomato paste. We doused the dog with it all over his body. The only effect it had was to turn the dog pink. Later that day, I found out the correct treatment from the vet. Unfortunately, we ran out before we could wash the tail, so Tonto had a pink tail for a day. The house smelled like skunk for a week!

Global Education Conference

2010-11-17T15:59:00.000-06:00

I have gone and done it again. I volunteered to post a session for the Global Education Conference. When will I learn to check my calendar for the weeks I have to send home IEPs?! I will give it my best shot, however, and hope that I have something to offer educators. I am talking about Lego robotics again, and I have added new links to my web page since the last time I presented. If any of you are my former students, I hope you will join our conversation about learning without boredom. I am amazed at the sessions I am seeing this week and I hope you will all join the conversation. I am listening to students from Anser Junior High who made a web site about human rights (http://anser.weebly.com/index.html). Thanks to Lucy Gray and Steve Hargadon for an awesome adventure!

Ten Ten Ten

2010-10-10T16:13:00.000-05:00

The ten-ten-ten movement is asking people to write about what on earth they are doing today. My life can seem pretty boring, but there is beauty in the details. I awoke to the sound of a harp on my iPod, walked downstairs, and heated a mug of water in the microwave oven. My cat, Maximo, the Destructo Poopinator, hounded me, demanding some strokes. Who can resist a feline who throws himself on the bed on his back with his belly open? I read my usual morning books and affirmation cards, ate some Kashi cereal, and put the dog, Tess, on a leash. I was holding the leash in my right hand, looking left, when the dog saw a squirrel and smashed my hand against the door knob as she took off like a shot. It is going to be ugly, but no broken bones. Having survived the lift-off, my morning walk was pretty uneventful. I emphasize pretty, because we are having the most beautiful fall I can remember. The weather this weekend is warm - eighty degrees - and everyone is out enjoying the weather. The trees are red and green and yellow, all in the same tree!

I am getting over a nasty illness, which would have kept me in bed for a week if it were not for antibiotics. My neighbor walked with me last night, since her surgery for lung cancer has healed somewhat and she has more stamina. My cousin received surgery for pancreatic cancer in the winter, and is doing better. Even a few years ago, she would have been dead by now. I am hoping the cancer has been removed and stays away for a long time. In another medical advance, my younger granddaughter was injured on a playground last week and they "glued" her lip back together.

My mother is ninety-five and still lives at home. The three of us children all do our part to take care of her. My father died in 1995 at the age of 80, and mom's family almost all lived until their late 90s, except for a brother with cancer. Unfortunately, there is also a history of senility on her side, and she has escaped its most severe form. As I helped her search for an earring this morning after church, I discovered a box under her bed, pulled it out, and discovered my dad's ashes. It reminded me of the time my brother was drying marijuana under a bed in the 70s and a neighbor's young girl found it. "Mrs. Wallin, what's that under the bed?" "Uh,uh, I'm drying some herbs." I watered some plants, filled the bird feeder, put some shredded paper on the weeds in the garden, and headed home.

I checked Facebook and my email, heated up leftover pizza for lunch and ate on my deck. I have a very large milkweed plant, which attracts monarch butterflies all summer, and it reminds me of the plant in "Little Shop of Horrors," which I saw when my daughter was in college and sang one of the parts. Last night, a group of church members that sang at an Advent Concert last year recorded a group of songs in a recording studio. The equipment that is available now is astounding. We had four microphones for the singers and two more for the group in general. Different cords were attached, depending on the quality of the voices and the quality of the sound the producer wanted. His main board was composed of hundreds of ports, most of which were not in use. If we did a section badly, he could have us just repeat that section and later splice it in. The room we sang in was soundproof, which gave an eerie isolation to each of our sounds. The pianist had a grand piano and is an incredibly talented woman who has adopted four children.

I attend a mainline church, the First United Methodist Church, because it allows a great deal of diversity while staying true to its traditions. We have adult Sunday School, and our class is reading Mortenson's Three Cups of Tea. There is a little awe and inspiration in what this man has done. I have a dream to take technology to Monterrico, Guatemala, but I am not sure if I have the dedication to do what Greg did. Monterico has public schools made of concrete with no books and very little paper and pencils. The teachers are incredibly dedicated people who teach by lecture and any other way they can. There is no special education, that I know of, although my Spanish is what I have learned from teaching Hispanic kids in a special education smaller classroom.

In the town of Monterrico, there is also a dedicated staff who is trying to protect sea turtle eggs. When they are laid in the sand, the workers move the eggs to a protected area. When they hatch out, they are returned to the sea. I would love to see these people online, letting the whole world know what they are doing. Wouldn't it be great to have the local children updating web pages on the school and the nature center? Not far from town is a nature preserve where I got to see the winter nesting habitat of the white herons. It inspired a poem called "Quietude." You can see a picture of Monterrico here.

The state of special education in Illinois is mixed. Because of the budget crisis in the state, brought on by a collapse of financial markets in 2007, we are not even getting paper or pencils ourselves this year. The state of Illinois is paying bills so late that many businesses are not accepting credit any more. Some businesses are looking at failure because the government is six months or more behind in its bill paying. Teachers in general are doing massive amounts of paperwork that were never required before, but special education is particularly hard hit. Class sizes are mushrooming, more services are being provided, and everything must be documented. Staff members skip breaks and take short lunches because we have children going in an out at all times for special classes such as art, PE, music, and library. For every piece of assistive technology that we use, we have to track its use for the administrators. Since I am a huge advocate of AT, I write a few hours a week just for that purpose.

The economic crises has created a great deal of conflict in the country at all levels. Everyone is blaming everyone else, while millions of people are out of work or underemployed. President Obama has taken steps to shore up the nations laborers, after Bush bailed out the huge banks at the end of his term. The gap between rich and poor is growing. I am grateful my children were able to get college educations, even though it meant we all took on large loans. I hope to pay off my school loans before I retire in two years. At this age, my parents had paid off their house.

Colleges are becoming prohibitively expensive. I would like to pay for my granddaughters' educations, but fear there won't be any way for them to go, since even loans have dried up now. Our family is composed of many moderately or highly gifted people, so I feel it is really important to get the children educated and serving society. The state of gifted education is not good, with no money being appropriated in the national budget.

The arts are alive and well in Chicago. Apparently, we place theater, art, music and dance in a relatively high position. Poetry is definitely experiencing a renaissance here. Although we lost many theater groups, opera companies and dancers, I think we kept the majority of these types of groups performing. It is not a good time to look to the arts for employment, however, so my daughter has given up on singing for now.

I am always amazed, however at the extremes of wealth and poverty when I go into the city. The central area has huge skyscrapers with thousands of rooms, while the streets have at least one homeless person per block, begging for money. When I was a young girl, we could see homeless people on West Madison, which was our "Skid Row." That area has been taken over by upper middle class urban professionals and rebuilt into expensive, vertical condos. I first became aware of the poverty in Chicago when my brother, Paul, worked for Catholic Charities, building low-income housing for seniors in nineteen neighborhoods. That's nineteen neighborhoods that are at or below poverty level! (For a further treatment of this topic check out this Blog.) It is so inconceivable to me that people freeze in the winter while architectural masterpieces lay vacant. Many churches have stepped in with a program called PADS (Public Action to Deliver Shelter), which provides a meal and a bed to a homeless person.

So many things to talk about, and not the least of which is one of my favorite topics: technology. I sewed all day yesterday on a machine that performs exact stitches based on which buttons I push. I carry my iPod for the calendar, Internet access, podcasts, pictures it holds. My phone can dial family members at the push of two buttons, and I received a text from a friend this morning that her business phone has changed. I have Skype on all of my computers, although I find Apple was much easier to use - I still haven't gotten my PC camera to work! I can't imagine what computers will look like even 50 years from now, or how companies will ask permission to access the chip in our heads for advertising. My mom saw the development of electricity, cars, planes, plumbing, tractors and combines, telephone, and Internet. Family gatherings have gone from large dinners, cooked by women (and cleaned up by them) every week, to holiday gatherings with as many people as can make it, cooked by whoever is around. (Funny, the women still do most of the cleanup.)

To finish on a positive note, it is hard to slog through everyday living sometimes. We forget that no matter what mankind goes through, we still manage to survive as a species. Whether that will be true for my children and grandchildren is still a mystery, and adventures in space, in nanospace, in the oceans and at the poles will provide a limitless supply of change and anxiety for the next generation. As a teacher, I would like to think that we can teach each generation what it needs to survive, but I think that must come from the spirit of the country. We can teach skills and facts. We can discuss ethics and social relationships, but ultimately it is up to our families to overcome the greedy, the cruel, and the uncaring attitudes that are plastered in the media every day. Are we going to adhere to the ideals that all people are created equal, all people have a right to achieve, and all people have a right to good health, a place to live, food to eat?

What are you doing on 10-10-10?

Choosing a Topic

2010-09-06T08:47:00.000-05:00

As a blogger, I find my biggest difficulty is beginning. So much information passes through my brain each day, how do I decide what is important to write? If I could choose a select field and narrow my interests, I would do better, but I wouldn't be me. This Labor Day, I am preparing for a week that is shorter than most. We have Labor Day and Rosh Hashanah. While most people are celebrating, I am worried that a three-day week will mean two less days to prepare, assess, and gather materials. A colleague confided recently that she did not try to instruct while she was assessing. I realized that I was probably trying to do too much, but my time with the students is so limited that I want to make the most out of it. I am truly grateful that SEDOL has provided me with the training I need to do a good job. Hopefully, the materials will follow. One thing I have learned about class size that may account for the achievement gap between large and small class sizes: It takes more time to go to the bathroom, line up to go outside or to lunch, and take tests, especially when they have to be administered individually. I am still in the glow of pre-retirement joy, however, and I am so grateful for a job that challenges my abilities, provides never-ending learning opportunities, and is based on relationships. I have the best co-workers in the world, and we all give 100% to our jobs. Thank you, Andi and Shari, Marilyn, Minnie, Deborah, Gail, Rosemary, Adrianne, Joyce, Ann, and Lisa. You're the best!

Start of a New Year

2010-08-20T19:39:00.000-05:00

I had hoped to have my Flickr account up and running by now, and YouTube as well. My fifth grade students say it is easy. I always have to fight that demon that tells me I can't do a good job, and I haven't been able to get past that this summer. I will post the link on the top of this page when it is done. In the meantime, I have begun the 2010-2011 school year with a totally new attitude. I am really appreciating what a great job I have and enjoying every moment. Just yesterday, four team members were talking to me while I taught, a situation that would have stressed me out in the past. Instead, I taught the kids, then let them work while I talked briefly with the adults, then returned to the kids, etc. I seem to be much better at taking things one at a time, always keeping the kids first. My technology staff has outdone themselves, getting our computers up and running from day one. Today they came in and added more software to the dock. I like to familiarize my students with the basics: Scratch, iWork, iTunes, iPhoto, Garageband, iWeb, and the programs already in the dock: Kidspiration, Pixie, and probably others I can't think of at the moment. I am sorry we won't get Co:Writer, but hopefully there will be a word prediction software that costs less.

The students are doing very well, and I look forward to having 5 fifth-graders this year. Some of them were in my class in kindergarten! It is a stretch to teach third graders who want to know when we are having snack (we don't) and fifth graders who can write paragraphs! I hope I can challenge all of them without making them frustrated. I have a big class this year, which allows me to create a bit of community. The older kids have to adjust to helping the younger ones, and the younger ones have to adjust to higher expectations. Here's to a great year!!!!!

Last week of Legos

2010-07-20T14:16:00.000-05:00

The summer has gone fast and so did Lego Robotics II in Buffalo Grove. I hope to get some pictures up at Flickr and some videos up via youTube onto my page. Hope this doesn't have a steep learning curve. There are some nice features to Mindstorms NXT 2.0. It can recognize color now and there is also an image editor. I shall spend the rest of the year learning the new features and posting information on my web page at www.dwna.net. Wish I could just teach Lego robotics all year. Except for the lack of imagination in COLORS!

Forgetful's Last Day Letter

2010-07-05T13:59:00.001-05:00

Computer Lego Robotics
Worlds of Wisdom and Wonder
Summer 2010 Gurnee

Dear Parents,
I just love working with your children and teaching them how to control Lego robots. They get so excited and come in with a happy attitude. Our format does not allow them to do long term projects, because each day we have to share materials among three classes.

The students are wonderful, though. They listened courteously when I spent a short time explaining some simple programs up front. They take videos and pictures of their robots, some of which I hope to have posted on the Center for Gifted web site. If you can’t find them there, please go to my Lego page and I will post them there.

Don’t forget to go to nxtprograms.com to download free programs off the Web. The link is on my web page, as well.
If you would like to purchase Lego Logo Equipment, you may contact Steffanie Forbes, LEGO Education representative for the Midwest. Her email address is sforbes@legoeducation.com.

There are teams in First Lego League (http://usfirst.org/roboticsprograms/fll/default.aspx?id=970) for students to join. There is an annual competition and last year it was in Arlington Heights!

There is also a Brickworld competition in June for any team that wants to join – even a family. Here’s the link: http://www.brickworld.us/bw2010/.

My library of Lego Mindstorms books keeps growing. This summer I added
The Lego Mindstorms NXT 2.0 Discovery Book, by Laurens Valk.
Previously, I have suggested
The Unofficial Lego Mindstorms NXT Inventor’s Guide, by David J. Perdue
The Lego Mindstorms NXT Idea Book, by Martin Boogaarts, et. al.
Thanks for sharing your child with me this summer. It has been a wonderful experience.

Linda Wallin

First Day of Worlds of Wisdom and Wonder

2010-06-21T17:13:00.001-05:00

Today was a glorious, fun day in the life of some gifted children. Worlds of Wisdom and Wonder Began in Gurnee. I thought I had three advanced classes, so my first day letter might have taken some parents aback. Be assured that I will do my best to make sure my students are challenged, but not unhappy. The students were all quiet, as they are on the first day. So many strangers there. I try to group them according to interests so they can make new friends. I always think back to the first weekend activity my son had in western Illinois and how he came running out showing me all the things he had done. I want all of my students to have that joy and I will my part to make it enjoyable.

I forgot to put my website on the first day letter. It is Duncan Wallin Networking Associates. To find the page on Legos, click on Gifted Education and then Lego Logo. Or, you can just click here

Now I must go analyze the information I have on the kids and group them into teams. Please let me know if there are any problems. I love to hear from parents.

The most touching moment came at the end of the day. For those of you who are not in the gifted community, you may not realize that there are some topics we can't talk about. One of these topics is our abilities. Talking about our achievements is usually seen as bragging, even when it is not. So I was pleased when one of the students told me he had skipped a grade. I replied, "Me, too." His face lit up and it turned out we had skipped the same grade. As we walked out of the classroom, the quiet young man next to me said, "I skipped two." It's so good to be able to talk about this!

North Park University Loses Expert on Middle East

2010-05-08T16:20:00.002-05:00

The Chicago area is losing one of the foremost experts on the Middle East, Donald E. Wagner. His book, Dying in the Land of Promise, opened my eyes to the plight of Palestinian Christians. Apparently, North Park has not renewed his contract and the students are distraught. My grandfather was a minister in the Swedish Covenant Church, and I think he would be appalled at the actions of the Swedish Covenant University. We need a reasoned look at what is occurring in the Middle East. Here is a man who has gone there many times, talked to all factions of the residents, and has some ideas on what needs to be done to end the bloodshed. Palestinians think he is pro-Israeli and Israelis think he is pro-Palestinian. The fact is that he is neither. He genuinely wants to call attention to the new leaders arising in the Middle East who are working for peace. Will we ever be able to find resolution among the people of the Middle East if we can't even discuss it here in Chicago? Shame on you, North Park!

National Poetry Month

2010-04-13T20:20:00.003-05:00

I feel like I should post a poem here, since it is National Poetry Month. One of my favorites is called:

Cottonwood Snowflakes.

in slow motion
herald the beginning of summer.
Floating into
suburban pools and urban slums,
they have no opinion.

Swimming lessons, baseball games,
court convictions and funerals
continue unaffected.

Stop
and observe
as the miracles float by,
a caress from above.

(c)Linda Wallin 1997

I wrote that poem the year my cousin's son died at the age of ten. He was the same age as my second son and died around the time of Colin's birthday. He was born with his heart in backwards, and it gave him wisdom beyond his years. I was taking my daughter to swimming lessons and watching her sing the National Anthem at a White Sox game, which was in a very poor neighborhood at that time. My children's uncle was struggling with legal issues. I was struck by the gentle softness of cottonwood seeds constantly falling all around me, unnoticed by most people.

My students have discovered that it is not so hard to write a poem. My fifth grader wrote a beautiful poem about a walk we took outside the school. My third graders are searching their hearts for feelings and senses to put into their poems. My fourth graders are giving me their best effort. Every year I am amazed at what my students have to say that is unique to them. The best part - no grammar!

Today I was blessed with a trip to the Loop. My daughter Kim and I visited the Chicago Cultural Center, had lunch with poets, and then I went to a workshop at the Chicago Public Library by Poets and Patrons, followed by a Poetry Wheel led by Tom Ruby. My cup is full. I hope you all learn the joy of poetry if you don't know it already. It can heal your hurts, give you hope, and force you to explore parts of yourself you didn't know you had.

Missing the Boat

2010-03-25T18:30:00.002-05:00

I know we are doing whatever it takes to teach children to read, but do we really have to sacrifice science, social studies, movement and the fine arts? How are we going to solve the environmental crisis if the students don't know what is involved in habitat? Will they care about people in Ghana if they don't even know the difference between a country and a continent? Students who cannot read can draw, sometimes very well. Students who have athletic ability deserve a chance to use it, and physical exercise will keep them healthy until they are old enough to qualify for Medicare, which may be age 80 by then. Music is the most effective teaching tool we have, and a recent study showed that children under the age of one move to music spontaneously (http://www.sciencefriday.com/videos/watch/10289). What are we doing with what we have? We have 1660 minutes per day to teach our students how to be reasonable human beings with a desire to learn whatever they need to learn to survive in a global society. Education has been charged with teaching citizenship, basic skills, love of learning, a need to serve others, and an appreciation for life in all of its multitude of dimensions. Are we missing the boat?

A Change in Habits

2010-03-20T10:06:00.002-05:00

I was going to quote William James on the importance of habits, but I cannot find the quote I had been told was his. Interesting, how we go on doing things on assumptions without questioning them. I can't tell you how many years I have used the incorrect quote to motivate me to change. In short, our habits have a profound influence on what we do with our lives. If you can get into a good habit of exercise, eating right and getting enough sleep, you will have a much easier time with old age, when these things become requirements for health. If you come home and sit in front of the TV every night, it is very easy to let work pile up and lose energy for life. Taking for granted the opinions of the media and not researching what is going on in government from a wide variety of sources would lead one to become passive and accept that things have to be a certain way. The only certainty in life is that things are changing at this moment and if you are not changing, you will have a rude awakening at some point. I was smug when I discovered the joy of a budget and not overspending my teacher's income. I thought my credit would be safe because, after all, I had not missed payments or defaulted on anything. Then the economic crash shocked the world, and I realized that there was no way I could pay off my house if I had to, no way I could pay for my mother's nursing home if I had to, no way I could remain a homeowner if the banks crashed. As it is, the government keeps overlooking the fact that inflation is not at zero. If prices remain the same and salaries fall, that is a clear picture of inflation for all those of us with less income than we need. Yet I take heart in the perseverance of my students. Although they struggle to learn and relearn basic skills, I know God will not desert them, so God will probably take care of me as well. It would be sad to see democracy become a thing of the past, though. Have you read something about the health care bill this week? Do you know what it is they are voting for? How it will be paid for? Whether the monopoly laws will be changed to include insurance companies? Don't just vote, write, call, study, discuss. This is your country.

Modern Medicine

2010-03-01T20:07:00.002-06:00

I took my mom to the doctor today for an eye check. The ophthalmologist sent her to the retina expert, who happened to be two floors down. A few decades ago a diagnosis of macular degeneration was like a sentence of punishment. My former grandmother-in-law gradually lost all of her vision. Today, the doctor said he has medication that will slow or stop the progression of the disease. I felt like a miracle had occurred. I am not sure what the future brings, but I worry that my grandchildren will not be able to receive the same quality of care that my mother receives. If it were your vision, what would you like to have happen? It is time that we all become active in the health care debate and think about whether we want to return to the days when the poor couldn't afford good medical care, so they suffered.

ICE 2010

2010-02-22T19:42:00.003-06:00

We cannot help it, those of us that have been around for a quarter of a century. We stand around with our volunteer shirts on, greeting familiar faces we see only a few times a year. We relive the beginnings of what has become a movement in education. What is amazing to me is how much I learn from everyone at the conference, whether it is in the sessions, talking to other ICE members, or helping newcomers. Today I am enjoying the presentations of my previous students. It's always a thrill for a teacher to see her students doing well.

I was so nervous about standing up in front of other people and talking! What if something didn't work? That has happened often enough at NLU. What if I said something stupid or went completely blank. I don't use notes for my presentation, so if I panic, I forget everything. Luckily, I had support from others, so I was able to feel good about what I did. I was pleasantly surprised by my Superintendent Bill Delp in the room, although it raised the stress for me: will he approve? How many other teachers can brag that their superintendent goes to technology conferences?!

Once again, Illinois Computing Educators have amazed me with all that's going on in the technological world. Back to Lucy Gray. Be sure to check out her blog: High Techspectations.
I must also mention an excellent wiki made by Tracy Murdoch.

Keeping up with Everything

2010-01-30T12:11:00.004-06:00

I am missing a technology conference today: NICE Mini-conference 2010, thanks to some weird virus. I was feeling pretty sad about it, but have begun to find the resources of the presenters on the WWW. Just one presenter had ten web-based resources to use with the students!

How do you keep up with technology? If you're lucky, you have a job that requires you to explore new tools every day. More likely than not, you have to go out of your way to learn new skills. I have been stymied this week by a coworker that implied I shouldn't teach writing with technology MY way because it might conflict with the writing curriculum that we will be using next year. She has been a steady and helpful support for a couple of years now, and a great coworker. I'm sure she sees flaws in my writing instruction that would be corrected with the new curriculum. Yet the pace of technology is relentless. The pace of progress is relentless! New developments in every field are proposed and refuted by research every day. What is one to believe? The reading curriculum that goes with the writing curriculum has been excellent, so I will go with what works. I still wonder if increasing the number of reading interventions at the cost of thematic, multi-disiplinary projects is going to help the overall thinking of the child. "Teach to their strengths" seems to have become 'Test to overcome their weaknesses" and the whole child is forgotten in a pile of test scores and graphs. On the other hand, my instruction begins with assessment. How can you know what to teach unless you know where the student functions. Do you really want to waste valuable school time teaching something they already know or presenting material that is years above the students' abilities?
So where's the balance? I can truthfully say that many of the problems presented by using technology in education are not being solved: how to get teachers to use new methods, how to give students access to technology (especially if they live in poverty), how much to filter, how much time to spend on computers using what software, how to insure equity for all users, how to shift district priorities to insure technology use is encouraged. For me, the balance is in using what you can. Instead of writing your report on Siam, type it in to Kidspiration or a word processor, recite it into Voicethread (filter issues notwithstanding), make a presentation of it. Let the kids play with it and discover what they can make. (That one would not pass the "linked to curriculum" rule in my district.) We don't have time to wait for what is coming next year. Learn what you can, when you can, and pass it on!

In the time it took for me to write this, an email came with information about another type of reading instruction: Renee Seward's Multimedia Program Linking Sounds and Letters: Reading By Design

Halloween

2009-10-29T21:46:00.002-05:00

For twenty years, I have bundled up precious cargo, hopped into the car or walked through a neighborhood, and participated in the ancient ritual called Halloween. I have never objected to its horrific side. I just ignore it and enjoy the excitement children exhibit when faced with large amounts of free candy.

The first year I lived on a farm, I bought bags of candy and waited for Trick-or-Treaters to appear, as they had in my suburban hometown. What a letdown! Not one goblin showed up. People on farms have to make appointments or they will pass each other in their cars. There are side benefits, however. Grandmas and neighbors make up for fewer stops by giving large bags of homemade cookies as well as full-size candy bars.

My favorite Halloween was in 1989. I had moved back to my hometown with three children, two hundred dollars and a college education. While looking for a job, I was a substitute teacher in five school districts comprised of more than fifty schools. With traumatized children and anxious parents, I cried every day over the loss of a farm, friends and my previous job. It was hard to get up in the morning, and the days didn’t get any easier.

October 31 came and we went trick-or-treating in Grandma’s neighborhood, where I had grown up. A transformation had occurred in this quiet middle class section of town. Decorations abounded in the yards, including strings of Halloween lights. One neighbor dressed up like a witch and cackled at the children from the top half of a Dutch door as she dropped candy into their bags. The weather was so warm we didn’t even have to wear jackets, and leaves crunched under foot as we walked. Friends walked together and greeted each other as children eagerly ran up to doorbells and gave their personalized rendition of “Trick or Treat.” For the first time since my loss, I had a sense of community. The children had never gotten grocery bags full of candy before. Although they always missed their father on holidays, they were pretty happy with this turn of events.

The weather didn’t always cooperate on Halloween. In 1995, the weather was the worst I can ever remember. In a pouring rain with a wind chill reading of twenty-nine degrees, I let my youngest child (aged 12) talk me into circling two blocks. The following week, she was sick. I am glad I went, however. The following year she preferred a junior high party to trick or treating. Had I known it was my last trip, I would have enjoyed it more.

©Linda Wallin 1997

Poverty

2009-10-25T12:51:00.005-05:00

In the last few years, my work in special education has led me to disabled children who live in poverty. While it was a rare occurrence even five or ten years ago, it is now much more common. I can't quote statistics on this, although I hope to do some study on this topic. I can only speak from personal experience. Last year, my class was small and the poverty level was high. I think only one of my students was NOT in poverty (out of five or six). This year, out of nine students, six of them were receiving free lunches. For those of you who don't know, the poverty level was calculated in the 1955 by calculating the yearly cost of food for an adult or child, omitting the purchase of meat, and multiplying by three (Ross, 2009). Thankfully, Congressmen Dodd and McDermitt have introduced legislation to bring the formula more in line with present-day realities.

I must confess I lived below the poverty line for a year when I became a single parent with three children. The lessons I learned have compelled me to speak out about this devastating hardship for children who have no platform to speak. As a parent and as a teacher, I see children who cannot develop their abilities to the fullest because they are held back by lack of day care options, medical options, and grocery limits. I teach children who do not know what to do with a Book Club book because no one has bought them one before. I see children who get excited about technology and can learn math, reading, graphics, writing, storytelling, and simple computer science concepts when they gain access to machines and programs appropriate for their abilities.

Recently Stephen Krashen, who writes about second-language acquisition, wrote about the relationship between poverty and achievement in his newsletter. He objected to the administration focus on higher standards. I concur. Higher standards will not provide better nutrition or more educational experiences for children whose parents may be working one or two jobs apiece. Higher standards will not allow children to spend more after-school time outside because they have adequate supervision. Higher standards will only create more paperwork for an overworked educational sector.

Those who use the phrase "throw money at a problem" are almost always trying to prevent spending. Yet if children come from homes where there are no books, educational toys, educational videos and outdoor activity, where are they going to get them? If they are learning another language in the process, they are under siege cognitively. Without the words to express what they see in the world, their power is limited and their needs ignored. President Obama overcame hardship in his childhood. Let’s hope he has not lost his compassion.

Ross, E. (2009, 10 23). Hutchinson News Online Edition. Retrieved 10 25, 2009, from The Hutchinson News: http://www.hutchnews.com/Todaystop/poverty2009-10-23T20-42-40

Newness

2009-08-24T21:05:00.002-05:00

I used to feel grateful for the beginning of a new school year, because it was like a second New Year's Eve. I got a chance to start over and be a better teacher. This year, I'm in a new school, teaching a new class and I thought I was handling it well. By Friday (Aug. 21), I was sick of being new, not knowing people's names, forgetting where kids were supposed to go, trying to work out bussing with different districts. This week, I feel like I have prepared for the schedule and I am waiting to see if everyone actually gets where they are supposed to be when they are supposed to be there. New initiatives have already been introduced, which require after-school training. Parents are waiting to see if they have placed their trust in someone who knows what he/she is doing, and administrators are checking out classrooms to make sure students are engaged and learning. I remember a time fondly when both students and teachers had a few weeks to get into the routine. My mother always said it took us six weeks to get used to our teachers. That was before student performance was tied to teacher performance and everyone wanted a good report card in the newspapers. What is the essential nature of education? The relationship the teacher forms with the students that convinces them they are capable, interesting people who have a valuable role to play in the world.

Challenging Kids

2009-07-14T07:53:00.001-05:00

My students are so creative and productive - who could ask for more? Today one group put three motors together to make something that looked like an arm with two elbows. I saw at least three catapults, and one group made a machine that stood three feet tall (and did not fall when it ran). I tried to stump them with a nested loop and recorded action in Logo (Mindstorms' programming language) AND seeing who could make the tallest machine. Next we will learn about the wait and switch buttons. The week will culminate with a robot dance contest on Friday.

Lego Mindstorms NXT

2009-07-10T14:13:00.003-05:00

The students in Glenview are learning very fast. Today I showed them a loop structure and will teach a nested loop and switch next week, along with the record button. It has been delightful to haved an LCD projector, so I can show them instead of drawing some really bad pictures on the board, then having them try to remember when they go to the laptops. One young man today wasn't doing anything. When I went over to see if he wanted to change groups or see how to program, he said he was fine just watching. I think we all get tired by Friday. No lack of enthusiasm, however. Some of the parents came in to see what we were doing, and no one noticed.

Day Two

2009-07-07T16:59:00.004-05:00

The students in Glenview are taxing my ability to challenge them! I want to keep things simple, but the students want to get on with it and make machines that can catapult (hour two) and walk. I am letting them work ahead if they have had the class before, but I can see some confusion in the faces of the newbies. We will try again tomorrow to use one or two sensors with just the NXT program. Wish I had a nice set of transparencies to illustrate what I want them to do, hint, hint, Lego!

Glenview Lego Lab

2009-07-06T15:27:00.002-05:00

The program in Lego robotics started today in Glenview, IL. I was amazed to notice that although I had twice as many students, I did not have more problems with behavior. I would have to admit that the noise level went up, but the Center was kind enough to send an assistant to help. The students are so excited. I actually had someone ask if they could use the Legos, and I said that I believed in hands-on classwork. I start each day with 5-10 minutes of instruction, then let them go to work. One group did not get a machine up and running in the remaining lab time, so they were frustrated. Hopefully they will tomorrow. This is the first time I have one or more groups who have had the instruction before, so I am letting them work ahead. It is so fun to see the kids at work. Team issues are a problem, as well, so we may have to make some changes to the teams. It is better if there are only 2-3 kids on a team, but I think it is also important to group them heterogeneously. I group them according to their interests, so they can make new friends.

Assistive Technology Class

2009-07-04T07:44:00.002-05:00

Our graduate class has begun and I have a wonderful group of students. We looked at writing tools last week, including low-tech items purchased cheaply, and high-tech software such as Co:Writer, Intellitools Suite, and Inspiration/Kidspiration. Each person had completed a picture sequence of something they did on a regular basis, to see if they could put individual steps in without leaving any out. We talked about the writing process, which involves the combination of language skills, organizational skills and visual-motor skills. Students may need assistance at any level. I had rifled through my garage digging up my low-tech tools, now I must rifle through to find my low-tech reading aids. How fast this summer is going!

Amazing students

2009-06-30T17:03:00.002-05:00

One of our students brought her home project in today. It was a bot that flipped over backwards, like a gymnast on a high bar. The smiley face on the display made the bot look just like a person. Students understood the physics that were involved - centrifugal force and gravity. Kudos, Schuyler! And a girl, yet! I have spoken to several parents about the need to encourage gifted girls in the fields of math and science. My daughter decided by sixth grade that she was not good in math or science and dropped out of AP Physics in high school, against the advice of her teacher. She resisted computer use, since the other three members of the family spent a lot of time on the computer. She used it to check the humidity in order to know whether to put her hair up or not.

We learned today how to record an action, upload it to the computer, save it and run it with the action in the program. Some of the students had to rerun their program over and over to get it to run. They are definitely ready for a career in computer science, where perseverance in the face of adversity is a great strength.

Lego Lab Week One

2009-06-28T13:24:00.002-05:00

My dear Aunt Maxine died Monday night, June 22, and I have taken a few days to get used to the idea. She was one of my favorite relatives, loving and smart, family historian, beautiful and kind. She lived with my Uncle Jake in Washington, D.C. most of her life, but she told me stories about living in Stanton, Iowa as a child and teen. I will miss her, but it is a blessing that she could go peacefully at age 93.

Lego Lab has been a joy, as usual. I get so involved with the kids, machines and programming that I forget to allow time to clean up! (The story of my life.) I am so amazed at the creativity and resourcefulness of the students. Two students created a machine that takes only minutes to assemble. When I tried to replicate the effort, I had connected a motor incorrectly. A student patiently waited for me to see my error, then suggested courteously that I had it backwards. I guess my Lego-deprived childhood has had its effect.

If any of you have contacts with the Lego Company, I would like to suggest that they create some more feminine projects and bricks. Last May, I went to the Lego store at Woodfield and had a hard time finding a small Lego gift for one of my female students.

I hope you are aware of the Legoland in Schaumburg, IL. I have not been there, but my students recommend it.

First Day of Lego Lab

2009-06-22T13:12:00.001-05:00

Brickworld was just hosted in Chicago last weekend. Watch for it next year.

Today was the first day of Lego Lab in Grayslake IL. The classes did not include second graders, and I think that was a helpful decision. Some of those bricks are so small they are hard for me to manipulate. The students were quiet, at first, but soon began using the "Try Me" program on the main brick, called the NXT. Their excitement was infectious and I once again enjoyed the enthusiasm gifted children bring to new learning. A few students had taken the class last year, so I let them work ahead. They created a vehicle that could go over a short wall of tires. The other kids seemed envious, but I told them, "You'll be doing this by the end of next week!" I am more relaxed and flexible this year. I just wish I had a set of these at home so I could play with them on my own time. Tomorrow we will use the firmware built into the NXT "brains."

Overcoming Inertia

2009-06-18T13:29:00.000-05:00

One of the great joys in my life is teaching. I am constantly learning all manner of things: ideas, methods, skills, where to find resources, and the nature of personality. This week I am preparing for NXT Mindstorms at the Worlds of Wisdom and Wonder of the Center for Gifted, National-Louis University, as well as preparing for Assistive Technology in the Classroom in Chicago (also NLU). Of course, my Dreamweaver has been disrupted by a computer upgrade, as has my Voyager FTP. It looks like Firefox's free plug-in ftp is gonna work, but two shareware wysiwyg editors are providing a steep learning curve just as I need to be adding web resources, not learning how to edit a page. Thank heavens for wikis! I shall post needed resources to my Assistive Technology Wiki easily. I am also taking Summer Camp from PBWiki to learn how to use a wiki in class. Maybe I will just scrap the whole web site thingy and use this blog for my Lego-Logo classes. Yeah! That's it! Stay tuned for further adventures.

Northwest Washington State and Vancouver

2009-06-08T22:17:00.000-05:00

Whenever I travel, I am full of questions. What kind of moss is that hanging from the trees? Where do the people of the area come from? Where's the nearest collection of indigenous peoples' art?

The Northwest Coast of the United States and lower Canada are amazing! There are mountains, ocean, rivers, forests, and lakes. Friendly people are happy to recommend places to see if you will only be here a short time. Seafood is excellent, and I was happy to have some sockeye salmon yesterday in Friday Harbor on San Juan Island. The art of the native tribes is fascinating, and hiking is rigorous and beautiful.

This part of the country does not seem to be suffering much from the economy yet, and housing prices remain much higher than the Midwest. Vancouver was preparing for the 2010 Olympics and had a much lower homeless population in the downtown area than Chicago. As the taxes from incomes dwindle, more and more people are being affected. Will there be pockets of the country that are protected from the shock most of us have been through? I certainly hope so. Michigan is being forced to retool itself, which is a good thing. Much like the Quad-Cities (IL-IA) during the farm debt crisis, Michigan will have to diversify in order to survive. Yet the suffering of financial insecurity is so unpleasant I wouldn't wish it on anyone.

Equal Pay Day 2009

2009-04-28T19:20:00.000-05:00

About two decades ago, I was doing an independent study comparing the Women's Rights Movements in the 1870s in Scandinavia to the 1970s in the U.S. It was encouraging to see that women had gained the right to vote in that century, but I wonder how long it will take to earn the same salary for the same work. According to Encyclopeadia Britannica Online, women earned 45% less than men when the 1963 Equal Pay Act was passed(1). This year, women have reached 22% less(2). Will it take another sixty years to reach equality in pay?

I think the era of the invisible housewife is ending, although women still receive no wages for homemaking. When divorce or retirement occur, there are no provisions for their financial well-being. I finished reading a book called The Economics of Being a Woman this year. It was written in 1970 by Dee Dee Ahern with Betsy Bliss. Sadly, most of the problems they cited in the book have been exacerbated by the long slow inflation of the last few decades. My mom, who was a part-time nurse, received social security benefits on her underpaid, underemployed income until my dad died, when she was able to receive his instead of hers. She lived on a small investment that had grown over the years until last fall.

Divorce provides more support for the lower wage earner these days, but it is still dependent on the good will and honesty of the person court-ordered to pay maintenance and support, unless the custodial parent is on welfare or wealthy enough to go to court repeatedly (in which case, there would probably be no maintenance).

My grandmother lived on social security for twenty years, a figure that amounted to about $150 a month. She would serve us meat every day for a week when we went for a visit, but could not afford to eat it herself. My inheritance from her consisted of a couple of handmade quilts and wooden canisters (which I treasure).

When I think about retirement, I think about spending my time working for just causes, and this is certainly one I value. My mother's generation was able to devote time and attention to volunteer work all their lives, but my generation may just change the meaning of retirement for all women...if we have enough to live on.

(1)Equal Pay Act. (2009). In Encyclopædia Britannica. Retrieved April 28, 2009, from Encyclopædia Britannica Online: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/190581/Equal-Pay-Act

(2)Falling Short in Every State:
The Wage Gap and Harsh Economic Realities for Women Persist(2009).
Retrieved April 28, 2009, from National Women's Law Center: http://www.nwlc.org/fairpay/statefacts.html

Learning All the Time

2009-02-23T19:47:00.000-06:00

Once again I find myself in the position of learning a great deal in a short time. Please visit my Wiki for the ICE 2009 Conference and let me know what you think. My handouts and presentation will be available on the ICE Wiki and my web page. Hope you can make it to the ICE conference in St. Charles, IL.

Learning

2009-01-18T14:04:00.000-06:00

For me, almost all of my learning occurs for two reasons: either I want to learn something or I have to learn something to make my life easier. My learning at work this year has been monumental, almost equal to the learning I undertook as a single parent, taking coursework in Learning Disabilities, Gifted Education, and Technology in Education. This year, I have learned how to use Guided Reading groups, Project Read phonics lessons, Balanced Math curriculum, behavior reinforcement systems for elementary-aged students, and social skill curricula. As a presenter at the ICE conference, I am already learning more about Assistive Technology. Although my experience with its use in Early Childhood qualifies me as more than just a beginner, I am exploring what is out there to make sure I am updated on the latest trends. I will just be presenting on some very simple things teachers can do to make their lives easier by meeting students' needs, but it gives me the opportunity to catch up on the latest information since I last took Donna Wakefield's great class at National-Louis University. I have created a Wiki for posting resources(see sidebar).

Procrastination

2008-10-12T14:32:00.000-05:00

I have never been one to miss deadlines, but it often takes a deadline to get me going. When I had three children and worked as well as going to school, I would begin working on projects as soon as I got the specifications for them. Who could know when one or all of us would be sick or have a surprise school function? So it should be no surprise to me that the best of plans include back-up provisions, such as working on a grant proposal before it is due. That way, when, say Best Buy, has a glitch on their web site, you can find out about it before proposals are due. Another proposal due today was so important that I copied it into Pages to make sure the spelling was correct. Unfortunately, I copied a paragraph twice. Hope they don't hold it against me. This has spurred me to see what is out there and keep trying. I am working with low income students now and they rely on me to provide what the school cannot. If you hear of any grants for video or Lego-Mindstorms, please let me know. I am certain my students will develop good problem-solving skills if they have these advantages.

Fall

2008-09-26T19:00:00.000-05:00

September is winding down and some of the trees are turning red. There are so many things I want to teach my students, but I am restricted for the first time by curriculum. I have loved being in special ed because the curriculum always stemmed from the IEPs. Looking at what children should know by the ages of three, four, five and six, I was free to notice what was going on around me and point it out to the children. Language, math, science and social skills were reflective of the season, although taught at a level appropriate to each child. Now I find myself teaching a curriculum without textbooks and the first thing I do is look for worksheets. I have always said I don't like textbooks or worksheets, but students who are "busy" really settle down when they have something to do with their hands. Thank goodness I have access to technology and technology skills. To the best of our ability, we have done a Webquest on ancient civilizations, made graphs in Numbers, written letters in Pages, inserted pictures into Keynote and attempted animations of a life cycle and food chain in Scratch. Today we visited Tumblebooks and read How I Became a Pirate. Next week, I hope to show a video on Mesopotamia from United Streaming and edit a video of the kids showing What We Do in School. We have started Reader's Theater and I hope to show the kids how to videotape themselves and edit the tape so they can take a DVD home and show their family. We also videotaped each other reading at the beginning of the year.

The Start of the School Year

2008-09-12T21:32:00.000-05:00

I have changed from Early Childhood to Intermediate Elementary students and the learning curve is steep. To all those who think teaching is easy and anyone can do it, I challenge you to teach the first month of the year. Assessments begin immediately so you know what to teach. Schedules must be created and established. Students must begin to trust that you are trying to help them. Curriculum changes require new training. Grades must be entered, data collected and inspiration to learn instilled throughout. No wonder I'm exhausted. My thoughts go out to the people dealing with a hurricane on top of everything else. My work in New Orleans taught me to be grateful for all that I have, even in difficult times. I have discovered another age group that I love - 8, 9 and 10-year olds. They get so excited about technology, it seems a shame to use anything else. Yet their keyboard skills are a serious impediment to their pace.

I have committed to a presentation at the ICE Conference on Assistive Technology, a class at National-Louis University this fall, and a birthday party for my mom. Wish me luck!

Dog Days of Summer

2008-07-21T16:40:00.000-05:00

I said to my daughter, "It's not the heat, it's the humidity." She hadn't heard that before. So I told her next, "Hot enough for ya?" These are phrases everyone should know before their tenth birthday. Our air-conditioned existence is pushing us further and further away from Mother Nature. I am as guilty as anyone, sitting in my a/c house working on the computer instead of swimming at the pool. Tsk, tsk. Just a generation ago, my family of five would load up into our Buick, roll down and windows and proceed to sweat through Illinois and Iowa to get to Grandma Wallin's house in Omaha. As a parent, I could always tell when the temperature hit ninety degrees by the nature of the arguments. (How do you get the degree sign in HTML?) As we become a more urban population worldwide, will we forget why we need nature?

Teaching Gifted Children

2008-06-28T22:10:00.000-05:00

What an amazing summer I am having. For the first time in my life, I am teaching gifted students. I have felt for a decade that this is an area of mission for me, but I had no idea it would bring me such joy. I have taught two weeks of computer animation and will teach four weeks of Lego/Logo. My students have shown such a capacity for learning that they have exceeded all of my expectations. I know that NCLB has done some good things, like highlighting the difference between achievement in different racial and socio-economic groups, but gifted children have been almost ignored by the federal government. Joan Franklin Smutny has dedicated her life to the gifted, and her incredible staff works intensely to meet the needs of the students. The Center for Gifted link is in my easy reading list.

The End of School

2008-06-09T16:09:00.000-05:00

I am always a bit flummoxed at the end of the school year. The pace for the last month of school builds to a crescendo of paperwork, packing, and seeing old friends one last time. This year is especially poignant because I really won't see the staff at Hawthorn again, except maybe when I'm shopping. It's hard to say good-bye to people who are amazing in their capacity to care. It's also hard to face an uncertain future with a new age group far from most of what I have done in my career. Summer school poses a new challenge as well, as I will leave delayed preschoolers and move to gifted kids, grades 2-6. I hope to inspire and challenge all of them in classes about animation and Lego-Logo. Stay tuned for further adventures.

Writing

2008-05-25T12:58:00.000-05:00

It is interesting to me that I always feel like I don't have time to write, when what I really need is the correct frame of mind. What happens in my brain to clear the debris of blockage? I wish I knew. I think it has more to do with the amount of sleep I get at night than anything else. When I run short on sleep all week, all I can think of are the myriad tasks that remain undone. Even if I make a list, the list keeps changing in my mind, with the items popping up unorganized. Setting priorities has become my task for the remainder of the school year, lest I finish my short story and case study for the university, but forget to copy legal paperwork for school and send it to the appropriate personnel. Getting enough sleep, on the other hand, changes my perception of the world from a stressful, hostile environment to a calm, pleasant one.

Knowing that my work will get done frees my mind up to let ideas flow from me onto the paper without the need to be perfect the first time. I will have time to improve on them as long as I get something down to improve upon. My new set of writing tools: attention to detail, variation in sentences, quotations about writing from gifted writers, the use of active verbs, and attention to rhythm make it easier to write something worthwhile. Thanks to Tom Brennan, gifted teacher, for his powerful instruction.

Exploding Brain

2008-04-29T20:21:00.000-05:00

I love being a student, if only it paid better. I am presently taking an intro class about English Language Learners and also a Short Story class. As my middle child, Colin, once said, "If my brain doesn't explode, I'm going to be really smart." Part of my assignment in ELL is to find a good web page. Since I have just recently entered the blogosphere, I thought I would check out some blogs. I am very impressed with Mary Ann Zehr, Learning the Language . Even better is Larry Ferlazzo's blog, so I put an RSS feed in the column to the right. That's all for tonight. I have to go check out the new poetry at the Illinois State Poets Society.

Crossing the Skunk River

2008-03-27T21:36:00.000-05:00

I've spent the day crisscrossing the Skunk River in Iowa on my quest to discover my great-grandfather's (Rev. Joseph Sanderson) origins. Wednesday in Galesburg was a bit frustrating. I could find my mother's grandfather in the census records, but no birth or marriage announcements in the papers. It was hard to pass up the stories in the papers, since my mother's aunt (Emma Louisa) was born a year before the Civil War began. Her uncle (Edward) was born two years later, when Missouri was struggling with secession. Three hours of scanning microfiche gave me some census data that showed my great-grandfather in Knox County (probably Galesburg), Illinois in 1860 and 1870, then moving to Iowa. In 1850, he was unmarried and living in Sangamon County, Illinois.

On Thursday, I spent the morning in the Swenson Swedish Immigration Research Center at Augustana College in Rock Island, Illinois. A wonderful researcher named Jill spent almost three hours with me. We were unable to locate immigration on my great-grandfather, but I learned that my mother's father (John Albert Edward Axelson) was born in Falkoping, Sweden and his birth name was actually Johan. I had gotten information that he immigrated at age 16, but Swedish parish records put him at 17. Jill said they sometimes lied about their age to get a cheaper rate on the steamships. He departed from Goteborg, but passed through Liverpool, England and Queenstown, Ireland. I also printed off minutes from the Fremont Evangelical Mission Covenant Church meetings from 1905-1910, when he was minister there, but they are in Swedish and handwritten.

Tomorrow I head to Stratford, Iowa to visit my great-grandparents' graves. I am meeting my mother's aunt's grandson, Weldon Swedelund and his wife Audrienne. They have corresponded with me about our mutual relatives, but I haven't been able to meet them yet. Let's hope the rain and snow have ended for the week!

IL-TCE 2008 Day Two

2008-03-03T16:34:00.000-06:00

Il-TCE 2008 Day Two

Some of this writing is sketchy, since I haven't had time to edit it yet.

Sowing the Seeds for a More Creative Society, Mitchel Resnick

Growing recognition that success in the future will be based on ability to think and act creatively. He recommended The Rise of the Creative Class, by Richard Florida. At the same time, the education system hasn’t kept up. Our present model is of a teacher pouring information into the student. Using the kindergarten classroom as a model of an effective cycle, he related the activities as: Imagine – create – play – share – reflect – imagine. He referred to Jean Piaget, who emphasized that knowledge is constructed. Students are actively creating knowledge structures. Seymour Papert used his ideas to create Logo, a programming language for children. At first, children moved a robot using this language, but early microcomputers allowed children to draw pictures using a turtle icon. With Lego-Logo, children could build a concrete object and also create on the screen 30 years ago. Ten years ago, Mindstorms put the computer in the Lego structure. To get these ideas out more broadly to have a bigger impact, he recommended creating a product that has a low floor and a high ceiling. In other words, it should be easy to learn, but not limited in abilities. His peers added that it should have wide walls, or should be able to be used in a variety of experiences. Make sure technology is open to all kids. The MIT people created a small computer called a cricket, which allowed one student to create a cat that meows when you pet it. Most electronic toys do not allow students to determine what the toy does because they are pre-programmed. They interact, but do not create. New kits have Legos but also arts and crafts materials, different kinds of sensors, motor, sounds, displays, etc. Child sees electronic parts as part of their creative materials. Vocabulary becomes natural. Another toy was programmed to move more quickly when the user spoke loudly. A young girl made boots that changed colors the faster she walked. Another made a juke box that played different music depending on the coin that was used. A young girl made a home security system. An Icelandic boy made an alarm clock that ruffled his hair and played music when the sun hit it, then had to adjust because of the low angle of the sun in Iceland. PicoCricket is the playful invention company. To maniplate rich media forms, a new language was needed. Students who want to create interactive games and activities can use Scratch. They can create and share on the Web. Graphic objects shaped like Legos can be fit together to program a graphic to move or make sounds. It also allows image manipulation like PhotoShop, in addition to tying manipulation to the movement of the mouse. Incidental learning is coordinate systems. He showed a student’s project, which included boom box, a photo of the student dancing, a singer, inverting the dancer and adding a drum as separate buttons that allowed the user to interact. Another created an aquarium where the big fish ate the little fish. Using variables, the student was able to add a counter into a structured program (using easy graphics) to see how many fish had been eaten. A Scratch website posts projects much like YouTube or Flickr. One of the galleries is of Tetris games created with Scratch, with a rudimentary game improved by each user. Future projects include interactivity with phones or Multi-User Environments like Second Life. The hope is that all students will be full participants in the digital society. The research group can be found online.

Scratch, Mitchel Resnick

Designed for 8-15 year olds. This session was mostly a question & answer session. On the About Scratch page there is a link to educators. When user types in text, it is not automatically translated to other languages, but features are available in many other languages. Scratch also provides prototype of a scratchboard that has sensors for motion, sound, light, etc. Using this tool, sound can change with the amount of light or height or with the resistance of a circuit.

Making the Schoolhouse Rock, Tricia Fugelstad

Tricia enjoys creating videos to teach concepts, utilizes all of the different types of intelligence. She related it to 21st Century learning skills, which she defined by using the ISTE NETS standards. The example of the Alphabet Song was familiar to us. She then used a video from School House Rocks to teach the multiplication of eight. Using Keynote, she used Instant Alpha to erase the background of a photo and create a layer. Snaps Pro makes screen movies. She showed a movie she used to teach idioms. Students can draw, scan, record, add a Garageband loop for movie, drop them into a slide in Keynote. Students could each make a slide to be combined into a movie. Her movie called the Pencil Exchange showed how to manage pencil sharpening in the classroom. She mentioned VJ loop. Keynote can be exported as a movie. It becomes a QuickTime, which can be edited in iMovie. To make the illusion of three-dimensional space on two-dimensional surface. To record a track in Garageband, you can just use built-in microphone to record a track. There are also built-in jingles. This would be good for front, back, etc. positional words. She created a TV background using clip art and inserted movie into the TV. When the movie is finished, compress it into MP4 format to put it on a web site. Zamzar is an online compressor that is free. TeacherTube is like YouTube that is accessible online. She also recommended Joe Brennan’s site on Digital Storytelling for contests. Apple also has school nights at local stores. She showed a movie on TeacherTube that used Godzilla to teach relative size. You can run your video from TeacherTube on your blog or web site. Her students’ movie about sloppy brushes won several international awards. Apple stores also have a premiere night for students videos. The video “All I Want is Technology” is on TeacherTube.

Emerging Technologies That Make Your Online Life Easier, Jenny Levine

Jenny recommends RSS (Common Craft.com and YouTube are resources for this)and showed a site that aggregated online news articles on a single topic. She uses Instant Messaging at her library as a question/answer tool for students. In Flickr, community people created posters encouraging reading and the community could access them. Also, the Library of Congress has posted 1200 photos in Flickr and relying on the community to add tags (key words). Facebook is another social networking site and Jenny suggests that we put library catalogs into Facebook as an application. UIUC is putting up subject guides in Facebook. Microblogging is a new trend initiated by Twitter. Users are allowed only 140 characters, so the next generation has learned to telescope its writing. Can now download onto phone. Her library is posting library events on Twitter, where it can be distributed easily. Jott is a site that can take phone messages and send them back to you later so you don’t forget them. A best practices library for wikis is libsuccess.org. An intranet that is easy to do is a wiki. On escondido, the library routed around city regulations to create an intranet. Another wiki is Foley Center Library, where they post their handbook, so it is easily updated. YouTube has made video easy. It is also a good place to store videos for training and orientation. Unfortunately, many school districts block these sites. An audience member recommended Creative Commons. A site with photos from Normandy was mentioned (http://www.history.army.mil/reference/Normandy/Pictures.htm).
These new tools are changing the purpose of the Web to that of an operating system. In other words, web sites are becoming the desktop. Meebo allows instant messaging through a web page. Google application suite includes Google docs (online storage of documents), which allows collaboration and can be exported as a PDF document. At GE, you can draw a picture. At Gliffy you can create a drawing as well. Google spreadsheet does formulas, not a fancy as Excel. At Picnik you can edit photos and link to Flickr. Jumcut allows you to edit video. Blogs allow links, pictures, Flickr, Slideshows, audio, video, PowerPoint, slideshare, surveys, instant messaging. There is a screencast at Casa Grande Library. Mashups are content from one site combined with another as in Google Maps. Web Mashups Directory showed a map of Wii owners in Chicago area. Thirty boxes desktop will allow you to embed different web sites together. She showed an ancestor map on Flickr. Then he traced how his ancestors moved around. Google news is syndication of all news about a particular web site. Pictures from Flickr about the same topic and video from YouTube , text from Twitter and Mashups maps can all be posted on the same page with RSS feeds. Nateritter suggested a web site that covers emergencies and one of his readers had already done so. Library 411 allows you to find local library on Google Map. Community Walk shows where a library was receiving books. Widgets are ….hmm. I seem to have been on overload at this point. The LaGrange Park Public Library put del.icio.us, Flickr, blog, calendar, topix.net, and local newspaper all into suprglu. Changes are posted in any of these sources automatically.

IL-TCE 2008 Thursday

2008-02-29T10:15:00.000-06:00

IL-TCE 2008

This is my first blog since 2000, so bear with me. Hopefully the learning curves is less steep these days. I hope to return to activate the links for you.

Conference Coverage was moved to Ning this year. You can find hand-outs as well as a wealth of resources at Ning.

The keynote speaker, (Dan Buettner, Quest Network, Inc.) demonstrated what he has learned by studying “Blue Zones,” which are areas in the world where longevity of the residents is the highest in the world. He discussed their social and dietary habits, which he felt contributed to their living past the age of 100. Most amazing was a 95-year old who was still performing open heart surgery after landscaping his yard. Contributing factors include a plant-based diet, exercise by moving naturally, put loved-ones first, belonging to a religious community, having a sense of purpose and a way to de-stress every day, caloric restriction, a glass or two of wine every day, and creating a personal longevity culture. Why this keynote? He mentioned selling Classroom Connect (which was a great resource!) to Harcourt Brace. Then he formed a group that led to MayaQuest (another great resource!) as well as 16 others. Creating interactive environments like Quest that was led by students and led to exciting worldwide projects, Buettner hopes that emotionally involved students will discover the secrets to healthy living. The resulting curriculum, available free to teachers, is linked to standards. University of Minnesota created a successful program of nutrition to go with the Live Quest, with a weekly data entry. Improvement was noted within four weeks showing decrease in soda consumption and TV viewing and increase in fruits and vegetable and exercise. His book The Blue Zone will be available soon.

Second Life: Craig Cunningham, Meg Ormiston, and Lisa Perez
Second Life is a multi-user environment (MUVE) used for education, as well as other purposes. Its three-dimensional format allows you to create objects. Although it is designed for adults, there is a section for teens that has restrictions to protect them. A school district can create an “island” for their school. Its importance for education is communication and collaboration, representation and stimulation, creativity and artistic expression, scaffolding and professional development. ELVEN is a community for educators and librarians. If you would like to learn more about three-dimensional online communities, you can take one of their workshops. Meg Ormiston described her work in Second Life, including a virtual monthly meeting of librarians. She is also active with Chicago Public Schools and a Second Life project there. Lisa Perez described. There will be a playground at 11:15 and 2:45. Free workshops available from Discovery Education Network, Wed. nights 7-7:30. Lori Abramson will also be doing demos.Real Life is also known as First Life. It seems to be hard to get off of Orientation Island. Once there, do orientation and teleport into mainland. Meet someone who knows you online, they can teleport you in. Search for ISTE, then teleport. Twitter, bloglines also report low rates of participation after registration.

FREE Resources for Educators, Beth Pollock

All information on her Wiki.
1. Doc.google.com allows you to collaborate on a document from anywhere.
2. Animoto is a screen capture program that allows you to upload pictures and music to create a video. Free for up to 30-second videos. She made a video of jing. Saves it as a Flash animation.
3. Voicethread is a web site that allows students to record an audio comment related to a picture. Teacher can also go in and comment. Can make it public without browse so grandparents can see it. Must create account. Teacher can create 30 identities.
4. Presentit.com is a web site that also requires a download of client software as well. Also a good collaboration tool.
5. Gaggle.net is a filtered email program.
6. Streamcast-o-matic will record video and save as a QuickTime movie.
7. Flickr is an online photo site.
8. Weebly helps students create web sites.

Math Matters, Erin Llewellyn

Three easy ways to add technology to math curriculum: web sites, digital cameras, and software:
1. Web sites: Funbrain, Math Playground, Aunty Math.
2. Digital Cameras: Shapes, Counting/numbers, Time/Elapsed Time, Word Problems, Flash Cards, Picture Graphs (teachers' cars), Fact Families (kids hold numbers and move around in equation), Number Sentences using manipulatives, Ordinal Numbers with a picture of a line of kids, Fractions, Symmetry, the power of one picture: use one picture for many different concepts
3. Software: patterning, number sentences, shapes, fractions
4. Open Source software: Tux Paint is like KidPix without as many features. Type open source tool into search engine.

Best Buy Grants: July 1st, go to web page, small button at bottom, community relations, answer 4 questions ($2000), make learning fun. (She recommends Ed Gorney & GPS systems, Friday morning at conference).

Tagging, Dr. Hank Thiele

Tagging is putting a label on a bookmark or file to describe it so other users may access it. It is used on del.icio.us, Flickr, Technorati, Quintura (which has a child-centered section, named Quintura Kids), Furl, and blogs. Tag clouds group tags that can be used to encourage students to analyze. Presidential Speeches Tag Clouds was examined to show the difference between the two inaugural addresses of George Bush. Students could be asked to analyze why they are different. Tag Cloud analyzed the content of the IL-TCE web site. Another web site, Many Eyes, combined text and data to show visually larger print for large countries. In addition to a visual representation of a word, it allows you to make a hierarchical chart from a search. You can post student work for analysis if you are careful not to put any identifiers in or with it. Jonathan Harris created a site called Universe that is looking for words that are the same, even if they are not formatted. Set up artistically as a universe, one constellation for Bush was President.

Wallin's Wave

What I am Learning in LASSO

NICE Miniconference 1/28/12

Holidays and Family

The Economics of Health

Giving Thanks

Hug Your Kids

I Love Parents

Let the Learning Begin

Beginning My Last Year

Amazement

Diverse Interests

Worlds of Wisdom and Wonder

Stress, Anxiety and Coping

National Poetry Month

Too Many Tabs

Regrets

Patircia Gangas

A Cash Society

Newspaper Intelligence

Holidays and Family

Global Education Conference

Ten Ten Ten

Choosing a Topic

Start of a New Year

Last week of Legos

Forgetful's Last Day Letter

First Day of Worlds of Wisdom and Wonder

North Park University Loses Expert on Middle East

National Poetry Month

Missing the Boat

A Change in Habits

Modern Medicine

ICE 2010

Keeping up with Everything

Halloween

Poverty

Newness

Challenging Kids

Lego Mindstorms NXT

Day Two

Glenview Lego Lab

Assistive Technology Class

Amazing students

Lego Lab Week One

First Day of Lego Lab

Overcoming Inertia

Northwest Washington State and Vancouver

Equal Pay Day 2009

(2)Falling Short in Every State: The Wage Gap and Harsh Economic Realities for Women Persist(2009).Retrieved April 28, 2009, from National Women's Law Center: http://www.nwlc.org/fairpay/statefacts.html

Learning All the Time

Learning

Procrastination

Fall

The Start of the School Year

Dog Days of Summer

Teaching Gifted Children

The End of School

Writing

Exploding Brain

Crossing the Skunk River

IL-TCE 2008 Day Two

IL-TCE 2008 Thursday

(2)Falling Short in Every State:
The Wage Gap and Harsh Economic Realities for Women Persist(2009).
Retrieved April 28, 2009, from National Women's Law Center: http://www.nwlc.org/fairpay/statefacts.html