Not all GIFs are created equal. Some just need a little help.

I haven’t posted more than once in a day in a while, but I’m really excited about my little interactive images kick from earlier.

I got links to work on top of an animated GIFs. After cracking my knuckles, I decided to see if I could push myself a little more. Now, I want an image with some instruction text to play an animated GIF on the hover, not jump out to a link. This is all hobby for me, by the way. Lots of coding and refreshing going on to get it working.

The first thing I needed to do was lay out my HTML tree and CSS skeleton

Now, I needed some more information. Problem number one: get the first frame of an animated GIF to use as a static placeholder in the page. Not too hard. I hopped into GIMP, and then copied and exported my first frame as a jpg image to hang out on its own.

Now, the hard part was to get the text to show up in the right place. You can use absolute positioning, but then your div elements can get all wonky. On a static HTML page, it isn’t too hard to do because you control everything. On a blog, it can be messy because you’re fighting with your template’s CSS and if you don’t use the right attribute names or calls, you can end up with a poor layout. So, to make things easier, I just used GIMP to throw some instruction text on to my first frame placeholder.

Now came the tricky part. I had to make sure I layered my images correctly in the HTML and CSS. After adding the correct links and the correct frame sizes, I had the following code:

And the result is:

One thing I’m still trying to work out is how to get the animation to pause when you move the mouse. Because a GIF is just an image, I don’t think there is a way to have the loop paused without some serious coding in the background. I’ve already poked through StackOverflow a little, and can’t seem to find anything promising. With this method, the GIF will continue to loop in the background after the initial hover, so you’ll see a little jump.

Why? Animations can be annoying in the corner of your eye. Giving people control over whether or not they want to see some moving pictures is a courtesy. Plus, I wanted to see if I could do it. So there.

I have a permanent item on my to-do list which says, “make pictures better on the blog.” I don’t really know what that means in the long run, and that’s the point. I want my content to be more dynamic. WordPress is great for that, but it still feels cumbersome for me. I have to think about a lot of other items like plugins, widgets, and having to dig to get something like custom CSS applied to a post. I’ve looked into switching over to another open-source CMS called Anchor, but I haven’t gotten around to migrating yet. It’ll happen eventually.

Either way, one thing I wanted to experiment with the other day was giving an image a mouse hover overlay which would link to something else. I have a working sample on a post from the other day, but the gist is shown below.

I tried to do this with inline CSS, but as it turns out, using the :hover pseudo property inline is a big no-no.

The reason you can’t do it inline is you have to add some extra div elements to the blog content, and then style each based on it’s id. Not too hard, but the code editing in WordPress really stinks, so it took me a while.

I had an idea of how to do this, but couldn’t figure out how to stack my new div elements. I found a demo that gave me the HTML structure and accompanying CSS. All I did from there was apply my own image URL and tweak the size of the box as well as the padding applied. My final code ended up as:

HTML

CSS – put this in style tags at the end of your content in the WordPress HTML editor.

So, it isn’t perfect, but it works. If I ever make the switch over to Anchor, I know this process is much simpler. Until then, I’ll keep posting tips.

I’ve done a lot of writing this past week. I mean, a lot. Many late nights, cups of coffee, and pints of beer went into my body and magically flowed through my fingers and into my paper.

For class, we were asked to create a personal manifesto which outlines skills essential to teaching. Along with a narrative of why we chose those skills to highlight, we pulled articles, blog posts, journals, videos…anything we’ve used in the past for growth to share with our readers.

I boiled mine down to nine skills essential to teaching. I outline this in the introduction of my paper, but I approached this from behaviors or attitudes rather than “hard” classroom skills like instruction and management. I did this partially because I think skills like Balance and Compassion are oft overlooked in teacher preparation programs. I also think the way we approach the relational side of teaching dictates our effectiveness in the classroom. I have no way to support that claim other than it’s been my experience, but I’ll stand by it.

I’d also like to thank Karl Lindgren-Streicher, Lindsay Cole, and Christiane Schicke for taking the time to leave comments as I was still writing.

Have you ever tried to read an article or paper but gotten so bogged down with the vocabulary that you didn’t understand what was going on? This happens to students every single day in schools, and especially to ESL, ELL, or reading disabled children. There is evidence showing that this is due to an overload on their working memory and can be addressed with some simple interventions in the classroom and with therapy outside the class.

Chrome Extensions are a great way to improve the web, including speech-to-text. I used them in my teaching to help students focus on the context of the entire article and not necessarily on the vocabulary on it’s own. What I saw was an improvement in comprehension and summarization of the text as well as a more open approach to scientific literature.

You can read the full Google Doc and, as always, comments are welcome.

Everyone is connected. There are reports of so-called “disconnect anxiety” afflicting our society because our desire to know what’s happening all the time. I have to admit, I’ve suffered from this. When I had a flip phone, I felt like I was missing out on the flow of my PLN and missing out on great ideas being shared. I have a smart phone now, but I’m ready to take it to the next level.

Tomorrow, beginning at 8AM, I’m going to begin my Connected Life experiment. For one entire day, I’m going to broadcast my life through a Google Hangout on Air.

Want to know what it’s like to work from home? Tune in to the Hangout. Want to know what my house looks like? Tune into the Hangout. Curious what I wear when I work from home? Tune into the Hangout.

This is an unprecedented look into my life, and I want my PLN there. Feel free to share it with your friends, turn it on in the background, or just hop on to see what’s up. I’ll also be doing a live Q&A through Twitter all day, so if you want to know more, hit me up at @bennettscience.

Looking for the live stream? Here’s the link. It’ll go live tomorrow morning at 8AM!

I went to CUE 2014 this year in Palm Springs, Cali. If you’re not familiar with the conference, it’s the largest regional education conference on the west coast with over 5,000 people in attendance. As I was preparing to go, I took a look at the keynotes.

Day 1: Dan Meyer. Solid.

Day 2: Levar Burton. Advocate for literacy since the 80’s. Plus, he was on Star Trek: TNG. Pretty cool.

Day 3: Salman Khan. Oh boy.

I’ve tried to remain positive, giving the Khan Academy the benefit of the doubt. Maybe the journalism covering the Academy has been poor…perhaps it’s all media spin that can be ignored for the most part. I resolved myself to go to the third keynote even though I had a pretty good idea of how it was going to go down.

Observation one: the first half of the keynote was a history of Khan Academy. Seriously. Watch the TED Talk if you want to see it. Khan is a gifted speaker. He’s charming and endearing. His story is really remarkable. He didn’t go looking for all the attention he’s been given since 2011. The problem I had with this section is that it was all about him. You can tell a story about your life without sounding self-indulgent, and he wasn’t able to do that effectively.

Observation two: World-class education is defined by…?. The stated mission of the Khan Academy is “providing a free world-class education for anyone anywhere.” But, repeatedly, Khan seems to define that education within the scope of the Khan Academy. Why didn’t a room full of teachers get upset about the fact that he didn’t compliment teachers in this section at all? The entire premise of the Academy is that schools aren’t doing enough. As a teacher sitting in the audience, I was offended and really in disbelief that very few people had the same reaction.

Observation three: He’s kind of short. And Dan Meyer is a giant. It surprised me, is all.

Observation four: Khan missed an opportunity when it came to the SAT. This is the kicker for me. The SAT is a test that promotes rote learning and regurgitation. Even the essay. I’ve written about the changes before. In 2011, Khan Academy reported $11.8 million in donations and other income. That’s the latest information I could find, and considering corporations like Comcast and Bank of America, that number is surely much higher. They have clout.

So, if Khan Academy is for kids learning and exploring, why, why, would they team up with the College Board for some PR media about changes that mean nothing? Because Sal Khan is not an educator.

Sal Khan speaks for Khan Academy and for his own story, not for a free, “world class” education. Not for students. If he were for students, why hasn’t he reached out to leaders in education? When he’s criticized for poor content, why has he been so defensive? Why hasn’t he answered a single, to-the-point question about education practice in any interview anywhere?

Khan has missed opportunities constantly since 2011. Teachers and education professionals have reached out over and over, offering to help, to make videos, to design lessons…all to be turned down. Khan had an opportunity – as the “leader in world class education” – to take a stand against bad education policy. But, because it’s about the Academy and achieving it’s own goals, that will never happen.

Now, where CUE missed the opportunity was in offering a Twitter question submission from the audience using the #cuekhan hashtag. As soon as it was announced, I went for it. You can see the archive of the entire hashtag.* CUE had an opportunity to ask some more pointed and meaningful questions, and they missed that chance. I understand the PR agreement and that they were probably bound by some kind of speaker’s contract, but I still wish someone…anyone…had the gumption to finally get to the point.

*I removed RT’s from the archive for clarity. You can see the entire thread – including RT’s – here.

I’ve been reading James Paul Gee’s book, The Anti-Education Era: Creating Smarter Students through Digital Learning. Without diving too deep into how I feel about it, let’s just say it hasn’t been an enjoyable read for me. I find myself disagreeing with Gee a lot and struggling to find his point in the narrative. I haven’t finished yet, so I’m holding out hope that it will eventually improve. Time will tell.

The middle of the book is about institutions of thought and their tendency to become “frozen” in practice. Legal systems, city planning, and the QWERTY keyboard are all discussed, but Gee points to the stagnation of universities as his main point. Originally, they were places of religious training, then secular training, and now, research with schooling on the side. Yet, we talk about them as if they are still mainly places of education.

I’m in marginal agreement with Gee’s assessment, but I differ on the way to improve the situation. Local connections are absolutely essential to growth, and the Internet can help us create and maintain those connections.

Rather than posting the full text here, I’ve written it in a Google Doc which will allow anyone to comment in context rather than at the end of this post. Please jump over to get the big picture.

…is that it’s kind of hard to teach.

Sorry for the click bait…I couldn’t resist. This is an update for my master’s class on finding solutions to instructional challenges in the classroom.

One of the hardest things about teaching in a science classroom is the abstract nature of many topics. One of my favorite teacher-isms from chemistry was introducing atoms: “This entire unit is based on our best guess. We don’t actually know what atoms look like, but we can make a good guess from observation.” I would get some funny looks from students, but they need to know that what they’re asked to learn isn’t always “hard” science.

I chose to tackle evolution for this particular assignment. Without getting into the philosophy of evolution, the task of teaching the mechanics is a well-defined problem. The principles are documented and observable, but students cannot conceptualize major changes in populations over time. That’s where the amazing simulations from the University of Colorado – Boulder come in.

The PhET Simulations have been around for a long time, yet not many people know about them. They’re interactive models of topics like evolution, but also chemistry, earth science, and physics, among others. Most of the simulations are still Java based, which means they don’t play well on Chromebooks or mobile. But, the HTML5 library is growing, and it is definitely worth checking out if you’re in a science classroom.

Let’s not forget the why. For me, it was simple: repeatability. The simulations are so simple to use, students feel like it’s a game. Playing with conditions (like trying to kill all the rabbits or blow the box of gases up) leads them to making general observations about their world that would be difficult to do otherwise. Mess up completely? No problem, hit reset and start again. Can you reproduce those results? What about getting an opposite result? Coming from multiple classrooms with limited resources, these simulations were invaluable to me each and every year.

If you want to play, my favorites were Natural Selection, Build an Atom, and Gas Properties. Have you used the PhET sims before? Which were your favorites?

The edtech land is losing their minds of the second major revision to the SAT in nine years’ time. In case you missed it.

Horray! The SAT is finally getting on board with what really matters!

Khan Academy will help more students get ready for the test! This will level the playing field!

< /end sarcasm>

The SAT isn’t changing. The announcement and following hullabaloo is a procedural shift to improve the appearance of the test without considering the deeper implications of standardized exit exams.

Students are still coerced into the exam by the testing machine and higher ed.

Students are still given an arbitrary rank (but it’s out of 1600 now) to show what they know.

The College Board is still making money.

David Coleman now has more control over the American curriculum (not really, but really).

Khan Academy can now pull in the test-prep market because videos.

The New York Times Magazine ran a fantastic article yesterday outlining how the major players came together in one magical-you-heard-it-at-SXSWEDU press event. I highly encourage you to read it.

I keep returning to a closing point in the article:

With a redesigned SAT, Calkins thinks that too much of the nation’s education curriculum and assessment may rest in one person’s hands. “The issue is: Are we in a place to let Dave Coleman control the entire K-to-12 curriculum?”

Before we start celebrating a victory, can we please talk about the bigger implications of the curriculum and assessment that is marching on without the input of teachers? Aside from CCSS, the SAT, and the people involved, why aren’t we talking about learning? Why isn’t that newsworthy.

So much for change.

I was able to travel again this year to Germany to attend the Inverted Classroom Model (ICM) conference. Last year, I spoke about teacher approaches to Flipped Learning. I tried to cover all of the content areas to give ideas of how teachers were approaching content and using class time more effectively.

This year, I was able to come and share student responses to flipping. In my last post, I asked for help with a survey, and you all came through! I had over 100 responses (making it a little more legit), with nearly 80% of those coming directly from students. I was able to pull out six major themes to lead a discussion with German educators from all levels. The hour was fantastic, and even included two current university students who were able to speak directly to a group of professors about class time, grading, and the pressures they feel in the classroom. I’ve got some notes I need to digest from the hour we spent together.

There are three things in the folder linked below:

• The Google form I used to collect responses.
• You can read through the spreadsheet or use the “View summary” tool in the form itself.
• The slides from today’s discussion

The images I used in the slides are attributed in the notes for each.

Get the Folder

Finally, I referenced a study completed by the University of Michigan and Michigan State University which questioned whether or not students would use screencasts if there were no external requirement. The Casting Out Nines blog post analyzes the data and includes a link the the published PDF. I wanted to call it out here because it has deep implications for how we approach creating and sharing digital content.

This Sunday, I’m jetting off to Germany for a one week, three city, two-conference tour with fellow TechSmithie, Anton Bollen. Part of my trip is speaking with German educators about Flipped Learning, and this year, specifically about student responses (both good and bad) to flipping. If you have five minutes to spare, I would really appreciate your help in gathering some very unofficial stories.

There is a section for students and teachers. So, if you’d be willing to share it with your students as well, that would be some great evidence to share next week. Just like the last survey I did, you can fill it out below or on the form itself.

If you’d like to share the form with friends or colleagues, please use http://bit.ly/stuflip so I can track the clicks on it.

Another cross post, somewhat edited, from a recent MAET assignment. Below is a short reflection (slightly adapted for the post) I wrote comparing Missional Thinking (big idea, goal-based) and Instrumental Thinking (short term, tool-based) in education.

You can see the entire assignment response in my Google Doc

I'm not in trouble, though.

I mentioned yesterday that I'm leading a conversation at Saturday's NovaNOW conference in Grand Rapids. The topic: Flipped Learning pros and cons. I can pull from my experience, but one sample does not a study make (or something like that).

I sent a short survey out on Twitter already, but I'm posting it here in case anyone who subscribes isn't on Twitter. If you're a flipped educator, I would really appreciate your contribution. It won't take long, 5-7 minutes tops. You can do it right here on the blog or visit bit.ly/myflipstory to bookmark it for later or to share it with your friends.

Sharing is caring, folks. Here's the link in case you missed it at the top: bit.ly/myflipstory

I was working on a graphic to use as a promo for my debate this Saturday with Nate Langel at the NovaNOW conference in Grand Rapids. (sidebar – if you’re in the area, it’ll be a great conference. You should come).

Here’s the final image:

If you’re wondering what the topic of the debate is, well…it’s Flipped Learning. And perhaps debate is the wrong word…we’ll be discussing the pros and cons of flipping from our viewpoints. I’m going to try and make sure the whole thing is recorded so I can post it later.

Anyways, this took me way longer to make than it should have, but through that time, I learned a lot by making a ton of mistakes.

So, first, I needed a background image. I just did a quick Google search for some flip flips and picked an image that was top-down showing both sandals so I could put the text on each foot.

I pulled the JPEG into GIMP and got to work. First, I looked for a summer-ish font and landed on Bauhaus 93 mainly because I think it’s something Old Navy used to use. And they’re always having fun in their jorts and sunglasses.

The text gave me a hard time. GIMP, for whatever reason, gives you three or four interfaces for editing text, but not all of them work. The best way I found to edit the text was to make sure the “Use Editor” option is selected with the text tool.

So, I had some flat text on the flip flops and I knew that there was a way to add some texture in the GIMP menus. Canvas is a great one for old-timey book covers or for faux paintings, but it wouldn’t have worked on this one because the sandals have some larger bumps. After doing some research, I came across the Bump Map. That allows you to take the texture of any layer and apply it to a layer sitting on top, letting it come through.

This is where it got tricky for me. Lesson #1 – make sure the layer you want to texture is the same size as your image. You can do this by right clicking on the layer and selecting “Layer to Image Size.” It makes the mapping much easier.

In the dialog, you have some options. In the dropdown, set the textured layer. In other words, this is the layer you want to use to apply the texture. For me, it was my base flip flop image.

You can see that the text now has the same texture as the flip flop, making it look like it was printed rather than digitally added. It isn’t perfect, but it looks better. I also played with the Azimuth, Elevation, and Depth controls to make it look like it was the same grit as the rest of the shoe. I also filled the text with a 60% opacity to make it look a little faded…it let some of the orange of the sandal bleed through. The last thing I did was take the eraser and select a brush tool to create some fade marks. They’re hard to see, but it gives a little more authenticity to the text.

One thing I need to work on is fading the edges of the text to match the texture a little bit. Right now, they’re too clean, which ruins the effect a little bit. If anyone has tips on how to do that, I’d love to see how in the comments.

The following is the text from an assignment I did for my current grad class. We were asked to read the Introduction and chapters 1 and 2 from Larry Cuban’s Teachers and Machines as well as Chapter 3 from John Hattie’s Visible Learning.

In Visible Learning, Hattie lays out six areas technology can influence: the teacher, child, home, school, curriculum, and pedagogy. I responded to areas of greatest influence, least influence, most potential, and most challenging. Because we were asked to reply to the text directly, the citations are limited to the two texts.

Student achievement is a dangerous topic. The world, including teachers and schools, are looking for easy solutions (single solutions) for a very complex idea. Oftentimes, technology is the go-to solution for achievement issues that can be better served by focusing on improvement in other areas. That being said, technology, when used as a resource rather than a means to an end, can be extremely powerful in improving both teaching and learning.

Hattie (2008) makes it clear that “learning is a very personal journey for the teacher and [emphasis added] the student” (p. 23) and that the two need to work together in order to be successful. Technology can impact the learning process in many ways, and I would like to argue that the Teacher and Approaches (Pedagogy) have the highest potential to be powerfully affected.

The teacher cannot improve without reflecting on pedagogy, and pedagogical growth cannot occur without a reflective teacher.

I am linking these two factors because “[The act of teaching] involves an experienced teacher (individual) who knows a range of learning strategies (pedagogy)…” (p. 23). A significant part of the expectation of the teacher to both “learn from the success or otherwise” (p. 24) of strategies used in teaching and learning. This involves an intimate knowledge of how to provide meaningful and effective feedback as well as evaluation of the methods or pedagogical approach used. Technology can not only help teachers give timely and meaningful feedback to students, it can also help teachers reflect meaningfully on their practice. The teacher cannot improve without reflecting on pedagogy, and pedagogical growth cannot occur without a reflective teacher. The teacher has direct influence over both areas, meaning technology should have the greatest impact when applied purposefully.

At the opposite end of the spectrum, the School is the factor least affected (in a direct manner) by technology, mainly because Hattie’s definition includes, “the climate of the classroom” and “peer influences” (p. 33). For technology to influence the school, it requires the intentional application of the tools by teachers and students. Cuban (1986) defines technology as “any device available to teachers for use in instructing students in a more efficient and stimulating manner” (p. 4), so a compelling argument could be made that technology should not be included with Hattie’s classroom climate.

In any case, the Student stands to benefit the most from any intentional use of technology. Student growth requires four actions: quality experiences, difficult yet specific goals, meaningful feedback, and the awareness of a teacher. Technology can have an immediate impact particularly with meaningful feedback and teacher awareness by eliminating time and communication barriers. Hattie (2008) even says, “[teachers] provide students with multiple opportunities and alternatives for developing learning strategies” (p. 22). This is a significant step in pushing students through the realms of knowledge and thinking about those facts and into construction, which is “the major legacy of teaching” (p. 26).

The Home is the factor least addressed by Hattie, which in turn, makes it stand out as the most problematic for schools. One of the major concerns is that parents do not know how to “speak the language of schooling” (p. 33). The burden of proof is entirely on schools. In conjunction with access issues for some students, technology can appear to widen an achievement gap. Technology can surely help with the communication and we’ve already seen how it can benefit students, but the challenge schools face is to show those benefits clearly and concisely to parents.

Cuban, L. 1986. Teachers and machines: The classroom use of technology since 1920. New York, NY: Teachers College Press.

Hattie, J. 2008. Visible learning: A synthesis of over 800 meta-analyses relating to achievement. London: Routledge.

“Walk the line” could work, too, but I’m no Johnny Cash.

I moved to TechSmith nearly a year ago from teaching. All I ever wanted to do since starting college was teach. I never changed my major, and I never held a job (except for summer work) prior to jumping into my own classroom in 2009. I also managed to work in public, private, and charter schools since I began teaching. I’ve added to my license as well as added to my interests. Last winter was the first time I seriously considered, and subsequently acted on, leaving the classroom.

When I left, I had a real identity crisis. What was my focus? How do I identify myself? To be honest, my first instinct is still to say, “Hi, I’m Brian, and I’m a teacher.” That’s how I feel, but it’s strange to not have that be the truth anymore.

It’s something I think about a lot today. Most of my friends are teachers. All of my contextual references for how to handle certain situations come from teaching. Nearly all of my favorite stories to tell about “work” come from teaching. I understand that most of my professional life was in the classroom, so the number of references are to be expected, but those memories feel more crisp…more alive.

I feel like I can’t talk to some people the way I used to. I’m someone else now, on the other side of the glass, looking in. I relish stories of students doing great things, of teachers having major wins and major fails. I feel the pain in the struggle and I feel awkward when I realize I don’t have to think about the politics anymore. But I also feel like a cop out when that happens, so I make sure to stay informed.

I feel the shift when I say, “I used to be in the classroom.” Is it a loss of respect? Of appreciation? I’m not sure. Probably not. But it’s still there.

I also get looks from the other end…looks from teachers who wish they were in my position. Longing for something…release? Relief? Just a chance to get out while they still have their sanity? Those unsettle me the most.

Switching gears is really, really hard. I don’t feel like I’ve escaped the inescapable system. I also don’t feel like I’ve given up on public education. In fact, I feel stronger about it now than I ever have before. But, and this might get me in trouble, being on the other side of the line, I see how much mistrust there is when it comes to education. I don’t know what else to call it. I’m also guilty of the same judgements.

How many lines do we all straddle? Who’s burden is it to manage the dissonance? Can (should?) we favor one side over the other?

I think I’m learning that the value in relationships come from our experiences walking our lines. Playing the teacher on one side, and the parent/professional/author/athlete/astronaut/whatever on the other three or four sides. Life isn’t black and white, so how can out self-identifications be?

I know that before I left, I was a teacher. My lines have become irreversibly intertwined, but that isn’t a detriment. I’m thankful for my time in the classroom. I’m thankful for my time (so far) at TechSmith. I’m looking forward to getting even more tangled up every day.

I updated the original post, but I thought it would be worth having a brand new item for reference. As I said earlier, the @StopSBG account has been unsuspended, and they are now tweeting again. I haven’t been paying much attention to the ongoing conversation so I can do other things, like eat and sleep. But, what I have done, is used Martin Hawksey’s amazing Google Docs-driven Twitter archive script to automatically archive the tweets.

View the archive

I can only look back seven days at a time, so unfortunately, the initial conversation is lost, unless you use another service, like topsy.com to search for yourself. But, this spreadsheet is probably the most complete archive of the entire 5,000+ exchange happening. The archive will update every couple of hours and add a new tab at the bottom of the page for convenience. Take a look at the short video below on how to manage the massive amount of data on the sheet.

Update 8:00 AM Jan 7, 2013 – The @StopSBG account is now active again. Change is reflected below.

Over the past 10 days, Twitter saw one of the most epic, twisting, and riveting arguments ever. It started with someone called @StopSBG [STRIKEOUT:(account is now suspended, so no link)] and Frank Noschese. Presumably, the account was run by a concerned parent opposed to their district’s decision to move to Standards Based Grading. When I first saw the exchange, this individual was writing about how much extra work teachers would have to do to report under SBG rather than a traditional grading scheme. Frank hopped in, being one of my favorite go-to persons for SBG matters, offering to help. Well, then, the Twitters exploded.

I’m not going to recount the entire debate. I did manage to grab an archive which is so convoluted and branched, that it’s practically unreadable right now. Maybe I’ll get to it and try to sort through it all someday. Over the course of 10 days or so, over 50 teachers, education researchers, and assessment professionals joined in the conversation.

As I watched, it really stood out to me that Twitter is probably the worst place to hold a rational debate. The character limit is hard to work around. Only being able to write in snippets dilutes points and counterpoints and also drives some really inventive shorthand which requires even more explanation. Because of the nature of the timeline, it’s hard to finish a point before someone jumps in and changes the direction.

I’m convinced that if this discussion had happened at a coffee shop, a public forum, Branch, or even a Google Hangout, it would have ended much more amicably. So what ended up happening? Supporters are still supporting SBG, opponents are still opposed. I don’t think any minds were changed, and again, the StopSBG account is mysteriously suspended. We looped and circled, ultimately, going nowhere with the original group.

There was some collateral damage, though.

@BMSscienceteach One good thing about StopSBG debate is all the cool teachers I've met! Great conversations!

—Raymond Baker (@RayBake) January 6, 2014

R&D on SBG has begun! Much thanks to @fnoschese 's discussion with @StopSBG for inspiration and motivation! #SBGchat pic.twitter.com/RrcghtNpqI

—Trevor Register (@TRegPhysics) January 5, 2014

The debate was engaging, and maybe that’s what we should take away from this experience. People who wouldn’t normally get pulled into philosophical discussions about grading practiced jumped in. Articles were shared. Experts weighed in. It seems like the people least involved in the debate were the ones who learnt the most. I think that’s the biggest shift for me: I started wanting StopSBG to realize that we were “right.” Having 18 hours or so to think about it since the “end” of the conversation has changed my mind. Sure, debates are fun, and this one definitely had its moments. The real power in this whole thing is the fact that it happened in an open space where anyone could watch and chime in.

So, what do we want to fight over next?

Major, major props to Frank, Jen Borgioli, David Knuffke, Rick Wormeli, and many, many others who remained rational, polite, and to the point with this discussion. I’m glad you are all willing to lead when reason flies out the window.

See what I did there? That took a significant amount of brain power tonight. It must be the end of the semester.

CEP811 is closing this week and for my final post with that particular tag, I’m going to reflect a little bit. I’ll try not to ramble too much.

Long story short: I’ll definitely be using the Raspberry Pi when I get back to the classroom someday. This course was a particular challenge for me because everything I’ve planned and written about has been in spe. (That’s Latin, folks.) So, while I can’t go and do some of the things I’ve written about tomorrow, I have them filed away for the future. The big thing about maker tools is that they can do whatever we want them to do. The Raspberry Pi, for me, is something that will allow one more student to explore something they might be interested in. Sure, there are times I’ll bring it into what we do to pique some interest, but like any other tool, it’s not something I can require every student to engage with. I get wary when we talk about “every student should need to learn how to code,” because that’s ignoring the fact that every student has different strengths, weaknesses, and interests.

If the tools in my classroom encourage students to think, to question, or to explore (play?), then I think they’re effective. I want to see students take risks and I want to provide a variety of modes for them to risk with. It isn’t about the curriculum I design to go specifically with the Pi, but the challenge it will present to learners. I want to evaluate how they rise to meet that challenge and how they cope with dealing with new tools. We see this happening as young as first grade now with designing lunch boxes. It isn’t about having fancy tools or toys, but how we engage our students.

(Scott, 2000, p. 16)

Socrates denied being a teacher because he didn’t fit the definition given by culture. I feel this is something we battle today. Culturally, a teacher is someone who stands in front of students, a content expert, to instruct. Metaphysically, teachers are so much more than that:

@bennettscience A teacher is charged with finding flaws within themselves and others, without wallowing in failure.

—Ben Rimes (@techsavvyed) December 11, 2013

@bennettscience A teacher is charged with knowing just how hard to push a learner past their point of brilliance before going over the ledge

—Ben Rimes (@techsavvyed) December 11, 2013

@bennettscience The role of the teacher is not to provide knowledge but to point and guide to better knowledge acquisition skills. #edchat

—Heather Askea (@hblanton) December 11, 2013

@bennettscience @techsavvyed a teacher is a person that convinces others to learn stuff they wouldn't otherwise want to learn

—William Chamberlain (@wmchamberlain) December 11, 2013

So, how will the maker ideas fit into my class? They should already be there. I need to be addressing and encouraging student’s innate desire to be creators, explorers, and discoverers. Sure, the Raspberry Pi will help me do that. But it isn’t about the device…it’s about the pedagogy we bring to give context to the tool.

Looking back, I wish I had been more aggressive with my own maker project plans. I don’t have a working program like I had hoped to, and that’s mostly because I didn’t make it a priority through the course. I think had I continued that project through each week, I would have felt like each week had more of a connection. However, I do feel like I pushed myself to think beyond the obvious with each prompt. I wanted to get to the root of my beliefs and draw out each component of the class as much as I could. I challenged myself to take risks and write provocatively, and through that, I have been able to reframe some of my core beliefs about education.