Garrison Forest Skypes with Students in Cambodia

Recently, the students in our Lower School Skyped with the students of the Tchey School in Cambodia, and the event was the subject of a news story on our local ABC affiliate. Last night, on the 5:00 news, our story was featured. The entire thing, from the Skype call itself to seeing the final story on the local news, was very exciting for the students and for me. Let me know what you think!

What am I thinking?

My math students are getting ready to begin filming their math videos today. So why I am the one who is so nervous? They are excited. I am unsure. They seem to feel confident they know what they are doing. I have no idea what I am doing. This is all new to me, and I think it is new to them. Why is there such a difference in our feelings?

Earlier this year, I stumbled across the Student Made Math Videos wiki. As I looked through the videos on the wiki, I thought, "wouldn't this be fun for my students!" So I showed them the wiki, and asked them if they want to try to make their own. The answer was a big YES! Okay, we decided to make videos. "Now what?", I thought. Other teachers asked me "how are you going to do it?" I didn't know. In fact the more I thought about it, the more nervous I became. I didn't know if I wanted to take on something this new and this big. After all, I am not even the regular 5th grade math teacher. I am subbing this year for a 5th grade teacher who is out on long-term leave. Frankly, the more I thought about it, the more I wondered, "What am I thinking?" Maybe the girls would forget. No such luck. After a couple of weeks, the questions started, "Mrs. Shriver, when are we going to make our videos?"

So we moved forward. I split the girls into teams of 3-4, and I gave them their mission -- make a math video. I didn't give them much more than that. I did make a rubric, and I suggested they work in Google Docs to brainstorm and plan their videos. I gave them the link to the wiki so they could get ideas from other students. Off they went: brainstorming, planning, writing, creating. And not one word of worry from any of them. This is truly amazing to me. Don't they know how much work this is going to be?

But I don't think they care how much work this is going to be. They are having fun. They are working together. They are creating. They are even working a bunch of math problems in the process. I don't know how good the final products will be, but this is where I have to let go. Does it really matter? Shouldn't the learning that they do along the way outshine the the importance of the final products? My answer to this is YES!

So here we are -- the first day of filming. They have their scripts; they have their costumes and props; they certainly have lots of excitement. What about me? I'm providing the camera, a tripod, and a wish of good luck. Somehow, I don't think they'll need it.

Seeing Far and Near

When I recently returned to school after Winter Break, I found an airmail envelope in my mailbox from the Traveling Teacher, of whom I have previously written. She had graciously sent me some Vietnamese and Cambodian money to show the girls in the Lower School. During Morning Meeting one day, we looked at the money and made predictions as to what 8000 Vietnamese Dong could buy. The guesses ranged from an iPad to a trip to Vietnam. The looks on their faces were priceless as we discovered that the equivalent in US dollars is about 39 cents! The girls were truly amazed.

As each grade came to my class later that week, we followed up on our Morning Meeting conversation by looking at the videos made, under the guidance of the Traveling Teacher, by a group of Cambodian students. In her blog she shares the story of how the videos were produced. The final products are so well done. It just amazes me what these students were able to do with a minimal amount of equipment.

The best part of the experience of watching these videos, however, was the reaction of my students, some as young as 6 years old. They watched with quiet awe as the lives of the Cambodian students were reveled through the videos. They were immediately struck by the many differences between the lives of these students and their own lives here in the US. Comments ranged from "she has to do a lot of the things that my parents do, like cook dinner and buy groceries" to "her house doesn't have electricity." But in addition to noticing the differences, they also noted several similarities...going school, doing homework, working on computers, and a fondness for Mickey Mouse.

A couple of groups viewed the water wells video and were so affected by what they saw, they now want to talk to the head of the lower school about what we can do to help the people of Cambodia. I am so grateful to the Traveling Teacher for helping bring my students closer to a part of the world that is so far and so different from our world in so many ways. It is wonderful to see such wisdom, concern, and compassion in even our youngest of students.

Now That Was Easy: Making a Jeopardy Game

Math Whiz Jeopardy

Today was planned as Game Day for my 5th grade math class. This morning, however, I walked into school with no game in mind. We usually have a game day after a test, but at this point in the year, we have played quite a few different games. I try to mix it up a bit for them, but this morning, I had no idea what we were going to play. My grand idea was Jeopardy. I have been wanting put together a Jeopardy game for some time, but I knew that making one can be quite time consuming. After a little digging around, I stumbled upon JeopardyLabs, a free web-based game maker. I was a little skeptical because, after all, it's free. But I am happy to report that it is so easy to use (I made a 25 question game in about 30 minutes) and the best part is, you can go back and edit it at a later time. My students were thrilled, the game worked so well, and it was a fun day in Math 5! You must give it a try!

By the way, if you have any ideas for fun math games, I am always looking for suggestions.

VoiceThread with Preschoolers

Thanksgiving has passed but I am sharing one of the web tools for which I am quite thankful. One of my favorites is VoiceThread. Basically it is a web-based digital-storytelling application that allows users to share their stories through audio, images, videos or text.  Other people can then make comments on the stories. I know it's nothing new or revolutionary, but it is just such an amazing tool. So simple and so easy to use. It is a wonderful way to showcase the work of an entire class. Recently, my Kindergarten and Pre-First classes made VoiceThreads for Thanksgiving. I asked them to illustrate one thing for which they were thankful. Each of the girls had the most insightful ideas, and their drawings were fabulous. They had so much fun doing working on the project, and I had so much fun putting it together with their help.

Global Connections

This coming week brings an exciting new event to my students' learning. We are going to Skype with the Traveling Teacher, a member of our community, who is currently traveling the world as a global liasion between our school and schools all over the world. In anticipation of this exciting opportunity, I spent the past week preparing my students. We first looked at her blog. The girls were in awe of the 360 degree photos of the Moscow shopping mall and beautiful Red Square, created using the Kogeto Dot camera. They were fascinated by the videos of street scenes and school scenes in Moscow. We also looked at her travels using Google Maps and Google Earth. They used the zoom feature to closly look at the various geographical features of this part of the world.

My goal was to help them gain a sense of where she is in the world. We looked at how far New York City is from our home in Maryland, and then we compared that to how far Russia and Mongolia are from our home in Maryland. They decided that even though New York is far from Maryland, in a global sense, it is very close. We talked about the difference in time and the difference in climate between these other countries and our part of the world.

As we explored and read more, the girls began to think of insightful questions to ask the Traveling Teacher during our Skype session next week. They wondered what the people in these countries are like, the wondered what languages are spoken, they wondered what the food tastes like. I am proud of the girls for their inquisitiveness...and I am certain that the Traveling Teacher will be as well.

The Power of the Network

This past Friday night, I attended Art for Land's Sake, an art exhibition and sale, which benefits the Valleys Planning Council, a land trust and conservation association in Northwest Baltimore. The event, held at Halcyon Farm, was lovely, full of good friends, great food, and fabulous art. I volunteered to help out at the Preview Party since I like supporting a good cause, and this gathering always proves to be a lot of fun. My post was the main entrance, collecting tickets -- the perfect place to meet and greet friends, both old and new. My true good fortune, however, was in my introduction to Bob, the man who shared my duty that evening. As I would soon discover, he would become the newest member of my Personal Learning Network or PLN. Behold the power of the network.

As Bob and I began chatting at our post, I soon discovered that he, formerly of The Baltimore Sun, is now a faculty member of the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, College Park. He is currently teaching a class in layout. Here is where my good fortune comes in. A colleague and I, both teachers at Garrison Forest School, have undertaken the start-up of a first-time-ever Lower School newspaper. While we are very excited about this new endeavor, we are equally nervous about the challenges that lay ahead...namely, what is the best way to get the stories that our students write into a publishable format. As I told Bob about our newspaper, The Livingston Ledger, I explained that we were thinking of using Adobe InDesign. Again, my good fortune -- Bob is currently teaching InDesign to his students. Had my story ended here, with some tips and pointers from Bob on the how-to's of layout and publishing, I would have been happy enough. But as I mentioned, the network is powerful. Bob asked me if I would like a copy of the instructions that he uses to teach InDesign! So today, in my email inbox, I found an email from the newest member of my network.

I can't say thank you enough to Bob for generously sharing his hard work with someone he had just met. But this is how a PLN works. It is all around you. You simply put the request out there, and you can be fairly certain someone will answer the call. Interestingly enough, for me, on Friday night, the answer preceded the call.

By the way, stayed tuned for more updates on The Livingston Ledger, as we discover the joys of writing and publishing with 3rd, 4th, and 5th graders.

New Beginnings

As I look back at my blog, it has been a long time since I have written. Lots of things got in the way, and my best intentions were ignored. But today I attended the Kick-Off event for my Year 2 with PLP. As I sat and listened to Sheryl and Will talk about needing to invest in my own learning and needing to model my own learning in order to become a better teacher, I realized that I had majorly dropped the ball this summer. Every week, I would look at my blog and think, I need to write, and yet, I didn't.

I feel motivated again. Today, I was asked to give my wish for this year, and what immediately came to mind is that I want to become a serial blogger. I want to get back out there. I want to read blogs, I want to comment on blogs, I want to share blogs that I find, and most importantly, I want to contribute to my own blog. So in the coming weeks, expect to see me back here...with updates on what is happening in my classroom, what i s happening in my Year 2 with PLP, and what is happening in my journey as a learner. Stay tuned!

Lessons of a Broken Window

The other day, my 11 year-old son, who was home for Spring Break, called me at school and said "Mom, I was playing outside, practicing my throwing, and I broke one of the garage door windows." I've been down this road before with my son. We had a broken insulated, double pane window on the front of the house last spring, and we still have a broken window on the back side of the garage from the fall. You might wonder about my son's ability to throw a baseball, but believe me, if I ever wanted to learn how to throw a curveball or a slider, he'd be my man. In spite of his 11 years and his occasional misses, I consider him an expert in many respects when it comes to throwing a baseball. I think his team from last year, who referred to him as "The Closer", would agree. Is he an expert because he never misses? Of course not, and frankly, to call an 11 year old an expert probably seems pretty strange. But compared to me, he is an expert. He would be my go-to guy when and if I wanted to learn. He already knows a tremendous amount about the form and techniques of being a pitcher. More importantly, he is always working on his skills. In spite of the occasional broken window, he has a strong, accurate throw.

Similarly, the other day, I was part of a discussion about the word "expert". Is it okay to refer to someone as an expert even if he or she doesn't know everything there is to know about a given topic or tool? For example, one of my colleagues, likes to use the word to describe teachers in our community who have a special expertise or knowledge, and by this I mean beyond their content area (for example, someone who has learned to use a cool, new tool or technology that might be of interest to others in the community). But what if that teacher "expert" doesn't know all the ins and outs of that cool, new tool? Is it still okay to call her an "expert"? Is it okay for an expert to still be learning and making mistakes? Can an expert and a newbie learn alongside one another? I like to think the answer to these questions is yes. I like to think that by saying yes, you demonstrate that it's okay to not always have the answers, while at the same time feel confident about what you do know. And it's okay to share what you know even if you are still learning. In fact, I would say it is vital to the survival of your expert status to be an expert who is continually learning.

What can you do with a QR code?

Ever since my friend and colleague, Renee, introduced me to QR (quick response) codes, I have been fascinated with the possibilities. I am still not sure how I might one day use QR codes, but for now they are fun to play around with. I have found a few good websites for making your own codes in case you would like to check them out for yourself. This website will let you turn a URL, text, phone number or SMS into a QR code, while this one will create a business card with your contact information contained in the code. Don't forget that you will need to add a QR scanner app to your smart phone in order to read a QR code. Once you do, you can use it to scan the code below.

Let me know if you think of any ways that you might use one of these codes, and in the meantime, have fun!

QR code for my PLP team's action research project wiki page

Spring has Sprung

The first of the season. How can something so small and beautiful be so hardy? A sure sign that spring is on it's way!

Classroom Facebook?

At a recent faculty meeting in my preschool, many of the teachers were complaining that parents never read the bi-weekly class letters. The letters, which are posted to our school’s Moodle site, contain information about the current classroom themes and recent events and projects, as well as upcoming events for parents' calendars. Teachers often include wonderful photos of the students engaged in learning or exploring something new. What parent wouldn't want to check this out, right? Well, the problem is that they aren't. We don't have any great answers as to why not, other than Moodle is cumbersome/impossible to check on a handheld device, which is how many of our parents stay connected.

This got me thinking. Why not use Facebook as a way to communicate with parents? After all, most of our parents are already on Facebook. Half jokingly, I suggested this idea at that same faculty meeting. I say "half jokingly" because I knew that it would not go over easily. Like all schools, our administration and faculty are greatly concerned about internet safety and privacy, especially for our youngest students. But is the idea of Facebook as a means for a classroom teacher to communicate with families such a far-fetched idea? Many of the teachers at the meeting immediately began discussing the "how-to’s" of such an endeavor. They immediately recognized that "yes, in fact, parents would read a Facebook page". But almost immediately, the concerns too came up. How would we make it secure, how would we limit access to just our parents, how would we ensure that our parents used proper etiquette while on the classroom page?

So, I’ve recently been given the task of figuring this all out. Is it possible for our preschool to set up Facebook pages for each of our classes? I would love to hear from any of you who have ideas or suggestions that might help me along in this process. If you are a teacher, how do you currently communicate with your parents? Or if you are a parent, what would you think of a Facebook page for your child's class?

You might also check out one of Christopher Dawson's recent blogs, "Will it ever be time for Facebook?" It is an interesting read, but the comments that follow are where the real discussion takes place. Let me know what you think.

Taking a Lesson from My Children

Several weeks ago, my two younger children, Chloe, age 8, and Mac, age 10, came to me with the request to go to Toys 'R' Us. It seemed they had finally found the perfect use for the Christmas money that their grandparents had given them.

After stalling for as many days as I could (let's just say that Toys 'R' Us is not one of my favorite places), we arrived at the store. Within moments, they vanished down an aisle in search of the coveted toy. By the time I found them again, they each had an "electric" guitar and a guitar strap in their hands.


They explained to me that the guitars were called Paper Jamz; I, of course, had never heard of them. Nonetheless, they seemed to know all about these guitars. Not surprising since my children, like many children, love to watch the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon, which are rife with ads for every new toy to come along.

However, what was really interesting about this whole episode was that my children had REAL information on the Paper Jamz. Chloe told me that although she liked the look of the style 5, she wasn't going to get it and had decided instead on style 18 (shown on the right). When I asked why she had decided against 5, she informed me that she had read the consumer reviews for the guitars, and the reviews for style 18 were more favorable. At this point, my son chimed in and said that he agreed. And besides, according to my son, the YouTube videos that they had watched clearly showed the superiority of style 18.



Amazing!! These were not two children who were merely going to the local toy store to buy the latest and greatest toy. They instead had become proactive in their purchasing. Had they been influenced by advertising? Certainly. But, were they passive consumers? Not hardly. They were now informed consumers. They had used resources within their means to research and investige a product before buying it. I would love to take credit for this series of events. I would love to say that I had actively modeled this behavior for them. But I can't. I can say though that I was really proud of them!

Feeding our Curiosity

I don't have any official leadership titles at my school, but I have taken on a leadership role of sorts. For the past few weeks, I have been collaborating with a fellow teacher (and member of my PLP cohort), Dana, on a weekly professional development for our Lower Division teachers (3's through 5th grade). We borrowed the idea from our Middle School colleagues, one of whom is also a member of my PLP cohort. Like the Middle School, our PD is called Breakfast Boosters, and the idea is that once a week for a half hour in the morning, we meet with half the teachers in the Lower Division and present a topic for discussion or exploration or just a "show and share" of something cool going on in one of our classrooms. Then the next week, we present the same topic to the other half of the faculty. Sometimes the topic is technology-based and sometimes it isn't. For the first few weeks, Dana and I will facilitate the discussion, but our hope is that after a few weeks, we will have other teachers volunteer to present topics. Our goal is to create an atmosphere in our division where teachers share ideas, teach one another, and try new things. And it's called Breakfast Boosters because, of course, there is always yummy food.

I would love to know what great ideas you have presented to colleagues and co-workers. What topics do you think would make for a great discussion among teachers hoping to learn and grow together? I welcome your comments!

Wordle is Wow!

I have been playing with Wordle and Tagxedo. What a great activity! I had so much fun. I can imagine that students will love this. Wordle is very easy to use. You simple copy and paste your text, and then you can play with the font, color, and layout. Tagxedo allows the user to create a custom shaped Wordle design. It is not as user friendly as Wordle, but with a little bit of playing, I was able to create a baseball-shaped Tagxedo using my son's report on his team's run in the playoffs a couple of years ago. The best part was that I had a great time creating my designs.

Here are the links to my Wordles:



my delicious tags and my daughter's report on Roger Sherman

Waiting for Superman

Last night I went to see Waiting for Superman. I wasn't sure what to expect, because everything I had read and heard about the movie was so conflicting. I was told the critics were raving, but somehow all the "smart people" that I follow on Twitter seemed to have nothing but distain for the film. In fact, I was somehow almost convinced that it would be disrespectful to my profession to even see the movie. But the curiosity in me won out. That and the offer of a free ticket sent via a former student's parent who is now a mentor with the SEED School of Maryland. How could I not at least take a peek.

Well, I am glad that I did. I am not saying that I thought everything in the movie was logical and made good sense. But the film is passionate, heart-wrenching, and thought-provoking. One of my favorite parts was listening to Michelle Rhee. What a dynamo! She is someone who seems to be doing what she feels is in the best interest of the students in DC, making hard decisions that have earned her many enemies along the way. Regardless of where you stand on the issue of teachers' unions, Michelle Rhee is one bold woman.

I also was so intrigued by Geoffrey Canada, president and CEO of the Harlem Children's Zone. His story, and the passion with which he now leads the charge for Education Reform, is nothing less than inspirational.

Although, I was thoroughly engaged during this movie and inwardly cheering for the children whose journey through the charter school lottery process was chronicled in the film, I nonetheless was left with questions after it ended. First of all, I wonder if charters schools see such success rates because the children whose parents enter them into the lottery in the first place are motivated, caring parents. Doesn't that already give these children a leg up over other at-risk, inner-city kids? How successful would these schools be if their constituents were a random sampling of the at-risk, inner-city kids? I know that may not be the point. As long as these schools are saving some of the chilren, then success is success. I think this is true to a point, but we need a solutions for all these kids, not just the ones with motivated parents.

I also did have to wonder about the lack of teacher voices and school representation in the film. Why were not the teachers interviewed; why did we not see the inside of the these failing schools? Are we really to believe that little Bianca's school would not even let her participate in the closing exercise just because her mother was a little behind in her payments? Or is there more to the story that the film maker wasn't willing to show us for sake of his storyline.

None of these questions that I have are reason to not see the film or even to be moved or motivated by it. We all need to ask these questions. We all need to look for the answers, as hard as it may be to find them or agree on what they are. These is not an issue limited to just a certain group of people. This is America's issue. We all need to care. If our schools fail, we fail.

multi-dimensional reading

A colleague of mine has been using Google Earth with her students this year. They use it in their reading groups to follow the characters' travels in the books that they read. I thought, what a wonderful way to help the reading come alive for the students!





And this got me thinking. Why not do the same thing in my own personal reading? I love to read historical fiction, mainly books that deal with English history. Right now I am reading The King's Grace, by Anne Easter Smith, which tells the story of the two princes in the Tower during the reign of Richard III. I have for a long time recorded the interconnectedness of the historical figures that I encounter. I have a large family tree, which helps me keep track of how each is related to one another, and I use it to even connect historical figures from one book to another. I also like to use Wikipedia as another source to add background to my reading.





But now I am thinking that I need to add a new dimension to my reading. I want to try following my characters' travel through Google Earth. How wonderful it will be to know where Middleham is in relation to Westminster Palace or Sheriff Hutton, for example. And who knows. One day I might just have the opportunity to actually visit some of these places!

Great Expectations

This past week I had my Kindergarten classes right after they had returned from a field trip to the aquarium. I should have known better! It had already been a long day for these little girls, and now they were coming to me for the last bit of their day. I was excited to hear about their trip, so as a "fun" activity, I asked the first group to draw, using KidPix, something that they saw that day at the aquarium.

At first they were very excited, but soon I started to hear the whines and frustration, "this is too hard" and "I can't do it". A couple of them were trying, but most were either staring at a blank screen or had given in to the urge to scribble and explore outside the assignment. I tried to encourage them by saying, "just try" and "it doesn't matter if it doesn't look like a real ____" (fill in the blank with your favorite water creature). After several minutes of encouraging them, it was nearly time to go.

One student had actually managed to write her name and scratch out a small image, although I wasn't sure what I was looking at. I congratulated her, and asked her if she wanted to print it. She did, so we did. As I handed the paper to her, I continued through the room asking girls to close out of KidPix and logout. I turned just in time to see the young student staring at her paper while bursting into tears. When I asked her what was the matter, she replied, "this doesn't look like an octopus!"

Well, lessons learned. First, don't ask 5 year olds to try anything new at the end of an extra long day. Second, 5 year olds, unless they are ahead of the curve or just immune to the results, are not able to draw using a mouse. After all, they are just getting used to paper and pencil. Lastly, just because a teacher says "good job", doesn't mean a student will value the effort.

The next Kindergarten group that day worked on drawing lines and circles. They were confident and successful!

Googling myself

I have tried Googling myself, and I am not impressed by the results. I tried both Chris and Christine for my first name, and I came up with random people who are not me. I even tried adding Reisterstown and Maryland to my name, and that didn't help. There are too many of us, and I am certainly not the most interesing or the one with the largest digital footprint. As a last attempt, I tried Googling my full name including my maiden name and that had better results. I got my Facebook page, as well as my High School reunion page. At least I am out there, although you would have to know me pretty well to find me. It will be interesting if I have more of a presence on the web after this year with PLP.

Time to post

Working on PLP this afternoon. I am trying to put in my 15 minutes a day, but most days, I only have the energy to lurk, not post or contribute. Today being Sunday, I have had more time to think, reflect, and contribute. As I was going through the Ning, I even picked up information on a new (to me, that is) tool, called Jing. I am really looking forward to giving it a try.