Edina Digital Age Learning

Mary Lewis from the Minneapolis Institute of Arts led a workshop with staff on Visual Thinking Strategies . She began part 2 of the session having us view a clip from 60 Minutes with Harvard professor, John Stilgoe . Stilgoe pointed out many interesting design components. For example, have you ever noticed the arrow in the FedEx logo? Or that if all car manufacturers just put the gas cap on the same side, lines at gas pumps would be much shorter because everyone would line up in a more efficient manner. Lewis then told us about "The Stages of Looking." Stage 1: Beginning viewers are looking at the story Emotion plays a big part of it, and they use their own life experience to relate to the image. "What is it about the picture that made you think of that?" Stage 2: Constructivist People apply what they think is "right," and build a framework. "IS THIS ART?" Stage 3: Classifying By classifying the artwork, this stage attempts to critically catego...

Today I had the pleasure of sitting in with staff from South View Middle School as they explored Visual Thinking Strategies with from Mary Lewis from the Minneapolis Institute of Arts. The curriculum is based on Visual Understanding in Education , developed by Abigail Housen and Philip Yenawine. These strategies were developed for beginning viewers. Basic Visual Thinking Strategies Asking the questions 1. Begin by asking the question, "What is going on in this picture?" Staff noted that the process allowed them to "slow down" and think, rather than being told what to think. The pictures Lewis chose told a story, and this allows for more reflection. The classes where kids are really struggling is where kids really struggle to focus. She has found that if she says, "take 10 seconds" If students struggle, ask them "What do you see?" 2. The second question is "What do you see that makes you say that?" What is the clue? "I'm going...

Today I went over to one of our middle schools to take a picture or two for a project I was working on and I came upon this scene: It's spring, and so the computer lab was set up for students to complete assessments, like it is for 1/4th of the school year. Fortunately, because we allow students to bring their own devices, it wasn't a problem for them to prepare the Language Arts presentations for tomorrow! Some students used district owned laptops, and others used desktop computers in the library, but without BYOD, the teacher would have been limited. Another thing I have been liking lately is our New " Virtual Training " option for students interested in bringing their device.  Students and parents watch the orientation video, complete a survey based on the building they are in, sign the agreement forms, then come to the office to have a sticker put on their device to verify they are "wireless certified." So far, close to 30 students have ta...

Last September, Will Richardson challenged our faculty to " Redefine Awesome " in what learning looked like in our district. The last few weeks, have seen some great connected learning opportunities happening at Valley View Middle School that get at what Will was talking about.  Project Lead the Way Tim Berendt, a teacher in our Project Lead the Way program, began using Twitter this year as a way for his students to share the work they are doing with the outside world, and also as a tool for formative assessment.  Students tweet out what they hope to accomplish at the beginning of the class period, and then tweet what they completed at the end. In many cases, students have received feedback and encouragement from people outside the district, such as this exchange from Autodesk, the company that makes the software the students use!  Berndt did a great job at the start reminding students to follow our Web 2.0 Code of Ethics , and how they could use hashtags to label ...

I had the honor and pleasure of presenting at the 2012 TIES Technical Leadership Conference last Thursday. As the presentation unfolded, I added some anecdotes, and participants had good questions about balance and "what about the Introverts?" I have updated the slides to address this.  It's interesting that even though this presentation is 5 days old, I find myself thinking about how I can improve it! It's something teachers often think about in regards to lectures that we give, but I wonder what it would be like and we turned it around for students? Obviously, at some point there has to be a "summative" but what if you said to kids, "you are free to keep following the passion and exploring"? I'll continue to add notes, and link to what I'm referencing. As always, I appreciate your feedback!

In this session, Aimee Bissonette  focused on aspects of cloud computing for school districts. Her slides can be found here . She asked how many districts were using it, and most said they were, and that most were free. Many were Apps for Education districts. After discussing the attributes of cloud computing, why schools are interested in using it, and how it works, she focused on the implications. The disadvantage to free services include, "It might not be there tomorrow," Advertising, and "It might not be free anymore!" How much leverage do you have regarding terms of service when something is free? She pointed out benefits, but also raised concerns regarding privacy, security, data integrity, intellectual property, etc. The student data that you collect and store involve many laws, FERPA, FCRA, HIPAA, etc. E-Discovery It is important to understand how data is stored in the vendor's system, and how you can access it Free services typically have limite...

Aimee Bissonette , an expert in school law spoke at the TIES Technical Leadership Conference on Legal Implications of Student Owned Devices. Her presentation and notes are here . She began with a disclaimer that if issues arrise in your district, you need to consult YOUR OWN lawyers! Student Free Speech Students currently engage in cyberbullying, posting as others, etc., but mostly off campus. Case Law is still in flux. In Layshock vs. Hermitage School District, a 17 year old received a 10 day susspention  for creating an imposter Website on their principal. He was the 3rd student to do this and the principal had enough. In Snyder vs. Blue Mtn. School District, an 8th grader posted sexually explicit material and the principals photo on an imposter site. The student received a 10 day susspension. In Layshock, the court said it was innapropriate. In Snyder, they agreed with the school district. Both are under appeal. Both of these rulings occured on the same day! The 3rd Cir...