Creative Synergy: Good Partners In Crime & Adventures in Curriculum Hacking

Freshly picked ideas are worth climbing to the highest branches. Luckily, we need not always scurry up a tree, but rather we can find inspiration in much closer confines. Today's post is about the brainstorming and spitballing that makes classroom magic happen.

Cultural Literacy at Holy Family Academy

As part of a dynamic duo teaching Sophomore Cultural Literacy at HFA, I work closely with my partner in crime and co-conspirator, Ro Vigilante @vigilantewords. Together, we integrate American literature into the cultural context of 20th century American history and culture. 

This means that the students are truly developing a sense of the world in which they immerse themselves. In a way, we develop a taste for what it was like to live within the world that once was--to test its boundaries and limitations... To tackle it's challenges and embrace it's opportunities. 

For example, our exploration of the 1930s demonstrates a good mix of complimentary content, skills, and dispositions needed for students to connect with the world of the past, and engage the present moment via 21st century skills and design thinking.

Ro selected a bold play, Clifford Odettes Waiting for Lefty. Together we conducted a table read of the play--I thought this was neat on so many levels: Ro has an extensive background in theatre, so the students experienced Ms. Vigilante not just in her teacher costume, but as a real person, passionate about drama and the arts.

On the heels of this discussion, focusing on the nascent labor movement, a push to unionize, and the plight of young people facing a bleak and uncertain future, we transitioned to the Works Progress Administration and the Alphabet Soup programs designed to get us out of the Great Depression. 

Instead of focusing on content alone as in a traditional history class, we looked closely at the principles of human centered design and embarked upon a collective journey--project based learning and role play. Our students explored the way both the Depression and WPA affected the lives of real Americans. 

Want to learn more? Check out my blog post on using the principles of design thinking to develop Depression Era persona profiles. There's a groovy YouTube video of student perspectives on the making of the persona profiles, too.

The tech skills that we acquired using GAFE and our knowledge of the Depression helped students to build persona profiles. This also helped us to focus our attention on the disposition critical to being a good amateur historian: empathy. 

After students shared their work and posted their persona profiles to our learning management system, they recorded reflections discussing the critical need for empathy when embarking upon a venture such as this. Our students really developed context spanning the bounds of time, geography, race, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. Where else could all of this be possible but in Cultural Literacy, an integrated classroom.

Inspiration comes in many forms... It helps to have a good partner and to work at an innovative school that empowers teachers to have the creative confidence to "go for it" and take their moonshot ideas from the drawing board to the classroom. Needless to say, I have rediscovered my teaching vocation at HFA this year.

At my former school and alma mater, Trinity High School, I worked closely with a cohort of teachers whom happened to be my lunch buddies, too. In a public school, there are fewer opportunities to modify the curriculum, unless you get the chance to write curriculum. 

I took advantage of this offer when designing the curriculum for AP Lang & Comp a few years back. Last year I shifted gears again, when I jumped at the chance to incorporate 21st century tech and active learning strategies in the 9th Grade Academy. This lead to a bit of curriculum hacking and creative use of resources to build a low resolution Makerspace in my classroom. 

First, it should be noted that freshmen are in a precarious state of knowing all of the answers and being terrified that they will be exposed for not having all of the answers... They are miniature versions of the juniors and seniors that I taught for years, only more malleable. I jest... But with lots of elements of the truth.

In the 9th grade academy, there were no opportunities to rewrite curriculum, but as previously reported, plenty of chances to "hack-curriculum " existed. For instance, Vonnegut's Harrison Burgeron was teamed up with NPR stories about an autistic classroom and their iPad band... The classic short story The Most Dangeroous Game was coupled with a podcast on street violence and a gang of teenagers on Long Island profiling and hunting Latino youth.

My students, predominantly Middle-class teens living in a rural suburb of Pittsburgh, were transfixed. Their ability to make relevant connections to both fiction and the new media that I presented them with skyrocketed. From here, we began to supplement the existing curriculum with digital media that highlighted the relevance of the text. It was 9th grade English remixed and reimagined... 

The addition of digital media and relevant, real world content transformed a short story unit into a decisive turning point in our classroom--to work within the confines of curriculum and Common Core Standards familiar to all public school teachers, but find ways to remake learning for our students.

Again, it goes back to having good partners--people that you can trust with your both your heart and your thoughts: because for teachers, we live a thousand lives within our classrooms, and the spillover into our personal world has few boundaries. 

Case in point: I keep tablets and post its around the house (and in my car's cup holder) to jot down ideas for school--I happen to be blogging at the stove on a Friday night, seasoning a pot of chili...but duty calls! 

Yes, and... It comes down to this: To be a teacher is to be fully alive in your vocation. For you and your students are on a path of learning and discovery; it was written in the eternal dream of God. Your mission is to author that story for future generations. A future of wonder and possibility.

Thanks for looking back with me... 

There are so many of my former colleagues that I wish to thank--and maybe that will be a post down the line. But I really want to tip my cap to special Ed teacher and my partner for over 4 years Jen Rakoczy, my best friend across the hall and Empress of Empathy Diana Denman, my Chewba writing creative consultant Swarrow, my Pirate game companion and the golden voice of Trinity Athletics Matt White, my difference-maker/ keeper of perspective and Frida Khalo fan club president Marna Day, my trifecta of oracles of insights at the far end of the school Erin Helmkamp, Nicole Welch, and Gretchen Mountain, my history pals who always encouraged me to brainstorm about World Affairs Council and to bridge the gaps and help students make the connections between our two fields--Mary Ellen Jutca , Joe Dunn, Lou Majoris--and my carpool partner and rogue educator in constant search of ways to improve educational practice and get kids to actually speak another language "German Josh" Baringer, aka Herr Bear.

These folks, as well as a huge cast of characters from all over the district, helped me to brainstorm some of the most interesting and creative projects for our students. I loved my time at Trinity and I grew so much as a watched eight classes of students graduate... I am forever grateful.

So, find your tribe--in your department, in your school, in your world. Next week, I'll write about online PLNs via Twitter.

Tech Tips: Using Class Dojo To Shape-Up Our Morning Routines

Mornings are tough enough as it is... But try being a teenager. Yikes. Good thing my colleagues introduced me to Class Dojo.

To a teenager, it must feel as though mornings are fraught with pitfalls and there is an adult around every corner, reminding teens of the 1,001 ways that they are not doing what they need to do in order to be successful. It can be overwhelming and these morning mishaps take a toll on our students. 

We need to remind our students that nobody is perfect. That we all make mistakes. That we really do learn from our mistakes... Or so we can, with the right mindset and specific guidance. 

Class Dojo is a tool providing immediate feedback that students need. With "tips and props", our students can develop the executive skills to make better, well-informed choices.

Awarding points for the right attitudes, skills, and disposition is critical. Notice above, my greatest challenges were kids not getting their day started properly--being on time, having their laptops, etc. I just made these two behaviors a little more enticing on our point scale. So far, so good.

It is also important to steer our students in the right direction--a course correction, if you will. Think about it, how many "blow-ups" and "melt-downs" and "is it time for dismissal, yet?" moments from students and teachers butting-heads... Having the same conflicts, repeatedly making the same mistake. As "Mojo" and his friend said, "mistakes can be a good thing". 

There is awesome power and responsibility when using Class Dojo--so think it out before you dive-in with your students. Personally, I believe that the key is to focus on behaviors and routines--these are the types of things that we can change, with time and practice. As you can see, the only over-lap between my "positives" and "needs work" is when it comes to students bringing and using their laptops in Learning Hub. Here's why:

Since I flipped my class and put all of my readings and digital media resources into online modules, I want to encourage students to have their laptops in Learning Hub, whether they need them or not. 

So, if students are working on their laptops, checking email and Canvas (our learning management system) they earn two points. 

If they have their laptops but aren't doing those things, their point total stays the same. 

If a student doesn't bring  a laptop, then it becomes an issue... Because it will be an issue for my students when it's time to go to their first period class.

The classroom videos that accompany Class Dojo are entertaining and truly amusing. Kudos to their animators and designers--it's fun to watch.

So, the students are giving me feedback on an incentive-based point scale. I'm open to awarding healthy snacks and fidget-toys from the dollar bin... For everybody in our Learning Hub, it's a win-win!

Big props to Dr Roberta Brandao & Mr Nick Bridge, my personal Class Dojo ambassadors!

Field Based Learning & Digital Media Expand Our Networked Learning Ecosystem

Students love to use social media to share their opinions... They also use smartphone apps to make the most creative digital media mash-ups. So, how might we leverage these powerful tools to get our kids to tell the story of their learning when the scope of their learning takes them well beyond the four walls of the classroom? 

Let's take a closer look at a recent Holy Family Academy Field Experience - Our day at the Heinz History Center in Pittsburgh, PA. We toured four floors of exhibits, including:

We Can Do It! - WWII Exhibit

Pittsburgh: A Tradition of Innovation

The Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum

From Slavery to Freedom

Mr. Rogers' Neighborhood

The diversity of topics and sheer size of the exhibits at the History Center made it a fast-paced day of student inquiry and exploration.  On each floor, students stepped back in time and came face-to-face with artifacts from our collective past.Students were encouraged to "live-tweet" their adventures in learning. Students focused on topics that they found particularly intriguing. For instance, in the photo above, Frank is taking a snapshot in the Western Pennsylvania Sports Museum's Trophy Room. The medals, trophies, pictures, and awards are an impressive display of the fruits of hard work, dedication, and the age old edict, "practice makes perfect"!Another approach to telling the story of our learning is the option to use Google Slides, Google Drawings, or smart phone apps like Pic Collage to capture the awesome artifacts and exhibits that captured our attention. Students snapped photos in each of the exhibits to make postcards to digitally send to friends, family members, and teachers.  How to create a postcard using Google Slides:- Create a new Google Slide Deck

- Insert an image as the background of the title slide 

  - Images can be uploaded from students' phones or students may select images from Google: In our case, I asked the students to use photos from the History Center's expansive digital archives.

- Format the text on the title slide in any creative manner:

  - The student objective is to become a "graphic designer" working for the Heinz History Center & to create a postcard that is both beautiful and informative

- Create a second slide and format the text so that it appears as the "letter" that one would write when sending a postcard to friends, family, or colleagues.

  - Have students write a thoughtful letter to friends, family, HFA teachers or administrators, or their Corporate Work Study supervisor.

- Send the postcard to its intended recipient by clicking "share" and entering that person's email address.

  - Be sure to check the share-settings: For something like this, I recommend that you give the recipient permission to "view" or "comment".

Behind The Scenes Videos - Women in WWII: 

When I went to the Heinz History Center to "scout-out" the exhibits and coordinate this field experience, I was fortunate to hear museum curator Leslie Przybylek talk about how J. Howard Miller's iconic "Rosie the Riveter" poster was designed to boost morale among the female employees of Westinghouse. The Westinghouse Corporation was a major employer in the Pittsburgh area during WWII. In fact, the architectural marvel, the Westinghouse bridge was a known target for proposed Nazi airstrikes and explosives. The bridge spans Turtle Creek, separating the two powerhouses of the Mon Valley--Westinghouse & US Steel's Edgar Thomson Works.

On a personal note--in my family, three generations of immigrants and their children lived by the edict "You work hard and get yourself a good job working for Westinghouse or in the mill." That edict held true for many families before Pittsburgh's economy diversified to include "eds & meds" and a tech-centric culture of innovation.

Curtiss-Wright was another employer hiring thousands man and women in the Pittsburgh area during WWII. Individuals made aviation equipment in Curtiss-Wright's Beaver Valley facility. Integral to the US winning the war, their manufacturing operation would not have been accomplished without enlisting a robust and diverse workforce. It should be noted that this exhibit featured commercials showing husbands and wives working at the Curtiss-Wright factory. These shorts aired in movie theaters, just as newsreels would inform the theatergoers. My favorite commercial starred a spry grandmother who picked up a shift on the factory floor.

In the YouTube video above, curator Leslie Przybylek discusses how Curtiss-Wright needed to devise a strategy to empower women to take-on these wartime factory jobs. Housewives needed to be reassured that they could develop the skills necessary to be contributors to the war machine.

For more information about this part of the "We Can Do It!" WWII exhibit at the Heinz History Center, check out Liz Simpson's blog post "A History of Curtiss-Wright During WWII" below. 

Lesson: Writing w/ PEEL - Analyzing Primary Sources

Solid analysis begins with students focusing on the "point" or purpose of the text that they are examining. I like to use the PEEL method to help novice writers get to the heart of the matter.

Learning to observe and critically reflect upon details in primary sources is integral to making inferences. In turn, this leads to students developing the confidence and skill to develop strong claims.

Check out some of the observations that our students made.

This works with PEEL paragraphs and can easily be adapted for other forms of creative expression.

Check out the templates below. The focus of these propaganda posters deal primarily with women in WWII

Tech Tips: Google Drawings & Primary Source Analysis

Annotating primary sources with Google Drawings is an excellent tool for focusing classroom discussion and zeroing in on in-depth analysis. Students are drawn to words and images in a way that is sure to spark imaginative debate and inspire original thought.

Let's get started by familiarizing ourselves with Google Drawing, one of the lesser appreciated Google Apps for Education #GAFE.

Google Drawing is more than "MS Paint" for the new millennium--though I was known to rock the paint back in the days of Windows 95, "Buddy Holly", and a 28.8 modem. When it comes to performance, we look to Google as a standard bearer. Drawing measures up, for sure.

For instance, the ability to search for images and/or add images by inserting a url makes this user friendly and intuitive. Again, we would expect nothing less from GAFE and this app certainly delivers.

Once your image is in the drawing, editing the visual is a breeze. Shapes, circles, arrows & call-outs can be made with just a few clicks.

I especially like to use Google Drawings when looking at strong visuals such as advertisements or propaganda. The WWII propaganda poster above is successful in conveying a message with both words and images. 

Highlighting a few key features helps students to focus their attention on the message that is being conveyed via subtle details. This might lead to nuanced observations, such as pointing out the significance of the phrasing and the body language exhibited by Airman Diez.

Once you show your students how much fun it is to analyze primary sources using Google Drawing, it's only a matter of time before they will feel confident enough to create examples of their own. And just like all GAFE, Google Drawing is perfect for working collaboratively. You can track changes and see contributions from all contributors.

At the end of the day, we want to empower our students to take the lead. When our students develop the strength and confidence to take over and teach, we have succeeded as educators.

Design Thinking: Using Persona Profiles to Gain Empathy & Understanding

Persona Profiles are instrumental to gaining empathy & understanding: Luma & Stanford's d-school offer exceptional resources to help teachers begin to use the principles of design thinking in the classroom.

After sharing a few classroom artifacts via Twitter, I was asked to post a few of my lessons in which I used these principles of design thinking in our Cultural Literacy classroom. One of my favorite examples of using design thinking strategies from this first semester of teaching at Holy Family Academy is the 1930s Great Depression Persona Profile project. 

Our Cultural Literacy students studied aspects of American society in the 1930s. This included learning about the "Alphabet Soup of the Works Progress Administration" and reading Clifford Odettes' groundbreaking play, Waiting for Lefty. 

Props to my partner in crime and co-conspirator, Ms. Ro Vigilante for bringing Lefty into our world--tremendously insightful view of life in the 1930s and labor demonstrations integral for ensuring the rights of workers everywhere.

Stakeholder Map - This is the "low-resolution" starting point for our project. We began by thinking of different types of people who would be affected by the economic hardships of The Great Depression. It became evident that the damage inflicted upon American citizens crossed boundaries of class, gender, race, and ethnicity. Everyone was caught-up in the wake of this economic crisis that swept the nation and broader global community.

Demo - WPA Employee: Zora Neale Hurston, Federal Writer's Project

(I taught Zora's "How It Feels To Be Colored Me" for six years as an AP Lang & Comp teacher... I just had to honor her spirit! What an inspiration.)

Demo - Average American Woman

Students really needed to consider factors such as class, gender, race, ethnicity, geography and other social circumstances as they pertained to 1930s American life. Talk about digging into serious social implications of "who we are" and "where we are from".

Student Produced Persona Profiles - The Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC)

Domzy, Mason & Tyrell (The Mayor) created dynamic persona profiles to examine the WPA's affect upon a community in Texas. To achieve their objective, they needed to know information about the mission of the CCC and they had to create a stakeholder map identifying the individuals whom would be affected by this WPA program.

We created an Animoto video as a trailer to inspire other classrooms to try using the principles of human centered design and design thinking in education. Warning: the jazz flute in this video is powerful.

I want to thank #dtk12chat, #BFC530 & #remakelearning for connecting me to a global network of educator-innovators. We are passionate about reforming education: to educate this generation of students for the innovation age. It begins with stoking the fires of learning. 

Our Persona Profiles sparked student curiosity about what it meant to live in the 1930s... How life was radically different for individuals based upon their class, gender, race, ethnicity and other social demographics. It was a tremendous opportunity for growth.

Digital media resources, such as the Depression-Era cartoon "Confidence: Starring FDR & Oswald the Lucky Rabbit", helped my students to connect with a topic as big as the Great Depression. Additionally, this video sparked an intriguing discussion on how cartoons are a perfect medium to convey complex ideas for a wide audience. Children and adults of any age can get something out of the subtle and overt messages within this cartoon from 1933. It is an exemplar text for primary source analysis.

The template for the lesson was designed using Google Apps for Education. This prototype is my first iteration of the project--so, it is nice starting point, but definitely a work in progress. Please pass along your adaptations and ideas for improvement. 

-Enjoy!

-1930s Depression Era Persona Profile Template

Field Based Learning: Pittsburgh Writing Marathon

As the Coordinator of Educational & Cultural Affairs at Holy Family Academy, I am honored to facilitate field based learning activities that expand our students' learning ecosystem. I'm like a network orchestrator--my role is partly to organize these events, often to create the instructional resources, and also to bring our partners on board. I love when the learning experiences are organic, moments when the city is our classroom and the students create meaningful experiences by immersing themselves in their community and reflecting upon their world. My favorite field experience from the first semester happened on a picturesque day in early November.

On this day, we embarked upon the North Shore Riverfront Writing Marathon. 

Writing Marathon Google Map - Click the link to access our interactive Google Map

Its easy to create and share interactive adventures for your students to navigate new experiences. Many of our HFA students live within a short distance of these five points of interest. However, how often do we pause to "take in the sights"? Everything that you see was designed using Google Apps for Education, including the interactive map and writing marathon journal. I especially liked the feature that allows you to customize the icons on the map: notice the pencils marking writing marathon waypoints. Dreaming about and designing this trip was almost as much fun as actually taking part in the actual writing marathon.

Adarian reflects upon finding the extraordinary in ordinary "everyday-any day" experiences. The Water Steps, adjacent to PNC Park, are one of the more popular attractions on the North Shore Riverwalk. With the water shut-off on this autumn morning, the steps themselves have become our standing desks in our outdoor classroom.

Point State Park - Pittsburgh, PA

It is a well known fact that I have a natural bias toward all things Pittsburgh... Yet, it's hard to argue that we have one of the most picturesque entrances to any major city in the country. The Point and Pittsburgh's Golden Triangle inspires amateur photographers and provides our HFA students a sanctuary in which to think, write, and dream.

The North Shore Riverwalk between PNC Park and Heinz Field provides our HFA students with ample opportunities to chat with teachers. Moments like this embody our innovative approach to field-based learning. The city is a living, breathing part of our learning ecosystem.

The Mr Rogers statue, overlooking the fountain at Point State Park, sets the backdrop for tranquil moments such as our writing marathon... Mr Rogers also stands vigil over raucous events like Steeler home games: We bleed black and gold in the Steel City!

Henry takes pause and contemplates "The Point: Where three rivers meet the eternal dream of creation." Our HFA students are encouraged to think deeply and write passionately about matters of great importance. It's a personalized approach that helps students to discover who they are in our interconnected world.

I want to thank Mrs. Kristin Alvarez, for she introduced me to the concept of a writing marathon. As you can see, it was a wonderful way to expand the learning ecosystem well beyond the four walls of the classroom. On this day, the City of Pittsburgh was our classroom and muse. As an educator, it was a day that I will never forget. #HFAinnovates

If you would like to take your students on this reflective tour to see experience and write about the Steel City from a unique perspective, download the following guides:

- Interactive Google Map: Pittsburgh Writing Marathon

- Field Study Journal: Pittsburgh Writing Marathon

Autograph Your Work with Pride: e-Portfolio Midterm in Cultural Literacy

It's important to take pride in a job well-done--and today was a veritable celebration of our hard work and accomplishments in Cultural Literacy. Here are some snapshots of the projects that students completed and showcased in their e-Portfolio midterms.

WWII Makerspace and Media Projects

Tyrell, Mason, & Fekens - Tuskegee Airmen Memory Box

Chuck's Pearl Harbor Timeline

Kent & Dwayne: Holocaust Animoto Video (with music sampled from a popular WWII video game)

Dominic's 3-D printer Tinker Cad Prototype: WWII Propaganda Remixed & Re-Imagined for a New Millennium

Syanne's Anne Frank & Family Memory Box

Student Video Reflections

Zack on Using Animoto to make his Pearl Harbor digital media project

Lakin on The Strength of African American Women in WWII

Destiny on the Changes Affecting African American Women on the Homefront

Kent & Dwayne on Personalized Learning: Choosing your own Topic & Media/Maker-Ed Product