You can also find more materials at http://lnstemac.knoxschools.org
Sunday, March 16, 2014
MACUL 2014 Presentation
My presentation slides from Macul 2014 is below….
You can also find more materials at http://lnstemac.knoxschools.org
You can also find more materials at http://lnstemac.knoxschools.org
Sunday, March 2, 2014
ICE, ICE, ICE......
Okay, okay, some of you were alive and well at the time of this wonderful song and appreciate the title. For the rest of you, let's just say it refers to the cold temps in Chicago last week at ICE 2014 (Illinois Computer Educators).
On the recommendation of several colleagues, I headed off to ICE 2014 in St. Charles, IL last week and I must say it was quite the enjoyable experience. It got off to a rocky start, when my all day workshop on STEM was cancelled for a lack of numbers but my travel details were already locked in, so off I went. The conference itself set a record for number of attendees, but the message and focus was clear: CONNECT AND LEARN!!
My 3 musings from ICE:
I met some great people in person after only twittering or face booking or gliding in some cases. A few weeks back, I did the Eduwin Weekly Podcast (linked here: http://edreach.us/podcast/eduwin-weekly-034-much-stem/) with @jmgubbins @michellerussell and @fernandezc4. They are excellent educators with passion and commitment to their craft. I connected with several DEN folks courtesy of @tchilders. I participated in an EdCamp for the first time..... amazing to openly talk and learn from others. Continued an amazing partnership with TechSmith and their great people (Camtasia, Coach's Eye and FUSE).
I did learn some cool things too.... 30 Hands App awesome, Excel workshop refreshed some skills and is changing my approach to data analytics, ePortfolios can never be started too soon (find a medium you are comfortable with and run with it --- your Students will be the winners) and Innovation/Inspiration/Passion require a disruption of your routine --- @gcouros keynote!!
The last musing is more of a challenging question to myself and most likely others: What is the value of constant growing and learning? Can you truly say that you are doing what is best for your students and their futures???
I will close with a similar closing to my FETC post, which ended with a comment on networking; ICE showed me the value of true networking, true connections to colleagues, true learning best practice from others to benefit your students.......
ICE was great, off to MACUL next week!!!!!
On the recommendation of several colleagues, I headed off to ICE 2014 in St. Charles, IL last week and I must say it was quite the enjoyable experience. It got off to a rocky start, when my all day workshop on STEM was cancelled for a lack of numbers but my travel details were already locked in, so off I went. The conference itself set a record for number of attendees, but the message and focus was clear: CONNECT AND LEARN!!
My 3 musings from ICE:
I met some great people in person after only twittering or face booking or gliding in some cases. A few weeks back, I did the Eduwin Weekly Podcast (linked here: http://edreach.us/podcast/eduwin-weekly-034-much-stem/) with @jmgubbins @michellerussell and @fernandezc4. They are excellent educators with passion and commitment to their craft. I connected with several DEN folks courtesy of @tchilders. I participated in an EdCamp for the first time..... amazing to openly talk and learn from others. Continued an amazing partnership with TechSmith and their great people (Camtasia, Coach's Eye and FUSE).
I did learn some cool things too.... 30 Hands App awesome, Excel workshop refreshed some skills and is changing my approach to data analytics, ePortfolios can never be started too soon (find a medium you are comfortable with and run with it --- your Students will be the winners) and Innovation/Inspiration/Passion require a disruption of your routine --- @gcouros keynote!!
The last musing is more of a challenging question to myself and most likely others: What is the value of constant growing and learning? Can you truly say that you are doing what is best for your students and their futures???
I will close with a similar closing to my FETC post, which ended with a comment on networking; ICE showed me the value of true networking, true connections to colleagues, true learning best practice from others to benefit your students.......
ICE was great, off to MACUL next week!!!!!
Friday, January 31, 2014
FETC & Other Musings
On my last night here in Orlando, where I presented on STEM & Common Core at FETC 2014, I find myself wandering aimlessly in my brain with deep thoughts about how to implement the info from this year's conference. After all, it is my 3rd year in a row attending, 2nd year presenting and 1st time blogging after attending.
FETC is loaded with one great new gadget after another; bells and whistles; video this, digital that; red bull loaded sales people; free pen here, free pen there; watch the presentation, get a T-shirt; trial license for 90 days; here's a pamphlet; keynote; more free pens; more t-shirts; gotta go to session; back to the exhibit hall for a drawing; didn't win; more free pens; where's the coffee......... and on and on it went for 3 days!!
My first musing is on the best practice of technology. A colleague of mine (Tim Childers follow at www.timchilders.com ) made this point Technology Best Practice does not always mean new tools! So, then what are we missing that we could do better with the technology we have? After all, if the 90 day trial works on the iPad all my students have now, then why do I need to buy brand new iPads? I realized that sometimes new tools show what you didn't know you didn't you know about your current technology tools.
My second musing is some of the new stuff really is great. I am not afraid to endorse great people or great companies. So, here goes TechSmith is just great. Check out the TechSmith Fuse app for student media creation on the go.... such a good solution for the 1:1 environment. Also, Snapshot by Edmodo is going to be a game changer for classroom assessment.
My third musing is that networking remains a key to personal and professional growth. Okay, okay, I know what you are thinking ..... Networking has been talked about for gazillions of years. I couldn't agree more. So, here is the question: how many of us our truly skilled at networking? How many of us lead PD on how to network effectively? I rely heavily on Twitter for my PLN, but what happens when you meet those folks face to face......can you communicate with more than 140 characters or a link or a retweet?
So, these are musings from another great time at FETC. Oh and here is a video of my presentation I gave today.... thanks for reading!
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
How Time Flies.....
Since my last visit....
1. I have lost a hard drive and all its data (it is a painful story.... its best not to talk about)
2. I learned a really important lesson
My hope is to share that lesson here. The loss of the hard drive has put me in non stop recreating mode, not to mention continually reoccurring moments that go like this; "I can send that document...... oh wait no I can't"!!!
So, what has losing a hard drive taught me. Back up, Back up, Back up (By the way, I was backing up to time machine and none of the files copied). The real lesson: it has been refreshing to be forced to reflect on the work I do.
We always hear that being reflective is the key to good teaching, but what good is reflecting if we don't actually invigorate ourselves with the freshness of something new, something different, something better.
Assessment, Assessment, Assessment!!!! We all claim that we assess in multiple ways, but is it reflective assessment that allows both student and teacher to understand what they know and what they don't know. Maybe a better question: Are the assessment tools you use allowing your students to know what they don't know????
I am not advocating change for change's sake, rather advocating that internal reflection on your own best practices is a necessity. Not every new trend that comes out is best practice, but neither is every tried and true trick from 2003!! Search for new ways to do old things, but also include old reasons into new means!! After all you did it for a reason.... make the reason shine by incorporating into a new method that reaches more, if not all, your students!!
Having lost 13 GB worth of files and documents was not that fantastic, but I had a lot of it in email and in class posts, so I recovered quite a few items --- which reminded me why it is so great to share information rather than hold onto it for yourself!
I have spent a lot of time re-engineering, if you will allow me the pun (Since I am at a STEM academy), documents, forms, databases and other items pertinent to my job. I have been quite enthralled by reclaiming the inspiration and uniqueness of the original material. I know that the "new" docs will not be identical to the old ones.
Even more critical is that the "new" materials will be peppered with multiple reflective based items that the originals were missing....
Here's to hoping I will be here a little more regularly now :)
1. I have lost a hard drive and all its data (it is a painful story.... its best not to talk about)
2. I learned a really important lesson
My hope is to share that lesson here. The loss of the hard drive has put me in non stop recreating mode, not to mention continually reoccurring moments that go like this; "I can send that document...... oh wait no I can't"!!!
So, what has losing a hard drive taught me. Back up, Back up, Back up (By the way, I was backing up to time machine and none of the files copied). The real lesson: it has been refreshing to be forced to reflect on the work I do.
We always hear that being reflective is the key to good teaching, but what good is reflecting if we don't actually invigorate ourselves with the freshness of something new, something different, something better.
Assessment, Assessment, Assessment!!!! We all claim that we assess in multiple ways, but is it reflective assessment that allows both student and teacher to understand what they know and what they don't know. Maybe a better question: Are the assessment tools you use allowing your students to know what they don't know????
I am not advocating change for change's sake, rather advocating that internal reflection on your own best practices is a necessity. Not every new trend that comes out is best practice, but neither is every tried and true trick from 2003!! Search for new ways to do old things, but also include old reasons into new means!! After all you did it for a reason.... make the reason shine by incorporating into a new method that reaches more, if not all, your students!!
Having lost 13 GB worth of files and documents was not that fantastic, but I had a lot of it in email and in class posts, so I recovered quite a few items --- which reminded me why it is so great to share information rather than hold onto it for yourself!
I have spent a lot of time re-engineering, if you will allow me the pun (Since I am at a STEM academy), documents, forms, databases and other items pertinent to my job. I have been quite enthralled by reclaiming the inspiration and uniqueness of the original material. I know that the "new" docs will not be identical to the old ones.
Even more critical is that the "new" materials will be peppered with multiple reflective based items that the originals were missing....
Here's to hoping I will be here a little more regularly now :)
Friday, March 8, 2013
I am STEM, I am STEM
Let me first say that I am very fortunate in my position to work with STEM Professionals from all over different parts of the country. Most recently LEGO Education and TechSmith. If you are not familiar with the resources of these companies, I encourage you to look into them now! They are amazing products presented by excellent people.
I gave this post the "I am STEM" title, because in all of my travels this year, I continue to hear many folks trumpeting the "I am STEM" mantra. I am not attempting to discredit anyone else's way of doing things or bang my chest in greatness. I am only posing one question:
What does authentic, dynamic STEM learning really consist of?
If the world around us is ever changing and ever growing in its competitive nature for resources, then why do educators and foundations try to claim their existing way of STEM learning is the correct way? Even more concerning why are the efforts to prove that their way is the only way.
We will truly ever achieve the massive expectations of a 21st Century STEM Based workforce, when the people responsible for engineering the approach to its teaching are focusing their efforts on being the "first" to trumpet STEM Education.
Common Core is dominating everything education; summers are booked with professional development; even I am giving a presentation on STEM & Common Core this summer (Leadership U 2013 via Professional Educators of Tennessee).
The key to dynamic, authentic STEM learning will always be transdisciplinary learning that focuses on three key skills: problem solving (of an authentic, real STEM scenario), critical thinking (differentiated for all learners) and presenting of student generated solutions to a variety of audiences in a variety of medias.
Transdisciplinary learning is the blurring of all content/curriculum without targeted efforts to extract or prove the existence of the separate content areas. In other words, students should be engaged in all content areas within the scope of 1 properly created STEM learning scenario.
My main hope for this post is that all educators, regardless of tenure or title, will start wrapping their minds around this concept:
STEM learning that is TRANSDISCIPLINARY IS COMMON CORE!!!!
Until next time.........
I gave this post the "I am STEM" title, because in all of my travels this year, I continue to hear many folks trumpeting the "I am STEM" mantra. I am not attempting to discredit anyone else's way of doing things or bang my chest in greatness. I am only posing one question:
What does authentic, dynamic STEM learning really consist of?
If the world around us is ever changing and ever growing in its competitive nature for resources, then why do educators and foundations try to claim their existing way of STEM learning is the correct way? Even more concerning why are the efforts to prove that their way is the only way.
We will truly ever achieve the massive expectations of a 21st Century STEM Based workforce, when the people responsible for engineering the approach to its teaching are focusing their efforts on being the "first" to trumpet STEM Education.
Common Core is dominating everything education; summers are booked with professional development; even I am giving a presentation on STEM & Common Core this summer (Leadership U 2013 via Professional Educators of Tennessee).
The key to dynamic, authentic STEM learning will always be transdisciplinary learning that focuses on three key skills: problem solving (of an authentic, real STEM scenario), critical thinking (differentiated for all learners) and presenting of student generated solutions to a variety of audiences in a variety of medias.
Transdisciplinary learning is the blurring of all content/curriculum without targeted efforts to extract or prove the existence of the separate content areas. In other words, students should be engaged in all content areas within the scope of 1 properly created STEM learning scenario.
My main hope for this post is that all educators, regardless of tenure or title, will start wrapping their minds around this concept:
STEM learning that is TRANSDISCIPLINARY IS COMMON CORE!!!!
Until next time.........
Wednesday, March 6, 2013
Here Goes!
For some reason or another I have decided to add a blog to my life's daily activities. Not sure of its necessity, but I have been told for the last 15 months to write, write and write some more!
I am a high school teacher and coach. I serve as the Dean of STEM at a stand-alone magnet STEM academy. I teach engineering courses and authored our signature course (STEM 1-4) that is a co-facilitated problem based learning course that focuses on developing 21st Century work skills.
I have presented nearly 20 times this year to various organizations, with a huge focus on STEM As A Way of Thinking. STEM learning in its most dynamic form is all about the mindset and approach to critical thinking, problem solving and presenting the solutions at every turn.
I hope you will follow me and help me learn and grow.
Mark Smith
Dean of STEM
L&N STEM Academy
I am a high school teacher and coach. I serve as the Dean of STEM at a stand-alone magnet STEM academy. I teach engineering courses and authored our signature course (STEM 1-4) that is a co-facilitated problem based learning course that focuses on developing 21st Century work skills.
I have presented nearly 20 times this year to various organizations, with a huge focus on STEM As A Way of Thinking. STEM learning in its most dynamic form is all about the mindset and approach to critical thinking, problem solving and presenting the solutions at every turn.
I hope you will follow me and help me learn and grow.
Mark Smith
Dean of STEM
L&N STEM Academy
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