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Lessons in Education, Featuring Gary Larson: Part III

By EdTechManiac, Darin Anderson

Many of Gary Larson's comic strips from The Far Side tell so much of a story without so much as a word of dialogue. With his brilliance - no matter how off-the-wall it might be - Larson can indeed draw a picture that is worth well more than a thousand words.

In Part III of the EdTechManiacs comical Gary Larson series (see Parts I and II here), we will discuss how the "delicious" dish of liver and onions relates to the kinds of products we deliver to our students in the classroom and to teachers in schools across the country.

Compare this comic to a classroom
setting from your past. What did you learn?

This Larson offering is both playing off of the innocence of youth and preying upon the insecurities of all of us. Remember, ages ago, when you would clamber outside at the very sound of the ice cream truck rolling down your street? Do you also recall the opposite emotions upon finding out that your mom was making your least favorite meal that night? (Mine was goopy and neon green split pea soup.) This cartoon sums up both the elation of summertime treats and the gloom of unappetizing fare.

Honestly, most of us are fairly competent at sniffing out each kind of opportunity. As the old adage goes, if it looks like liver and smells like liver, it's probably liver, no matter what lengths a person goes to in order to make it seem otherwise. Our students, on one hand, are especially keen at this - and the younger they are the better they are at it.

Kindergartners enter their first year of "official school" having gone through six years of questioning and inquiry and curiosity. Many times, they also lack a filter that typically comes with maturity and age. (This is why a 5-year-old can get away with calling a man fat, while a teenager would get scolded for not knowing better.) All of this results in groups of children who know what they want ...and also what they do not want.

Our students come into our schools with preconceived ideas about what they want to learn and what they will attempt to avoid at any cost. Granted, so much of their desires center around content that schools cannot offer directly, but the students still show up with that yearning to learn more about them.

Even as traditional school may be a chief contributor to killing that creativity and inquiry, this Larson comic speaks volumes about changing school culture at fundamental and actionary levels.

How can we better gear our kids towards reaching standards outside of their control while also allowing them to achieve their own learning goals? This becomes the $68.6 billion question that educators must try to answer.

Let's begin jumping into the answers to this deep and broad subject by posing a few more questions.

• How many educational opportunities are packaged as something inviting and cutting-edge, but really offer only outdated or irrelevant information and content?
• Or worse, why is something viable and meaningful too often delivered via a vehicle designed for carrying disgusting meats?
• How can we do it all without adding anything more to our already heavy plates?

To me, any response to this question begins with some analysis of your constituency - students, parents and/or staff. You may think you know what your kids need, for example, because of mandated testing, curriculum maps and such. But DO you really have a finger on the pulse of your kids? Or your staff?

Like the kids in the comic, you might be approaching them with some scrumptious liver...when they are actually looking for a dreamsicle. I mean, who would do that, right?

To a certain extent, our hands are tied when it comes to the WHAT in education. However, we have a multitude of options when it comes to the HOW. With that in mind, we can better serve others if we know more about what they like (ice cream) and what they do not (liver).

To begin, here are a few "Livers" (things that were once cool, but are now like the 8-Track) that might be better left behind:

• Introducing and delivering content via PowerPoint - They are essentially the same as paper, but you can't doodle on them during classes or PD days.
• Sit-and-Get lectures and PD offerings - Today's generation is mobile and agile; sitting is the new smoking
• Pencil and Paper worksheets, graphic organizers, and, well, anything - While I understand that pencils will never become obsolete, ummm, neither will technology.
• One-at-a-time student presentations - Not only do these take up valuable instruction time, they also take up way too much time. Did I mention that they are time-consuming as well as lengthy? Oh, and it's boring, too. 
• Teacher-Assigned Products or Projects - Honestly, the world does not need any more landfills full of dioramas and tri-fold posters.
• The Archaic "No Cell Phones" Poster - Nowadays, it's the same as telling folks to leave their textbooks and such at home. The mobile device is a powerful tool that can be used for good AND evil. The choice is up to you.
• Speaking of Textbooks... - With constantly changes research landscapes, textbooks are almost outdated the moment they are published. Up-to-the-minute information is available at the touch of a screen. Why fight a losing battle when learners will head to Google anyway?

Rather than rolling down the street in our Liver-Mobile - even with the catchy trolley-style music - we could approach our Cell Mitosis unit or Standards-Based Grading PD (or whatever) from a different perspective.

Try these on for size:

• YouTube - Your kids use it...so should you. Perfect for flipping or blending instruction and for anytime learning.
• Social Media - Of course, this is a biggie for most of us. So brainstorm ways to get your kids and/or peers discussing and collaborating on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
• 3D Printing - What if your 2D doodles could come to life as tangible 3D objects? This is a current craze that will only gain more ground as the products advance. What was once untouchable technology if now fairly standards in most schools.
• 4D Augmented Reality - Programs like Aurasma, Augment, and DAQRI have taken interacting with content to a whole new level. Once limited to just consumption, AR programs are now beginning to allow kids to create and publish their own 4D designs.
• Green Screen Technology - What used to be sophisticated and expensive is now available on laptops and tablets alike. Going green allows for creativity and expression while also producing quality content that is digitally shareable. Did I mention that it also saves valuable instruction time?
• Making the World a Classoom - Whether it is connecting with someone from abroad on Twitter or sharing resources with a classmate from across town on Google Drive, people are no longer limited to what they can see from their own location.
• Gamification - On the heels of the recent Microsoft purchase of Minecraft, the EdTech world is all the more abuzz about combining what many kids already know - gaming - with what they "need" to know (in an academic sense). With some creative thinking Clash of Clans can indeed become a viable curriculum.

As we look to advance our field and hone our craft, we will be in a constant state of research and reflection. Change is certain. No longer should we disguise liver and onions as quality education. One taste and they'll figure it out. 

As #educators do we provide #relevantinstruction for our schools or R we delivering #liverandonions? #EdReform pic.twitter.com/CSsavE6bHa

— Darin Anderson (@coachdarin22) August 3, 2015

My Virtual Summer Vacation: Bringing the World to the Classroom

By EdTechManiac, Darin Anderson

Some kids are raised in huge metropolitan cities full of sights to see and countless "things" to do. Others are brought up in Everytown, USA in places that represent what the American way of life is all about - not too big, not too small.

I had the wonderful fortune of growing up in the mountains of Idaho near a small town named Mackay, a classic example of the smallest of the small. A few days ago, I was able to visit my hometown for a family reunion. The results, in part, are seen below...

My front yard is prettier than yours 😉 #MackayIdaho pic.twitter.com/05CRWDx8pi

— Darin Anderson (@coachdarin22) July 29, 2015

Now that I live on the high plains of Wyoming (still considered small, but Rock Springs is actually 48 times bigger than Mackay) I tell people about what it was like growing up on a farm in the middle of nowhere. Certainly many folks in Wyoming can relate to the remoteness of towns like Mackay, but the truth is, most people cannot fathom what it is like to live in such a place.

Much like me visiting the concrete-laden locales of Philadelphia or New York City, until a person sets feet on the ground of any particular location, he or she cannot really "know" what it is like.

Enter, education.

Teaching students - no matter what age they are - is largely about exposing them to material and content and then letting them create their own experiences.

It has long been the desire of educators to take their students on field trips and give them authentic contact with landmarks and locations rich with learning opportunities.

While we cannot climb aboard with Ms. Frizzle and transport our kids directly to places of interest, we can, with technology we have available to us, do the next best thing.

Here are a few ideas to help all teachers bring the world to their kids:

1. If your school is fortunate enough to have a pair or two of Google Goggles, making any location come alive is as easy as looking around. Available for both ios and Android devices, the Goggles app allows kids entrance to anywhere from Yellowstone National Park to the inside of an operating room. The possibilities are endless.

2. Another app for virtual reality is Google Camera, which lets users create their own photo spheres and panoramic landscapes. Capturing 360 degree views is a snap with this free app. Photos automatically upload to one's Google Drive account and are thus sharable with the world.

3. Newer smartphones have similar capabilities as Google Camera. As always, new mobile products offer a wide variety of photo options that are easy to share with others via multimedia messages or social media outlets.

Using either camera option, teachers can take their own shots to share with their students or request family and friends of other locations to do the same. Going on a late summer trip? Take sphere photos of the beach, the mountains, or the world's largest ball of twine.



4. Speaking of Google Maps, it is not only a great place to find still and panoramic pictures of popular attractions, but users can also upload their own photos of places maybe not so well known. It is a fairly easy way to see the world from the relative comfort of a school desk.

5. Along with 360 degree photography, self-made videos are also an effective way to show off your own neighborhood, as well as sights along the road to, say, Macon, GA. Shooting videos and posting them to YouTube is almost an instinct among today's youth. Taking advantage of that "ingrained" habit would serve a teacher well when trying to engage her students in unfamiliar locations and cultures.

6. It is no secret that social media is a viable learning tool. Using the same philosophy that we did decades ago - pen pals - sharing all of the above with students in various locations with Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, etc makes for an authentic and engaging experience.  Under a hashtag like #FrontYardSphere, kids can reach out to peers from across the globe to simply step outside and sphere their neighborhood. What a great way to make connections and learn about other places and cultures.

Here is my #FrontYardSphere #EdTech #VirtualLearning #MackayIdaho pic.twitter.com/KCEtnPKKpZ

— Darin Anderson (@coachdarin22) July 29, 2015

Students of this generation have a desire to be recognized that was unfathomable a decade or so ago. Andy Warhol talks about 15 minutes of fame, but with all of the technology they have at their disposal today, kids not only can achieve a certain notoriety with their posts and musings - they almost expect it.

Connecting our kids with folks around the world via engaging, interesting, and quality tasks makes an already small world become even smaller.

If you cannot take your kids to the world...bring it to them.

Join in the fun and post your own #FrontYardSphere on Twitter. Can we go worldwide??

Anti-Social Media: Are You an Offender?

Here's what got me thinking about this:

Recently, Mike & Mike, a highly popular sports radio show on ESPN, announced on Twitter that it is now a full-fledged member of Snapchat.

Guess what? We're now on Snapchat! Add us to see everything you missed from Mike and Mike's night with the @Indians! pic.twitter.com/w86QmHBJhH

— Mike & Mike (@MikeAndMike) July 10, 2015

While this may not seem like a big deal to most folks, the producers of Mike & Mike felt the need to add the show into the increasingly popular social media format. Already boasting a Facebook page and Twitter accounts, it seemed that Mike and Mike either jump into the foray of Snapchat or leave behind an opportunity to connect with an even greater audience.

It is marketing at its best...and it is free.

Take note of just a few popular companies that have taken to social media to shop their wares and services. Here is a short list:

Ummmmm...ALL OF THEM! (Long report, but an interesting skim.)

There is not really a single entity - from Fortune 500 Companies down to the mom-and-pop stores found on Main Street, USA - that does not utilize social media in some way or another.

And yet when students enter classrooms across the country they are directed to turn their phones off. Or they find that social media sights are blocked by the school security firewalls. Or they are told that Tweeting is a waste of time. Or that SM use will put them in danger of being subjected to awful material.

I get the sentiment. Many teachers feel that if students are browsing SM pages or staying busy "liking" stuff, then they are not paying close attention to highly academic lectures on "Past Participles" or the "Endocrine System."

Therein lies one of the most fundamental problems with education. While lecturing is a necessary part of one's academic experience, too many teachers head straight to the podium and neglect the power and benefit of tapping into what is a major chunk of our students' world - social media.

Just like Internet searches, social media can indeed subject our kids to the ills of pornography, indecent language, and objectionable advertisements, but for those of us worried about little Johnny and Suzie seeing something they shouldn't, I argue that that is not enough reason to ditch the SM avenue all together. After all, how many of us still have TVs and computers in our own homes - despite the threat of offensive content entering therein?

iStock Photo

So much of what we teach to our students is available Online in the form of content/concept-related resources, discussions, and other means. As we continue the work to shift education from "Sage-on-the-Stage" to an environment of student examination and discovery, allowing our kids to engage more with Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, etc. (while we model the appropriate use of them), social media acts as both the instructor and the "textbook" or our students.

All the while, under direction from knowledgeable teachers and other experts, students are simultaneously learning content and skills while also learning and practicing appropriate digital citizenship, i.e. how to use social media for good and not for nefarious purposes.

It seems that if the companies and businesses that will ultimately employ our students are embracing social media, then so should we as educators of the future workforce. How ironic it is that most school districts have Facebook, Instagram, and/or Twitter accounts to market their own schools, but the kids they serve are not allowed to utilize the sites while in the building!

This must change. And this is our charge:

• Engage our kids in rich discussion with their peers - and "friends" from far away places - via hashtags. #Amazing!
• Teach them how to connect with others from around the world. Who can be the first to get a "follower" from another country?
• Model how to reach out to experts far and wide for advice and resources. Hey, if folks are on Twitter, they want to be reached out to!
• Explain both the advantages and the snares of using social media, especially with younger students. #nevergivepersonalinformation
• Show them (or have them show you) how to publish content on SM and how to market themselves to mass audiences. How is THAT for an authentic academic experience??
• Model digital responsibility and monitor students' academic activity to ensure their safety. Garbage is everywhere, but we can avoid it with simple strategies.
• Embrace the fact that teachers are no longer the sole source of information. Rather guide your students to consume and create properly and effectively.

An ISTE 2015 Ignite Session presenter had this to say about the way we educate students:

Old Projector without a Twitter Page

"What are the contents of their backpacks today compared to years past?"

To be sure, handing our kids a textbook that is at once outdated and irrelevant, is akin to us receiving a projector reel to show film strips to our classes. Who among us would stoop to such levels? (But hey! it worked for our moms and dads, right?)

While taking the leap towards allowing - encouraging - social media use in your classroom might be a major professional risk, the benefits of structured SM activity in your classroom far outweigh the potential damage.

Plus your kids will love it.

#SWAG

— Darin Anderson (@coachdarin22) July 10, 2015

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