In the past couple weeks I’ve come across three posts that have resonated with me deeply. I’d like to share them with you. This post is the first of the three. The other two will follow shortly.

Living and Learning with Social Media by danah boyd

This is a transcript of Dr. boyd’s talk at Penn State’s Symposium for Teaching and Learning with Technology. danah boyd studies teens and how they interact with social media. This talk is probably the best pieces I’ve seen (evar) on social media and its implications for the students in our classrooms. Let me hit you with some highlights:

On differences in populations using MySpace & Facebook:

More problematically, I’ve heard many of you talk about using Facebook directly in the classroom. And I’ve heard you talk about recruiting through Facebook. What kinds of assumptions are you making? Are you aware of these issues?

A refrain I’m starting to hear as the norm from those I follow online that I couldn’t agree with more:

Just because youth are using social media doesn’t mean that it can fit well into the classroom. It needs to be thought through pedagogically and y’all need to understand how it’s being used in everyday life before bringing it into the classroom.

Describing why using social network sites in the classroom is probably not a great idea:

On social network sites, you have to publicly list your Friends and you have to have the functioning network to leverage it. What happens if you’re an outcast at school? Does bringing it into the classroom make it worse? [...] Bringing social network sites into the classroom can be very very tricky because you have to contend with social factors that you, as a teacher, may not be aware of.

And lastly, describing why teens have a lot to learn about social media even though they may use it regularly:

For all of the attention paid to “digital natives” it’s important to realize that most teens are engaging with social media without any deep understanding of the underlying dynamics or structure. Just because they understand how to use the technology doesn’t mean that they understand the information ecology that surrounds it. Most teens don’t have the scaffolding for thinking about their information practices.

So much of what boyd says flies right in the face of how many educators view social media. In my experience social media- especially social network sites- are seen as a disease. They think it puts teens into dangerous situations and prevents them from doing “productive” activities. danah points out that much of what teens do online is normal teenage socialization using a new tool. She’s careful to point out that there are differences between socialization on Facebook and socialization in real life.

Dr. boyd also notes that we shouldn’t assume that teens have a deep understanding of how social media even though they may use it all the time. For me, this point emphasizes how important it is to teach students about social media in our schools instead of simply banishing it. Internet filtration is well-intentioned but often their main effect is to lock out some of the most relevant teaching and learning opportunities for our students (as I’ve mentioned before). As educators we need to have an open dialogue with our students about these technologies- something danah boyd points out and I coudn’t agree with more.

If you haven’t read any of danah boyd’s other research and writing, I highly recommend it. Her website contains many of her articles

“There’s too often a very off-putting kindergarten teacher’s voice, and so on all the way through the grades. I catch myself speaking that way on occasion. What would schools be like, I imagine, if we learned to use our conversational adult voice within its four walls. It might immediately remind us that we are keeping company with kids, not lecturing at them. It might also suggest to them that they might speak to us in the same way. After all, our way of talking, arguing, persuading, and thinking aloud are, however unintentional, models for those we share the space with. How might we, in short, create for the young settings in which they learn how to join us in the adult world?”

A student critiqued my discipline style this week: “Is that how you yell? It’s not very scary. I think you should yell louder when you get mad.”

I wasn’t trying to yell, but clearly the student (and I doubt he’s alone) has certain expectations for how he’ll be talked at by teachers. I’m pretty laid back to begin with, but I try hard to not let those moments of frustration lead me into moments I’ll regret. I’m not an authoritarian. I tried it out for awhile when I first started teaching but it didn’t agree with me. I just ended up feeling like a jerk. And my students, though perhaps quieter, were more distant and no more engaged in their learning.

As my authoritarian regime failed, I began focusing on engagement. If students are engaged and interested in what they’re doing, they’re not going to be planning a coup d’etat. Too often teachers are only interested in keeping their students quiet and looking industrious. Learning in real life is usually loud, awkward, messy, and full of failed attempts. I’m still not very good at incorporating authentic real life learning in my classroom, but when I get do it’s full of beauty, relationships, and often complaints from teachers in rooms neighboring yours that your class was making an ungodly amount of noise. They couldn’t be further from the truth.
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Quotes from Bridging Differences: Keeping Company With Kids, Not Lecturing at Them

Today is my first official day to report for my job teaching at a new school in a new state, surrounded by new teachers (and soon enough new students). I feel very similar to how I felt nearly 15 years ago on my first day of high school. Will I fit in to the existing school culture? Will the district and school be supportive of my desire to try out new projects, teaching methods, and technologies with students? Will I find a good group of teachers to collaborate with?

This feels very different than my first day teaching ever. Back then, I was scared. I was scared because I really didn’t know what I was doing. In retrospect, I really didn’t have a clue. Through some very long hours and watching and listening to well-respected teachers from all over (plus several years of practice), I’ve reached a place where I’m confident in my abilities. Not complacent- I feel it’s very important to constantly strive to improve even if you’re already the best (I’m not)- but confident that I’m able to engage students in learning instead of “forcing” them to learn. However, if I was teaching back in Michigan again this year, students coming into my class would already know me somewhat. They would at least know of me, and know what I was basically about. Now I’m in a situation where I have to earn my respect from students, teachers, and administrators alike. Will it initially mean more disruptive students testing the boundaries? Less flexibility from other teachers and administrators?

I’m again anxious and apprehensive heading into a new high school. Though this time, I bring so much more with me than I did 15 years ago- or even 6 years ago. I also bring with me the confidence that my anxiety and apprehension will be my drive to constantly improve the learning experience for my students.

I’m ready. Let’s go!

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Image Source: The Dreaded Yellow Thing by Frazzled Jen via Flickr

If you poll my students on what they feel is the most boring subject matter in geology, you would almost certainly hear: “rocks.” Let’s face it, even for this teacher with a degree in geology, rocks aren’t the most compelling of subjects. Now, let’s imagine you need to cover a whole assortment of technical information¹ about rocks. It’s not exactly a teacher’s dream subject matter.

We (students, teachers, Homo sapiens) don’t pay attention to boring things (Brain Rule #4). As an educator, it’s my job to convey information to individuals that may not initially be interested in the material. Professionally, some of my favorite moments are when I can successfully connect students to material that is often considered above their heads or too “academic.”

RadioLab

Earlier this week I was listening to the RadioLab podcast of Robert Krulwich’s commencement speech at CalTech this spring. In the speech, Mr. Krulwich makes the argument that the new graduates shouldn’t be afraid to explain to non-science people what they do with their lives. Not only that, he makes the case that these young scientists should use metaphors, examples, and basically explain the technical information through telling a story.

Mr. Pebbles

So, how do you connect students to technical rock information? Why, through telling the saga of Mr. Pebbles², of course! Mr. Pebbles is a pebble (surprise!) who goes through a crazy journey of being melted, reformed, and then dragged through the rest of the rock cycle. I made a little (poorly drawn) comic strip³ depicting Mr. Pebbles’ travel (and travail), which just happened to touch upon the required content. I worried it would be to “kiddie” for my high school sophomores, but they enjoyed it. They enjoyed it enough that I had them create their own comics later on in the unit.

Stories add emotion and connect listeners to the subject matter. Connecting content to students is something that educators, regardless of subject, are (hopefully) trying to do.
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¹ i.e. Fractional crystallization, partial melting

² Yes. I drew that.

³ Which I unfortunately don’t currently have in a digital format

“There’s no need to go out in the hall or grab a new book. That’s because everything is related, so class discussion about the recent primary vote in neighboring New Hampshire is just another aspect of the school’s simple mission. Like Thoreau, students are supposed to be exploring their relationship to self, their relationship to culture and their relationship to the natural world.”

This sounds quite similar to all the edu-talk about creating authentic learning environments through the use of global personal learning networks and other technological tools. The Walden Project doesn’t utilize technology (though, as a joke, their tent has a satellite dish), but yet it sounds like authentic learning is taking place. One student is managing a corner of the forest. He’s selectively culling some trees to determine if he can increase the biodiversity of plant life.

Personally, I’m drawn to the Walden Project model- I love the outdoors and would love to get to spend my days teaching in such an environment. I realize this isn’t a feasible solution for the vast majority of schools and students. However, I do find it interesting that while many of us edu-bloggers are talking incessantly how technology can create authentic, interconnected learning, here’s an example of a completely different solution that seems to basically have the same goals in mind. Perhaps technology is just a filler for those of us who don’t have 260 acres of land to teach on…

From NPR :: via Treehugger

Photo credit: Storm Crypt via Flickr