Educon 2.

3
http://educon23.org

Michelle Krill
February 2, 2011

mmkrill@gmail.com Educon 2.3, Page 1

Why Does Innovation Matter?
The theme of the opening panel discussion at Educon 2.3 was innovation. The five
panelists were all new to me, and each one had interesting insights into the meaning of
innovation and how it matters to schools and students.

Stanford Thompson told a story about teaching and learning music that made a lot of
sense to me. He explained how students that take individual music lessons often take
lessons for awhile and
then stop. On the other
hand, he explained how
when students come
together to play and
practice there is a
difference in their efforts.
Being part of a team
makes a difference to
them.

The more I thought about

those observations led me
back to thinking about
schools and learning. I see
a direct relation to all http://www.flickr.com/photos/mammaoca2008/4344228722/sizes/l/

learning. Students that

have the opportunity to learn together – work through problems together – are more
likely to learn deeper. They are engaged in social learning and possibly for them the
learning comes more naturally when working together.

I frequently find myself distracted during presentations, but often it is in a good way.
During the panel discussion, I learned a lot of new words (rennet, factory farming). Also,
I was reminded of some words that are not new. Below are some notes I took during the
Educon 2.3 panel discussion that brought these words to the front of my mind.

mmkrill@gmail.com Educon 2.3, Page 2

Putting them together in the context of today’s learning organizations came later.

• Provide opportunities for student to be innovative.

• Purpose
• Service
• Get out of the way and create space for it to happen.

Opportunity – Purpose – Space – Service

The moderator asked should we innovate? It was no surprise that all the panelists said
yes. After replaying the above in my head, I believe those keywords to be woefully 
important for today’s learning organizations! Provide opportunities for innovation,
identify purpose for learning and create the spaces (physical and virtual) students need
to engage in creative activities that mean something to them and to someone else
(service).

Saturday Sessions
Project Based Learning in a Math
Classroom, SLA Teacher Caitlin
Thompson and SLA students
When planning a project it is important to ask
yourself, “What is the purpose?” Students may
present/design differently, based on their level
of skill with the content. There is still skill
practice time and chalk and talk in class, but
ideally apply this information as much as
possible to real world situations. This IS the
real world - not how will you use it in the real
world?

Projects assigned in 9th and 10th grade are more guided than those assigned to 11th/
12th grade. Older students plan and progress through projects more independently and
check in with the teacher during the timeframe. Project are graded using a common
rubric as shown below.

mmkrill@gmail.com Educon 2.3, Page 3

An audience member initiated a discussion about teacher pushback with regard to
project based learning, specifically the issues of timing, time management and college
preparatory work. The teacher responded by explaining that every day has a 20 minute
brush up time for concepts/skills and that there are quizzes and tests to prepare for
mindset of college where a single test may be ⅓ of a final grade. She also mentioned that
extra quiz time, test prep time, and review time can be a waste of time that does not lead
to deeper understandings.

SLA leader, Chris Lehmann spoke to the core values and common rubric by stating that
common language across adults helps students “understand the adults” quicker. By
reducing the amount of time students spend figuring things out, they actually increase
the amount of time spent on quality teaching and learning. School-wide solutions are
important and save time.

Two students shared their project work and their personal reflections to project based
learning. One student stated that she finds it difficult to remember an equation , but she
more easily remembers a project in which she used an equation.

In talking with Megan Pilarcik, I learned that the Standards class at the high school is
operating in a similar fashion. I shared the project download link with her - http://
tinyurl.com/45tso7f.

mmkrill@gmail.com Educon 2.3, Page 4

 Educational Research, Jon Becker
http://www.flickr.com/photos/loty/326761635/sizes/m/
The purpose of this session was to have
participants understand the importance
of evaluating information presented as
educational research. Some questions to
ask when evaluating ‘research’ are:
Indicators of good research?

• Is it replicable?
• Where is it published? (authority)
• Is it peer reviewed? (process)
• Who is the researcher?
•Is it funded? By whom?

Folks like Daniel Pink and Alfie Kohn synthesize (filter) research to create an argument.
Good or bad? A good synthesis should, at the very least,  include a comprehensive
description of how they included research reports or not.  No statistical analysis
involved.

Meta analysis takes actual results and draws a broad conclusion based on those results.
Marzano has made a career on writing books based on meta-analysis. Should also
explain why studies were selected/not selected.

Six (6) guiding principles of scientifically based research: Defining a culture of inquiry

1. Pose significant questions that can be investigated empirically

2. Link research to relevant theory
3. Use methods that permit direct investigation of the questions
4. Provide a coherent and explicit chain of reasoning
5. Yield findings that replicate and generalize across studies, and
6. Disclose research data and methods to enable and encourage professional scrutiny
and critique.

What counts as evidence? What Works Clearinghouse - Like the FDA for education. In
theory, this would be good, but in practice it did not work out so well. For example,
Scholastic submitted the information for Read 180.  The information here is focused on
student achievement. AKA, test scores. Evidence of student engagement/belongingess
won’t be found here.

mmkrill@gmail.com Educon 2.3, Page 5

Suggested Reading: Action Research, Katherine Herr and Gary Anderson - How to Study
Your Own School .

I attended this session because I have read many posts on Twitter from Jon Becker about
the strength (or lack of strength) of educational research. His peer review of Marzano’s
interactive whiteboard report (possibly funded by Promethean) received much attention
on his blog, Educational Insanity.

The Great Prohibition: Using Cell Phones Outside the Ban, Lisa Nielson &
George Engel
The purpose of this session was to provide uses for cell
phones in the classroom, as well as arm participants
with information about ending the ban on cell phones in
the classroom. Ideas included:

(1) Student response with Poll Everywhere for

collaborative discussion and reflection
• http://www.polleverywhere.com
(2) Student response with Wiffiti for collaborative
discussion and reflection
• http://wiffiti.com
http://www.flickr.com/photos/mikekline/384589883/sizes/o/
(3) Use photo sharing sites to develop and present
work
• http://www.flickr.com
(4) Strengthening the home-school connection with Twitter*
• http://twitter.com/devices
(5) Create and publish audiocasts or Phone Casts
• http://www.voki.com
• http://www.ipadio.com

The fear of allowing student owned devices to be used as instructional tools can be
overridden by providing teachers with concrete, practical and effective instructional
methods for integration. The presenter shares 10 Proven Strategies to Break the Ban
and Build Opportunities for Student Learning with Cell Phones on her blog. These
strategies include building relationships, research, piloting and policies.

mmkrill@gmail.com Educon 2.3, Page 6

Another great resource for cell phones in the classroom is Liz Kolb’s site, Cell Phones in
Learning. She also has a book on Amazon, Toys to Tools.

Educon Twitter Wordle

mmkrill@gmail.com Educon 2.3, Page 7

 Sunday Sessions

http://www.flickr.com/photos/wlscience/5410452197/

Can Schools Support Student Innovation?

Sam Chaltain - author of American Schools: The Art of Creating a Democratic
Learning Community
Kathleen Cushman - author of Fires in the Mind
Karl Fisch - Algebra Teacher / Director of Technology - Arapahoe High School,
Centennial, Colorado (and blogger, innovator, provocative video maker)
Linda Nathan - founding headmaster of the Boston Arts Academy and author of The
Hardest Questions Aren't On the Test: Lessons from an Innovative Urban School
Chad Womack - Founder and Executive Director of TBED21 - Technology Based
Economic Development for the 21st Century

mmkrill@gmail.com Educon 2.3, Page 8

Panel Responses
•Chaltain Create opportunities for powerful, deep learning.  Core attributes
noted were that the most powerful learning environments were: challenging,
engaging, relevant to learner, supportive, & experiential.
•Fisch Listen to kids, say yes as much as possible,
connect students to others, move out of their way
so they can pursue “stuff”.
•Nathan having the skills to pursue their passions
- building, playing, creating. As administrator,
give staff the time to be innovative, time to plan
together, explore their passions - take back the
language - language of creativity & play. In her
school, they examined standards (science/math)
to see where they can explore, be creative - nexus of sciences and arts, Need to
know the scientists, mathematicians, artists prior to their innovation. "Being
able to connect what you're doing with something that someone who went
before you did is critical."“I want students to know whose shoulders they stand
on.”
•Womack Empower kids to choose for themselves - their future. Challenge the
young folks, do not dumb down. If you expect students to succeed, they will live
up to your expectations. Help kids understand that they are part  of the
construction of knowledge.
•Cushman Teachers are the students’ coach, they can be cool and warm at the
same time. It’s not about the technology, it’s about the relationship with the
person that  shows how to use it. Motivation doesn't come first.  Finding value
comes first and relationships. It comes down to the people with which students
interact.

School should be where students start their life's work instead of being a transactional experience.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/dougbelshaw/4274570044/sizes/m/

mmkrill@gmail.com Educon 2.3, Page 9

Why Johnny Can't Read... A Conversation About What it Means to be
Literate...Today, David Jakes & Laura Deisley

See the slides here.

• What does it mean to be literate?
• When will be teach kids how to engage with
hypertext?
• What should we be teaching kids today when it
comes to reading/literacy?

The traditional view of literacy is not broad

enough to encompass the variety of ways
students interact with each other, adults and the
wider world. Literacy can mean the ability to
read, write, comprehend, produce, communicate.
Literacy is an entry ticket to participate in a http://www.flickr.com/photos/midgetbusdriver/3662945409/sizes/o/
larger conversation. Literacy is power.

There is a distinction to be made between fluency and literacy. Literacy is dependent on

the task in which one is engaged.

Literacy is and should be connected to every discipline. A learning organization should

work to develop a fundamental definition of literacy. Consider traditional and new
definitions and develop a meaning that makes sense as curriculums and activities are
developed to ‘teach’ these literacies.

The amount of information, access to information and the velocity of incoming

information require that students be guided in how to ‘handle’ it. Anymore, we have to
think about how we are reading - metacognition.

In my opinion, literacy = learning - access to information has changed my literacy in face

to face learning as I can now deepen understandings about presented content as the
information is being given. Are we too focused on teaching reading that we may be
overlooking the teaching of learning?

Should we be focusing on Transliteracy - the ability to read, write and interact across a
range of platforms and tools from orality through print, TV, radio and film, to networked
digital media. (Transliteracy.com) What does it mean to be functionally literate?

What is essential for schools? What do schools need to focus on?

7. Viable curriculum
8. Research based instructional  methodologies
9. Authentic literacy

•Schmoker - Focus: Elevating the Essentials to Radically Improve Student Learning •

mmkrill@gmail.com Educon 2.3, Page 10

 Ctrl+Alt+PD: Shifting School Culture with Technology and Collaborative
Professional Development (Site)

Teacher leaders, the district technology administrator, and a

19 year old technology support person (graduate) from
Hunterdon Central Regional High School shared their teacher-
led initiative that shaped the way professional development
and technology has shifted the high school culture.

The goal of the culture shift is a commitment to collaboration

among and life-long learning for all stakeholders in the school
community. Technology has played a role in by leveraging the
collaborative possibilities of today’s technology tools to
examine professional development practices and develop
plans for implementation in our schools. Twitter, Diigo, and
Google Docs are some of the tools used in the 1:1 teacher training.

To begin, the monthly faculty meeting was redesigned to weekly meetings on Mondays
from 2:15-3:00pm.
• Week 1: Department PLC’s
• Week 2: Pathway Inquiry Meetings
• Habits of Mind
• Standards Based Curriculum Assessment (UbD)
• PBL
• 21st Century Skills/Survival Guide
• Week 3: Short Skills Sessions
• Week 4: Department PLC’s

Initial ‘training’ was done in the summer for 1:1 folks. The first year group consisted of
18 people and the second year group included 40 additional staff members.

The sessions began with a Inquiry • An inquiry Differentiation

focus on collaboration
where staff used a Google
Doc to collaborate on ideas,
tools, questions, struggles -
What do you want to do?
What do we need to do?
The collaboration strand
also included Diigo Groups,
developing and
participating in a personal
learning network and using
Twitter chats (i.e. #edchat)
to learn.
driven option for Understanding the
professional development is needs of the staff,
offered. The librarian offers allows the
‘instruction’ in the process professional
and guides the participants development to be
to ask questions, document scaffolded for the
struggles and share individual
reflections about the learners, in much
question(s) they are the same way that
investigating. They meet teachers scaffold
one time a month for 45 for students.
minutes each time over the
course of the year.

mmkrill@gmail.com Educon 2.3, Page 11

 Final Thoughts
The Guiding Principles of EduCon are as follows:
1. Our schools must be inquiry-driven, thoughtful and empowering for all
members.
2. Our schools must be about co-creating — together with our students — the
21st Century Citizen.
3. Technology must serve pedagogy, not the other way around.
4. Technology must enable students to research, create, communicate and
collaborate.
5. Learning can — and must — be networked.

These axioms are meaningful as presenters develop their sessions, as well as for
participants to frame their participation. All learning organizations would do
well to revisit their mission, vision, and practices to ensure that they align with
the needs of today’s student - our future.

Image from the Great Quotes About Learning and Change Flickr Group

• Additional Educon 2.3 Reflections compiled here. •

mmkrill@gmail.com Educon 2.3, Page 12