My Heart is Happy

This is the third post in a series where I am documenting my experiences as a Top 10 Finalist for the Global Teacher Prize.  To read the other posts, click here. 

The last 48 hours have been a whirlwind of teaching and interviews, but there is one story that I want to share. So far, it's been the most incredible moment since the announcement that I was a Top 10 finalist for the Global Teacher Prize.  One of my Wallenpaupack colleagues who teaches in a different elementary school shared this anecdote about her students' reaction to my selection.

She told me that her students were excited when they heard that I was chosen as a finalist.  Before showing them my finalist video, she asked them how many of them felt like they were capable of changing the world for the better.  None of them raised their hand, and they looked at her like she was crazy.

Then, she played my video for them.

Afterward, she asked them again, "How many of you think now that you can change the world?"

Every one of them raised their hand, and they started sharing ways that they could make a difference in the lives of others.

It just doesn't get any better than that. My heart is happy.

An Interview with Kenyan Wildlife Service Educator Carol Mwebia

While at Lake Nakuru National Park I had the opportunity to ask Carol Mwebia, education director for the park, a few questions. My hope is that this interview can be used to spark learning for students at home and around the world.

Adventures in Kenya Series - A Few Videos from Kibera Schools

I have recorded a lot of videos so far using the GoPro camera, my DSLR, my point and shoot camera, and my iPhone. Since it's easy to upload from my iPhone to YouTube, here are a few videos from the trip so far. There are a lot more to come.  These are just the ones that I could upload easily.










I will post more videos as I can.

Adventures in Kenya Series - Day 5 - Project LINC

It's had to believe that I've only been here a few days. I've been so busy that it seems like months. Today was another day packed with awesome.

I started the day by walking to Havilla Childrens Center again with Livingstone. I used the GoPro camera and head mount that I have to record the walk to the school. I'll be posting that to YouTube along with many other videos when I get back home.  I had to bring extra camera equipments today because my mission today was to document everything I could as the water filters for which our Wallenpaupack students, the children in the Andover Middle School, and students in Trikala, Greece had spent the past few months raising money were installed and distributed. For more information, check out the Project LINC website.

Around 8:30, I started recording interviews of students and teachers about the water situation in Kibera, and how the filters will help them. Teacher Tyson told me about the Cholora outbreak in Kibera which has killed 7 people. One student shared a story of a friend who drank dirty water and ended up in the hospital.

At 9AM, Nancy and the Vestergaard team arrived.  All the students were gathered in the "courtyard" to learn how to use the Community Filters that were being installed at the school. There were 115 students crammed into a space about 8x20 feet. I set up the GoPro on a tripod in the back and recorded parts of the demonstration using the GoPro App on my iPhone. Hiding in a doorway to a classroom, I took the best photos I could without stepping on the "baby class" that was sitting in front of me. The kids also learned about the importance of using clean water to wash their hands, and how to use the LifeStraw Family Filters that 64 of them will be taking home. 

After the presentation, I took some pictures, recorded an interview between Nancy and Head Teacher Domitilla, and packed up all my equipment. The Vestergaard team was now headed to Cheery Children Education Center, and I asked them to give me a ride. 

When we got out of the car much deeper into Kibera near Cheery, I again attached my GoPro to record the walk.  I was determined today to document as much as possible, both for the project and because it's likely the last time I'll spend much time in Kibera this trip.  

It warmed my heart to be greeted with smiles, joy, and shouts of "Teacher Mike!" when I arrived. I took some pictures and video of stuedents learning in their classrooms and the schools as the Vestergaard team set up for the next demonstration.  The demonstration was basically the same here, but since we were deeper in the slum, you could sense a difference. The students at both schools need the filters, but the kids at Cheery NEED the filters. When you see the videos of the two areas, you will understand better. I took video with multiple cameras, took a ton of pictures, and tried to document as much of the process as possible. I've shot lots of good pictures in my life, but video is somewhat new to me, so I'm hoping I did a good job.  

After the demonstration, we again recorded a few interviews with students and teachers.  One students shared a story of a cousin who was hospitalized from drinking contaminated water, and the costs of the resulting hospital visit caused great hardship for the family.  She was very greatful to have a filter to bring home to her family.  

Around 1:30, when Nancy left with her team, I started making sure that everything was set for the 7 school, 3 continent Skype that was scheduled for 3:15, in which all the students who raised money for filters were going to meet all the students who received filters. It was hard to make any progress, though, because the students kept begging me to do other things. During the students' lunch time, I showed a few kids some math games they could play with the bag of random kinds of dice that I brought to the school. They LOVED playing with the dice, and for many of them it was the first time they had ever seen them. I had to show many of them how to roll the dice when their turn came.  We practiced multiplication and math facts through dice games.  

I told them to take the dice back to their classrooms, and to play on their own now that they knew how.  They were excited to hear that I was leaving the dice for them and not taking them with me when I left. Then, one of the 4th grade students brought me a lunch of ugali, eggs, and kale, which was very tasty.  I really do like Kenyan food. 

Where lunch is prepared at Cheery

When I finished my lunch and tried to get back to work, a few second graders came in to the office and begged me to come teach them math.  So, I went next door to their classroom and taught a math lesson for them. 

Finally, close to 3PM I had to get away to set things up for the call. Since Friday is classroom cleaning day, many of the student desks were brought to Cheery's "courtyard" and Jairus, the director's, laptop was put on a stand for the students to see. Even though I had brought them a projector for Skype calls yesterday, they need to get an adapter to be able to use it. 

At 3:15 the call started, and once we got the microphone muting squared away, each school took turns having a representative share their part of the Project LINC story.  It was great for all the students involved to see how connected they were. I ended the call by sharing how much I've come to love and appreciate the students at Cheery and Havilla that I've worked with over the past 3 days, how sad I am to be leaving them, and how the kids in Kansas, Pennsylvania, and Greece could not be helping a more incredible group of students. 

After school, Jairus again walked me back toward Barnabas's house.  We took a different route this time - staying along main roads in Kibera instead of walking by the train tracks.  I wore the GoPro again to get video footage. During the first part of the walk it was very dusty, and we coughed as dust kicked up from a passing truck.  About halfway back, it started to rain.  By the end of the walk, I was slipping on mud. 

Along the walk, Jairus took me to his youngest son's school. Since I had met his son once before on a Skpye call, his boy had asked if Jairus could bring me by the school to meet him.  When I got to the school and met him, he was very shy and didn't know what to say to me. As we left, I chucked with Jairus about how I could see my son Michael, who is almost the same age, doing something similar.

I said goodbye to Jairus near the busy road that Barnabas lives on, and thanked him for letting me work with his students over the past few days and for helping me understand life here in Kibera a little better. After meeting on Skype many times, it was great to meet he and his wife Emmily in person and to work with them for a few days.

The rest of the walk was uneventful and wet as I walked past the shops and vendors selling everything you could imagine.  I saw a shop that sold some nice looking African earings and would have liked to stop, but it was raining pretty hard and I had a backpack full of electronics, so I didn't.

When I got into the house, Livingstone was there waiting to talk to me about plans for the rest of the trip.  He had stayed at Havilla this morning to facilitate the Skype call there.  As we were sitting at the table, a class from Florida Skyped him and asked to learn how to count in Swahili.  I joined him on the call, which was fun. 

Tomorrow I have a morning flight to the Masai Mara reserve, where I will be relaxing on safari for a few days.  I'll be staying at the Mara Intrepids Tented Camp, going on several game drives, and taking lots of pictures. I fly back to Nairobi on Sunday night before heading out to rural western Kenya very early on Monday. I may combine the next two days into one blog post.

Adventures in Kenya Series - Day 1 - Amsterdam Layover

I'm writing this post from 30,000 feet somewhere between Amsterdam and Nairobi.
I want to get my memories from today down before trying to get some sleep on this overnight flight.

Lori and the kids dropped me off at the airport in Newark yesterday afternoon.  It was hard to say goodbye to them.  I'm going to miss them.

The flight from Newark to Amsterdam was uneventful. I sat next to a nice Nigerian woman.  She was surprised that I knew a bit about Nigeria, and that I have collaborated with several Nigerian teachers before.  I tried to sleep as much as possible on the flight, and got about 5 hours of very broken shut-eye, never more than 20 minutes at a time. The best pqrt of the flight was undoubtedly finding these homemade cookies that my daughter snuck into my bag. The note reads:

"Dear Dad,
I love you and I hope you have a great time in Kenya. I know this sounds weird, but I'm super proud of you.
Love, your favorite person,
Abby"

As we approached Schipol Airport, we flew over the tulip fields of Kukenhof.  That was quite a sight. My airplane window photo doesn't do it justice.

Tulip fields from the air

After getting off the plane, I made it through customs, put my carry-on luggage in a locker, and was on a train to Central Station in less than 45 minutes.  When I got into Amsterdam around 8:30, the city was still asleep.  Not much was open so I wandered around getting a feel for the layout and took a few pictures. Dam square was almost devoid of people, and took a panarama.

Outside the airport

Dam Square

At 10AM I made my way to Yellow Bike Rental for a 2 hour small city bike tour that I had reserved. I enjoyed this a lot.  Bike tours are a great way to get an overview of a city in a short amount of time. Our guide Petra was a university student. She brought us to many of the most notable landmarks in the city, and in true university student fashion, told us all the cheapest places to buy beverages. I was the only American on the tour - others were from Australia, Albania, and I enjoyed some nice conversation with a woman from Hanoi, Vietnam.

Petra, our guide

After the tour I stopped into a small cafe near a canal and had a small panini - mostly because I wanted to use their free wifi to send Skype messages to Lori and the kids wishing them a good morning. The mozerella, pesto, and fresh tomato sandwich was pretty good, though.

One of many beautiful canals

Around 1:45 I met up with my friend Marjolein Hoeksta who I met through the Microsoft Innovative Educator Expert program. We started the afternoon with a "100 highlights" canal cruise, which was relaxing and enjoyable. It was hard to stay quiet and listen to the narration because she and I had so much to catch up on.

After the cruise we walked for a bit until we found a little fritte shop by a quiet canal.  We each had a cone of frittes (mine were with mayo), and chatted while our feet dangled over the canal wall.  It was an awesome "Amsterdam-ish" experience.

A selfie with Marjolein on a bridge over a canal

When the frittes were gone we set up my GoPro camera on a tripod and recorded a 10 minute video in which I asked her questions about Remembrance Day, Liberation Day, and the Netherlands, and she shared insights about her country.  Previously students in Tammy Lavoy and Tanya Cunningham's classes back home had come up with questions that they wanted to know, and we used those as a guide for the interview.  In addition, Marjolein has set up an amazing OneNote notebook with lots of information for them on their questions.  We're hoping that the notebook and video spark some further research by the kids.  The video will be posted on YouTube as soon as I upload it.  We were hoping to do this as a live Skype call, but we didn't find an appropriate place with good wifi.

We ended the afternoon by walking around the flower market a bit, and chatting over a cup of coffee at a cafe.  She walked me back to Central Station where I cought a train back to the airport.

At 8PM an announcement came on over the airport speakers announcing that there would be a moment of silence in remembrance of soldiers that had died in and since World War II.  When the bugle played and the moment began, you could hear a pin drop in the airport. The reverance was tangible.  Marjolein had told me that even traffic on the streets and trains stop during this moment each year.

Soon afterwards I boarded the flight I'm on now to Nairobi. I thought I might get lucky and have two empty seats next to me for a minute, but the last two people who got on the plane sat next to me. Oh, well. They seem nice.  Not sure where they are from, but Spanish is their native language.

As I'm typing this I just got a Skype message from my wife (I paid for wifi during the flight so I could blog) telling me that Abby has a 102 fever and a bear got into our garbage. I'm feeling pretty bad about leaving her to hold down the fort for 2 weeks. Many of the things that I do wouldn't be possible if it weren't for her being supportive and holding things together on the back end. I don't know how, but I've got some making it up to her to attend to when I get home.

Well, I'm powering down for a while.  7 hours until I touch down in Kenya, and I plan to hit the ground running.  Shopping for school supplies tomorrow so that I have them for my visits to Cheery and Havilla later in the week.  As they say at Disney's Animal Kingdom in Florida, "Let the Adventure Begin!"

PAEMST Video Lesson

I promised that I would put this post up a while ago, and unfortunately it's taken this long to get around to it.  With planning for EdCamp NEPA, working to get the EdTech Chat 'n Chew Podcast up and running, connecting teachers through the Virtual Valentines Project, in addition to my other school responsibilities, things have been a bit crazy for the past few months.  It's been a good crazy, though.

So, here is the video lesson I submitted for my winning PAEMST application.  The idea for the lesson literally came to me in the shower the morning before I taught it.  I had actually recorded 2 or 3 lessons before this one, but never felt like any of them were what I wanted to show.  They were all really great lessons, but there was always one or two minor things I couldn't get over.  When this lesson came to me, I knew it was going to be the one I was going to submit.

I'm not one of those "plan everything meticulously ahead" kinds of teachers, even though I'm a "plan everything meticulously ahead" kind of guy in almost every other aspect of my life.  I plan vacations using a spreadsheet 11 months ahead, but I teach spontaneously.  If I get a good idea, we're throwing out whatever was planned for the day.  That's what happened here.

Since Kathleen Seagraves, our technology teacher who had been recording for me, was absent from school the day I taught this lesson I asked Jim Winagle, who was a long term sub at the time in our building, do the recording.

Anyway, to all those who are in the application process and want an example of a winning PAEMST lesson video, to those interested in finding more ways to incorporate whipped cream into your 5th grade math lessons, or those who really want to learn more about the formula for finding the area of a circle:  Enjoy.

I promise to share more about the planning of the trip to Washington DC in the next few days.

First Grade #anyqs Cookie Eating Contest

This morning I got asked by one of the first grade teachers in my building if I would be willing to come into her classroom and teach a math lesson.  After hearing me talk about the need to step away from our textbooks, have more math discussion, and encourage students to develop the questions, she wanted to see what that would look like in first grade.  Of course, I happily accepted.

Immediately I started brainstorming how I could put together an #anyqs type video that was simple enough to bring about first grade discussion on addition and subtraction.  It's not often that I get the chance to work with our younger elementary students in the classroom.  The last time was over 10 years ago.  I don't remember much about that lesson on measurement other than making one student cry when I told him to stop sticking his measuring tape up his nose.

I enlisted the help of my wife, son, and daughter.  My wife held the video camera and let us borrow two plates of cookies that she baked for her high-school science classes. (We did eat a few of them before giving them back, but it was for a good cause.)  My kids played starring roles.

Here's what I came up with:

I'll pause it a few times during the lesson to see if we can get some good mathematical discussion going.

Let me know what you think.  Any changes you'd suggest?  I've done a ton of this type of lesson w/ my fifth graders before, but this is my first shot at doing it in the primary grades.

Student Created Awesomeness

It's been too long since I last blogged.  I've got lots of excuses.  I've been busy training for my first half-marathon in Philadelphia this weekend.  I've been busy running an after-school club where students are free to explore and experiment with web2.0 technologies.  I've been busy developing a 3 credit course that begins in January entitled "Collaborating and Innovating in the Early 21st Century".  I've been busy helping my students be awesome. 

It's that last one that lit a fire under me and forced me to put this post up today.  Because my students have been pretty awesome lately.  And it would be a shame to not share their awesomeness.  So, here are a few of the many things they've been up to lately.

For the presidential election, my fifth graders in collaboration with our other two fifth grade classes participated in a nationwide student-run election.  Results were reported on a collaborative Google Doc and tabulated using electoral votes.  In all the years I've been teaching students about the Electoral College, never have they understood it more than this year when it was directly relevant to them. 

Students created voter registration cards, researched candidates' positions on the issues, ran the polling place, and calculated our schools' results to report.  I thouroughly enjoyed sitting back and watching them participate and learn.  Below are some pictures from the event.


Also, our fifth graders are running a food drive during the months of November and December to help the local food pantries.  In order to promote the food drive, my class organized an advertising campaign.  They split themselves into three groups and decided that one group would be in charge of producing a 30 second video ad, one group would transform a hallway bulletin board into a billboard, and one group would create posters to hang in the hallways.  I was blown away by their work.

Here's the video ad:


Here's the billboard:

The posters should be finished by the end of today, but they aren't ready for me to share yet. 

I'm really proud of the work my students are doing.  I'm proud because it's good work, but also because they are making a difference in the community and learning how rewarding that can be.  And they have ownership because it's their work.  They wrote, produced, and starred in the video (I was the camera person because their designated camera person was absent).  They designed and created the bulletin board with very little help from me (I helped them hang the background paper).

This is what learning should look like.  Students in charge.  Real problems being solved.  Teachers supporting and not leading.  Evaluation based on "How much of a difference did we make?" rather than "What was my test score?"

When students are being awesome, I am reminded why I love my job.

Closing the Parent Communication Gap

I try and communicate regularly with parents, post tons of student work online, provide study guides and videos on our class wiki, and open my classroom to parents who want to come in and see what we're learning.  Every year I still get questions from parents who still are unaware of why we are using certain technologies and what resources are available.

To help close this communication gap, I did a few things differently this year. 

First, I am using Edomodo, a education social networking site that allows parent access, for the first time.  I'm hoping that this allows parents to have more insight into what we are doing in the classroom.

Next, I used Screencast-o-Matic to create this short video explaining some of the websites we are going to be using this year and how they can be used at home.  It's a great tool because it's unblocked by my school's filter, and it does not require anything to be downloaded.  I uploaded the video to a site called MyBrainShark, which I've come to like more than TeacherTube, SchoolTube, and Voicethread for video hosting.



Finally, I am going to have students share the products of their learning on both our class wiki and personal blogs this year using Kidblog.  I'm hoping that having an individual space of their own to showcase their learning will make students want to share more than in the past.