Can one video make a difference?

Saskatchewan Teachers have been without a contract since August 30, 2010. Negotiations have been going on longer than that. We've taught almost a whole school year without it being settled. After years of settling for little to no increase in our wages, this spring, teachers voted 95% in favour of taking job action to help settle their contract.

You see, our province is experiencing rapid growth and unprecedented wealth. They are constantly promoting the fact that our province is booming. Is it not time to pay back the workers who took a hit in the 1990s when the province was not doing so well by rewarding them with fair wages and recognition of an increased cost of living in our province?  What are Saskatchewan's Teachers asking for? They are asking for our province to pay them what they are worth. They want to be recognized for their valuable contributions to our communities. They want to ensure future generations enter the teaching profession because it will be a rewarding career and a wise financial decision. For more information on the contract negotiations, please visit the STF website: Saskatchewan Teachers Federation

On May 5th, 2011, teachers across the province walked off the job for the first time in 78 years. Job action like this had never been seen on a province-wide level by teachers. Teachers participated in study sessions, rallies and discussions. They finished the day feeling unified and determined to reach a fair deal with the School Board Association. The following day, teachers were invited back to the bargaining table.

Unfortunately, talks broke down not long after they started, and a second round of sanctions days were announced for May 25th and 26th. In preparation for these two days, the Regina Public School Teachers Association decided to organize a rally and march from the Provincial Legislature to downtown Regina. We wanted to invite other teachers from across the province to join us so we decided to make a video invitation and post it on You Tube. But how can one little video make a difference?



We expected teachers from Regina Public and perhaps Regina Catholic and Prairie Valley School Divisions to join us. As word spread, through the power of social media, our little video got thousands of hits.You see, during the month of May, Saskatchewan's teachers had been signing up for Twitter and had been connecting on Facebook. New networks and alliances were being formed and the video was shared and re-tweeted hundreds of times. By the time the rally and march took place, our the little video had been seen more than 3,000 times. You only have to listen to RPSTA President, Pat Maze's remarks at the rally to understand the enthusiasm and excitement generated by the video and the cause:



As a result of this video, the May 26th rally and march was one of the biggest demonstrations in our province's recent history. (Regina Leader Post) The police working during the march estimated the crowd of teachers and supporters to be approximately 4,000 people. This showed the provincial government that teachers were unified and strong in their resolve to obtain a fair contract. Thousands of people showing up on the government's doorstep took them by surprise. (Regina Leader Post)

I made a short video to document May 26th's events and posted it on the RPSTA's YouTube Channel. I encourage everyone to check out our channel and to subscribe. Even after this contract is eventually resolved, we hope to post more videos celebrating and demonstrating the importance of teaching as a profession. You never know what one little video and the power of social media can do to affect your profession.

IT Summit 2011 Cool Tools Duel/Mash-Up by Dean Shareski, Alec Couros and Hall Davidson

Here's a link to last year's duel between Dean Shareski and Will Richardson: 2010 Cool Tool Duel

Cool Tools Duel by Dean Shareski, Alec Couros, Hall Davidson

Who is the winner of the tool duo? Poll Everywhere: bit.ly/itsummitvote
To submit your favourite tool - bit.ly/itsummitshare

Hall - Camstudio - Screen Capture Video

Alec - Tin Eye - Visual Search

Dean - ClassTools.net - Random Name and Word Picker

Hall - YouTube Mobile - Go to your youtube settings, mobile video uploader email address so you can email content right to your account or give it to others filmonthefly.org

Alec - WiTopia - To let you be from other states so that you can access stuff around filters. Costs $60

Dean - Google Search Stories Video Creator - Online video creator using live searching

Hall- Make the World's Best Webcam from Broken Camcorder by hooking it up to your laptop and it lets you zoom using the camecorder's more powerful zoom.

Alec- DropMocks or min.us - lets you upload photos and share them with others without creating an account.

Dean- MPEG streamclip - Squared 5 MPEG Streamclip lets you convert video into a useable format

Hall - Google Body - (TSA Camera using a bluetooth camera but only works in chrome) - bodybrowser.googlelabs.com

Alec - Storify- lets you see what is being said about anything you like and using the editor you can make it into a video. i.e. IT Summit - you can make it into a story

Dean - iPad App - Talking Tom - can be made into a video that you can upload and share

Hall - Blabberize - Lets you upload a picture and make them talk.

Alec - Synchtube - Lets you watch a video at the same time as others so you can watch it together

Dean - Let me Google that for you - Creates a video of you typing something into Google

Hall - Power Points into Movies - Save your powerpoint as a jpeg and then make them into a movie using movie maker or you tube. You can find power points from others using advance search and look only for .ppt files on a particular subject. Jamendo.com to add music

Dean - Stumbleupon - Lets you find interesting things that other people have tagged with things that you are interested in. Searching by tags.

Alec - crocodoc - let's you upload a document and add visual annotations

Hall - 45x Microscope with Camera A/B app (Lets you watch an iPhone camera on an iPad)

Dean - iMovie - lets you create a movie trailer that gives you a story board/shot list to help you figure out how to film your movie.

Alec - Aviary - Myna - lets you do online audio editing and provides some loops for music creation.

IT Summit - Tuesday Morning Keynote - Michael Wesch- Remixed Schools: Creating Learners in the 21st Century

Tuesday Morning keynote. Micheal Wesch: http://mediatedcultures.net

Students are finding it hard to find a connection to the classes they are required to take. There's something in the air that allows everyone around the world to connect using a variety of web apps. Trying to find From knowledgeable to knowledge-able. How to we move students towards this making education relevant in their lives.

The world is on fire - we need students to work together to solve the dire problems of our world. 

"Technology allows us to create connections without constraint. This has both positive and negative consequences."

Search out "Numa Numa" on Youtube for an example of world collaboration.

We express: individualism, independence, superficiality
But we value: community, relationships, authenticity
This creates a cultural tension- connection=constraint

Is learning only really all about acquiring information? What is learning all about? We only trust authority for good information that is beyond discussion because it is authorized information. Can authority be granted through discussion? example: Wikipedia

Transformations in Learning: 
"Receptive knowers" - Just taking in information
"subjective knowers" - Don't just take in information but discuss and filter information that they are taking in.
"procedural knowers" - ability to dig deeper and knowing more about the topic - "seperate knowers" - distance themselves from the subject at hand vs "connected knowers - making connections to the topic
"constructive knower" - develop the capacity of "what is" thinking develop participatory thinking.
Other source to check out: http://transformativelearningtheory.com

Knowledge-ability is a practice - we need to create an environment where this is practiced through a cycle of communication, empathy, and thoughtfulness.

IT Summit - Transforming Digital Storytelling with the Infusion of 21st Century Skills

Presented by representatives from Saskatoon Public, J. Byers, J. Berthelot, J. Salikin

Today's Meet http://www.todaysmeet.com/transforming

What a classroom has become. If you are doing what you always did before with new tools, then you don't need the new tools to do that. What we need to do is transform what we are doing and then support that with new tools.

Does using a word processor improve writing? Used Poll Everywhere to get audience input.
Link to handout to how to use word processors to improve the writing process: Techy Teacher

The learning spectrum - Literacy- learning the tools for the tools sake - level 1, Adapting the technology for learning sake (doing the same thing with new tools) - level 2, Transforming - We want the students to be producers - Level 3. Students go from being a consumer of information to a producer of information. Difference between open and closed questions. Quoted from Bernajean Porter.

We are moving from the "about" type questions to open questions. Students demonstrating that they understand the information and can present it in a new way that demonstrates deep thinking. More resources for Photostory.

It is not about the technology, it is about the learning. A highlight of ISTE's NETS for students. Teachers don't necessarily teach better just because they know technology. It is about the teaching.

IT Summit - Dean Shareski Keynote - Saskatchewan's Unsung Heroes of Educational Technology

My notes from Dean's keynote. Dean's blog is called Ideas and Thoughts

Heroes don't call themselves heroes. Heroes are people who are passionate about trying new things. In the end, they really want to make a difference in the lives in kids. Those are real heroes.

Tinkering and Play- Story #1
Connaught School in North Battleford - Leslie and Jim
How can we get the kids to take control and get them to where they want to go? Demonstrated use of 1:1 laptops and the integration of a SMART Board in Grade 1. They created a new sense of play and of wonder. What are the things that our students really do need.

Gever Tulley "You can figure out things by fooling around" - Ted Talk to check out.

Collaboration - Story #2
Shannon Auramenko and Stacey Monet - John Diefenbaker School in the Saskatchewan Rivers School Division
The Grade 2 Teacher working with the Tech specialist for the division in a co-teaching role. Integrating new technologies and ways of learning.

Reputation Management - Story #3
Ken Sogge, Horrizon School Division
Communications Manager for the School Division. Working to develop a network of school websites that connects schools over a large geographical expanse. Creating a transparent view into classrooms. They are letting people know what they are doing in their different schools.

"It is no longer enough to do powerful work if no one sees it." Chris Lehman.

2.0 Objectives for information officers: Create, Transform, Listen, Co-create, Provide, Accept.

Social Glue - Story #4
Glen Munro from Prairie South School Division, Network Administrator
Glen has a real online presence and has a passion for photography. When a school division is spread out, you don't get to know people the way you do when you all work in the same building. Online tools like Facebook, Twitter and Four Square can build relationships online between people who don't get to work together under the same roof. Getting to know your coworkers is important to being able to do a good job.

Social Learning and Inquiry - Story #5
Joanna Sanders Bobiash from Regina Public Schools
Demonstration of social learning in the classroom. Students working together to create a website that taught others about the disaster in Japan.

How did you contribute to the learning of others? What did you learn from others?

Teacher Librarians - Story #6
Carlene Walters - Saskatoon Public
Talking about good digital citizenship and what makes a good question. Carlene's role is to help students get to those deeper questions so that the synthesis and real deep understanding is there.

We have moved beyond a narrow version of "who to trust" from the news to developing our own "trust network" to know that the information we are getting is accurate.

Rethinking Learning - Story #7
Shelly Wright - Prairie South School Division
Shelly's blog - Has transformed her classroom to create a new role for herself as a mentor and leader. Her blog documents in detail the transformation of her teaching. We need to rethink the way things are done today to teach the students of tomorrow.

Personal Learning Networks - Story #8
Powerful Learning Practice - taking networked learning and bringing it into an in-school approach. Teachers from Saskatchewan and other Canadian provinces working together to talk about strategies and teaching online. Providing collaborative professional development. Creates opportunities to create openness and sharing amongst educators.

Technology will never replace teachers. However teachers who know hot to use technology effectively to help students to connect and learn will replace those who don't.

We need to become connectors and not just dispensers of information.

Become a narrative champion - tell others about the work of other teachers. Start sharing because they are too humble to do it themselves.

IT Summit Presentation - The Effective Integration of Handheld Devices into the Classroom

This week, I'm attending the two-day Saskatchewan IT Summit in Saskatoon. It is a great opportunity to meet with, hear from and discuss the integration of technology into the classroom with educators from across the province.

This morning, I will have the opportunity to present my experience about the integration of hand-held devices into my teaching. Here is an embedded copy of my presentation for those of you that are interested.

Effective Integration of Handheld Devices into the Classroom

View more presentations from Joanna Sanders Bobiash

The two YouTube videos that I will show during my presentation are included in the slideshare. I am also showing this CNN video about the ongoing debate about the usage of cellphones in schools:

A presentation to North Battleford French Immersion Teachers

Today, I had the pleasure of presenting to the French Immersion Teachers in North Battleford about how to find resources online and how to share them with each other. The goal of my session was to provide some insights and tools to teachers to make it easier to work together. Often we are spending our time searching for the same things. It is not always easy to find the best resources to support our new curriculum. Why not work as a team to accomplish this task? Work smarter, not harder!

Here is a copy of my presentation (in French):

La recherche et la collaboration

View more presentations from Joanna Sanders Bobiash

Here is the video I shared during my presentation that explains how Diigo works:


Diigo V5: Collect and Highlight, Then Remember! from diigobuzz on Vimeo.

School Tours: A visit to Massachusetts

In April, 2011, I had the priviledge of visiting schools in Cambridge and Acton, Massachussetts on behalf of Regina Public Schools.

View Massachusetts School Visits in a larger map

(L-R) Blair, Simone,
Courtney and Joanna

Our team was comprised of representatives from two schools:


École Wilfrid Walker School: Simone Verville, Principal and Joanna Sanders Bobiash, Teacher Librarian and Specialist Teacher

École W.S. Hawrylak School: Blair Gullickson, Principal and Courtney Cornelisse, Learning Resource Teacher

Purpose of our visit:

First, a little background about the purpose of our visit. Regina Public Schools is currently undergoing a process called structural innovation in all of its schools (key innovations include: flexible teaching arrangements and instructional groupings, teacher collaboration, interdisciplinary and inquiry-based teaching and learning, and inclusive practices). I previously wrote about what we are doing at Wilfrid Walker in April 2011 and May 2009. 

As part of this process, the division asked its schools to undertake an inquiry process of its own. We were tasked with the challenge of researching and visiting schools somewhere in North America who were practicing some of the key innovations themselves and then bring back ideas and proposals for our own schools after seeing them in action. What a wonderful learning opportunity.

Thursday, April 7, 2011

On the first day, we visited two schools; Graham and Parks Elementary and Haggerty Elementary in the Cambridge School District.

What we learned about the Cambridge School District:

There are 12 elementary schools in Cambridge. Students are admitted to the schools using a lottery system at the Kindergarten level called “controlled choice”. After a series of tours and meetings, parents select their top five choices. Priority points are given for location and family considerations, but it is rare to have students attend the school in their neighbourhood. The lottery system was developed to encourage desegregation and mix students based on socio-economics. As a result of the lottery system, students are bussed all over Cambridge to attend their selected school. This results in a staggered start for all schools so that buses can pick up students in waves depending on where they live and what school they attend. Schools in Cambridge offer very individualized programs but use state curriculum and stardized testing in all schools called MCAS in Grades 4, 8 and 10 in English Language Arts, Mathematics and Science & Technology. The district's funding per student in 2009 was $26,337. (Source: CPS)

Next year, elementary schools in Cambridge will change their structures to allow for four junior high schools that will be co-located in elementary schools. Students will attend elementary school from Pre-Kindergarten/Kindergarten to Grade 5 and junior high school for Grades 6-8. This decision was made due to small co-horts of students at these grade levels at some schools and will allow for students to be taught in subject groupings.

Graham and Parks Elementary School

What we learned about Graham and Parks Elementary:

No bells rang to mark the change of classes. There was no hustle and bustle in the hallways. These were my initial thoughts as I entered Graham and Parks Elementary School. 

The old building was welcoming and full of light in its entry. Student artwork was displayed and the few students who were in the hallway smiled and welcomed us to their school. The school is built around a central court-yard that contains a community/student maintained garden and compost bins that are maintained through a school composting program.

The school layout itself is organized into classrooms, library, cafeteria, gymnasium, auditorium, administrative offices and computer lab. As a tech enthusiast, I was keen to observe a number of Smartboards and a couple of mobile laptop carts in addition to the computer lab. There were also computers in the library.

Graham and Parks has traditionally been a JK-8 school and is considered to be an "alternative school" because it was founded by a partnership between parents and teachers in 1981 to provide a student-centered learning environment in multi-graded classrooms. It's first principal of the school, Len Solo, authored a book entitled "Making an Extraordinary School: The Work of Ordinary People" about the creation of Graham and Parks. Solo served as Principal of the school for its first 20 years.

Parent involvement in the school was quite evident. While we were there, parents and grandparents were busy volunteering by reading with students or helping out in the classrooms. The parent council plays an active role in the hiring of the Principal and other staff, although the final decision is done by administration. They also provide input into school organization and programing through a  steering committee which has elected representatives from parents and teachers.

Their 430 JK-8 students are organized into JK/K, Grade 1/2, Grade 3/4 (looped with same teacher), Grade 5, Grade 6. Grades 7 & 8 are organized into a junior high structure. They also have a sheltered English Immersion program (SEI) organized into 3 classes (1/2, 3/4, 5/6). Their  classroom teachers are staffed by the school. Their specialist teachers are staffed at a district level (Music, Art, Library, Gym). Because the teachers are staffed at the school-level, they tend to spend their entire career at the school. Discretionary budget money used to hire assistants for every class. Teachers have weekly collaborative planning time (45 minutes once a week) for individual grades. Assistants take care of class or specialist times are scheduled in common

Due to the size of the playground, recess is done in rotation. Lunch is also served in rotation in a cafeteria. The menu is set by the district and some students bring their own lunch. There is also the option for some students to receive subsidised/free lunch but are not identified as everyone receives tickets. 

There is an extended school day for SEI and students who failed the MCAS as extra tutoring time. Students are included through “special invitation” and are transported home at a later time. There are also Harvard students who volunteer their time 1:1 during this tutoring time.

Other programing notes include French as a second language in Grades 5-8 (5/6 – 60 mins/week & 7/8-135 mins/week). They also have a Band program which is mandatory in Grade 5 where everyone plays the same instrument and after Grade 6, the band period is mandatory, but students can belong to the chorus or play an instrument. 

One evaluation piece that I found interesting was the use of portfolios at the Grades 7/8 level. The portfolios are developed by students and then are presented at the end of Grade 8 year to parents and teachers. This takes the place of report cards. 

Haggerty Elementary School

What we learned about Haggerty Elementary:

Haggerty is PK-6 and has approximately 250 students. They run an inclusion model and many of their classes are team taught with a general educator and a special educator with one assistant per class. Class PTR is 1:20 (PK/K) and 25 (1-6) under teacher contract.They have a full day Kindergarten that is a looped class for Kindergarten and Junior Kindergarten.

Upon arriving at the school, we received a very warm welcome. Our visit was short, but very interesting. We began our visit with a tour. We observed classrooms that were very structured and expectations and rules were posted around the classroom and on desks. Students's desks were organized into groups or teams.

We also observed co-teaching in action in two different classrooms. One educator took the lead on the lesson while the other educator supported the lesson by adding in during the discussion and explanations and circulated to ensure students remained focused. Both teachers were in charge and did not focus their attention on any student in particular. They were both there to help all students. We later learned, during our meeting with the staff who was the general educator and who was the special educator. 

In addition to the teams of  teachers (general and special educators) at the school, they also have a principal, an assistant-principal, a literacy coach, a math coach, an English coach and an inclusion coach, a tech specialist, an art specialist and a gym specialist. They also have a site-based substitute teacher in the school for the year who is reassigned to help in classrooms if not needed. 

• Literacy Coach: does reading recovery, work with students who are below grade level, works with students who are not on Ed. Plans but create interventions, works with kids who are struggling but not on Special Ed. Program.
• Math Coach: is helping teachers assess what the math challenges are in their classrooms and how to address them.

One teacher shared her experience with a program offered in her district called the Aspiring Leaders Program. It a volunteer group of approximately 15 teachers who are working together and talking about teaching. They discuss problems of practice and discuss solutions. They then observe a teacher in action and propose solutions. The teacher found it to be a very rewarding experience. They meet monthly to observe a teacher in the classroom and discuss issues of concern that they want to work on.  The administrators are supportive of the program and offer coverage to ensure the teacher can be released to participate.

Friday, April 8, 2011

On the second day, we visited two schools; Merriam Elementary and McCarthy-Towne Elementary in the Acton Public School District. These schools are unique because they share the same building, yet maintain separate programs and philosophies. 

This building was designed to house both Merriam (right)
and McCarthy-Towne (left) Elementary Schools.

What we learned about the Acton Public School District:

There are 5 elementary schools in the district. Each one has their own philosophy and practice. There is also a junior high school and a senior high school. The school district uses “School Choice” lottery system to determine what school student will attend Kindergarten. Process consists of parent tours/information evenings/meetings and then ranking their choice (1-5) of the 5 schools in Acton. 90% get first choice. When a new family moves into the district, they are sent to the school with the lowest number of students in that grade and that is where they stay. Staffing is done by the school district and school. The control of hiring practices makes it difficult to move between schools and districts. Under contract, there is a cap on PTR – 22 in primary and 25 (Grades 3-8). The PTR is higher in high school. The district uses standardized testing, MCAS and under "No Child Left Behind", each school must have a report card that shares testing results with parents. These report cards are available on the district website: Merriam and McCarthy-Towne. In Acton Public Schools, funding was $11,256 per student in 2009-10. (Source: APS)


The two schools we visited were located in one building designed to accommodate the two schools. They share a gym, library, and cafetorium but maintain separate computer labs and meeting rooms which are all located in the central/middle part of the school. Classrooms are located in hallways branched off the main part of the building. They share an assistant principal who splits his time between both schools as required.

Coordinating the departure of over

1000 students by bus every day can be

a challenge for the two schools. We 

observed two different systems that 

both worked well for coordinating

this complex task. 

The two schools may be located in the same building, but maintain their own programs and philosophies. It was really interesting to see how unique two schools can be, yet they are located under one roof. We received a very warm welcome from both schools during our visit and enjoyed our day immensely with everyone.

What we learned about Merriam Elementary School:

Merriam is a K-6 elementary school with approximately 550 students. Programs of note at Merriam include a project-based curriculum with looped classes. They have ELL and a Before and After School enrichment program. They also feature a community service learning program. More information can be found in their School Handbook: Merriam School Handbook. They also have an explanation of their unique programs listed on their website.

To help build a sense of community in the school, there are approximately 40 “Family Groups” in the school with about 15 students in them (K-6). They meet regularly and stay together the whole time students are at the school (same group starting in Kindergarten until done Grade 6). They also meet every Monday morning, at an assembly in the cafetorium to establish a sense of community. There is also an end of day assembly on Friday afternoon during the first three months of the year and during the last three months of the year. This allows students to have a positive start and end to the school week and usually allows opportunities for students to perform in front of an audience.

There is a paid Educational Assistant in each classroom that is funded through fundraising money provided by the parents.Kindergarten is half days with an option for parents to have an additional half day at their expense. There is a Teacher Council comprised of an elected representative from each collaborative cohort that meets with the Principal every other Tuesday morning for an hour before school.

They have looping in Grades 1-6. The students spend two years together as a class with the same teacher. During a meeting with teachers, we heard about the pros and cons/challenges of looping:

Pros of looping classes:

• Great relationships and connections with students and parents.
• No start-up at the beginning of the second year because you already know your students
• Can make links from previous year when teaching new material.
• Less stress because if you don’t finish everything before June, you have one more year to get it all covered.

Cons/Challenges of looping classes:

• Some students can be challenging to have for two years straight
• Knowing two years of the curriculum.
• Long-term projects that last both years can pose a problem for a new student entering the school.

Merriam has also divided its staff into collaborative teams (1/2, 3/4, 5/6). They meet for 1.5 hours on Fridays and briefly throughout the week over lunch to plan and discuss issues together. While they are not in their classrooms for these meetings, the classroom assistant covers the classroom. During their team meetings, they follow a TRIAD model where they have a chosen facilitator for their meetings that rotates week-to-week. They spend part of the time meeting in a grade specific meeting and the other half meeting as a cohort. They find it an advantage that there are others who have taught the grade the previous year whom they can consult with. Just because the staff/classes are organized into cohorts, they don't always do the same things in individual classes. Sometimes they mix the themes. Sometimes they do the same projects, sometimes they do different projects. When asked what this looks like, they said that sometimes they share a project idea during the meeting but then everyone returns to their individual room and rolls it out in their own way. Other times they all do the same project and work together to get it done. During their meetings, they also map the curriculum out in the spring for the fall ahead and sometimes they benchmark student work or compare results to plan for student success.

What we learned about McCarthy-Towne Elementary School:

McCathy-Towne is a Kindergarten to Grade 6 elementary school with approximately 500 students. Programs of note at the school include ELL, an integrated arts program called SLOYD, a before and after school enrichment program, and two Concord Area Special Education (C.A.S.E.) classes. More information can be found in the McCarthy-Towne School Handbook: School Handbook

Currently, classrooms are straight grades located throughout the school. At the end of this year, staff will be voting on clustering grade groups together to allow for better collaboration next year. They have the SLOYD art program in place at their school and an art inclusion specialist that works with teachers to integrate art into instruction. The artwork around the school was spectacular. From original works of art displayed near the art room to the intricate and creative projects displayed near classrooms that integrated art into other subjects. The integration of art was evident and well displayed around the school.

Teacher collaboration continues to pose a challenge for staff. They do their best to meet on their own time and currently use sub release time to allow for groups to meet for 1.5 hours every other week. This is under review for next year. Their principal prided himself on having a dedicated staff who are in constant evaluation and reflection mode to find out how to service the learning needs of their students and to allow for more collaboration time. They are looking at the schedule for next year to increase collaborative prep time when common grades are with specialists to allow for meeting time in grade specific groupings. They are also considering establishing a block of instructional time where there is no pull-out because constant pull-out is a problem (30-40 times/week/class) at their school.

There is one mandated staff meeting a month after school. Common prep-time not mandated (3 x 45 minutes prep periods a week/teacher) but staff feel working collaboratively is important so they often try to meet on their prep time. There is also early release in their districts on Thursdays for PD (School ends at 1:00 and teachers have PD until 3:30) where one a month is local PD others done by district. To accommodate this in their schedule, the district increased length of time other 4 days so that instruction time is not missed.
Not driven by MCAS for instruction. They teach test writing skills but do not teach to the test. They are an inquiry driven and project based school.

We had an interesting discussion about assessment with staff representatives. McCarthy-Towne does not issue traditional report cards, rather they use a skills checklist with portfolios for evaluation. They have 3-way conferences twice a year and celebration of learning evenings. Goal setting by students starts at 3rd grade. Assessments are typically done using rubrics, comments and checklists. There are some grades given on certain assignments at the 5/6 level to prepare for Junior High School. Checklists for year-end assessment are grade specific and help indicate if child is at grade level. They are presented at the end of year conference and are attached to the student portfolio. They are not sent home prior to the meeting with the parents.

Final thoughts for potential ideas to implement in Regina Public Schools based on our school visits:

• Evaluation: I found it very interesting, that despite the use of high-stakes testing at these schools, there was more emphasis on the use of portfolios and skills assessment than on test scores. It could be that because their students have higher than average test-scores, there is no need to focus on these tests. However, as we change the way we teach in our own division, I have begun to realize more and more the need to develop other forms of reporting to parents than the traditional report card. I am a big fan of portfolios and believe that this method could be used by schools here in Regina to demonstrate students learning. Paired with student led conferences, presentations and teacher completed checklists of skills at the end of the year, this type of assessment would be a more accurate and informative for teachers and parents. It will be challenging to implement, as many parents will have a hard time accepting an assessment report that doesn't contain letter grades. Moving beyond traditional report cards is an important step in the implementation of new ways of teaching in our division.
• Looping: I liked the idea of implementing this practice. Having experienced first hand the ability to work with the same group of students over a number of years, I know first-hand how beneficial it is to the students and the teacher to know the needs and abilities of the students to support them on their learning journey. Being able to see them grow and learn in a supported way is a reward for the teacher. The sense of belonging and team dynamic that develops amongst the students in the group is important and contributes to a positive learning environment.
• Teacher PD and team support: In both districts, there was supported learning for teachers in some form both inside and outside of the classroom. I really like the idea of the formation of groups of teachers who work and learn together. Whether it is the district-wide version described in Cambridge or the collaborative-team support observed in Merriam, I believe that a version that works for Regina Public should be developed. Giving the chance for teachers to see each other in action in the classroom is some of the best professional development an educator could experience. Working collaboratively to solve problems and reflect on practice would be a great opportunity for teachers of any level of experience to have. I also liked the model in place in Acton for weekly PD opportunities. There was a mix of local, district and teacher choice PD opportunities available on a weekly basis. This wasn't offered after school or on weekends, but during the day on a regular basis. Implementing this for the division would allow the opportunity for all teachers to receive the regular in-servicing required to remain current in their practice.
• Inclusion: We observed very similar practices for diagnosing and identifying special needs in particular students in Massachusetts, that we already have implemented in our own division. A tiered approach to intervention was used there and here. Supporting student success is just as important to us as it was evident in the schools we visited. A big difference in the level of support is the number of human resources available to the students in both Cambridge and Acton. From district funded support staff in the form of classroom assistants, school counselors, school psychologists, literacy and math coaches, and special educators teamed with general educators, it was rare to see only one adult in a room with 25 students. This is a big ticket item for our division and for our province who is looking at cutting the number of educational assistants in the classroom. If we want full inclusion to work, we need to put the human resources in place to ensure its success.

Being able to visit and learn from other educators was a very rewarding experience. I am very grateful to my division for allowing us this opportunity. This visit gave me the opportunity to see other teachers in action, learn about their challenges and reflect upon my own practice. I have also turned into a much "bigger picture" thinker after these visits. I am now constantly thinking and brainstorming new ideas not only for my school but for my division as a whole. Knowing that we are all experiencing similar challenges was important for me to see. We all have student improvement and learning at heart. How we approach that job is perhaps a bit different, but we are all doing our best to meet the individual needs of our students with the tools and resources we have at hand. We left Massachusetts with the hope that some of the relationships we built while we were there will continue. We still have a lot to learn and share with each other.

Using Google Sites in Second Language Instruction (Guest Blog Post)

This post is cross-posted from Free Technology for Teachers where I appeared as a guest blogger this weekend.

I am a Canadian French Immersion Educator at École Wilfrid Walker School in Regina, Saskatchewan. That means that I teach students whose first language is English, in French. Students in a French Immersion program are taught all subjects in French starting in Kindergarten. By the time they reach middle years, they have strong oral, reading and writting skills in both languages.

As a second language instructor, I often find it a challenge to find relevant resources for my students that are both at their reading level and at their interest level. I teach Social Studies and Science to students in Grades 6/7/8. These subject areas are often a challenge at this grade level in French Immersion as most resources for middle years in French are written for first language readers in Quebec which means that the vocabulary and verb tense can be difficult to understand. Having students read a text and fully comprehend it can be a frustrating experience. Being a small market, publishers who create fantastic materials in English to support our provincial curriculum often ignore the Saskatchewan French Immersion market, as it is not profitable for them to produce the same resources in French. As a result, I have come to rely on online resources to support my instruction of our curriculum. How to present, share and utilise these online resources with my students is always a challenge.

As an avid user of technology in my classroom, my students and I have experimented with numerous sites and applications over the years to enhance our learning experience and to showcase our deeper understanding of curricular outcomes.

Our school division uses Google Apps for Education. All of my students have their own accounts that I can control. This has revolutionized how I teach and interact with my students. Through one platform, my students can access their work at school or at home. I can share documents and presentations and decide if they are public or private. They can email me their questions and comments and I can reply anytime I choose from my computer or even my phone. They can also build collaborative documents and presentations with their classmates. We have also cut back on printing costs because my students simply share their assignments with me for evaluation. No need to waste paper in my classroom.

Google Sites has become an easy way for me to share links and resources with my students. This year we have used this platform in numerous ways in both Social Studies and Science. Being able to easily create a site and have numerous editors has empowered my students to become responsible authors who are excited to learn about the world around them and share their knowledge in a second language. Knowing their site has the potential to reach a global audience adds an extra level of engagement.

My first experiment with Google Sites was to create a site to frame a project my Grade 8 students were working on about the ownership of water. Le GRAND Débat  linked resources and presented the steps each group had to follow to prepare for our class debate. It was easy for me to embed video tutorials and explanations into the site. Groups also created podcasts using their iPod Touch and Sonic Pics to introduce their arguments. Using Google sites for this project was very well received by my students. It was easy for me to create a site, use a template and add resources.

Other ways I have used Google Sites in my classroom include:

• Building sites to showcase student projects: Grade 7 Mining project and Grade 6 First Nations Legends and Constellations project. 
• Coordinating virtual literacy and numeracy centres where Grade 6 and 7 students work with Grade 1 and 2 students on different skills: Centres 1 and Centres 2
• Students building their own sites to present their Science projects (modelled after Google Virtual Science Fair): La Foire de sciences virtuelle
• Building collaborative inquiry driven projects. My students wanted to learn more about the recent disaster in Japan. We built this site in groups (Une catastrophe au Japon) based on questions we had about the disaster in Japan and making connections to our lives in Canada. We then used the site to promote our student council's efforts to raise money for the relief effort in Japan and to educate other students in the school about the disaster. They were rewarded by raising over $1000 for their charities of choice in a school with less than 250 students in two weeks. 

The more I use Google Sites in my classroom, the more I love it. I would be interested to learn how other educators are using this tool in their classroom with their students.

Joanna Sanders Bobiash is a French Immersion Middle Years Educator and Teacher Librarian in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada. Joanna maintains a blog entitled My Adventures in Educational Technology. Joanna is also on Twitter.

Cool Tools for Successful Collaboration

This morning, I had the pleasure of co-presenting with Erik Van Dusen to high school teachers from Winston Knoll, Balfour and Thom about ways that we can use online tools to share resources and collaborate.

Despite working for the same school division, Erik and I have only met a few times in person. We have had many interesting discussions and shared many resources online through Twitter. In the expanse of a few short months, he has become a valuable member of my PLN. Our presentation itself is a great of example of how the tools we presented today can easily be used for online collaboration by anyone. In fact, our entire presentation was built online using Google Presentations and discussions were had using Twitter to finalize what we were going to say and how we were going to present it.

We gave the same presentation three times as the teachers from the three schools were organized into similar subject groupings. It was really interesting as an outsider from the elementary level to hear about some of the innovative ways teachers at these three schools are integrating technology into the classroom.

Unfortunately, if you didn't attend our presentation live, you missed out on our witty dialogue. But fortunately, if you would like to view our online slide-deck and see what we talked about, please check out one of two options:

A link to our presentation built using Google apps with easy to follow links: http://bit.ly/iejumk

An embedded version of the presentation here for your viewing pleasure:

Cool Tools for Successful Collaboration

View more presentations from Joanna Sanders Bobiash

Talking about Google Sites

On Monday, April 4, I will be sharing some of my experience with Google Sites with the Teacher Librarians in my division. Here's the guiding presentation I will be using, however, most of it will be hands-on and live demo from my sites' menu. There are some good links here if you want to learn more about Google Sites.

Link to the presentation in Google Presentation Format (easier to follow hyperlinks): http://bit.ly/hzYnYd 

I'm also embeding it here from Slide Share if you just want to view the slides without leaving my blog: 

TL Session on Google Sites 04-04-2011

View more presentations from Joanna Sanders Bobiash.

Cross Post - A New Structure for Learning

Over the past few weeks, I have been participating in an online book study being hosted by the Calgary Science School (CSS). The book we have been studying is called: Making Learning Whole: How Seven Principles of Teaching can Transform Education by David Perkins.

I had the pleasure of being the guest blogger for Chapter Six, "Learn From the Team". In my post, I decided to talk about my own school's structure and weave in the concepts discussed in Perkins' chapter. I believe that it is an example of inquiry in action!

To read all of the discussion about this book, please visit the book inquiry study site at CSS. If you get the chance to read this book, I strongly recommend it. It is a great read.

Here is a cross post of what I posted about Chapter Six from the CSS professional blog:

Chapter 6: Learn from the Team

Guest Blogger: Joanna Sanders Bobiash

I am a French Immersion Middle Years Educator and Teacher Librarian in Regina, Saskatchewan. I received my B.Ed. from the University of Regina. I am passionate about the integration of technology into the classroom to enable students to think and work together in new ways. I have documented my journey through my blog entitled “My Adventures in Educational Technology” . In 2009, I won the $20,000 “Best in Class” award from Best Buy for the use of technology in my classroom. This award enabled me to purchase many new tools for my classroom, including iPod touches and netbooks, which have allowed my students to learn in new ways.

You can follow Joanna on Twitter here.

I chose this chapter to write about because of its title, “Learn from the Team”. Collaborative learning is a key component to the current environment in my classroom and in my school. Many aspects of this book really resonated well with me because I’m fortunate to work at a structurally innovative school that allows me the opportunity to put many of the seven principles in this book into practice. In fact, after reading Perkins book, I felt that it will be a useful tool to help explain some of the structural changes and practices we are currently implementing at my school. Please indulge me as I share a bit more about the structure I have helped develop at my school while reflecting on Chapter 6 of Perkins book.

First off, let me tell you a bit about my school and our structure, as it is far from traditional. École Wilfrid Walker School is a public, K-8 French Immersion Centre in the suburbs of east Regina. All instruction and interaction occurs in French, which is the second language for the majority of our students. Other than a couple of hours a week devoted to English Language Arts instruction, our entire curriculum is in French. In fact, students don’t receive any instruction in English until they are in Grade 3.

In this chapter, Perkins begins by explaining the importance of the “Social View of Learning”. In French Immersion instruction, social interaction is crucial to second language acquisition. The premise of this practice is to “immerse” the learner in a new language environment. Students come into the program with no knowledge of the language, but are actually forced to learn and interact using the language before they fully understand it. They rarely receive translations for what they are learning, but instead their comprehension is supported through images, gestures and social interaction to learn new vocabulary and grammar.

French Immersion students in fact explore the same concepts other learners in the same grade are learning in English at other schools. In a short amount of time, they become fluent in the language as they are challenged to think and learn in new ways. Perkins begins this chapter by talking about Vygotsky insights into concepts like “social scaffolding” and the “activity theory” and their impact on internalized learning.

I believe that learning in French Immersion is successful because students are learning through physical actions and conversations that help internalize the new language that they are encountering. I believe that students would not experience the same successes if they were not exposed to the social aspect of learning through a “social scaffolding” of supports from their peers.

What makes my school different from other French Immersion schools across Canada? Social learning is not a new practice and has been important to the success of French Immersion since the beginning of the program more than 30 years ago. The difference at our school is that we have taken social learning to the next level.

In 2009, Wilfrid Walker was one of the first schools in Regina Public to experiment with a new structure under our division’s initiative called “Structural Innovation”. Our structure is founded on the principles of flexible groupings, team teaching, student choice, inquiry and project based learning. It is rare to walk through our school and see students sitting in rows listening attentively to a single speaker in front of the room. Usually you see students working together in pairs or in groups on hands on learning tasks or projects. From the early days of Kindergarten, students are “playing the whole game” when it comes to learning French.

At Wilfrid Walker, most teachers teach only a few subjects, which is rare in elementary school. This focus allows teachers to become masters at what they do and allow the students the benefit of receiving quality learning experiences from educators who are specialized in the subjects that they teach. Our student body of approximately 250 has been divided up into three grade specific pods (1-2, 3-5, 6-8). Students have a homeroom, but are otherwise grouped and re-grouped during the day depending on the subject that they are studying. These groupings change throughout the year as our calendar has been organized into eight, six week blocks.

Although our schedule is blocked into more traditional subject headings, teachers plan as teams to ensure that similar themes are covered through many subjects at once, ensuring students work in cross-curricular situations. They are able to solve problems and apply language skills in math class then later use those same skills to investigate world issues and propose solutions to today’s problems in social studies, science and health.

Ideally, students would have exposure and opportunities to work with real experts in their fields. Just like how most educators in Saskatchewan learn to be teachers by doing lengthy internships, we learn best by observing and working alongside veterans in their field. Education students get to apply their knowledge by practicing their skills in the real world and learn to reflect and try again. That is how they become master learners.

I think that the next level of Perkins’ described “Communities of Practice” in this chapter would be in the form of team teaching at my school. Not only do we host and mentor our share of university students but being able to plan and teach alongside our colleagues in the same room allows us the ability to see each other in action, to reflect on our own practice and to have opportunity to become better educators.

This brings me to the section of the chapter devoted to “Studio Learning.” I feel a particular attachment to this part of the chapter because my classroom does not actually have a number like most others in our school. Its “room number” is actually a name and is called “Studio 1”. It is a place where I spend most mornings teaching social studies and science in mixed grade groupings of students in 6/7/8. Students in my classroom follow the studio model explained in this chapter (demonstration-lecture, students-at-work, process of sharing and critique) to learn about the required curricular outcomes in social studies and science for their grade level.

But what does this look like? I start each block modelling and demonstrating what we will be learning about to give students an idea of what it “actually looks like”. Students then use problem solving methods similar to the “Pair Problem Solving” method described in this chapter to work on specific learning tasks to get more familiar with the topic at hand. They collaboratively draft questions and propose hypothesises about the topic.

Finally, students choose to work independently, in pairs or as teams to attack larger problems, which are either student or teacher constructed, through lengthy project-based learning periods or student focused work periods, culminating in a peer critiqued sharing event or presentation at the end of the block.

The culture of constant feedback and reflection are woven through my classroom. Students have been taught how to give constructive feedback to each other and how to effectively reflect on their own learning. They teach each other how to approach problems in different ways. They also mentor each other to see past what is happening in the classroom and to try to apply their ideas in a real world context. Their journey is documented through learning journals, exit cards and block end reflections. This is my form of “Extreme Team Learning” and is evolving every day and we re-evaluate and try new ways of learning at our school.

This type of learning wouldn’t happen if we hadn’t already developed a culture of understanding at our school where students feel supported and listened to, not only by the teachers, but by their peers as well. An open and caring environment is necessary for students to experience success.

Finally, my latest experiment is the concept of “Cross Age Tutoring”. Traditionally, this method is used in our school in the form of “Reading Buddies”, a time where older students read to younger students or vice versa. As we focus more and more on the acquisition of 21st century skills, I have developed literacy and numeracy centres where older students work with primary students on acquiring new skills through the use of ipods, laptops and Smart Board.

Nothing is more rewarding then hearing older students give feedback or instruction to younger students using the terminology they have learned to use in the “Studio”. The older students often comment in their reflections that they really enjoy teaching younger students new things. This experience gives them confidence knowing that even if they are struggling with concepts and skills at their own grade level, they have come a long way since Grade 1. They also say that they have become better learners themselves watching how younger students learn.

I’m not sharing our school’s journey to say that we are the best out there. We have come a long way and have a long way to go. We are constantly learning and growing along with our structure and make changes and improvements all the time. We have developed a structure that works for our students and their needs. As their needs evolve, so will our structure.

I’m curious to hear how you interpret “social learning” or “learning from the team”. I hope by sharing a bit about my school, you will share a bit about yours. I am always looking for new ways to approach learning in my classroom and in my school.

I look forward to hearing more from you.

Joanna