Music Connects

I blog and use social media mostly for education-related topics and issues, but I do like that I have included a number of other interests as part of my social media “diet”.

As a long time fan of the music by Dala, I also follow them on Twitter.  The talented duo, Amanda and Sheila, are sweet and charming both in person and on stage.  My family had the pleasure of seeing them perform live at the Red Rock Folk Festival last summer, as well as chatting with them after their performance.  I really admire how personable and engaging they are with their fans and followers.  Last night, they tweeted out a video that a young woman created to one of their songs using stop motion animation.  And just as their tweet said that it made them stop in their tracks, it did so for me too.

Check it out:

I then took in the conversation on Twitter that they had with the creator.  She has entered it into a film festival as well.  I know I am blown away by her message, talent, and expression already, as well as the patience of her friend who helped with the hours it took to film it.

I am always fascinated by the messages conveyed in music and lyrics.  How messages can be further conveyed in videos is also fascinating to me.  I suspect that each listener and viewer would relate and find meaning in different ways.  I often want to enjoy a song before seeing its video version, but I still especially enjoy what can be created visually in response or relation to music and lyrics.

Here is the official Dala video of the song, Good as Gold, as well…. also beautiful and captivating:

As I have included in my “About” page: ”Never far from what inspires me:  People, nature, music, and good humour!  And technology and social media have enhanced access to all such experiences!”  Just thought I would post an example of the interesting things and inspiring people I can stumble upon through these connections.

Parenting: More advice or more time?

I seldom blog about parenting, nor am I an ”expert”.  I have been a parent for almost 21 years, but I am still careful about how I give parenting advice.  The resources, blogs, books, commentary about parenting can seem endless.  I felt there were conflicting messages about parenting when I was a new parent — is it more overwhelming for newer parents of today?

I do blog about parent involvement in education and it naturally can overlap into parenting areas and issues.  I wrote a blog post about the parenting part of parent involvement in education in which I also stated my reluctance to tell any parent how to parent, as well as questions about who should offer this advice in education settings.  Parent engagement is defined in different ways, if not poorly defined, but many do view it as part of parenting.

A number of articles circulated this week regarding parenting.  Larry Ferlazzo posted about an article from a British newspaper with concerns that parents were “failing to get children ready for school”.  Their national association of head teachers and government produced leaflets for parents to give advice on getting children ready to learn.  I don’t think Larry was off the mark with his response,

“As I’ve said before, written materials like this are only useful if they are used by school staff as excuses to initiate genuine two-way conversations with parents.  If they are just passed-out, then they become examples of one-way communications that just end up in the trash.”

The president of the association was quoted in the article suggesting that “large numbers of parents failed to speak to their children because of the demands of work combined with over-exposure to television, DVDs, games consoles and the internet.”  A message to the association also suggested that this was also an issue for middle-class families, “where busy parents fail to spend enough time with their children”.

The first leaflet offers the following list or advice to parents to help with “school readiness”:

• Setting time aside for talking to children “without being interrupted by phones, TV, radio, computer etc”;

• Playing games together as a family that encourage concentration, such as jigsaws and board games;

• Encourage physical play and exercise by taking a trip to the park or the local leisure centre’

• Give children “lots of hugs and praise”;

• Check your child has their name on everything they bring to school;

• Make sure they have a healthy breakfast at home or at the school’s breakfast club;

• Set aside time for “homework, reading and talking together, and bedtime stories”;

• Set appropriate sleep patterns, including 15 hours a day for under-fives, 10 hours for primary school pupils and at least nine hours for older children.

I wonder what the next leaflets will entail.  Most of these are focused on things that will require time – some tasks more than others.

Larry also shared this article on Twitter regarding American parents, What American Need to Do Better: Lessons From the Rest of the World.  There is an interesting video interview with the author of a recently published book, “Parenting Without Borders”, and much of it is captured in the article.  I was relieved to hear/read that the author and parent, Christine Gross-Loh, stated that there were many ways to be a good parent, but adds this point, “And a lot of them involve a lot less involvement than we believe we should be doing.”

I think this is where things get really confusing.  The message often is, “Be more involved”, but also “Don’t be too involved”, or “Be involved like this..”.  How does a parent find the happy, balanced medium?  Who should say?  We often know parenting and experiences from our own context.  And just as every child may learn in unique ways, each child may need to be parented in unique ways.  I have found that with just two of my own.  And really, aren’t most parents just doing the best that they can do?  The parenting resources and advice are just that – resources and advice.  But what good are they if time for parenting and family is at such a premium for all families?  Time spent dedicated to parenting and family may also not be supported or valued in our society and communities.  Chris Wejr also recently posted a response to another article about parenting and also asked about the impact and influence that family time could have on childhood issues.

I also wonder… if time for parenting was more valued, supported, and respected, would the questions, debates, and discussions about involvement or less involvement still occur?  Are the appropriate questions being asked?

The Number Line

During recent use of social media, I was reminded that some people still use and monitor their “Klout”, a social media metric, to inform them about their social media “influence”.  I can understand the need to determine if use of social media is worthwhile, but I have yet to use or look into this metric and data.  I have written a post about this previously.

John Spencer recently wrote a post about the “the dangers in quantifying relationships” within social media connecting.   He discussed his own struggle with what to make of the “numbers” aspect of social media and wondered about the effects on his students.

It’s not hard to get caught up in the numbers and statistics.  It would be understandable if one stopped using social media platforms if they felt that the feedback in terms of “stats”, “hits”, “likes”, and shares were on a lower scale, especially if others are publicly reporting or displaying their own standings within these networks.  My own “stats” quite likely would suggest that what I do is not worthwhile, but I do what I do regardless.

On John’s post, a few commenters provided some honest, candid remarks related to their experiences as newer participants with social media.  I encourage you to read the post and comments in full.  Vivian provided a good reminder, “With the Internet, we can have these mini celebrity worlds but they never existed on such a huge scale, before the Internet. Since we’re digital immigrants, we should know better as we can still remember a time when it wasn’t like that.”  Fred Galang admitted, “Not going to lie – I too look at numbers.  As a media teacher I should know better. As a human being, it was expected”, but goes on to affirm, “Impact and influence you ask? I don’t need it from Twitter”.  Both commenters and others shared further good thoughts as well.

Our day-to-day, “real” lives can be a lot about performance measures, ranking and rating.  Many experiences cannot be validated at all, or are validated by others.  If we as adults are attracted by the validation that social media experience or “influence” can provide, are we aware of how this may also be affecting our youth who use these social online spaces?

I know John had some plans to provide his students with related forum questions.  He has shared some of the feedback from his students here in “Facebook is not a Front Porch”.

I have overheard my own children comparing their ‘likes’ on statuses and photos.  Yet their personalities and comfort with posting online differ and they learn from each other through this and from our family discussions.  One good guiding question that I find helpful is, ”How much are you trying to BE interesting vs. interested in others?”.  That idea came from a post that Chris Wejr wrote in reflection about his social media use.

I think reflection is often needed on this, for ourselves and our kids.  Are we influencing with numbers?  How are we influenced by numbers?  What does influence even mean online?  I don’t want to participate, write, follow, interact, etc., FOR the numbers or “Klout”.  I think a high score or thousands of followers, or worrying about my “brand” would only overwhelm and pressure me.  I believe it would affect my writing and interactions with others.  I know it can be difficult to find the appropriate “line” of sharing ideas to connect, learn and grow vs. sharing in self-promotion.  I can understand others who want the numbers for information because they use these spaces for different things and various professional and business purposes, but I don’t think this is the purpose of a personal learning network (PLN).  If I don’t get an answer to a question or an interaction for what I toss out there to a smaller network and following, I can live with that.  I wish Twitter didn’t post our number of tweets and followers – there is no context in those numbers alone.  Quantity simply does not mean quality, especially with social media….unless I am missing something?

Now, back to thinking, reflecting, and sharing about education

Leading Learning and Networking to Learn

As I dipped into the Twitter stream today, I seemed to have caught a theme in just a few short minutes!

If you are ever having some reservations or questions about the purpose of a Personal Learning Network, “PLN”, there are plenty of good reads to guide with this.  I wrote a post with my own questions and thoughts some time ago.  What I found interesting today was how a few posts seem to relate and mesh so well, if not speak to where things are at currently with online learning networks in education and to what lies ahead.

First I read about, “It’s time to create school systems that learn”, by Paul Ash, Superintendent.  His message really speaks to a shift in supporting learning and key roles in education.

Then, “Hacking Your Professional Development“.  Andrew Campbell, a teacher, pulled together a great compilation that captures the possibilities of a PLN and other learning opportunities that educators are taking part in and have readily available to them.

And then next, some related and relevant insight from a principal, Cale Birk, “How Do You Value Networking?”.  His post nicely brings in the consideration of students to this networked way of learning.  A lot to reflect on from his post in regards to both student and educator networks and connected learning.

And one last post regarding the purpose and next steps for PLN’s, Tom Whitby asks, “When is Innovation Old News?”.

I hope these posts help bring together some thoughts and plans for next steps for you, as they did for me.  Thanks for reading my quick collection!

Changing the Conversation: Youth and Social Media

This past week a great dialogue started at a parent/community event hosted by my school board’s Parent Involvement Committee.  Based on the premise that social media is not going away, our school board supported the committee to host an evening of panel presentations and dialogue regarding social media and its impact on our youth.  Attendance was great and included all stakeholders in education for this “Social Media Lowdown” (#SMLoDown).  Our panel of student, community police officer, and teacher/parent provided excellent insight and perspectives to the many aspects of social media and our changing communication technologies.  Parents were eager for the guidance — some attending with their children.  A most engaging and informative Q&A and discussion amongst the panelists and participants followed.

Some feedback from parents already suggests to me that the evening was well received and appreciated and that the dialogue will continue in our community.  One parent expressed her relief that the session wasn’t just about “all the bad things” that could happen to kids online.  She was most happy to gain insight to guide the opportunities that social media networking has to offer.  Other parents felt it was exactly the information they needed to better support their children with social media and online experiences.  Some felt that for such an important topic, more parents should have been in attendance.  However, I think the 60-70 audience size allowed for good discussion and sharing.  I am confident that conversation and critical thinking will branch out from these participants.  It has been great to hear about some engaging conversations that have already occurred within families since the evening’s event.  Further resources will be shared electronically with those who attended and anyone else interested.  I am certain there will be further opportunities for this dialogue as well.

I am most grateful that our school board supported this topic and outreach to parents and to our community.  Much appreciation has been extended to all who supported and attended.  We had a great moderator and support from a local radio station as well.  Our student trustee on the panel was such an important voice in this dialogue!  All three panelists provided valuable perspectives and helpful suggestions.  Andrew Campbell, our teacher/parent panelist has provided his presentation slides and the video of his talk on his blog to help the dialogue continue.  Thanks, Andrew!

I am honoured to have been a part of a change in conversation about social media and the support of our youth.  I hope my sharing of this event and the resources will help others with this dialogue and support in their own communities.

Here is a list of resources/reading we compiled for further support:

Office of the Privacy Commissioner of Canada – Video

MediaSmarts (Canadian site/also a good follow on Twitter: @MediaSmarts)

Media and Digital Literacy: Resources for Parents

Parent Resources – YouTube Help

Why Being Young Doesn’t Make You a Social Media Expert

Kids & Technology: The Developmental Health Debate

Seven Media-Savvy Skills All Parents Need in 2013

Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media

Keeping One Step Ahead of Kids in a Mobile World

Choose What Happens Next – A Series of Video Lessons on Responsible Cyber Citizenship

A Letter to Parents of Digital Age Children

Creating a Family Media Agreement: How to Have the Conversation

Some food for thought for both parents and educators:

It’s vital we teach social networking skills in school

Should schools offer social media etiquette classes?

The Learning Games

It is always interesting when people support or advocate for something in schools based on the “real world” argument.  This can include various scenarios and references.  Much has been discussed and debated regarding “failure” in education lately.  The conversations and writing on it have extended to schooling, raising children, grading and assessment, sports, learning, creativity, personal growth, motivation, and so on.  Yet “failure” may look and be defined differently in each of those areas.  Supporting the conditions for success may be different in each as well.  Many of these conversations lead to a debate about advantages and disadvantages of competition.  I lurked on one recently on Twitter (saved here.)

I often come across articles that present a viewpoint and make analogies between these areas as well.  Parent behaviour is sometimes criticized by the same person advocating for competition, yet competitive environments may be the reason why parents have behaved or responded in such a way in the first place. For example, this opinion piece that linked the areas of sports and schools in regards to competition and assessment.  Yet, this article articulates well the position and rationale of the soccer association referred to the opinion piece.

Many writers and educators examine how different contexts need different considerations in terms of competition, learning and failure.  Joe Bower presents the issue regarding competition within public education in this post.  Chris Wejr discusses learning vs. sports in this guest post and his thoughts about the “real world” of students here on his blog.  This post from Fun-in-a-Box Canada’s author Tami Oudendijk also examines various contexts and questions in regards to learning vs. winning, and assessment.  John Spencer has also posted his thoughts in regards to gamification and learning.

There are many others who address and articulate the complexities and the ”gray” around these topics and avoid generalizations.  Does the “real world” access these voices and perspectives enough?  If you have an article or post that addresses these discussions and debates well, please feel free to add.

Critical thinking about supporting creativity

There seems to be a shift in education conversations – from a focus on literacy and numeracy to innovation and creativity.  This dialogue is not only in Ontario, but across many borders.  It has certainly peaked my curiosity.

I have been reviewing two Ontario education reports with much interest:

Great to Excellent: Launching the Next Stage of Ontario’s Education Agenda. (Prof. Michael Fullan, Special Advisor to the Premier of Ontario)

Fullan Report

A Vision for Learning and Teaching in a Digital Age (Ontario Public School Boards’ Association)

OPSBA

Both are well worth a read and provide great food for thought regarding education strategies that include technology integration and supporting learning with new digital resources.

In Fullan’s report, the six C’s form the agenda:  Character, citizenship, communication, critical thinking and problem solving, collaboration and teamwork, and creativity and imagination.

In the OPSBA’s report, their vision “seeks to define the skills we want students to have by the time they finish school beyond the essential foundation of literacy and numeracy and core academic competencies” (p.7).  In this report, skills for the digital age are also a set of C’s:  Creativity and innovation, critical thinking, communication, and collaboration.

Both reports make good recommendations for directions in education, and what to build on.  But as we talk about these C words, I wonder if they are all being understood in a consistent way.  In a recent post, I did some thinking out loud about creativity and innovation and where technology fits with the creative process.   I got some good feedback and comments.

In Fullan’s paper, brief preliminary descriptions of the six C’s were provided.  The bullet for creativity and imagination states, “Economic and social entrepreneurialism, considering and pursuing novel ideas, and leadership in action.” (p.9). When asked during a live interview what he felt represented the most significant break with the past, he stated creativity and imagination as being the most important.

In OPSBA’s report, creativity and innovation skills were described as follows:

“Think creatively, generating new and worthwhile ideas, exploring innovative formats and media; elaborate, refine, analyze and evaluate one’s own ideas in order to improve and maximize creative efforts; work creatively with others, communicating new ideas effectively and being responsive to diverse perspectives; demonstrate originality and inventiveness in work and understand the real world limits to adopting new ideas; view failure as an opportunity to learn; understand that creativity and innovation is a long-term, cyclical process of small successes and frequent mistakes; act on creative ideas to make a tangible and useful contribution to the field in which the innovation will occur.  Creativity and innovation are particularly important in a world of rapid change.”  (p.7)

A lot of these C words, as well as “innovation”, are used together and interchangeably and I suspect that the processes and actions of each could occur simultaneously and overlap.  In Fullan’s report it is acknowledged that, “This paper has not provided details on how to get to the next level of excellence”.  He refers to the launching of Ontario to the next phase as already leading from strength, “but if anything it will require deeper partnership between government and education and other sectors in order to realize the aspirations and qualities embedded in the six C’s”. (p. 11).

What should be the focus ahead – the how?  Deeper partnerships? Technology? If creativity is essential, what conditions are necessary to support this? Do we understand what we planning to support and why?  Are we justifying one thing with another?

I often hear that failure is important to the process of creativity, but this post of Josh Stumpenhorst’s highlighting failure as important for growth had me thinking in relation to all this.  He also discusses the role of creativity and curiosity in learning.

In my previous post about creativity, I added a video of a talk by John Cleese about creativity.  He refers to creativity as a way of operating and goes on to speak more about the conditions that allow one to be more creative.  He refers to the importance of the “open mode” to allow for creativity.  Conditions that allow for an open mode are:  Quiet, playful spaces; lots of time and specific times allotted to time to play; confidence in whom you “play” with if it does involve others; and humour.  He felt humour was quicker that anything in helping move from a closed to open mode.

John Spencer (@johntspencer) has written a number of good blog posts that examine creativity. In a recent one he asks,

“What if the solution for creativity isn’t to teach creativity, but to allow it? What if creativity happens when students make something meaningful, find joy in learning, fall in love with a concept, have the permission to take risks and learn to push past obstacles?”

In this post called, Creativity: The Premier Skill of the 21st Century, the author makes a distinction about creativity and innovation in this way, “Creativity is the ideation of a thought, while innovation is the realization of the idea.”  This blog is hosted by a national organization, The Partnership for 21^st Century Skills, which makes a call for creativity and innovation as one of the essential skill sets of future citizens, “And, while we do not traditionally have a Creativity Room in our schools, we have a mandate to instill the skills of creative thinking to foster a never-ending stream of innovations.”

But is this the goal – in that creativity leads to innovations?  Can allowing for students to be creative be a goal in itself?

It is often said that creativity can’t be defined, but I think we can create the conditions to allow for it.  How do schools, teaching, and education have to change to support the conditions for it? Do we have to measure it?

As I was drafting this post, there were many individuals whose tweets helped my thinking on this.  Some were sharing their own thoughts and questions about this while at conferences and sessions about creativity, innovation, and learning spaces. Thanks Jenn (@jennzia) and Fred (@NomadCreatives), and many others for their critical thinking and sharing!