Embracing a Digital Misprint

A colleague of mine, Vu Lam, has a saying outside his door that states "It's tough to learn from mistakes you've never made." From our mistakes, our greatest learning takes place. Why are we so afraid of making a mistake and having it documented in our digital footprint?


As educators, it is our responsibility to send the message to our students and parents that mistakes are allowed as long as we learn and grow from them. A digital footprint can showcase learning in ways that have not previously existed by acting as an ongoing portfolio of our successes and failures that we carry with us each year. The opportunity now exists so that this portfolio does not need to stay with our English 9 teacher, but it will continue throughout our lifetime to display our cognitive development.


Where and when should we start concerning ourselves with our digital imprint? It has already begun from the day we were born and our weight and gender were placed into a computer. A Grade One student should not have to worry that someone in the future will hold them responsible for a mistake they made at 7 years old, or 12 years old, or 16 years old. There will be evidence of all the growth and maturity that student has accomplished over that time period as well.

While in undergraduate school, I took a year off of my studies to basically wander around New York City and find myself. When I decided to return to university, the dean of academics called me in to ask why I had left in the first place and what had caused me to return. Being incredibly frank, I explained that over that time period I had learned more about myself and who I wanted to become than I had in the 3 previous years I had spent in school. While this may not have been the smartest thing to say to a representative of the college, my admission was granted and I returned a far brighter, motivated student than the confused one I was when I had left. If there was a digital footprint of the student I was prior to leaving and after my return, I would not be ashamed. The events and situations I grew from shaped every aspect of who I am today. What is wrong with admitting we are all not perfect? Why are we so afraid of what our digital footprint will say to the outside world?

As students begin to form their digital footprints on-line, the message educators should be sending to students and parents is that it is OK to not be perfect all of the time. Harvard does not expect perfection, but they do admire persistence. The same dean that allowed me back into undergraduate school went on to write my recommendation to Harvard for graduate school. Our digital footprint does not need to read like a curriculim vitae that only highlights the best of our career. We have an opportunity to watch students grow over time and apply their learning to become the best that they can be. A digital footprint can enable students to provide a framework to their learning and potential to grow as human beings. This is not something to be afraid of, but to embrace as a portfolio of life and learning.

Read more...

Web 2.0 and the Fragile Mind

Last fall, Jarik Conrad came to the International School of Bangkok and discussed emotional intelligence and its impact on student learning. One question his novel, "The Fragile Mind: How It Has Produced and Unwittingly Perpetuates America's Tragic Disparities," explores is: Why do some people born into difficult circumstances succeed in life where others fail?

Allow me to to take this question one step further: Why do some students succeed in school where others fail?



Conrad sites a a table by Dr. Ruby Payne that lays out the hidden rules among classes. Conrad states, "The fact that people from different groups can almost predictably fall into these patterns right down to their attire is no coincidence; it has all to do with genetics and experience" (Conrad 87). As educators we can apply a very similar table to our students today.

See below:

Hidden Rules of Student Achievement (adapted by D.S. Watts)

	Low-End Achiever	Average Student	High-End Achiever
Knowledge	To be regurgitated.	To be managed.	To be consumed.
Language	Language is about survival.	Language is about negotiation.	Language is about networking.
Homework	Key question: Did you do it? Quantity important.	Key question: Did you complete the assignment? Quality important.	Key question: Did you present it well? Presentation important.
Popularity	Popularity and acceptance conditional, based upon whether individual is liked.	Popularity and acceptance conditional and based largely upon achievement.	Popularity and acceptance conditional and related to social standing and connections.
Time	Present most important. Decisions made for moment based on feelings or survival.	Future most important. Decisions made against future ramifications.	Traditions and history most important. Decisions made partially on basis of tradition or decorum.
Education/ School	Is forced.	Is expected.	Is for the future.
World View	Sees world in terms of local view.	Sees world in terms of national view.	Sees world in terms of international view.
View of Higher Education	Valued and revered as abstract but not as reality.	Crucial for climbing success ladder and making money.	Necessary tradition for making and maintaining connections.
Driving Forces	Survival, relationships, entertainment.	Work, achievement.	Financial, political, social connections.
Destiny	Believes in fate. Cannot do much to mitigate chance.	Believes in choice. Can affect future with good choices now.	Believes in change. Can contribute to future by action.

Adapted from A Framework for Understanding Poverty by Ruby Payne, 2005, Highlands, TX


If students fall into these predictable patterns of behavior, web 2.0 has the possibility to begin to dissolve these patterns and open up the rich experience of education to students of different socio-economic backgrounds and learning levels.



Pure intellect does not account for each student's success. With web 2.0, the emotional intelligence of a student can prosper at a rate we have yet to really see materialize in this generation. This technology can help students feel as if they are in control of their success despite their environment. Only the future can prove to academia and society if the future of technology can help fuse the needs of a growing and diverse population through Personal Learning Networks (PLN).



Web 2.0 in the classroom could bridge the racial disparities in education, or exacerbate those disparities if we do not approach the future carefully. As educators we need to recognize not only how technology will change the landscape of academia, but also how it may help alleviate the racial disparities that exist in education and throughout the world. To read more about the fragile mind check out http://www.thefragilemind/.

Read more...

How to Post a Table on Blogger

Here's a little code I recently found and tweaked to post a table on blogger (which can be seen in my previous blog).

Here's what you do:

1. Go to Create tab on Blogger
2. Write your post and decide where you would like to place your table
3. SAVE your draft, then go to the Html tag
4. Cut and paste the following code in the Edit HTML section : (table align="center" border="2" cellpadding="6" cellspacing="2" width="510")(tbody)(tr)(th)Table Header1(/th)(th)Table Header2(/th)(th)Table Header3(/th)(/tr)(tr)(td)Table Data Row1 Column1(/td)(td)Table Data Row1 Column2(/td)(td)Table Data Row 1 Column3(/td)(/tr)(tr)(td)Table Data Row 2 Column1(/td)(td)Table Data Row 2 Column2(/td)(td)Table Data Row 2 Column3(/td)(/tr)(/tbody)(/table)
5. Now comes some patience; go back and replace the ( with <
6. And replace all the ) with > : If I post it like that it automatically makes it a table!
7. Make sure there are no spaces between each line of code. For each space, you will get spaces between your text and the table, leaving you with a large amount of blank space before your table.

This should give you a table with 3 columns and 3 rows like this:

Table Header1	Table Header2	Table Header3
Table Data Row1 Column1	Table Data Row1 Column2	Table Data Row 1 Column3
Table Data Row 2 Column1	Table Data Row 2 Column2	Table Data Row 2 Column3

Good luck!

Read more...

Using a Ning for Writing

I have finally created what I set out to do from day one of this class. This is not my class project and it has nothing to do with a project sketch of any sort. Last year at EARCOS, I came up with the idea of a storage place for my student's writing online so that my students could have a place to post their writing and read the writing of their peers as the year progressed. I also wanted a place to keep their writing, so for instance when a 7th grader finds out he is moving, he can read a poem written about moving from another 7th grader's perspective. If a student loses a grandparent, they can read a short story about someone else and how they dealt with grief. As a reader, I have always found comfort in knowing I am not alone in my feelings or experiences in life. Yet year after year I return amazing short stories and poems to my students, and countless times they end up buried in someone's notebook and thrown away at the end of the year.

My first attempt to bring this to fruition was a blog through http://inside.isb.ac.th/wattswriting/. This did not work as planned by any stretch of the imagination. My students could only contribute to the blog as a comment, and the only thing keeping track of their poems was a simple laundry list. In addition, I have no idea how long I will be at ISB. My husband's job will move us inevitably to another country. Will I lose all of my students' work in the process?

I believe I may have found a solution. Last year I started a ning with a few of my colleagues for the Grade 10 students titled Reading4Life http://reading4life.ning.com/. The students would write about their favorite books that they were reading for independent reading. Instead of reading a bunch of boring book reports, my students would recommend books and ask questions based on the content of the novels they were reading. At one point, I had 5 students reading "The Kite Runner" at the same time due to a student recommendation. I plan to use this ning again next year in the high school.

So now I have formed a ning titled Writing4Watts http://writing4watts.ning.com/. Although it is in the early stages of development, my students will have a forum to post their poems and short stories. They will have a place to read stories by students of a similar age with similar experiences. They will have a place to go for writing ideas when they don't know what to write about next. They will have a place to go to view pictures to help them create a story. I am excited and hope that I have finally found the right venue for what i am looking for. As of this morning, all of my students have been invited to post their poems. Hopefully it will grow and posses the longevity I hope for to enable students who love to write, find a place to write and be acknowledged for their creativity.

Read more...

Reflections on the Learning

Here is my final reflection on course 1: Information Literacy and Ourselves as Learners.

1. Information Overload: Within a few short weeks, my knowledge of technology and how to apply it in my classroom has quadrupled. I am amazed at the variety of tools available, and the creative ways I can use them in my classroom have barely been uncovered. I truly believe that I could take the entire course over again and still learn more. At times the information was coming at me faster than I could soak it all in, but that is what I love about a good class. Too often in my life I have been the "know-it-all", the one who knows anything and everything about a subject (or at least I have thought I did) and I have found myself not learning new ideas, but trying to figure out better ways to teach the concepts being covered in the future. This class pushes me and I am by far not the "know-it-all" by any stretch of my imagination. I am still a neophyte in a room full of people that I admire and respect. I like to surround myself with people that I can learn from and this course did this every day.
2. Team Building: One of the added bonuses I have received from taking this course is the incredible team building that has happened with my colleagues. I wish we had taken this course back in August. We have come together in ways I never imagined and developed a curriculum unit that I am incredibly proud of and excited to teach. It may not have ever been an objective of the course, but in many ways it is one of the most valuable tools I will take with me. We have each been hired by ISB for our talents, and sometimes it takes us awhile to see how we can all work together. The experience has been rewarding on so many levels.
3. Overwhelmed vs. Balance: With all of the new knowledge I have attained, I find it difficult to balance my career: grading, planning, meetings; family: husband, three kids; and technology. When did technology become a category? Why is it that all of a sudden I feel behind on Facebook? No one is going to hate me because I haven't responded to their friend request in two days. I will get to it when I get to it. But now I am supposed to be available to people at all times. I leave school and pass 7 students on the walk home. I have children at my house playing with my children whose older brothers and sisters I teach. I go to Villa, and I am a teacher. I take my kids to soccer practice, I am a teacher. I look at my email, I am a teacher. Email makes me feel accountable at all times. When do I get to let my job stay at my job? When do we say no to being on call 24-7? My brother-in-law is a well paid lawyer in LA, and he has to be on call at all times for his clients. But do teachers have to be as well? I am currently trying something new that a teacher friend of mine suggested. He tells parents and students from day one that when he leaves school he does not check his email. On weekends he does not check his email. Last week I checked my email at 9:30 at night. Who knows why I decided to look but there it was, that one email that ruffles your skin and makes you not sleep at night. As teachers, there needs to be some level of balance in our lives; yet, I have no idea how to do it. Technology adds to it more than any other teaching tool I have been introduced to since the beginning of my teaching career in the 1990's.
4. Technology in the Classroom and Facebook: I recently asked another group of teachers how we stop the students from checking Facebook in the middle of class. "It is called classroom management." Yes and no. It is one thing if students are in first grade and they are making voice threads on GarageBand, it is another when students are researching issues on the web and have twenty tabs open while you walk around the room trying to help students decipher reliable websites. I can not watch my students at all times no matter how hard I try. And it isn't just about the students. At a recent faculty meeting I observed two people on email, one on Facebook, one on a blog, and three reading their iGoogle accounts. Where is the etiquette? I am just as guilty as my students, and yet I am not sure how to stop. Which leads me to my ultimate question:

Who or what do we stop multitasking for?

I have yet to figure this out and I am not sure any course will teach me this valuable tidbit of knowledge. I'll let you know if I figure anything out. . .

Read more...