Great BitTorrent billboard http://t.co/yO7ivaKaMA

Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/photomatt/status/399008948918820864

The 10 Most Walkable Cities In America http://t.co/7S3vyJct3S

Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/FastCompany/status/399032283824676864

TN Student Speaks Out About Common Core, Teacher Evaluations, and Educational Data - YouTube

Posted: 08 Nov 2013 07:38 AM PST

Here's some interesting homeschooling and related news from this week to consider.

The NY Times reports that the U.S. Military has decided to more fully support homeschooling on its bases as a way to help families reduce the stress of changing schools and other transitions for military families.
The NY Times also ran a story about how some colleges are shifting to degrees based on proving what you can do, rather than just completing seat-time and tests in a class.
The Huffington Post reports: “Doug Phillips, the Home School Movement's leading Quiverful Patriarch resigned from Vision Forum Ministries, admitting a "lengthy inappropriate relationship" with a woman.”

Steve Pare, Prov public safety commissioner, said guns were responsible for 73 % of the murders over the past 10 years #riguns

Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/BillMalinowski/status/398603883817476096

RT @glassbeed: Saskatchewan man creates a 3D printer that will sell for around $100:http://t.co/iVATOV91NE @shareski @courosa

Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/courosa/status/398680392074412032

Rovy Branon (@rovybranon)
11/8/13 5:56 AM
Stop what you are doing. Watch this [VIDEO]: The Avalanche that Hasn't Happened ht.ly/qBT1Hvia @gsiemens

Pelle (@gamlepelle)
11/8/13 5:50 AM
Jazz musicians can teach surgeons how to improvise theconversation.com/jazz-musicians…FYI: @jazzcode

Almost any discipline involves unspoken ways of doing. When I learnt to operate I spent endless hours tying knots with one hand, practising with a piece of string over the back of a chair until I could do it in my sleep.

Musicians practice scales until they become automatic. Once these skills have become second nature you can draw on them without having to think. But that also makes them almost impossible to describe to other people.

Paul Thomas (@plthomasEdD)
11/8/13 5:57 AM
NAEP? Nope: Why (Almost) Everyone Will Misread (Again) Data on Gaps wp.me/p2GmBR-rHvia @plthomasEdD

The problem, of course, is that standardized test data are simply metrics for social conditions that we pretend are measures of learning and teaching.

It is a particularly nasty game, but it seems few are going to stop playing any time soon. “Achievement gap”* has now ascended to the point of being classified as a subset of Tourette syndrome among politicians and education reformers.

Thus, if we are bound and determined to persist in our fetish for test scores and remain committed to raising test scores (instead of actually alleviating inequity or providing all children with wonderful and rich school days that would end in learning and happiness), guess what?

We need to do something different than what we have been doing for thirty-plus years!

First, end the standards-testing rat race.

Second, end childhood poverty.

Paul Thomas (@plthomasEdD)
11/8/13 5:59 AM
CAUTION: Technology! wp.me/p2GmBR-rD via@plthomasEdD

In Walden, Henry David Thoreau offered two warnings that should guide how we approach technology: “We are in great haste to construct a magnetic telegraph from Maine to Texas; but Maine and Texas, it may be, have nothing important to communicate,” and, “We do not ride on the railroad; it rides upon us

Many would-be educational innovators treat technology as an end-all and be-all, making no effort to figure out how to integrate it into the classroom,

into the classroom.. oh my.

Paul Thomas (@plthomasEdD)
11/8/13 5:59 AM
Are Common Core and Testing Debates "Two Different Matters"? wp.me/p2GmBR-rr via@plthomasEdD

During those years also, state standards changed three times, and concurrent with those changes, we adopted new textbooks and sat through hours and hours of in-service, handed over more and more class time to test-prep, and implemented SAT courses during the school day (ones for which students received credit toward graduation) that required huge investments in hardware and software, which mostly never worked (my home state of SC has a history of so-called low SAT scores so our 1990s approach to addressing that was to encourage more students to take the SAT).

All of this is to say: If you have ever taught in public schools during the past three decades you know that the comment quoted at the beginning is patently false. In fact, if you have taught in public schools during the past three decades you know that CC cannot be separated from highs-stakes testing.

unless cc is learning how to learn via attachment and authenticity..

because like you Paul said in tech?.. everything is changes.. the only thing that remains...

are you usefully ignorant... do you know what to do when you don't know what to do

aka... can you improv...

Bob Goff (@bobgoff)
11/8/13 6:27 AM
God's betting that we'll have the guts to be who He made us to be, rather than acting like someone He doesn't know.

Study looks at public perceptions of suitable place for wearable tech http://t.co/WOTf825Dkv @georgiatech #edtechchat

Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/ShiftParadigm/status/398824151747547136

hmm. interesting. i don't know..

spinach and rock? or real..

Sad statistic :The United States has More People in Jail than High School Teachers and Engineers...http://t.co/Iu2owvlQ2g

Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/ilainie/status/399166030930788352

@zeynep See WEF's work on the value, for example, of collected health data to us all balancing privacy.

Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/jeffjarvis/status/399168209276116992

@jeffjarvis There is a balance to be struck but vacuuming up the internet is so far off the balance... They'll just get overwhelmed.

Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/zeynep/status/399162958020087808

Saddest aspect of life right now is that science gathers knowledge faster than society gathers wisdom~Isaac Asimov http://t.co/xwmh9lGwDl

Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/JenniferSertl/status/399167301884198912

@jeffjarvis It took a randomized trial to figure it out. Problem is data is so easy to gather and looks so powerful.. People become blinded.

Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/zeynep/status/399169662334038016

@jeffjarvis The hormone replacement therapy (where they got the whole connection wrong: it increased cancer) was based on a lot of data.

Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/zeynep/status/399169515734704128

@jeffjarvis Even in health. A randomized trial may give info masked by correlation analysis of big data. But big data cheaper--so danger.

Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/zeynep/status/399169400211005440

posted by jennifer sertl on fb

Jennifer Sertl

Time for another learning loop . . .

“The best thing for being sad," replied Merlin, beginning to puff and blow, "is to learn something. That's the only thing that never fails. You may grow old and trembling in your anatomies, you may lie awake at night listening to the disorder of your veins, you may miss your only love, you may see the world about you devastated by evil lunatics, or know your honour trampled in the sewers of baser minds. There is only one thing for it then — to learn. Learn why the world wags and what wags it. That is the only thing which the mind can never exhaust, never alienate, never be tortured by, never fear or distrust, and never dream of regretting. Learning is the only thing for you. Look what a lot of things there are to learn.”
― T.H. White, The Once and Future King

Here are my favorite links on learning that the lovely Lynne Desilva-johnson me organize for curation
http://exitstrata.com/reconversations-jennifer-sertls-resources-for-resilience-pt-4-an-ode-to-teachers-and-a-celebration-of-learning/

Jason Silva (@JasonSilva)
11/8/13 6:35 AM
PAY ATTENTION: Five ways the world is doing better than you think
m.bbc.co.uk/news/magazine-…

@sweden / Anna-Stina (@sweden)
11/8/13 6:34 AM
Two of my favourite Tove Jansson picture books.pic.twitter.com/NhzdQTDWhd

Dougald Hine (@dougald)
11/8/13 6:37 AM
Putting together slides on (post-)scarcity & history of subsistence for tomorrow's#FSCONS talk.

ds106 Daily Create (@ds106dc)
11/7/13 7:43 AM
#ds106 #dailycreate: Make a photo of something very small; make it seem big!dlvr.it/4H68Kz

warning - huge rant...

Therese Mastro (@tamastro17)
11/8/13 6:38 AM
Good practice to revisit no matter how many years we have been in the classroom.ow.ly/26RUYR #vestalhills

There’s plenty of evidence to suggest that she’s not alone. A2011 survey of teachers and school administrators by Staff Development for Educators, for example, found that 86 percent of respondents cited classroom management as one of the biggest challenges facing new teachers. Similarly, in a 2006 survey by the American Psychological Association, teachers ranked classroom management, along with instructional skills, as a top area of need for professional development.

yet.. where we spend all our time and money

But instructional leaders also say that in most cases teachers can develop their classroom-management capacities—assuming they’re willing to re-examine their practices and attend more closely to the details of their interactions with students

Similarly, Lemov, who is also the author of Teach Like a Champion: 49 Techniques That Put Students on the Path to College, stressed that expectations need to be taught and practiced with students. “You can’t just assume that kids know what it means to pay attention, for example,” he said. “You need to give really clear instructions, using an economy of language.”

because it's not natural..

the classroom. so classroom management is something we ve manufactured..

Some teachers, even very passionate ones, “forget they are managers of children and resources, so they aren’t really oriented to think that way,” according David Ginsburg, an independent school-leadership and instructional coach based in Philadelphia. “Love of the content and great lessons aren’t enough. Teachers need [to do] upfront planning around management and organization.”

oh my.

again.. not working.. because not natural

not humane.

In a similar vein, Ginsburg noted that, in attempting to reassert authority, teachers often err in “going down the path of creating controlling, adversarial relationships with kids.”

all in one sentence.. really.

are we listening to what we ourselves are saying..?

If that’s the culture, teachers won’t get the collaboration they need from students.”

pretty key.. who needs the collaboration..?

and for for what?

...intimate that they are looking

what does that mean...?

Teachers need to “notice whether students do what they are asked to do, show that they care, intimate that they are looking, and scan the classroom regularly,” he said.

oh my.

“Little things have big muscles” in the classroom, said Lemov, explaining that teachers at Uncommon Schools are trained to exhibit “visible perception” as a way of cultivating student engagement. Teachers need to “notice whether students do what they are asked to do, show that they care, intimate that they are looking, and scan the classroom regularly,” he said.

yep. 3rd time.

zooming out from a scary paragraph...

Most of us go the speed limit when a police officer is visible, and houses are always cleanest when company is coming,” Sprick explained by analogy

right.. that's how sustainable... life long ...learning works.. no?

For instructional coach Ginsburg, the role of observational skills extends to becoming more aware of students’ particular needs in the classroom. A student may be acting out, for example, because he or she wants to be called on more often or is avoiding a task or assignment in light of past failures. To uncover such issues (as well as positive developments), Ginsburg stressed the “importance of circulating through the whole class” and acknowledging the work each student is doing. “That’s the ultimate reward for a student—acknowledgement from an adult.”

oh my.

repeat last sentence 100 times..

cherry on top..

most all pre scripted acknowledgment in classroom has to so with assumed basic knowledge.. just in case people ever need to factor a polynomial... no?

“Anything coaches can do to give kids more of a voice in the way they are experiencing the teacher’s management can help,” she said, adding that conducting a survey of students can be an eye-opening practice for teachers.

dang

give kids more of a voice in the way they are experiencing the teacher’s management

really? our goal?

Teachers who are struggling with classroom management often “don’t see the forest for the trees,” he said. “They want to address the misbehavior, but that’s addressing the symptom rather than the source.”

yeah.. esp when the source is that we are all packed in a classroom.. most haven't chosen. teacher as well.. how many teachers were inspired to become the best classroom manager they could be..

Patrick Meier (@PatrickMeier)
11/8/13 6:40 AM
Not everyone may be able to donate $$ for #YolandaPH relief efforts. But everyone can donate 1 minute to help: bit.ly/1d1LmO0

Greg Satell (@Digitaltonto)
11/8/13 6:48 AM
How Technology Is Transforming Our Brainsp.ost.im/dWdMAL

The New Math: As I’ve argued before, our future won’t be made as much as it will be designed and, for now at least, algorithms don’t design themselves

if then regenerates.. but doesn't often redesign..

though it could.. adj possible..

two combos... not yet met..

more combos from more iterations.. nodes...

what's new..?

Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee)
11/9/13 7:09 AM
@marissamayer super impressed with your “twitter game” right now

ie:

43imslizzard (@Nico94123)
11/8/13 11:19 PM
@marissamayer if you RT this I'll make #yahoo the default search engine for my entire company!

"We will finish this race holding hands." A Staten Island runner on completing the marathon with Meb:http://t.co/YLxQR8lM6l HT @nxthompson

Original Tweet: https://twitter.com/kathrynschulz/status/399213137036988417

james altucher - the twitter machine:

Every life change I've ever had involved something old and something new. There's a reason the power of that phrase is included in the marriage ceremony.

So there's a formula:

Take something new, find something old that relates to it. Mix them together. See what happens.

People see the beauty of the tip of the iceberg, but they can't even imagine the chameleon-like complexity and beauty of the depths underneath that support the surface.

That beauty is still there though. That's the key.

millions of tiny interconnected remixable iterations... 24/7

the dance between human and machine.. getting better and better.. ie: machine - what do you do best... human - what do you do best.. ok.. there's the dance.

ie: tagging tweets for yolandaph