What can a principal or superintendent do to transform schools? Use the Fischler ebook, posters and video to introduce the vocabulary of transformation: The Analogy with the Banking Industry

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QOst4lBm0Z8

A principal or superintendent can use the Fischler ebook, posters and video to introduce the vocabulary of transformation:   
(a) The Analogy with the Banking Industry
(b) The use of computers to take over some parts of presentation of information from the teacher.

Get the free ebook at Transform-Education.com

Click here to see Dr. Fischler's description of Transformation 

Click here for a useful source of Free Digital Photos... and go to elearning for tips about how to reach Adult Learners

1)  Free Digital Photos at  www.FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Go here

2)  http://elearningindustry.com/8-important-characteristics-of-adult-learners

I like this easy summary.  These points could go on a poster to remind teachers "what to do" and to remind students "ask for this..."

Video games (if designed carefully) can make learning addictive -- let's click and make this phrase more popular. (Flow is a concept by Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi)

"As you get good at a skill in the video game, we adapt and make it more difficult."

Here is the key idea (only 2 minutes).  It's worth a look.

This is an interesting extension of the "Flow between Boredom and Anxiety" chart that was made famous by the author of the book "Flow."  "Chick Sent Me High E"  the psychologist

CLICK here

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nw8URn0eTAk

I'm too cheap to get the Windows 8 Phone, but I like the idea: "It's not about apps.... it's about PEOPLE." That's how I teach, so why not communicate in the same way?

Here's a message from one of my students:

You should buy a Windows Phone 8! E.g. Nokia Lumia 720. You would really love using it.

Why? First, it's NOT all about apps. It's all about people! All information from different accounts in a single place, the people hub. 

Easily share on Facebook. 

Perfect Skype integration.

Try it!

Visit the video

Lutz 

Von meinem Windows Phone gesendet

Von: Steve THE EBOOK MAN McCrea

Gesendet: ‎30.‎05.‎2013 18:57

Thank you, Lutz.

I will pass on comments to Lutz if you want to contact him.  He really knows Windows.  If you are committed to a PC, then you should know what Lutz has in his head.   And he enjoys sharing his insights.  (But he rightly protects his privacy...so send me a message and I'll pass on your questions to Lutz...)

The power of Facebook and social media to turn the former student into the new teacher: please contact your teachers and show them what you have learned. You are a source of information for instructors to continue improving

I received a Facebook note from a former student.  I posted the work that I completed about my trip to the Faculty of Foreign Languages in Havana and a former student from South Korea hit "like" and so I thanked her for the "like" and asked her about her current studies.  She gave me her update and it was at that moment that I realized, "She will be teaching me new things."

How quickly can we turn our former students into mentors and teachers?  How quickly can we teachers reverse the relationship?  
My goal is to learn from my students in the first class, but many students come to class assuming that the learning is a one-way street.
This is the key to Dennis Littky's observation that most people expect teachers to deliver information to students.



John Sowash:  the flipped classroom is NOT about expensive technology (you can flip without using the Internet << Brett Wilie)  

the brains of the hunter and the gatherer   

The creation of the Black Sea.   (Was the Black Sea a freshwater lake many thousands of years ago?   Noah's Flood?)

The Santorini explosiion and the Red Sea in Exodus

Sugar is addictive

Vitamin D helps in many areas (and some people

I was SAD but now I'm happy:  Seasonal Affective Disorder (lower levels of light in winter can mean depression for some people)

what are some other topics to start conversations?

What are items to show people?  What have I learned in the past 5 years that I can share with my students?

KeepVid.com for downloading videos from youtube
Snopes.com  for checking Internet "facts"
MakeUseOf.com  tips about items on the Internet
http://www.funny-potato.com/read-this.html

Behind the Label  (Sebastian Tecchio's documentary about GMO cotton and the impact on farmers)   

Youtube searches that yield interesting videos, such as "fuji sunrise" and "tokyo subway rush hour"
Funny drivers (dangerous) "saudi driving skating dangerous"
"Sidewall Skiing"
What else should I carry on my pen drive when I next go to a school that has no Internet?  What should I share with students?   Send me your suggestions.

The Flipped Classroom and Katie Gimbar

The Power of Posters

The Misguided Belief in Learning Styles  Dr. Clark
Myron Dembo and Keith Howard, Steven Stahl   Let's make these names better known.

Dr. Deming's 14 points, the 11 points for Labor (employees) and his insights into the pursuit of Quality as a way to improve any system (organization).  Focus on the process.

The New Learning Revolution and the impact of Deming (in some schools) as reported by Jeannette Vos and Gordon Dryden  TheLearningWeb.net

Songs as a source of vocabulary
Lenka "The Show"  "I'm just a little bit caught in the middle... life is a maze..."
Annie Lennox and Marcus with the Kindle commercials  "you're the twinkle in my eye, you're the one who makes me sigh..."
Brandi  Carlyle  The Story:  "Every line across my face tells you the story of who i am, so many stories of where I've been ..."

If you have other topics that you can add to this list, please contact me.  This is the list that I carry into a school in my head, ready to make sketches on the board to guide students with stories.   The more I learn about instructional technologies, the more I am ready to stand in front of a board and the more I can use a sheet of paper on a desk to guide a discussion.   Keep inventing new ways to use the Internet... each innovation drives me closer to students with colored pens and paper.


Go ahead, watch The trailer...

A message to my former students:  keep in touch the way Hannah did.   (Thank you, Hannah).

What is the Learning Revolution? Is the revolution in education about technology? (no)

Talking points

How can we use Technology with Teaching?

Technology has become associated with “Innovation” and “The Learning Revolution.”

Most people want to know:

What types of devices are available?

Which device is best for which situation?

What are typical problems with the technologies?

What are typical solutions?

Hands-on learning about how to use the technologies

Flipping the classroom

The shift from lecturing to the “new way of learning” is about:

A shift in mindset:  growth, not fixed (C. Dweck)

The focus is on learning, not transmitting

Projects

Personal learning plans

Portfolios

Interactive

The newspaper office

More distractions: 

The Third Teacher

The design of the classroom

open learning spaces

It’s possible to have a revolution in learning

Without electronic devices or computer assisted instruction,

Without open learning spaces

Without access to the Internet

The new way of learning is “the student is the class”

Each student has an individual plan.

Personalized curriculum

Time is not fixed    “Time is a variable”

Steve McCrea, TheEbookman@gmail.com

Traditional Title:  Instructor                 New Title:  Curator

GuideOnTheSide.com    TransformTeaching.org

Transform-Education.com  Dr. Fischler’s site

Reports from five schools: innovation in Los Angeles, Sydney and Auckland

Visit to schools February and March 2013

Los Angeles, Sydney and Auckland

http://theindependenteducator.blogspot.com/2013/03/the-third-teacher-and-third-room-visit.html

Sydney SCIL center for innovative learning

Recommended blog:  http://anneknock.com/tag/scil-vision-tour/  by Anne Knock

scil blog by stephen harris  http://imaginelearning.tumblr.com/

Key point:  The Third Teacher is the wall.  What goes on your classroom walls?  How often do the posters change?

Auckland  Stonefields School   elementary school

http://theindependenteducator.blogspot.com/2013/03/more-subscriptions-for-thie-youtube.html

http://theindependenteducator.blogspot.com/2013/03/worth-click-stonefields-open-learning.html

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZEBptQX2-c8&list=UU-5KRUHaVhO9a9F0_9fmywA&index=7

THE PIT:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RC1rNb6eLbg&list=UU-5KRUHaVhO9a9F0_9fmywA&index=8

Blog by Chris Bradbeer  http://openlearningspaces.blogspot.com/   interesting observations about how to design a learning space for students

http://openlearningspaces.blogspot.com/2013/03/open-learning-spacesand-smaller-spaces.html

Bradbeer is an assistant principal at Stonefields School.

Key point:  The students talk about "breakthrough" and the importance of being confused and "in the pit."

Albany (north of Auckland)  high school

Talk with a teacher  Lloyd Gutteride, author of a textbook about creativity and entrepreneuring.  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SG_73xbzbAY

Interview with the principal  Barbara Cavanaugh    "Conversations that matter"   (focus on what moves the learning ahead)

YOUTUBE   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=awvwqcM_mbc   Look for the six key posters on the walls of the teacher's room (which is the principal's office, meeting room and general work space for administrators.  One big room, no closed 4-wall offices.

Recommended books include World Café and Oldenberg's Third Space (1989).

Interview with a student who gave a book review   http://www.youtube.com/edit?video_id=driU5vtSrWk&feature=vm-privacy&ns=1

Key Point:  The "20% free time" day (Wednesday) is for the "impact project" that each student works on while at the school.

Visit to a school in Sydney St. Andrew's Cathedral School

Youtube  http://www.youtube.com/user/StAndrewsOfficial/videos  the official channel

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G3JfxQZl2SQ  interview with Grace stone starts on page 0:51

I was introduced to Grace Stone by Robin Mycock, a resident of Sydney.  Grace gave me a tour of the school, which includes the rooftop play area.    See the website http://www.sacs.nsw.edu.au/

The school is pushed together in a five story office building in the downtown area.  Brilliant idea:  immersed in the work environment. 

"People are willing to be supportive," says one of the teens in the video at 2:45 

Visit with Dr. Clark about two key issues in education, University of Southern California

http://theindependenteducator.blogspot.com/2013/03/richard-e-clark-discusses-two-key.html

Posters with Dr. Clark  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JyCUcnA-Es8

Posters (discussion) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrWOLzRkS_8

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8FAlTyBAjhIideo video about important issues in education

Look for posters to shift the culture of the classroom. 

Interview with Gordon Dryden, author of www.TheLearningWeb.net 

How to write a book in 8 weeks  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VHAdgTNPllQ&list=UU-5KRUHaVhO9a9F0_9fmywA&index=4

How to create an effective and popular talk radio show  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iXT4ltI3hjY&list=UU-5KRUHaVhO9a9F0_9fmywA&index=5

Interview with Dennis Yuzenas, instructor in Florida

Teacher Training with Gordon Dryden's Book http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2bnMkrSaXS8&list=UU-5KRUHaVhO9a9F0_9fmywA&index=19

TWO BOOKS:  Science of Learning and Art of Teaching by Jerome Feldman "A teacher's nuts and bolts, like a car manual, you need it, you can look things up."  -- Dennis Yuzenas recommends these two books

Littky's book THE BIG PICTURE was used in training teachers at a school in West Palm Beach (but the effort was later abandoned).

Advisories section (pages 61-66)  in Dennis Littky's book was used to train teachers about advisories. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5VEI7cMhZPI&list=UU-5KRUHaVhO9a9F0_9fmywA&index=18

Visit to a school in Los Angeles, Highland Park High School

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C2Zvk67t0JM  a class where students in groups look for youtube videos that would tie to the chapters to develop a library, page by page, chapter by chapter.

a proposal.

See also the link to a poster created by students at Highland Park.

====================

Worth a visit:  the aquarium in Auckland

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0PYE7eeb2yg

music by ModernMelodies@gmail.com    the half-tube of clear plastic puts the ocean around the visitor, who is conveyed on a belt like a suitcase at the airport.  The 2 minute video edits out the supporting ribs to give the illusion of drifting underwater.

 ===============================  

Also recommended… a walking tour of Obispo Street in Havana Vieja

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNp6S0n38f0  nice quotes in front of a bookstore at 0:45 in the video

Students at Highland Park High School create an "ANT-eating" poster

I'm a high school teacher, so I'm always hunting for activities that will engage the teenage mind.  

a)  Tony Wagner's "Survival Skills" to prepare for the global economy
b)  The Personalized Curriculum that Big Picture schools advocate
c)  Daniel Amen's work with "Automatic Negative Thoughts" (ANTs).  
d) The male/female brain differences that Rob Becker talks about in Defending the Caveman.
Students can take the initial idea and then create a project

Look what some students in Highland Park High School, near the Nightingale Middle School, created after I dropped by to tell them about Dr. Amen's work with "ANTeaters" (procedures to "eat" the negative thoughts).  The photo shows a detail of the poster.



How did this project evolve?  I met Enrique Gonzalez when he was the principal of Frida Kahlo High School in Los Angeles in 2009.  Four years later, he's at this Highland Park school and I dropped in for a visit.  Enrique encouraged me to stop in again and I spent 45 minutes with students, talking for 5 minutes about innovative schools and the power of projects, and then I asked them to make some posters.   


Now look what some of those students did!
Here's their message:  

hey again! it's ireland lopez, greg morales and drake ferris. we finished the poster board A.N.T project.

Bravo... I'm sending this link to Dr. Amen...

I'm a happy visitor and mentor.

Further reading:  Tony Wagner's page  7 Skills
Big Picture and Personalization
Dr. Amen and the ANTeater

Tips about Negative Self-Talk
Article about ANTeaters

SCIL Vision Tour is coming to North America in 2013: Where should they consider visiting?

This is an open letter to SCIL, the learning center in Australia.  The director leads a "Vision Tour" each year (2012 went to Northern Europe)

Please pass this message to Director Stephen Harris

Here's a tour of the SCIL center in Australia

Copy to Anne Knock  HER NOTES FROM the 2012 TOUR

Sir,

I've recently found your imaginelearning blog and I'm delighted to read about the concept of touring schools in the SCIL Vision Tour.  

a) how do you find and select the schools that you decide to visit?  The list of the 2012 European tour is inspiring.  I love the idea that a museum has a slogan like "touch everything." 

b)  are you still hunting for places to see in the US tour?  I wanted to check to see where your previous tours had visited, but couldn't find past items on your blog.  I enjoyed reading Anne Knock's description on her blog.

I have a feeling that you've got a fine list of schools to visit, since you post on ConnectedPrincipals blog.  I would enjoy seeing what you have planned.

I've seen the following schools that might be worth your time when you visit the USA ... where possible, I've added a youtube video for you to see.  

Philadelphia:  CHAD, charter high for architecture and design.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9we6utBCQ64  student video about CHAD (53 seconds)

Student film about a charity at CHAD  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r2VB5xcCzZ0 

Denver School for Science and Tech

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLvoNrjryeg

Moveable walls.

PROVIDENCE, R.I.

You might have heard of dennis Littky and his book Big Picture.

His partner Elliot Washor has a recent book

 http://www.heinemann.com/products/E04604.aspx

Washor's blog post on Huffington Post  2009

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/elliot-washor/going-going-gone_b_336903.html

Bigpicture.org

Metcenter.org  my tour from 2005  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kEgTB1tuKkM  

UrbanAcademy.org photos floor to ceiling showing the work of their graduates.  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LP90GZhyN_M

a student's testimony... 

Look at the small photos on the corner of the wall in this photo.  each photo shows a student who has graduated.  It's their Wall of Fame.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8x1cHcWrwpY  Tour of Urban Academy New York

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oZz1oTiRA44  interview with Linda Nathan

Starting at 0:50 in this video

What is the teacher student relationship?  Can the teacher focus on more than 80 students at one time? No.   Small by itself doesn't do it.  

Teachers have got to be willing to think of themselves as advisors, what we might called "pastoral care of young people."  That's part of my job as a teacher.  I have to know my kids well.   -- Linda Nathan

pastoral care  ... The key seems to be an academy that is under 150 students.

Enrique Gonzalez is worth a visit.  

If you want to know where to visit in the USA, why not contact him?

big picture Enrique Gonzalez  

He's busy, but he has often given me ten minutes to update me on trends in California.

In fact, here he is on video:

Nightingale Middle School 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GArYtX4aGtM  part 1  

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QuYB07E7nIA  part 2

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A34AR57A1Eo  Highland Park high School

Look at minute three. One student talks about "our principal is a man." a second student talks about Thanksgiving in the school. One of the most powerful moments in education on video. 

http://www.newlearninginstitute.org/d3-lab

 Here is the program's web page

http://thed3lab.wordpress.com/ the blog  

The New Learning Institute's work is worth seeing... I hope to visit their center later this month.www.newlearninginstitute.org/

Film about learning centered on students

http://www.newlearninginstitute.org/film-series/a-21st-century-education/student-centered-learning

http://www.newlearninginstitute.org/digital-media-programs/school-based-programs

Eagle Rock School 

BLOG

ACE school   

An important pair of organizations:   www.ConnectedPrincipals.com

www.EssentialSchools.org

I hope this list has given you a bit of a virtual vision tour (VVT)... 

If you come to South Florida, there are two interesting people to meet

Abraham S. Fischler

Former head of Nova University

fischler@nova.edu    +1 954 262 5376 is his phone

I've enclosed his recent ebook, which is available for free distribution.      You can get the free ebook at www.TransformTeaching.org  and Transform-Education.com

You can download the book here

Dennis Yuzenas

He works at a school that is growing...  www.oapb.org  is in its second year and is dedicated to project based learning

www.WhatDoYaKnow.com is Dennis' website.

dyuzenas@oapb.org

http://www.whatdoyaknow.com/

There's BocaPrep.net, Boca Raton Prep International school (part of a network of 28 schools).  The headmaster is Stan Daniel  

BocaPrep.net  it is an IB school  http://www.bocaprep.net/#

There are other potential points to visit (innovative schools), but the highlights are certainly these two fellows.   

Note to International Viewer of this virtual tour:  There might be some people who don't know what a "charter school" is.   Here's a report by John Stoessel.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Xr4KC251pU

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_bEENijB2y0

talk show  with Stoessel  

Here's a promo from a Charter school that is in Florida

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J0-Fsd7ICFM   (I worked as a substitute teacher here)

I'm looking for past cities that your Vision Tour has passed through.   I'm sure looking at videos posted on youtube related to those names is a useful exercise.

Thanks for reading this far...    If you have schools to recommend to add to this virtual list, send the links to TheEbookman@gmail.com