We are so pleased to formally announce... ED-ucation Publishing quietly released a new book in December that we have been working on for over a year! A book goes through many edits and iterations before it is just right for kids! Authors, publishers, illustrators, and editors work on the drawings, layout and text copy. All to get it so it is perfect for younger and older learners alike. But, it all starts with an idea! 
Anxiety can be a complex issue to understand and to approach. Through beautiful illustrations, a charming storyline and a straightforward approach, Attack My Anxiety! engages children and empowers them to use techniques to identify and tackle feelings of anxiety. This compelling book offers practical strategies for parents and guardians. It is also an excellent tool and resource for both teachers and counsellors who wish to teach their students vital skills, behaviours and a mindset that can be used to cope with challenges in the real world. Attack my Anxiety! is the perfect balance of learning, laughing, and leaving with strategies for life. Meet the author: Amornrat Sachdev Ms. Amornrat is, first and foremost, an educator. She has worked as a school counsellor within the international school system for several years, overseeing the mental and emotional health of her students. She gives back to the wider community by contributing publications and leading parent and student workshops on emotional wellness. She gives back to the wider community by contributing articles about emotional wellness and leading parent and student workshops on anxiety. Amornrat lives in Bangkok, Thailand, is a huge Positive Psychology fan, and loves experimenting with different foods. Visit her website to book her for Author readings or Professional Development and Consulting. Not sure if this book is right for you? Read what people are saying about Attack my Anxiety!  ED-ucation Publishing is so proud of this book and working with such an amazing educator to help kids all over the world build strategies for combatting anxiety. We look forward to hearing your comments about how this book helped your children!
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This is a step-by-step series of lessons to help students explore the concepts of #socent.
Lesson 1: Jigsaw the definition of terms
Break into groups of students. Watch the videos. Discuss the main points of the video with the people in your group. Become an expert on the content within the video.
Document your learning in a way you feel comfortable (note taking, vlog, sketchnotes etc). Now number off in your groups to regroup for your jigsaw. Share your expert knowledge with your new group. Document your learning from them too!
Lesson 2: Be inspired by others
Can kids create businesses?
Watch the video. Discuss as a group. What skills, attitudes and interests does this speaker evidence?
Task: In groups explore the websites listed below. Discuss the questions asked and be ready to use your presentation literacy skills to share what you have learned with the class. You will need to negotiate in your group who will present aspects of the questions.
Lesson 3: Finding our own passions
Task:
Watch the video. Use the sentence stem provided and write your first thoughts down. This may change. Just give it a go. I will make the world a better place by...
Task Debrief:
Share with your friend what you have written for your first idea for a social enterprise. Now let’s group these into some themes. These themes will make your groups for the upcoming lesson. Lesson 4: Dragon's Den
TEACHER NOTE: The following video can be given as a flipped video (or a video the child watches at home) so that it doesn't take away from teaching and learning time in class.
For this learning engagement you will get into small groups based on the themes that came out of the last lesson. You will design a social enterprise. Remember a successful social enterprise has to have a positive social impact and make money, like Hope Blooms (like you saw in the news story).
Your limitation for this task is that you can only use materials available in our school or easily accessible in in your country to invent your good or service. Think about what you saw on Dragon's Den! Don't worry your teachers will not be so direct! They want to see your ideas succeed so they may ask you questions to challenge or extend your thinking. What do you remember about the difference between social enterprise, and enterprise? For the purpose of this activity, these definitions are useful guidelines:
Your teachers will judge as dragons.
You should include where, what, why, who, and how in your presentation:
Where did your idea come from? Why did you choose this idea? Why will it be successful? Why will it help fill a need in your community? What will you do? What supplies will you use? Who will purchase your product or service? Who are your customers? How will you go about starting your social enterprise? How you will be resilient and overcome any perceived challenges? Describe your timeline. Lesson 5: Reflect on this: sometimes limitations = greater creativity
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Lesson 6: More research into your own passions
Where else can you learn more about becoming a #youthchangermaker social entrepreneur?
https://www.youthventure.org/
https://www.ashoka.org/en/story/youth-charge
http://www.voicesofyouth.org/
http://sparkaction.org/24under24
http://www.global-changemakers.net/
https://www.causes.com/
http://whatkidscando.org/index.html
Let’s apply what we know!
Now you have a great foundation it’s time to try on your own.
What is the need?
What research needs to be done?
What are the anticipated costs?
How will we secure investors?
What roles or jobs might exist (accountant, marketer, designer)
How will we market ourselves (business card, advertisement, poster, commercial)?
What is the language we will need to know (angel investors, accelerators, etc)
What else can you find?
https://www.youthventure.org/
https://www.ashoka.org/en/story/youth-charge
http://www.voicesofyouth.org/
http://sparkaction.org/24under24
http://www.global-changemakers.net/
https://www.causes.com/
http://whatkidscando.org/index.html
Let’s apply what we know!
Now you have a great foundation it’s time to try on your own.
What is the need?
What research needs to be done?
What are the anticipated costs?
How will we secure investors?
What roles or jobs might exist (accountant, marketer, designer)
How will we market ourselves (business card, advertisement, poster, commercial)?
What is the language we will need to know (angel investors, accelerators, etc)
What else can you find?
TEACHERS & STUDENTS want to find out how this is going with students in Bangkok, Thailand? Find out what we are doing! Follow us on Twitter!!
On the night of rehearsal for TEDxYouth@NIST 2015 I get handed a phone from another organizer and I hear a soft voice on the other end.
“Hi Tosca, I just needed to talk to you. I really am not sure I can do this. In my profession we don’t really talk about our personal lives, we represent companies and their products. I am used to speaking in public- but this is a real risk.”
“It’s ok Praya, I get it. Tap into that vulnerability you feel. In that high-risk area is the realness that will connect you to the youth you want to inspire. When you step out of being a model, an actress, or an Instagram celebrity you become real to kids, and you hold the power to inspire. Let yourself stumble, let yourself take a pause, let yourself be you.”
“Hi Tosca, I just needed to talk to you. I really am not sure I can do this. In my profession we don’t really talk about our personal lives, we represent companies and their products. I am used to speaking in public- but this is a real risk.”
“It’s ok Praya, I get it. Tap into that vulnerability you feel. In that high-risk area is the realness that will connect you to the youth you want to inspire. When you step out of being a model, an actress, or an Instagram celebrity you become real to kids, and you hold the power to inspire. Let yourself stumble, let yourself take a pause, let yourself be you.”
“When you do what you love and you have gratitude you achieve so much more in your life.”
As a TEDx Organizer I often am faced with having to choose the right words, at the right time. Students sometimes come to me as a tornado of blind confidence. That beautiful thing we often witness in international schools, where children are inherently risk-takers. They tumble into meetings or try not to show up for dress-rehearsals. They tell me, “Ms. Tosca, I got this.” But just as frequently there are also the speakers who are quiet and shy, worried that their ideas and voice won’t really matter. Convinced that they are not worth the time on the stage. It is my job to choose my words carefully. To be loving and kind, to be a teacher, a coach and a guide. Even so, I have seen the most confident of youth speakers walk off the stage, and the meekest become mighty when in the spotlight.
Sometimes, I am approached by adult speakers that think that the TEDx stage is a place to vent frustrations, persuade others using big data, to garner respect with flashy gadgets and absorb admiration for flawless speaking. But the most viewed talks on TED and TEDx are not necessarily the ones that have the fanciest graphics or the most confident speakers, the ones that resonate with us are the ones where we feel the vulnerability of the speaker.
Sometimes, I am approached by adult speakers that think that the TEDx stage is a place to vent frustrations, persuade others using big data, to garner respect with flashy gadgets and absorb admiration for flawless speaking. But the most viewed talks on TED and TEDx are not necessarily the ones that have the fanciest graphics or the most confident speakers, the ones that resonate with us are the ones where we feel the vulnerability of the speaker.
Praya has a massive following on social media and the beginning of her talk you can see her navigating what she ‘should’ say to those millions of followers. She has her guard up, she is talking like a spokesperson for the school. But at about half way, you see the change as she slips into what she is passionate about, what she really wants to say. Her voice stops wavering, she compels us to make compassion and purpose the drivers of our lives. She admits not knowing all the answers, that she is still finding her way, she admits it is difficult to talk about her own ideas on the stage, she urges students to make their voice strong but kind, and we listen.
Within one day, Praya’s talk was viewed nearly 50,000 times. In the political and cultural context of Thailand, Praya’s message; to have a voice, and to work for change is a tremendously powerful idea worth spreading.
In her 2010, TEDxHouston talk Brené Brown discusses the power of vulnerability. Dr. Brown tells us that the one thing that keeps us from connection is the fear that we are not worthy of it. Her solution to overcome such fear is through courage and compassion. Compassion not just for others, but for ourselves. Dr. Brown states, “[Those with self-worth] were willing to let go of who they thought they should be, in order to be who they were.”
The TEDx stage is a place for vulnerability, courage and compassion. On that stage we can transform and find our voice.
The TEDx stage is a place for vulnerability, courage and compassion. On that stage we can transform and find our voice.
The other day I had a person warn me again of the dangers of this cult that keeps popping up in my social media feeds and circulates every few months. This cult steals your identity, changes your brain chemistry, it makes you do things that you don't really want to do. It was exposed from one article published in a fairly reputable publication, and like all things on the interwebs, where there is one successful post suddenly there are about 42,600 results (You may think I am exaggerating that number, but I’m not- that is the actual Google search hits for this mysterious quasi-religious order).
More scarily it is stated that we may all have fallen victim of this cult. Anyone in the modern world has had this leak into their lives and the 42,000 authors tell us, we may not even know it. Authors warn us that it gives us false status, and uses hyperbolic special language, they say it makes us unwell mentally and physically, they say it propagates through devices and social media, it infiltrates our families, our jobs, they say it breaks down our relationships and isolates and annoys others. And if we have fallen prey to this cult they tell us to shut the hell up about it, no one cares, and we have done it to ourselves.
Thank goodness with every one of those articles comes the author's key to the prison of this dangerous ideology, this cult of busyness.
Thank goodness with every one of those articles comes the author's key to the prison of this dangerous ideology, this cult of busyness.
I call bullsh*t.
I hear this quasi-statistical bullsh*t about how we are addicted to busyness all the time. We are made to feel guilty if we say we are busy. People often question our choices. I have personally heard these questions, over beers, in interviews, and from colleagues:
1. You must have no life, is all you do work?
2. You do so much, when do you sleep?
3. How do you do all the things that you do?
4. You spend so much time on social media and 'education'. You need to be more balanced. Are you happy?
1. You must have no life, is all you do work?
2. You do so much, when do you sleep?
3. How do you do all the things that you do?
4. You spend so much time on social media and 'education'. You need to be more balanced. Are you happy?
For a long time I have had canned, but honest, responses to these statements and questions.
1. My work is my life. Like Bert Jacobs says, Do what you like, and like what you do.
2. I sleep when I am tired.
3. I don't watch TV. I feel it is a time killer and while others watch 2-3 hours, I am using that time on writing or connecting or creating.
4. Who said happiness was the ultimate goal?
1. My work is my life. Like Bert Jacobs says, Do what you like, and like what you do.
2. I sleep when I am tired.
3. I don't watch TV. I feel it is a time killer and while others watch 2-3 hours, I am using that time on writing or connecting or creating.
4. Who said happiness was the ultimate goal?
Currently, I am seeing an increasing culture of guilt and judgment about how we run our lives. That guilt and judgment swings from one pendulum point to the other, and all that rocking makes me a bit motion sick.
However, like a good teacher researcher I had to detract my initial BS statement when I realized I couldn't pass judgment on this cult that I had supposedly fallen prey to, until I collected data. So for the first time in 17 years, I signed up for Netflix and started watching TV again. I blew through Penny Dreadful in a weekend, and Z Nation, and the Walking Dead, I struggled through the repetitiveness of DareDevil and Gotham. I found myself so bored at times, but still I took the time to "switch off" in a culturally acceptable way (after-all, I read books voraciously, am a redditor who watches waaaay too many cat videos, I am on Twitterchats most nights, I am an artist and an author of children's books but those are looked at as an extension of my busy work life in the critical narrative I have encountered). A positive outcome of my new found TV hobby was that I finally knew the characters and plot lines that colleagues chatted about, but I also found myself awash in weirdly obnoxious product placements and obvious political subtexts that made me uncomfortable. When I went home to Canada last year I even became so confused and mesmerized by commercials that at one point, I distinctly remember thinking, "You know, I really could use a Swiffer."
This month I am ending my Netflix subscription. TV doesn't work for me. That's not a judgement on those who watch it, but rather a reflection on how I operate in the world. I haven't blogged in months, I haven't read the educational articles that push me to become a better practitioner, I haven't taken the time to paint that picture that is rolling around in the back of my head, I haven't connected with others on Twitterchats, I haven't helped or contributed, I have merely consumed content that was created for me. That is not my purpose. That is not what works for me in the short time I have been gifted to be on this planet.
What does that mean for the person who believes that shutting off and "binge-watching" a series is a good use of time and a counter-culture to the cult of busy. Perhaps. After all, why do we all have to be so judgey?
But when I examined and reflected on my own experiences it was clear I had quickly slid into a new paradigm when I shunned the cult of busyness.. I just replaced it with the cult of mediocrity. I took the advice to be "more balanced" and adopted the idea of balance from others, I tried to view my practice as only a job- switch on at 7:10 AM switch off at 3:40 PM. I arrived at work to clock in and clocked out at exactly my contracted hours. I actively attempted to not think of innovative practice or how it could benefit students outside of campus. I cut out helping or connecting with others in the social sphere for educational purposes during my so called 'free time'. I separated work and life, because over 42,000 articles can't be wrong. Can they?
But when I examined and reflected on my own experiences it was clear I had quickly slid into a new paradigm when I shunned the cult of busyness.. I just replaced it with the cult of mediocrity. I took the advice to be "more balanced" and adopted the idea of balance from others, I tried to view my practice as only a job- switch on at 7:10 AM switch off at 3:40 PM. I arrived at work to clock in and clocked out at exactly my contracted hours. I actively attempted to not think of innovative practice or how it could benefit students outside of campus. I cut out helping or connecting with others in the social sphere for educational purposes during my so called 'free time'. I separated work and life, because over 42,000 articles can't be wrong. Can they?
My findings were these:
- Defining my life by other's expectations sucks.
- I physically couldn't do what I attempted. My purpose in life is education, that is my work, my passion, my life. Thoughts and actions about education showed up on Facebook, in my reddit feed, in my casual conversations because I do what I like, and like what I do.
- Busyness becomes a cult if that is the negative framework that you construct it in. If your work is not driven with purpose then you will feel uncomfortably burdened with busy.
So I have re-crafted my answers:
1. My work is driven by social purpose. This is true for my teaching and my company. My life is full and busy because I believe in what I do and love every moment of it. My busyness is not a mirror to your life, but a choice I make in the way I live mine.
2. Time and energy are different for every human, and every living thing.
3. I am motivated by my purpose. My purpose is to help make positive change in the world. I do everything that I do, because I am energized by my purpose.
4. I do many things. I run, write, draw, read, make, tinker, explore and try to be present in each of those pursuits. Perhaps, what I feel is pain when I run, or confusion as I read, or dissonance while I make, or frustration as I draw, or happiness when I teach- "happiness" is one cookie in the cookie jar of human emotion, and I don't want to eat the same cookie for the rest of my life. My ultimate goal is not happiness, or the pursuit of it, but mindfulness in the moment, whatever that moment might be.
1. My work is driven by social purpose. This is true for my teaching and my company. My life is full and busy because I believe in what I do and love every moment of it. My busyness is not a mirror to your life, but a choice I make in the way I live mine.
2. Time and energy are different for every human, and every living thing.
3. I am motivated by my purpose. My purpose is to help make positive change in the world. I do everything that I do, because I am energized by my purpose.
4. I do many things. I run, write, draw, read, make, tinker, explore and try to be present in each of those pursuits. Perhaps, what I feel is pain when I run, or confusion as I read, or dissonance while I make, or frustration as I draw, or happiness when I teach- "happiness" is one cookie in the cookie jar of human emotion, and I don't want to eat the same cookie for the rest of my life. My ultimate goal is not happiness, or the pursuit of it, but mindfulness in the moment, whatever that moment might be.
These answers are NOT keys to the prisons of worship we construct, even if it may read that I have presented it that way. More, they are a collection of realizations, synthesized into the knowledge that words like happiness, balance, purpose and busy are individually defined and even 42,600 articles explaining them, may not be the right fit for you.
Are you struggling with how to fit the latest buzzwords into your already jam-packed teaching day? No worries, that's why a digital learning coach is here to help!
This series of learning experiences provides a skeleton framework for exploration into:
Connection
Curiosity
Creation
Social Media
Digital Citizenship
Critical thinking/Questioning
Design Thinking
Connection
Curiosity
Creation
Social Media
Digital Citizenship
Critical thinking/Questioning
Design Thinking
This 5 lesson unit comes with a slide deck, additional resources, worksheets, videos, models and more. Take it and hack it, remix it, or augment it for your own learning community. However, if you share it please be models of good digital citizenship and cite the source :)
Recently a journalist from Spain interviewed me for an educational newspaper that he writes for. I thought his questions were very similar to ones I frequently hear from teachers, parents and administrators...
#1. What is the potential of social networks in education?
| Perhaps the most profound change in the way technology has infiltrated human populations has been how it has altered the way people communicate. Social media apps such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Snapchat, Vine and others have all grown exponentially in the past decade. Our human desire to connect and communicate has worked its way into nearly all aspects of technology. The ability to share more details about our lives and how we feel about what is going on in them is only matched by the growing simplicity with which technology allows us to do this. In education, this means a shift to more student-owned, individualized learning on a world-wide scale. Gone are the days when the teacher was the ‘sage on the stage’. We are moving increasingly towards co-constructed models of learning where knowledge is crowd-sourced from a democratic global pool. |  |
#2. How do you think social networks help to the process of teaching and learning in the classroom?
When students and teachers use social media in learning they:
- access a global network of experts
- provide real time authentic snapshots of their learning and thinking
- connect with other learners around the globe; essentially flattening the walls of the classroom
- democratically access information
- mirror interactions they will have in adult life
- develop digital citizenship skills
- contribute to their positive digital footprint
- model appropriate use of social media for other learners around the globe
- learn to critically think as they curate information they access
- create content to contribute to the knowledge pool
- connect with their extended community, including family, friends and a personal learning network (PLN)
- harness powerful tools they are already using in extracurricular activities for learning in school
#3. How old would be appropriate to include social networks in the classroom?
If the social networks are moderated in the back-end by adults, modeled by teachers, discussed and part of authentic learning experiences, social media can be used as young as kindergarten. Of course, just as any learning, we would gradually release responsibility to the children over their entire lives at school.
We wouldn’t give children the keys to a car at five years of age and expect them to drive; we show them, model good driving practice, talk about the parts of a car, help them with a learner’s permit and finally they get to have the car to drive alone. In this gradual way, we unpack social media for children so that they will be able to ‘drive’ their digital lives safely and responsibly.
We wouldn’t give children the keys to a car at five years of age and expect them to drive; we show them, model good driving practice, talk about the parts of a car, help them with a learner’s permit and finally they get to have the car to drive alone. In this gradual way, we unpack social media for children so that they will be able to ‘drive’ their digital lives safely and responsibly.
#4. What are the main difficulties faced by teachers using social networks in class?
If teachers are unfamiliar with a specific tool (Twitter, Snapchat, YikYak etc…) they are often fearful of it, and unwilling to incorporate it into their teaching and learning cycle. However, becoming a learner along side your students and admitting, “I don’t know, yet.” sets a positive precedent for life-long learning. Creating essential agreements in the classroom creates a healthy relationship between the learning community and technology.
#5. What risks should be avoided?
| Actually, I would say that appropriate risk is good. Kids need skills to develop resilience and exit strategies when things go wrong. "Little" crises in the safely moderated environments of schools help children gain confidence, and help them develop relationships of trust with adults to solve problems effectively. Bullying can happen in ‘real life’ or in a digital environment. The only difference is that tech can escalate an incident quickly. As a parents or teachers, we have our own vast toolbox of skills to help kids solve these real-life problems. Those skills are the same in digital environments. But they need to be explicitly taught, modeled, and solved within the school community. |  |
#6. Do you think it’s necessary for teachers to have more training to make good use of social networks in class?
Developing a strong Personal Learning Network for Professional Development is an important part of being a teacher in the 21st Century. Keeping practice fresh and innovative is part of our responsibility as educators. But training doesn’t have to be costly and time consuming! Parents and teachers can learn more about how to develop a program of digital citizenship and tech skills by visiting the free online resources such as:
NIST Social Media for Schools
EdTechFramework for Schools
Digital Citizenship for Parents
Your Digital Life
Perhaps most importantly, if your school has a Digital Coach, reach out to that person for one-to-one support as you make use of social networks.
NIST Social Media for Schools
EdTechFramework for Schools
Digital Citizenship for Parents
Your Digital Life
Perhaps most importantly, if your school has a Digital Coach, reach out to that person for one-to-one support as you make use of social networks.
#7. Are there better or worse social networks for education?
| I would say that tools are always changing. Tumblr used to be hot, now it's Snapchat, what’s next? There will always be a new app. The tool or app doesn’t really matter, and it will always change. It is the concept behind the tool. The big concepts that we want children to develop are to create, curate and communicate. These concepts underpin each app. The question should not be if one better or worse, but rather, what do you do with it, how will you use it appropriately, and how does it enhance teaching and learning? You have to find what works for the age of your learners, and what best augments learning experiences for the students. |  |
#8. Can you give an example of an educational methodology using social networks?
You can discover how we implemented Twitter at a large international school in Thailand by visiting this link. If you would like to discover how kids are using social media to share learning visit the hashtag #nistmakerspace #elemakerspace #nistpypx to see real examples of social media learning in action.
#9. What advice would you give to those teachers who feel apprehensive about starting with social media?
The truth is, all teachers want empowered learners who make a difference in the world around them, and who will be successful, happy people in their lives ahead. Teachers teach the academic and character skills needed for kids to do just that each and every day- and each of those skills are transferable to a digital environment. That is why coaches, like me, are pushing away from the idea of “digital citizenship” towards just, “citizenship”. This is our life; we live part of it in the digital realm. Let’s be awesome people: on-line and off-line. Kids are already using social media in their extracurricular lives, it is our duty of care as teachers to ensure they have the skills, attitudes and aptitudes to be safe and learn in that space.
Get started with a low-risk high pay-off tool like Twitter. Not sure how? Hatch here.
Get started with a low-risk high pay-off tool like Twitter. Not sure how? Hatch here.
#10. What future do you see for social networks in education?
We are at a golden moment right now in education. We can choose to go the way of a litigation culture like the United States and block or limit student access to social media, or we can be champions for our learners. Education is changing, whether we like it or not.
One day, we will have virtual rooms for learning; the Internet of things will become part of our everyday lives, learning will become more and more individualized and personalized, and the globe will become more connected. We will use design thinking to collaborate across continents and develop real empathy and international mindedness for all cultures around the world. Our students will own their learning and understand they are socially connected to others in digital and physical ways.
OR we can keep the four walls of our classrooms, have knowledge controlled in text-books, we can become more fearful and cut off from others, more polarized and insular in our thinking. Our students can keep preparing for a world that will be fundamentally different by the time they graduate. We can own the content that they consume, the products that they create, and the ways in which they share their ideas.
It’s up to us to make the choice of what learning will look like for our students. How will you choose?
One day, we will have virtual rooms for learning; the Internet of things will become part of our everyday lives, learning will become more and more individualized and personalized, and the globe will become more connected. We will use design thinking to collaborate across continents and develop real empathy and international mindedness for all cultures around the world. Our students will own their learning and understand they are socially connected to others in digital and physical ways.
OR we can keep the four walls of our classrooms, have knowledge controlled in text-books, we can become more fearful and cut off from others, more polarized and insular in our thinking. Our students can keep preparing for a world that will be fundamentally different by the time they graduate. We can own the content that they consume, the products that they create, and the ways in which they share their ideas.
It’s up to us to make the choice of what learning will look like for our students. How will you choose?
TLDR; Build an app, or not. Learn some skills. Empower some learners. Be awesome.
I was just at a tech conference and despite our best efforts to stay on a lofty conceptual level when talking about EdTech, some of the best attended sessions were when an app was being showcased. In fact, after his session, one of my teacher-tech friends leaned over and said, “Today, I discovered apps are like crack for teachers…”
This may be true because as a digital learning coach what I often hear is:
Is there an app for that?
This may be true because as a digital learning coach what I often hear is:
Is there an app for that?
Probably, but despite being superfly, I don’t want to be your pusher, man.
What I really want to do is empower the learners around me to be able to take their ideas and make them reality. One way is to enable teachers and students to create and curate the content that they interact with.
What I really want to do is empower the learners around me to be able to take their ideas and make them reality. One way is to enable teachers and students to create and curate the content that they interact with.
For instance: do you want an app based on a story created by IB International teachers; aligns with IB Learner Profile and teaches values, mindfulness and empathy while empowering kids to solve problems independently and while playing fun games? Do you want a story that kids can’t put down because every page has interactive animations, which makes the narrative come to life? Me too!
Well, lucky for you there is an app for that. Because two PYP teachers made it!
Well, lucky for you there is an app for that. Because two PYP teachers made it!
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And you can too, more importantly, so can your learners.
Here are ED-ucations 10 steps for creating an app, as a teacher or as a teacher supporting students:
Here are ED-ucations 10 steps for creating an app, as a teacher or as a teacher supporting students:
Step 1: Define Your Goal
| Having a great idea is the starting point to every new project. Before you start to map your app and get lost in the details, you must clearly define the purpose and mission of your app. What is it going to do? What is its core appeal? What concrete problem is it going to solve, or what part of life is it going to make better? What is it that you want it to teach, or inspire or help create? For ED-Publishing, Jeff and I sat down and realized that although our Learner Profile books were uber cool, what we really had envisioned was an interactive book- full of games and different adventures so kids could read and learn about the attributes in a self contained learning environment, and an app was the perfect way to make that vision a reality. |  |
Step 2: Research
Use the most powerful tool we have, and Google the app out of your app idea. Start following similar developers or products on Twitter, reach out to people who may have product that you like or use. Start conversations. Ask questions. Don’t be embarrassed by what you think you don’t know. Be fearless in your inquiry because this initial research has four main purposes:
- Find out whether there are other apps doing the same thing
- Find design inspiration for your app
- Find information on the technical requirements for your app
- Find out how you can market and monetize your app
Step 3: Get your community on-board (including parents and leadership)
| Parents are the people who will release and allow your learners to publish their app to a distributor. Be sure you have the conversations with them about how this process will play out. Who profits? Who owns the idea? The learner will have an on-line presence, be sure they are attributed and credited clearly. Does your leadership understand the value of personalized and PBL learning? Where will tensions arise? Be sure to have those conversations early before you are knee deep in the project. |  |
Step 4: Storyboard the narrative
Jeff and I know, if you don’t have a path- you get lost pretty quick. You don’t have to stick to the path all the time, but you have to have a good idea of where you are going. This is where your storyboard comes in. Jeff and I needed a complicated storyline that would continue over 10 books and so we created a ongoing map for the entire 10 Learner Profiles, weaving each attribute through the plot. It was a long process, but we needed to think like teachers; how would we get kids to think, how would the story flow, and what Easter eggs of grown-up humor would we throw in so that even parents or teachers would enjoy the read?
Step 5: Start Sketching the app
| Developing sketches allow you to lay the foundation for your interface. In this step you visually conceptualize the main features and the approximate layout and structure of your application. This is where Jeff and I started to think of the educational added value of each app. As teachers how would we have extended this story in the classroom- how could we extend the learning in the self contained environment of the interactive app- what kind of immediate feedback would be needed? Basically, how could we gamify the story? |  |
Step 6: Create a Wireframe
Wireframing is the process of creating a mockup or prototype of your app. Without a developer this is difficult, however there are a few paid app creation tools that you can try out with your learners. Click on the images to access the tools.
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Step 7: Define the Back End of Your Mobile App
Your wireframes and storyboard now become the foundation of your back-end structure. Draw a sketch of your servers, APIs, and data diagrams. Not sure about this? Go back to that the research step- as a teacher go talk to your tech team ask them about what would be needed to run your app at your school. Get them to draw it for you. Still lacking a developer AND your school has no tech team? No worries, skip to un-step 11.
Step 8: Start talking
Once your app has been defined pretty clearly, it is time to get started on the back end of your system. Jeff and I realized we lacked the tech skill for the back end of our project so we began to make relationships with other app developers who may be interested in our content. We forged those partnerships based on shared vision and an ethos of learning. We found a wonderful developer PonyApp that focused on Character education through fairy tales, and thought- why not? The developer will have to set up servers, databases, APIs, and storage solutions. This is out of your control, and this is where a good relationship of trust needs to be in place. BE FOREWARNED… this may take many, many months.
Step 9: Test Your Prototype
So now you have an app-like creature you have collaboratively created. Revert to your wireframe and ask friends, family, colleagues, and experts to help you review your prototype. Be shameless in asking for advice, ideas, get teachers, leadership, parents to play with the app and test it. Be unafraid to take their advice.
Step 10: Release Time!
| App marketplaces have very different policies when it comes to publishing a new app. Android, for example, does not review newly submitted apps right away. Apple on the other hand can be a bit of a waiting/jumping through hoops game. If you need help with this step, Jeff and I can offer advice, as Apple has various vetting processes before you go live. Remember if you release the app as 'Free' it is listed almost immediately! Yae! Be sure to start thinking of marketing including; posters, blog posts and #tweets to share your cool, new learning tool. |  |
UnStep Step 11: DeApp the App!
So you can't find a developer and still want to prototype without the fuss of learning an app to make an app. Learning is still happening without the tech. Think about the skills kids need to research, write, gamify, wireframe and connect with experts to help them- this is truly project based learning at it’s finest. Encourage and coach students to get to a point where they are totally unable to move forward (and you can no longer help them either) then simply ask: “So, what next?”
Give students access to social media, devices and experts and see what happens. Allow your students to amaze you. Even if they simply create a proposal for a developer to create their app, the enriched systems-thinking and problem solving they engaged in throughout the process is incredible learning in action.
Don't get stuck thinking that the product is the most important part of app development. Be sure to embrace failure! Most importantly, have fun on your learning journey.
Tosca Killoran
Give students access to social media, devices and experts and see what happens. Allow your students to amaze you. Even if they simply create a proposal for a developer to create their app, the enriched systems-thinking and problem solving they engaged in throughout the process is incredible learning in action.
Don't get stuck thinking that the product is the most important part of app development. Be sure to embrace failure! Most importantly, have fun on your learning journey.
Tosca Killoran
1. Student empowerment
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One way that TED Youth speaker Adora Svitak suggests empowering students is to give them a forum to share their ideas, wonderings, inventions, to give them a voice in how the world is shaped. TEDx events provide a global forum for students to share ideas that matter.
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2. Networking
One of the biggest networking mistakes people make is jumping the gun when asking for a favor. One key of successful networking that we need to teach our learners is: Give before you get. TEDx events allow students to share their ideas before asking for help to make those ideas come to fruition from the vast expanse of the TED network.
3. Global audience
TED, TEDx, TEDxYouth and TEDEd are brand ambassadors that offer your students a brand loyal viewership. At the very least one image, tweet, mention of some kind to the TED network can take a student's idea forward. And how big is that global audience? As of February 2015, over 1,900 talks are freely available on TED, and by November 2012, TED talks had been watched over one billion times worldwide. That stat doesn't include the massive amount of TEDx, TEDxYouth and other TED initiative talks.
4. Skills
Reading, Writing, Viewing and Presenting all have a plethora of skills we are looking for from students. Whilst creating, constructing, rehearsing, revising, presenting and reflecting on their talk students gain and refine so many skills that are within curricula.
5. College & university applications
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University and colleges want kids who have taken the TEDx stage. They are smart, confident and willing to share their ideas with the world. With TEDx events happening in universities and colleges all over the world it's a no-brainer.
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6. Inspirational
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Youth talking to youth is the best way to inspire kids. You want students to get excited and inspired by service learning? Have a student who is passionate about it share their experience onstage!
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7. Digital citizenship
Digital citizenship is a hot topic right now in schools around the world. How do we teach kids how to behave online? How do we empower them, teach to be smart and safe, respectful, as well as careful and gentle? Well, one way is to get them engaged online in smart, safe and authentic ways. TEDx talks model the behavior and digital footprint we want students to develop.
8. Crowdsourcing
News reporters reach out to the general public to call in and report events, allowing them to quickly report on things they otherwise could never hope to cover. Journalists and authors often practice this technique – trying to get to the real story by reaching the masses- as opposed to a few. We have watched this happen on social media a lot lately. And students are some of the best crowdsourcers out there. Our learners understand that crowdsourcing taps into the global world of ideas, and helps them work through a rapid design process. TEDx events allow students to crowdsource 'right', taking their need for information beyond their network of friends to a global network of experts, volunteers, hot lines, internet blogs, idea communities, and products.
9. Insight
Master teachers are those who know their kids. They know them academically, they know if they had breakfast, they know what they do after school on Tuesdays for activities, they know who they hang out with and they know what drives them. After 5 years as a TEDxYouth organizer, I can say that I have truly got to know my students through the process of getting them prepped for the TEDx stage.
10. The family of TED
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In 2009, TED created a program called TEDx. TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience where x = independently organized. I founded TEDxYouthBIS with only 70 Euros out of pocket and watched it grow over 4 years. Now, I founded TEDxYouth@NIST and am excited to see our second event happen in 2016 . At these events, TEDTalks video and live speakers are combined to spark deep discussion and connection in a small group.
But that is just the face of TED. |
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This winter I went 'home' to Canada for the first time in 15 years. In a local bookstore I happened to have a tall, young man approach me, "Ms. Tosca? Oh, it IS you." he said. Duncan Page was a TEDxYouthBIS speaker in 2014 at my school in Germany. He told me he was taking a year off to explore his passion for music. I was bursting with pride and so happy to see him. I was a kindergarten teacher at the time, but had the chance to effect the life of this wonderful adult. TEDx changes lives- for students and teachers.
Top 3 Obstacles and how to tackle them
1. Holy work, Batman
It's a whole lotta work. Really. I have run 70Euro events and 10,000Euro events and they are both a lot of work. So, bring your passion, your love of teaching, your desire to see #youthchangemakers have a voice in the world. Let it drive you and inspire them.
2. Kids
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Kids can be kids, right? They forget the meetings, they don't show up for rehearsals, they miss the requirements for the keynotes... they don't cite their sources. And part of your job is to help guide them or find mentors to guide them through that process. To help with that process Jeff Hoffart and I created a free ebook to take you through each step of organizing an event. Before TEDEd, before the newly designed TED site, Jeff and I wanted a clear step-by-step process of how to create an event for kids with examples and inspirations- so we wrote the book and created a complimentary website to help teachers make it happen at their own schools.
Get the book and access the website. |
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3. Volunteers
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Teachers are busy people. SUPER busy people, and time is their greatest enemy. If you want your event to work, make it part of the culture of the school. Apply to host a smaller After School Activity as a TEDEd Club. If you just want to get your community started with TED and TEDx talks explore this free eBook.
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I hate rules. Classrooms do not need rules. In fact, neither do businesses or homes.
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If you’ve created an Essential Agreement before, fantastic! Whether this is new to you or not, you will likely find a gem or two below. This is what we have done with learners in our classrooms, so be creative in how you might apply this to your own grade level, with your kids at home, or with your business team. This lesson is for everyone; Take what you like, leave the rest.
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For teachers, if you’ve already started school, walk into your classroom, grab your classroom rules poster, bring it to the front of the room and as dramatically as possible, rip it in pieces, yelling, “We don’t need no stinking rules!”
QUICK LESSON FOR TEACHERS
1. Discuss with kids what THEY want their learning environment to look like and be
2. Collaboratively brainstorm all of the “rules” (on a whiteboard) that the class would need for your class community to achieve this learning environment
3. As a class, erase “rules” that underestimate the students prior knowledge (it's explained below)
4. Group remaining “rules”
5. Re-word the “rules” in the positive and check again for grouping
6. Create a class agreement poster with the 4-8 agreements
7. All members of the learning community - students, teacher and anyone else involved with the class needs to sign the poster and understand what they are committing to
1. Discuss with kids what THEY want their learning environment to look like and be
2. Collaboratively brainstorm all of the “rules” (on a whiteboard) that the class would need for your class community to achieve this learning environment
3. As a class, erase “rules” that underestimate the students prior knowledge (it's explained below)
4. Group remaining “rules”
5. Re-word the “rules” in the positive and check again for grouping
6. Create a class agreement poster with the 4-8 agreements
7. All members of the learning community - students, teacher and anyone else involved with the class needs to sign the poster and understand what they are committing to
QUICK LESSON FOR PARENTS
1. Discuss with your children what THEY want their home environment to look like, be like and feel like.
2. Collaboratively brainstorm all of the “rules” (write them down on a piece of paper) implicit or explicit that your family has, such as those non-negotiables that pertain to your culture, values or belief systems. As a family add any additional "rules" you would need to achieve this home environment.
3. As a family, erase any “rules” that underestimate how old the children are (explained below)
4. Group remaining “rules”
5. Re-word the “rules” into the positive and check again for any rules that could be grouped
6. Create a home agreement poster with the 4-8 agreements
7. All members of the family need to sign the poster and understand what they are committing to... consequences for not following the agreements by ALL family members including parents need to be agreed to also.
1. Discuss with your children what THEY want their home environment to look like, be like and feel like.
2. Collaboratively brainstorm all of the “rules” (write them down on a piece of paper) implicit or explicit that your family has, such as those non-negotiables that pertain to your culture, values or belief systems. As a family add any additional "rules" you would need to achieve this home environment.
3. As a family, erase any “rules” that underestimate how old the children are (explained below)
4. Group remaining “rules”
5. Re-word the “rules” into the positive and check again for any rules that could be grouped
6. Create a home agreement poster with the 4-8 agreements
7. All members of the family need to sign the poster and understand what they are committing to... consequences for not following the agreements by ALL family members including parents need to be agreed to also.
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Technology is often a tricky area for parents. As a Digital Learning Coach I often hear, "How do I get my kid off their device?"
An essential agreement worksheet and poster template is included here to help you get started. |
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STEP 1:
It’s easy to tell kids what type of learning environment or home YOU want, but this reinforces the traditional perspective and role of a teacher, as ‘sage on stage’, or parent as the authoritarian, rather than an activator, someone who inspires and empowers children to take charge and ownership of their own learning. |
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Instead, ask them what they want their classroom or home to FEEL like. We have had answers like: “safe, fun, exciting, challenging, peaceful”
STEP 2:
Now you have a goal. So, how do we reach that goal? Ask children to throw out possible rules to be able to achieve this type of environment. Remember that there is no wrong answer. Brainstorming is about the free-flow of ideas, any revision or editing comes later. This is the step where kids might say things like “No punching, no running in class, raise your hand before speaking, no yelling, etc...”
Write it all down! Take awhile with this one and get every person involved.
Now you have a goal. So, how do we reach that goal? Ask children to throw out possible rules to be able to achieve this type of environment. Remember that there is no wrong answer. Brainstorming is about the free-flow of ideas, any revision or editing comes later. This is the step where kids might say things like “No punching, no running in class, raise your hand before speaking, no yelling, etc...”
Write it all down! Take awhile with this one and get every person involved.
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STEP 3:
This is an interesting step. Jeff and I tend to think that many rules underestimate students’ intelligence and we repeat many of the same rules from a very young age through to when they are teens. As such, adults end up sounding like a broken record, and kids feeling that "rules" hold no meaning. So, at eleven years old, children should not have to be told “No running in class”. Why? Well, because at this age they understand why they shouldn’t and they’ve heard it too many times. Why be a broken record? |
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This step is also about showing them you trust them and that they are coming to you with prior knowledge. Ask them to tell you which ones that they shouldn’t need to be told.
STEP 4:
You might have over half of your board/worksheet filled and you are going to find similar types of rules like: “No punching, No kicking, No hitting, etc...” For now, this might be grouped as “No violence”, but don’t worry, we’re not done! By this point, you will be closing in on less than 20 rules.
Here's a picture of where you might be at in this stage of the process:
You might have over half of your board/worksheet filled and you are going to find similar types of rules like: “No punching, No kicking, No hitting, etc...” For now, this might be grouped as “No violence”, but don’t worry, we’re not done! By this point, you will be closing in on less than 20 rules.
Here's a picture of where you might be at in this stage of the process:
STEP 5:
Now it’s time to focus on Being and Becoming. It’s easy to say “Don’t” and “No”, but much more effective for kids to understand that we are not always perfect, and these are things we are working towards. Now, you might see rules like “No violence, No stealing, No breaking class materials, No cell phones at the table” becoming “Be respectful to each other and our community” and yes, it is everyone’s community, not just the teacher’s or the parent's. Flip the script from the negative to the positive.
Once you have done this, you will likely see that many of the remaining rules fit under these large agreements. Continue to group under these big agreements until you only end up with 4-8.
Now it’s time to focus on Being and Becoming. It’s easy to say “Don’t” and “No”, but much more effective for kids to understand that we are not always perfect, and these are things we are working towards. Now, you might see rules like “No violence, No stealing, No breaking class materials, No cell phones at the table” becoming “Be respectful to each other and our community” and yes, it is everyone’s community, not just the teacher’s or the parent's. Flip the script from the negative to the positive.
Once you have done this, you will likely see that many of the remaining rules fit under these large agreements. Continue to group under these big agreements until you only end up with 4-8.
STEP 6:
Now, make a big poster with these agreements. Make it fun, as this will be a collaborative piece that you will keep and revisit, reflect on and modify all year long (yeeps, the example below is not so artistic or creative).
Now, make a big poster with these agreements. Make it fun, as this will be a collaborative piece that you will keep and revisit, reflect on and modify all year long (yeeps, the example below is not so artistic or creative).
STEP 7:
This is the important part. Everyone in the class or family has to agree upon this. If there are any members who will not sign the essential agreement, ask why, and modify the agreement until everyone is happy.
The important step is that you, as a teacher (or parent), must sign as well. I always tell my kids to call me out if they feel I am not demonstrating one of these agreements. It shows my kids that we are on a level playing field, that everyone is capable of mistakes, and that the same expectations should be held by adults, challenging us to be the positive role models that they need.
This is the important part. Everyone in the class or family has to agree upon this. If there are any members who will not sign the essential agreement, ask why, and modify the agreement until everyone is happy.
The important step is that you, as a teacher (or parent), must sign as well. I always tell my kids to call me out if they feel I am not demonstrating one of these agreements. It shows my kids that we are on a level playing field, that everyone is capable of mistakes, and that the same expectations should be held by adults, challenging us to be the positive role models that they need.
Any time an issue comes up in class, or at home, you can always return to the agreement as a talking point and say: “You agreed to this. What could you have done instead that would show a behavior or solution that matches our essential agreement”?
Here is a picture of what our completed essential agreement looked like for a grade 5 class Jeff taught:
Here is a picture of what our completed essential agreement looked like for a grade 5 class Jeff taught:
We have put together some great resources for you to further explore Essential Agreements, check them out: http://www.pinterest.com/edpublishing/essential-agreements/
We are sure you can pick holes in this entire lesson and we encourage you to do so. This is only one way to create an essential agreement, but we are certain there is something here that may help you on your journey.
Now, get out there and destroy those rules!
We are sure you can pick holes in this entire lesson and we encourage you to do so. This is only one way to create an essential agreement, but we are certain there is something here that may help you on your journey.
Now, get out there and destroy those rules!
Originally published August 2014 for ED-ucation Publishing's Newletter by: Jeff Hoffart
Republished with edits for Parents: January 2016 by Tosca Killoran
It was a few days ago that I gave a student a hug, and told her I loved her when she turned and asked,
“Why do you always tell me you love me?
I was a bit taken aback. I mean kids generally love to be loved. I have devoted blogs to this subject. This question had been ticked off my list. But her question made me rethink, and I love questions that make me think.
I thought about how easy it is to love kids. How their default position is happiness. Given the right conditions, opportunities to play, explore and grow, kids are happy. I can’t tell you how many times as a teacher, I have had to step back and observe a playground altercation waiting to see if I need to intervene, but most of the time the feelings of animosity are fleeting, and in moments children become bored of the effort it takes to be upset, and I am left watching the empty space their happy giggles occupy.
“Why do you always tell me you love me?
I was a bit taken aback. I mean kids generally love to be loved. I have devoted blogs to this subject. This question had been ticked off my list. But her question made me rethink, and I love questions that make me think.
I thought about how easy it is to love kids. How their default position is happiness. Given the right conditions, opportunities to play, explore and grow, kids are happy. I can’t tell you how many times as a teacher, I have had to step back and observe a playground altercation waiting to see if I need to intervene, but most of the time the feelings of animosity are fleeting, and in moments children become bored of the effort it takes to be upset, and I am left watching the empty space their happy giggles occupy.
But adults, we are different, no? We have devoted millions to construct an industry of happiness: books, cards, websites, tweets, posts, pins and memes all remind us, teach us, and inspire us to be happy. My Facebook feed and Twitter is littered with commands for good vibes, love and friendship.
How exactly did it get so hard?
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I had a bunch of time today to think. I thought about my student's question and rolled it around like a lost marble in my mind. I was interested in where it would end up. Motherhood? Instinct? Teachers? Innocence? Ethics? Faith? Culture?…
What was it that made me say I love you, and mean it?
I suppose, for me there is one meditation that centers me no matter how far my marbles wander. Every single living thing is made from the atoms of dead stars. In this infinite universe, each one of us shares the building blocks that generated life. We all share that foundation. So, when I look at another person, I see a mirror of me, and me a mirror of them. If we are all connected, life becomes expansive pushing far beyond the boundaries of family, culture or faith- And that expansiveness simultaneously connects and humbles us so that we might see that love can be infinite.
True, children are easy to love, and it is easy to let it leak out and paint them with words and hugs, but perhaps some of that love should splash back to us. Perhaps, if we learn to love our adult-selves, the mirror we hold up will be easier to look at. After all, it is hard not to be happy when you are loved.
This post is a short reflection, but the call to action still rings true. Take some time be happy with yourself today, let animosity go, and love all those around you for the simple reason that they are connected to you, bound by star stuff.
Tosca Killoran
Authors:
Tosca Killoran &
Jeff Hoffart
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The information in this blog is provided “AS IS” with no warranties, and confers no rights. The opinions expressed here represent those of the authors and may or may not be shared by the organizations they are affiliated with.
We are reflective practitioners and this blog is an iterative document. Our thoughts and opinions change from time to time…we consider this a necessary consequence of having an open mind.
We would love to hear your ideas. Our goal is to open a respectful dialog about education.
Every effort is made to ensure that the information contained in this website and blog is correct, however the publisher/author/owner assumes no responsibility or liability for any errors or inaccuracies that may appear in the informational content contained on this website, blog or any other linked websites.
The information in this blog is provided “AS IS” with no warranties, and confers no rights. The opinions expressed here represent those of the authors and may or may not be shared by the organizations they are affiliated with.
We are reflective practitioners and this blog is an iterative document. Our thoughts and opinions change from time to time…we consider this a necessary consequence of having an open mind.
We would love to hear your ideas. Our goal is to open a respectful dialog about education.
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