Prezi: Reflections On My Own 21st Century Learning

Our district sponsors a great 2 day institute for teachers, the Dublin Leadership Academy. It is one that is run by teaches and is a great way to move from summer mode to school mode. This year's Leadership Academy was held last week and over 400 district teachers attended. I loved getting together with colleagues talking through our visions for the year. (The 2 days is set up with keynotes, small sessions, time to work with building colleagues, and time to work with others in the district who have similar roles-a great balance!).

One of my roles was to do a 55 minute session on 21st Century Literacies. I have been thinking about this and sharing my work over the summer so I had a PowerPoint Presentation created on the topic. But I kept hearing about Prezi, had seen it used, had played with it for a few minutes and was intrigued by the idea. So, I thought I'd give it a try. On the Monday before the academy, 8 days before my presentation, I made a decision to use Prezi instead of PowerPoint for the next week. I thought I'd share some things I learned that might shed some light on how to make this all work in the classroom.

For those people who know me well, you will all agree that I am not a linear person. My thinking follows its own pattern that only my good friends seem to understand. So, for the last few years, as I've been using PowerPoint for presentations, it has been a bit of a struggle. I loved the product, but in the midst of a presentation, I might decide to go a different direction based on feedback from the group and I had trouble doing that.

When I saw Prezi, it seemed to be the answer for me. In the time of overheads and transparencies, my workshop planning looked like this: spread everything over the entire kitchen table and organize it into little piles of pieces that work together to tell a story. Then I would figure out how those pieces went together and organize it in that way. I am pretty sure that the Prezi developer worked in the same way. Find "piles" of information that go together and pull them together in a way that works. No template, no parameters, just a blank table for your thinking.

I have to say that I loved the process immediately. I think from an audience perspective, the presentation is similar. You see slides go up and change and you follow along. But for me, the power was in the way I thought through my talk--how I was going to organize it. The tool forced me to think about what I wanted to say in a different way--the visual component had to be first where that wasn't the case with other programs. I had to think through big pieces first rather than the order I would move. And I also had to think about how the whole thing went together.The concept worked for me.

I was also able to teach myself (give or take a few phone calls and frantic emails to friends who were more proficient with Prezi..). But I was amazed that the video tutorials and help book really gave me all I needed to create a decent presentation. I also appreciated the samples to see how others made it work. I realized that our kids are used to this--sitting down and having the tools they need to teach themselves something new. So much different from those first "computer workshops" we had years ago where we would all sit and wait for instructions to "do" the next thing.

I played with Prezi for 8 hours that Monday. I had a day to myself and had planned on doing things around the house. But, I sat down at around 8 am and didn't break away from Prezi until around 4 pm. I was having a blast. (Anyone who read my posts on Twitter that day followed my short-term obsession with this great new tool!) I loved having the time to play and could have gone longer had I had more time.

When I made the decision to jump in and create a Prezi for the district leadership academy, I knew I was putting a bit of pressure on myself. I had a PowerPoint ready but instead of making that one work and changing the pieces, I decided to start from scratch. As crazy as that sounded, I gave myself a pretty short term deadline--a time that I actually had to have a presentation ready to go. I was happy with the presentation that I shared, but there were definitely several things that weren't quite right--things I had to let go because I couldn't figure out how to fix them. I had to be okay with that.

So, my learning helped me think about my work with students. Thinking about my own learning, here is what I am wondering/thinking about:

Do we give kids the time they need to "play" with something new before we expect something? Do they have the luxury of playing for long periods of time?

Do we offer students lots of choices based on the way they think and create? Prezi offers a different process than other options and I want to make sure I have options for my kids and am not always assigning the tool that kids need to use.

Do I avoid using tools with my students that I don't know COMPLETELY? If I had waited until I knew everything there was to know about Prezi, I would not have used it for a workshop until 2010. Do we allow our kids to use the tool before they can create something perfect?

Do I give kids pretty doable work with short deadlines? Or do I drag these projects out forever? I could have worked on this for weeks--probably will go back to it and revise it over and over again. But I learned the basics, shared my info and created something that worked in just a week. What does that mean for our kids?

OK GO by Carin Berger

OK GO

by Carin Berger

Greenwillow Books, 2009

ages 4-8 and beyond

I bought this review copy with my own money

author's blog

In the spirit of the book Franki reviewed yesterday, LOVE YOUR WORLD, I thought I'd share OK GO.

There are exactly seven words in this book up until the point when you open the double gatefold final spread: go, uh oh, stop, screech, I know. These seven words and the illustrations that accompany them encapsulate the entire history of consumerism, spending, and the use of natural resources in industrially and economically developed countries.

Go: go faster, go more (use more, waste more, pollute more).

Uh Oh: some nations are to this point, others not so much.

STOP (and screech): what we need to do, either collectively or individually if we're going to save our planet.

I know: we're going to need to propose and try every possible creative solution to our environmental problems, including these (and more) that are found in the final spread:

• Waste less, Jess
• Catch a ride, Clyde
• Roller-skate, Kate
• Don't pollute, Man-in-a-Suit

We need to send Carin Berger to Capitol Hill and let her read her book to Congress. She doesn't shy away from big problems, she proposes a myriad of solutions, and she practices what she preaches: all of the collage illustrations in her book were made with recycled materials.

Better yet, let's read this book to our children. I'm pretty sure the optimism at the end of the book was meant for them.

Here's Carol's review, and here's 7-Imp's illustrator feature.

LOVE YOUR WORLD

I picked up a copy of LOVE YOUR WORLD: HOW TO TAKE CARE OF THE PLANTS, THE ANIMALS, AND THE PLANET, published by Dorling Kinderseley. I have seen another book in this series--EARTH MATTERS--but had not realized that there was a series of these CLEANER GREENER books.

This is a great little book for younger children. It is a nice size-about 8 inches square and it features great photos of young children doing the right thing for our Earth. The thing that makes this book stand out to me is that it talks to the child--the writing brings the child into the mission of the book. The book begins with the words, "Let's love our world and try each day, To do all things the GREENER WAY!". The rest of the book focuses on things to do like "We could put a bird house or a bird feeder in the garden." on the page that reminds kids that we can make our planet a good place for all kinds of life.

This seems like a great book for young children---the combination of photos with very specific things kids can do works well. At the end of the book is a promise--listing the things we can do to love our world.

The kids in the photos throughout the book look to be preschool age. But even though the kids are young, there are photos of so many other things dealing with the earth that I think older kids would be drawn to it too. So I am thinking this book makes sense Preschool through grades 3ish.

Goldilocks and the Three Bears by Lauren Child

I really don't even have to open a book that I notice is written by Lauren Child before I buy it. I automatically know that I will love it. No question. She is brilliant and I have loved every book she has written. So, I was thrilled when I saw Child's new version of GOLDILOCKS AND THE THREE BEARS at Cover to Cover yesterday. This time, Lauren Child worked with photographer Polly Borland and set creator Emily L. Jenkins to create an amazing version of this favorite story.

The illustrations in this book are a bit different from Lauren Child's other books. I was expecting something similar to THE PRINCESS AND THE PEA when I saw that she had written about Goldilocks. But, instead, I opened the book to large, stunning photographs telling the story of Goldilocks. And the creation team seemed to find the perfect doll to portray Goldilocks throughout the book--made by doll maker R. John Wright. (There is a bit of information on how the sets were made on the back flap of the book. Totally fascinating.)

As much as I am always intrigued by the illustrations in Lauren Child's books, I have come to realize that her writing is just as brilliant. I love this version of Goldilocks because of the story that Lauren has created. This is a longer picture book--a longer version of the traditional story. I love the way that Child uses words to help us get to know Goldilocks and to enjoy the story. Of course, Child has kept to the tradition of the "Who has been sitting in my chair?" type of lines. But, she has also made this story her own. The following paragraph comes early in the story;

"Her mother often worried about letting Goldilocks out of her sight, but sometimes the little girl would ask just one too many questions and stick her fingers in one too many pots of honey and peek under the lid of one too many saucepans. And her mother, unable to bear it any longer, would send her out to collect firewood."

Gotta love that Goldilocks!

I think I love this book for lots of reasons. I love new versions of Goldilocks and have written about them before. I love Lauren Child--her writing and her creativity. And this book makes me think about my good friend's dollhouse when we were younger. She had a great dollhouse that you didn't really play with--instead we designed and redesigned it. Because of the sets, there is an element of play in this book as we see the home of the three bears as a little house.

Now, this is my new favorite Goldilocks version-no doubt!

Vision for the Library

So, I have spent the summer thinking hard about my goals for the coming year. What is my big goal in terms of the school library. What is my vision? What can the library be for students and teachers? How do we get there? I have been lucky to find and benefit of so many experts in the field. I thought I'd share my learning and thinking. There are really no answers here, just pieces of inspiration I've found as I've been thinking through this coming school year in the library.

It is such an interesting time to be new to the field of school library. As a new school librarian, I am busy catching up on reading and thinking specific to the field. I've spent a lot of time on the ALA website and reading articles that help me think through the current thinking in the field. I have followed several discussions in the blog world. There was quite a lively conversation this spring about libraries. Since I am fairly new to the field, I listen in a lot--But this conversation involved librarians as well as people who were questioning the role of libraries. Joyce Valenza chimed in on a School Library Journal blog stating:

"What is clear is that a lot of smart people--people who are out there teaching, speaking, moving, and shaking--are disappointed in what they see when they see school librarians. Either we have a perception problem or we need to do some serious retooling. I'd say we have to deal with both. In a hurry."

This is definitely where my thinking is lately--how do rethink what the library can be--what is possible. Not an easy thing to figure out because I want so much in terms of possibility.

I have always believed in the power of play and in the fact that there is a very fine line between work and play when the work is work we love. I LOVE this quote by Buffy Hamilton at the Unquiet Librarian:

"Through collaboration with the library and the use of a wide range of information sources and learning tools, together we could create this kind of learning experience via research in which students would not want to stop and would want to learn."

Another post that got me thinking this summer was from Kim Cofino. The new library they've created is GORGEOUS. Who wouldn't want to spend as much time as possible in there. GREAT LIBRARIES!

I love the idea of a Kinko's For Kids as suggested by David Warlick in his post last May. He says, "If the library might come to be seen more as a workshop where information isn't so much a product, as it is raw material (a Kinko's for Kids, if you will), then it may remain not only viable, but an essential institution."
Personally, I LOVE Kinko's. I try to find reasons to buy some of the little tools that are sold there. I love the counter with the paperclips, paper cutter, etc. So many possibilities for what to create. Kinko's is all about making great "stuff".

Through Kim, I found The Allen Centre. This amazing library and the people who run it have been kind enough to email me about the things they do. When I first saw the pictures, it was like someone had already created the library I had been dreaming of. So many ways for kids to find things to be interested in. How could a child not go into the Allen Centre without a sense of wonder and inquiry. The place invites questions and learning and finding the things you are passionate about. I love the link to the displays--it is one of my favorites on this particular wiki. So many engaged children around such interesting topics. Such smart invitations into learning. I was also excited when I saw the Dino-lite that is part of the Allen Centre. I immediately purchased one for our library. I am amazed at the images produced by this not-so-expensive digital microscope. This space helps me to see the possibilities for inviting kids to find the things they love to learn about. What better purpose for a library?

I loved this recent post about the Allen Centre--so many things going on at lunch. Kids in charge of their own learning in so many different ways.

Like many other school librarians, I am trying to work through the balance of books and technology. So many of us that I talk to are trying to figure out this balance--which is more important--books or technology? For me, I am not sure it is an either or. In my own life as a literate person, books are hugely important but so are my social networks, my tools, etc. They are all part of my days as a literate person. Darren Draper has a powerful little equation about libraries without technology on his blog. What happens when we, as media specialists, ignore technology?

Darren Draper again tells us what he thinks of when he thinks of The Ideal School Library. He says,
"In my opinion, the ideal school library is highly liberating and able to provide a learning environment that's not generally feasible, practical, or even possible in most traditional classrooms. While there always seem to be exceptions to every rule, I think that our libraries should be comfortable, collaborative, open, social, connective, modern, clean, up-to-the-minute, and with shooshing not generally required."

I recently discovered a great blog Getting Boys to Read. There are several posts that have helped me think through the kind of environment that would make kids, especially boys, WANT to come to the library. He even has a great post dedicated to the topic of GETTING BOYS INTO THE LIBRARY.

And then there is the question of gaming. What role should games play in a school library? I have been reading lots on the topic-catching up on the ALA documents, research, etc. I have been picking up games over the summer and plan to participate in National Gaming Day sponsored by ALA. I have lots of reading to do on this topic, but I definitely see the value in this.


And Wesley Fryer recently talked about an Internet Cafe that focuses on gaming in his town--a great place for young people. How do we create communities like this in our libraries?

I also watched this video on Today's Library. Some great thoughts by some brilliant people in the field.

So, pretty much I want it all....I want to create a space that has something for everyone. A space where students, teachers, parents and community members love to hang out. I want it to be a place where kids own their own learning and find that they are dying to learn about. These posts are the posts that are helping me think about how that will actually look when the library is up and running.

My 9-Year-Old Creates Her First Podcast

We have a laptop that is a few years old that we are hoping to set-up for our 9-year old. She has been using her iPod Touch but is doing lots of game playing and shopping . We want to make sure she has lots of opportunities to create. Ana is a creator at heart. She loves art and is often making things. She is a very visual learner and can learn something by looking at photos. Although she loves the Disney Channel and the usual shows, she also loves HGTV and the Cooking Channel. A few weeks ago, Ana decided to use an empty box to create a house for the 3 animals that she has accumulated from McDonald's over the summer. She started to gather lots of things from around the house, reminding us to save any empty toilet paper rolls, tissue boxes, etc. She was on the lookout for anything that she could use in her creation. I suggested that she take photos of her project, knowing that this might be a great time to teach her how to create something with the photos she takes. She has spent hours over the last two weeks working on the house. The TV alone took her days--she needed Sponge Bob to look "just-right". I love watching this kind of creation. She'd "work" for hours by herself, creating this house. I think this is why ages 9-12 are my favorite ages. No matter how sophisticated and grown up they are about some things, this kid factor is key to their learning. This to me, is the best kind of play.Always has been. Ana had just as much fun today, learning and working on putting her photos together. My husband taught her the basics of Garage Band and she worked for about 2-3 hours, choosing photos, deciding on the right music, recording her voice, etc. She is VERY excited about the final project and asked if we could teach her a new thing to do tomorrow. She knows there are lots of ways to "make things" and is dying to learn about all of them. My thinking is that after a few days of us showing her the possibilities, she will know lots about what she can create on her own--if we don't really worry about all of those final project things but really just let her get in there an play with the tools for a while. Imagine if we took the first few days in school to open up these possibilities for our kids. 

July Mosaic

July. I'm nostalgic for it already. Life was slow in July. The first half I was still at home in Colorado. I came back to garden, travel, friends, projects around the house, and leisurely hours at Cover to Cover.

Standing on the banks of July, it took nerves of steel to jump into the raging river of August which will carry me pell mell until a brief rest in mid-October for the Kidlitosphere Conference, a longer one in November for NCTE, and finally Christmas break, when I might actually be able to catch my breath again.

We've swum a week into August. My head is still well above water and my breathing is steady. I know it won't last, but it feels good for now. I'm going to try to hold onto this feeling.

Three Little Words by Ashley Rhodes-Courter

I just finished THREE LITTLE WORDS by Ashley Rhodes-Courter. What a great read! This book was written by Ashley--who must now be in her early 20s. Ashley spent the first 12 years of her life in foster care and residential homes. When Ashley was 12, she was adopted and shares this part of her story as well. Toward the end of the book, Ashley says:

"I journeyed for almost ten years before I found home. Adoptions are like very delicate gardening with transplants and grafts. Some are rejected immediately. Mine took hold, rooted, and bloomed, even though there were inevitable adjustments to the new soil and climate. Yet I have not forgotten where my roots started."

Ashley shares her life experiences in a way that is honest and sincere. Her resiliency and brilliance about people comes through on every page. I kept having to remind myself that this was a true story--it was often hard to believe how much this child went through. For a while, things never seemed like they would work out.

Since I have a huge interest in adoptions and children's rights, I probably read this book differently from readers who might just pick it up for a good story. It is listed as a YA novel which makes sense. I think it would be a great read for high school students. But I hope that it doesn't get missed by adults--it is a great story of family and love and home. A true story of a girl who is has already made a huge difference in the world. Ashley tells us about so many of the people who made a difference in her life. Although there were lots of horror stories--awful foster homes, incompetent social workers, etc. there were also many people who cared deeply for Ashley and worked to support her.

Ashley Rhodes-Courter is a national speaker and is committed to changing the systems that take care of children in foster care. She seems ready to dedicate her life to this cause--to make sure that children have the love and safety that they deserve.

I will definitely be recommending this book to all of my friends who are adoptive parents. I will hold it for my own daughter to read when she is a bit older. This will most likely be the book that I will talk about to anyone who will listen for the next few months. One of those books that I want to put in as many hands as possible. And you can be sure that if Ashley is in the area speaking anytime soon, I'll want to thank her personally for sharing her story.

14 Cows for America--Illustrator Thomas Gonzalez

14 Cows for America

by Carmen Agra Deedy

in collaboration with Wilson Kimeli Naiyomah

illustrated by Thomas Gonzalez

Peachtree Publishers, 2009

review copy provided by the publisher

Blog Tour Schedule here.

14 Cows for America website here. (still under construction)

Carmen Agra Deedy's website here.

Thomas Gonzalez's website here. (still under construction)

Reviews of the book here and here.

The Story

14 Cows for America tells a powerful story of ubuntu, or empathy for other humans. In this story, a young man who witnesses an attack on strangers gives his most valuable possession to help them heal.

The story is amazing, but it is the pictures that draw me back into the book over and over again: the sky, the light, the variety of points of view, the realism, the color, and the cinematic flow.

The Illustrator

I had the good fortune to be able to talk to the illustrator, Thomas Gonzalez, about his vision for the story.

Amazingly, this is Tom's debut in children's book illustration. However, the path of his life seems to have led him directly here. When he was a child in Cuba and then in the United States, drawing was like a second or third language for Tom, and his ability to bring the world to life on paper amazed his childhood friends.

Tom graduated from The Atlanta College of Art and has worked for 20 years in advertising and design and as an art director. But when he reconnected with his one of his childhood friends who had also come with her family from Cuba to the U.S., Carmen Agra Deedy, and when he saw the manuscript for 14 Cows for America, he knew instantly that he wanted to illustrate this book. It took some convincing, but luckily Peachtree took a chance on him.

Tom brings to this book his admiration for Maxfield Parrish's realism and for the precise techniques of Japanese airbrush illustrators. He brings his strong sense of design -- for the scale and placement of objects -- and lots of background research. He began each spread with a pencil sketch of stick figures and sky. He then used pastels to block out the pictures, paying close attention to shading and to the light sources to give a sense of realism (here's the Parrish influence). Next he used acrylics and he tightened his lines with brushes and pencils to enhance the details. Finally, he used airbrush to retouch the pictures in spots.

Symbolism in the Illustrations

My favorite part of the book, in terms of the illustrations, is when the American diplomat comes to Kimeli's village. On the left side of the first two-page spread, we see the diplomat's Land Rover in almost complete darkness driving towards the village. The sky looks like there is an approaching or retreating storm, or else it is the last light of dusk or the first light of dawn. On the right side, there is light breaking through the clouds and illuminating the village. The text reads, in part, "As the jeep nears the edge of the village the man sits up. Clearly, this is no ordinary diplomatic visit. This is..." Then you turn the page and --BAM!-- you are suddenly in the midst of color, dance, and movement -- the exuberant village welcoming the visitor, not for a diplomatic visit, but for..."a ceremony."

When I talked to Tom about what these pages said to me, about the American people, represented by the diplomat, in their time of darkness, and the Maasai people lit by their desire to respond to suffering and injustice with their kindness, he was pleased that I found meaning that was not his intention.

Illustrator's Symbolism

And then he asked me to go back and look for the symbolism that he did intend. In almost every illustration, Tom has included a twin tower image -- it may be a pair of figures, or spears, or giraffes, or uprights from the cows' pen, or the two shafts of light beaming down on the village, but almost every picture in the book bears the reminder of the act of violence that prompted the ubuntu, the selfless act of caring and sympathy of the Maasai people to the American people. As we talked about how this story affected him personally, Tom said that for him this story is about far more than just 9/11. This story says that no matter how powerful you are, unexpected circumstances can come out of nowhere and totally change everything...and that help often comes from people you don't know. For Tom, this book is about the connectedness of all people.

What's Next

Children's literature is lucky that Thomas Gonzalez found this new path in his career. He has several more children's books in the works. Keep an eye on his website for news about these upcoming projects.

Poetry Friday -- Countdown

Countdown to Summer: A Poem for Every Day of the School Year

by J. Patrick Lewis

illustrated by Ethan Long

Little, Brown Books for Young Readers, 2009

review copy provided by the publisher

High Schools have had Poetry 180 ever since Billy Collins came up with the idea when he was Poet Laureate. Now elementary school has their own Poetry 180, brought to us by one of the most prolific poets in all of children's literature -- J. Patrick Lewis!

You've got about a month to get your copy so that you're ready to read a poem a day to your class. You'll begin on page one, on the poem numbered 180, and you'll count down, poem by poem, to summer.

Lewis has timed the placement of the poems in the countdown to roughly coincide with a traditional "after Labor Day" school start, and he includes an amazing variety of holiday poems: Eid ul-Fitr (a special thanks for this one from those of us who have Muslim students in our class whose families observe Ramadan), Columbus Day, Halloween, Thanksgiving, Kwanzaa, Hanukkah, Christmas, New Year, Martin Luther King, Jr. Day, Groundhog Day, 100th Day of School, Chinese New Year, Valentine's Day, St. Patrick's Day, April Fool's Day, Passover, Easter, and Mother's and Father's Days. There probably are more that I've missed!

Also amazing is the variety of poetic forms included in this book! I found at least one limerick, epitaph, quatrain, haiku, abecedarian, concrete, acrostic, riddle, couplets, haik-lues, ode, lullaby, tongue twister, rebus, and free verse. Again, there are likely more that I've missed!

The simple line drawings by Ethan Long sometimes help the punch line of the poem, sometimes provide a clue to understanding or solving the poem, and sometimes are a visual retelling of the poem.

I tabbed seven poems I really wanted to share with you today, but I guess that's about 5 or 6 too many. You'll have to check these out when you buy your copy: #174 "The Librarian" (an abecedarian), #87 "Martin Luther King, Jr. Day" (a beautiful acrostic), #76 "The Ninth Ward: Hurricane Katrina, New Orleans" (heartbreaking and true), #59 "When is Its It's?" (maybe this poem will help my students learn proper use of its and it's...we can hope), #28 "Ars Libri: after Archibald MacLeish (everything books are and should be).

Here are two teacher/teaching poems since this is (I proclaim it so) the current quintessential volume of poetry for the elementary classroom. Apologies for the lost formatting on the first one...the middle lines should be centered between the first and last lines:

#163 I Was Your Teacher Once

I was your teacher once. You may remember me.

I am the chalk dust of memory.

I was the trusted ship you sailed.

You were the promise I unveiled.

I was the show. You were the tell.

I was your magic. You were my spell.

I was the ticket. You were the game.

I was the candle. You were the flame.

I was the curtain. You were the play.

I was the sculptor. You were the clay.

I was your teacher once. You may remember me.

Proposed Amendment to the Constitution

The President and Vice-President

of the United States shall be required

to take the Fourth Grade Standardized

Achievement Test so that

No President or Vice-President

shall be left behind.

Sylvia Vardell at Poetry For Children reviewed Countdown to Summer during Poetry Month in April and, coincidentally, she's got the round up this week!