“It’s Project PLN Time, Project PLN Time!” (In my head, that is being sung to the tune of “It’s Peanut Butter Jelly Time, Peanut Butter Jelly Time!”) There are dance moves accompanying this. Can you tell I’ve been surrounded by 10 year olds all day long? 😉 Are you singing it now? Good.
Project PLN is now accepting submissions for the November Issue. This issue is labeled the “Sharing Issue”. Whenever teachers get together, we quickly start sharing great lesson plans, resources and tools that we have discovered (this is one of the reasons that my husband is not interested in having dinner with a bunch of educators!). Since it isn’t practical for us to all get together for a edugeeky dinner, we want Project PLN to be a place where people can share their awesome lesson plans or resources with everyone out there.
If you think you have something awesome to share, please send an email to ProjectPLN10@gmail.com and we will add it to the November Issue. Please follow the guidelines for submissions below so we can quickly and easily load your posts to the site.
Please include a small bio that includes your blog, Twitter handle and other information you would like to share. A picture is encouraged, but not required.
It may be a piece you have published on your blog already. A good idea is still a good idea even if you had it a few months ago.
Please submit posts by Monday November 5. We expect for the issue to go live on Tuesday November 13.
Thanks again for all of the support you have given Project PLN over the years.
What it is: Piktochart is a great web app that makes it easy to create your own infographics. Piktochart has free and premium options. With the free version, there are a handful of themes to choose from. Premium themes are also available, if you are so inclined. After you choose a theme, the next job is to change the mood and edit the information on the chart. Students can add shapes, graphics (uploaded), theme graphics, and text to the infographic. Students can add a chart where they manually input data or upload a cvc file. This is especially helpful if they have been data collecting in another program. There are some features that are only available to pro users. Not to worry, there are enough available for free that you can make a pretty rockin’ infographic that gets the point (or data) across.
How to integrate Piktochart into the classroom: Piktochart is a superb way for students to work on those statistics/probability standards. Being a visual learner myself, I love the way that infographics seem to make data easier to digest. Piktochart can be used to display any type of statistical or mathematical data in new ways. Students can show what they are learning in history, about the world population (miniature earth), science, in the book they are reading, geography statistics, etc.
The way that infographics allow students to blend learning across the subject areas is fantastic. It isn’t just math; it is math, and art, and science/social studies/history/geography/technology. Any time we can help students recognize the overlaps that exist in learning and subject area, it is a win!
A few weeks ago, students at Anastasis discovered that America’s biggest export is trash. They started digging and found statistics about the amount of trash Americans throw away each day (7lbs/person) and how much was recycled vs. what ended up in a landfill. They also looked at statistics of what receiving countries like China and India did with the waste being imported. It was fascinating! Students created infographics showing what they had discovered in their research. It was eye-opening when they translated that trash per person into a year’s worth of trash and figured out how many football stadiums that it would fill. When they could see it graphically, it had an impact on their thinking. The result was: “it is up to us to change this…”
Pretty amazing when the conclusion to learning is transformation…change.
Tips: In the free version: Basic themes, 5 image uploads, Piktochart’s watermark. Pro version ($29.00/mo): 80 themes (and growing), additional customization, more image uploads, no watermark.
Leave a comment and tell us how you are using Piktochart in your classroom.
Maybe you have heard of Caine’s Arcade? It is a little movement, started by an 8 year old. This video will restore your faith in humanity and inspire you big time! It inspired us at Anastasis Academy, so much so that when the second video came out, inviting us to a Day of Play, we were all in.
On Friday, Anastasis held our own Day of Play. We collected boxes (lots and lots of boxes), tape, markers, pipe cleaners, glue, aluminum foil, rubber bands, tubes, scissors and paper. Then, we let the kids at it. There were no parameters, no specific rules or directions. The goal for our students was to dream as big as they could. It is amazing what happens when you invite kids to dream and build apart from any rules or expectations of what the end goal is. Our students (k-8) gathered in our big “all in” room and built to their hearts content. The amazing part: no two ideas were the same. We had plink-o, a fortune teller, a minecraft adventure, a time machine (complete with crystal), ski ball, tilt the ball, an old-school computer made of new parts, a hotdog/snow cone stand, dance dance revolution, ferris wheel, tanks, and a mechanical bull. You read correctly, a mechanical bull.
The students spent about 3 hours dreaming and building. Some had plans they created the day before, others came in with a blank slate. After all of the building (and a break for lunch) we gathered to play each others games. It was SO much fun! Students even created their own prizes that could be won (mustaches and uni-brows anyone?).
The casual observer might have watched this all go down and seen chaos or a waste of time. A closer look would have revealed the rich learning taking place. The problem solving, critical thinking, discovery, planning, rich conversations, kids working together, designing, creativity. Have you ever seen those words describe a worksheet? A lecture? This was such a RICH learning experience in so many ways. Best of all: it built and fostered a culture of working together, learning from each other and enjoying each other. That is no small feat.
I saw genius today. I am SO proud of these kids, they truly are geniuses. Two of our students (different classes and ages) built a tank together. The tank shot rubber bands and launched a “cannon” water bottle. These boys decided that the rubber band shooter and cannon should have a “safety” just in case something slipped so that they wouldn’t accidentally shoot anything. The way they worked this out was truly brilliant. The cannon water bottle was held in place by a popsicle stick safety. The rubber band shooter was attached to pipe cleaner that kept the rubber band from releasing unless the safety was off.
Our youngest kids built and manned a hotdog/snow cone stand. My favorite part of the stand was the signs that they created for it. One of the signs read “Snow cones choose a color: limeade, raspberry, blueberry, grape.” I love that it said choose a color, not choose a flavor. SO stinking cute!
A dance-loving student created the cardboard version of dance, dance revolution. She created a dance mat with different colors on it. Then, she climbed behind her box and flashed construction paper colors. When the color showed up, the player had to step on the matching color on the mat. Periodically, she would hold up signs that said things like, “you are on fire” or “fail”. Brilliant!
Today I had the pleasure of speaking with Dr. Rod Berger of RANDA solutions for The Core of Education podcast. We had a great chat about education reform, personalizing education and a bit about my personal journey in education. You can listen to the 20 minute podcast here: The Core of Education.
On Tuesday I had the distinct honor of chatting with @thenerdyteacher on The Nerdy Cast. Nick and I have been buds for years, working on various projects together, talking education and pop culture. You can listen to our whole Nerdy Cast chat which includes our humble adventures in blogging, starting Project PLN , starting a school and my newest project, The Learning Genome.
Okay, here is the thing, we (the collective we) have exactly 25 days to raise $83,570. This number represents change. This number represents personalized learning for our kids. This number represents revolution.
$83,570.
It is big. But not that big. Not that impossible. We can do this. One dollar at a time. When you view this campaign you will see suggested donation levels beginning at $5 and going all the way to $5,000. Those are merely suggestions. If we all take a minute out of our day, chip in one dollar, spread the word to one other person, this project is completed in no time. Are we willing to give up a cup of coffee (and a cheap one at that!) to make education better for all?
We often wax poetic about changing education. This, right here, is your opportunity to really do it. I wish I had a trust fund hiding out somewhere that could make this happen. That just isn’t the case. So here I am, shamelessly asking you for a dollar. Kind of like an internet panhandler.
What it is: History Pin is a really neat website that lets students (and anyone) electronically “pin” historical pictures, videos, audio clips, and stories to a digital globe. There are three main ways to use History Pin: exploring it, adding to it, or curating things on it. History Pin has some great collections and tours that have already been created that can be used in the classroom. Collections bring together content around a theme. Students can explore collections or create one of their own. With a Tour, students can go step-by-step through content, a story, explore a place or walk through time.
How to integrate History Pin into the classroom: History Pin is a neat place for students to learn about history. They can see history through pictures, video and stories submitted by people around the world. History Pin is also a fantastic place for students to demonstrate learning. They can add pins, create collections or tours around their learning. In many states in the US, students have standards that are related to learning about the state history. In Colorado, this is true of our 4th grade students. History pin is a great place for them to demonstrate their learning of their own state. The best part? This learning can be viewed and used by others all over the world. Our students get really excited about sharing their learning when they become the “experts”. History Pin lets them be the experts. Way cool!
Depending on which Collections and Tours your students engage in, there are great opportunities for incorporating other subjects. Our students enjoy comparing statistics from history with statistics of today. They are really enjoying knowing how to use ratios these days!
I love the way that Geography is so ingrained in History Pin. Students can easily see (and track) where history occurred in the world. This helps students understand how movements, revolutions, immigration happen as a result of geography.
Tips: Be sure to check out the school channel on History Pin.
Leave a comment and tell us how you are using History Pin in your classroom.
What it is: Algebra Lab may not be much to look at graphically speaking, but the resources here are pretty stupendous! Algebra Lab was created by Mainland High School teachers in partnership with Georgia Southern University and a host of student assistance. The site includes really well done lessons, activities, practice pages (online), study aids, glossary, and word problems. Algebra Lab is like a free, living textbook. It has enough substance to help students work their way through algebra, while understanding the connections to how that algebra is used in a practical sense. I didn’t appreciate Algebra until I took physics and chemistry. When I saw what those equations I learned were actually used for, I could appreciate the learning requirements in algebra. Algebra Lab does a beautiful job of helping students learn algebra within a context so that they really get a grasp of what these numbers are doing.
How to integrate Algebra Lab into your curriculum: I have enjoyed watching the debate over Algebra unfold in the last year or so. One side of the argument asks if it is really necessary that EVERY child be required to take algebra. The other side argues that algebra has great thinking skills that it develops, it gives students additional tools to understand the world through math. I’m not sure where I land on this debate. I don’t know that I believe that algebra should be a requirement for every child, and yet I think that my exposure to algebra was valuable. Maybe the debate just needs to be reframed…HOW should algebra be taught? I’m all for things being taught within context. If you can teach any subject in a way that sheds light on other learning it is valuable. I love when students make the connections between something like ratios and a site like Miniature Earth. They not only get excited about the math (yes, really) they see a purpose for wanting to learn more about how it works. Sometimes I think our job of teachers is really to help students see the overlaps that occur in learning so that they can make connections and have a cause to want to dig deeper.
I digress…
Algebra Lab is a great resource for math (and non-math) teachers. Here you will find lessons, activities, word problems and practice opportunities for students. Students can directly access the site, or you (the teacher) can pull ideas out to use within any other teaching you are doing. The site is great for students to explore on their own (blended learning algebra style) or with guidance from a teacher. As a non-math teacher, I appreciate the way the site helps me think like a math teacher. It reminds me how all of these pieces connect to other learning.
Tips: If you have a one-to-one setting, students can practice directly on the website for immediate feedback. Very helpful!
***Want to do your part as a CHANGE MAKER in personalized education? Check out, support and spread the word about the Learning Genome Project!
Please leave a comment and share how you are using Algebra Lab in your classroom!
Big, sweeping changes don’t seem to happen overnight, as quickly as we might like. Thirty, forty, or a hundred years go into those sweeping changes: race relations, animal testing, women’s rights, recognition of addiction as a disease. And yet, in each case, there was a turning point. Those handful of pivotal moments when someone(s) decide it must be different and that in this moment in time, change will begin.
For me, this pivotal change happened in October of 2010. Two years ago. That moment of “it must be different” led to a school. Anastasis Academy. In many ways, Anastasis feels like it happened over night (we started a school in 4 short months!) and in other ways, it feels like it will take years before the vision of Anastasis is realized.
Sweeping changes happen over time. Often, they are hardly noticeable as they are happening. This explains the 5 year old, struggling through their ABC’s who is ‘suddenly’ reading. When did that happen?!
People often ask why I don’t write more about Anastasis. The whole process has been incredibly organic and hard to describe to someone who isn’t seeing it unfold with me. I can tell you about students who are becoming fully alive and discovering that they love learning. Until you see this happen before you, until you hear the students talk about it, it is really a weak representation of what is happening. Here we are in year two. In a lot of ways, it has felt like a harder beginning. This is strange in light of what happened last year…starting a school in 4 months from a place of zero. I think it feels harder because the vision of what could be is being more fully defined and dreamed up each day. There is this sense of frustration that it isn’t here yet.
The change is hardly noticeable as it’s happening. It is organic and creeping. Sometimes I overhear students talking animatedly about figuring out ratios, and exclaiming over learning what portion of the population lives on less that $1.25/day, the change is happening. The vision is being realized one moment at a time. These kids are becoming fully alive. Those teaching them are doing the same. We hear parents describe what we do to others.
This is community.
This is family.
This is church.
This is Anastasis.
This is the beginning of sweeping change, where students can be fully alive and learn how to properly manage their freedom.
So, we will go on wishing that we could already see the full realization of this vision, but we will also rest in the hardly-noticeable moments of change in this journey. We will appreciate the moments in time that keep everything from happening at once. We will rejoice as we watch it all unfold in it’s perfection. We will wait anxiously for the day when this type of learning is available to children everywhere in the world.
***While we wait, consider joining in this mission to help students be “fully alive” in their learning. Donate and spread the word about the Learning Genome Project. This is the vehicle we will use to share this vision with ALL children.
Schools often talk about professional development as if it is the key to a successful school. I’m not convinced more professional development is the answer. I think it’s all about culture. When you have people who come together around passion, who enjoy each other, who have a common mission: that changes everything.
Our teacher handbook doesn’t look like most. It was inspired by creative companies like Valve and Apple. We are a group of rebels here. Our handbook had to reflect that.
We are on a mission to humanize learning. We are on a mission to make personalized learning available to EVERY child in the world. Please help us spread the word. Donate, tweet, blog, and email others about the Learning Genome Project.
