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Two blue, semi-transparent hands shaking in agreement, overlaid with digital code and pixelated squares in various shades of blue, symbolizing digital partnership or technology collaboration.

Steven W. Anderson

by EdCircuit Staff December 12, 2019

written by EdCircuit Staff 1 minutes read

Steven W. Anderson, is a renowned digital learning and relationship evangelist, a hnd aighly recognizable figure at conferences worldwide, sharing his edtech expertise and enthusiasm and demonstrating how to make effective use of social media for learning. In the interview, Steven W.Anderson speaks about flipped classrooms and the need for more discussions on pedagogy over concentrating too much on the technology itself.

When it comes to attending sessions at conferences, Anderson believes attendees should have three main takeaways:

1. Make sure to share the learning with others, which in turn leads to others sharing socially on different platforms

2. Take time to reflect on the learning after the sessions are over

3. Try not to only go to sessions that align with your interests. Seek out sessions that are outside your comfort zone to push your thinking and learning

About the Author

A man with fair skin, a long red beard, and slicked-back hair is wearing a bright yellow collared shirt. He is standing in front of a brick wall and looking slightly to the side. Steven W. Anderson is a learner, blogger, speaker, Digital Learning and Relationship Evangelist, author and Dad. As a former teacher and Director of Instructional Technology and best known as @web20classroom, he is highly sought after for his expertise in educational technology integration and using social media for learning and communicating. Steven presents at conferences worldwide and is also responsible in helping create #edchat, the most popular educational hashtag on He is an ASCD Emerging Leader, Microsoft Hero of Education and one of the top educational influencers on

Follow Steven W. Anderson on Twitter @web20classroom

December 12, 2019 0 comments

A teacher helps three young students build with colorful plastic gears and blocks at a classroom table. The children are focused on assembling the pieces while a book with instructions lies open on the table.

Be Intentional About Course-Correcting

by Tamara Fyke December 11, 2019

written by Tamara Fyke 4 minutes read

Although the first semester is almost over, it’s not too late to make adjustments to create a safe and nurturing environment at your school for spring 2020. Recently, educators have asked me: “How do I incorporate social-emotional learning into our school day?” Before discussing the how, let’s look at the why.

In the early 1990’s, Hawkins & Catalano (1992, 1995) identified three factors to help move kids from risk to resilience: 1) Relationships, 2) High Expectations, and 3) Meaningful Engagement. Given our current understanding of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), we know that being a child at risk is not relegated to a particular race, ethnicity, or socioeconomic status. We are all at risk. That is part of our human condition. Likewise, we can all develop resilience – the ability to bounce back despite adversity.

In September 2019, Christina Bethell and her team at Johns Hopkins University released research on how Positive Childhood Experiences can help counteract ACEs. Bethell identified seven Positive Childhood Experiences:

• Ability to talk to family about feelings

• Felt experience that family is supportive in difficult times

• Enjoyment in participation in community traditions

• Feeling of belonging in high school

• Feeling of being support by friends

• Having at least two non-parent adults who genuinely care

• Feeling safe and protected by an adult at home

Our “why” for teaching SEL is to provide Positive Childhood Experiences in order to combat ACEs. Interestingly, these seven experiences identified by Bethell do correlate with the three keys identified by Hawkins and Catalano. We want our kids to know they are seen, known, valued, and loved. Therefore, we create a safe place where they can talk about their feelings, receive support, participate in traditions, enjoy friends, be cared for, and know they belong – Relationships, High Expectations, and Meaningful Engagement.

How can you accomplish all of this in a school day? It starts with being intentional. Whether you are aware of it or not, you are already doing the work of SEL by nature of being in a caring role with children. Remember Bandura’s social learning theory? Your students are learning from you with every word, action, and even facial expression. The dictionary definition of intentional is “done by design.” Synonyms include conscious, deliberate, and purposeful. By being intentional about how you teach SEL, you can have a greater positive impact that, in turn, can better equip students for success in life.

Being intentional about SEL requires explicit instruction, which includes the following:

1. Dedicated time and space – Make SEL a priority in your schedule. According to SEL researcher Maurice Elias, a minimum of 15 minutes per day is recommended. This is dose effect, which yields positive results over time. Also, designate a particular space, such as a circle of carpet squares or bean bags. The simple practice of gathering at the same time in the same space creates a sense of security which enables children to be more receptive and open.

2. Common language – Clearly define the character traits you are teaching, such as “Honesty is speaking and acting truthfully” or “Respect is valuing yourself and others.” Then connect these traits to daily practice: “We are honest when we do our own homework instead of copying someone else’s. We are respectful when we use words that build others up, not tear them down.”

3. Common experiences – Whether you choose to use stories, games, or art projects, reinforce your common language with meaningful activities. Be sure to connect the dots between the activity and the message you are teaching. For example, when you read If A Bus Could Talk: The Story of Rosa Parks by Faith Ringgold, talk about Rosa Parks’ courage. Courage is standing up for what is right, facing your fears. Ask students how they can stand up for what is right like Parks did.

Whether you choose to write your own curriculum or adopt another resource, the key to successful implementation is strong administrative leadership and teacher buy-in. That means that administrators must communicate their commitment to SEL to their staff by allocating funding, training time, and continual positive reinforcement. Don’t let SEL become just another thing you have tried…commit for the long haul. Change occurs over time. In fact, you may not see the desired results for 3-5 years. You are making a long-term investment into the care and quality of your children, families, and community. When teachers know that their leaders are committed, they will be more apt to participate, not simply comply. In order to achieve whole-hearted participation, give teachers voice and choice.

Remember, culture is what you do and climate is how it feels. Your goal is to create a safe place where kids are celebrated, families are supported, and teachers are valued. Making SEL a priority in your school community can help you achieve this goal.

edCircuit – Tamara Fyke Columns
Alaska Public Media – Anchorage schools pioneered a new learning model focused on how kids feel and interact. Is it working?
eSchool News – 5 benefits of SEL in classrooms

December 11, 2019 0 comments

A man sits at a table with three young children, holding colorful papers. One child sits on his lap eating chips, another looks at the papers with him, and the third drinks from a water bottle. Snacks and bags are on the table.

Industry News On the Wire Creativity

Learning Through Art Now Offers Books Alive! For Kids as a Global Membership Subscription

by EdCircuit Staff December 10, 2019

written by EdCircuit Staff 4 minutes read

The Books Alive! For Kids subscription delivers a Book Pack to members’ doors every month to make popular children’s books come alive through sight, sound, and touch.

Cincinnati, OH—December 04, 2019—Learning Through Art, the Cincinnati-based non-profit organization whose programs have increased opportunities for collaboration, arts education, community engagement, and economic development in the region for the past 27 years, today announced the launch of the Books Alive! For Kids® membership subscription, which offers a multisensory reading program to promote storytelling, performing arts, and literacy practice. Members who subscribe will receive a Book Pack that gifts the featured story and includes expertly-crafted reading exercises, crafts, and activities as often as every month.

“Books Alive! For Kids was created by our team of early education specialists and artists. Over the past 20 years, we’ve used the program in schools and other learning centers throughout greater Cincinnati and across 18 states to narrow the academic achievement gap among children throughout the community,” said Kathy Wade, CEO and co-founder of Learning Through Art. “We’re very excited to now offer our signature literacy program to readers across the globe and make reading come alive with our Books Alive! For Kids Book Packs in classrooms, communities, mentoring programs, and homes for young learners and their families.”

Books Alive! For Kids is a four-time EMMY nominated and national award-winning program that helps early learners build literacy skills, which are essential for closing the achievement gap and setting up all kids for success in school and in life. The program provides an interactive learning experience that makes books come alive for readers in pre-K through third grade. Designed for groups or single user experience, each Books Alive! For Kids Book Pack gifts a full sized book and comes with craft activities, instructions and supplies, as well as a study guide. The interactive lessons include vocabulary practice and a guided Readers Theater performance that encourages students to use their craft and take the stage to bring the story’s characters to life. The program takes a multisensory approach to reading that includes the following:

• Sight – Each Book Pack gifts a popular full size children’s book that is both academically and culturally enriching. Readers can read the story and visually watch it come alive through colorful hands-on crafts and interactive performance theatre.

• Sound – Readers are encouraged to take turns reading the story out loud and, using the guide provided, respond to discussion questions that help to teach real-world applications of the story. In addition, each Book Pack comes with a set of vocabulary words for groups and sight words for individual children to practice in both English and Spanish.

• Touch – Readers exercise their creativity and practice fine motor skills through hands-on activities that tie back to the story’s characters. Each program can be customized to supply the craft instructions and right amount of supplies.

The program is designed to work in both formal and informal learning environments, including at home, in the classroom, during after school programs, and more. With a variety of membership plans—including individual and group subscriptions for either monthly, six-month, and yearly rates—people from any location can subscribe to become a Books Alive! For Kids® member and receive the interactive Book Pack as often as once a month.

To celebrate the launch of the program, Learning Through Art is offering a free, limited-time Books Alive! For Kids 2019 Holiday Book Pack to the first 50 subscribers. To learn more about Learning Through Art and become a member of Books Alive! For Kids, visit learningthroughart.com or contact Kathy Wade, kathy@lartinc.com.

About Learning Through Art

Learning Through Art, Inc. is a premier 501(c)(3) non-profit organization celebrating over 27 years of building community through art. Offering programs of cultural arts — the most common bond between people and cultures — to increase opportunities for collaboration, arts education, artistic growth, community engagement, and economic development throughout the Greater Cincinnati Metropolitan region and beyond. LTA programs seek to build bridges, break down barriers, and bring neighbors and neighborhoods together in celebration of the rich mosaic beauty of our global multicultural region. Since 1992, LTA has served over 1,000,000 neighbors, instilling a sense of art appreciation, cultural understanding, and connectedness. Follow Learning Through Art on Twitter and Facebook.

December 10, 2019 0 comments

A group of young children sit cross-legged on desks and chairs in a classroom, eyes closed and hands resting on knees, meditating together in a calm and peaceful atmosphere.

Hidden

Connecting with Kids: 10 Minutes to Mindfulness

by EdCircuit Staff December 9, 2019

written by EdCircuit Staff 5 minutes read

By Lori Jackson and Steve Peck

Who isn’t talking about mindfulness these days? We attended sessions that talked about mindfulness at each one of the six education conferences we’ve participated in this fall. Most have focused on using mindful techniques in the classroom to help students calm and settle themselves so they can be more focused on their learning.

When we talk about mindfulness we like to think of it as a way to help students be mentally present so they can participate and engage more with the material and their classmates. Mindfulness helps people to regulate so they’re able to more effectively and efficiently manage their emotions and behavior. We see it as the “pause button” for the emotional brain. Think about it: if you are able to more effectively take a breath when you are dysregulated, you’d be much more able to manage the emotion driving the dysregulation. Mindfulness helps press pause on the emotions that are attempting to “take over” the rational or thinking brain that helps you to make good choices when you are upset or feeling a strong emotion.

Let’s look at an example of this in action:

Your class is engaged in a fun holiday activity but it’s time to transition to math. You give the direction that it is going to be time to stop in 10 minutes, then five, and finally, one minute left; finish up your activity and clean up, please. Some of your students will likely have a difficult time stopping and moving on to the next activity. What we like to do is to use a minute of quick mindful breathing when you are making the countdown announcements. For example, at the 10-minute reminder, we would also ask everyone to pause and take five deep breaths in and out. We’d do this again at five minutes and at the last minute reminder.

What does this do?.

For some students, hearing the countdown reminder starts to make them anxious or frustrated that their activity is almost over. Maybe they haven’t gotten their project exactly the way they want it. Others are having so much fun that the idea of stopping is upsetting to them and makes them angry or annoyed. Instead of letting those emotions begin to build and take over the thinking brain, which needs to make the decision to stop working and follow directions, we use the quick mindful breathing technique to keep those emotions in check. In turn, our students’ retain their ability to make good decisions.

As with every technique we suggest in our column, this isn’t magic. It takes practice and repetition to be successful. However, when you use mindfulness as a tool in your classroom, this will really help your transitions.

Here’s the plan:

1. Start your classroom mindful routine by starting one for yourself first. It will be much easier to share some quick breathing techniques with your students if you are comfortable with them yourself. No need for anything fancy; just make a plan to take five or six deep cleansing breaths before you start something new. Before you start your car, before you take the first sip of coffee in the morning…you get the idea. Take one week and give it a try. Once you’re comfortable, you can take it to your students.

2. Introduce it by sharing what you did and how it worked. It’s fine if you share that it felt uncomfortable at first. It’s fine if you also share that you aren’t sure if you are hooked yet. In fact, this might help your students to help you and vice versa.

3. Make a goal with your students to insert a minute of mindful breathing into your day. We’ve had some teachers tell us they have created a mindfulness “captain” as a part of their classroom helpers. It’s this person’s job to either remind the teacher or lead the minute of mindful breathing themselves!

4. Patience and practice. Rome wasn’t built in a day…Take time to integrate this easy technique and it will pay off.

As with all new ideas and strategies, what works for one doesn’t work for all. But mindfulness definitely has its place in the classroom. Give it a try, and let us know how it works for you!
Author

About the Authors:

Lori Jackson and Steve Peck are co-founders of The Connections Model, an SEL and education technology company whose KidConnect Classroom App helps students develop emotional regulation, the necessary foundation for all learning. Learn more by visiting their website or following them on Twitter @TheConnectModel

Lori is an educational psychologist who has been working with students and their families for more than 15 years. She believes that all children have the capacity to succeed in school and the right to a quality education. She has seen the transformation that is possible when students and educators are given the right tools to overcome their social-emotional disabilities and she is passionate about helping more educators experience these breakthroughs.

Steve is a special educator with over 15 years of experience working with students who have multiple and severe disabilities. He believes that new technology is key to helping students overcome their functional skill deficits in the classroom. Steve has always been both a teacher and a techie at heart and has had great success using technology to augment and enhance learning and communication in the classroom. He has created several innovative special education programs in public schools that allow students to remain in district at their neighborhood schools and succeed in those classrooms rather than having to face the disruption of a school change.

Further Reading

KidConnect Blog –Articles
edCircuit – C onnecting with Kids: Step Back, Look Around, and Lean In
Washington Post – At this school in Maine, the entire state is the classroom

December 9, 2019 0 comments

A workspace with notebooks, colorful sticky notes, glasses, a crumpled paper, and paperclips. A large yellow light bulb drawing is in the center, surrounded by icons and notes about creative concepts and ideas.

Hidden

Q&A: A Student’s Perspective on the Conrad Challenge

by EdCircuit Staff December 6, 2019

written by EdCircuit Staff 4 minutes read

High school student Sarah Wang is a two-time participant in the Conrad Challenge, an innovation and entrepreneurship competition for teams of students ages 13-18 that annually attracts hundreds of teams from dozens of nations. Through participating, students develop the skills for 21st century workforce success and go through the steps to launch commercially-viable innovations that have the potential to change life for the better on the individual, national and global levels.

In this quick Q&A, Sarah shared some of her insights from the last two Challenges. Her responses give other students, as well as their educators, a perspective on the innovation process.

Although registration has closed for student teams for the 2019-20 Conrad Challenge, there are still great opportunities for educators and industry professionals to get involved by becoming a judge or working with students as a subject matter expert.

Q: Tell us about how you first got started with your innovations in each year of the Conrad Challenge. How did your team work together to determine the global challenge you were interested in solving? Did you do specific research to learn more about it?

Sarah Wang: I first got started with the Conrad Challenge when I was a freshman in high school. My sister had previously participated and suggested we participate together. At first, I was very apprehensive, but as we did more research into what we wanted to look into, I found more and more issues that I personally wanted to change. That’s how we figured out what we wanted to focus on. Last year, when I was a sophomore, I participated again in the Conrad Challenge, but this time with a classmate. Now, I’m a high school junior and as I look back upon my last two years participating in the Challenge I see how much I’ve learned – whether it be about how to write a report, researching a topic, or how coordinate with a team – through my participation.

Q: In your experience, what is the most difficult part of getting started with a new invention? What advice would you have for other students to get past this?

SW: The most difficult part of getting started was trying to keep our invention realistic. It’s easy to let your imagination overrule your rational mind, but it’s important to keep in mind the fact that without realism, it’s impossible for your invention to be successful.

Q: What educators or other advisors did you work with during your two years in the Conrad Challenge? What was the most valuable support they provided?

SW: We worked with researchers from our local university, Duke University, as well as farmers around the North Carolina Piedmont area. The most valuable support they provided was that they were able to offer us insight into what the demographic was like, as well as what life is really like for these people. This helped us further understand our sales demographic, which thoroughly helped us build our business plan.

Q: What are the most important steps for taking an invention from just an idea, and developing it into a real, marketable product?

SW: The most important steps for transforming an invention into a realistic product are 1) to put yourself out there and 2) to ensure that you understand your market. Another important step is to ensure that you understand your producers are on board with your idea and ensure they fully understand the internal works of the product.

Q: What did you learn about entrepreneurship and innovation that you think every student should have a chance to learn?

SW: The biggest thing I learned about entrepreneurship is that the people you are pitching are really passionate about what they do, so they will take you completely seriously. Your demographic is also extremely invested, so it’s important to be as passionate and motivated as your producers, demographic, and more. I found that the importance of the maintaining of your passion can be applied to all subjects and projects you’re working on, and only serves to make things better.

Conrad Challenge logo with CONRAD in blue, stylized lettering above CHALLENGE in gray. A horizontal gray line with four colored dots (green, orange, purple, red) runs between the two words.
Author

A young woman with straight black hair and glasses smiles at the camera. She is wearing a light pink top and is indoors, with a bed and light-colored walls in the background.

Sarah Wang is currently a junior at Enloe High School in Raleigh, North Carolina. Sarah participated in the 2017-2018 and 2018-2019 Conrad Challenge, going to the Summit both times and winning the PowerPitch during the 2018-2019 year. Her team names/inventions were “Transbacco” and “Tobbaco-cide”. Both inventions focused on using tobacco as a primary source; however, “Transbacco” focused on genetically modifying the tobacco plant to produce a certain enzyme while “Tobacco-cide” focused on finding a unique, effective way to repurpose tobacco.

Further Reading

Bundabergnow – Challenge sends students to Kennedy Space Centre
edCircuit – Nancy Conrad to Receive Prestigious 2019 Intellectual Property Champion Award from U.S. Chamber of Commerce
edCircuit – How Students Combine Entrepreneurship and STEM to Solve Global Challenges

December 6, 2019 0 comments

Professional Development Project-based learning

How to Personalize Professional Development

by Todd Stanley December 5, 2019

written by Todd Stanley 6 minutes read

Professional development is a tricky thing. Districts are often times charged with the mammoth task of trying to provide PD for an entire building or even district. This can be a daunting order and pleasing everyone is never going to happen. There is the extra added challenge of trying to meet the district’s mandates as well as maneuvering around the union contract.

Why Professional Development

Because time is such a valued and rare commodity, some districts bring in a keynote at the very beginning of the year to perform from the stage. This person gets up and gives his or her routine, the people laugh, cry, ohh, and ahh as the speaker takes everyone through a roller coaster of emotions, and hopefully, at the end everyone applauds and leaves the auditorium with a renewed sense of purpose, never to see the speaker again. The question I always have is, what is the shelf life of this PD kick in the butt? How far does each teacher take this second wind and run with it? It, of course, varies. Some teachers use it to transform their classroom while others are complaining that they had to sit for an hour straight (even though that is what their students have to do all of the time), as well as everything in between. And yet some districts are paying tens of thousands of dollars for these speakers, not really measuring what sort of impact it has and whether there would be a better use of the money.

Implementing Professional Development

Then there is the sit and get. This is where teachers attend sessions where someone tries to fit an entire curriculum worth of lessons into a single one hour presentation. It would be the equivalent of trying to fit in an entire unit plan into a single class. Not only that, the format severely limits what the person can do. I remember a teacher came up to me after a PD and said, “I’m tired of being shown PowerPoints on how I shouldn’t be giving PowerPoints in class.” I’m as guilty as anyone. When I only have a short period of time, I often espouse a very non-traditional teaching strategy, using a traditional strategy to convey this. Nothing like getting up and telling people not to be a sage on the stage, as I deliver it as a sage on the stage.

Selecting the Right Session

There are conferences. This is usually a collection of speakers with a couple of keynote addresses centered around a central niche of education. These can be exhausting and overwhelming, though. By the time you get to the third speaker of the day, it is difficult to give your full attention. Not only that, trying to pick a session that is useful to you can be a challenge. The single paragraph descriptions that often accompany the conference program are not always reflective of what you are going to see. I often have buyer’s remorse when I get into a session and find it is not going to be useful for me, but I’m stuck.

You could do a book study. Trying to find a single book that can be useful to multiple people can be somewhat of a challenge. Add to the fact that not everyone is doing their reading (imagine if our students did that), and so the discussion cannot be as rich as it needs to be.

Hearing A Different Voice

Of course, in many cases, you have the professional development you need already in your district. Certainly, there are enough talents amongst the staff to be able to provide strategies and ideas for others to use in their classroom? The problem here is the 50 mile rule. The 50 mile rule is that the best professional development has to come from at least 50 miles away. This is not a truth, mind you. It is a perception. If someone who has been in the district for a while, whose voice has become familiar to those in attendance, gives the advice, it might just sound like Charlie Brown’s teacher. However, if a perceived expert comes in, says the exact same thing the district person was going to, all of a sudden it is Moses decreeing the commandments from Mount Sinai. It is just like bringing in a guest speaker to your class. He says something, and suddenly the voice is different, and the students pay attention more.

Understanding the Roadmap

Even the best laid plans, the most highly regarded speaker, or the hottest inspirational book will not reach everyone, just as the one size fits all strategy would not work in the classroom. And yet districts are charged with the task of trying to make it fit. When done building-wide, there is always that satellite group of teachers that the PD does not work for. This usually involves the related art teachers as the gym teachers don’t really need to know how to write an effective assessment. It is interesting as we try and differentiate for different learners in the classroom but don’t always do a bang-up job with our various teacher groups.

Basically, all of the struggles of trying to find effective professional development are the same struggles we face in the classroom trying to teach our students. Let’s take a page from an effective classroom then and figure out which PD would be the best. In a classroom, students learn when they are engaged, when they care about what they are learning, and when they have choice.

What Works

What that would look like is allowing the teachers themselves to choose what professional development would be meaningful to them. To individualize the lesson. Ultimately, it shouldn’t be up to your district to find and provide your professional development. You became a teacher in most cases because you love to learn and you wanted to share that love with others. Why not learn about something that will improve your craft and make you a better teacher? Some districts would argue the accountability piece. That if the district doesn’t monitor the professional development, teachers will take advantage of it. I say so what. Forcing that teacher is not going to make it any better. In fact, they will probably fight you more vigorously. The district should simply provide the time and space to conduct the PD and let the teachers develop it themselves. Then the only person they can blame for it sucking would be themselves.

Read more from Todd at Stanley at edCircuit and The Gifted Guy.

Subscribe to edCircuit to stay up to date on all of our shows, podcasts, news, and thought leadership articles.

December 5, 2019 3 comments

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Headline

Steven W. Anderson

Learning Through Art Now Offers Books Alive! For Kids as a Global Membership Subscription

Connecting with Kids: 10 Minutes to Mindfulness

Q&A: A Student’s Perspective on the Conrad Challenge

How to Personalize Professional Development

Why Professional Development

Implementing Professional Development

Selecting the Right Session

Hearing A Different Voice

Understanding the Roadmap

What Works

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