Earlier this year, my department adopted a new data-tool. It generates lovely reports that teachers and principals can use to understand numbers and stuff.
It’s also super-complicated and the forum is fairly sparse. My search for support also took me to YouTube, which was equally fruitless.
“Wow. Last uploadB in 2011, huh?”
I found myself grumbling as I attempted to wrangle it into a form I understand:
This is stupid.
I don’t need this.
My life has been great before this system; how is this going to make it better?
But I stuck with it; my director expects me to learn how to use it, and that’s enough reason for me. Also, I’m aware that a positive mental attitude will make this more likely to stick.
After a couple hours, I realized:
This is how some teachers feel in every tech workshop I do.
Who cares about Google?
My class is just fine without Desmos.
Students don’t complain now, so why should I learn about Haiku?
After lunch, I had another epiphany:
This is also how some students view math class.
Who cares about completing the square?
I have basketball practice later, I can’t focus on fractions.
I have an A already; why should I care about periodic functions?
Learning is hard. It’s your attitude that dictates your success.
Change your attitude, stick with it, and the learning will come.
~Matt “This still ain’t much fun, but I’m pressing through” Vaudrey
Claire Verti, one of my teachers, sent me this blog post today. David Sladkey is using Desmos to complete a maze with his students.
Sweet, right?
I immediately tackled it and now present to you my completed Desmos Maze. As you can see, I had some fun toward the end.
Then, because we’re testing this week and my entire role is to sit and wait for something to break, I made this. Using Google Draw, we can make any kind of maze we want. Make just three points if you want students to start practicing, like Michael Fenton did spectacularly.
Or make a complicated one if you have two-hour blocked periods for SBAC testing and some Pre-Calc students who need to be challenged.
This might be what I bring into Mr. Rynk’s class next month for a demo lesson; I’m curious to hear students talking about piecewise functions.
Then, I made this one, thinking that it might help students with coordinate plane, but I’m not sold on it yet.
Initially, I had students changing the ordered pair (x,y) to move the point, but then, as students delete the 5 and type the 6, the point blinks in and out of existence. We need continuity. But moving the sliders isn’t very challenging, and it’s no longer a math activity, it’s a game with very little math reasoning in it.
Improve this, will you?
~Matt “I Promise; This Is Technically Work” Vaudrey
UPDATE 23 APRIL 2015: A nice follow-up question to keep the class challenged:
That question was asked by the principal at one of my Elementary schools.
Initially, he was hesitant to ask for my help. As the new EdTech Coach for the district (hired this year), he and IB were both unsure of my role at his school (or my role atB any of my 13 schools).
In September, the discussion went like this:
“How open is your staff to new ideas?” I asked cautiously, seated across from the principal of one of my 8 elementary schools. As a life-long avoider of trouble, my palms sweat a bit every time I enter the Principal’s office.
“Oh, very,” declared McKee proudly. “I show them something, they’re using it in class the next day.”
“Great! Would you say you’re the leader for those types of innovations on campus?” The keys on my iPad keyboard clack as I jot down digital notes.
McKee smiles wryly, “Not exactly. We have several on campus who are trying new and interesting things, but I can relate to those who are hesitant. It’s scary to try something new. They’re scared, but open; does that make sense?”
“Definitely,” I grin, pleased that he’s so honest about himself and his staff.
Three months later, I’m back in his office as we attempt to design a Google Form where PTA volunteers can log volunteer hours (which are then counted in a pivot table). There are dozens of similar designs in my Google Drive, but I remind myself,B this is the first one that McKee has done. Be patient.
He’s a fantastic student. Within 20 minutes, the form is done andB he’s changed the header to his school logo.
“Sweet!” I exclaim. “I didn’t know you could do that.”
McKee’s eyebrows raise and he smiles wide. “You meanB I taught something toB Matt Vaudrey?” He pumps both fists in the air.
I laugh with him, gladB that he can see the value in enlightening a peer. Beneath the desk, my feet tighten in my shoes. That’s the third time this week somebody’s said that.B Should I be worried that I’m becoming a know-it-all?
I file that thought away for later, andB McKee and IB press forward, building a master roster for lock-down drills.
“Drag that gray line down toB freeze the top row. That way, you’ll still see the header when you scroll down.” I point to column 1 on his massive, principal-sized screen.
McKeeB shakes his head, “How do youB know all this stuff?” He asks with a smile.
McKee asked the question in the most respectful way I’ve heard.B Typically, the comments are more like,
“I don’t know how you do all this stuff.”
Well… um…
“It must be nice to be so techy.”
Uh… yeah… but…
“OfB course it’s easy forB you. You’reB young.”
Ohhhh!
I bite my tongue every time I hear that last one.
Easy?
Easy?
EASY? Let me tell you about easy!
It’s often the moreB veteran teachers who pull out that line. Unfortunately for them, I taught math before I was an EdTech Coach, so I’m well prepared for that “fixed mindset” garbage.
It’s no secret that I have little tolerance for students content to be ignorant–whether a veteran teacher afraid of iPads or a 13-year-old at-risk student–but it’s tough to call out that attitude in an adultB without sounding… well…
uppity.
And no amount of cute smiling will help. Believe me.
This week, as I was in the Apple Store repairing my mother-in-law’s iPad, I finally figured out my response when people express awe at my tech-muscles.
“I just started learning it earlier than you did.”
…(Also, I mooch like crazy, ask questions on Twitter, and work really hard at figuring out things that are confusing.)
~Matt “Huge iPad Muscles, Regular-Sized Actual Muscles” Vaudrey
Fifty-two of us from all over the continent converged on Austin for two days of … something. We weren’t sure exactly what to expect; the agenda (initially public) had been locked from view sometime that weekend, so we hoped that was a good thing.
My own district treated my acceptance to the academy (a month ago) with more excitement and reverence than I expected. My director, Kris, is likely to thank for that; there’s a very good chance she had conversations with cabinet members explaining why it’s a big deal.
Thanks, Kris.
Here’s why I went:
Thanks to Twitter and blogging, I know of a lot of outstanding teachers. Most of them–the ones equipping students with 21st-century skills–have a little badge on their websiteB that says,
My role models (click here for a list) have this qualification, so I wanted it, too.
The application process (documented here) was stringent, but definitely worth it. I knew my cohort had worked as hard as I to apply.
Near and Far
You probably noticed what I did, so check this out:
This academy was in Texas, which likely contributes to the spike. Regardless, California was well-represented.
As you can see below, the average age of attendees was 37, and we stretched from 26 to 49.
Within a few hours of arriving, I was grouped with two teachers who were…B veteran enough to have me as a student 20 years ago. Both showed and/or taught me something cool.
It was a fresh reminder that–as I often insist to my teachers–age does not necessarily correlate to tech ability.
Stevens pointed out that it’s likely people were reluctant to select “Stooge” as their job title.
Stuck on a desert island with one beverage. One member wrote, “Choose between wine and coffee? This is the hardest decision all week.”
The next question asked,B “How stoked were you/your employer for GTAATX and these parts of it?”
What a bummer that 5.02/10 was the average excitement for districts and schools. Doesn’t match the group’s excitement at all.
I can’t relate; my district gave me the time off, covered expenses, and drafted a press release and an article in the paper. It’s a great place to work.
Fun Data
And, in the spirit of silly math, here are some interesting data:
TwoB attendees (separately) pulled me aside and asked if I was underwhelmed. As a lifelong optimist, my expectations rarely match reality, with its rough edges and imperfections. The last 30 years have seasoned me to adjust idealism (Twitter’s perception of GTA) with reality (52 game-changers from across the continent in one room).
I had some fantastic conversations, drank some great local beer, and bowled a 79. Teachers from Ontario to Missouri to Mexico challenged me to rethink my mindset, brainstormed solutions to my Moonshot problem, and encouraged me; B I hope some were encouraged by me, as well.
And some I’ll probably never contact again. That’s the thing about getting big personalities in one room; we’re gonna disagree.
In high school, I never studied. I showed up, napped, and got a B.
When I went to college, I had to work harder to keep my place in the upper quartile of academics.
Upper Quartile is not a defensive formation for the Steelers.
GTA was like EdTech College; many of us came from schools and districts (even counties) where we were the smartest kid in class. For two days, the bigB fish leftB their small ponds and droppedB into a wading pool…
No, that’s not the analogy I want…
TastyB appetizers from several menus are spread on one table…
Eh, that’s closer…
A bunch of CEOsB start a business. Working together and sharing ideas with each other,B two days would be woefully insufficient to drink up all the great stories and experiences and knowledge in one room.
One of the many benefits of my new positionB is the exposure toB tons of new perspectives. There are 460+ teachers in Bonita USD, and I follow roughly 160 on TwitterB from around the world.
(The overlap is about seven people. I’m working on that.)
Conferences and trainings expose me to people from other districts I would never have met otherwise.
But there is no substitute for teachers.
Except… a substitute teacher.
At some point on October 20th, I had a conversation with a teacher in my district that led to this:
Today’s Epiphany: 2:1 that promotes student discussion is better than 1:1 that promotes student isolation. #edtechchat#edtech
That appeared to resonate with some other teachers.
Here’s a theory:
WhenB students are paired up on devices, they’re engaging the material, the technology, and each other. The few occasions where a grabby student bowls over a shy student and hogs the device are rare.
This is probably due because–in a 1:1 environment–the grabby student would be playing Angry Birds in the back row and the shy student wouldn’t have anyone to answer his/her question when s/he got stuck.
Further, a 1:1 class where students are silentlyB working on their device is relationally no different from a class where are diligently working on a packet of worksheets.
As teachers, we’re reaching a tipping point where we must create relational experiences for our students to discuss and wrestle with the material and other perspectives.
A teacher, previously averse to new tech tools, installed iTunes and added my collection of Music Cues to it. She’s planning on using a few to start up, then adding more as she gets more comfortable.
That exact story has happened at least 8 times this month and I’m thrilled about it.
EdTech Tip
This video, I’ll be honest, took most of a workday to shoot and edit, but that included Googling color schemes and building a graphic in Keynote (thanks to @jcorippo for that idea).
I sent that to every teacher in the district and got no less than 40 replies (TenB percent of the staff); they all began with “Oh, you’re the new Tech Coach! Can you…”
Show me how to use SubText?
Install iTunes on my computer?
Fix my printer?
Put the email icon on my desktop?
Demo a lesson on effective research strategies for my seniors?
Attacking all those questions with the same earnest optimistic kindness is vital for my credibility as a teacher coach.
Sure, I have to differentiate my role from a Computer Technician at least once a day, but every time, the conversation leads to a firmer understanding of what I can do for that teacher.
Subtext and NewsELA Can Hold Hands
A teacher wants to have students use NewsELAB articles in theB SubtextB reader for iPad, but she has a full-time classload and wants somebody to figure it out for her.
Little did she know, that’sB exactly the kind of thing that I do.
Here’s what I told her:
Save the NewsELA article as a PDF and put it in your Google Drive. (There’s a Chrome ExtensionB that I use for that.)
On the iPad, open Google Drive and open that PDF (like youb re reading it).
In the top right, tap the three dots and select OPEN INb &
Choose Subtext.
In case any of y’all are interested.
Google Drive Training
After describing cloud storage to one teacher, she insisted I come back and get her whole department on a shared folder. That meeting was helpful for three reasons:
I can talk about Google Drive all day, speaking faster and faster with increasingly frantic hand gestures until I’m standing on the desk and shouting, “Real-time collaboration!”
They were simultaneously discussing RTIB plans, parent conferences, and the upcoming staff meeting, all while I walked them through how stuff works.
It reminded me that not all teachers will sit quietly and follow along like we’re at a CUE conference.
I’m on their prep period on their turf; I’ll be thankful for the time I get.
One of my goals for the year is to make “disciples” at each campus; teachers who are willing to try/see new stuff and would be down for me to hijack their class for a period and do a demo. This posse definitely fits that description.
If I’m honest, I do miss the classroom. I chalk that up to the discomfort that one feels inB any new position, especially one like this. I’ve essentially changed fields, but I can still daily look through the window at a job I loved and at which, I performed… better than average.
La Cucina Matematica
John Stevens and I do some Math/Tech consulting on weekends and holidays, and recently launched a website to that end.
We both share a fear of becoming shameless self-promoters who take schools’ tax dollars and don’t actually help students directly. So we’re both careful about how often we self-promote.
Check out the site. If your district has some leftover Title I money that expires this month (as ours does), we’d love to come visit and talk shop with your math teachers about how to build student creativity and problem-solving.
The “Move It!” Chrome Extension
I’m not frantically pacing a classroom anymore, I’m at a desk around 30% of the time. And I don’t wanna get fat.
This pops up everyB n minutes and won’t go away until I click DONE.
My office-mates needed little convincing that I was an odd duck, but declaring “Ten large arm circles! Let’s go, Cheryl!” sealed my fate.
I’ll be the most ripped Tech Coach in the biz… though there isn’t much competition.
As of August, our planB was a rap with a beat we composed, referencing each other in our videos and starring in quick cameos.
We quickly realized threeB things as the deadline for Austin was announced.
The beat that we (okay… the beat that I) composed was not very good. Making it good enough would take longer than I wanted to spend, plus there are tons of Creative Commons-licensed songs for free downloadB if you’re a teacher.
The rap would limit our creativity, and we’d have three nearly identical videos instead of three that showcased our unique classrooms and educational philosophy.
One minute is not very much time at all.
So we made a Voxer channel, made a shared folder in Google Drive and gave each other editing rights, and asked for feedback.
This is from Karl’s doc. He brought some other Edu-ringers in as well.
Let me stress; this is a microcosm of the same attitude that has grown all three of us into the educators that we are today. We ask peers for help and drink it up when we get it.
Between Voxer (where we dropped any and all inspiration we had and bounced ideas off each other) and the shared Docs (which I won’t share with you, so stop asking), we each took the general concepts that the three of usB shared and fine-tuned them to be specific to ourselves.
We encouraged and trimmed ideas in equal measure, and at the end, we had three very different videos that showcase three very similar mindsets.
In short, we actually modeled the collaboration that we promote to our teachers while we made a video about collaboration with teachers.
Here’s mine:
When I showedB my video to Karl and John, they bothB said, “Yep. That’s Vaudrey.”
Here are their videos, too:
The best part? I just wore the fairy costume and went about my regular day as EdTech Coach.
I trained students on Google Forms and URL shorteners.I met with a teacher to help her utilize web resources for 3rd grade Social Studies.
The only real weird part of the shoot was that I’m still new to the district;
many of these teachers hadn’t met me in person before I was putting on glitter wings in the teacher’s lounge.
“Hi, are you Wendy? I’m Matt; did you email me about iPads? Also, can you zip me?”
Also priceless wereB the student responses to the Google Fairy walking through campus.
Elementary School: “It’s a fairy man! Hi, Fairy Man!”
Middle School: “Oh! It’s… uh… he’s the Google Fairy. Aren’t you hot?”
High School: “I love your costume! [Takes picture]
High School: “What the f***?”
Today, I witnessed an excellent old-school lesson. The teacher was engaging, funny, and had play-doh on the desks with toothpicks to demonstrate angle relationships to the sophomore Geometry students.
Students inserted a Cloze Notes-Style handout into their plastic dry-erase sleeve and followed along, filling in words to define the vocabulary in sentence frames. By the end of class, all the students were giving the correct hand signalB for Adjacent Angles, Vertical Angles, and more.
But something… just didn’t feel right about it.
No… not right… something didn’t feelB complete about it.
Voxer – group texts, but with voice messages instead. It’s awesome.
We had just gotten our issue of CoMmuniCator (the monthly publication of CMC) which featured two-page descriptions of lessons, like visual patternsB and drawing the ideal polygon.
It occurred to me, those are two things that prominent math educators have doneB extensive work with online, yet CMC has no idea, nor do the teachers who are submitting these articles.
We appear to have two schools of math teachers.
The first school is the Math-Twitter-Blog-o-sphere (affectionately and mercifully abbreviated #MTBOS).
Hundreds of math educators across the world weigh in on blogs, twitter feeds, and Voxer channels to inform best practices on teachers thousands of miles away that they’ve never met. The focus is professional growth that helps students learn mathematics in a meaningful way.
The second school is the CoMmuniCator crowd.
They spend hours writing a two-page description of visual patterns in their math classroom, include a worksheet, and submit it to the local Math Education journal, feeling satisfied: that their environment is full of opportunities like this.
To these, I insist; there is so much more than your pond.
Outside the pond, there is a wide large world full of dynamic educators whose students aren’t just learning the standards, they’re learning to wrestle,
to challenge,
to critique,
to debate,
to seek meaning out of chaos.
In short, there is an ocean of educators growing children into little mathematicians while others are makingB really cool photocopies in their pond.
I’m not saying that they’re bad teachers. Not that they’re boring.
Just that they’re missing out.
I’ve had dozens of conversations with math teachers since my recent job change to EdTech Coach. Less than half have heard of Dan Meyer or Desmos.
Evelyn Baracaldo, a representative of NCTM 2015 – Nashville, sent out a few emails to teachers (including me), inviting us to present on “Emerging Technologies”. Some digging on my part revealed:
The deadline to submit proposals is 15 months before the conference date. (Proposals for a conference on “emerging technologies”.)
There will be no wireless internet available.
What?
NCTM, the largest group of Math Educators in the nation, is missing the point.
EDIT: Shortly after posting this, I had lunch with Robert Kaplinksy, who convinced me that NCTM reaching out to blogging, tweeting teachers like me is a step in the right direction,B and I should lighten up.
He’s correct. Afterward, I applied toB give a workshopB at NCTM Nashville.
This feels like the keynote addressB at Twitter Math Camp (which I didn’t attend this year, though I heard whispers and elevator summaries). Those of us in the ocean have a vested interest inB theB thousands of ponds across the country.
Some of those ponds are excellent and need no help.
This year, I’m excited to show the pond-fish just how big the ocean is.
UPDATE 3 MARCH 2015: The California Mathematics Council continues to borrow blog posts in print form,B with three-acts and visual patternsB in the March issue. I have mad respect for Brad Fulton, butB surely he’s aware of Dan Meyer’s work on the three acts of a mathematical story.
Also, it’s cringeworthy that CMC appears unaware of Desmos andB still uses Comic Sans.
One of many things I like about the #mtbos is the math conversations that happen one line at a time.
It just so happens, I have a lot of thoughtsB on this particular topic, more than I could share on a tweet.
On SmartBoards
While it’s not the focus of this post, I had one of these. As with most technology, it’s tempting to drop it in someone’s lap with little to no preparation, and be disappointed when the individual doesn’t produce Nobel-Prize winning lessons after a week. Every classroom at my school had a SmartBoard, and I never saw a lesson that did anything more innovative than I did.
And I wasn’t doing much.
Tina, if you can afford both, great. ButB if you’re between the two, spend the money on tech that promotesB student creativity, insteadB teacher creativity. I loved my SmartBoard, but the stuff that my students created in an hour was much more satisfying than anyB cool lesson design.
And speaking of that…
On AppleTV in the Classroom
I had one in my 8th grade Math class for two years. Here’s the quick version:
Loved:
Students (on the same network as the Apple TV) can quickly and easily share their work with the whole class. My struggling students suddenly became the star as they showcased their problem-solving on the wall and walked the class through their reasoning. Below, you can see two students teaching the class from their iPads duringB Teacher 4 a Day.
Students who found new apps or iPad tricks can teach the class about it on the big screen wirelessly (from their seat if they’re shy).
Andrew, a timidB 8th grader, wrote his name using computer commands during theB Week of Code and taught his classmates his tricks.
I had my AppleTV with open access, no password, no confirmation; anybody could just hop on. The first week of school, Adrian (from his desk) bumped my iPad off the projector during a demo and showed the class a picture of a bunny from his iPad.
Take a moment to think of what he could have shown. I’m glad it was JUST a bunny.
Immediately, I knew it was him (the usual signs of middle-school mischief, furtive glances to classmates, frantic motions to hide what he was doing, chortling, etc.) and pounced on him.
“Adrian. That’sB not okay. If we’re going to work well with iPads in class this year, we have to be respectful of each other, and it’s not your turn right now. You’ll get your turn later. Ask me first.”
He was surprised. I was going forB firm and kind, but he was also surprised about my declaration for the year. I was laying the groundwork for our class and what we would do with these new fancy tools, and he–and, more importantly, the entire class–heard me say, “You will all have a chance to share.”
“But, why not just protect the AppleTV with a password?”
Yup. That would solve the problem, but it would also show students that I am the Chieftain of Class Culture instead of the Guide.
I was confident in theB class culture that wouldn’t need a password, and the openness–I feel–gave the students some autonomy and respect. They would casually ask, “Can I show this to the class?” and my answer was always “Yes” or “In a minute”.
I never had that issue of AppleTV control again, with Adrian1 or anybody else.
In the Math Classroom
My class had an unusual situation; the iPads were used as an intervention tool in conjunction with a bonus hour of time with me andB no curriculum.
That’s right. An unsupervised hour with low-performing students and iPads.
That free hour allowed us to explore other pseudo-core-curriculum exploits, such as the 20 Time project, Estimation 180, Visual Patterns, and Would You Rather?. Also, training the students in how to best use web-based tools like Google Drive (with whom, I have an inappropriate infatuation) and introducing them to computer programming with HourB of Code.
In short, the AppleTV provided opportunities for my students to get excited about Mathematics, art integration, and a collaborative learning environment. Yeah, I did those things before, but that little black box provided access and confidence for students who were usually silent, lost, and confused.
Worth it.
~Matt “Not sponsored by Apple, just satisfied” Vaudrey
1. Adrian eventually flunked out of 3rd period and joined my 1st period, which did not have iPads. He was surprised by this, after three parent phone calls, two conferences, and three failing report cards.b)
2.) My grandparents (who are 70+) live in Seattle and wanted to meet baby Clay. I walked Grammy through the installation of the Google Hangouts plugin and boom!
Cross-country goo-goos and ga-gas.
My grandparents (who still use disposable cameras and balance checkbooks by hand) are openB to new technology, and I hope that teachers in the coming year will be as receptive as they are.
~Matt “Close the window… it’s the red X” Vaudrey
P.S. If you want to follow the morning adventures of Pickle and Daddy (as Mommy and the new baby sleep in), you can follow me on Instagram.
