Well isn’t this a surprise?

Edublogs is once again showing in China. For those of you who don’t know the history of what I’m talking about, here’s a brief summery. One day I asked my students to sign up to edublogs. With some difficulty they did so. I then proceeded to put a considerable amount of time into creating posts, organizing files and creating assignments. It was a beautiful setup with time and energy learning the system well spent. Then, without warning, Edublogs was blocked in China.

The kicker? It was edublogs who stopped the service because of hackers gaming the system from within China. It was goodbye to this rich learning resource and the opportunities to learn from writing to a global audience.  I know there are other blogs sights and online resources similar in scope to edublogs, but who needs the heartache from investing in something, only to lose it again in the near future?

Well me for one. I have an assignment ready for my students. We’re going to follow the path of the Freedom Writers. The concept is brillent. Students journal about their experiences, ideas and just about anything.  If they choose, the journal may be for a personal audience of one, with the teacher only glancing at written work for completion. If the student wishes, they may choose for the teacher to read the piece without fear of editing, marking or commentary.

Truly it is freedom to write, as it gives the opportunity for learners to look deep within oneself, be expressive  and open without reprisal.

That is, if we’re going to have the freedom to write that is. One is China itself. As I write this, I am self censoring myself just so I don’t offend the censor police.  I want to talk about freedom to write. It is only an idea, but can I safely do this in a country that frowns and blocks ideas of freedom? I could talk more about this, but I wont.

Another is how private and secure is this website? Am I, or my students guaranteed that what we write, here in China, will not be hacked or read by anyone else? Just today I read a news article outlining how hackers in China tried to hack various aspects of the Canadian government in Ottawa. If someone is trying to hack secure information, only intended for the eyes of the Canadian government, how safe are we? I could talk more about this, but I wont.

This is a test. As you can see, I have not really written anything negative or revealing. I have only raised questions.  If I can write another post a week from now, perhaps I will exercise more of my freedom to write. I could talk more about this, and hopefully I will.

This is a slight variation on my own assignment for the students. I asked them to write a one and a half page description on themselves. They could write about anything that would help me understand them.

The response was overwhelming.

In one and a half pages I discovered the humanness of my students. Lurking behind some of the toughest exteriors or indifferent fronts are insecurities, fears, eagerness and hope.  Mysteries, like why wont student A speak or what motivates student B to give up so easily, were elegantly answered by simply providing a forum from which students could tell me anything without judgement or reprisal.  I have learned more in an hour about the students who populate my classroom than I have in two weeks in working with them.

Thank you for being so open with me.

Although I never planned to, I will reciprocate.

Hey class,

First of all, you should know this if pretty difficult for me. I am one of the least open people I know. In honesty, I would rather learn more about other people’s life story than tell my own. In a typical party scenario, where I and another person are getting to know each other, I am so curious about the other person that I’m the one asking all the questions.  I love the richness of life and the stories others have to share that it often seems a bother to talk about me.

Mostly, I just love to learn. Life, for me, is full of lessons. The stranger sitting beside me, a textbook on the shelf, or a cool video that’s sitting on my desktop, it doesn’t matter what it is, I just want to learn it.  On some days, you’ll see me on the bus or walking down the street with my head in a book. Yes, I can walk and read at the same time.  I must be a spectacle walking on crowded streets in Dalian, only a little aware of what’s around me.  It’s not so bad in Edmonton where there are few people, but in China I’m sure people stare. At least that’s what I presume, if I ever put my head up.

I suppose the reason I love the walk-read is that it combines my love of learning with my love of exercise. I wouldn’t say that I’m athletic, but I take exercise seriously. Perhaps you’ve noticed, if you’ve ever been in my P.E. class. Yes, I know a lot of students hate running, but endurance, or that ability to exercise for long periods without rest, is a foundation of good health and P.E. See you around the track!

My biggest academic goal is, as it is every year since I’ve been teaching, to become a more effective teacher. I’m not, but I’m trying.  I’ve been downright nerdy in trying to reach my goal. Every year, I read articles and books on what it means to be a better teacher, I watch videos of other teachers, and I try to make sure that I’m well prepared for all my lessons.

If I have a weakness, it’s coffee. I’m rather protective about my habit. Coffee spilled is a great tragedy, coffee drank is a bliss. For all the new students in my class, please mind the coffee smell and be careful around my coffee mug.

For more about me, you’ll have to come to class.  Preferably with your homework done!

Learning about technology: O  – Relaxing on vacation: 42

Winner: me

So my stated goals of learning about one-to-one, becoming more tech savvy and generally preparing for the upcoming year has been minimal at best. I can say that I’ve downloaded a few documents on technology but haven’t read them.

Truth is that I’m intentionally unplugged. Its vacation, Im in Canada and save for the brutally inconsistant Edmonton weather, I’d rather enjoy life outside. I honestly hope that most of my students did the same.  There’s so much to learn when you’re not wired in.

Here are some observations that I’ve forgotten or now appreciate more:

1. Grass is greener on the other side – especially if you’re inside. Go out and look for yourself!

2. Few people are not plugged in 24/7 in Edmonton.  The one thing that everyone checks before leaving the house is if they have their cell phones. I was just in a poker game between family, where at one point there was one big simultaneous phone check.

3. Canadian news outlets are not as creative in creating controversy as their American counterparts.

4. There’s literally nothing to watch on television anymore!

5. People still don’t use our beautiful river valley to it’s full potential.

6. Technology creep has invaded our lives as a society. It’s affected our sleeping patterns, the way we think, and how mindlessly we waste out time.

I’m not totally immune of course. I just bought an ipad and have played with the thing quite a bit. And, I still spend a good 1-2 hours using technology mindlessly. However, that’s inter-spaced with biking and walking and trying to consciously enjoy my freedom from work and anything electrical.

So here’s my questions for this post: How would be if you lost all access to all forms of technology for a week? What would you do?

If I were in Edmonton on summer vacation, I’m fine. Winter in Dalian, not so much.

I’m taking a leap of faith here. I’m not tech savvy, I haven’t found my comfort zone in my education practice, and I’m  pretty sure I have plenty of  students who could teach me something about the ins and outs of RAM, HTML and BIOS. But hey, why not lead a classroom where everyone will have access to a wireless world? Yes, the computer blind will be leading those who know so much more. I’m pumped, frightened and not at all ready.

Luckily its summer vacation and I have two months to at least get a head start before my school, Dalian Maple Leaf Foreign Nationals School (say that three times fast), goes one-to-one.  If you don’t know what that means, neither did I up until a month ago. Basically its where students will all bring a lap top to school.

So here’s the challenge for this slightly overwhelmed educator: make one-to-one work in my classroom. This blog, dear reader, is my first attempt to find a way to make this work.

I even have a mandate for myself: I want to blog the entire one-to-one process. That means good or bad, failures and successes are not off limits. Be warned. I screw up more than anybody I know. If one learns more from their mistakes, then this is going to be a huge learning year.