CC licensed shared by Flickr user RLHyde I truly appreciate admonishments regarding social media from my PLN. Particularly the one which questions what trade-offs come about as a result, and if a particular one is worth it or not. It’s an important skill when you decide to accept a powerful technology. You must be perpetually metacognitive and critical of the tool itself. I thought I would use one arm of my social media life as an example. I love what social media has done for my sports fandom. I have been a terrible athlete/obsessive sports fan since a very young age. Moreover, as a reader, my favourite text genre has always been sports and music journalism. Suddenly, this type of content is now available almost entirely for free online, and it is mind-blowingly interactive. You form a community and actually connect with some of those fans, journalists and athletes. It’s like you’re part of the game itself (deluded, I know:-) You can even start a blog yourself about your favourite team and foster an audience. You can actually become a media creator, not just the consumer. There’s just one thing. I find I watch a lot less of the actual events. A baseball game, for instance, feels like an eternity to me now. A football game without the ability to fast forward? Forget it. West coast games that end well after midnight? No way. Now, I know being a committed husband and father of three young kids is likely the highest factor in this equation… Still, it’s also because I feel like I can crowdsource the experience. Bizarre I know. I’m ok with that trade-off because it allows me to be with family more while still satiating my sports need. Time is precious when you’re a suburban professional and family man. What about you - do you like that trade?

After having a quick convo with the awesome @courosa on Twitter tonight, my mind began to wander. You know how dishwashers, washers, and dryers are monstrous household machines but are virtually invisible in your house? I wonder when mobile technology and social media will be like that. Or will it never be like that? Is it already? Imagine if you’d told someone from the 1800s what a modern dishwasher or a Ford F150 truck could do. It would blow their mind. Well, everyday I personally realize that stuff I was mad obsessed with as a kid are a freaky reality now (well, that Knight Rider car is taking longer than I thought). As a little boy, my friends and I literally used to play pretend games of an iPhone world. Back then, I thought the Sony Walkman was some really advanced stuff (excuse me while I laugh again about tape fast-forwarding and rewinding). It would be like if ants increased in size and you could ride on them. So I can’t help but imagine how it changes the way my own children and students are growing up. If the kinds of things that used to be dreamed up are actually mundanely available in your pocket now (and, let’s face it, Pandora’s out of the box, baby) isn’t it one of our goals in education to teach our students how to leverage these powerful devices for the betterment of the world?

As a teenager, I was plenty rebellious. I wasn’t the class clown or the drug dealer or even the bully. Still, I was immensely disillusioned by the reality presented to me and found heaps of enjoyment in bucking The Man. If there was a boundary, I was enticed to push it. Where there was a rule, glad to subvert it. The difference between myself and some other ‘bad boys’, however, was that my misdeeds usually went undetected, under the radar. I was more ninja than Blood or Crip. That’s why I would never have worn a hat conspicuously in my high school classroom. Nor would I be very pleased with one of my own children exhibiting this kind of behaviour in a setting where it was frowned upon or not permitted. Nevertheless, I do empathize with that-kid-in-class-that-won’t-take-his-hat-off. At the risk of a brutal pop-psychoanalysis, here’s what I know about (let’s call him/her) Jamie. Jamie knows it’s against the rules. Jamie knows someone will eventually demand it be taken off. Jamie does not flaunt the hat sideways and slight tipped to one side because he/she hopes it will go unnoticed. Jamie wants someone to notice it. In fact, Jamie prefers to be admonished in front of his/her peers. That’s the point. So why do we fight this cold war? Many people say it’s a matter of respect; the wearing of the hat signifying a lack thereof. There are some people who look at The Great Hat Debate (TGHD) as akin to something like Malcolm Gladwell’s broken windows theory. Let them wear the hats and it’s a gateway to other abhorrent behaviour, they say. Others see a refusal to fight the battle as a way to end the war. If the point of wearing the hat is to mark oneself as rebel, then taking that power away eliminates the issue. Those with a bent for Cultural Studies might even see ideology and power relations being enacted in TGHD. The New Era hat descends, after all, from hip hop, African-American, urban culture. It is the comic book of hats. You’ve likely never said to a kid: "Take of that wide-brimmed sun protector! We’re inside, for goodness sake!" And maybe, just maybe, there are people who don’t even see an issue at all. It might simply be a comfortable, modern, and stylish piece of clothing that requires no further discussion. From my vista, TGHD is one of those quintessential yet tiresome debates we have about learning and behaviour in schools. What’s your stance on The Great Hat Debate?

I wanted to embed this into my blog so I would never forget Jim Gilliam’s amazing message. Enjoy!

I met Jermaine yesterday at a birthday party and asked his family if I could blog about him. He really got me thinking. Jermaine intrigued me as he walked into the little kids’ party, high quality headphones pronounced largely on his head, connected to his iPad tucked gently under his arm. I couldn’t take my eyes off him as he found a seat all by himself and proceeded to get very busy. His head was bobbing up and down to a steady beat, his fingers dancing all over his iPad’s screen, mouthing what appeared to be words to a song. I had to approach him. Here’s Jermaine’s passion. Using apps on his iPad, he makes ‘sick’ hip hop beats. His Notes app consists of pages and pages of marvellously precocious and intelligent lyrics. In addition, he is in the midst of creating his own album artwork using various creative apps. "Who taught you this?" I asked. With a look that said, why-would-I-need-someone-to-teach-me-that, he responded, "No one, sir." After noticing Jermaine had an entire song about his distaste for school, how teachers ‘don’t get him’, and how he can’t wait for it to end, I felt my heart sink into my stomach. "Are you allowed to bring your iPad to class?" I asked him. He looked at me stunned, as though he had never even considered it an option. "No, sir." I proceeded to have a lengthy conversation with Jermaine (the best part was that he kept calling me ‘Sir’) and left with the strangest mixture of anger and hope for our education system.

CC licensed photo shared by Flickr user mattlemmon In all our talk about technology, we sometimes neglect to notice the other physical indicators of the modern classroom. One thing I find vital in our learning environments is structured times to get up and talk. It’s so important yet we still marginalize it as a learning activity. Getting up to move and stretch one’s body while using your mouth to think is one of the lifeline’s of learning. Every time I have had the privilege of visiting dynamic classrooms, I see this occur. I’m sure this is something most of my audience takes for granted, but I think it’s important to remind ourselves of the little stuff too.

Hey friends, Just wanted to let you know that I’ve taken a break from my blog recently because I have writer’s block of massive proportions. I think I need to get reacquainted with playing my acoustic guitar very badly for a while. When the light turns green in the eye of my mind, revisit for more spicy stuff. love,

My good friend @techieang and I whipped this little elevator pitch up as part of our #canade Apple Education Project. Enjoy.

CC licensed photo shared by Sammy0716 It’s taken me a while to post this as I was reluctant to publish my observations on the matter at the time for fear of complicating the matter even further. To make a long story short, I ran into an interesting learning experience this year in which our class social media tool of choice, Google Apps, had to be shut down due to … political reasons. It was a very traumatic experience for me to have to take such a powerful tool away from my students when, in my humble opinion, we were doing transformative things with it. Here were my thoughts (they haven’t changed really) about a month after ceasing and desisting. As a teacher, have you ever experienced using the real public internet and social media to enhance learning for your students? Do you also know what it’s like to teach and learn without them? I’m sure many of you are saying yes to at least one of these questions. I suspect, however, that my experience juxtaposing the respective experiences in the same school year with the same group of students due to reasons I could not be fully transparent about is quite unique. Reflections? I’ve had a few. Teacher Time I work a little bit less outside of class time. Students used to message me on a regular basis seeking feedback on their work or assistance in clarifying learning. I used to write comments on blogs every day. Without that connection, there’s less homework for me. Funny though, I never considered it work. Seeking Connection The kids are doing all they can to coordinate and connect in other ways: Hotmail, MSN, Skype, Facebook, Twitter. They’re doing this on their own without adult guidance. Moreover, they are doing it in cliques. No adult has any influence over what the kids are doing with this self-publishing medium. Internet Safety Our young people are far less safe on the internet when teachers are not involved in scaffolding their development as digital citizens. Distribution of Leadership There are fewer opportunities for students to lead each other. The most awesome thing about using Google Apps was the way it brought out leadership in all manner of kids, and across classrooms. No longer were only the coolest kids influential. Furthermore, I’ve noticed the students look to me far more for directiveness now. Student Voice and Self Expression I have never ever noticed how limited oral-only conversation is. Oral may be the most important means of discussion, but it is certainly not the only one, especially in the complex social landscape that is adolescence. Of my 107 students, I would say that perhaps 80 of them are of the shy-to-talk variety. When we were using the media, talk was much more equitable. Writing that isn’t ‘Writing’ Is it writing when you are doing it just to share an idea and not complete a writing assignment? I think we all know the answer to this. And we wonder why ‘hate’ and ‘writing’ are common companions in students’ language. Mobile Devices - what’s the point? It certainly is not true that the absence of social media tools precludes effective use of mobile technology for learning. But try seeing what happens when students start off using the tech to connect in that way, and then close those doors. Which leads me to … My Main Point It’s a lot easier to teach and learn without social media in an environment that has not already experienced the tool’s potential. I know some of you may be questioning my efficacy as a pedagogue. After all, aren’t I suggesting that these things could not be accomplished in my class without the tool? I’m not saying that, and I am saying that. Social media is the most powerful tool I have ever employed as a teacher, and I would argue that empowering students with it is just one way we can make the change we so often speak of towards personalized, assessment-for-learning based, inquiry-driven, democratic, student-centered learning.