My thoughts may be even fuzzier this Saturday morning as I sit here in my office—a little over 24 hours before your Commencement Day. I have just returned from a three hour meeting in my role of Faculty Observer at a Board of Trustees Meeting, and I was most impressed by the poise, courage, compassion, and intelligence of the remarks made by your Student Senate President. Now is a good time to gather together some last thoughts about and for you. Tomorrow will be a joyful and tearful day as relationships change. Because of my age seniority good looks  length of time at Carroll and rank of Full Professor, I march at the front of the line both at Baccalaurete (behind Dean Byler) and Commencement (following Faculty Marshall Pamela Pinahs-Schultz). That gives me an ideal seating position for seeing and hearing those of you in choir, but forces me to be on my best behavior (awake, disconnected from my Ipad, resisting wearing my Brewers’ or Carroll College hats). For those of you I have met, I have done my best to teach you well but I am only human. Every student I teach is different, special, and teaches me.  You have enriched my life and I welcome the opportunity as you become alumni to continue and perhaps to even expand upon our relationships. Thanks for the lessons. Many people (family, staff, faculty, administrators, and trustees)  have worked very hard, in addition to you, to try and provide you with the best education that Carroll can provide both within and outside of the classroom. I often think that we ought to set aside a time for recognizing those unsung "guardian angels" who have done their best to make Carroll a caring community and a better place.  As time and circumstances allow join them in giving back (without expectation of receiving "conovocation points") your time, wisdom, networking resources, prospective student recommendations, and examples of skills or values developed here at Carroll that serve you well.  Give Carroll its due credit when it has earned it, but also offer constructive criticism when the institution has failed to meet your expectations for it. Seek out opportunities to do "a" right thing. Use your mind to think carefully and critically but don’t forget that there are indeed many times when it is appropriate to follow one’s heart. I envy your youth and the many opportunities that lie ahead to share your talents and to make the world a better place. Stay in touch. Oh, yes… Here is a final exam. With many fond memories, David Simpson, Professor of Psychology Filed under: Carroll Reflections, Carroll University USA, Commencement, Curious David, Graduation, Higher Education, Humor Tagged: Commencement, Higher Education

What if Andy Warhol had it wrong, and instead of being famous for 15 minutes, we’re only anonymous for that long? In this short talk, Juan Enriquez looks at the surprisingly permanent effects of digital sharing on our personal privacy. Source: www.ted.com See on Scoop.it - FootprintDigital

I was looking over some old lessons from my high school government class and came across some "stuff".  I’ll be posting this "stuff" today and tomorrow. To begin the parade is this list of resources that I used to get my students to create 3 minute video tutorials as their final summative grade for the semester.  Students were to choose any topic, whether we covered it or not, related to government.  If that topic (federalism, for example) had 3 good videos already created then the topic was off limits. My intention was to create a library of video tutorials that students could rate, publish and access for ever and ever. I left the classroom two years later :( to enter the world of instructional technology so that monolithic library of videos never got to grow. The instruction and rubric 3_Minute_Government_Tutorial_Video Instructions 3_Minute_Video_Presentation_Rubric This high school assignment was modified over a couple years.  I now use it as the final test grade for my college level Texas Government class. 3_Minute_TXGovernment_Tutorial_Video Resources Sound Effects Screen Cast O Matic Raw Short - Presentations Moovly - Create Animated Videos Go Animate - Animated Videos Microsoft Paint - Create stop motion videos Show Me App Educreations App Explain Everything App TouchCast App Blabberize makes pictures talk Addendum I got the idea from an awesome teacher (Matt Easley @MattEasley on Twitter) from this… Some of my kids ended up doing something a little different.  It was a court case… but less of a tutorial.  They put so much work into it that I let them just run with it.  We ended up entering this video into a contest with a school in New Jersey. Filed under: Government/Civics, In The Classroom, Technology Tagged: #sschat, classroom activities, Classroom Activity, classroom tech, classroom technology, government lesson, government lesson plan, government lesson plans, government lessons, high school government, high school lesson, lesson plans, sstlap, student activities, student centered, student centered activities, teacher tech, teacher tools, thrasymachus, thrasymakos

Today is Mother’s Day  in the United States—my first since the passing on of my Mother on April 18 of this year. Some variant of this important Day of Recognition is of course celebrated throughout the world. Please pass on these three simple thoughts to your Mom—as I do to mine.   Ek is lief vir jou, Mamma! Dankie, Mamma. Ek is jammer, Ma! Të dua, mami! Ju faleminderit, mami. Më vjen keq, mami! أنا أحبك يا أمي! شكرا لك يا أمي. أنا آسف يا أمي! Mən səni sevirəm, ana! , Ana təşəkkür edirəm. Mən Ana üzgünüm! Maite zaitut, ama! Eskerrik asko, ama. Sentitzen dut, ama! আমি তোমায় ভালোবাসি, মা! , মা আপনাকে ধন্যবাদ. আমি মাকে দুঃখিত! Я люблю цябе, мама! Дзякуй, мама. Мне вельмі шкада, мама! Volim te, mama! Hvala ti, mama. Žao mi je, mama! Обичам те, мамо! Благодаря ти, мамо. Съжалявам, мамо! 我爱你，妈妈！谢谢你，妈妈。对不起，妈妈！ Volim te, mama! Hvala ti, mama. Žao mi je, mama! Mám tě ráda, mami! Děkuji, mami. Je mi líto, mami! Jeg elsker dig, mor! Tak, mor. Jeg er ked af det, mor! Ik hou van je, mam! Dank je, mam. Het spijt me, mam! I love you, Mom! Thank you, Mom. I’m sorry, Mom! Mi amas vin, panjo! Dankon, panjo. Mi bedaŭras, Panjo! Ma armastan sind, ema! Aitäh, ema. Vabandust, ema! Rakastan sinua, äiti! Kiitos, äiti. Olen pahoillani, äiti! Je t’aime, maman! Merci, maman. Je suis désolé, maman! მე შენ მიყვარხარ, Mom! მადლობა, Mom. მე ვწუხვარ, Mom! Ich liebe dich, Mama! Danke, Mama. Es tut mir leid, Mama! Σ ‘αγαπώ, μαμά! Σας ευχαριστώ, μαμά. Λυπάμαι, μαμά! मैं तुमसे प्यार करता हूँ, माँ! , माँ धन्यवाद. मैं, माँ माफ कर दो! Szeretlek, anya! Köszönöm, anya. Sajnálom, anya! Ég elska þig, mamma! Þakka þér, mamma. Fyrirgefðu, mamma! Aku mencintaimu, Bu! Terima kasih, Bu. Maafkan aku, Bu! Is breá liom tú, Mam! Go raibh maith agat, Mam. Tá brón orm, Mam! Ti voglio bene, mamma! Grazie, mamma. Mi dispiace, mamma! 私はあなたを愛して、ママ！ 、お母さん、ありがとうございました。私は、お母さんごめんなさい！ Aku seneng kowe, angel! Matur nuwun, angel. Kula nyuwun pangapunten, angel! ខ្ញុំ​ស្រឡាញ់​អ្នក​ម៉ាក់​! សូម​អរគុណ​កូន​ម៉ាក់​។ ខ្ញុំ​ពិត​ជា​សោក​ស្តា​យ​កូន​ម៉ាក់​! 나는 당신을 사랑 해요, 엄마! 엄마, 감사합니다. 미안 해요, 엄마! ຂ້າ​ພະ​ເຈົ້າ​ຮັກ​ທ່ານ​, ບ້ານ​ມອມ​! ຂໍ​ຂອບ​ໃຈ​ທ່ານ​, ບ້ານ​ມອມ​. ຂ້າ​ພະ​ເຈົ້າ​ຂໍ​ອະ​ໄພ​, ບ້ານ​ມອມ​! Es mīlu tevi, mamma! Paldies, māmiņ. Piedod, māt! Aš tave myliu, mama! Ačiū, mama. Aš atsiprašau, mama! Те сакам, мамо! Ви благодарам, мамо. Жал ми е, мамо! I love you, mama! Terima kasih, mama. Saya minta maaf, mama! Jeg elsker deg, mamma! Takk, mamma. Jeg beklager, mamma! میں آپ سے محبت، ماں! شکریہ، ماں. میں، ماں معافی چاہتا ہوں Kocham cię, mamo! Dziękuję, mamo. Przykro mi, mamo! Eu te amo, mamãe! Obrigado, mãe. Sinto muito, mãe! Te iubesc, mamă! Mulțumesc, mamă. Îmi pare rău, mamă! Я люблю тебя, мама! Спасибо, мама. Мне очень жаль, мама! Волим те, мама! Хвала, мама. Жао ми је, мама! Mám ťa rada, mami! Ďakujem, mami. Je mi ľúto, mami! Te amo, mamá! Gracias, mamá. Lo siento, mamá! Tôi yêu mẹ! Cảm ơn mẹ. Tôi xin lỗi, mẹ ơi! Seni seviyorum, anne! Teşekkür ederim anne. Ben, anne üzgünüm! Jag älskar dig, mamma! Tack, mamma. Jag är ledsen, mamma! ฉันรักคุณแม่! ขอบคุณแม่ ฉันขอโทษแม่!    Filed under: Carroll Reflections, Cultural Universals, Curious David, Global Education, International, language

I am currently in Dubai running a three-day workshop for CLICKS. Today’s focus was on the 7Cs of Learning Design. Good evaluation overall. Good evaluation of the design workshop today: Three words: Active, creative and focused Interesting, interactive and though-provoking Interesting, innovative and full! Interactive (activity-based), enlightening (even in my own space), tiring Informative, networking and yumm Invigorating, inspiring and innovative Interesting, informative and interactive Contextual, interactive and timely Structured, resource-rich and stimulating   Things I liked: Evaluation 7Cs framework Online tools to help storyboard and plan Group work, discussions, sorting and thinking about course features Resource audit Design workshop, course map, course features Resources Cards activity for course features, activity profile Course features Printed material Lots of materials to refer back to, different tools people are using - wikis, blogs, google docs Lots of references, informative, applicable Activity profile is a very good tool, resource audit was an eye opener Room for improvement: It would help to email participants in advance and ask them for their expectations so that the workshop could be more aligned to expectations A look at how design can impact corporate training programmes, especially in an international market List contacts for participants More time to practice, include recaping Some works in manual need definitions A few more quick and easy apps and templates Use of techy devices such as ipods, iphones in classroom sessions Action plan: Create resource audit Design simplified format for course design Online workshop for course design Review slides and visit websites, share new ideas with team, try to apply 2 - 3 new ideas to next course design Use online discussion forums, social media Incorporate tools in course plans and present back to other staff, look at blogs and reference materials Look at how learning design may impact actual programme development at my workplace Invite Grainne to be a friend on fb! Recaping, more time to practice Need to relook at few of our courses with a fresh pair of glasses (course features, activity profile, resource audit) Go back to online resource and go through them (think about how to use them), go through my notes in the book, check links 

Student #infographic examples during our Internet Safety Unit… Mattie H. Jake O. Ben V. Jett O. Logan M. Cooper H. Ally D. Zaki L. Breanna L. Gage Sigl’s Infographic:   Courtney Nosbush: Katie Jensen: Cody Jennings: Cody Jennings   &nbsp Ajahnah L. Jude. V Jayden Meyerink: Chasity Morris: Kareem cisse Isis Johnson: Isaac Wieseler Preston S.

They’re all going to laugh at you! The day my students embarrassed me is also the day I became a better educator (and friend, and father, and husband… and I’m not kidding). Bear with me and my ego for just a moment (the free lesson is linked at the bottom)… My names is Charles Cooper.  I have a Master’s Degree in American Studies from the University of Dallas.  Classes I took included the 14th amendment, the federalist papers, the American Presidency, Platonic political thought, classical models of American political thought, and modern models of American political thought. I thought this would be enough to "shock and awe" high school seniors.  I thought bringing a depth of knowledge to the classroom would inspire my nascent adults to take up the flag of freedom and charge into adulthood as responsible citizens of this unique and singular nation. I was wrong. The Exchange Early in the government phase of my teaching career I would look at a class dotted with bored faces.  Kids who loved to engage me in conversation during lunch or in the hallways had lost that spark in my classroom.  Something happened during certain lessons that sucked the life out of my students. One day (and I did this a couple times before it really sunk into my thick skull), in a fairly frustrated manner I stopped my lecture, power point or otherwise "engaging lesson" on the Constitutional Convention and asked them what was wrong.  Usually they said "nothing" or made up excuses because they liked me and I liked them.  They saw that I was trying and didn’t want to hurt my feelings by revealing that I sucked as a teacher on certain days. I asked the same set of questions throughout that day with no honest responses.  I was starting to understand that MY depth of knowledge didn’t matter because I was boring. Fast forward to 8th block… Oh GOD!  (gritting my teeth) 8th block.  That group was always ready to leave.  They were checked out because it was the end of the day.  8th block also had some interested characters that tended to "spice" up my mind as I planned lessons. I wasn’t going to ask 8th block for feedback because, quite frankly, I didn’t respect their opinion.  I didn’t want to hear their feedback because I knew what it would be.  They were tired, usually getting into trouble, and distracted by their cell phones as they planned to meet this friend or that in the parking lot. This particular day, 15 minutes into class student #1, the smart alec loud mouth, speaks… 1 says, "Do we get to rip you apart today? " Me: You mean give me feedback?  No, we’re behind the other classes.  We’ll do that later. 1: Why?  You let the other classes.  I can tell you what’s wrong.  My friends have been talking about this today. Me: Write it down and I’ll get to it. 1: You’re boring. Me: Awesome… Please shut your face. Student #2: Mr. Cooper, some of this stuff sucks.  It really is boring.  You’re cool, but on the things you really like… you get boring.  Remember those games we played at the beginning of the semester?  THAT was cool! Class discusses the "cool" games without my approval. Me: Ok, then be prepared to get super bored… cause I LOVE the Constitutional Convention.  Sorry, some of this stuff is boring. Student 3-12: slams face on desk. Me: Sorry guys, life is about dealing with poop some times.  When you guys come to appreciate what this country is about you’ll understand how miraculous the Constitutional Convention was!  I’m not thrilled to come to school every day and I shouldn’t expect to be.  Some important things aren’t fun. Student 2 (also a knucked head and a hot head and he looked like he was in his mid 20s): I could do it.  I could make this stuff not boring.  (He then laughs as if to say "I’m better than you.") The exchange went on for a few more minutes and finally I went over to the whiteboard and wrote down the outline of a blank lesson plan template. I looked at the class and said,  "Then you do it.  You write the best lesson ever and me and my master’s degree will sit over here and wait for you.  You get this class period and only this class period.  Instead of the discussion my other classes had, you get to show me a better lesson than what I have prepared for you." I wanted to show then how difficult it was to write an exciting lesson that would allow for Higher order thinking, Engagement, Authenticity, and meaningful uses of Technology. I had the relationship part if teaching down…they could do the rest. Well… they did beat me at my own game. Their lessons were better and I was dumbfounded.  I was humbled.  I was also a little pissed.  But I recognized that they had bested me & I had asked for it. And then it hit me… For the first time in a while the entire structure of what it meant to be a teacher changed in my mind and my reaction??? At first I panicked and was a little upset. My role had been taken over by snotty teens. And then…like the sun rising in the east… It was a RUSH!  It was adrenaline!  I was "baby birding" these students when they needed to be set free.  I was an idiot. My lesson on the Constitutional Convention consisted of notes, videos, conversations, and a combination of multiple choice quizzes and a multiple choice test.  They went beyond my vision because I didn’t give them (my knuckle headed 8th block class) enough credit! In retrospect, this is what happened: 1) They had a common goal (make a lesson concerning a particular topic) 2) They had a common purpose (or you’ll suffer through my bad lesson) 3) The power or the stage was shared (I would use their lesson if it included certain resources) 4) They were respected (in the end I did…promise…by valuing their input in my class) 5) Their learning happened as they created something (the lesson was the lesson) 6) They felt supported (after they started asking clarifying questions and after I saw them working and smiling together… I knew we had hit on something by accident… so I GUIDED them in their learning as they blazed the path) 7) They had a new audience (the best of their lessons would be used on other classes and other students…even the ones that weren’t served as lessons they created for themselves…ie. they learned as they created). 8) They changed me (the very next day we debriefed and shared the experience.  I heard the excitement in my voice and I think they were, in turn, excited that a teacher listened to them) My lesson, as stated above, was a series of videos, powerpoints, quizzes, etc. Keep in mind that this was a few years ago before Google Forms and all that.  If I were to do this today I would certainly update it…however, this lesson in its "Word" version represents a shift in my soul.  Even though the tech has changed, I prefer to show this version, the original version, of the lesson as a testament to the day my students embarrassed me which was also the same day I became a better educator. Finally, I had students share and present their lessons to take place of my lectures.  Any gaps that were left untouched we covered together. I consolidated their ideas and this is the lesson they came up with: The Constitutional Convention Infomercial.  Obviously, I kept many of their lessons and showed them as exemplars the next semester. Constitutional Convention Infomercial Activity Some of the infomercial videos I used Filed under: Government/Civics, In The Classroom Tagged: #sschat, civics, civics lesson, classroom activities, classroom games, games, gamification, government, government activities, government games, government lesson, lesson plan, lesson plans, social studies, social studies games, ss games, sstlap, thrasymachus, thrasymakos

I have long had a fascination with languages. In high school I studied Latin for two years and followed that with two years of Spanish. When I graduated from Oberlin College in 1971 with an A.B. in Psychology I also had studied the equivalent of a Spanish major (including credits earned at the University of Guanajuato, Mexico). While a graduate student at Ohio State University I marveled at the language fluency of foreign fellow graduate students (I spent 6 months doing research at the University of Bergen, Norway and was humbled by the challenges of learning Norwegian and by how much more about the United States Norwegians knew compared to me!). A critical component of these language learning experiences was having opportunities to be exposed to the literature, theater, art, history, and cultural contexts of these languages. It will be interesting to discover what added value such tools as Rosetta Stone software contribute to efforts to internationalize this campus. I have yet to see convincing empirical evidence that the software lives up to its heavily advertised promises. I think something like teletandem may be a more practical way to provide language immersion. I greatly admire a number of thought leaders who write well and think deeply about authentically internationalizing education. Reading two books recently, Richard E. Nisbett‘s The Geography of Thought: How Asians and Westerners Think Differently… and Why and Malcolm Gladwell’s Outlier’s: The Story of Success, has revitalized my interest in relationships between language, culture, thought, and behavior. Richard Nisbett, whom Gladwell acknowledges as a major influence on his thinking that resulted in this book, was an invited speaker at Carroll University on March 24, 2009. Books such as these shaped motivated my tracking much more regularly global issues in higher education.    Filed under: Carroll Reflections, Cultural Universals, Curious David, Global Education, International, language, technology tools, Virtual European Cultural Immersion Project

So I am half way through my first week at Bath Spa University. They have put together an excellent induction programme and I am in the process of meeting various people and finding more out about the University and various initiatives/projects. I can’t believe how stunning the campus is, it has to be one of the most beautiful in the country! Have unpacked half my stuff, will bring the rest next week. Lovely new Mac Book Pro up and running (although not yet connecting to the printer). So pretty organised already! I am in the process of moving some EU projects from Leicester and setting up various new projects, which have recently started. In addition to being chair of education in the School of Education, reporting to the dean Kate Keynolds, I have a cross-institutional remit in terms of e-learning which is great. The details of this role still need to be ironed out but will include involvement in the development of the University’s e-learning strategy, which is great. Bath Spa is quite a specialised university, particularly known for creative writing and the arts. There is a new technology-enabled building called the Commons, I haven’t had a chance to see it yet, it will be interested to see how it has been designed and in what ways it has been technology-enhanced. People have been very welcoming and there is a real sense of collegiality. I think I am going to like working here! Picture is of the main house, my office is on the top left, not bad

Prologue So, because I can’t sleep…I’m blogging. My middle kid…sigh…will be going to kindergarten tomorrow and I’m super happy about it even though it means I’m that much closer to death. Regular-logue My new peeps (that should be followed on twitter, bee-tee-dub), Tracie "Cyber-Sass" Cain (@TracieGCain), Linda "Mc-Dominate" McDonald (@LindaMac65), and Erin "Cheeky Monkey" Griffith (@MrsGriffith3), have shown me a billion new things in the tech world that have helped me organize everything from short presentations to my entire life. Recently, though, I saw something they used during a presentation that blew my mind more than normal. Twidla is an online resources that allows for collaborative online illustrations.  There is no logging in, no account sign up, and no-thing to slow you down on the highway to awesomeness. However, you CAN upload and mark up images, files, and play on a white board.  Every stray line and color is updated in real time which means classroom collaboration with students around the planet or universe…or…classroom is possible! To Begin On the home page, click the green button and start "Twidla"ing.  Share you link with those you love.  Then chat with them in the chat area on the right side of the screen. If you don’t like the three thousand digit code the site creates as your identification number, then just double click on it in the chat area and change your name!  Then chat again… with your name this time. It really is a super easy resource to use so watch my video and then jump in as hard as yuo can.  Then share how you think you can use it with your kids and parents so I can steal those ideas.  Filed under: In The Classroom, Technology Tagged: classroom, classroom technology, collaboration, collaborative illustrations, edtech, illustrations, online drawing, online resource, tech, technology, twidla