Thanks to everyone on Twitter who shared their #bestYAfiction. Here’s the list so far: The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian, by Sherman Alexie Speak, by Laurie Halse Anderson The True Confessions of Charlotte Doyle, by Avi The Blue Helmet, by William Bell Stones, by William Bell Zack, by William Bell Ender’s Game, by Orson Scott Card The Hunger Games, by Suzanne Collins Little Brother, by Cory Doctorow The Gravesavers, by Sheree Fitch Skate, by Michael Harmon Collected Stories, by Richard Kennedy The Giver Trilogy, by Lois Lowry Number the Stars, by Lois Lowry The Changeover, by Margaret Mahy The Tricksters, by Margaret Mahy Touching Spirit Bear, by Ben Mikaelson 39 Clues series, by Rick Riordan Percy Jackson series, by Rick Riordan And Then it Happened series, by Michael Wade Anything by Scott Westerfield Sprig of Broom, by Barbara Willard And in the Morning, by John Wilson Flames of the Tiger, by John Wilson Four Steps to Death, by John Wilson The Book Thief, by Markus Zusak NPR’s Year’s Best Teen Reads 2010 NPR’s Year’s Best Teen Reads 2011

CC licensed photo shared by Flickr clipmage I take great glee in working on a regular basis with educators excited and serious about employing social media, blogging, and other web 2.0 tools in their classes. In fact, it seems to me that certain widely known tools are almost becoming part of the mainstream. The ongoing and meaningful leveraging of web technologies (at least in my parts) fills me with a certain degree of optimism. I also know that our general mantra in #edtech discourse is to encourage teachers to try using the technology in spite of their own lack of comfort or familiarity. We often talk about the students leading the way, "let them teach us", and so on. I wonder if we’re being a little disingenuous when we sing that song for certain types of tech. I used to belt that tune all the time but now I’m pressing shuffle on my iPod. I think it’s one thing to say that not knowing GarageBand shouldn’t stop you from letting students use it in the classroom, but it may be another when you’re talking about digital footprinting. So, I’m wondering if it is a good idea for Kamal and Kerry to be blogging away when their teacher can’t recognize an embed code. Thus, I’m about to say something that may or may not be controversial. If you’re going to be getting your students to post online, it behooves you to do the same. I think this is something that seems obvious but is often overlooked; something of an elephant in some tech PD rooms. By no means am I positing that expertise in the area or, say, a high klout score preclude the use of it in your class. Rather, I’m putting forward the idea that co-learning involves us as the adults, well, co-learning, not co-watching. I’m wondering if, since the online world as we know it now changes so fast and is overly nuanced, it is alright for us to be giving kids the keys to the SM and web 2.0 car without experience driving ourselves. It’s not that I think we always need to be two steps ahead of the students or that I suddenly share the view that online equals danger. Rather, I’m starting to think that it is only when you begin understanding how these tools fit into your own personal and/or professional life curriculum that you should even begin to integrate it into your class curriculum. I would love your thoughts on this.

I expect greatness from my students. I don’t mean that in the way that the stereotypical Asian dad in Searching for Bobby Fischer expects greatness from his super intelligent, but repressed son. Nor do I mean that in an epic-win sort of way. I also don’t mean that I expect every kid to be great at all times. There are two broad things I mean. First of all, I always go on the assumption that somewhere in my classroom, there might be an Einstein or a Martin Luther King Jr. Perhaps a Bob Marley, an Earhart, or a Rosa Parks. I have no trouble admitting I’m horrified at the idea of being remembered as a teacher who stalled that child’s progress as a leader in any way, shape, or form. I want to do everything possible to have had an instructional and nurturing role in that person’s timeline. Secondly, I mean that I expect all of my students to eventually become great in anything period. I’m totally positive that we are all stupendous at something already, and that we have the make-up to be supreme at other things. Whether it’s that they are the greatest hiker, or gardener, or tango teacher. If it’s that she will be an elite doctor, or cafe barrista, or sniper. A father, a store manager, a real estate agent. I like to think that I make an effort as a teacher to teach literacy, math, or phys. ed. with this framework in mind (whether I succeed in this may be another matter). Greatness is culture-bound, relative, subjective, and sometimes beguiling. I expect it regardless.

Above is a photo I took a few days ago of my first home, 523 Finch Avenue West. From the outside, it hasn’t changed much. What a cockroach infested, dark, health-and-safety-code-breaking, stench-filled place it was. I loved it. Notice the little black stains that come down around the edges of the windows? As a child, I always thought they were tears. It was the late seventies, what I call the golden era of Toronto immigration. My parents were like thousands of others that came both literally and figuratively barefoot. Our building of six floors almost resembled a refugee camp of sorts, but when I was a kid I thought it was the greatest place on earth. I was fascinated by the terrifyingly dark and stinky garbage chutes. The ominous stairs compelled and horrified me. Our elevator always threatened imprisonment. The barrier free windows invited us as toddlers and preschoolers to test gravity. The cultural make-up of our big brown home was as diverse as you could get, and it featured a significant Korean community. Many of us who live amongst Korean émigrés nowadays think of the upwardly mobile, highly educated; not so then. This might explain why newly arrived Koreans look at me like I’m speaking a pigeon brand of the language when I use it nowadays. Awkward, clumpy, and somewhat crass. One of my favourite memories is of the Korean veggie truck that used to drop by once a week. You’d know the man had arrived because you’d suddenly hear the echoed call of ajimas (ladies) reverberating through the building. Soon, every Korean mother would be outside, cash in hand, ready to stock up for the week on various turnips, chives, and cabbages. There were a lot of different immigrants in the building, and plenty of apparent racism. We used every slur in the book to describe each other. And then we would babysit each other’s kids and go to one another’s birthday parties. We would fight for each other, literally. A strange brand of conflict and love. All fiery, lots of passion. We had our little world and it was special. School was our internet, really. It was the place to go to expand oneself, to legitimize or devalue one’s cultural capital, to literally learn stuff that was foreign to us. I loved it. My kindergarten teachers were a step above Jesus for me. They taught me to read, sing, smile, share, and not be ashamed when I pissed my pants on the classroom mat (basically everything you need for success the world no?) In my memories, I envision those ladies as 8 foot tall superhuman entities. There isn’t anything I wouldn’t have trusted them with. Most or many of us have kids like me in our classes. We make a monstrous difference.

Sometimes we put the horse before the cart in tech PD because we want to show flashy and instantly gratifying tools. This is especially true in the realm of web 2.0. There are so many supposedly easy web-based applications out there, so we often contend the entry point is easier than, say, delving into the specifics of Photoshop or Final Cut Pro. This is somewhat true, but I think there are many little variables that determine success in navigating a browser-based world. Primarily, I worry that we neglect the issue of workflow. That’s why I wanted to write a quick post sharing my love for two apps in particular that make my online workflow fluid rather than scattered. I am certain that I am the umpteenth person in the blogosphere to write about them, but que sera, I say.   1Password Pro Why: Because I need a way to create and store secure passwords without relying on a) my feeble brain, or b) the ol’ "I use the same password for everything". How it works: All you need to remember for 1Password is, well, one password. This one password gives you entry to your ‘vault’ of passwords. They have a toolbar for nearly every well-known toolbar, so for me, I rarely even have to type in my usernames and passwords for 1Password does it for me. What it works with and syncs across: Mac, PC, iPhone, iPad, Android. Free? No, but it’s worth it.   Xmarks Premium Why: Because I use multiple devices and a plethora of browsers. I need my browser bookmarks easy to access and synced across all my devices. How it works: Install the plugin for all your browsers and away you sync. No more, "Oh I have that bookmark on my home computer" or whatever. But what about Diigo and Delicious? Oh, I use those too, but I think of those tools more as social media devices. Xmarks is more like personalizing the buttons on your browser, if you know what I mean. What it works with and syncs across: You name it. Free? No, but it’s worth it. Like a lot of technology nowadays, the hard work is in the set up. Once all the necessary installations and logins are set up, it’s syncing bliss. I honestly don’t know how I would get my work and play done online without these items in the toolbox.

I am totally astounded with James Mollison’s photo essay Where Children Sleep. I couldn’t help look at it with my teacher glasses on. Possibilities kept growing out of brain like so many mind maps. Always keeping in mind the dangers of using resources like this to support hegemonic world views that serve to other its subjects, I encourage you to take a look at this amazing text and let the possibilities for reflection and discourse run wild in your mind.

The other day I shared my dependence on 1Password and Xmarks to help keep my web 2.0 life in fluid motion. Today I want to take a second to share some other apps that help me stay organized, productive, and zen in my teaching life. Almost all of these come cross-platform (Mac/PC) and in mobile versions that offer either cloud-based or wi-fi sync - an essential characteristic for this multi-device user Wunderlist/Things (I prefer Things, but Wunderlist has cloud syncing which is essential for me) Why? Because I need lists. Oh, do I love lists. Free? Wunderlist is, but Things isn’t. Evernote Why? So I can keep all manner of observational and conversational assessment data of my students. Free? As a baby’s behind. Planbook Why? For digital timetabling and lesson/day planning. Free? No, but it’s worth it. Bento Why? To keep all student information and numerical assessment/evaluation data organized and easily retrievable. Free? No, but it’s worth it. Dropbox Why? Because I need to be able to store large files and folders in a place that makes them accessible and shareable from anywhere at anytime. Free? As the wind. Google Chrome Browser Why? Because I need a really fast browser that talks to my google apps nicely. Free? It’s Google. Google Docs Why? To collaborate with students; to use forms for assessment surveys and feedback; to share files instantly on any browser; and to create working documents and ‘anchor charts’ for my class. Free? C’est Google.

CC licensed photo shared by macinate Hi, it’s Mr. Lee here. I’m just calling to say hi and let you know how excited I am to be teaching your amazing kid this year. I have just gotten off the phone after spending only about an hour calling twenty-four families of the students in my class this year. I do this at the start of every school year as I look at trust building with families as a must for the job of learning I hope to do with their children. It never ceases to amaze me how much they appreciate my little phone call. The feedback I have just received has been overwhelmingly positive and full of gratitude. The best part was that I got to have some great conversations with them about how their children learn best. Let’s not forget that the parents are the experts when it comes to their own children. If you haven’t done so already, I urge you to put aside an hour or two and call the homes of your students just to say hi.

On the first day of school, I had my students fill in a quick one line google form question which asked, "What’s one thing every teacher should know about you?" Here are some samples (I kept the original spelling, punctuation, and grammar): I like learning alot with modern technology I have bad vision (I can't see stuff that are far) I am scared of needles I have a fragile nose it was broken last year. That I work hardly and independant I work best individually sometimes. I am not always able to concentrate in class. I do gymnastics I love hockey and runing sports That I might need some help sometime. That I like lego coins Sometimes I freak out in a math test and start to cry. I enjoy whale biology. I have troubble sometimes. I'm good at stuff when i like it That I try my best to succeed I have a difficult time concentrateing in class. I get nervous when it comes to tests. I don't like talking in front of the class. I love to learn about new things i am a little bit slow answering multiplication and division questions. one of my weakest subjects are reading and comprehension. I don't like like insects i have a very short attention span and i have trouble concentrating after teachers talk for a long time i like teachers that talk to me

Disclaimer: What I am about to describe can only really be done on a Mac right now because Skitch is currently unavailable for PC (this is apparently changing soon). This is not an argument measuring the pedagogical value of Interactive White Boards, although it may invariably lead your mind down that road (if you’re interested in that discussion, I suggest you add your two cents to Pernille Ripp‘s great post questioning their merit). Rather, it is about two things few people can argue against: The ability to digitally scan documents on-demand in class, make it viewable in large form, then write, erase, highlight on said document is an incredibly valuable tool. Many classrooms are currently doing this using document cameras and IWBs. Here’s the thing: Average cost of document camera: $500US (give or take a hundred). Average cost of IWB: At least a couple of grand. Total cost: At least $2500US (not including laptop and projector) I used to have both of these things in my class, but find I no longer need them because of three things: Evernote ($0 on PC/Mac/iOS/Android/Blackberry/PalmOS/Windows Mobile 7) Skitch ($0) My Smart Phone (I would have one regardless) Total cost: $0 (not including laptop and projector) Let me describe to you an example of how I used my $0 technology just the other day. It was math class. I was leading the students through a standard 3 part problem solving lesson. While collaborating in pairs, students used paper to draw out their thinking and explanations justifying their solutions. In the third part of the lesson, I invited partnerships to share their results with the whole class. To aid in this process, we digitally enlarged their papers so we could draw and write on them. This is how I used to do this: Scan paper under SMART document camera. Open in SMART Notebook. Draw on SMART Board. This is how I did it the other day: Opened Evernote on my iPhone. Took a snapshot of papers. Opened Evernote and Skitch on my MacBook. Dragged synced photo from Evernote into Skitch. Presented, drew on photo in Skitch. Dragged photo from Skitch back to Evernote. Tagged photo with subject, student name(s), and observational assessment comments. Maybe it’s just me, but I’m liking the new way better.

CC licensed photo shared by Flickr umbrofootball You may remember what an impact Jermaine had on me at a birthday party I attended not long ago. Well, here I go again at another piñata-driven, little tike’s party (the life of a dad with little kids). This time I want to tell you about my fourth (or fifth or sixth or whatever) cousin Alanna. She’s just started grade 10, is as sharp as a tack, has Drake as her Twitter wallpaper, and is just about the coolest teenager you’ll ever meet. Every time I see her, Alanna has grown taller and more mature. I also see her increasingly immersed in social media environments and, unfortunately, more and more disengaged with schooling. On this day, I noticed her planted in front of my cousin’s iMac for the majority of the party, browsing with three tabs open: Facebook, Twitter, and Tumblr. I just had to interview her. What are the main social media sites that you use on a regular basis? Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr. I used to use Formspring but got tired of it. Which of the three social media sites did you start on? I started on Facebook, and then my friend introduced me to Twitter and Tumblr later on. What’s your favourite thing to do on these sites? I love posting pictures and looking at other people’s pictures. What are the similarities and differences between these tools as you see it? Let’s start with Facebook and Twitter. I just use Facebook to post and look at pictures, and to see what’s going on with my friends. I use Twitter to tweet about stuff that’s happening in my life. It’s kind of like making quotes. Would you say that the people you interact with on Facebook are different to the ones you tweet with on Twitter? Um, ya. I’ve never really thought about that before. Most people on Facebook are people I know, but, on Twitter, some are people I know and others are just random, like celebrities. What’s your favourite thing to do on Twitter? I like tweeting stuff that happens and turn them into, like, sayings. Can you give me an example? Well, say, right now at this party, if something funny happened, like Jackson threw a toy at you and it hit your head? I would tweet that. (Laughs) So you’re sharing funny aspects of living life? Ya. And boy problems and family problems. OK, what about Tumblr? I use Tumblr to share random pictures that I think are cool. Twitter is for typing interesting things, and Tumblr is for showing it in pictures. So, basically, Facebook is for relationships, Twitter is for life, and Tumblr is for pictures. I heard you talking earlier about high school having a lot of drama. Which of the four sites has the most drama on it? Facebook. What kinds of things do you run into? It usually starts with one person calling another something and goes on from there. Are you anonymous or real on these sites? Real. I use my real name and face. OK now that we’ve talked about these tools in your personal life, can we talk a bit about school? Sure. Do you use Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr at school? I use Twitter on my cell phone. Are you allowed to? You have to sneak it in class. Do you have any teachers that use this stuff in the classroom? (Looks dumbfounded) No, they might show us a picture if it’s online or something. What are your thoughts on school? To be honest, I don’t really like it. They just pile stuff on. There’s too much … learning. (Taken aback) I’m guessing you don’t hate all learning, right? Do you mean you don’t like the kind of learning that happens in school? Ya. I like hands-on learning. Not just like ‘Here’s a question, answer it’ type stuff. How would you feel if a teacher took something you love, like Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr and used it for learning in the classroom? (Pauses, again looks like it was never presented as a possibility) What do you mean? Imagine if there was something like a Facebook for school or Twitter for school? I don’t know. It never occurred to you that we could use these for learning in school? No. OK, let’s switch to a common hot topic. Do you think kids should be allowed to use cell phones in schools? I think they should let us because we can use them to connect and share and find information. Like, we’re using them anyway. Thanks so much Alanna. I’d love to just ask you one more question. You were saying before that you weren’t happy with the type of learning happening in schools. If you were the boss of all the schools what would you change first? Instead of making us use paper and pen for everything, I’d want them to use more technology and computers. I just wish they’d give us more freedom.

I use music in my class for all sorts of reasons. One of the main ones is to serve as an audible background for collaborative learning. I tell the students that it’s our Starbucks cafe music, not meant to distract us or be noticed, just to be enjoyed and to help us think and be collaborative. Here are a few things on our playlist: What’s on your classroom playlist?

For those who have been asking, click here for my ongoing list of class iOS apps.

There are few things that exasperate me more than the notion of teachers basing practice on getting students ‘ready for the next grade/high school/university’. It’s not that I find the concept inherently faulty. In fact, on premise alone, it’s a fantastic notion: build prerequisite and fundamental skills so students are prepared for larger challenges in the future. The real problem is that these statements usually signal a defeatist mentality more than anything else. I have to give a lot of homework because that’s what they get in high school. We have to focus only on the three-part essay because that’s what’s demanded in university. We have to take marks off because that’s what Mr. Meaniebobeanie would do in the next grade. These justifications are more often than not excuses for bad pedagogy, and a means to place the blame for it on a mystical bogey man called ‘the next level’. It behooves anyone that is attempting to justify suspect teaching practices to at least own up to them. It’s either important to learn or it isn’t. Please don’t blame the future for bad learning in the present.

CC licensed photo shared by Flickr user Raïssa B We’re trying something different this year. Our class of 11-going-on-12-year-olds is lucky enough to be piloting Google Apps for Ed. for our board/district, but, unlike last year, I’m going to have my students blog anonymously*. Students are going to create ‘alter egos’ of themselves, whether it be a superhero, animal, wizard, pilot, or professional skateboarder, and write in role for the year. They won’t necessarily post from that perspective all the time, but they will represent themselves as somewhat of an alternative identity. As the teacher, I made this executive decision for three main reasons. First, I wanted to respect the awesome community I teach in. I know some families aren’t comfortable (yet) with the idea of self-publication and intentional digital footprinting. I don’t see why I should be making that decision for them. Second, I wanted to incorporate art and design into the learning with social media. I very much am borrowing an idea from my love of teaching drama when I talk about writing in role. Moreover, I’d like to see my students taking considerable control over their graphic design literacy. And third, I want to test the notion of whether you really have to be yourself to learn how to be yourself. Adolescence, of which my students are walking through the doors of, is a time for experimentation and natural identity play. Will their grasp of digital citizenship and autonomy be weaker or stronger for having played Superman before revealing they are Clark Kent? I’ll let you know how it goes. I’d love to hear your feedback on this idea. *Students will not be anonymous to myself or each other, but they will be to the public.

CC licensed photo shared by mr.macnology The wheels were turning so fast and hard in my brain this morning as I read Jeremy Macdonald’s post about the teacher’s role in inquiry based learning. I’m hoping you’ll read it and contribute to the conversation. Here is the blogpost.

My students have been busy setting up and designing their blogs. Here’s something we created to keep us on track.

The other day we were making QR codes of our student blogs. So, one of my students decided to go home and make a real life Lego version of his QR code. You can actually scan the Lego and it works!

Love this story from Jamie Cullum about how the title song of Clint Eastwood‘s Gran Torino was written and recorded. It says so much about inspiration and collaboration.

"Why do we have to learn this stuff, Mr. Lee?" a student asks. "Because we’re trying to become Learning Ninjas," replies Mr. Lee. "Oh, I see." "Don’t you want to be a Ninja?" "Ya," as eyes and mouth widen in revelation, "I do want to be a ninja."

Inspired by @ianchia and his two awesome girls, we’ve been making iBooks for our son Jackson because we’re so dissatisfied with what’s in the App Store. I’m sharing them with the world in a Google Docs collection. The collection will continually be added to, and you will also find instructions on how to do the terribly unintuitive syncing of ePubs onto your device of choice. Feel free to download our books if your kid is obsessed with ninjas too! Click here for the Familylee iBooks collection. How to get an ePub (aka iBook) into your iBooks app.

CC licensed photo shared by Michael 1952 We all know that the classroom where students are predominantly in rows, working privately, and assessed only by the teacher is not the best way to learn. Or do we? I feel as though this is a practice that, like adultery or excessive gambling, we speak about in admonishing tones, yet flock to like seagulls at a beach picnic. In staff rooms, conferences, and lecture halls the world over educators nod their heads and appear to require very little clarification as to why the quiet class/staffroom isn’t necessarily the learning one. After all, there is a dearth of research supporting this model of learning. Then our actions do the real talking and we revert to the quiet classroom faster than an arm reacting to a funny bone hit. There is a mountain of literature supporting the dynamic, collaborative, and purposely noisy classroom, but my simple mind wants to observe the issue with a plain question: When’s the last time you had an interesting, never mind profound, learning experience with your fellow humans in which you couldn’t talk to one another?

While participating in an interesting discussion on BYOD (Bring Your Own Device: students bringing their own personal technology into school for learning) in tonight’s #edchat, I tweeted this: Was I trying to ignore socio-economic disparities in society? No. I would, however, like for someone to show me the graph with a straight line correlating income and technology ownership. I would also like to see us simultaneously examine the overflowing examples of similar ‘inequities’ that we tolerate in our systems simply because those processes have been normalized in the hegemony of schooling. Here are some of the real reasons you shouldn’t do BYOD: Social media does not have a place in your school. You have not set up a tool (such as Google Apps for Ed., Ning, Edmodo, etc.) to compliment multi-platform use. Your staff does not understand why or how someone might use personal technology for learning, collaboration, creativity, communication, organization, and productivity. Your curriculum focusses heavily on knowledge transmission. Your assessment and evaluation theory and practice are from a bygone era. You are test-driven, in a traditional, standardized sense. You have rigid and punitive technology policies. You don’t have ubiquitous wifi. Your leaders don’t get it. You do not have enough school devices to supplement students who do not own their own. You don’t actively promote all stakeholders as being co-learners. What are your thoughts on this?

CC licensed photo shared by Flickr user Digitalnative "What do I do now?" "Just press stuff and see what happens." When I am working with adults, teens, or young children that call themselves novices at technology use, the biggest commonality I observe is their fear of making mistakes. I know what this is like because I feel the same way when someone pops the hood of a car, asks me to look at my interest rate, or when I need to iron a shirt. One thing I always say is, "Just press stuff and see what happens." For, unlike my stunningly complex minivan, mortgage, or favourite 100% cotton Italian shirt, it is nearly impossible to do much damage just by pressing buttons. It’s when everyone starts pressing buttons and talking to each other about it that we are then able to stop talking about the tech we’re using and start talking about the learning we’re doing with it.