Troy Patterson

Educator, Thinker, Consultant

Category: Thoughts (Page 4 of 16)

Weekly Update 38

September 18, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Producing the Podcast

Every week I do a podcast, well, almost every week. This past week, I made a major oopsie (yep, that is the official term). While putting the show together, which is recorded in a couple of segments, I copied in a segment from the previous week.

Acadia

On Sunday, Rm and I headed to Acadia National Park to meet up with daughter #1 and a friend of hers who is here to visit. We had a wonderful hike together. Rm and I stuck around to watch the ocean for a bit. As the ocean came in, we were close, but safe, that we got sprayed a bit.

York

Our continuing participation in the Maine Yarn Cruise, ok, mostly Rm, but I get to go along frequently to see new places. One of the spots to visit was in York. We explored a bit of York as well. Specifically, we visited the Nubble Lighthouse. The Nubble Lighthouse was a nice visit. Afterward, we headed out for dinner. We stopped at a restaurant with outside seating. The restaurant was technically what you would call a “hole in the wall”. Our expectations weren’t high, but we ordered. The food turned out to be excellent (only surpassed by the company). I had a fried haddock sandwich that was marvelous.

Ari Hest

Rm and I went to see Ari Hest at the The Music Hall Lounge in Portsmouth, NH. If you aren’t familiar with Ari Hest, check out his music. While he gets some fame for working with Judy Collins, his music stands on its’ own.

The venue was really nice. It’s a really small space, very intimate. We sat about ten feet away. No opening act, just Ari Hest. We had two lovely table mates as well.

I really prefer these shows over the stadium-sized shows. Smaller venue artists connect with the audience in a way that is impossible in large venues. Rather than spectacle, you get connection. Many of these artists, and Ari Hest certainly qualifies, are the modern-day philosophers, poets, and guides.

Portsmouth also has a wonderfully cute downtown. Rm and I will have to go back when more things are open and we can explore.

Matt Mullenweg

Matt Mullenweg was on This Week in Google recently. I was fascinated by many parts of the show. Specifically, I was interested in some of his views on open-source and usability. I need to relisten with specific attention. But here are a couple of things that struck me:

  • Social networks have to find what makes them special. Matt recently purchased Tumblr. There was discussion about Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and more social networks.
  • Conversation versus connection. This was interesting as well. Are we looking for connection (Facebook’s default value) or communication?

So, I’ll need to go back and listen again with purpose.

One of the other things that Matt talked about was making the canvases, and brushes of the internet.

Millionaire Dollar Idea

ig Nobel Awards of 2022. The Applied Cardiology Prize is about blind dating and how their heart rate becomes synchronized. Develop a device with a Green, Yellow, and Red light. Each dater wears a finger clip, the box sits in the middle of the table.

Weekly Review

May 9, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Educational Technology

I’ve been thinking a ton about educational technology (to be fair, this is pretty much a constant). Educational technology is different from consumer technology. This leads to interesting practices, beliefs, and practices.

I had an interesting discussion with one of the smartest people I know (my wonderful wife). The discussion revolved around how much teachers develop materials and skills. Technology is now one of those skills. Whereas when we were trained as teachers, we learned to create materials that weren’t technology related, those same skills/ideas are now necessary around technology use.

Open Source

Logseq

Logseq is an open-source, privacy-first, knowledge base. It works on Markdown, which is what I normally write in. (Markdown is plain text that leverages a couple of special characters to create stylized text). I first installed Logseq a couple months ago. However, I had issues with it syncing correctly across devices. Syncing across devices is crucial for me. However, there was an update, so I took a couple of minutes and tried the sync again. It now works. Syncing is handled through iCloud, so nothing extra is needed. iCloud is encrypted, so the data stays with me. Plus, since everything is written in Markdown, the data can be moved from one place to another without loss. No proprietary formats to worry about.

The thing that attracted me about Logseq is the Journaling feature. Essentially, Logseq has a built-in journal feature where a daily entry is automatically created. This makes it super easy to do a daily journal.

There are lots of other features that I haven’t explored yet. Flashcards are another built-in feature (I don’t really have a current use case for Flashcards though). The other concept noted is Personal Knowledge Management (PMK). PMK is defined as a way of “collecting information that a person uses to gather, classify, store, search, retrieve and share knowledge in their daily activities” It is easy to link things together.

Currently, I use Joplin for collecting thoughts, writing blog posts (like this one), and keeping track of things. Joplin has been a favorite of mine for a while. Joplin also utilizes Markdown. If you are looking for a comparison, Evernote is a good comparison. I actually switched from Evernote to Joplin when Evernote began charging for syncing to devices. I’m actually much happier with Joplin than I was with Evernote. Plus, if Joplin stops being developed, I don’t have to worry about losing anything.

So, currently, I think that I’ll try using both of these with specific purpose. Logseq will be a daily journal. Joplin will continue to be my thought collector.

Wick Editor

  • The Wick Editor is a free, open-source tool for creating games, animations, and everything in-between!

I’ve played around a bit with Wick Editor and it seems very easy to use. I’d love to have a kid start playing around with it.

MOOSE

We have started the process for creating out module.
Our driving question is:

How can I improve the impact my community makes on the environment?

Currently, we’re working on creating the Product that the students will design.

Students may want to utilize one of the following to communicate their learnings with the community.

  • Presentation
  • PSA
  • Video
  • App (Code.org, Scratch, Swift, etc)
  • Model
  • Infographic
  • Create website

I did some work on the site to learn how the site works, and the work got lost.

I’m a bit frustrated by the MOOSE process. I’ll continue on.

Weekly Update (April 4, 2022)

April 4, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Workflows

I had a neat conversation about things that we can do. One example that I shared was when I had overheard a teacher state “This week is going to be tough. I’ve got to read the test all week”. I asked “Why is that?” (I knew the answer, but I really wanted the teacher to process this.).
“Well, lots of kids have an IEP or accommodation where they have the test read to them.”
So, I asked, “Why not read the test once?”
The teacher, “That would be awesome.”
Me: “In Moodle, you can read it once, record it and be done.”
Teacher: “Tell me more.”
So I showed the teacher how it would work. The teacher went and recorded everything (the test was already in Moodle, so it was even more streamlined).
The teacher, who was a Special Education teacher by the way, then showed the cooperating teacher. The cooperating teacher was a bit hesitant. “Would all the students be able to listen to the test?”
Me: “Yep”
Teacher 2: “Hm. I’m not sure about that.”
Me: “How come? What is your concern? Look, honestly, the students who don’t need the test read aren’t going to listen. Also, do you have students who could use the test to be read, but don’t have anything officially documented?”
Teacher 2: “Yea. I’ve got quite a few. Let me think about it and get back to you.”
The teacher got back to me and stated that we were good to go. See, this was just a change. This leveled the playing field. The students who needed the test read didn’t have to be pulled out of class. All the students were told that they could listen to the test.
End result: All of the students were treated with grace. Those that needed the test read, could listen. They didn’t have to be pulled aside, they could stay with their peers. Those that really didn’t need the test read, didn’t have to listen. Plus, we reduced the unconscious bias in reading the test out loud. The Special Education teacher could do work that was more in line with their skills and talents rather than reading a test over and over for a week. The cooperating teacher ended up wanting to read the test. We set him up with the very little bit of training needed and now he reads all the tests for the kids.

There was some interest in this process in my new position. I’m not sure that everyone is ready for the yet, but once they are….

Moose

I’m still working on the MOOSE project. I have a few things that need to get done, but we are still working through the background parts of the project.

House of Cards

I was a fan of House of Cards on Netflix. Who knew just how accurate the show really was. It is now apparent that we have lots of legislators who only care about staying in power. They don’t care about the citizens, what is right, democracy, or justice. They just want to stay in power.

Flow charts

So, this week I learned that you can do flowcharts in markdown. Well, technically, not markdown, but markdown like. Even better, flowcharts are built-in to Joplin through Mermaid integration. I was able to create a quick flowchart, but I need to learn how to style them a bit.


This chart is created with the following code:

” ““`mermaid
graph TD
A[Flowchart] –>|Learn| B(Types)
B –> C{Graphs}
C –>|Possibility| D[Gantt]
C –>|Possibility| E[Flowchart]
C –>|Possibility| F[Left to Right]

Mermaid actually does quite a few different diagrams. You can play around with a live online editor

## Photo Group

I got to attend this weeks photo group. This week was sharing member photos. I’m enjoying listening to the rating and thoughts of others about pictures. I need to develop my eye.

Student Data Sheet

February 10, 2022 / / 0 Comments

*Warning, what follows may not be the most efficient or elegant solution to the problem noted. However, it is a solution.

In education, we frequently want to look at multiple data points for a single student. Often these are standardized tests. Looking at the data from a single vendor for a single assessment is usually quite easy. The vendor creates tons of reports. However, combining different results is usually a bit harder.

My first “go-to” is usually a pivot table. Pivot tables will provide great flexibility. However, the end-users (here administrators and teachers) aren’t always comfortable manipulating pivot tables. It can be more confusing rather than enlightening.

So, let’s take a look at what the educators are looking for. Basically, a sheet with a student name, then different assessment results on one line.

I started by exporting a copy of student data with the fields that I need (Student State ID, Student Number, Student Last, Student First Name, Teacher, Grade Level). (This is the information identified as necessary by the school as the end-user. They want teachers to be able to see their students. I added the Student State ID field as an identifier that was common amongst the reporting spreadsheets). I named this Student Data Example. Then I renamed the tab DataView (skipping spaces makes formulas easier).

Next, I added the assessments that we are going to look at (as determined by the school). I also color-coded the assessments.

Now we’re ready for some data.

I’ve exported the NWEA data as a csv file (spreadsheet). Then I looked at the NWEA data. I moved the State ID field to be the first field on the spreadsheet. This is necessary to match the records through a VLOOKUP.

I copied the data to a new tab on the Student Data Example spreadsheet. (*I could’ve done an IMPORTRANGE – which would automatically copy the data, but maybe later). Now I’ve got a spreadsheet with two tabs: DataView (the tab that users will look at) and Fall_NWEA (where I’ve copied the NWEA results for Fall).

Normally, this would be a simple VLOOKUP. However, NWEA has multiple tests per student. That is, a student has probably taken three tests. Each one is a row. Using VLOOKUP would grab the first result and move on. Thus, I couldn’t get the reading score in the reading box for sure. What I need is just the Reading (just the Math, and just the Language) scores on one table.

I created a new tab on the spreadsheet and titled it Fall_NWEA_Reading. I copied the header row (only A through N as those are the columns with data that I need). Then in cell A2 I wrote the following formula:

=FILTER(Fall_NWEA!A1:N, Fall_NWEA!G1:G=”Reading”)

What this formula does is to copy the data from the Fall_NWEA tab where the information in Column G is “Reading”. This means that I get one result per student that is their Reading score. This is exactly what I need.

Next I duplicate that tab, change the name to Fall_NWEA_Math. Then I click in cell A2 and change the formula from:

=FILTER(Fall_NWEA!A1:N, Fall_NWEA!G1:G=”Reading”)
To:

=FILTER(Fall_NWEA!A1:N, Fall_NWEA!G1:G=”Math”)

Now this tab will pull all the data from the Fall_NWEA tab that has the word Math in column G.

Then I repeat that process (duplicate the tab, rename to Fall_NWEA_Language, and change “Reading” to “Language”). Now I have a discrete cell that I can reference on the Student Data sheet.

Back to DataView tab. Under each of the tests, I can now reference a specific cell through VLOOKUP. For example, in the Fall NWEA Math Test Percentile column, I can add the following formula:

=VLOOKUP(A2,Fall_NWEA_Math!$A$2:$M,13, FALSE)

Here are the guts:

  • VLOOKUP is the command.
  • A2 references the cell to compare
  • Fall_NWEA_Math!$A$2:$M- this is the tab to look at (remember it will use the first column on the tab to compare – the $ signs are necessary to lock the formula so that it will search all the way down
  • Column 13 is the column (M) with the data that I want.

Essentially, this looks at the information in cell A2 on the DataView sheet. Then it looks through the first column of the tab Fall_NWEA_Math for a matching result. If it finds one, it can use the data from that row (A through M because that is where I told it look). The next part of the formula (13) says put the data in the cell here. The FALSE means look for an exact match.

Now you can fill that formula down to all the rest of the rows.

Next we’ll grab the Fall NWEA Math Test AchievementQuartile. In the next column, we’ll pretty much copy that formula, but adjust for the appropriate column were the results that we want are. Since I want the data that is in column N, I have to expand two parts – I need to pull data from A-N and I want column 14. Thus:

=VLOOKUP(A2,Fall_NWEA_Math!$A$2:$N,14, FALSE)

That’s it. Now that I have clean usable data, I can repeat this basic process.
Next, we’ll use conditional formatting to highlight the scores per colum, but that’s another post.

Pragmatism vs Possibilities

February 8, 2022 / / 0 Comments

Now that technology purchasing season is upon us, I’ve been thinking a lot about pragmatism and possibilities.

Pragmatism – “an approach that assesses the truth of meaning of theories or beliefs in terms of the success of their practical application.”

I’m using pragmatism to stand for how something will really, actually, in the real world be used.

Technology purchases (and really, lots of purchases) will be made based on the possibilities of the product. The salesforce will highlight the wonderful things that the product can do. Purchasers will focus in the possibilities that a product provides. Decisions will be generated on the great possibilities of the products. Comparisons will be made. The fact that one product can (at least theoretically) do something may tip the balance and cause that product to be purchased.

Once the products are purchased, the real issue becomes how it is actually used. No matter the best intention, rarely is anything used to its maximum. I would argue that technology in education is a prime example of that. Educators are kind, optimistic, wonderful people. They truly want kids to learn. They have the world’s greatest intention. But, you know what they say about good intentions….

One example of this, which isn’t super contentious, is the Swivl. The Swivl is a base device into which a teacher places an iPad or iPhone (technically an Android phone would work too, but come on 😀 ). The teacher then can wear a pendant, and the iPad would follow the teacher. This system allows for the teacher to record what is going on in class. This could be used to spotlight the students as well. The idea being that the teacher could record instruction, small group work, student responses, etc.

I remember seeing this making the rounds. I ended up purchasing one, trying it out, and giving it to my Tech Coaches, and having them try it out. Our verdict: Cool, but ultimately no one is going to use it. Oh, we had some additional teachers try it out as well. Specifically, we had some instructional coaches try it with teachers that they were working in. Their verdict, “no thank you”.

See, the idea was fine enough. In reality, though, few teachers want to be recorded. Even those that do, don’t want to put a lot of time, energy, or effort into the process. Let’s be honest, dealing with video requires editing. Anyway, no one really wanted to work with the Swivl.

Then….

A couple of my bosses went to a gee-whiz, bang-up presentation at our ISD (Intermediate School District – the level between the local district and the State). They came back excited!

Them: “Have you seen the Swivl”?
Me: Yes.
Them: We need to buy a bunch of them.
Me: We have one. How about I let you try it out?
Them: How much are they? When can we get more?
Me: I’ll loan you the one that we have. Try it out. Have some teachers try it out.

So, I sent them off with the Swivl to try it out with some teachers.
(Hint: we didn’t buy any more.)

There’s no blame here. The sales pitch was solid. The possibilities were terrific. The shiny factor is high. Who doesn’t want to be able to review their teaching? Who doesn’t want the coaches to have deep discussions with the teachers that working with? Heck, one of my teacher friends even spent his/her/their very own money to purchase one. Again, the possibilities were terrific. However, pragmatically? Pragmatically, these end up in the closet. ( *Side note, time to create the Closet of Great Intentions?)

Another example of possibilities versus pragmatic selection seems to be the adoption of a Learning Management System (LMS). I’ve seen the selection of an LMS (by several districts) end up being decided upon by a good sales pitch. In reality, much of the use of an LMS is extremely limited. So, districts end up deciding whether to adopt LMS A or LMS B based on a sales pitch of possibilities (almost none of which educators will use).

One final example. I was chatting about this with a friend from another district. He smiled stated that they ended up selecting an EL program based on 27 things, but they only end up using 1% of the program. (The conversation was also about the money that districts spend for curriculum resources (and how those come to be viewed as the curriculum), but that’s another post.)

This seems to be deeply ingrained into the technology and technology selection. I’ve heard this from a plethora of people in technology.

What’s your possibility vs pragmatic example?

Performative Arts

October 19, 2021 / / 0 Comments

Today’s thought revolves around “performative arts” and how that may impact education.

What does teaching look like? I’m wondering if when we think of teaching, we think of a teacher doing “performative arts”. That is, we think of what the teacher is doing. This fits well with the model of lecture (or worksheets, the teacher has created the “performance” that students will complete).

I’m wondering how much of teacher evaluation relates back to “performative arts” of the teacher.

The real power in learning comes from the learner doing the work and reflecting on what they are doing (and why).

It can be harder to assess and quantify students doing and reflecting. It is far easier to assess what a teacher is “performing”.

As with most things, this thought came from outside of education. I was listening to a discussion about Zoom and why conversation is different when we aren’t in the same room (i.e. missing physical cues, bad lighting, bad sound, delayed sound, etc.)

Just the thought for the day.

Uncle Sam pointing with the words "They must keep going"

Continuing the Work

April 12, 2021 / / 0 Comments

This is an open letter. I’ve been hearing of a couple of potential state-wide committees (or task forces) to look at continuing the work of learning online. (I’ve even been asked to participate in a couple of them.) Essentially, they want to look at several things:

  • OER
  • Effectiveness of Online Learning
  • Success of students
  • District sharing

These are all things that I’ve been advocating for years. I understand that these are changes that are hard, require vision, and lots of work. The payoff (increased student learning) is definitely worth the work.

Although I’ll be leaving the State of Michigan soon, I hope to continue this work (with a renewed focus, perspective, and connections). Thus, my work will move to another state and/or nation-wide.

Here though is my request. Please take up the mantle. Someone will be replacing me in my current position. I’m hoping that that person will continue on with the work. But, we need a real movement. We need lots of educators participating.

There are a variety of steps that you can take. Learn about OER (Open Education Resources). Learn about effective teaching on-line (this is very different than using “shiny” tools.) Ask how your district is sharing materials (hopefully OER) with other districts. Once you are ready, advocate!

I appreciate all the work that so many educators have undertaken. We have a unique opportunity to make some real changes. These are changes that were appropriate before COVID changed things. These are things that will be appropriate after we return from the COVID restrictions.

*Image from the The U.S. National Archives: https://catalog.archives.gov/ (Link to original image).

Kudos to Alice Keeler

April 8, 2021 / / 0 Comments

Alice Keeler is a very well known presenter, teacher, and technologist. She has a blog post “DOK 0: Reflecting on My Lesson Today” that I found refreshingly honest and important.

In the post, she mentions that she posts the DOK (Depth of Knowledge) on all her posts for her students to see.

Terrific. Letting kids know what they are learning and what level that is helps with metacognition. This is a terrific example of a good teacher doing good teacher work.

Alice Keeler is also reflective. She realized that there was a standard that she hadn’t addressed. So, she addressed it. Here is the important part:

I Did ALL the Talking

That line says so much. Alice Keeler had the right intent (the kids are missing something, I’ll make sure that they don’t). A few more quotes from the post:

What did I ask my students to recall? NOTHING
What did I ask them to figure out? NOTHING
What did I ask them to apply? NOTHING

What did my students learn in this lesson? NOTHING. But hey, I checked off the standard.

Really, please go read the whole post, “DOK 0: Reflecting on My Lesson Today”.

Here’s the thing. I’ve seen this process happen so often (but without the all important reflection). I’ve seen teachers working extremely hard. Teachers have poured hours and hours into activities and lessons with the very best intent. Yet, at the end of the lesson, what the students did, processed, and learned was nothing. Students may have mindlessly completed a worksheet, an activity, or even “created” a project, but they didn’t actually learn anything. They weren’t asked to recall. They were asked to “figure out”. They weren’t asked to apply.

I frequently see this with technology. Technology is used to “engage” kids. No recall. No application. No application.

Kudos to Alice Keeler. We should all be as reflective and thoughtful.

Kudos…to me

April 3, 2021 / / 0 Comments

Accepting Kudos is something that I’m working on. I was taught as a leader to accept blame and share successes. Moving on from my current position to somewhere new, I’ve received some positive feedback.

One always wants to make a difference in a positive way. I believe that I have made a difference. I’m going to share some of the feedback that I’ve received below. I am truly blessed to have worked with a wide variety of really great people.

I saw the title come in my email but didn’t read it at the time. I went back and read it when I saw the posting. Such a great walk down memory lane.

Truly your impact has been HUGE at all levels of DPS.

I’m getting teary eyed thinking about it. ?

Thank you so much for being the guide during this storm! I read your article! I think that my 6 years here at Fordson High have helped my students and me and continue to excel in this technological world. Keep cruising and keep making a difference!! If you ever need testimony my classroom is always open!

Congratulations on your retirement! I’ve always appreciated the perspective you’ve brought in Technology and in MISTAR discussions.

Seeing the post makes me sad. I am happy for you and hope you enjoy your new adventure. It has been a pleasure working with you. I know you’re still around but want to reach out. Thanks Troy for all your did for the River Oaks community and the district.

Congratulations. Thank you for pushing us forward and graciously managing the growing pains. Well done, well deserved.

I am so selfishly sad for us and me…….can’t imagine you not being with us but so happy for you. This year has to have felt like 10 years for you. You deserve to slow your pace down and enjoy your girls. Can’t imagine who could ever fill your shoes.

Congratulations Troy! It has been great working with you and wishing you the best going forward!

From Twitter:

Just a quick note to say congratulations on your retirement and good luck in your future endeavors.

You were a great person to work with.

Many of you have gotten to know Troy from Dearborn. He has been a regular contributor to the ITL meetings. I am grateful for the 10+ years of his involvement with ITL where he challenged us to be better, pushed for inter-district collaboration, and always advocated for effective use of technology rather than chasing “shiny tools”. His contributions to Dearborn Public Schools and Wayne County are immeasurable.

“You Raised Us Right”

February 21, 2021 / / 0 Comments

I got a text message the other day. The message read “You raised us right”. This got me thinking.

Since making the recent life changing announcement that I’m changing jobs and moving, I’ve been thinking about whether or not I made a difference. I have been very fortunate to have many opportunities. I hope that I’ve made the best of those opportunities. But I still wonder. Have I made a difference?

I received the text from one of my wonderful Tech Coaches. They are scheduled to be interviewed by Mitch Albom. They will be talking about student-centered learning. Student-centered learning is something that we’ve talked about consistently over the last five years. It is one of my drum beats.

The Tech Coaches are fantastic teachers. (That was the major criteria for selecting them long ago.) Obviously, I didn’t “raise” them. I interviewed and selected them for the position, sure. But they are self-starting, highly effective, teacher leaders. We talk every week so that they know my vision (OK, so that I get to talk about teaching and learning) of education. Oh, and how technology fits into that vision.

At the heart of the last few years has been that working together, we’ve created, adjusted, monitored, adjusted, developed, adjusted, and, well, adjusted the Tech Coach position. We talk regularly, but the crux of the situation is that both Amy and Bob are excellent teachers, great learners, and powerful leaders. They have developed the Tech Coach position into a potent instructional role. I can only hope that I’ve played some small role in that.

Now, I will say that the Tech Coaches have shared positive stories with me. They have been up front about telling me that I’ve made a differnce for them. I do truly appreciate their kind thoughts and feedback.

But, I also wonder about my time throughout the district. What about my time as a principal? As an assistant principal? As a teacher? Could I have made a bigger impact?

I’ve been fortunate to work with great teachers and great teams. Seriously, I hardly touched the great people and impressive work that they did on my long screed. I’m honored to have been a small part of that.

It’s human nature to look back occassionally and wonder “how you did”. Teachers frequently aren’t told about the number of lives that they’ve changed (and saved).

For now, I’m taking the “You raised us right” as the highest of compliments.

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