Stuck on the other side of the world.

Anxiety is a b*%#ch. Seriously. Many of us get anxious, but to have an anxiety disorder, to love and support someone with an anxiety disorder, is utterly exhausting (on both sides).

A few days ago our eldest son embarked on the trip of a lifetime. At 22 years of age, he has a trip to Cuba with classmates, a 3 week adventure in the UK with his brother, and 3 and a half months away from home on a ski leadership training course under his belt. Each one brought with it a unique set of anxiety symptoms. Each demanded support from us as parents that was far reaching and exhausting, but which we were more than willing to attempt to provide. And each experience has helped to further hone and develop our son's own skills and strategies for dealing with his anxiety.

The morning of his departure was met with a racing heart; I could feel it pounding through his chest as I hugged him; words of "I can't do this" spilled out of his mouth. For the first time ever, I suggested he take an Attivan. I felt terrible about offering it ("here, have some drugs"), but it was 4 a.m. and the time for departing was nearly upon us. It was impulsive on my part, but much to my surprise, yielded very positive results. The bulk of his travel day was manageable and he arrived to his destination with very few anxiety based obstacles.

He had the luck of being able to travel from Munich to the ski resort in Austria with his ski coach, but once he settled into his own room, he found himself stuck there. These last 72 hours have been filled with numerous video chats and phone calls to home. Requests to come home, tears, irrational fears and what-if's pour from his lips. Feeling as though we are in an entirely different universe, we try to talk him through these intense anxiety attacks--"breathe with me, come on you can do this...in-2-3-4 and out-2-3-4...let's slow it down, nice and slow...in-2-3-4 and out-2-3-4...slower now, there you go...you got this....keep breathing"--and on it goes.

Once out of that place of sheer panic, we work on perspective, replacing "what-if-negative-statements" with "what-if-positive-statements", reminding him of other times he has felt this way, when things felt unfamiliar and new, times which ended up leading him to some of the best experiences of his life. We remind him to see the familiar: "It's there if you are looking for it!"

There is only so much we can do from so far away. My heart aches for my boy--I am both so proud of him for continuing to try to overcome this debilitating anxiety and so pained for what he must endure as part of his experience. It is hard as a parent to see that this thing that was an obstacle and so misunderstood in my child as a toddler-school aged-and then young adult, is not really going away. While the panic and tears are no longer about the innocent and simple aspects of childhood: costumes of Halloween or a first job interview, they still show up for other, more adult based, events: world travel, finances, and, well, for all the other job interviews!

My husband and I recognize and acknowledge that our son has made great strides and we know he will continue to. As a teacher, I can always recognize which of my students would have been my own kid and it moves me in my connection with them. The qualities of a relationship with any young person struggling with anxiety: respect, compassion, understanding and empathy. I celebrate the baby steps, those almost undetectable signs of progress, as they happen. And it's okay if you could do it yesterday and you can't today. One day, all today's obstacles will, in hindsight, seem to be the easy stuff. It's the supported persistence, trusting your supports, and the ongoing honing, development and practicing of strategies and skills for kicking anxiety's butt that continues to be the hard part.

Tomorrow the ski week intensive starts, and I know with another good-night's sleep, the arrival of familiar faces, the addition of structure and regular, intensive physical exercise to his day, he is going to rise out of this. That's how I'm envisioning it at least. Breathe-in-2-3-4 and out-2-3-4.

#sparKtalK5 Tackling Overwhelm

An sparKtalK5 vlog post to share; I wish it was an update on Learning Plans, but alas, it is not. Just tackling my looming overwhelm this week. Really appreciate the support I've been getting both via this blog and via text/email from friends who are teachers. Please keep it coming as it really does help!

And, just to be clear, the tears were indeed my own and I did, in fact, recover before students arrived. Boo-hoo-ing at work is really not something that happens for me, so this was a big deal. Onward!

sparKtalK5

Incidental learning embraced me these last couple of weeks. At times, it's squeezed me so hard, it's taken my breath away. Or maybe that has just been my anxiety creeping in. This new venture has me overwhelmed.

First things first: my vlog has required a name change. I may have mentioned that certain tech doesn't like formatting the "<" symbol. I have learned that there are ways around this, but to keep it simple, I'm just going to re-brand. It's still early, right? So, out with the old ("talk<5") and in with the new... new name, new hashtag, but same location:

#sparKtalK5

I hope my vlog posts will spark your interest, start conversation, and help me to build a community of connected learners. I'm jumping in the deep end this fall, definitely feeling in WAY over my head, as I try to navigate, support, and nurture a personalized learning environment with the learners in my (new-to-me) multi-age classroom. All ideas, suggestions, questions, comments, feedback, and recommendations are greatly appreciated.

I have so many questions and it's been challenging to even prioritize them--how to set up our space, how to connect learners in 5 different grades to the curriculum, how to assess and track learning, and how to use the GAFE tools available to me. Then there's FreshGrade and Khan Academy. Our days have been full of hands-on, interactive and collaborative learning activities as we try to establish ourselves as a community of learners, build trust, and get to know one another. However, I know we need to start dipping our toes in to the pool of inquiry and personalization.  Where to even start??

Here is this weekend's post (video'd a week ago) outlining my "what-so what-now what" for the week.

The #tiefit perspective

         I've really enjoyed my participation in the #tiefit group this winter. As many of you are aware (because I say it every time I share on this topic), it's #notmylearningproject, but my activity in the group has enabled me to make so many valuable connections in my real #learningproject, #tieyoga.
         One of the things I really enjoyed about getting out and getting active as part of this group was just having the time outdoors; forcing myself out had such a positive impact on my energy and my emotional well being. I frequently paused on my walks to take pictures of the many views I enjoyed, along with the occasional selfie, knowing that building my image library would be considered resourceful by some (including this digital citizen right here).
         Today as I was looking through the photos, I wondered how I might use them, and decided to throw together a little video. I've used Youtube's video editor several times now, and I keep going back to it. After playing on Vimeo a bit, trying iMovie and having had experience with iMovie Trailer, I find myself defaulting to #videoeditor. I've also experimented with Explain Everything with success--and I can see that I have so much left to learn with Explain Everything, having barely scratched the surface. For today's purpose and my looming deadlines, however, Youtube's video editor is the answer. I appreciate its simplicity and accessibility. Some would argue it's too simple, with limited options around sound editing and image editing, but sometimes less is better. I already spend far too long on my blog posts and I could spend days editing photos and videos; the limitations, as it turns out, are a good thing.
         I realize the video falls to this side of corny, but the message is authentic--I appreciated stopping to smell the roses these last three months; I am the first to say I don't do it nearly enough. I could have also created a video to evidence the many impressive neighbourly connections I made on my walks--it seemed I regularly bumped into old friends, long lost soccer parents, and my kids' friends. Extending beyond the familiar faces, however, I became very cognizant of the benefit of just connecting with people--saying hello to fellow dog owners, commenting to a passerby about the beautiful day, or laughing about a seal popping up and back under the water. No matter what my emotional or physical state of affairs was when I stepped out the door, I never returned home cranky.

         Ultimately, #tiefit has energized me these last many weeks and made me easier to live with. I am looking forward to continued steps and benefits in the months to come. I hope you enjoy my little video.  Step on #tiefit peeps!

Bending Gender, Ramblings Inspired by Audrey Watters

         Last class I entered our EDCI 569 online session a little late, having just returned home from our 3 day surf trip to Ucluelet & Tofino. We had the privilege of a session with guest speaker, Audrey Watters, who spoke to gender inequality in the world of tech. As I was late, it was hard to bring myself up to speed in the moment, to be able to really catch the scope of what was being discussed. What I did hear got me thinking, though, and while in many ways we have “come a long way, baby”, it still can seem very much “a man’s world”.

         It was interesting to listen to the discussion, as it evolved, particularly as it moved into the idea of gender identity, briefly touching on nature vs nurture. Living with 5 men, it may surprise people to learn that I rarely feel outnumbered.  While I can claim to know boys and know them well, I would also say that 75% of the male energy in my household is surprisingly soft and sensitive--not so stereotypically boy. Our boys have been (& continue to be) raised similarly and while our home has been filled with numerous trucks and diggers and many things-blue (literally) over the years, we have very much embraced each child as an individual, celebrating whatever interests and talents emerged. 
         As a stay at home mom, my boys identified with me. They helped me bake, they wore aprons, played house, tried to make their hair go into “ponies” and pushed their bangs back with “clips”. My two eldest went through a stage where they regularly put on my maternity tops and wore them as dresses, adorning themselves with many pieces of old costume jewelry supplied by Grandma. We never discouraged any of this; in fact, both my husband and I thought it was pretty adorable.  Unfortunately, I learned that not everyone felt as we did. At a family dinner, one of my boys’ uncles made loud exclamations aimed at our eldest, about 4 at the time, who arrived sporting one of my hairbands in his hair. When I think back on this it still perplexes me--it was hard for me to see a family member poke fun at my son and ask him if he wanted to be a girl. Unfortunately, this was not the last time we were on the receiving end of such gender-biased statements. 
         Our boys went on to try their hands at many different activities, ranging from the boy-acceptable soccer and lacrosse to the less acceptable activities of Irish dance for one and 8 years of ballet and modern dance for another. Along the way, we were met with many raised eyebrows and comments cloaked in sardonic humour. However, for every comment that held muddy, negative undertones, there were many more that landed in the sunny fields of positivity. These boys are now young men, ranging in age from 15-21 and they are very confident in who they are and truly accepting and supportive of all aspects of individual identity and self-expression in others. As a family, we not only survived hurtful words and scowls of judgement, we flourished in hope, tolerance and understanding.  In my opinion, issues centered on gender biases, in North America at least, are as much about values, as it is about individual interests, skills, abilities, strengths, and wiring.

         Boys and girls, men and women, males and females, and everything in between: we are mostly different, as well as very much the same.  Gender, we are learning, is not, never has been, and never will be, a simple thing. As far as we have come in the way of equal opportunities and blurring the lines of sexual stereotypes, we continue to live with an imbalance of power between the sexes.  That imbalance of power continues to shift and change, just as our world, in so many respects, also continues to evolve, and manifest or resurface in new, and sometimes surprising, ways. I regularly find myself continuing to believe we have come so far, only to be disappointed by various news events that pop up in my Twitter feed.  Just this week I stumbled upon a link to a Global news video where meteorologist, Kristi Gordon, personally shared messages she had received (both electronically and through the mail) criticizing her appearance and her choice in clothing. If that's not bad enough, the "hate mail" somehow takes hurtful to a whole new level in that the writers are attacking a woman who is visibly pregnant. We don't know the gender of the "haters", and I don't think it is fair to assume them to be one sex or the other, and perhaps this point adds another layer to the complexity of gender issues; while there may be a highly visible imbalance of power that still exists between men and women today, the passing of judgement, the inequitable opportunities and voicing of sexually biased criticism is certainly not limited to one sex over the other. Further, actions rooted in gender inequity are no longer limited to a simple division between men and women. We have learned that gender is not strictly blue or pink, but in fact reaches across many hues, none of which comes with a set standard of behaviours or interests. 

         Social media, with its capability for immediacy and anonymity, allows those people who are inclined to cowardly throw their darts of criticism and judgement. On the flip side, however, it also provides a platform for empowering the victims/targets of such unfounded criticism, such as Kristi Gordon, and their many supporters, to speak out against the ignorance and narrow mindedness that keep resurfacing through our many decades of progress.
         I would love to believe that we are close to resolving issues in gender bias and imbalances in power, but I don't know if that moment will ever fully arrive. Continuing to strive towards the ideal of recognizing each individual as unique with his/her own set of skills and strengths, and practicing tolerance and acceptance as a society certainly helps us move in the right direction. Navigating gender, however, is not always a route that is easily mapped out, and as our world maintains its speedy rate of change, we never know what challenges we may be facing around the corner. Advances in technology have connected us on a global level and we now have greater insight into the sexual discrepancies that exist both locally and in the various nooks and crannies around the world. It’s crucial that we continue to scrutinize and speak out against such imbalances in power, whether founded in a web-based and anonymous context or a real-world, real-time face to face one. 
         We have come a long way, indeed; I'm not sure if it's entirely a man's world, but it's certainly a muddy one with a lot of room for improvement. Thanks Audrey Watters for inspiring some heavy thinking and reflecting in my old brain.

Why So Stressed?

         

         A couple of weeks ago, as our EDCI 569 class came to a close, our instructor Alec Courosa commented on our low energy and wondered aloud why we were all so stressed.  An awkward silence ensued.

6 a.m. picket shift Jun 2014

         As a cohort-we have all seen the stress levels of our group rise and fall over the course of this winter. Between us there have been births, deaths, floods, financial hardship (helllloooo Teacher Strike of 2014), injuries, illness, full time work, full time parenting, full time domestic drudgery, to name just a few of our sources of stress! When Alec asked, "What's everyone so stressed about?" after our session with Audrey, I was intrigued by the silence. I found it a little bit funny that none of us really jumped at the chance to explain our stress in any sort of specific detail. We might expect similar silence amongst our tenth graders, but it was a little surprising within the safety net of our cohort!I could almost hear us all responding simultaneously in our heads, "What's everyone so stressed about?...everything!". It's been a long, tough winter.

         Even though we didn't delve into our own personal sources of stress when Alec asked, we can all pat ourselves on the back in acknowledgement of our adoption of some very good coping strategies over the last year and a half. We have reached out to each other through one off messages, spontaneously arranged small group meetings, and scheduled gatherings of study groups via platforms such as Twitter, Google+, GHO's, Bluejeans, and Facetime, as well as face-to-face when our lives and geography allowed it. We are a strong network of support for each other and it has made all the difference. Whether it comes as a cheer or a taunt, the realization that worries are shared or far removed from one another, we have been there for each other. Our sense of community is unshakable.  Individually, or as a (virtual) group, we have practiced meditation strategies, structured breathing exercises, and physical exercise to manage our stress. We name it, calling it what it is: stress, anxiety, overwhelm and we do our best to move on from there.  Our instructors, while not quite in the thick of it, demonstrate their support through their quick responses, words of encouragement,directing (or redirecting) to resources, and the offering of a different perspective, option or alternative, as they are able to.

         Reflecting on this, I wondered how we monitor the waves of stress within the walls of our own school communities, be it the stress of our students or of our colleagues (or both).  I often consider how amazing it would be to be part of a staff that was made up of our #tiegrad cohort members; I consider what I can do from my end to nurture this same level of trust, openness, and support that we have established with one another, in my own school environment to positively impact my own relationships with staff members. Further, I would like to know how we can extend what we have developed in our virtual classroom to our own students. 

• What do you see as integral to establishing healthy school culture at the staff or student level? And how do you go about it?
• How do you monitor your own students' stress levels? And how do you respond?

         As educators, I feel many of us pay significant attention to the importance of knowing our students and building relationships with them, but I think we often overlook the importance of our relationships with our peers within our schools and how healthy relationships at the staff level might just trickle down to encourage healthy relationships between students, ultimately impacting whole school culture. I have reflected frequently this semester, especially in my readings for my lit review, on the idea that what we do at the staff level impacts the social tone, interactions and learning of our students.Working so closely with so many students burdened with mental health challenges, I recognize that many of them fall through the cracks. 

• What can we do better or differently to acknowledge and support the quiet, introverted learner who is not easily recognized as a ball of stress and worry?

         I recently read and tweeted out a link to this article, Anxiety in Kids: How to Turn it Around and Protect Them For Life, by heysigmund, that recommended adults respond to kids who are struggling through anxiety with these strategies:

1. Don't talk them out of it--basically acknowledge it.
2. Normalise it.
3. Explain why anxiety feels like it does.
4. Explain how common anxiety is in kids and adults.
5. Give it a name.
6. Now get them into a position.
7. And breathe.
8. Practice mindfulness.

         The actual article explains and elaborates on the various strategies; I was struck, quite frankly, with our #tiegrad group's grasp on our own anxiety, both within ourselves and in our responses to each other. As I lamented one day to a small group of my #tiegrad peeps about my state of overwhelm, Melody Watson reminded me to break down the task at hand, which enabled me to gain the perspective I needed to move forward. She basically "got me into a position"; it may not have focused on breath, as the article describes, but the effect was the same and it was what I needed. My husband commented afterwards that he has heard me give the same advice to our children when they are "stuck", no longer moving forward, in their own school work. His comment hung in my head for a bit and I realized the significance of it. As educated adults, our brains know, theoretically, what to do to deal with stress; we are well-versed in stress and the impact anxiety has on our learners, yet my own innate stress-based response impeded my ability to access the good strategies to deal with it. What I did do, however, was share the fact that I was overwhelmed. Unlike many of us, our young learners often aren't able to effectively communicate their feelings of stress or anxiety, so I ask again: 

• What can we do better or differently to acknowledge and support the quiet, introverted learner who is not easily recognized as a ball of stress and worry?

         For us in #tiegrad, we can be thankful for each other, thankful for the safe PLC that has been established over time through so many meaningful opportunities to share, goof up, recover and learn. For me, personally, I am grateful for Melody Watson and, oh, so very appreciative of my #tiegrad PLC.

Making Meaning of Mendeley

I'm excited to share this blog post because it's my first time writing a blog collaboratively. This particular post is a shared effort based on a meeting of #tiegrad minds to discuss reference tool options for our Master's #litreview. It represents a collaborative effort, combining thoughts, reflections, knowledge and learning by Heidi James, Jason Kemp, Jarod Fong, Mardelle Sauerborn, Harprit N, Angela Dop, Melody Watson, Liane Loeppky and me (Tanya Ross).

Recently a group of us from #tiegrad logged into a Google Hangout session together (after a less than successful attempt to meet via Bluejeans) so that Jason Kemp could school us on Mendeley as a reference tool.  In the past, we had each used a variety of reference tools with success, including EasyBib, Refworks through UVIC, EndNote, and Zotero, but many people were recommending other tools this fall and exploring some of them seemed like a good idea. A number of us found ourselves overwhelmed when looking at each of the options, however, and similar requests for help and information began to surface.  Believing that Mendeley might be The One, a group of us emerged from the #tiegrad pool, all wanting to learn about this tool; we all boarded the collaboration train. If there is one thing we have learned about ourselves in this last year and a half, it’s the benefit of sharing the load and hashing things out together.

After a request for help from the group was posted a out on Twitter, Jason agreed to host a Mendeley sharing session. He admitted to being a bit nervous (as any of us would have been), as he had only recently made the switch to Mendeley himself. He explained that he was looking for a reference management software that was user-friendly and had obtained a copy of Endnote from a friend, but had difficulties using the program. Jason had used Mendeley briefly for another course, but this was only to create a bibliography.

We initially decided to meet up on Bluejeans for our Mendeley session, but soon after we logged on, we began experiencing major issues. As Jason was sharing his screen with the group, it became unresponsive. Unfortunately, Jason didn't realize the participants could not see his screen and continued to proceed with the presentation while the audience, similarly, remained unaware for several minutes. This is a problem when presenting using a program such as Bluejeans to screenshare; it’s not always immediately apparent to either side that there is a problem. After several attempts to rectify the situation, we decided to switch over to Google Hangout (GHO). For many, it was their first time using GHO to present and we found it to be very slick and easy to use. After the presentation was finished, a few other members were able to share some of the features they had discovered (such as the chat window, screen captures, using accessories to dress each other up and other useful and entertaining tools). This was an awesome way to learn about GHO’s capabilities.

As many of us do when learning a new program, Jason had viewed a quick tutorial on Mendeley on YouTube and then began to play around and learn a few of the components of the program. Jason noted that it was very intuitive and had an easy help option; these were features that many of us were looking for in a reference tool. Mendeley easily imports .pdfs, cites as you write in Microsoft Word, creates a bibliography for you, and allows sharing libraries between users. Check out the short, user friendly tutorials that can walk you through the basic functionality of Mendeley.  Mendeley Minutes cover such topics as: importing topics, organizing your library, and how to use the group feature.

It is easy to get started on Mendeley. Simply sign up for an account, download the appropriate software, and then download the tool bar plug-in for Word.  Mendeley trumps many other citation tools with its built-in Literature Search. As articles are curated, Mendeley suggests related articles based on key terms, authors, and tags. Mendeley will indicate whether the articles are available through its library, or directs you to where they can be found. Logging into your UVic Library account while searching makes it easy to copy and paste titles suggested by Mendeley into Google Scholar to acquire a found article. Your library builds quite quickly! Each article suggested by Mendeley comes with an additional list of suggested related articles to explore. The program then auto populated the information for referencing. There is also a Chrome extension tool that will allows for clipping articles directly into Mendeley which is very convenient.

Another Mendeley advantage is the fact that there are apps available so you can access the program on other devices and it syncs easily. Once an article is added on your computer, you can see it from any of your devices. Annotating articles using an iPad, for example, will update the article in your library, making all changes visible from any platform you choose to use. One #tiegrad lit review team has been using the group feature in Mendeley to successfully share articles. This feature works well for small groups, as it automatically syncs the articles to each member but, unfortunately, the group limit is 3 participants; adding more members requires paying a substantial membership fee.

  In the end, our fabulous Mendeley Guide, Mr. Jason Kemp had us comfortably navigating our way through the world of online resource curation and citation. Mendeley has proven to be an efficient and effective tool that allows us to search, read, make notes, curate and cite our sources. It organizes our sources however we need, offers collaboration amongst colleagues (three maximum),  and integrates beautifully into Microsoft Word making it easier to insert citations and create bibliographies as we progress through our lit reviews.

Our Google Hangout session was a success. It is nice to know that with so many of us using Mendeley, support and new ideas are only a tweet away. While the business end of our session was very productive, we also laughed and enjoyed our #tiegrad community. There is nothing better than dressing as a pirate or mixing and matching props and backgrounds online. The collaborative nature of Google Hangout offers a wonderful mix of business and play. Just remember, that only three microphones can be active at once. Perhaps this is something that Google can increase in the future. Are you listening Google?

A Tech Tool for School: VoiceNote II

    Recently, out on a #tiefit walk with a non #tiegrad friend, I was introduced to a new speech to text tool that I hadn't heard of. It's called Voice Note II, available through Google Chrome.  While our friendship's grounding is found in our youth and runs 30+ years strong, both of us happen to be special education teachers and we often share resources and discuss tools and apps that might help some of our students. My friend is using this particular speech to text recognition tool to help a student who is struggling with written output. I was very excited to hear that there was something that was effective and easy to use, as well as being free.  

       In the past, I have tried speech to text tools with my students such as Dragon Naturally Speaking ($$), its app counterpart, Dragon Dictation (free), WordQ+SpeakQ ($$), and Talk Typer (free), among others, with hit and miss results.  Generally, I find that these speech to text tools are okay, but there always seems to be an obstacle--if it's not the price, it's a glitch of one kind or another relating to challenges with accuracy, punctuation, editing, background noise, verbal pauses or idiosyncrasies in speech.  I 'm actually writing this blog post using Voice Note II and so far I have to say I'm extremely excited. It's surprisingly accurate even with  the background noise that exists in my busy household. And it's free. 

Image Attribution: e-magic (Eric) on Flickr

       Finding a good speech to text tool is like finding a pot of gold for the special education teacher.  Concerns around written output for students is an area that seems to be consistently growing.  My own son, now 21 years old, has a written output deficit that nearly made school impossible and this was further compromised by other learning challenges, including a processing speed that lived in his boots.  Through high school we had to try to line up teachers that would (pro)actively support a flexible approach to learning and output so that my son's level of understanding (typically strong) and depth of knowledge (frequently deep) could be accurately communicated.  That may sound like a manageable task, but let me tell you it was far more challenging than you would ever imagine.  My son also struggles to speak fluently so many of the speech to text tools that we tried did not work for him and this became a source of frustration for him.  He had to rely on someone to scribe (and often there was no one  available) and opportunities to show what he knew through oral interviews, sound clips and other alternate means.  Long story short, my son did graduate from high school, albeit late, and is now working in a field that requires minimal written output. He has expressed interest in pursuing a university degree and has passion for things like history, fiction, earth science, and the outdoors, but the thought of all the writing that would be part and parcel of most university degrees has been off-putting for him.  However,  my introduction to Voice Note II has me excited to share with him what this tool can do and encourage him to play with it.  Technology is evolving at an unfathomable rate and this tool is a great example of the progress that is being made; I can see that a post secondary education might now be within my son's grasp. 
       Professionally I have worked in special education for eight years and actively supported hundreds of students during this time.  I would guesstimate that approximately  half of these students could have benefited from a speech to text tool.  However, the number of students I have supported who experienced success using a speech to text tool (success=using it regularly to complete written assignments both at school and at home) has numbered less than 10.  In my experience, many learners with written output challenges rely on a scribe or, eventually, their own keyboarding skills (if they are able to achieve proficiency), or more commonly, try to manage with minimal, if any, support for writing. The obstacles to increasing written output often extend beyond the difficulties with or limited access to tech tools and may include things such as a learner's own desire to appear like everyone else, a lack of teacher or EA support, lack of support at home, and for some students other learning challenges which may impede the development of the skills needed to achieve success with the assistive technology that supports written output. Like my son, many of these students are extremely bright, with psych ed reports that point to perceptual reasoning skills and/or verbal skills at the 95th%ile + and/or an IQ or General Ability Index (GAI) score of 120-140. I liken the lack of an assistive technology tool to support written output to the unavailability of  a mobility tool (wheelchair, walking cane, leg brace) for the person who struggles to walk or corrective lenses for the person who is visually impaired.

Image Attribution: Sean MacEntee on Flickr

       Even with access to an effective speech to text tool, many students with written output challenges will need extra time beyond what is typical for proficient writers, especially at the start. Today, being my first time using Voice Note II, I can see that it's not necessarily a faster way for me to write this blog post. I've struggled this semester with an  overuse injury to the muscles in my left forearm that has resulted from too much time spent on my laptop (along with, admittedly, poor laptop posture).  The strain has been quite unbearable  and these last few weeks I've had a hard time producing any written work at all,  so you can imagine my joy at finding something that will not only benefit my students, but also benefit me.  I can confirm that, thus far, the pace of output for this blog post using VoiceNote II has been relatively slow, but as a tool for someone who struggles with any written output this tool will translate to success.  I assume that, with practice, I will only get faster and more efficient with VoiceNote II and the same will hold true for students.  
       While I would consider the support that a scribe provides as invaluable as an adaptation for students who struggle with written output, the reality is that the people who typically provide this service in schools (Learning Support Teacher, Classroom Teacher, Educational Assistant) are spread thin. And, quite honestly, knowing my own son's limitations in the context of adult life, a scribe is not a practical solution or one that leads to independence, which should really be our goal. In fact, the BC Ministry of Education document, "Supporting Students with Learning Disabilities: A Guide for Teachers" (Sept, 2011), states that an "element of student dependency" may exist through the introduction of some adaptations, noting scribes as an example, and recommends that these adaptations "should be temporary, until the student learns to access...scribes using technology." (p 32) Effectively supporting learners to see them move successfully from a place of non-writing to scribe supported writing to independent tech-assisted writing, requires skilled bodies (teachers, EA, admin, volunteers) to act as a bridge and time; I want struggling writers to see how incredible their wonderful words and ideas can be when they are turned into a body of text, but it isn't a quick fix. We can't just give students a quick introduction to the technology and leave them to it. There is also the question of when; at what point do we say, "We need to do this differently", and actively shift away from pencil paper activities for these kids? 
       It's important to remember that adaptations should be available to all students and a learning disability designation is not a prerequisite for accessing adaptations. At a time when the queue seems to be ever-growing for district based Psychology services, it is appropriate to consult your Learning Support Teacher and use your discretion as a classroom teacher to implement, request or arrange for adaptations as you see fit. However, not all students will meet criteria for access to these same adaptations for provincial exams and other formal testing situations later on, so it's important to keep this in mind when supporting students to access adaptations and/or use assistive technology such as Voice Note II. Be clear in documenting how your students learn best and what adaptations or tools help them to yield the greatest success.   
       As a special education teacher, I am constantly trying to figure out how I can help to level the playing field for the many students I work with, with such diverse strengths and needs, and varied interests and abilities. I want to see all learners access what they need to expand their minds, build their skills and share their knowledge and understanding in a meaningful way. VoiceNote II may not be the answer for removing obstacles to writing for everyone, but it's the tool for me today and may be the best one for many others, including my son, until something better comes along.  
       I'm glad to have a friend, who loves to walk and talk, and who is such an amazing resource, so willing to share what she learns in life and in education. 

My bestie & me

Confessions of an EdCamp Newbie

#edcampvic

       I’m a newbie to EdCamps and it was with slight trepidation that I responded to my VP’s invite to attend the recent EdCamp in Victoria. I’m not feeling like I have time to pursue more pro-d on top of my personal pro-d that is my masters, but I've been curious about EdCamps as a pro-d activity and this one was happening in my backyard.  Besides all that, it’d be another thing to blog about!  A colleague from my school jumped on board and suddenly giving up my Saturday didn't seem quite so terrible.

       Saturday arrived, sunny and gorgeous, and Emily Kirzinger (@maczinger) and I met for an early breakfast to strategize, guzzle coffee and enjoy some good eats. Neither Emily nor I really knew what to expect from EdCamp, although we both had some vague idea how an EdCamp runs thanks to following past EdCAmp hashtags on Twitter.  We arrived to the venue, which happened to be our own school site, with time to review the topics that were growing on the board at the front.  

       I was surprised to learn that, while topics had been suggested in the weeks leading up to EdCamp, people were still encouraged to add to the list as they arrived on the day of the event. I didn't see anything on the board that related to “Anxiety in Ed”, a topic close to my passionate heart, but I bumped into Valerie Irvine (@_valeriei) who quickly scribbled “Anxiety and UDL” on a sheet of paper and shot up to the front to pin it on to the board before I knew what was happening. I’m glad she was there!  Once all the ideas were sorted and scheduled, I made my 3 choices for the day: Assessment and Parent Communication, Anxiety & Universal Design for Learning, and Developing School Culture.

       In my first session, Assessment and Parent Communication, I participated as an active listener, and was inspired by the fact that so many people want to do better.  The questions used to guide the discussion were:

• What are people doing for assessment and parent communication?
• What do they want to be doing?
• Difference between elementary and middle school assessment/communication?

       What really struck me during the discussion, and in discussions we've had in our #tiegrad class since, is that as much as many educators and experts value a move away from standardized testing, grades and percentages, towards more formative assessment,many parents and post-secondary institutions maintain the value of "results". It can feel difficult to defend a shift in assessment and pedagogy, a shift that demonstrates valuing student engagement and the development of high level skills over teacher-centered learning and rote memorization, for example, when you are part of a minority. I can see that, personally, I would need to feel confident in my ability to defend it.  For me that confidence comes from starting small and gradually expanding shifts in practice to other areas of the curriculum and working with others who can lead and work alongside me, reinforces my belief that I can do it. I just get overwhelmed by the idea of jumping straight into the deep end. It’s clear that there is incredible support that comes from being part of a community of peers, sharing their vulnerability, learning and expertise as they explore and experiment with shifts in teaching practices. Deal maker: I can be modelling good learning to our students by pushing myself outside of my comfort zone, be it through assessment, parent communication, teaching and/or learning practices.

       I went from active listener in session 1 to actively sharing and questioning in session 2, Anxiety & Universal Design for Learning, with Valerie Irvine. It was really a good feeling to be able to share some of what I have learned as a parent of kids who have struggled with varying degrees of anxiety and as a teacher working with students presenting with anxiety; 80% of my caseload as a Case Manager are students who are burdened with anxiety, among other aspects of mental health.  
       Unfortunately we had no "notetaker" for our session, but the questions I recall include:

• What does anxiety look like in your classrooms before the kids hit 'crisis mode',? (Crisis mode would be spiked absenteeism or refusal to attend, immobilizing anxiety. This is where most of the students I work with seem to be when they arrive on the doorstep of our school.)
• What are you doing to decrease feelings of anxiety among your students?
• How is information being shared (between community & school team members and between schools)?

       I could write a blog every week on #anxietyined, so to keep it concise, the  highlight points for me in this session were:

• Remember, anxiety is a symptom, and it's on a continuum; it's a healthy aspect of our nervous system that sometimes can run amok. For some people, the running amok is a default setting with "fight or flight" kicking in at regular intervals.
• Anxiety is frequently misunderstood (by teachers, by parents, by friends & family) and/or not recognized for what it is. It manifests in many different ways and can look very different from one person to the next. Behaviours can be internalized (think of a system shutdown) or externalized (acting out). To the observer, it can be very difficult, sometimes impossible, to see any sort of logic in the actions of the anxious individual from one situation to the next.
• Anxiety frequently impedes comprehension, memory, processing speed, and other skills needed for learning.
• Learners struggling with anxiety need options that allow access to learning without the triggers (e.g. flexibility in the "when" and "where" a student learns: offsite, via Skype, in the hallway or a separate room), that increase their own sense of control (providing voice & choice). As educators, we need to recognize, identify, and understand the triggers of each student presenting with anxiety and adapt for/accommodate students to the best of our ability.
• In extreme cases, students won't be able to engage in academic tasks until their anxiety is improved. We have to be willing to meet them where they are.

I know we have a lot of work to do on this subject, as educators and parents, and most certainly, as a society, with no sign of #anxietyined decreasing. 

       My third and final session at #edcampvic focused on Developing School Culture. I really enjoyed this topic and the discussion that ensued. Again there was no assigned notetaker, but q's I remember were:

• How can we develop connections/relationships between our school and its community?
• What are schools doing to establish stronger connections and relationships within the school community?
• How can parents, who have been actively involved K-8, be more involved when their kids reach high school? Some parents feel like they are shut out.

Having a school liaison officer for a husband, I think it's important for schools to consider how they can use their community leaders and members to support their learning community. Don't be afraid to ask your School Liaison Officer (SLO) for what you want; the relationship between youth and our law enforcement officers needs to have a positive context. It's so valuable for kids to see Police Officers as approachable and as real people. SLO Sgt Nicholas Ross of Saanich Police (@SaanichPDsloSgt) has done things like join the middle school mountain biking club and grade 6 band, connect seniors and elementary students through cycling, coached teams and attended talent shows.  Schools should consider bringing their local mayor or council member into their classroom as a guest reader, turning to the retired community to find a crossing guard or guest gardener, and the local bike shop to run a bike rodeo. To be part of the greater community, we need to reach out to connect to the people within it. The connections our youth can make in their own community can influence how they behave and the choices they make within that same community and beyond; it can also hugely impact the public perception of our youth, who are often misunderstood because of their hairstyle, their skateboard, or their teen-speak.  During our discussion, this tune from my childhood drifted into my head, and as simple as the message is, it still holds true. Who are the people in our neighbourhood, after all?

       We could easily change the word "neighbourhood" to "--- School" or "community", to emphasize the importance of knowing our own school population. By seeing them all as "our kids" rather than "my kids" (limited to my own class) helps to establish a strong sense of community within the school. During our session, one suggestion was that staff go through each student list and ensure that each individual student is personally connected to an adult in the building. The point was also made that we need to be mindful of our own relationships "in the building". As teachers, the tone of our interactions with other staff members and the strength of our own school-based professional learning community (if we are lucky enough to have one) will influence the relationships of our students. Are we leaving doors open, stepping outside of our comfort zones, encouraging and reassuring with each other, building authentic connections and working as a team? Think of the kind of community we want for our students and then emulate it:  walk the talk.

And suddenly, it was over. My first EdCamp experience came to a close.  While I was devastated to not win the door prize (an iPad mini), my day at #edcampvic was amazing. The sun was shining, the people were smiling, the sharing was invaluable, and I left feeling more than satisfied with the Saturday I had "sacrificed"; I had gained so much in the way of inspiration, ideas and connections from this day of teacher-driven professional development, that my perception of a sacrifice had seamlessly evolved into a day of investment. 

For reference, have a look at the #edcampvic Google doc which lists all the sessions, some of which have great notes attached to them!

Stretching My Practice #tieyoga

Okay, it’s off to the races. I’m trying a new strategy tonight: blogging in 45 minutes or less. Since my last #tieyoga post and revised plan for regular practice via Haiku Deck, I have had more success with my #learningproject.  I've been more regularly practicing yoga and trying to focus on poses that will support the 5 key postures I identified as targets to improve on. 

Several key factors have contributed positively to my improved yoga practice over the course of this last week.  First and foremost, my Accountability Log, the log of accountability, my #tieyoga journal; it allows for a concrete view of my success (or shortcomings). I leave the Accountability Log  open on my computer (it’s just a basic word document) and as I log out of my yoga site, I open the document and plug in the date, the name of the video I used, running time, yogi’s name, and how it went.  Bam.  Done. And I know it’s there waiting for me on days I’m not so inclined to practice, which often (not always) kicks me in the general direction of the yoga mat.

 My motivation for practicing yoga at home has climbed to a more positive place; I think it’s because I am actually noticing some improvement in my flexibility…What? WHAAAT??? Yes, that’s right, increased flexibility.  That’s a good hook for me. I noticed a similar phenomenon with my #tiefit participation (the #notmylearningproject fitbit thing).  I am feeling so incredibly good with all my #tiefit walking, that I am currently getting out every day. I don’t want to miss a single day. I have set personal goals, such as nothing less than 10 km a day, 12 000 steps minimum as a daily total and walking to/from work at least twice a week.  While the #tiefit community drew me in, it’s now my own progress and improvement that is propelling me forward. Bingo.

Photo Credit: Bikram Yoga Westshore

Lastly, I follow my local yoga studio, Bikram YogaWestshore, on Twitter and Facebook and recently they shared these 3 photos to emphasize the progress we can make with regular practice over a fairly short amount of time.

Photo Credit: Bikram Yoga Westshore

Photo Credit: Bikram Yoga Westshore

 These photos inspired me to use some of the photos I started my project with, along with some I've taken more recently, in a different way.  I plan to create similar “collage” pics as a way to compare my own growth in my 5 targeted postures. It’s one thing to feel you've improved, but it’s quite another to see you've improved.  I’m excited to see what my #tieyoga growth looks like as I move through these weeks and weeks of practice. It is inspiring to me to see the personal improvements in these pictures over the course of one, two or three months!








It turns out that #tieyoga is alive and well when, a week ago, I thought it might have crashed and burned altogether. It’s challenging to have to figure out my own obstacles to learning and problem solve ways around them without other learners who are working on a similar thing. Many of our #tiegrad group are working on #learningprojects, but the projects are all so different.  Seeking out support from  my peers can be helpful when I am simply looking for a new strategy for my own project or trying to overcome a specific obstacle, but sometimes just to get going you need a buddy who is working on the same thing. Being part of a team is a huge part of our #tiefit success. Being a lone yogi at home has been my greatest #tieyoga challenge. 

In light of my recent shift, I’m now wondering if pursuing this #learningproject on my own is going to make success taste all the sweeter. We shall see….but for now, Namaste.

PS:  30 minutes for the writing. Pics & video took a little longer though.

#tiegrad: A Community of Collaborators share out their favourite tech tools

Last #EDCI569 class we started a session of tech sharing between peers. I couldn’t help but think, “Wow, how awesome is this?!”  I was inspired by my peers who introduced me to more than a few tech tools I was unaware of and, in reflection, I was quick to think what a great and simple ProD this could be;  sign up to share out a tech tool and present in mini 15-20 minute workshops with staff throughout a school or within a family of schools. I’m thinking I might suggest this at my own school—as an alternative, it would be a great way to start each staff meeting—have a 10 minute Tool Share presentation by a staff member or members (voluntary of course).

During our bluejeans session, my peers shared tech tools such as the iPad app, Explain Everything, which is a tool that is used interactively with a whiteboard or as a means of screencasting. It seems to have an endless number of practical features including animation, drawing, laser pointer, narration, etc. This is the tool I am most excited to play with. Another tech tool shared was Padlet, a creation and curation tool that works kind of like an e-bulletinboard (I think). It can be launched via Google, which makes it easy for anyone with a Google account.  This tool was shared by @MelodyLWatson who uses it as a way to curate student work in the context of e-portfolios. Desmos was also shared during our session and the Math/Science cohort members were particularly enthusiastic about this tool, an online graphing calculator, that seems to bring a new dimension to comprehension of Math graphing concepts (which, sadly, are beyond my humanities minded brain).

In my position as Special Education teacher and Case Manager in a Distributed Learning school, I have some exposure to and knowledge of great tools, but coming up with ways to encourage learners to access and use them in this particular environment can be tough.  Much of my work is about supporting students to just get to school and to stay long enough to endure a conversation.  However, I have had some success using technology as a focal point for my students struggling with significant mental health issues.

One tech tool I've had a lot of success with is Haiku Deck.  While I haven’t used Haiku Deck to support presentation of curriculum content and academic learning directly, I have used it as a medium to reduce stress and take the focus off of the student when he or she is transitioning back into the school environment when significant anxiety has impeded his/her ability to attend.  In this instance, we often meet 1:1, have a low key chit chat (it’s mostly me who is chitting and chatting) and I try to get a sense of the student’s interests etc. I show them Haiku Deck on the iPad and create one, with the student’s input if s/he is willing; past examples include baking and snowboarding. It tends to be a fairly quick and easy process.  Afterwards I support the student to create one based on his/her own interest—the level of support varies somewhat, but generally I find even the most resistant students are willing.

Haiku Deck is available as an iPad app or in a web based format.  As well, it’s easy to send a completed Haiku Deck via email, or to share it via social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Google+.  Much like Twitter, Haiku Deck doesn’t have room to ramble on; its premise is one point, message or idea per slide.  Users are encouraged to be concise as too much text will reduce the impact of the image. By choosing just one word—e.g. snowboard—a myriad of pictures are immediately generated. Consequently, the user ends up with a selection of photos to further inspire the text content, which can be anything from one word to several sentences. Other ways to use this tool could include: 

• KWL 
• Brainstorming 
• ESL
• Poetry
•  Summarizing
• Reflections
• Reading response
•  Create an outline
• Make connections between a Math concept to real life examples 

      Here is an example of the start of a KWL Haiku Deck:

Horses - Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires


I’ve included my own Haiku Deck example, which some of you may have seen previously, as it’s a reflection of my own #tieyoga #learningproject. 

#tieyoga - Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires


And, lastly, an example of a poem, a Haiku, in fact, written by yours truly, using Haiku Deck:
10 000 Steps - Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

While the app has its own bank of shareable images, it also has the option to upload personal photos which is really useful if your learners have the option to take photos of their work or subject.  There is also a feature that enables you to control the slides from your smart device, which I have not tried, but would be handy if you were sharing in the context of a presentation. If anyone does have experience with that, I'd love to hear about it!

Sharing tech tools in the context of our own practice has been really helpful to me and made for the most meaningful learning around tech. Peer teaching in this way helps me to better pick and choose a tech tool in the most practical way and it's one more reason I value and appreciate my #tiegrad learning community so much. Thanks guys!