My week with Morpheus

Last summer at Keystone Technology Institute, a friend of mine (Brandon) came up with this idea for a stuffed animal to travel the United States, visiting classrooms and learning new things as he went. The animal's travels and learning would be documented using numerous Web 2.0 technologies and be accessible to any class with an Internet connection. Some of us immediately recognized that this was a 21st Century version of Flat Stanley. A few short weeks later, Morpheus Fortuna was born.

Partly to support Brandon and partly to get my students thinking globally, I signed up to host Morpheus. I'd been thinking of all kinds of things the students could do with him ever since the drive home from KTI. However, as the date of Morpheus' arrival drew closer, I began to feel a degree of trepidation. Would the kids respond? Would they think it was cheesy? Would they even voluntarily sign up for a project?

I'd briefly mentioned Morpheus to the class during the second or third week of school, and the response had been tepid. That wasn't doing wonders for stress level. There had been a glimmer of hope two weeks later when the kids asked, "when's that turtle coming?" So, here I was on the eve of Morpheus' arrival wondering if my decision to host was a monumental mistake or not. The day Morpheus was to arrive, I surveyed the kids to gauge interest levels in what they wanted to do. No whining, no complaining, just 100% response. OK, I was feeling a bit better, but not so much so that I wasn't wide awake thinking about the project for two and a half hours the night before I kicked it off in class.

Kick off day was upon me, and I have to say things went much better than I expected. My big group formed themselves into sub-groups after I'd thrown out some ideas, and all of a sudden I had a science aspect to the project, groups that wanted to deal with the history of Harrisburg, and a group that wanted to do something with high school life. I even had stories being written featuring Morpheus and someone willing to become the voice of Morpheus on his blog site! The next three days were an incredible ride: the kids were trying new things, pushing boundaries, and getting excited about what they could share with the other classes.

I guess I was worried about nothing, but as Brandon told me when I updated him on what was going on, "You must have sold it to the kids." I guess I must have. My students exceeded my wildest expectations once I set a vision and let them run with it. Lesson learned: don't doubt that they can do it; believe they can!

Thoughts approaching 2007-2008

I know my introduction states that the main focus of my blog will be on techniques I've tried in class as I transform the classroom from a traditional, industrial one to a 21st Century model. The school year is a good month off yet, but so much is going through my mind, I feel the need to share the vision I'm working with.

Two critical things have happened since November 2007 that have really gotten me thinking about what my classroom should look like: involvement with Classrooms for the Future (CFF) and Keystone Technology Integrators (KTI), both Pennsylvania initiatives.

CFF is on the surface about putting technology into the classroom and hands of both teachers and students, but I've come to understand it is more than that. At the heart of CFF is transforming the way we teach: approaching students in ways similar to the way they approach the world. Time and time again it is emphasized how connected the kids of today are and how quickly they can take in information. Traditionalists hold the kids back, so I'm going to endeavor to open up my classroom and make things a lot more free flowing.

KTI got me thinking a lot about how to make this transformation. In fact, I just have to say that KTI was the MOST rewarding conference/experience I have ever had, and it will transform the way I teach in many respects. I was exposed to various resources that will help me transform my lessons and activities into a 21st Century model. Besides that, it was an awesome networking experience. I met many like-minded educators who were all there for their students: learning to be a better teacher so the students are prepared to function in the fast-changing world around them. I know that many of us will collaborate on projects in the future.