A Shout Out to Awesomeness

About 13 years ago, I met a fellow biology teacher, Alfred Olivas, while working at Escuela Campo Alegre.  We were introduced by a mutual friend at a conference shortly after I started working in Caracas. He worked in Valencia at the time so he shamelessly started using me for a place to stay when he came to the big city.  Luckily I didn't hold it against him that he used more hair product than I did and it took him  twice as long to get ready.  I guess the fact that he was a fellow Texan helped his cause a little.  Our paths crossed again a few years later in Shanghai where he is still teaching today.  Thirteen years later, we are still in touch and after what he shared with me today, I am so glad that we are.  Allow me to introduce Alfred in all of his awesomeness with his SAS -SY productions movie trailer for his incredibly adventurous unit on weather and climate:

I totally want to be in his class!  Oh to be a 6th grader again!   Imagine what the full length film would involve!  Before each unit, Alfred and his partner teacher, Lisa Fung-Kee-Fung, create these unit trailers using iMovie '11 to amp up the anticipation of their students for the new material.  As soon as he shared this, I immediately went to check it out. I was even more excited to read in a post from Mac Life, "You’ll be pleased to know that you don’t actually need to think too much about this: iMovie ’11 comes with its own trailer-making factory. Just add the clips in place, type in some information, and you’re good to go."  There are 15 different types of ready made themes complete with music and all.  Check out the instructions on how to make a trailer at this link. 

The possibilities for this sort of technology are endless.  One application would be that students could create summaries of their learning using this movie trailer format. Another possibility would be to propose this as an option for students to introduce their designs for my "Save Earth" competition in Physics.  I am definitely adding this to the plan.  This would also be a great project for students preparing for their Week Without Walls trips as their is a significant amount of preparation and planning that occurs prior to the experience.  I CAN'T wait to start experimenting with this tool.  In fact, I am going to cut this post short. 

Dear Fredo,​

 I am currently accepting applications for my science teacher crush of 2013-2014.  There is some tough competition out there, but you have jumped up to the top of my list.  Keep those amazingly creative ideas coming.  Oh, and just out of curiosity, when do you think you will manage to make your way to India so that we can actually work together in the same department?  I would even be willing to let you use my hair dryer from time to time, if you promised to share some of your awesomeness! 

P.S.  If you want to learn more about what Alfred is doing in science, you can check out his site or just send him an e-mail.  

P.S.S.  If you can think of any way to enhance learning in your classroom using movie trailers please share in the comments session.  This is just too fun to pass up! ​

DIY PD Part 1: Design Thinking and the Demise of Google Reader

Last week, our Director of Research and Development sent out an e-mail about an upcoming professional development opportunity.  Our school is planning to send a team to a conference this summer, and interested parties were invited to apply to be a member of the team. The topic:  Design Thinking.  Now this is something that I have been interested in for a while.  Unfortunately, I am already presenting at two conferences this summer bookending a family reunion around the same time, so I am unable to attend.  Now I am not one to miss out on anything, so after thinking about it for a while, I decided to challenge myself to learn more about Design Thinking on my own by August than I would be able to were I to attend the conference in July. 

I came up with a great plan (or so I thought)!  All I needed were the following tools:  

1. Twitter and a "pretty" way to read and capture content (Flipboard/Instapaper)
   
2. Pinboard (or another bookmarking tool)
   
3. Google  Reader ... and a "pretty" way to read and bookmark content (Feedly, Caffeinated, etc.)
   

​I was going to farm my information from three main sources.  First, my Twitter feed.  I am currently following around 300 people, most of whom post frequently about education reform, innovation, edtech, and/or research in science.  I typically devote about an half and hour to an hour a day flipping through my feed using the Flipboard app on my phone and iPad.  The plan: save all articles dealing with Design Thinking to Instapaper, or bookmark it on Pinboard with the tag designthinking.  I can also tag all of the articles saved on Instapaper, as all unread items feed into my Pinboard.  

Since I miss more articles than I can get my hands on with Twitter, I created an RSS feed for the hashtag #designthinking and subscribed to it in Google Reader. To do this all you have to do is enter this code as your feed URL: 

http://search.twitter.com/search.rss?q=%23YourSearch

and replace YourSearch with the term (no hashtag).  All of this can be saved for a day when I have devoted time to learning about design thinking.  ​

My second source is Pinboard.   I will use this to read through all of the articles that I have personally tagged with designthinking from all of my sources (Instapaper, Google Reader blogs, Twitter).  I can also search for the tag designthinking in resources that other users of Pinboard have tagged. To manage this, I created an RSS feed for the tag designthinking that I added to my third source, Google Reader, so I don't have to actively search for this tag, it just comes to me.  To create the RSS you simply replace the word tag in this code with the tag you desire: 

http://feeds.pinboard.in/rss/t:tag/

Google Reader is the source that ties it all together.  A triangulation of everything really.  I can subscribe to blogs and resources about design thinking.  I can also look through articles that have been tagged with designthinking via ​the RSS feeds I created from Pinboard and Twitter. 

As you can see, these three main tools that I plan to use are completely interconnected.  It might sound complicated, but with a little juggling practice, the management of it becomes rote. In the end, I am able to capture and store information from an infinite number of sources, most of which I will be encountering for the first time when I finally sit down to digest the information that I have bookmarked and saved.   

Then one morning while flipping through my Twitter feed, I heard the bad news.  ​

The initial reactions of people across the globe were not promising.  Almost immediately, the subtitles for the famous scene from the German war film, Downfall, ​when Hitler realizes that he has lost the war were rewritten to reflect "Hitler's"  reaction to the death of Google Reader. 

His advisers tell him that Google is killing Reader: 

"Anyone who thinks social media is a valid replacement for an RSS reader, leave the room now." (If you are undecided, check out this post about Twitter as an RSS alternative.)

As he begins his rant, Hitler follows this up  with a few choice quotes, including:
"How dare they take away Google Reader, I have over 300 feeds in there! "
"Do they have any idea how much effort went in to collect my feeds?​" 
(And several other unmentionables ones :-)

I must admit, I certainly identified with these sentiments initially.  Removing any one of my carefully interwoven sources would surely mean complete failure of the system that I had developed.  However, after reading a few posts from bloggers (that I follow on Google Reader :-), and taking a closer look at the links in my system, I realized that I had doubled back on my three main resources to allow me the mobile flexibility that I desired.  Essentially I had covered all of my bases.  I then arrived at the conclusion that ​with minimal effort on my part, the transition will most likely be seamless. 

Fact:  Several third party RSS feed readers prophesied the end of Google Reader, and have already cloned the Google Reader API.  Feedly, a free RSS reader, did just that. Check out this post about their development in preparation for the transition.  As you can probably tell, I like to cover my bases.  So this morning, in less than 10 minutes I signed up for a free account and transfer all of my feeds from Google Reader to Feedly (just in case Caffeinated doesn't pull through by July 1st).  I have to admit I  like the interface a little better than the one for Caffeinated.  The one major drawback for me is that I can't directly tag posts and bookmark them in Pinboard, which is something that I can do with Caffeinated.  If this is not an issue for you, you should check out Feedly. 

Regardless, I now realize that although Google Reader is going to disappear, my RSS feeds will not.  The API will just live on in a more aesthetically pleasing form like Normandy.

​Now that the Google Reader is stepping aside, I am hopeful that both Feedly and Caffeinated with evolve to include the improvements that I am looking for in a reader by July 1st, and my biggest dilemma will be which one to choose!

For a positive spin on this period of transition, you might want to follow Marco Arment's blog.​  He has written several posts about RSS feeds and readers since the news broke.  I would also recommend listening to his recent podcast called Negativity, Skepticism, and Doubt, as it was very informative. 

As for me, I am going to get back to building my collection on Design Thinking.  ​I can rest easy knowing that my system won't break down any time soon. 

Resolving Perplexity: An Update

http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Albino-Water-Buffalo-Rantepao.jpg

Have you EVER seen an albino water buffalo?   Anyway, as promised, here is the follow up to my last post, Perplexity and Why I Love Dan Meyer.​

The question that my class set out to answer today: 

" O.k. so on my way home, I’ve seen yet another albino!  It seems like I see a lot of them here.  Is this because they are more noticeable here than in Caucasian populations or is there a biological explanation?  Just a lingering wondering..."
​

Last night on the doc, students essentially conducted  research in three main areas.  ​

1. What is albinism?  What causes it specifically at a biochemical level?  How is it inherited?  ​
2. How does the incidence of albinism in India compare to other parts of the world? 
   
3. ​What psychological, social and cultural implications need to be considered when answering this question? 
   

Today I learned the following from my students: 

There are at least five types of albinism.  Albinism is caused by mutations in the genes that code for the enzymes involved in melanin metabolism in the skin hair and eyes including, the enzyme tyrosinase.  These mutations cause either and absence or defect in the enzymes of this pathway. ​ Most of the forms of albinism are autosomal homozygous recessive conditions; however, ocular albinism is sex-linked.  If you want to know more, check out this link on the proteins of the biosynthetic pathway of melanin production that are involved in the various forms of albinism.

They also analyzed a great deal of data from different sources regarding the incidence of albinism in India.  Most of the sources, however were estimates or extrapolated due to issues with gathering this type of data in India.  This is largely due to the intersections between the cultural implications of the caste system, extreme poverty in slums and rural areas, and ​inefficiency in gathering this type of data through public health outreach in a population as large and disconnected as you find in developing nations like India and China.  Having said that, the estimates of prevalence in India exceed the extrapolated data by 20,000 to 30,000 affected individuals.  This source suggests that the incidence in India should be higher due to the prevalence of endogamy, which is is the practice of marrying within a specific ethnic group, class, or social group, while rejecting others on such basis as being unsuitable for marriage or other close personal relationships. In India, albinos are considered outcasts in some areas resulting in marital pairings of individuals that are homozygous for the mutations thereby increasing the frequency of recessive alleles in a familial group. 

There is also evidence to suggest that founder mutations have increased the incidence in India above the world average similar to situations found in tribal Africa.  In fact in some areas in Africa, the incidence of albinism is as high as 1 in 1000 individuals compared to a world average of 1 in 17,000 individuals.  This is due to inbreeding combined with the founder effect in small nomadic populations. 

While all of the literature suggests that there is a possibility of a higher incidence of albinism in India, the validity of the data is not reliable enough to confirm this hypothesis.  In a heavily populated area like Mumbai, it could just as easily boil down to the fact that you encounter more individuals on a daily basis compounded with the fact that individuals affected by albinism stand out more against individuals with dark pigmentation. 

Regardless, this research assignment was AWESOME!  I felt like Harvey Specter with an entire staff of paralegals and underlings solving the world's mysteries for me.  Keep the questions coming!  ​

Perplexity and Why I Love Dan Meyer

​I came across a Youtube video of a keynote that Dan Meyer gave entitled Teaching for Perplexity. ​ A colleague of mine has been a big fan of his for a while, but I just figured that it was probably a "math teacher" thing.  You know how that goes.  Though I have read some of his blog posts, it wasn't until I saw this video that I fell head over heels in love with his mission and his approach to teaching.  Paul Andersen, watch out!  I fear you have some competition for my #1 educator crush.  I identify completely with his purpose, and he articulates it so perfectly with this idea of perplexity.  So if you haven't seen him speak about this yet, stop reading and watch the video. 

Allow me to rephrase the question that guides his practice for my own selfish purposes. 

How do you generate engaging and challenging curriculum from the BIOLOGY you encounter in your own life?​

A couple of weeks ago, I received this text message from a friend:  ​

So on my way home, I saw yet another albino.  It seems like there are quite a few of them here.  Is this because they are more noticeable here than in Caucasian ​populations or is there a biological explanation?  No hurry answering, its just a lingering wondering. 

​Friend CAPTURED PERPLEXITY. 

​We are starting genetics in class tomorrow, so after receiving this text, I threw out my lesson plan and decided to teach genes, chromosomes, and mutations using a collaborative learning approach to answering this question.  I created a Google Doc with the following instructions: 

(copy of text message)

I have decided to send this out to you guys to collaborate on an answer and get back to her.

What do we need to know? Hint:  Your first step better be to address the syllabus topics in 4.1. :-)  (see where I am going with this?)

 Having said that, what ELSE do you need to know to accurately and completely answer her question.

Identify your big buckets here (add additional buckets if needed): 

This is a collaborative doc.  I expect to see all of you contributing to this doc.  You will indicate your contributions by selecting a color and including your name in parentheses after your contribution.  Since this is an open ended question, there is room for everyone to spin off and investigate a part of this question on your own.  It needs to be completed before the next class.  If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask.  I will not be "teaching" 4.1.1-4.1.3 as I expect you to learn these syllabus statements through your research.  We will discuss the answer to this question as well as evidence for 4.1.4 in class on Wednesday.  I will be checking on this doc to monitor your progress and add my two rupees from time to time! 

I SHARED PERPLEXITY.  ​

Right now as I write this post, my students are on fire on the doc.  They have already defined and identified the mutations and chromosomes and modes of transmission that are responsible for the four different types of albinism along with the characteristics of each.  They are analyzing data (graphs and stats) and even looking at gel electrophoresis and pedigrees.  They are also beginning to toss around theories ​regarding the social and cultural practices of Indians that could impact the incidence of albinism in the country.

They are even exploring tangents:  :-)

"Of course, in the winter an albino animal would have excellent camouflage."  Hmmmm....

Sounds to me like they are in the process of RESOLVING PERPLEXITY.​

At the end of this assignment, we might have an answer, we might not.  My takeaways: 

1. I will not have to lecture tomorrow about genes, chromosomes, and mutations.  ​
2. We have abandoned rote memorization and replaced it with a great learning experience.  ​
3. My students are not just learning about genetics at the moment.  They are analyzing data, critically evaluating resources and information, exploring tangents, making connections and framing it all in a cultural setting that they experience on a daily basis. 
   
4. I am totally stoked about class tomorrow and can't wait to dig into the mess that they have created with their exploration.  ​

​Up next for discussion?  Sickle Cell Anemia vs. Malaria:  How can something so bad be so good?

So thank you, Dan, for giving me the words to articulate what it is that I do.  I will  be sure to share our findings once we unravel this mystery.  But for now, I must go add some probing questions to the doc to send them all further down this rabbit hole of perplexity!  ​

Update:  My class's summary answer to this perplexing question can be found in the following post.  ​