Slice of Life: The Video Game Challenge

In December, my students worked on an entire unit around science-based video game design. They created and published their own video games. It’s more complicated than I can explain here (but we did capture it on our website about the gaming project). Many kids are still working on revising and improving their video games long after the project ended. One of them has almost 1,000 plays of his game in the Gamestar Mechanic community.

Yesterday, I helped a handful of students achieve a goal of theirs. We submitted their science-based video games into the 2012 STEM Video Game Challenge.

I have no idea how they will do on the national stage against other middle school game designers, but they were very excited to get all of the application completed and to know that their video game creations (which are excellent examples of gaming, science and writing, if you don’t mind a very biased opinion) are in the mix for a national award.

Me? I am proud of them for sticking with it and having the confidence in their abilities as game designers, and I am very glad that we seemed to have gotten everything done that we needed to get done for moving their game into the challenge (as far as I can tell. To be honest, the application process is not as clear as it could be).

2012 National STEM Video Game Challenge [image courtesy http://www.stemchallenge.org/].

And now, we wait until May, when the winners are announced. But we will still be playing and building games. That never stops.

Peace (in the game system),
Kevin

 

Graphic Novel Review: Baby’s in Black (and the Beatles)

This upcoming graphic novel from First Second Publishing provides an alternative look at the early days of The Beatles. Told mostly through the experiences of photographer Astrid Kirchherr and her love affair with the so-called “fifth Beatle” Stuart Sutcliffe, Baby’s in Black by Arne Bellstorf brings us into the club scene of Germany where the future pop stars of the world would begin to hone their skills. Sutcliffe came on as a bass player at the invitation of his friend, John Lennon, but he really wanted to be an artist.

Kirchherr would help him find his muse in the time before his early death, which was probably due to some brain hemorrhage (the exact cause was never fully determined). Strains of the cover songs that The Beatles were playing filter in and out of this love story, told entirely in black and white graphic illustrations. There’s a sort of melancholy feel to the story, as Sutcliffe is tired of playing music, drawn into his love for Kirchherr (a photographer who tastes fame herself with her images of the band), and ragged from an unknown illness that eventually takes his life.

Most of us music fans know parts of this story from the Lore of The Beatles, but Bellstorf does a nice job of keeping the graphic novel lens on Kirchherr, and we see German youth through her interactions with her friends, one of whom is a diehard fan of The Beatles who drags as many friends as he can to the bars to see them play.

I have a friend my band who is a crazy Beatles fan. I’ve passed this one along to him and he was very interested. He even knew who he was going to pass along to once he was done with ut. (It looks like the graphic novel gets published sometime in May, by the way.)

Peace (in the music),
Kevin

 

Slice of Life: Shooting Sparks

I heard the gasp and saw the small crowd of kids jump back. Then, they began shouting for me to come over to our old PC cart.

“There were sparks!” one student yelled, in a sort of crazed voice. “There were sparks!”

I got them to calm down enough to realize that one of the power cords had become frayed from the pull and push of laptops coming in and out of the cart. It was nothing the student had done, as far as I could tell. I could see some bare wire near the plug. Sparks had flown. One student gingerly handed me the laptop with the frayed power cord still attached, like passing an undetonated bomb to the Bomb Squad. I turned off the cart and removed the plug from the laptop, and sighed.

I know we are lucky to have this PC cart – if you read this blog, you know I use it a lot with my students for digital composition — but the years are certainly taking the toll. This is the third frayed wire I have had to take off the cart this year. I am out of “extras” at this point in terms of power cords, and so now I am lobbying our tech folks to order a few more “just in case.” They will, I am sure, but it is an uphill battle to keep this cart in good working order as our school moves to become all-Mac, no-PC over time. (We also have a Mac cart and two Mac half-carts in the building).

I felt a bit frazzled myself, frayed around the edges, but determined to keep technology in my room moving forward, not back.

Peace (no sparks),
Kevin

 

Slice of Life: What? No Book?

I usually pack a bunch of books for travel, but I somehow didn’t this time. So, on the way to Alabama, I finished the book I had (Wonder) and I was left with only a magazine (Wired). Ack. Not good. I was able to survive on Saturday, since my day was packed, but I had that strange, vacant feeling as I entered the airport yesterday morning and realized that I had many hours to go … and nothing to read.

I picked up the Sunday New York Times. That helped. But you know … I needed a book. (And of course, I completely kicked myself for not splurging on a Sharon Draper book while we were at the same conference together — what was I thinking?)

I wandered the small Birmingham airport in a sort of daze. I needed a book. And I needed one bad.

Gosh, though, the Hudson news stands in airports stink for their selections, don’t they? I was staring at the titles on display on the wall and thinking: I won’t get a hard cover book unless it is a must-have book because I don’t want to pay $25. There were no must-have books. I glimpsed at all of the paperbacks … I don’t mean to sound snobbish, but they were just weren’t to my liking (and just how many darn books has James Patterson written, anyway? Holy cow.)

I finally fingered a short story collection by Stephen King (but wished his book, On Writing, was available. I would have scooped that up in a second.). It’s been some years since I have dove into King but he seemed the safest bet of the bunch.

This short story collection — Full Dark, No Stars — is incredibly dark, and violent. Well-written, to be sure, but man, I was hardpressed to keep reading the second story here. I know King can do macabre, but this was difficult reading due to the content. I skipped to the Afterward at one point, and King talks about acknowledging the difficulty a reader will have, as well as the difficulty he had in writing these stories. I appreciated that honesty and wished I wasn’t stuck with only this book on a two-hour flight.

Now that I am home, and only halfway through the collection, I am putting it aside. I may return someday, or not. I can’t rightly say. What I am happy to do, however, is reach into my pile of books by my bedside and start a must-read.

Peace (in the airport),
Kevin

 

Slice of Life: Holding Hands to End A Conference

Yesterday morning, I gave the opening keynote address at Alabama’s Red Mountain Writing Project. My topic was writing, technology and the Common Core, but really it was about paying attention to and celebrating the many multiple literacies in the lives of our students, in all of its myriad forms (with an emphasis on the ways that technology is transforming our definition of writing). I told stories of some students, trying to craft  a narrative of learning and observations. I had plenty of great conversations afterwards, touching on topics such as the digital divide, access issues, finding meaningful ways to use technology for learning, and stories of successful and not-so-successful projects. I gave encouragement and resources. I commiserated at times. You never know when that one idea, or that one little chat, might help help a colleague transform a classroom experience.

But I really want to write this slice of life about the ending keynote, by novelist Sharon Draper. Her conversation, which is what it was more than a keynote, was inspiring in the many, many ways. She reminded us not to pigeonhole kids as learners, and to understand the whole child (inside and outside of school), and to put the right book in the right hands at the right time.  She even shared a touching digital story, with images of students off all abilities and all races, put to the voice of Louie Armstrong. Draper was funny, candid, heart-wrenching at times, and very engaging. She is a very natural storyteller. (Plus, she gave away free books at the end of her talk)

Draper ended the conference, and her talk, by having the entire room hold hands with each other, and then we repeated an uplifting pledge as teachers to celebrate our students and to nurture them from whatever place they come from, and not to undervalue them as learners. We pledged to be supportive, and help each other, too, as fellow teachers. I’m not from Birmingham and my chances of crossing paths with most of these teachers seems slim (other than the few I know through my National Writing Project connections), but I felt a powerful emotional connection to that hall filled with other teachers in that moment. It was like a prayer meeting, without the religion. Our voices in unison, and our hands clasped together, united us in a wonderful way that focused our attention on our very important roles in the lives of young people.

Thank you, Sharon, for reminding us of what matters in our classroom.

Peace (in the connection),
Kevin

 

Book Review: The Nine Pound Hammer

The blood of American Tall Tales runs thick throughout this first book of a young adult series called The Clockwork Dark, which centers on the adventures of a 12-year-old boy, Ray, and his new magical friends who must battle an evil creature who seeks to destroy .. the world? Well, it wasn’t exactly always clear to me what the GOG wanted to do, to be honest, (nor why he needed a Siren to do it). While I was drawn in by the use of tall tales (particularly the fable of John Henry, and his son, and the nine pound magical hammer from which the book gets its name), I kept losing track of the story and the characters.

(And I appreciated the author’s notes at the end of the novel, as writer John Claude Bemis explained how he came up with the idea for the series after singing the traditional song about John Henry, and wanting to make a story that did not use European-centered themes of knights and quests, but one that tapped into Americana.)

I kept reading The Nine Pound Hammer, though, because I wanted to like the story (it helps that Bemis is a former teacher), and I would get rewarded at times with action and suspense, and interesting characters. It just felt unfocused and muddled one time too many for me. I wanted to be more centered on the John Henry angle, and I didn’t always get that. Darn it. (And the cover is so intriguing).

I don’t expect to keep reading the series, but maybe I will find a reader in my class who will be drawn in by the legend of Tall Tales and the sense of adventure.

Peace (in the hammer-time),
Kevin

 

Slice of Life: Tears from ‘Wonder’

So, there I was, on my way from home in Western Massachusetts to Birmingham, Alabama, relishing the time I could finally spend reading Wonder by RJ Palacio. I had actually won it in a blog contest through my teacher network (thanks, Colby!), and passed it along first to my son, who gave it back up to me for this trip. (He wants it back). I started the book in Hartford, continued it via my layover in Baltimore, and finished it en route to Birmingham.

It brought me to tears, this book did. And I found myself wishing fervently for a more private place than an aisle seat on an airplane, surrounded by strangers as I was caught up in the emotional ending in which the power of “kindness” hit me like a punch to the gut. This wonderful book is about a boy entering fifth grade, about what it means to be different, and what it means to find your place in the world where good can bubble up in expected places. I won’t give the plot away. I won’t say more about why I was tearing up, choking back emotion. You’ll have to read Wonder to figure that out (and you should.)

What I will say is that, every now and then, a book crosses my hands that reminds me of why I read and why I keep on reading — and why I sometimes suffer mediocre books in hopes that a jewel will surface. Wonder is one of those books. I know there more of these jewels out there. I’ll just have to keep on reading to find them.

Peace (in the slice),
Kevin

 

Developing a Keynote: Why Literacy Matters

screenshot of Literacy Matters Presentation
It seems like a long, long time ago that I was invited by my friend Ben Davis to give a keynote address to the Red Mountain Writing Project’s 21st Century Literacies Conference. And yet, here it is. Tomorrow, I will be presenting my thoughts and stories on what it means to be teaching in a world dominated by shifts to the Common Core, and technology as tools for writing, and more. (Today, I travel). I’m excited about the opportunity to visit Birmingham, Alabama, and of course, a tad bit nervous about the responsible of giving one of the keynote addresses (the other is by writer Sharon Draper). I hope what I have to say resonated with the crowd, and I hope I am not boring.

As I have been developing the ideas to present, I have been working hard to connect what I teach to not only what is expected of me as a teacher in this standardized environment (ie, Common Core influence), but also, how I can best engage my sixth graders as writers in this digital age when our definitions of writing is in the midst of some shift, and just what that may mean to a classroom teacher.  My aim is to share my own classroom experiences, and to relate how I try to “pay attention” to what my students are doing with their literacies outside of school. I’ll work to weave those stories together into a narrative that (hopefully) inspires others.

I named my talk “Literacy Matters” because it seems to me that now, more than ever, writing and literacy is at the heart of all that our students are doing — in school and out of school. When they communicate via text messaging, they are engaging in literacy. When they shoot a video and post it online, they are engaged in literacy. When they play a video game, they are engaged in literacy. When they write a story or an essay or a poem or a reflection, they are engaged in literacy. The technology aspect of composition sometimes hides the literacies taking place, however, and we need to make those ideas more visible, bring them to the surface.

That’s part of my intention, anyway. I hope it goes well.

🙂

Here is a handout that I developed to accompany my talk.
Literacy Matters Handout

 

Peace (in the keynote),
Kevin

 

Slice of Life: Snow Day Activities

(This is part of the 2012 Slice of Life Challenge with Two Writing Teachers.)

Here is a rundown of what happened in and around our house yesterday as the first (and last?) snowstorm of 2012 caused schools to close for the day:

    • Three games of chess between my 7 year old and myself. I won all three. But I did give strategic advice on a regular basis. It may not be long before he is beating me. I need to stay sharp!
    • My 11 year old played games of Parcheesi by himself. In honor of the upcoming March Madness College Basketball Selection Sunday, he has been charting games between “the pieces” on the board, conducting an entire tournament of animal pieces versus animal pieces. He refuses to let anyone of us play with him, much to the frustration of his younger brother. But, tournament rules are tournament rules …
    • An impromptu brunch party gathering at our house for some neighbors and family who live close by. We also showed a premiere of my younger son’s movie project: Robbers on the Loose. It was widely hailed as a great piece of work, except from the older brothers who laughed at it. You know how that goes …
    • My nieces and son built a snowman in the back yard. They worked on it for close to an hour. Then our dog went out and peed on it. You know how that goes …
    • A new version of Monopoly was invented. Money tossed into the air, falling like confetti. Houses and motels were lined up along the floor. The dice — left alone in the box. It didn’t end in tears, so you know it was a good game. And no parents were involved in the rule making or enforcement, although we did watch with fascination for a spell.
    • I brought up the “wooden city” from the basement. This is not easy to describe. It’s a plastic tray filled with wooden blocks, assorted super hero figurines, plastic animals and tons of, eh, junk that become the basis for imaginative play. My son and nieces literally sat there, inventing stories for about 45 minutes before moving on. I put it back in the basement, forgotten until another day.

woodcity2

  • Visitors all went home, and the older boys went off to hang out with friends — one to go sledding and the other to engage in a boys’ snowball fight on the lawn of a friend.
  • Reading time as my youngest son and I kept on reading Gregor and the Marks of Secret. We agreed that this series gets darker as it goes along. What will happen to the Nibblers? We still keep reading.
  • A little Wii time. Star Wars, to be exact. We have to keep shouting to our son, “step away from the screen,” as if we were police officers barking out some commands. Watching him play is like watching a dance in the living room. He shuffles around the floor as he plays.
  • More Gregor.
  • We shoo the kids upstairs for the night and my wife and I snuggle in for an episode of Boardwalk Empire.
  • Sleep time.

Peace (in the slice),
Kevin

 

Exploring Pinterest 1: Books About Technology and Learning

I’ve been reading so much about Pinterest that I finally got into the site to give it a shot (thanks to an invite from a friend on Twitter). It’s OK. I like the visual element of sharing, but it seems like navigation is sort of tricky and not very intuitive to me.  The homepage of the site is a visual mess. I do like how easy it is to create a project in Pinterest, and the javascript button now in my tool bar sure is handy for adding new elements (oh, excuse me, a new “pin”) to existing sites (eh, they are called “boards”).

Still, I created some “boards” around some themes that I am interested in. Here is one: Technology and Writing.
Pinterest book board

Technology and Writing: Book Reviews

Peace (on the board),
Kevin