The Keyboarding Debate

When I was in high school, keyboarding (typing) was taught in a bright, busy classroom filled with the hums and clicks of electric typewriters. At least I think that’s what it was like in that room. I never went in, as I never took typing. When we got our first Mac at home I started keyboarding with the “hunt and peck” method and eventually, through sheer time spent, I learned how to be reasonably fast on the keys.

As a young teacher, when I first got really interested in ed-tech, I decided (based on what I had heard) that teaching keyboarding was a waste of time because in the not-too-distant future we would just be able to talk to computers and they would write out what we said. I remember several of the more seasoned teachers disagreeing with me vehemently.

So…now it’s 2023. And people still can’t agree on whether or not we should teach keyboarding! Even more controversial seems to be the age at which you should introduce keyboarding. As for me, as it is with many ed-tech controversies, I can see both sides of the argument!

Yes, we do have programs that allow you to speak to your computer so that it types out what you’ve said. So, do you need to keyboard? Well, none of the programs I am aware of are perfect and they all still require you to read over what you’ve said and make corrections (by using the keyboard).

Being able to quickly type certainly makes people more efficient at anything requiring input on a regular size keyboard, whether you are typing an essay, gaming using the keys or programming a robot. I can personally attest to the fact that working with middle-school aged students who have to hunt for each letter on the laptop is painful for all involved! (At the same time, give that student a small enough mobile device that they can type with just their thumbs and you would be amazed at their speed and accuracy!)

If you agree that keyboarding is important, the second part of that is “should we teach it in school?” Again, I see both sides (sort of). In a high school or trade school class teaching office skills like Excel, keyboarding is a necessary skill. If you apply to be a receptionist or office manager I would imagine the employer will still ask about your wpm. On the other hand, if you are teaching a high school ICT class, you have other skills you need to teach that are more pressing and important. And if you teach elementary school or middle school, there are so many things vying for your time and attention – keyboarding seems very low on the list (if it even makes it on!)

The good news is that there is a happy solution that sits somewhere in the middle for classes where typing/keyboarding is not part of the curriculum! There are quite a few really good online typing programs geared to students. These programs level up or down, based on each students’ needs, and several of them have badges students can earn as well as games they can play to make learning more fun. I don’t suggest that teachers take valuable classroom time up to have students work with these programs. Rather, use them at times like the first 10 minutes of the day, while everyone is arriving and getting settled. Or, let parents know about the program you are using, so that students can practice and learn at home. 

Ultimately, kids who are interested in keyboarding (or who play piano or who have parents that push the skill) will get better no matter what you do. Those kids who aren’t particularly interested will improve with the addition of an online teacher. Or they’ll improve when and if it becomes important to them.

So the answer to Hamlet’s infamous question of “to keyboard or not to keyboard?” is….maybe!?

By the way, for teachers in my district, stay tuned for an announcement about a district approved typing program coming your way!

Turn It Off Now!

Let me start this blog post by acknowledging that I am not perfect and I am guilty of occasionally doing the very things I am about to caution against. Okay then….onward!

Technology in the classroom can be a game changer. When it is used mindfully, students can learn and create in ways that are engaging, challenging and creative. Watch a kindie class making digital books about the shapes in their room or a Grade 8 class working on green screen animations of a science concept and you can see how transformative digital technology can be.

Buuut…..technology can also be overused. When your class has just come in from a sweaty recess, when the hormones are raging and no one can focus, it can be tempting to have students grab their devices and plug into a digital activity. Everyone settles down, everyone is quiet…bliss. But to what end? If the technology in this case is being used purposefully (maybe students are quietly reviewing a set of digital flashcards the teacher made for them, so they are ready for a test) then motor on! But, if the technology is being used to calm and settle students we need to be aware of the fact that we may inadvertently be teaching our students to calm themselves with a device. Maybe not the message we intended? Could a book, an art activity or a teacher-led meditation session accomplish the same thing?

Technology used in a mindful, purposeful way; technology used to drive learning, promote creativity and problem solving – these uses of technology should be given a green light. But be cautious about using technology to control class behaviour. Is it truly the best use of that device?

Blue Skies

So, I have to be 100% honest here…the weekend was crazy busy and today is one of those days where the first meeting I had started the day off and I have non-stop meetings until 9:00 tonight, so……..this is a repost of a post from several years ago. It still rings true in my mind.

When you were a kid, did you ever just lie in the grass and look up at the sky and let your imagination run wild? Dream of the places you would go and the things you would do? Little kids are truly the original “blue sky thinkers” – their imaginations aren’t hemmed in by limits, judgements and consequences. They don’t worry about budgets, traditions or calendars. They are the real “yes, and” people. Right?

Well, what if we could all be blue sky thinkers, too? What if you, as an educator, had an unlimited budget and no rules and a mandate to change education. To make it better. Think BIG. Go past the little things, beyond the blue sky and into the solar system! I would argue that the chaos and change caused by the pandemic and the advent of increasingly powerful technology makes this the perfect time to shake things up. 

Well, it’s not really fair to ask you to be a blue-sky thinker without being one myself, right? But before I float too far off into the sky, I’m going to tie a few “anchors” to my belt, to keep me somewhat grounded. Here are the anchors:

• All humans are unique. One size fits all does not. 
• The social and collaborative aspects of learning are important.
• Play is vital to learning. So is joy. 
• Children are inherently creative, curious and physical beings. Keep this.
• Every child is “worth it”.

So, with anchors in place, let’s dive in and get messy! I’ll start by getting rid of a bunch of assumptions. Like…formal school should start at the age of 5 (ish) and take 13 years. Doesn’t that send an implied message that learning is limited to the early part of our lives? Does the school day need to start at 9 and go to 3 and do the school year or week need to remain as is? Yes, teachers and students need down time but with work schedules becoming more flexible, shouldn’t school, too?

What if schools were places (both physical and virtual) that students could move in and out of as needed? If there is no one in your local brick and mortar school that teaches Latin shouldn’t you be able to learn from a teacher located somewhere else? What if students could pursue their passions as they occurred? Why should you have to wait until high school to develop an understanding of the mechanics of a cell and why does fingerpainting get abandoned after Kindie? 

Why can’t the fundamental skills of reading, writing and basic math be taught in small fluid groups with mastery being the goal? And while we’re here….does every child have to learn the same things? At the same time? I struggled with Math in high school and dropped out of it halfway through Grade 11. I felt like a failure. Turns out my brain just wasn’t ready. About a decade later I had to take a Stats course to get admitted into a program I was interested in. I was motivated and ready and suddenly, “math made sense”!

If we approach learning and knowledge and education as life-long pursuits, then why can’t learning happen when a student is ready or the knowledge is needed? For anyone who doubts this is possible, watch Sugata Mitra’s TED talk about his Hole in the Wall project in the slums of India. If a child is curious about something, they will be driven to learn, whether or not it is “in the curriculum”. My 4 year-old neighbour does not yet read but she can tell you more about dinosaurs than you want to know and I would be willing to bet that some of my robotics students know more about the physics and science behind Space X than many highly educated adults do (myself included!)

You might notice I haven’t mentioned anything about students who have learning challenges. If we truly are viewing each student as unique and letting everyone follow their own learning paths at their own pace, then these students will be the same as others. Their trajectories might be different but in my blue sky world they will get the support they need to reach as far as they can.

In my blue sky world play and exploration will be the focus in primary schools. Curiosity will be encouraged, questions explored and curricula will take a flexible back seat. Forests and streams will be just as important as libraries and laptops.

As students grow older and master the basics they will increasingly be given more flexibility in and ownership of their learning. Why can’t a 12 year old take AP Biology if they’re ready for it? And who says all of European History has to be learned in one year. Maybe it will take several years, especially if there is lots to learn.

Obviously, my blue sky daydreaming has not encompassed all aspects of education. Budgeting, staffing and assessment have taken a back seat and there are loads of other issues that still need to be addressed. But hey…..NASA first set a goal of getting to the moon. Then they started figuring out the logistics. Blue sky thinking should alway come first – what do you see when you look up?!

Email Ninjas!

I always laugh when I go into classrooms to present using my iPad and kids can see that I have over 30,000 unopened emails in my gmail. And when I say laugh, I really mean embarrassed laugh / cringe. Seriously, “email inbox==0” is something I aspire to but have not achieved with my personal email.

My work email is better as I have employed a few ninja skills to help me and today I will share those with you!

Skill 1 – Deal, Delete or Deliver

When an email comes into my inbox I try to deal with it as soon as possible. Once I have dealt with it (responded, forwarded, what have you) I delete it. If I need to hang on to it for some reason, I deliver it to a folder nested in my Inbox folder. I then spend time once a year sorting through those folders and deleting information in them.

Skill 2 – Create a Rule

Using conditional logic (if this then that) you can actually create a “rule” within your email account that will automagically help organize your email. Imagine if your email account could delete or sort emails without you having to do anything. I would imagine most email providers have that, although I have only done it in Gmail and Outlook.

In Outlook, here is how you do it:

Right click on an email from someone. When a pop-up window comes up, scroll to the bottom and choose More Options. 

Now choose Create Rule

From here you can choose to have emails from that person always go to a certain folder. In you don’t have a folder for the email to go to, you can even create a new folder from within this pop-up window

If you want to do something more impressive, choose More Options.

From here you can do all sorts of magic! You can reroute the emails to someone else. Imagine being able to automagically reroute emails from “that” person to your administrator…hee hee! (NOT that I am suggesting you do that!) You can delete emails…you can even pin emails to the top of your inbox so you don’t forget about them. And you can change your rules anytime you want!

Skill 3 – Unsubscribe or See Above

If you find yourself getting loads of emails from various places you agreed to subscribe to but now regret, unsubscribe! There is usually a place at the very bottom of their email, in very small font, that lets you unsubscribe. And if you do unsubscribe and it doesn’t work, see the advice from above and create a rule that will delete emails from that sender!

Hopefully these ninja skills will help you deal with the mountains of email we seem to get. And while you are at it, don’t forget to keep an eye out for emails that are phishing. In our district, the IT department sent out a quick informational video for teachers to watch but if you are from elsewhere, here’s some good advice from Microsoft.

Turn It Off Tuesday

If you’ve read this blog for any time now you know that I have an affinity for or interest in many nerdy, technology based things – robots, computers, Star Wars, data (as well as Data from Star Trek). You get the idea. I have a desktop, a laptop, a Chromebook, two iPads, a drone, an Apple watch and, well….you get the idea!

I also have an iPhone and although I am ashamed to admit it, I think I am addicted to my phone. Not in a clinical, “you need to be admitted” kind of way. More like an “if I accidentally leave it at home I have panic attacks” kind of way.

The addiction started off gradually. My first cel phone really only let me make phone calls and send very slow, painful texts. My first “smart phone” allowed me to access the internet but, tbh, there wasn’t a lot out there that I needed to see on such a small screen. Texting was quicker but calling was just as fast, right?

Then I found Youtube. I still remember the day I discovered “funny cat videos” and lost several hours of my life watching the tiny screen as cats got spooked by cucumbers or tangled themselves up in window blinds. 

The move from Youtube to social media happened quickly. At first, it was just a quick glance at Insta once or twice a day. No biggie. Posting to Twitter if something cool happened in my classroom. Facebook for keeping tabs on friends and family. I had TikTok for awhile but then realized it was the biggest time suck and so I deleted it.

My phone charges in my room. My excuse is that I use it for an alarm but the reality is that I have been known to check my feeds if I wake up in the middle of the night. Not healthy….right? If I go downstairs to get a glass of water, I take my phone with me. Why? It’s not like I am going to miss an important call. No, the reality of it is that I have gotten so attached to the phone that I feel strange wandering around without it.

I bet you are laughing at me now. I don’t blame you. I sound pretty pathetic.

Why tell you this story? Talk to the teenagers you know. How many of them are addicted to their phones? How many of them check their social media accounts obsessively? Do they have notifications turned on or off? How many of them feel stressed out by their accounts? How many list “influencer” as a potential future job? How tied are they to their devices?

Teenage stress is well documented and there are, no doubt, a variety of reasons for it. Climate change worry, societal unrest, an uncertain future. I am willing to bet that social media plays a part, too. 

How do we help them? One great way to start is by modelling better behaviour ourselves. So, I am going to suggest we start a revolution of sorts. A small, quiet and non-violent one. Turn It Off Tuesday!

For the next few months I am going to use my phone only for absolutely necessary phone calls. No texting, no social media, no goofy pictures of my dog. From the time I wake up until the same time Wednesday. Wanna join me? What about your kids? Your class?