My namesakes

Just in case there is any confusion...

I am NOT this Edward Warkentin, the Canadian Lawyer. I was certainly not born on November 1, 1949 in Niagara Falls, Ontario. He might or might not be the same as this Edward Warkentin.
I'm much younger than that. It sure feels good to talk about how young I am, since I've been having to talk about how old I am, with regard to vision, hearing, running endurance, and such. However, being younger than a 70-year-old isn't saying a lot, I suppose.

I'm also much younger than this Edward Warkentin, who is, in fact, dead!

I am also NOT this Edward  L  Warkentin, who lives in Winnepeg, Manitoba. My phone number is not 204-669-4041.

This Edward Warkentin and this Edward Warkentin can't be found, and I'm not him, either.

Sadly, I make far less than this Edward Warkentin, who may or may not be the same as this Edward Warkentin.

I AM one of these Edward Warkentins on Linked In, though. This one, in fact.

I AM one of these Edward Warkentins on peoplefinders, as well. But no one calls me "Eba"!

If this post seems a little weird...or a lot weird...contact me directly, and I'd be glad to tell you why. It's kind of interesting.

FYI: The URL for this blog (edwardwarkentin.com) used to be https://ededtech.blogspot.com/

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/senorw and
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/warkentin.ed

Adult School is cool!

Well, this blog has been dormant for quite a while. God has been doing some very important work in my life. It's time to re-enter the blogosphere, and reflect on life, share my insights and wisdom a bit more publicly.

Here's the nugget of the day:

Student type #1: Students that are forced to be there and don't want to be.
Many K-12 students.

Student type #2: Students that are forced to be there, but enjoy it, want to be there, and take it seriously.
In K-12, these are rare, but not "extinct".

Student type #3: Students that want to be there (learn).

These are the ones that all teachers love to have.

Teaching Adult School is almost exclusively #3.

I spent 24 years teaching K-12. Now, I teach in Alternative Education in Dinuba Unified School District. This means I work at Sierra Vista Continuation High School, Ronald Reagan Independent Study, and Dinuba Adult School. (I like to say that I get to do my favorite things at each of the three schools. More on that in another post.)

The Adult School part of my job is distinct and fulfilling because they always want to be there. The students have personal goals and are ready to maturely pursue them. This makes teaching them a joy.

I'm content where God has placed me. I'm taking opportunities like this to do what my Grandma's favorite verses, Philippians 4:8, and 1 Thessalonians 5:18, advises us - think about good things...things to be thankful for.

FYI: The URL for this blog (edwardwarkentin.com) used to be https://ededtech.blogspot.com/

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/senorw and
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/warkentin.ed

iPad & iPhone Guided Access

Many parents and teachers know the frustration and challenge of getting a student to

1. Stay on the app they've been given permission to use, or

2. Stop using the iPad after the agreed-upon time.

I know this scenario well. At my house, it is difficult to get my boys to stop playing Minecraft, or some other game, and give the iPad back when our kitchen timer goes off.

There is a solution! And it's part of the iPad's operating system already ... no new app to buy!

It's called "Guided Access".

https://support.apple.com/en-us/HT202612

There are many customization options, but here's the way I use it:

1. Go to the app I want to allow my son to use.

2. Triple-click the home button.

3. Hand it over, knowing that it is impossible to use any other app without my passcode.

4. When the amount of time I have chosen expires, my passcode is necessary to do anything.

To use this the first time, I had to go to

1. Settings, then 
2. General, then 
3. Accessibility, then 
4. Guided Access

Sometimes, it doesn't matter to us whether there's a time limit. Just knowing that they aren't getting into anything they haven't been given permission to use is very helpful.

Most of the time, though, a time limit is the main issue.

I hope this is helpful to you 

FYI: The URL for this blog (edwardwarkentin.com) used to be https://ededtech.blogspot.com/

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/senorw and
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/warkentin.ed

Amazing Interviews!

I teach a course through Fresno Pacific University called "ET 735 - Creating on the Web".
In it, I challenge students to create a blog, become active on Twitter, and really invest in creating their Personal/Professional Learning Network (aka PLN). One big assignment is contacting an educator that is much further along that path than they are - a "connected educator".

I really pushed the students to think BIG as far as who they interview. They delivered!

Here are the interviews - these links are to YouTube. They are all embedded on their blogs, also.

Jimmy Casas (author of our textbook!)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6am9TH8MDP4

Will Kimbley

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zC06flXW0ww

Home & Hospital Instruction leaders @ LAUSD

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kxrk_gdMIec

Catlin Tucker

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GnjQWJdV1J0

John Eick

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w0tnYWKmUMk

Susan Stewart

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cPeZDh3cZiY

Ann Kozma

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=li1k-LZf8f8

Vicki Davis

http://meaningfuledtech.blogspot.com/2016/07/interview-with-vicki-davis.html

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sjsy6NMuwmc

Jon Corippo

https://maxwellsmart.co/2016/07/22/an-interview-with-jon-corippo/

Add Gadgets to Blogger

You are at the beginning stages of creating a blog using Blogger.
You know how to write a blog post.

Now it's time to add other content along the sides of your blog. These are called gadgets.

1. Go to Layout.

2. Choose a size for your Sidebar gadget.

They can be different sizes. You may want to choose one that fills the entire margin, or just half of the margin. I have already added some gadgets, which you can see on this blog.











3. Add a Sidebar gadget.

Here are some suggestions for gadgets you might want to add:

•HTML/Javascript - This is great for embedding your Twitter tweets, or any other HTML embed code you might want to put on your blog.

•Profile - Great for letting people know who you are (and show them why you should keep reading your blog).

•Labels - Give them easy access to the labels that you categorize your blog posts with.

•Link List or Blog List - Here is where you show your blog readers what blogs you read. What influences and inspires you? Where can they go for more great content?

•Translate - If your audience is multi-lingual, this one would be great for you.

When you have posted a lot of content, these two would be important to have:
•Search Box - They should be able to search your blog

•Popular Posts - Promote your most popular blog posts


4. Re-arrange your gadgets.

Click and hold on the vertical dots, and drag your gadgets around.










5. Lather-Rinse-Repeat (Revise)
Maybe now you realize that you chose the wrong size for the gadget that you chose. Go back and re-add the gadget with the size you prefer.

Peer Commenters

I had an epiphany today.

I’ve been commenting like the wind lately, giving feedback on my students’ writing. I’ve been saying academic, but somewhat cryptic things like “cap…”, which means they have a capitalization error. Or “verb tense”, or “proper noun”, etc.

They are finally mature and independent enough that we can do more independent writing time, with more and more feedback given.

Also, several of my students are ready to be peer commenters. They are proficient enough that I would trust their comments (at least enough to risk it at this point).

Today, we came up with a list of comments that I’ve been giving them, others that I could give them, and what they mean. We were also intending for the Peer Commenters to use these same comments.

I knew we had to be structured like this because I wanted to avoid meaningless wastes to time like “this is cool” or “good job” or especially “this duznt mak sens” or even more disrespectful things.

I want the comments to be worth our time, helpful to the original author, and a good example of digital citizenship.

I have extremely high hopes for this structure, and how it will help my students’ writing. I just wish I had been able to start this months ago!

I’m sure these documents will be dynamic, as this becomes more and more a part of how we function as a class…

Here is my list of Peer Commenters:

https://docs.google.com/a/dinuba.k12.ca.us/document/d/1r9r-rBmv_OuoEUf1MV1ecC2yQxeZlzu6nfaRQFxTRrs/pub

Here is my Comments Key:

https://docs.google.com/a/dinuba.k12.ca.us/document/d/1A5gNKKRd071rRsyOQqE-OWLwJjAm_PYob6FuZhUpyAA/pub

FYI: The URL for this blog (edwardwarkentin.com) used to be https://ededtech.blogspot.com/

Follow me on Twitter: https://twitter.com/senorw and

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/warkentin.ed

Don't Block - Educate!

A student of mine is a teacher in a district that is SO restrictive regarding the online content that is blocked, that she described it this way: 

"Our school denies students (and TEACHERS) from Blogger, YouTube, Google Hangouts, limited Calendar abilities, and even a large portion of images are blocked."

This both broke my heart for her and her students, and angered me. This degree of restriction is both sad, and borderline educational malpractice.

Here is my position, and rationale for a different policy. 

If schools block YouTube, and most images when students are on school property, then they will have absolutely zero practice in how to handle staying on task in the midst of distracting, and even inappropriate, content online.
If we give them no guidance at all in how to navigate the reality they will live in, then they will be unequipped to function in the world once they leave us.

Online content and tools like YouTube, blogs, Google Hangouts, and images exist in the world outside of school.
Yes, there is a lot of garbage available online - from the harmless-but-distracting to the severely troubling. It should concern any adults that are in charge of 

They aren't going away any time soon. The online reality will only get more complex, not simpler.
The need for students to be educated in how to interact appropriately in that environment is not going to fade away - it's only going to increase.

These are simply statements of fact, whether we like it or not. We cannot change these realities.

It would be far better to train them to find appropriate videos and images for educational purposes, to hold them accountable for appropriate online behavior while they are under our authority and supervision. Then, they will be truly ready to function as an educated person in the world that exists outside of school.

On the other hand, I would advocate for a perhaps gradual lifting of restrictions as students progress up the grade levels. For example, my 4th graders don't have access to email, but high school students do. Also, I would suggest that an intermediate stage of change for a school district like this would be to allow teachers access to all of these tools (assuming that they are professional, trustworthy adults, that are perfectly capable of staying on task and appropriate in using the tools unfiltered). There should be no anxiety about teachers demonstrating the use of the tools. If district leadership can't handle going from almost total blocking to nearly zero blocking, they at least take this baby step toward more sane and responsible policies in this area.

Also, I'm not advocating having no blocking of images or websites at all. Some blocking/filtering software is appropriate.

Summary: Don't just block, and pretend that we have solved the problem, and wash our hands of the thorny issue of inappropriate online content.

This rant is officially over. For now.