This is the latest in a series of blogs by partners of the Fluency work.
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By Eric Trio

Students across the United States have been living in a different world over the past five months. Many have been isolated from family, friends, extra-curricular activities and the list goes on. Their school year was abruptly interrupted and they received their remaining school year education through video meetings, packets of worksheet after worksheet and newer online software in which they had little or no prior knowledge of using. In some cases, there were students who probably received next to no education based on the lack of resources and socio-economic barriers.

Then came summer where many students get physical, mental and emotional rejuvenation through vacations, sports, family/friend gatherings, various types of camps and many other types of activities. While some of the prior list mentioned happened at a limited capacity, none of it was normal and many children did not get to experience any of it at all.

So…where do we go with our students from here? How do we go into a new school year with so much uncertainty and changes to our teaching as we have known it? As I think of all of the time students have spent at home being isolated from their teachers and peers in the classroom, what have they lost most…a voice! I am a music teacher and I can easily take the route of equating student voice to singing and being musical, but it is so much more than that!

Orff-Schulwerk (translation of the German word “schulwerk” is “school work”) is one of several approaches of teaching music to children. It was developed by the German composer Carl Orff (1895-1982) and colleague Gunild Keetman. The Orff method combines music, movement, speech, drama, and creativity into lessons that are similar to a child’s world of play. Folk songs and folk dances from around the world are also a part of the process. Musical concepts are learned through the basic mediums of singing, speaking, movement, and playing a wide variety of instruments. Through the development of musical improvisation, students begin to learn how to create their own music at a very young age. The teacher guides, the child creates and the entire time learning is taking place through a child’s natural sense of play (Keetman, 1984).

As mentioned earlier, speech is one of the foundations of the Schulwerk, so it is only natural to incorporate children’s literature into the Orff-Schulwerk classroom…or any classroom! Quality literature is child-centered and sparks interest in students of all ages (Stephansky, 2011). Geibler (2019) describes how that spark of interest can be determined through the following qualifying factors:
Is this relevant? Will students understand the context? Is it meaningful in their day to day lives? Does it help students find their place in the world? Does the text describe the universal condition in some way?
Is it relatable? Can students feel empathy for the situation? Can they envision themselves in the context?
Does the text stand behind the test of time? Has the text come from an older source? Is it likely to have meaning 50 years from now?
Is the language on a high level and full of imagery? Slang and popular idioms are fun, but not lasting. Words that need explanation, or even better, a consultation with a dictionary will help expand vocabulary. A text that sparks imagination or helps form a mental picture is one that will serve well in class.
Does the text invite further creative exploration? That information may come in the form of a movement activity, a theatrical performance, the creation of a new song or poem, or the invention of a sound carpet (student chosen sounds to help bring the story to life).
Is the text child-like…or childish? Literature presented by the teacher in class should be child-like and rich with possibility. Contrast this with student compositions that are expected to be childish, for they are, after all, children. An example of literature that fits this mold is a book called This is Our House by Hyewon Yum.
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Synopsis (macmillan Publishers, n.d.):
A tree has bloomed on a city block outside a house for many years. Inside that house, several generations of a family have grown up. Grandma and Grandpa arrived at the house from a country far away, and Mom and her brothers played on the steps on warm summer days. This little girl learned how to walk on that street, too. This is Our House is a warm story with spare text that follows a family through seasons and generations, from the early days of immigration to the times that made their house into a home.

Highlights

• Immigration: this can reach students on multiple levels: students may know family members that came from another country (grandparents, parents, themselves!). This could also connect with some students that might be in a transient family that has moved multiple times for different reasons: financial, military, broken family, etc.)
• Housing: living in a house with many people living in the home, sharing bedrooms with siblings, a house has remained in the family for many generations.
• Family pictures from the holidays
• Smells of foods from special recipes in the family

These are just a few of the elements that can make connections with our students. I also use a spoken chant as I read this story to my classes, “It’s a great big house, it’s a great big house, it’s a great…big…house!” This creates a great thread to connect the storyline throughout. You can also take this in other directions with movement…building different parts of a house: roof, walls, doors, etc. Students can use their body to make shapes around the room of the different parts of a house. This could be extended… “I wonder what you could make with a friend (socially-distanced)?” Elements such as this are endless to provide exploration for your students!

Finally, when you choose that book for your classroom, make sure YOU love it first! That same love will transcend to your students as your passion will shine through. Making positive and lasting connections with our students is a major component in their overall growth!

Eric Trio graduated in 2004 from West Virginia University with a BM in music education and in 2012 from Shepherd University with a MM in music education.  He is in his fifteenth year as a music educator where he taught prior as a high school band director, elementary band and strings teacher and is now currently teaching general music (K-4) at St. Clairsville elementary school in Ohio. He is currently working on his certification as an Orff-Schulwerk teacher specializing in movement, recorder pedagogy and the creative music-making process in children.  

Eric is a veteran of the Army and Air National guard of West Virginia where he was a member of 249th Army Band for most of his military career.  He is a member of the American Orff Schulwerk Association (AOSA) and serves as the current president of the Mountain Laurel chapter of AOSA. He is currently a member of a member Cohort 4 of The Data and Technology Fluency Project with West Liberty University and the CREATE Lab (situated in Carnegie Mellon University).

References
Geibler, C. (March 2019). Making a Case for Quality Material. Reverberations.
Keetman, G. (1984). Elementaria: First Acquaintance with Orff-Schulwerk. SCHOTT MUSIK INTL MAINZ.
macmillan Publishers. (n.d.). Macmillan Publishers. Retrieved August 12, 2020, from https://us.macmillan.com/books/9780374374877
Stephansky, J. (2011). Working Together: Children’s Literature and Elemental Music. Reverberations, 10 (4), 8.  https://member.aosa.org/storage/files/shares/oldasset/reverberations/2010-13%20PDF%20Versions/Lit%20and%20Music%20Patschwerk%20summer%2011.pdf

This is the latest in a series of blogs by partners of the Fluency work.
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By Jason Metz

In the midst of a global pandemic it is often hard to find positives.  We have restrictions on what we can do, who we can see and even what we wear.  Where are the positives?  Is there anything to be gained or learned?  

As educators, our world was flipped upside down in March.  We instantly had to adapt and overcome the obstacle in front of us in order to service our student’s academic needs.  While there was some obvious complaining, confusion and fear, whether we realize it or not, there was also rapid learning and growth on both parts, educator and student. At least at the collegiate level, how often do we as educators hear from our students that it is hard learning from so many different types of professors?  Each professor’s methods often require different learning, note taking and even test taking strategies.  We encourage our students to learn how to diversify their methods to be more competitive in the job market. 

But have we learned anything as educators?  How many of us have slipped into a comfort zone with our methods because we have been teaching the same classes for so long?  How many of us were outside of our comfort zone in March and have not been able to return to that zone?  Whether we realize it or not, we are all experiencing personal and professional growth and
evolving as an educator.  Technologies and methods we were reluctant to use, we are now forced to use and we must figure out the best implementation.  This is causing our students to evolve as a learner.

There are 2 quotes that seem to resonate at these times.  Einstein once said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result.”  In the words of Mr. Rogers, “Look for the helpers.  You will always find people who are helping.”  In the spirit of those words, let’s look at COVID-19 in positive light.  I would like to believe, if we as educators are growing, hopefully that transmits to our students.  If we as educators tried out something new to use in our position, we have not only expanded our methods, but we have also exposed our students to a new way to learn and potentially use in their future career.  A diverse learner is an enjoyable lifelong learner. 

As we head back to class, take some time to remember that the challenge that this pandemic is posing is actually causing us to evolve as educators and our students to evolve as learners.  If there is truth to Einstein’s quote, imagine how we and our students are going to improve and grow.  Considering Mr. Rogers’ quote, it is likely that our students are our helpers and we are their helpers.  Until we left campus in March, I did not realize how much of my genuine happiness and enjoyment was wrapped up in student interactions.  Based on the number of emails I received, it is apparent that students look to us as their helpers through academic, professional and personal interactions.  Let’s not forget how much we depend on each other and
help each other.

Jason Metz graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in with a doctoral major in Exercise Physiology and a doctoral minor in Sports Medicine.  Jason began a career as a teacher at Slippery Rock University in 2010.  He has been engaged in collaborations with UPMC Hillman Cancer Center, American College of Sports Medicine and the National Strength and Conditioning Association and currently is a member Cohort 3 of The Data and Technology Fluency Project with West Liberty University and the CREATE Lab (situated in Carnegie Mellon University). Jason’s special interests include a passion for ultra-endurance mountain bike riding and racing.

This is the latest in a series of blogs by partners of the Fluency work.
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By Jonna Kuskey​

This has been the summer of my antiracist enlightenment. That was not the plan. My only plan this summer was to master the technology needed to prepare for all COVID-19 scenarios: in-person, distance, and hybrid.

Then George Floyd was killed.

On May 25, I watched the video of Floyd dying under the knee of a public servant—listened to him beg for breath, call out for his mama . . . plead for breath, whisper for his mama . . . gasp for breath . . . one . . . last . . . shallow . . . breath . . . then . . . . . . . . . . . . he was gone.

Floyd’s death took up residence deep in my gut and in the muscles around my clenched teeth. I replayed the scene hundreds of times in my head, hoping the horrific image would change. It didn’t, but everything else did.
Plans changed.
Lives changed.
The world changed.
The country changed.

I changed.

I thought of the Fluency Project Values

• Compassion
• Equity,
• Authenticity
• Agency

George Floyd was afforded none of those. What about Breonna Taylor, Ahmaud Arbery, Philando Castile, Eric Garner, Michael Brown, Tamir Rice, Trayvon Martin or all those who came before?

I thought of the Fluency Project Mission

• To “gather information, reconcile it with personal experience, and influence public discourse”

Because of Floyd’s death, my more urgent “Fluency” plan was born

1. To gather information to better educate myself about racism and social injustice
2. To reconcile this new knowledge with my personal experience
3. To ensure discourse is antiracist and embedded with compassion, equity, authenticity, and agency

Gather Information
I read countless adult and young adult fiction and nonfiction books, essays, speeches, poems, and articles, old and new. I’ve been watching documentaries and TEDTalks, Emmanuel Acho’s YouTube series Uncomfortable Conversations with a Black Man, W. Kamau Bell’s United Shades of America. So far, I have attended four online antiracism and social justice presentations featuring Kendi. (Shout out to Kendi for making himself available for so many conversations and Q&A sessions!)

Reconcile it with Personal Experience
My inquiry has brought me face-to-face with some sad, sobering truths.

I am a product of a whitewashed education.

During my schooling, I didn’t learn about Emmet Till, Medgar Evers, Addie Mae Collins, Denise McNair, Carole Robertson, or Cynthia Wesley, about Black Wall Street, Native American boarding schools, the Tulsa or Conestoga Massacres. I read Hawthorne, Fitzgerald, Golding, Hemingway, Huxley, Orwell, Shakespeare but not Baldwin, Brooks, Ellison, Hurston, Momaday, Wright.

A conscious choice was made in our educational system to omit the unflattering details. Before entering the textbooks and the classrooms, our history was scrubbed clean of America’s mistakes, misdeeds, atrocities, and sins. How might today’s America be different if we had been given the whole story, the best, the worst, the in between?

Santayana said, "Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.” In light of my own education, it may be more appropriate to say, “Those who were never taught about the past are condemned to repeat it.” And that, unfortunately, leads to my second, more sobering truth.

I have been a purveyor of a whitewashed education.

This is hard to admit and even harder to make manifest, the words staring back at me, forcing me to acknowledge my complicity and ignorance. But no longer. Consider me woke, an antiracist awakening if you will.

I once was blind, but now I see. Through a new set of eyes, I now see the need to loosen my grip on the traditional literary canon, to curate more diverse texts, to bring more diverse voices into my instruction, to welcome and empower social justice inquiry.

Ensure an Antiracist Discourse
Diverse discourse cannot happen until diversity exists within the classroom. So, it shall be. Thanks to the generosity of those who funded my first Donors Choose project, more than 50 diverse young adult authors and books will greet students when they enter my room this year, all available for independent reading and as part of our new ProjectLIT book club. The books will also be used to diversify my curriculum and instruction. (Check out my second Donors Choose project that’s also related to antiracism.)

Finally, to create and maintain a safe space for antiracist conversation and curriculum in my classroom, I have begun and will continue to learn and seek guidance. My summer journey has found me exploring issues remotely with ELA teachers from the United States and across the world through the Conference on English Leadership’s “Leading for Social Justice” series and NCTE’s Summer Sandbox, a four-week workshop on culturally sustaining pedagogy and antiracist ELA education. I am also participating in the 2020 Summit on Race Matters in West Virginia, sponsored by The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation. (Visit tgkvf.org for more information on the Summit sessions that will be held monthly, August through December.) I would be remiss if I didn’t give a huge THANK YOU to the Conference on English Leadership, the National Council of Teachers of English, and The Greater Kanawha Valley Foundation for organizing these valuable seminars and providing them for free. Their work has created a ripple effect that I hope will create waves of positive change.

Best of all, I also have you, Fluency Project members who live and breathe the antiracist values of compassion, equity, authenticity, and agency. Collaborating with you has been life-affirming and sustaining. You have made me a better and braver teacher, one who had the confidence to look at herself this summer and decide she needed to be better and braver still.


Some of My Summer Reads
Elizabeth Acevedo The Poet X
Acevedo, Mahogany Browne, Olivia Gatwood Woke: A Young Poet’s Call to Justice
Michelle Alexander The New Jim Crow
Abu Bakr Al Rabeeah Homes: A Refugee Story
Ta-Nehisi Coates Between the World and Me; The Water Dancer; We Were Eight Years in Power
Frederick Douglass Narrative of the Life of Frederick Douglass
Tiffany Jewell This Book is Antiracist
Ibram X. Kendi How to Be an Antiracist, Stamped from the Beginning
Ibram X. Kendi and Jason Reynolds Stamped (YA version of Kendi’s larger work)
John Lewis Across that Bridge; March
Walter Dean Myers Monster
Trevor Noah Born a Crime
Michelle Obama Becoming
Jason Reynolds For Everyone
Colson Whitehead The Nickel Boys; The Underground Railroad
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Jonna Kuskey is a National Board Certified Teacher who teaches AP English Language and Composition, Seminar, and Research at John Marshall High School.  She is currently a member of Cohort 4 of The Data and Technology Fluency Project with West Liberty University and the CREATE Lab (situated in Carnegie Mellon University).

This is the latest in a series of blogs by partners of the Fluency work.
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By Christa Miller

The Data & Technology Fluency Project with the College of Education & Human Performance at West Liberty University and the CREATE Lab at Carnegie Mellon University recently hosted The Connected Classroom Virtual Learning Series, providing training on a wide variety of topics.  The trainings helped prepare us for the upcoming school year, whatever it may look like. In addition to the content, the trainings also helped provide a sense of calm and community.  The trainings were totally optional, but we did it for the love of learning.  The presenters volunteered their time for the love of learning.  There is a lot that can happen when there is a love of learning.

There has been so much uncertainty over the last several months.  As teachers we spend our summers looking ahead to the new school year, and as the time draws near, our anxiety and excitement begin to increase.  This year has added a whole new level of anxiety.  Of course, we have the normal worries: What will my students be like? How many students will I have? What
will my schedule be? But this year our questions are much bigger: Will we be teaching in our classrooms or virtually or some combination of the two? How do I effectively teach seven an eight-year-old students virtually?  How do I get to know my students when I do not get to meet them in person?  How can I truly connect with students I may only get to see twice a week? How can I create a community with my class if we are not all together?

The Connected Classroom Series helped to answer some of those big questions and ease some of the anxiety about the upcoming school year.  It is so inspiring and encouraging to see so many wonderful educators coming together to share their knowledge.  The Connected Classroom Series provided 27 different trainings presented by a variety of educators.  Each of the trainings was designed to help us be better, more effective educators.  The trainings provided information that would help us with teaching in person, virtually, or both.  

I participated in several of the trainings, and each time I was inspired and walked away with a new set of skills, along with some relief that everything will be okay.  The trainings helped ease some of the worries and provide a sense of calmness.  Here are just a few highlights from the trainings I participated in:

• There are a variety of awesome and effective ways to get to know my students, even if they are not physically in my classroom.  Creating and building connections and a sense of community is possible online.  Students can feel seen and heard despite where they may be.
• There are many amazing platforms to share information with students and get it from them.  Both teachers and students can create effective videos to share what they know.  You can be yourself on those videos too!  Have fun!  Teaching online does not mean you have to lose who you are in the classroom.
• Differentiating online is totally doable and possibly even easier than in person.  Individual students can be assigned different assignments.  Assignment submissions can take on many different looks – where one student may submit a written response, another may submit a video or even an audio recording.
• There are many tools to create maximum engagement.  Higher level thinking, collaboration, and communication skills can most certainly happen both inside the classroom and online.
• There are SO many resources out there for every age group.  Students can safely search the web, find information in data bases, read books, play games, and so much more.  Content rich resources are out there.  

At the end of each training, the presenters shared their contact information and offered to help in any way they could.  This is a love of teaching.  This is a love of learning.  We are here for one another no matter what may come our way.

We can do this.  We are a resilient bunch.  We will come out and be better and stronger because of it.  It is amazing to be part of such an awesome group of educators that never stops sharing information and always seeks to build one another up.  

The workshop series provided so much more than just training.  It was empowering to choose the trainings that we felt pertained to us and our situations.  It was encouraging to hear from our peers.  It was enlightening to learn about different tools and techniques to try.  It was comforting to see that there are answers to our big questions.  There are ways to connect with our students.  Relationships and a sense of community can be built, even virtually.  Virtual learning can be effective.  I feel empowered to embrace this new school year.  I am still reluctant to accept that this is how our school year will look, but I am thankful to have the tools and support of my educational community to make it effective.  

I love that this workshop series was titled The Connected Classroom Virtual Learning Series.  That is just what it was truly about – connections.  Through the trainings we learned how to be connected with our students in so many ways, but we also saw the connection of educators.  So many people out there are willing to share what they know, willing to help and support in any way they can, and that is so comforting to know.  I know this year will be a success.  As difficult as it may be, we will get through.  There is a whole tribe out there ready to help.  You get out what you put in.  What are you bringing to your students this year?

*Recordings of The Connected Classroom series can be found on WLU's Topper Station

Christa Miller graduated from West Liberty University in 2005 with a major in Elementary Education.  She later pursued her masters from West Virginia University. After spending a few years as a substitute, teaching a wide variety of subjects and grade levels, she began her full- time career as a teacher at Warwood School in 2010, teaching 1 st grade.  Christa currently teaches 2 nd grade.  Christa is National Board Certified and constantly seeks out ways to learn and grow. Christa currently is a member of Cohort 4 of The Data and Technology Fluency Project with West Liberty University and the CREATE Lab (situated in Carnegie Mellon University). Christa’s special interests include traveling, running, and spending time with her family.

This is the latest in a series of blogs by partners of the Fluency work.
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By Melanie Riddle

How many times have you been told to work smarter, not harder? What is wrong with hard work? What is hard work? As educators we praise and admire the amount of thought, time, and effort our students pour into their work. We guide and inspire them to struggle in their learning so they can feel the pride and joy of their creations and fresh knowledge.

When do teachers have time to struggle in their learning? Who guides and inspires us in our learning? I have never heard a colleague say they have extra time on their hands in our profession. There are days we can’t even spare a minute or two to just stop and be. Teachers are human doings and we need to transition back into human beings. This will benefit all stakeholders, but it will be a struggle to achieve this state of mind in our profession.

The Fluency Project gives us the time we need to struggle. We can pour thought, time, and effort into ourselves as educators while carving our professional identity. Reflecting on who we are, where we are going, and who we want to be is exhausting, but I promise you that when we leave our cohort meetings, it is an exhaustion that replenishes us with the motivation to continue the work we are doing in our schools and communities.

Identifying what our students need is a struggle. It is imperative that we humble ourselves enough to genuinely investigate what is working and not working in our classrooms. Luckily we have a strong network of teachers in the cohort to lean on because we feel safe and have time to stop and think about the changes that are happening in education at a rapid pace. We spend time slowing down so we can struggle to improve our craft.

After all of the hard work identifying the needs of our students, we leap into meeting these needs, so they are empowered to learn and create. Now, it is time to struggle with learning new technology and research-based practices to take back to our classrooms. Where do we struggle with all of this? The Fluency Project! It gives us the time, encouragement, and tools we need to take our classroom design to the next level.

What comes from all our struggles and hard work to learn, create, and design? Extraordinary classrooms where our students will thrive through hard work and triumph.

Melanie Riddle graduated from West Liberty University in 1999 with a major in elementary education.  Melanie began a career as a teacher at St. Francis Xavier school in  a fourth grade multi-subject classroom. She has recently been a part of the Western Pennsylvania Writing Project, National Board for Certified Teachers cohort, and a fellow with Empatico. Melanie currently is a member of Cohort 3 of The Data and Technology Fluency Project with West Liberty University and the CREATE Lab (situated in Carnegie Mellon University). Melanie’s special interests include spending time with family, reading anything she can get her hands on, and knitting.

This is the latest in a series of blogs by partners of the Fluency work.
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By Riley Bonar

​I could sit here and talk with you about how it’s important to communicate with your students’ families. How developing those relationships really matter, but we already know this. It isn’t new information for us. What I’m here to share with you is how the Fluency Project has helped me realize the valuable potential of building these relationships authentically. 

I’ve been using the app Remind in my classroom since I first started teaching. This past year, I decided to try something else. I wanted to facilitate the growth of relationships between myself and my families, but also for relationships between families, too. Through Facebook and email lists, I had opened new doors to becoming more than just their child’s teacher. I became friends with my families. Through the spring semester, with Covid-19 taking over any and all plans, I did have a small sense of security. I had worked so diligently on cultivating this classroom community. My families were all present online—100% of them. I even had some grandparents and step-parents involved as well. Before we had any direction from our county, I jumped out there and started going “Live” on my page. I read stories, shared mini lessons, reminded them how much I missed them, and asked them how they were doing. I never had a pause in my mind thinking “What if the parents are watching these silly videos I’m making?” It literally never crossed my mind. Even if they had been watching, which I’m sure they were, it didn’t matter. I didn’t care. These parents are now my friends, and I value the relationships we formed.
 
I look forward to hearing from them every chance I get! They share with me about losing teeth, reading a book, or where they’re going on a trip. I love their sweet messages and videos. And yes, I get these messages from parents with the occasional cameo from their child. This platform became more than just relaying information from school to home and back around again. It has become a way for us to connect. 

When people ask me, “Tell me about yourself? What do you do?” I don’t respond with just saying that I teach and whatever else. I say that “I am a teacher.” It’s usually the first statement that comes from me. Being a teacher isn’t just a part of who I am; it is my essence. It’s truly the definition of who I am. Sure, I’m other things too. A wife, a dog mom, a photographer, but the thing that matters so much is that I’m a teacher. I’m proud to be a teacher. 

Riley graduated from West Liberty University in 2014 with a major in Elementary Education and minors in Special Education and Early Education.  Riley began a career as a teacher at Warwood School in second grade and then moved on to be the Leaders of Literacy Reading Specialist. She is now going into her fourth year teaching Kindergarten at Woodsdale Elementary.
Riley has been engaged in the West Virginia Campaign for Grade Level Reading and The Fluency Project. She is currently is a member Cohort 3 of The Data and Technology Fluency Project with West Liberty University and the CREATE Lab (situated in Carnegie Mellon University). Riley’s special interests include keeping up with the latest early education trends and bloggers, portrait photography, being a pet mom to her fur babies, and thrifting.

This is the latest in a series of blogs by partners of the Fluency work.
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By Ann Railing

​When I began reflecting on my experience with “The Connected Classroom*,” I was excited for the challenge. Not only for being able to reflect on what I learned through the sessions, but also for the challenge of putting what I learned into words and how it relates to the FLUENCY project. This assignment also forced me into realizing that we will eventually be going back to school and I WILL be using the plethora of tools that I was introduced to in order to effectively run my classroom (virtually). Yikes, what a scary thought. You see, I started teaching when classroom movies were on reels and they used a projector. I took audio/visual aids as a college course and the copies were made with carbon paper and they were called dittos. I don’t think we even had computers, but it was so far back that I don’t remember. 

One of my first memories of being introduced to a computer was using a gradebook program at Cheat Lake Elementary School. We were able to input the students'; grades into a program which then averaged them and presented you with their grade. Bye, bye hard copies. I remember thinking that this was changing my world. I no longer had to calculate by hand the
multitude of grades that were recorded in my grade book for each student and average them (by hand) to calculate their grades. Fast forward a lot of years. When technology started to infiltrate the classroom I really left it up to my students to be in charge of the little bit of technology that was available. As the years went by teachers were expected to be knowledgeable and learn the different programs that were available. At some point I surrendered to the fact that technology was an important part of every aspect of life, especially the classroom. 

So here we are. The year 2020 and to top it all off in the midst of a national pandemic. Believe it or not, I have embraced technology in my classroom, not as much as some, but definitely more than others. I am willing to give anything a go and learn from it. I love getting to know my students and feel like giving them the opportunity to exercise their voices lets me get to know them on a new level. Being part of the Fluency project has encouraged me to jump into technology and student voice with more gusto, and I appreciate that. Through the Fluency project I have again realized the importance of student voice and how technology allows that voice to be heard loud and clear. 

I looked at all of the wonderful sessions being offered through “The Connected Classroom” and thought to myself, “How am I going to be able to choose a reasonable number of these?” I knew that I could benefit from them all. I realized that each session had something to offer that would either inform me or sharpen skills to make me a better virtual teacher. Since I am the teacher coordinator for the “Steenrod Broadcasting Team” I signed up for the “Green Screen” session. It was beautifully presented and gave me so many new ideas and tips to extend to the members of the team, and as the teacher sponsor I will be able to impart my wisdom to the students (for a change). I’ve been working on my classroom Bitmoji for weeks now and am so excited for my students to create their own bitmojis to share. What a wonderful way to emphasize Equity in the classroom and for the students to interact. I am now able to “Screencastify” with (some) confidence which will enable me to virtually teach my math lessons with (some) ease. Who knew all of the incredible possibilities that our own online grading program, Schoology, has to offer? I feel that if the only program I had to work with was Schoology, I would be set for the year. Schoology has so much to offer and I was incredibly happy to be introduced to its possibilities. 

To sum it all up “The Connected Classroom” gave me the opportunity to hone my skills as a virtual teacher. If I’m being honest, gain the skills. It also supported the fact that “FLUENCY” has been emphasizing for the past three or four years that I have been involved. Technology is the future. It is here to stay. Technology is an amazing tool to use to give our students a voice. I am especially pleased that I was offered the chance to sign up for as many or as few of the sessions offered through “The Connected Classroom” platform. “Let the games begin!”

*Recordings of The Connected Classroom series can be found on WLU's Topper Station

Ann Railing graduated from West Liberty College in 1980 with an Elementary Education 1-6 degree and from WVU in 1987 with a Masters, in Counseling.  Began my teaching career in 1983 in Morgantown, WV.   Taught a multitude of grade levels.  My current teaching position is with Ohio County Schools teaching 5 th grade.  I consider myself a “jack of all trades and a master of none,” although that may be a little too rough.  I am currently involved with the Wellness Group, Green Team, and Steenrod Broadcasting Team.  You could say that my interests lie with wellness and the environment.  I am currently a member of Cohort 3 of the Data and Technology Fluency Project with West Liberty University and the CREATE Lab (situated in Carnegie Mellon University.)

This is the latest in a series of blogs by partners of the Fluency work.
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By Jessica Kaminsky

Many of you have probably already seen the blog post I co-wrote with Autumn Troullos in June, where we took inspiration from Arundhati Roy’s "The Pandemic is a Portal" to rethink the current COVID-19 pandemic as a portal to a new way of teaching and learning.  
Following the original blog post, we put out a call for fellow dreamers to come imagine #TheNewHomeroom with Autumn and me. A group of fifteen dreamers spent several weeks gathering to discuss and create their own #TheNewHomeroom. This new list below is the collaborative vision of this team. Some from this group have already begun to share this process - letting go what has never served us, saying out loud our beliefs, committing to them through actions - with other colleagues in education. 
In reflecting back on this journey with #TheNewHomeroom so far, I have two lessons I’ve already learned: 

1. In re-reading the first iteration of my list, my own privilege and blindspots are revealed to me. I did not have an intentional racial justice, or intersectional, lens. In my own studies this summer of abolitionist teaching, I would now add to my list of beliefs that “there are no such thing as throwaway children” (thank you, Carla Shalaby), “schools can be leaders in building transformative justice” (thank you, Allied Media Conference), and “the cultures and lives of our students are not just to be tolerated, but celebrated” (thank you, Dr. Bettina Love). 
2. This process brings me hope and community. Talking through my dreams for education, and hearing the visions of others, brought me so much energy! As we head into a school year with filled with uncertainty, I feel confident that we have the potential to come out of this better than how we went in. 

Below is the new list of beliefs and actions, created by the team of dreamers. Thank you Tamara Pearson, Rachel Miller, Natalie Bigelow, Laurie Ruberg, Rachelle Poth, Lori Dougherty, Michelle Dietrich, Lindsey Lamm, Jen Wooding, Jordan Bishop, Gail Adams, Bennet McKinley, MaryLu Hutchins, and Bea Dias.

This is the latest in a series of blogs by partners of the Fluency work.
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By Jason Hanson 
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When I began my first year of teaching in August of 2001, little did I know that in less than two weeks the U.S. would be rocked by the terrorist attacks of September 11th . When that tragedy occurred, I was bombarded by faculty and students as to why this happened and how should we respond?  Apparently, the Social Studies teacher could shed light on the topic.  Well today, much like back then, I do not have the answers, nor should I.  As our nation navigates the waters of a pandemic and civil unrest, I have turned to the values of the Fluency Project for guidance.

The Fluency Project has consistently reminded me that student voices need to be heard, equity must be attained, and relationships need to be created. Modern technology could be the medium in which to achieve these goals.  Yet, when I turn on the television or scour the internet all I see and hear are politicians and talking heads from both sides of the extremes pontificate as to what should be done or could have been done to prevent the spread of Covid-19 or much of the civil unrest our country is experiencing. What we are left with are divergent opinions, hurt feelings and no solutions.  We can do better with technology.

What is being left out of this “discussion” if you want to call it that, are the voices of the youth that are so confused as to what is going on and what this means for their generation.  The only voices of the youth that I hear are slickly produced commercials that seem to make the issues of our day appear cut and dry.  These are not organic voices, but attempts by corporations, the media, and politicians to drive a narrative.  Technology is being abused.

As a Social Studies teacher, I have prided myself on my ability to avoid telling my students what to think. Instead, I have tried to help my students learn how to think. This has caused a lot of frustration on the part of my students.  They are so used to
being technologically indoctrinated from both sides of the political spectrum, that they simply want to be told what to think.  This is where I think that THE Social Studies in conjunction with the Fluency Project’s values can be of benefit to our society.  While I totally support the emphasis of STEM subjects, I think we have done so at the detriment of Social Studies.  There is room for all.  We have removed the humanity from education and are now paying the price for it. 

Our politicians have sent the subliminal message that Social Studies is not as important as the other subjects.  The proof is the way the state assesses student knowledge through standardized testing.  For example, one year we tested social studies in junior high only to exclude it the next year due to budget constraints.  In other words, Social Studies is important only if we have money to test it.  I have always felt protective of my subject matter and I feel that it gets discredited as a “soft science”.  However, when our nation gets entangled in geo-political turmoil or civil unrest, it does not seem so soft anymore.  These are hard-hitting issues.

The Fluency Project’s goals of creating equity is the only way we are ever going to truly discuss what prevents our nation from ever becoming a “more perfect union”.  Honest, transparent dialogue is paramount.  This cannot happen if we continue to label each other for our points of view.  Giving our students’ agency requires them the freedom to share.  That means setting aside our personal beliefs.  Technology is providing us the medium to do this.  The Fluency meetings have exposed me to countless programs, books, devices, and websites that provide students with a platform for them to share.  However, these technologies are futile if we do not equip students with the ability to empathize and to choose what they are passionate about.  

The real relationships that students could create are superficial unless we allow it to happen organically.  Political groups or agenda-driven special interests are not going to make this happen.  If anything, they are going to slow the process down.  We as educators (especially in the Social Studies) must resist telling our students what to think, but how to think.  That is not equity nor is it choice.  Furthermore, students must be trained in how to use technology as a bridge to help people of diverse thought meet in the gray areas of humanity.  It appears that technology is being used as a weapon to further divide us into various ideological camps.  That is wrong.  I see the Social Studies as a ship that can help keep students afloat as they try to determine where to steer.  The goal is not to steer them, they must do that on their own. The Fluency Project provides the value system to empower students to begin steering.

Social Studies has been relegated to a quaint life raft that can be thrown out when it is politically or socially expedient.  The Fluency Project has taught me that Social Studies education is more important than ever and that the values of student voice, empathy, relationships, and transparency work in harmony with the goals of Social Studies education.  Proper use of technology are the ideal means to do this.

I will never truly be able to fully answer why 9/11 happened? or what could have been done to mitigate the initial spread of Covid-19?  I cannot answer how history should be viewed? or what prescription our country needs to mend itself?  However, what I can do is use Social Studies education and the values of the Fluency Project to give students the opportunity to explore these issues on their own, honestly, and transparently.  Hopefully, technology can be just the medium to do it.

Jason Hanson graduated from The Ohio State University in 2000 with a major in Psychology and a minor in Geography. He earned his Master’s in Social Studies Education from Ohio State in 2001. Jason began a career as a high school Social Studies teacher at Bishop Donahue High School in McMechen, WV. He will begin his 20th year of teaching where 16 has been spent at Bridgeport High School in Bridgeport, OH.

Jason has coached numerous sports including baseball, football, and girls’ basketball.

Jason currently is a member of Cohort 3 of The Data and Technology Fluency Project with West Liberty University and the CREATE Lab (situated in Carnegie Mellon University). Jason’s special interests include drawing and reading.

This is the latest in a series of blogs by partners of the Fluency work.
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By Katie O'Brien 

Have you ever graded an assignment using a rubric, and when you calculated a student’s score, a just “meh” assignment earned a higher grade than you felt it deserved? Then, a few students later, you assessed another project which blew you away, but it didn’t earn an A on your rubric?  I hate when that happens! 

In preparation for next year, I recently read Fearless Writing by Tom Romano.  For those not familiar with Romano’s work, see my note at the end of this post.  In Fearless Writing, Romano delves deeper into how his teaching and assessment of multigenre papers have changed over the years.  In "Section V: Evaluation and Learning," Romano discusses his struggles with rubric grading and offers advice on how to craft a rubric which honors the teacher’s gut sense as well as a more detailed evaluation of Common Core standards. 

I teach 9th grade English in Ohio, and up until the 2019-2020 school year, my class was a tested subject.  Students were required to write an expository and argument essay on The Test.  A few years ago, I began teaching and assessing student papers using the state’s ELA writing rubrics as a way of holding myself accountable to teaching the required writing standards while helping students understand how they will be assessed on The Test.
  
On the one hand, assessing writing using the state’s rubric is much faster and less intimidating than the way I used to assess—spending a half hour or more writing comments in the margins of each paper.  With a rubric, I can expediently highlight bullet points which most accurately describe a student’s writing and then circle the box with the most highlighting in each category.  It’s not as targeted, but the time it saves allows me to assess drafts, provide one-on-one revision conferences, and then reassess the final paper.
  
The problem, however, lies in the ten-point format of Ohio’s writing rubrics.  Students receive 0-4 points for Purpose, Focus and Organization and 0-4 more points for Evidence and Elaboration.  The final two points come from Conventions of Standard English.  On first drafts, I record the 10-point score and follow up with conferences so students know what to revise.  

For the final draft, I multiply the 10-point rubric score to get a larger number such as multiplying by 10 to get a 100-point grade. Few students receive a 100/100, and when they do, the papers aren’t actually perfect.  However, students who achieve most of the characteristics of the higher category end up with a perfect score that suggests the paper was error free when it wasn’t.  

As I read Romano’s evaluation chapters, I couldn’t help thinking about how the state writing rubrics inherently highlights deficiency over mastery.  My district uses a 10-point grading scale, so it’s impossible to earn an A on the state writing rubric when I enter it in my gradebook.  Students either earn a rare A+ or an A-.  The only other possibilities are B-, C-, D-, or F.  Psychologically, the minus on the end of a grade means you almost got the lower grade.  That B- is practically a C.  The minus gives the negative impression to students and parents that the student’s course average is falling even if it isn’t.

Sometimes I “cheat” the rubric by adding 0.5 when a student seems to be between two categories.  Moving forward, I plan to revise the point ranges on rubrics so most students will earn solid A, B, C, and D grades, and if there are so many points the rubric needs to go into plus/minus territory, point ratios could be created to result in plus- scores over minus-scores.  It’s time to view the gradebook as half full rather than half empty.
  
Although more motivating emotionally, rubrics which result in straight A, B, C, D grades still do not solve the problem of assessing technically correct papers which don’t engage the reader.  Romano’s solution to my quandary is “to arrive at a holistic grade” (153) as well as to grade “specific parts of the paper” (154).   Half of his rubric points come from a holistic, “gut sense” score.  The other half of the points come from a series of 10-point required elements broken into score ranges which align with letter grades (plus to minus). Those score ranges give the teacher a lot more wiggle room during assessment and prevent a gradebook full of minus-grades.  Consider the difference:

Ohio ELA Writing Rubric for Conventions of Standard English
2 - Demonstrates an adequate command of basic conventions
1 - Demonstrates a partial command of basic conventions
0 - Demonstrates a lack of command of conventions

Romano’s Rubric (Copyediting) from Fearless Writing, p. 156
     _____ Copyediting
10 - Perfect.  Rules broken are purposeful
9.7 - Contains few errors in grammar, punctuation, spelling
8.4-9.2 - Contains more than a few errors but meaning not seriously affected
7.2-8.3 -  Contains enough errors to the point of distraction.  Writer, perhaps, has not proofread well or does not have knowledge of grammar, usage, and spelling                                                            
0-6.5 - Frequent, repetitive errors, a copyediting disaster

I love Romano’s solution.  When you teach and assess using a standards-based curriculum, students can be misled to believe “good” writing is “correct” writing.  An introduction which contains an attention getter, thesis, and preview of main ideas
without any punctuation or spelling errors is A+, right?  But what if that introduction is confusing, boring, or repetitive?  Romano’s rubric philosophy allows us assess the standards but also rewards risk taking and inventiveness where writing is elevated beyond mere correctness to craft. 

More on Tom Romano:
Tom Romano is most known for multigenre papers as an alternative to formulaic, five-paragraph essays.  In a nutshell, a multigenre paper is a creative paper composed of multiple genres on a common theme.  Instead of a five-page expository paper about a novel, a student writing multigenre might instead create a diary entry from the protagonist’s perspective, a two-voice poem, a dream sequence, a word cloud of emotions, and a Dear Abby letter asking for advice about the novel’s conflict.  Romano describes multigenre papers this way in his first book on multigenre, Blending Genre, Altering Style:
A multigenre paper arises from research, experience, and imagination. It is not an uninterrupted, expository monolog nor a seamless narrative nor a collection of poems. A multigenre paper is composed of many genres and subgenres, each piece self-contained, making a point of its own, yet connected by theme or topic and sometimes by language, images and content. In addition to many genres, a multigenre paper may also contain many voices, not just the author's. The trick is to make such a paper hang together. (x-xi)

Multigenre papers are challenging and engaging to write, and when well executed, a delight to read.  You can learn more about multigenre by visiting Romano’s webpage or reading his most useful book on the subject, Blending Genre, Altering Style.  Another excellent introduction to teaching multigenre writing is  A Teacher’s Guide to the Multigenre Research Project by Melinda Putz. 

Katie O’Brien earned her PhD in Curriculum and Instruction at Kent State University.  Prior to that, Katie earned BS and MEd degrees in Education from Miami University and began her early teaching career at River High School in Hannibal, OH.   She has worked as a teacher and tutor at numerous colleges.  Since 2015, she  has taught 9 th grade English and College Credit Plus courses at Union Local High in Belmont, OH. Katie currently is a member of Cohort 4 of The Data and Technology Fluency Project with West Liberty University and the CREATE Lab (situated in Carnegie Mellon University). Her special interests include writing, playing piano, guitar, and violin, tidying up like Marie Kondo, and helping students bridge the divides between middle and high school and high school and college.