Singing Hearts
September 24, 2009 by Intrepidteacher
I was going to beginning by saying that I have another Twitter Tale for my readers, but really when I look at how the following events played out, I realized that Twitter was but only one of the tools that allowed for a group of eighth graders in Missouri to connect with my three year old daughter in Qatar.
Like many stories of connections made across time zones, cultures, and age groups this one involved some risk taking, some curiosity, some opened minds, and I hope some learning. Let me lay out what happened:
A few days ago I started reading The Last Child in the Woods. It sparked in me a sense of panic and guilt about the amount of time my daughter spends outdoors connecting to nature, getting fresh air, and exploring. I decided I wanted us to begin exploring our surroundings together. Even if our immediate surroundings was an empty dry desert field covered in garbage and construction refuse.
We went outside with our cameras in hand to see what we could discover. I wish I had a field recorder, so I could have recorded her excitement and enthusiasm. We spoke of the wind, the setting sun, and how plants can grow with little water. We spoke about the power of art to make the ugly appear beautiful. We asked questions of each other. We guessed at answers. The two of us were a mobile outdoor classroom. Father and daughter in an empty field in the desert.
When we came home I asked her if she wanted to see her pictures on the big screen of the computer and talk about what she had seen. The result was a very simple photo essay. Being the proud dad that I am, I decided to share the experience with my Twitter network. I thought that was the end of it, until last night when I noticed several comments come pouring in. After a quick request as to who was responsible I found out that @wmchamberlain had shared Kaia’s blog post with his class. I suggest you go and read some of the 43 comments.
I immediately got in touch with him through Twitter, and he told me that a few of his students were curious if we had electricity in Doha. I told him, if he was interested, I could Skype into his classroom and answer some quick questions. So there we were, a small classroom in rural Missouri and me in my kitchen talking about our surroundings. We were following our curiosity. We were discovering new things. We were learning, beyond classroom walls, because we had all decided to take risks and be open with our lives. I told wmchamberlain’s students that since Kaia is only three she may have a hard time reading their comments and really grasp what is going on. I suggested they create some video comments. Which they did:
The next day Kaia and I sat in our kitchen and watched their video. She is still too young to really grasp the connections that she is making, but in a few years these connections and this type of interaction will be ubiquitous in her life. I hope that her teachers are ready to help her continue on this journey.
Later I found another comment from a teacher in New Zealand and a Tweet from another teacher in Alaska who was impressed by the work she had observed unfold on Twitter. This story would be pretty cool if it ended here, but I hope that other teachers and other classroom will share this story with their classrooms and parents communities. I hope that this story could not only be a springboard for starting discussion about open pedagogy, taking risks, and connected classrooms, but I also hope that it will open people’s eyes to the themes presented in The Last Child in the Woods. I would love to see people share their stories about how they are taking their kids outdoors. I hope that classrooms will begin to share how they are reconnecting with nature. The irony being that they are using technology to weave their stories together.
In closing and on a different note, this experience was also eye opening for me as a parent, because having Kaia exposed like this made me hyper aware of how vulnerable I am making her. I am sure many of you read Alec Curosa’s post a few month back about his Flickr stalker. I started to think about how much trust we ask that parents put in us as teachers. Kaia’s blog started as a way to share photos with family, it has quickly become a way that we are documenting her life. And now, it is becoming a way that she is connecting with people throughout the world. This is scary. Part of me wants to pull back and keep her our little secret. But if we want our students to feel comfortable and be cautious online, we must be able to do the same with our own children.
As teachers and technology evangelist it is easy to ask parents to allow us to expose their children to a variety of experiences online, but as a parent it can all seem so scary. I agree with many people that if we choose to live open lives online, we must trust that the positive experience will outweigh they dangerous ones, but there is nothing like seeing pictures of your daughter on a youtube video created by someone else to spark up the paranoia. Where can this go? Will I always be able to control it? Should I be able to? These are all important questions to ask as we push the boundaries of our lives and our learning online.
What do you think? What is the value in this experience? Is the risk of exposing ourselves and our children online worth the connections that will be made and the lessons that will be learned?
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[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Jabiz Raisdana and Jabiz Raisdana. Jabiz Raisdana said: @kstewart01 @wmchamberlain Check it out: http://bit.ly/1NxSn [...]
So cool. Thanks for sharing.
Like you say – so very hard. But I want my kids to learn and experience the incredible feeling of these connections. I’m trusting there are more people like you out there – I’m trusting together we can make it safe.
I don’t want them to miss out because they are hiding. Or be at risk in the future, because I didn’t teach them in a safe environment – before it was too late.
I love that you are being real with what you teach. You’re living it.
Thank you for that model.
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Honestly, I never thought about privacy concerns while going through this whole process. I am known as someone that advocated transparency in classroom (obviously since I stream live video from my classroom) and have had several conversations about opening up learning.
While I am very protective of my daughters (four of them) here, I never worry about their online activities. I know and they know that any problems online can be easily delt with by turning off the computer or even using blocking which is becoming ubiquitous in online social networks.
I don’t want this to sound like I think your feelings are wrong, I just don’t have them. I did read Alec’s post as well as a few by Wesley Fryer that made me stop and think. I teach my students and children they need to be careful about their online presence, I just find the world outside the door a much scarier place than the online world.
On a less serious note, we really enjoyed how yesterday unfolded. I had a conversation this morning with a student where we talked about what he was doing today. He said he was doing the “same old boring stuff like yesterday”. He stopped and said, “Except for in your class, that was really cool!”
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Obviously, there’s the issue of putting your little girl ‘out there’. It makes you feel vulnerable and you wonder if you’re doing the right thing. But you’ll be watching carefully, and you’ll be educating her along the way. Just as you would do in life.
I was thinking about what we put ‘out there’ in our blogs about ourselves. Why do we do it, is it inappropriate? shameless? egotistical? Is personal privacy going out the window? Or is it a new way of communicating with people? I love being able to read other people in a way that previously only happened in autobiographies. Today I read a blog by someone I didn’t know and hadn’t heard of but he was talking about how one of his twin babies died and how the other one was battling to survive in hospital. It made me cry. Why was I affected? Why did I care? Because we’re all human, and our experiences put us in tune with others. That’s how empathy is possible.
I feel more connected with people and their blogs, flickr photos. Surely that could lead to greater understanding and tolerance. I’m Russian Orthodox and the blogger with the babies is Jewish. Surely we experience pain and love for our children in the same way. I would rather read that account straight from the blogger than via newspaper article or edited book. People are letting us into their lives. Is there anything wrong with that?
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This is what learning should be about. I was speaking with a friend of mine trying to stimulate staff development in New York Schools. They are trying to do it in a closed system – only in NYC. My response was you will not get the yeast to activate a closed system. They must engage the world. It is so important to energize learning through the techniques you, Mr. Chamberlain and others are using. I am not concerned about the issues of letting people into our lives. I think it is absolutely essential if we are to move forward with true learning, for all of us.
Keep up the good work!
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[...] Jabiz Raisdana, AKA @intrepidteacher, shared an interesting post a few days ago, which he entitled Singing Hearts, in which he wrote about how a group of eighth graders in Missouri connected with his 3 year old [...]
My name is Ashley.Im from Dr.Strange’s class. I think what you do for your daughter is amazing.I think more kids are age should get the experience she’s getting to show them that it is a great way of getting to know their surroundings.Your daughter is a beautiful girl and a blessing to those who have yet to experience what she’s able to do. Good Luck with everything.I wish yall the best.
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I think it is a good idea to expose young kids to networking. You can teach them the do’s and do not’s of internet safety at an early age. Also, they will be exposed to things and ideas that may be useful in their future as students.
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I’ve got a 4 year old son who has just recently started Skyping his grandparents several states away. Kaia’s setting the bar for other children her age. I’m looking forward to similar experiences with both of my children.
Cade Somers
Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 TT 2 Class at the University of South Alabama
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I have created a short video for Kaia. It is posted on my site. I am from Dr. Strange’s EDM310 at the University of South Alabama. I hope yall enjoy it!
Thanks for posting,
Dillon Rogers
http://rogersdedm310fall2009.blogspot.com/
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I believe that just as our daily lives involves negatives and danger, so does the digital world, and both continue to expand beyond our imagination. I’m happy to see you’re documentation of Kaia’s life and am inspired by your post.
-May Laughton
Dr. Strange’s EMD 310 Class and
Fellow Pearl Jam fanatic
[Reply]
[...] that chart a series of connecting events and people. On September 24, I wrote a blog post called Singing Hearts, in which I highlighted a photo essay created by my three-year-old daughter Kaia and the reaction [...]
I think its a remarkable story. Just by showing her and exposing her to what is out in the digital world is a skill she will have for a life time. I as you said, I hope teachers and upcoming teachers are ready to handle and guide students like Kaia.
Alexandria H.
Dr. Strange’s EDM 310 class
University of South Alabama
Mobile, AL
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[...] the post here and more about it here. addthis_url = [...]