The Big Fresh from Choice Literacy
January 10, 2009
Feature Bloat
Yesterday my friend Jen and I were chatting, and we discovered
coincidentally that we'd upgraded to the same new cellphone over
the holidays. Jen loves the phone; I don't. I won't give you the
brand name, but here's a hint - if you want to build up the muscles
in your thumbs, this is the phone for you!
To understand our reactions, you need a little context. Jen
received her phone as a gift, and it was a present she really
wanted. What she prizes about the phone is the feature that allows
her to check and delete emails on quick breaks throughout the day.
"It makes me feel so much less overwhelmed when I open my email at
the end of the day and there is so little there," she told me.
On the other hand, I had to get a new phone because my ancient
cellphone looked like it had been thrown into a grinder and then
left out in the rain after years of abuse. The thing was nearly
obsolete, but then again, I'm the kind of person who would be
happily pecking away on my Apple 2e if the world hadn't made me
upgrade my computer a dozen times since 1982. I like the ease and
convenience that technology can bring, but I also always feel like
I'm stumbling my way through life trying to understand the latest
new gadgets.
Jen and I both agreed a problem with the new phone is "feature
bloat" - there are 34 icons on the tiny screen. The first one is
for a social network neither Jen nor I (nor most business
professionals over 40 who are the prime audience for the phone)
ever use. The 4th icon is for messages, and somewhere beyond that is
the link to stored phone numbers. Messages and phone numbers -
those two features are the ones I use 99% of the time, and it's
irritating to have to squint at 32 icons I don't need to find them.
As Jen and I were chatting, I thought about how easy it is to fall
prey to feature bloat when you're designing professional
development offerings across the year in a school or district. In
our quest to provide a range of options, tailored to different
needs, schedules, and interests, we may be fostering some
"opportunity bloat" among our colleagues.
When we offer a new study group or workshop, there will be people
on staff who are sincerely grateful because it's exactly the option
they need at that moment in their lives and teaching. But some of
the Apple 2e lovers among us will only see it as yet another of the
48 (or 148!) opportunities they barely have time to notice on the
calendar, let alone participate in this year. These are the folks
who pine for the days when you could show up for the monthly staff
meeting, knitting in hand, and know you'd fulfilled your pd duty.
How can you avoid feature bloat when it comes to the professional
development offerings you're providing? You may know the community
literacy breakfast next month is the most important literacy event
of the year, if only because half the school board, the mayor, and
many parents who never come to anything else will be there.
But does everyone else know why it matters more than the study
group, book room reorganization meeting, or team meeting on the
calendar for the same day or week?
It's never easy to streamline and prioritize offerings when
audiences and needs vary so much among educators, but you might
begin by asking yourself these questions:
How have I helped colleagues decide which offerings are most
important for them? How do I help them balance these priorities
with those of the whole school or district?
What is our process for pruning professional development
opportunities that no longer meet our needs?
How flexible am I in allowing and providing alternatives to
attendance at events?
This week, we've got some suggestions for improving conversations
at meetings, and a nifty online tool to keep those who can't attend
events informed about what they've missed. Plus more as always -
enjoy!
Brenda Power
Editor, Choice Literacy
Free for All
If you are launching teacher study groups for the new year, or just
looking to energize the groups you currently lead, Cindy Hatt
recommends 6 Ways to Improve Group Discussions. The article
includes pre-discussion writing prompts:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/public/796.cfm
If student discussions in literature circles and book clubs are
getting off-track, you might find Edutopia's reading roundtable on
literature circles helpful. The essay includes examples from
different grade levels and classrooms, and concludes with links to
other web resources on fostering conversations in literature groups:
http://www.edutopia.org/literature-circles
Social networks online couldn't be more popular, and new tools are
available to help literacy leaders harness the power of these
networks to foster discussions around reading and writing
instruction in their own schools and districts. A Ning is one
example of an online social network and resource bulletin board you
can design and tailor for curricular discussions in-house. It's
also a helpful tool for posting materials for discussion after
staff meetings and study groups. If you want to browse a Ning in
action, Jim Burke has created the English Companion Ning for
literacy educators nationally, and it has brought together many
elementary and high school teachers discussing a wide array of
topics:
http://englishcompanion.ning.com/
If you'd like to form your own Ning, you can get started and learn
more about the system at this link:
http://www.ning.com/
This is a fun site if you are growing impatient with waiting for
your favorite author to publish their next book. At What Should I
Read Next?, you type in a favorite title and author, and the search
engine gives suggestions for closely related books you might enjoy:
http://www.whatshouldireadnext.com/search
Jennifer Allen's DVD Workshop Kit Layered Coaching features over 90
minutes of footage from classroom observations, study groups,
mentoring debriefs, and new teacher meetings. The package includes
a 54-page CD of templates, samples, and ideas for using the package
in ongoing professional development programs. There is a $30
discount for Choice Literacy members:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/products/item14.cfm
For Members Only
[Not yet a Choice Literacy member? Click here for information on
subscription plans that can give you access to members-only
content.]
How can teachers help students catch up on work when they've been
absent, especially when literacy workshops have so many
collaborative activities like book clubs? The issues are
compounded in middle and high schools, where teachers are often
keeping track of 100 students or more. In this week's video,
middle school teacher Katie Doherty confers with Anna, and writes
about her strategies for helping students get back in the mix after
absences. The write-up includes an interview template
assigned to students who have missed book club sessions so that
peers take on the task of assisting classmates in learning what was
discussed in their absence:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/793.cfm
So many assessments leads to a mountain of information. If you or
your colleagues are feeling overwhelmed by it, you might enjoy
Clare Landrigan and Tammy Mulligan's new three-part series, From
Data Drowning to Data Wise. This week, they introduce the series,
and provide an activity for staff meetings designed to help schools
sort through the purpose and value of current assessments:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/794.cfm
Nonfiction texts require different reading skills than fiction, and
you can't introduce nonfiction genres to children too early. Katie
DiCesare shares how she moves between whole-class, small-group, and
individual instruction to help all her first graders master the
text features in nonfiction:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/795.cfm
Finally, Jennifer Allen reflects on why and how literacy leaders
need to make their professional development offerings more relevant
and rigorous for teachers:
http://www.choiceliteracy.com/members/787.cfm
That's all for this week!
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Jennifer Allen
