The photo memory card is today’s equivalent of yesterday’s film. There isn’t quite the same visual with a memory card as with stretching a roll of film out of a camera in a darkroom dimly lit with only red light. With film, one got to see more of the developing process. The developing process still happens in a fashion; it is just all digitally processed now.

Being the teacher is like developing the photo. The essential equipment is available. The processing for developing is known. But the teacher still daily has to systemically go through the process to see a “developed” product. The end product is not just a technically perfect specimen which has been “developed” the perfect amount of time. Rather, students, like photographs, are special when more than just a collection of pixels, they evoke emotion, reason, and thought.

Photo by: Joe Rosenthal/AP

The photo above is the famous raising of the American flag on Iwo Jima during WWII. It evokes patriotism, sacrifice, honor, and many other emotions or ideas depending on the viewer. Education is like that also. Individual lessons can evoke emotion, ideas, or thought that extends long beyond a unit test. Students can gain a thinking or software skill that will serve them throughout life. They can formulate ideas and concepts that will transfer to multiple disciplines. Just as the soldiers in the above photo were simply doing their job and then went about the rest of their lives. However, this moment impacted them and the world. So it can be with students in the classroom.

In developing today's student, it pays to know who they are. Don Tapscott's Grown Up Digital has been a great revelation in understanding and relating to what Tapscott calls the "Net Generation." A poster contrasting the baby boomers and the net generation illustrates the differences in technology and understanding of the world in just 40 years. Tapscott synthesizes the differences into 8 key norms for the net generation: Freedom, Customization, Scrutiny, Integrity, Collaboration, Entertainment, Speed, and Innovation. I'm not totally sold on all 8, but I do recognize many of these in my students. Their notebooks, their phone covers, their Facebook pages, their agendas all reflect the individual's desire to customize and entertain (themselves and others). I keep this in mind while designing lessons and implementing them in the classroom. This generation as a whole has been given tools that allow them to create and personalize in various ways  and they expect it to continue. Teaching communications is often a natural tie in to this. Students get the freedom to write, create, and modify projects with their own interests.

Another concept to further "develop" students is the understanding of Situated Cognition. The article, Situated Cognition and the Culture of Leaning, as well as the books Mind in Society and Cognition and Curriculum Reconsidered made the case that knowing and doing are not separate. The article's authors, Brown, Collins, and Duguid, say it is "not possible to use a tool appropriately without understanding the community or culture in which it is used." L. S. Vygotsky (Mind in Society) says that cognition is the result of the interaction in a person's mind as well as the world around them. This understanding feeds back into the authentic problem when designing a lesson. If the teacher can put students in the real world situation with the necessary tools, the student develops greater cognition of the overall concept. This was the case in the Storyboard lesson in the Video News Unit. Students were working as reporters putting together a video segment on historical subjects. Student went through steps that professionals in the field would likely do.

Eisner elaborates on this concept by suggesting learners can use all the forms of representation a culture uses to convey meaning. For example, I have had my classes write songs about video techniques. In the writing of the song, students demonstrated their understanding. In their performance of the songs, they added gestures and movement that complemented their understanding. (For example, when they sang about tilting the camera, the students flipped their long hair up and down.)

PNEC was the acronym used for online teaching, but has just as much application in the brick and mortar classroom. Prepare, Negotiate, Enable and Closure are the steps on online mentor uses. However in traditional classes, the teacher still prepares, not only by designing the lesson, but also by creating the setting, the engagement for students. In the negotiate stage, both parties make clear the expectations, especially for help and assessment. During the enable stage, most of the learning takes place as the student navigates through the information and tasks. In closure, the teacher has created an exit strategy, usually with the student having something to publish or share. In the above storyboard lesson, students created videos of news interviews with historical persons. The videos were then given to the 6th grade history teachers to use as a visual representation of their subject matter. In creating the videos, students always kept in mind that there would be an audience.

Another strategy designed for online teaching is ART-Assess, Respond, and Target. This is important as a mentor works through the online correspondence, but is also just as useful in regular classrooms. Daily, I try to assess by various formative assessments. Whether it is a  bell ringer, an exit ticket, a call out the answer exercise, thumbs up if you agree, or many other options, I am continually assessing whether students are understanding the concepts. I respond in various ways whether it just to clarify or reteach an entire concept. I target the specifics in the content that is not understood. Sometimes I target the specific individual by offering more personalized instruction.

As formative assessments are being more emphasized in my school, ART is an excellent memory tool for the teacher to "hit all the bases" in the overall preparation for a summative assessment.