thoughts.

Here are a couple of ways I’ve created a Summer of [Digital] Sanity:

A. I turned off all non-essential notifications on my iPhone.

Here’s all that’s left: - iMessage/SMS/Google Hangouts/Phone/FaceTime: I’ve created an expectation with friends and family that these are my synchronous communication tools. In other words, if you message me here and I have my phone on me, I’ll see it and respond quickly.

Fantastical: I get my event and reminder notifications here.

Circle: We use this device to set Internet time limits for our kids’ devices. I get a notification when they’ve hit their limit.

Google Maps: It’s the maps app that I use, and notifications are crucial during navigation.

IF: The app for IFTTT.com. I have some IFTTT recipes that remind me to do certain things at specific times (such as checking to make sure I closed the garage door each night at 7pm).

That’s it. Some of you may be thinking, That’s still a lot. And for you, that may be true. For me, there are still 82 apps on my phone that cannot interrupt my day with a notification. No Instagram, no email, no work email, no Twitter, no Snapchat, no Slack, no News, no Reddit, no Google Drive, no MLB, no eBay, no Foursquare. None of those apps are allowed to break my concentration or take me away from whatever I’m working on or whoever I’m playing with.

That’s not to say that I’m not on my phone at all during the day. I take brain breaks just like everyone else, but not having these notifications – take “likes” on Instagram, for example – has made me realize that looking through those notification feeds in the app once or twice is a day is all that’s really necessary. Instead of getting 30–40 notifications on my phone over the course of an hour from Instagram, I’ll take less than a minute to scroll through my Instagram notification feed when I decide to.

The biggest thing I’ve noticed over the last week is that when my phone buzzes in my pocket, I know it’s something important enough to pull out and check.

B. I give myself 30 minutes each night after our boys go to bed to sit down at my computer and process everything I’ve “missed” throughout the day. That’s 30 total minutes for email, work email, Twitter, news, SBnation, reddit. I use Inbox for Gmail and Spark for my work email. Those make processing email quickly. Sometimes I go over my 30 minutes, sometimes I don’t use it all. The goal is to get in and get out quickly.

C. I’m working to be project-oriented when I’m on my computer. I keep the busy work to those 30 minutes and any other times, I’m working on a video project or a design project.

D. Lastly, and this is going to be the most simple, I changed one setting in Tweetbot to reflect this new mindset. I used to check the box in front of “Open Links in Background” which would mean I’d scroll through my Twitter feed and click 15–20 links, all of which were opening up in new tabs in Chrome. Then I’d take weeks to dig through them all eventually just closing them without reading as they piled up each time I opened Tweetbot. I unchecked that box and now, when I find a link that’s worth clicking, I read it right now then move on. I’m reading more of the articles I find interesting and skipping the ones that I would not have read in the first place.

If I’m not thinking about how something can be better, it means I’ve moved on from that thing. Probably not forever, but definitely for now. That thing could be an app, a job, a sentence, a project, an idea...

Don’t be put off when I push or when I come with a “How could this be better?" mindset. It’s how I’m wired. And it means I care.

Google Photos is pretty great. Lately, they've been adding some more manual control over what Auto Awesome creates. This morning, we made some gingerbread houses at home. I took some video while we were doing it and a few hours later, Google Photos let me know they had made a video for me. I saw a few icons while I was watching the video, so I tapped them. You can see in the screenshot above what those icons do.

I highly suggest using Google Photos as a backup for your pictures as well as a fun way to see how Google can play with what you've shot.

When parents say they don't understand standards-based grading...

Matt and I have led some standards-based grading workshops the past few summers for teachers and administrators. Without fail, we end up spending time on the same mental roadblock from at least some of the educators in the workshop:

If we don't ___ , we won't be preparing students for college.

Fill in that blank with nearly anything you can think of.

Take off for late work

Give zeroes

Grade homework

You get the idea. Matt and I came up with a rebuttal for that this year that helped them see the absurdity of taking one tiny aspect of high school life and extrapolating it out to "preparing them for college." When this conversation inevitably came up, we said, "OK. Let's prepare them for college, then. Starting their freshman year of high school, we'll move them all into apartments and they can live on their own. Right?"

We talked about other aspects of college life that we aren't so apt to bring down to high school. The conversation became fun and nostalgic and by the end there was a sense of, "All right , we get it. Maybe we're holding onto some things for ourselves and not in the name of preparation."

I had this thought about preparing our students for college pop into my mind the other day. This time it was in the context of the new course I'm teaching this year. I haven't written about it, so here's the gist:

I have a group of 17 juniors and seniors each day from noon to two-thirty in the afternoon. We don't meet at Waukee high school. I don't even have a classroom at the high school. Instead, we meet in downtown Des Moines in a space inside the DLR Group, an architecture and engineering firm. The students act as consultants doing work for local businesses in marketing, media production, and graphic design. They work next to other professionals all afternoon long. So far this semester, they've worked with Unplugged Adventures (a single-owner adventure race business), the Board of Educational Examiners, the Des Moines Social Club, and many others. They've set up job shadows with corporations such as Meredith Corp. as well as the Iowa Cubs. They've created personal brands. They set up meetings with their clients. They learn their clients' needs. They communicate with their clients frequently to gain feedback on the iterations of their projects. My role is that of manager. I keep up to date with their projects and clients. I bring in new clients when necessary. I reflect with them. I help them set growth goals. The two-and-a-half hours they have each day are theirs. We eat lunch together at noon, then go through a daily standup where we each share what we worked on yesterday, what we're working on today, and any roadblocks we foresee. When a project calls for certain skills, they either learn them or pull a peer onto the project with the skills. They manage their time. They set deadlines with clients. They solicit and use feedback. They dress professionally every day. They communicate with me and keep our shared calendar updated.

We had representatives of a community and school district visit us the the other week to see the students in action. Inevitably questions from the traditional classroom came up. Grading, attendance, that kind of stuff. When that thought -- Are they wondering about the whole "preparing them for college" thing? -- crept into my mind again, I thought, What truly is unique about college?

Here's what I think it is:

Up to that point in our lives, college is simultaneously the most freedom we've ever had and the most responsibility we've ever had.

In an interview with CNN Money, Apple's Eddy Cue was asked why they created a built-in app for news (called News). Here's the beginning of his response:

We've only created the apps that we think everyone uses every day...

Up top you'll see the 22 pre-installed apps I have never opened, let alone "use every day." Those apps can be sorted into two categories: apps that have vastly better 3rd-party counterparts and apps that I would uninstall if I had a choice.

Better 3rd-party (I apologize if this table is borked. I can't figure out which Markdown Tumblr is using for tables.):

Apple 3rd-party Notes Voice Memos DropVox Uploads voice memo directly to Dropbox Calendar Fantastical Combines Reminders and Calendar, uses natural language processing Notes Evernote, Drafts, Paper These apps either have more functionality, less clutter, or a combination of both Music Google Music Google Music holds 50,000 of your own tracks for free Mail Mailbox, Google Inbox Mailbox and Inbox allow for "snoozing" emails unti you're ready to handle them Weather Perfect Weather Better widget, more information News Flipboard More sources Podcasts Pocket Casts (among others) I prefer Pocket Casts, but you can take your pick of many podcast apps that are much better that Apple's Podcasts. In 3rd-party apps, syncing is reliable and there are other functions such as Overcast's Smart Speed and Voice Boost Maps Google Maps I like not getting lost.

Apps that I would uninstall if I had a choice: - Wallet - Compass - iTunes Store - Videos - Stocks - Find Friends - iBooks - Watch - Game Center - Health - Tips

Apps that I never interact with but I guess it could be argued that I use their functionality via Siri1 - Calculator - Clock

I miss Grant Wiggins. Reading through his blog makes me realize just how much he has impacted my philosophy of teaching and learning.

I once worked with a group of ELA teachers on student writing rubrics and portfolios, and when it came time to identify key criteria of story-writing the teachers were very reluctant to use an engaging-boring continuum because it seemed so wrong. But, I protested, don’t you easily recognize boring vs engaging and trite vs creative work when you read the stories? Oh, yes, they said. Isn’t that key to what a good story is about? Well, yes, they said. But it seems wrong to say that a piece is “boring” – even if it is. Why, I persisted? Should we deceive the learner into thinking that their writing is better than it is? Is it right to lie to them about such a basic issue of author purpose and desired result? We don’t have to say “boring” but we should certainly say if the readers were not engaged, shouldn’t we? They reluctantly agreed – and found that their students easily understood the difference between “engaging” and “not engaging” and accepted the assessment criterion as common sense. Oh, you mean you don’t want it to be dull and boring, said one kid? Uh, yes. Oh, we didn’t think that mattered in school writing, said a girl. Exactly.

Is it ok to teach the students to be in the moment? To see what is around them? To communicate face-to-face? To listen? To respond to a question with verbal clarity? To develop higher level questions on the spot? To fully engage 100 percent without outside distractions? To develop their mind, thinking power, and emotional intelligence just using their god-given powers with no assistance from outside help (because they might not always have access to technology)? and letting them believe that they can think for themselves BEFORE they use technology?

I enjoy cooking. When I retire from the classroom, I want to open a food truck -- assuming food trucks are still a thing at that point.

This summer, I'm trying to get good at one recipe each month. I'm being loose with "recipe." This first month is jalapeño creamed corn, inspired by my favorite Des Moines Restaurant, Malo. I haven't decided what next month's recipe will be, though I'm thinking about trying to get ribs on my Weber kettle figured out. We'll see.

Here's how I make the jalapeño creamed corn -- note that this is a double batch:

Here's all the stuff you need:

16 oz cream cheese

8 Tbs butter

40 oz corn

Mezzetta tamed Jalapeño slices

1/2 teaspoon garlic powder

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/4 teaspoon pepper

1/2 teaspoon chili powder

2. Slice up the butter and cream cheese and add it to the crock pot

3. Turn on the crockpot to high and let it start to warm up that up. While that’s happening, give your jalapeños a rough chop then add them. The tamed jalapeños are awesome for this. They really are tamed -- I can eat them like pickles from the jar. So, I add enough to the creamed corn that you have some crunch in almost every bite. There’s some heat, but not enough that kids can’t enjoy it. 

4. Dump your corn on top. 

5. I like to give it a bit to let everything thaw, then add the seasonings. Leave the crockpot on high for a couple hours then turn it to low. 

If you’re thinking about an idea you can solve in your lifetime, you’re thinking too small.

My friend Katie moved into a new position in a new district. She's in more of a coaching role and she emailed asking ideas about resources for English/Language Arts teachers. Here's what I sent her.

Reading: The Reading Zone Atwell Interactive Read Alouds Holt and Sandvold When Kids Can't Read Beers Teaching Reading in Middle School Robb The Book Whisperer Miller Assessments for Differentiating Reading Instruction Robb Day-to-Day Assessment in the Reading Workshop Sibberson Creating Robust Vocabulary Beck All of Kelly Gallagher's Reading books

Writing: All of Kelly Gallagher's Writing books Steal Like an Artist Austin Kleon Lessons that Change Writers Atwell A Fresh Look at Writing Graves The Craft of Revision Murray Mechanically Inclined Jeff Anderson Everyday Editing Jeff Anderson A Writer's Notebook Ralph Fletcher

Poetry: All of Paul Janeczko's book

Kits: Ralph Fletcher's Teaching the Qualities of Writing

Play-Doh is often sold in branded kits with branded stamps. Cars and trains are no longer just cars, but characters from the movie Cars. Trains are now Thomas trains with particular personalities. When kids play with these branded toys, they often play into brand narratives rather than coming up with stories of their own.

Via Raul Gutierrez in "Empowering Kids to Create"

My first thought was about writing: I wonder if there's a corollary between what he's saying about Play-Doh (and Legos) and fan fiction vs. um, made-up fiction.

Play is play, right? Writing is writing, right?

Listening vs. waiting to respond.

Imagination is its own form of courage.

Time spent building consensus could be better spent building momentum.

All books want our attention, but not all of them want the same kind of attention, and good readers know this and make the necessary adjustments.