For full presentation and recourses see this post:

https://mrzoras.wordpress.com/2013/05/02/connect-2013-engaging-boys-in-science-with-technology/

thanks Cal Armstrong for filming!

Today we started the optics unit in Grade 10 Science and what better way to introduce the electromagnetic spectrum than to show Virtual DJ to explain terms like crests, troughs, wavelength, frequency, etc.  Students got to change frequency and match wavelengths in order to mix a song to sound good!  No one likes when beats clash and now they know why based on physics!

Love my job!

This weekend another teacher and I took a group of 10 students to the 10th annual African Youth Diaspora Conference.  This year the students got to experience the University of Windsor, the Charles Wright Museum and the University of Michigan. The theme was “KUJICHAGULIA – Self-determination“and was evident in all activities over the weekend.  The students have come back as changed young people. The friends, experiences and emotions the students explored this weekend were complex and character building.

The 4 hour bus ride from Toronto to Windsor was greeted by energetic University of Windsor students and Dr Andrew Allen with bags and t-shirts for the group.   Students split into groups mixed between Toronto, Windsor and Detroit schools.  At first complaints of not knowing anyone turned to inseparable new friendships. Students  got to work in groups on arts based expressions and presented that evening in spoken word, poetry, dance, art and drama.  Meals provided were excellent, full of choice and to the appreciation of the students allowed for seconds. A teacher in the TDSB, Dave Watkins, who has been with the conference from the start welcomed the students.  He spoke about the struggles as a person of African Diaspora himself, faced and challenges of the media in defining black youth. He encouraged students by saying “Only be defined by what you do and who you want to be. You will tell people who you are, and tell people how you want to be treated. “. He also spoke about the importance of having allies and friends of all backgrounds as people from your own group may not always have your best interests in mind.

” The people who will help you get to where you want to be will not always be from your community “.  John Solarski who is the main organizer this year also welcomed the students and provided a history and need for the conference.

That evening I took my group along the Windsor water front and campus for an evening walk.  Getting them to sleep in the dorms was challenging as they bonded so quickly with new friends. The boys on my floor were playing games, listening to music and playing PS3 together.

With an early wake up and breakfast buffet the dean of University of Windsor addressed us and the importance of post secondary education.  His message was based around technology and the unlimited connections and opportunity youth have.  He said “Do not get lost in the flock unless you know where the flock is going”.  We moved to the other keynote where Gail Perry Maison discussed finances with students. She took out a fresh 20 dollar bill and asked who wanted it, everyone said yes, then she rolled it into a ball and asked the same, everyone still said yes, she then put it on the dirty ground and stomped on it.  Again, everyone still wanted it.  She asked why? One student yelled it still has value. She said this needs to be applied to humans, people who have been stomped down and at the lowest point need to recognize their value and so do others. She talked to kids and asked why they “invest” in brands and provide them with a walking billboard? She encourage students to buy stocks and really invest in the products. She also said  “You shouldn’t love money because it doesn’t love you back. You can always make money but its just a tool.”.  She talked to students about money problems which are not caused by money but have roots somewhere else.  She finished with telling students to make the most of themselves and do not waste an opportunity with attitude. Students then branched to sessions on a variety of topics. I attended one by the sergeant of Windsor Police.  He talked about positive interactions with police and how to diffuse situations through role play.

We crossed the border to the Charles H. Wright Museum of African-American History in Detroit. This experience was both amazing and horrifying. We had a guided tour through a huge installation through over 20 rooms. The path was the path an African slave would have taken to get to America and then modern day African-Americans. With movies, sculptures, animations and realistic humans. The history and culture of Africa was celebrated showcasing achievement and culture. The introduction of trade with foreign countries showed bartering with precious items and then resulted in trading of African men, women and children. The guide reenacted a mother having her son taken for slavery. We walked into the cells where slaves were held shackled so tight cuts were seen on their ankles.  The kids were not prepared for going into the belly of the ship. With a life size ship lined with bodies of slaves chained within inches of each other to the floor and shelving compartments. The guide described the conditions of excrement and rape of the women as well as forced exercise on deck. Students were in tears and I was overwhelmed with sadness that  human beings did this to a whole continent of people. Walking to the next room was the ship landing and slaves being sold and branded like cattle. The rest was the journey to freedom with hardships of segregation, lynching and discrimination. The last few rooms showed the rise of power back within African Americans right up to Obama. I was left speechless and forever changed and the students grateful for the enormous sacrifices that has brought them here. The guide challenged students and said this was the start of greatness and they have to continue the legacy of African diaspora.

Returning back to Windsor to a heavy hearted dinner students discussed and debriefed  what happened. Many said they heard of slaves and the stories but none have experienced the pain like the did today. Seeing the bodies shackled, the sound of human flesh sizzling when branded and the cries of a mother losing her child became real. The students felt almost guilty because they felt unworthy of the freedom that came at such a great cost to African Diaspora and allies who helped abolish slavery. Students said they are fed by the media how a black person should be based on music, TV and movies which is usually controlled by white males. Many felt anger that many in their own race bring them down and perpetuate the stereotypes. They said they will make better decisions and take and define their own image and not let others define them.

We finished by skits, and a performance by a competition level dance club.  Each and every student received a certificate of appreciation which was presented over the support and cheers of the Toronto, Windsor ad Detroit schools.  Students came up to me saying they can’t just got back to school, they said when they go back people do not support each other like they did at the conference. They felt they could build, collaborate and be themselves instead of holding up a tough image at school. Many also promised to stop shadism as they were sick of dividing African diaspora further. They will stop calling people whitewashed as success isn’t determined by whiteness. They also said they will listen critically to hip hop and limit certain hip hop that promotes racism, drug abuse, hyper masculinity, and degradation of women.

The next day we boarded buses and headed across to University of Michigan. Our students were shocked driving through Detroit with whole blocks of abandoned businesses, liquor stores and “gentlemen” establishments. The students saw graffiti filled streets and burned down houses. The university was tucked away on the Henry Ford Estates (Ford automotive company). The students got a tour of the beautiful campus and was welcomed by more high school students from Michigan area. It was great collaborating and giving students another campus experience. They attended sessions from prominent African American business owners, professors, and writers. We boarded buses, saying goodbye to our new Detroit, Windsor and Toronto friends.

This was one of the most life changing and worthwhile field trips. What does this mean for education system? I feel that this conference was empowering and provided a different learning experience. I think we could do a better job presenting history from around the world, acknowledging and celebrating successes of diverse people. The students learned so well during the arts activity that we should incorporate more differentiated instruction strategies. As well just show the students you care. I think the relationship just over this trips with students from my own school will last forever and lead to a whole new level of respect.

This wouldn’t have happened without the great team John, Dave, TDSB teachers, Dr Andrew Allen, University of Windsor staff and students, and most importantly the students from Toronto, Windsor and Detroit.

Today we had an amazing talk with Dr. Jason Harlow (http://www.physics.utoronto.ca/~jharlow/) from The University of Toronto.  Dr Harlow gave a great background on many different types of physics and how they are all related.  He spoke about optics and astronomy which sparked tons of questions from my class.  Students asked about plutos “demotion”, lasers, saturns rings, speed of light, black holes, and if aliens existed.  Dr. Harlow gave great answers and so much for my students to think about.  We are just starting the optics unit and it was amazing how he linked optics to last years grade 9 topic of space.  Students saw there was a clear connection and it is important to know general science even when researching something specific.  The Cedarbrae C.I. grade 10’s all felt very inspired and said they would like to contact him again at the end of the unit to share what they have learned with him.

He also shared a post he had done regarding if lasers are dangerous to pilots.  This was very fitting because many students heard on the news that green lasers have been aimed at planes resulting in people being arrested and wanted to know the dangers of this.   http://www.physics.utoronto.ca/~jharlow/teaching/lasers.html

Thank you VROC (http://www.vroc.ca/) and Dr Harlow for the time you took with our class today as it was highly engaging and sparked so much interest to start off the optics unit!

Mr Zoras

What better way to get students to understand a concept in science but to rap it!  Students took one class before to research the science concept and start getting it into 16 bar format.  We just received a class set of white boards and many loved the white board animation videos.  They all happened to choose mitosis despiite me wanting to have different topics but I left it up to student choice.  I gave a challenge video putting myself out of my comfort zone as I have never dropped a verse before.  Here are all there videos!

1) Group 1

2) Group 2

3) Group 3

4) My challenge video to them: Mr Brandon Zoras, Beat by KurtesyOf

http://www.cvent.com/events/connect-2013/event-summary-670c7fa3e0bc485c8e9c32fab42f3e26.aspx?p=10

Poster Session on Tuesday May 6th 2013

Inner City Science Education: Engaging Urban Boys In Science  (Brandon Zoras)

Prezi

http://prezi.com/fiu7bx_o_gic/connect-2013-urban-boys-and-sci-tech/?kw=view-fiu7bx_o_gic&rc=ref-722281

Types of Technology Utilized:

Google – Drive, Docs, Forms http://drive.google.com

Twitter – http://www.twitter.com

Facebook – http://www.facebook.com

YouTube – http://www.youtube.com/ 

Instagram – http://instagram.com/

Wikispaces – http://wikispaces.com/

Virtual Researcher On Call  (VROC) – http://www.vroc.ca/vroc/en/

Global Teenager Project (GTP) – http://www.globalteenager.org/

Resources: 

4 Page Summary of Thesis

Click to access urban-science-education-brandon-zoras.pdf

Thesis Poster

Click to access brandon-zoras-poster1.pdf

Toronto Star Article – Low-Income Streaming
http://www.thestar.com/news/gta/2013/04/29/lowincome_streaming_in_ontario_high_schools_alive_and_well_report_says.html

What does a scientist look like?
https://mrzoras.wordpress.com/2012/02/20/what-does-a-scientist-look-like/

Skype Session Kenya
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QqLEMyCZkao

Toronto Zoo Phone Apes
http://www.torontozoo.com/conservation/PhoneApes.asp

94 Elements
http://www.94elements.com/elements/29/

Blood in the Mobile
http://bloodinthemobile.org/

Student Work

Google Docs Forms Survey
http://cedarbraestepwise.wikispaces.com/Survey+AM

Research Informed Action Projects
http://cedarbraestepwise.wikispaces.com/Climate+Change+STSE+and+Research+Informed+Action

STEPWISE – Prof. Larry Bencze
http://stepwiser.ca

What I do with ICT – MindShare Learning Contest Entry

Virtual Researcher On Call – Reviews
http://www.vroc.ca/pir/en/good-news-vroc-story/
http://www.vroc.ca/pir/en/learning-virtually-with-vroc-by-mr-zoras/

Today had to have been one of my all time favourite days at school.  Today’s Future Sound from Oakland, California teamed up with Toronto Beat Engineer Classic Roots to do a workshop at my school.  It was HIP HOP EDUCATION in action!!! It was phenomenal to see students engaged, learning and enjoying school.  Some of them were natural talents and learned within seconds and others had practice under their belt and amazed the instructors.  We stayed from 3 PM to 6:30 PM and the kids didn’t want to leave.

This amazing partnership would only be possible because the instructors and the school teacher (me) are connected by #HipHopEd.  It was over Twitter and the #HipHopEd chat I met Dr. Elliot Gann of Today’s Future Sound and through hosting our own #HipHopEdTO event in Toronto, Classic Roots was brought into the picture.  It is great people like Classic Roots and Dr Elliot Gann that work in the community, with schools to make a difference in these young peoples’ lives.

Had to blur the faces out as I can’t post pics of my students so it looks creepy but pretend they have super engaged faces which they actually did during the presentation.  Thank you Today’s Future Sound and Classic Roots for an amazing workshop and introduction to beat making!

Today’s Future Sound: http://www.todaysfuturesound.org/

Classic Roots: https://soundcloud.com/classicroots

I had a great day with my students at the Somali Student Conference

A representative from Ryerson (forgot name will find out) did a great opening for the students.  His main message was “Make the time to succeed”.  He wanted students to understand their existing situation, find out where they are and where they need to be to succeed.  He spoke about the importance of goals and importance of stretching to where we would like to see ourselves.  He stressed the value of education as he felt you are a more engaged citizen as you are better equipped if you understand institution.  He said it isn’t just skills but the way you think and analyze the world.  Make time to succeed!

Next up was a Somali-Canadian Robleh Jama (@robjama) founder of Tiny Hearts a app development company.  His story was inspiring and heart touching to teachers and students.  He talked about being confused in high school, little goals, bad friends and just going with the flow.  With one-month left of school he was expelled giving him a real wake up call.   Working with community on workshops against hate crimes , racism,  and Islamophobia was something he enjoyed while working with youth.  It was prayer that helped him figure out his own values.  From college and then into York University exploring courses but wasn’t sure what he wanted to do.  Loving the internet, entrepreneurship, technology and advertising he combined these elements for his Start Ups.  Sneaker Play, Busy Building Things and Tiny Hearts are all companies he started.

What he would do differently?  Take advantage of what he was interested in, focus on purpose, have good friends, learn to love learning and be passionate about it.  He told a wide eyed group of students that no body owes you anything, you have to earn it!  He emphasized that the real world starts now, high school is an opportunity to explore and learn now.  He told them to not limit themselves to a single profession but find what they are good at, want to do and what people will pay them to do.  He ended with telling the students “you have one life to love, take advantage, make it count.” .  His powerful words resonated with the high school students.

Students were taken to conferences led by Somali-Canadian youth who for the most part were in post secondary or recent graduates.  The teachers were taken to their own sessions that proved to be very informative.

Ahmed Ali Ilmi from OISE gave a history of Somali culture.  Showing us many of the worlds oldest living inhabitants came from that area.  It was early 1990s when Somali people started to arrive in Canada.  It was mostly Toronto and Ottawa where they settled.  He explained it was only 1972 that Somali was converted into a written language, saying majority of education was through oral means.  Xeer Law is customs between communities and Somali people have their own creation story.  A proud part of their African Islamic tradition is also performing arts.  Children are socialized through song and story and this is how tradition has passed on.  It is elders that provide community with ethics and ideas of neighbourhoods.  In Toronto he recalled during the 90’s Somali people would recognize and acknowledge each other as a way of healing in Toronto but has faded.  He found currently there is a mistrust between community and schools.  With only 7% of Canadian born Somali students actually speaking Somali the culture is changing.  Equity department showed many stats that showed Somali youth, especially boys with higher than average push out (drop out) rates.  Streaming has played a major role with a high majority of Somali males in special ed, ESL, and in locally developed courses.  More data can be found through the boards website.

The room of teachers and community activists shared stores from their schools and I felt we just were getting past the tip of the iceberg.  We came to the conclusion that something isn’t working but we need more time to fix it as a group.

Qaiser Ahmad, a guidance counselor with TDSB gave a great presentation after lunch to teachers about Muslim Students.  It was an eye opener for me as I knew of Islam but learned so much more.  He shared the 5 pillars of Islam, and how it may affect them in school and to what accommodations we should make.  He explained the differences between Islam (doing)  Iman (believing) and Ishan (being) and how Islamic Law functions.  He stressed though that there are many differences in ways people practice any Faith so you can’t just treat all Muslim students the same.  He quoted Chimamanda Adichie “The Danger of a single story”. (http://youtu.be/D9Ihs241zeg).  Somali students are affected by the media and the story that is created about them.  Ahmad said never again is happening again with Muslim students and we need to change.

Donna Quan, Director of TDSB,  gave closing remarks to the students to believe in themselves, make choices that matter to them and matter to their future.  She wanted students to be proud of their heritage and recognize who they see in the mirror matters.  She convinced students that TDSB is with them and wants them to succeed.

Students throughout the day did great spoken word pieces and skits on issues facing Somali Students from immigration to violence within youth in the Somali community.  Two students  spoke at the end sharing their experiences of the day.  They enjoyed the day but also wanted to remind teachers and organizers that they can’t also just put all Somali’s as one group.  He used the example of an Easter Egg basket in that you can’t put all Easter eggs in one basket as they are all different colours so not the same.  It was good to hear from the student point of view.

My opinion was that the day was a success.  My students had a great time working with students from other schools and getting their opinions heard.  In terms of professional development we need this was just the start.  We had such great discussion but we need more time to recognize issues, plan a course of action, and implement that action with constant consultation with the Somali community.  It could be curriculum, pedagogy and making schools more community hubs where parents are welcome.