Mood and Tone

I have been grading the ACES Literary Analysis Planning assignments and I have noticed that some students are confused about the difference between mood and tone.  Here is a short video that should help make the difference clearer:

Mood, Tone, Theme

I have graded the papers that I received for 1st and 2nd periods and will be returning them tomorrow (Friday). If you want to make corrections, please return them to me by end of day on Friday.

3rd, 6th, and 7th - I am still working on grading your papers, but please let me know in class if you would like to look at yours again and make changes based on what you saw in the video.

Extra Credit Writing Assignment

ACES Literary Analysis Essay
ACES Advanced Literary Analysis Essay
ACES Modified Literary Analysis Essay
Argumentative Rubric

This is an optional writing assignment for those students who want to boost their grade or get some practice in essay writing.  The essay should be emailed to me by Tuesday, May 31, in order to receive credit.


Desdemona's Willow Song

Figurative Language in Othello Act IV & V

Reader's Workshop Literary Analysis

ACES Literary Devices 

Fungi students have an ACES graphic organizer for literary analysis due on Monday, May 23. Please make sure you have your book with you so you can work on this assignment in class.

Assignment Prompt:

Advanced Literary Analysis ACES
ACES Literary Analysis for the Canon
Modified ACES Literary Analysis

Figurative Language Reference Sheet 

Example of response for A: (Answer the prompt)

In his “I Have a Dream Speech,” Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. uses allusions, repetition, and extended metaphors to communicate his tone of anger and impatience with the injustices inflicted on African-Americans in the United States during the 1960s.

Example of response for C/E: (Cite Evidence/Elaborate)

Example:  In Othello, Act 3, Scene 3, page 8, Iago uses a metaphor in comparing jealousy to a “green-eyed monster which doth mock the meat it feeds on.”   This phrase describes the destructive nature of jealousy for a man who suspects his wife might be cheating on him.

Example: The use of the metaphor in this section contributes to the tone of the story. Shakespeare is using Iago’s character to communicate his warning of the dangers of jealousy and suspicion in love.   

Reposting this to make sure everyone sees it...

8th Grade Commencement Speech Contest

8th grade Commencement Speech: 

If you would like to enter a contest to read a speech at the 8th grade Commencement Ceremony, please read the following:

Prepare a commencement speech in order to share your experience, values, and advice with your graduating class. What life lessons have you learned during your journey at Culbreth? What important, fun, or special memories stand out to you? What will you miss the most? The least?


Here is a cool NPR story about successful commencement speeches: 

Anatomy of a Great Commencement Speech

Speeches should be submitted to Ms. Motta by Tuesday, May 24.

Extra credit may be assigned. 

Characterization Infographic Assignment

The Infographics are due at the end of the day tomorrow (Wednesday, May 11).

Project Documents 

Assignment prompt and planning sheets

Rubric

Venn Diagrams

Sample of an Excellent Infographic

Notes for Success

Use characters from different books or short stories

Make sure characters have something in common.

For your Infographic, give specific examples of how actions define their traits.

You need to have a copy of the text available to you in order to complete your Infographic completely.  

For example:  Desdemona is loyal -- How do you know? (Act 1, Scene 3, Page 8) She stood up to Brabantio and said that she owes her obedience to Othello now.

Please make sure you are reading the rubric and you understand all the requirements.

Use piktochart.com. Sign in with Google.

Remember to  read the prompt and check your rubric:

Prompt: Create an infographic comparing 2 characters from 2 different texts. Bases of comparison are character traits and how the character drives the story.

Rubric:

Focus: all aspects of prompt (similarities and how character drives the story.)

Controlling idea: general statement of traits/actions/effects that drive the story

Example: Desdemona, from Othello, and Devorah, from Like No Other, have similar characters traits of love and respect for their families and traditions, loyalty to their loved one, and tenacity in achieving their desires. Both of them make significant, life-changing decisions that drive the plot of their stories.

Reading/Research: Accurate representation of what is in the text

Development:  Use of textual references; specific and detailed

Organization: Point by point or subject by subject - Be consistent

Conventions: Of course, spelling, grammar, word choice count!

Content understanding: understanding of character traits, characterization, understanding of actions and how they drive the plot (cause/effect)

Turning in your Infographic:

Click on the Share link in the upper right corner of the screen:

Give your Infographic a name. Make sure it's marked "Public."

Click on "Open Link" and test the link in another browser window. Make sure this is your Infographic.

Copy and paste that link to the Google classroom assignment.

8th Grade Commencement Speech

8th Grade Commencement Speech Contest

8th grade Commencement Speech: 

If you would like to enter a contest to read a speech at the 8th grade Commencement Ceremony, please read the following:

Prepare a commencement speech in order to share your experience, values, and advice with your graduating class. What life lessons have you learned during your journey at Culbreth? What important, fun, or special memories stand out to you? What will you miss the most? The least?


Here is a cool NPR story about successful commencement speeches: 

Anatomy of a Great Commencement Speech

Speeches should be submitted to Ms. Motta by Tuesday, May 24.

Extra credit may be assigned. 

"The fault, dear Brutus, is not in our stars, But in ourselves..."

What a sad and bittersweet week this has been. We lost our 'Guybrarian," the "Abbassinator," Mr. Abbasse.   We also kicked off the Reader's Workshop portion of our Teaching the Canon unit, which I so expected Mr. Abbasse to be part of.  Just last week he stopped in my class as we were reading Othello, and he later shared with me his thoughts on teaching Shakespeare. I will always appreciate his dedication, insight, and sharing of a love of literature, and we will miss him dearly.

My saving grace has been this Reader's Workshop unit, where students are reading their book of choice and meet with me individually to discuss their readings.  Some of my students are reading John Green novels, and many don't realize that the title of his book, The Fault in our Stars, is an allusion to a line from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar.   Students have learned to recognize this literary device and to search for deeper meaning in their books. Watching these students as they develop their love of reading has been a gift for me these past few days.

Salaam

Some Vocabulary Practice

Othello Act II Words


Tier 2 Words (great words to know for the EOGs)

Fishbowl Seminar: Shakespeare--To Teach or Not To Teach?

Fungi kids did an awesome job today discussing the pros and cons of teaching the canon in response to the article "High School Teacher says Shakespeare not to be in her Classroom."

Some notable comments: Mary M.R. said, "It's not really about what she thinks--it's more about student learning."

Ben A. said, "Shakespeare may be great, but our generation may produce a writer that is better than Shakespeare."

Student observers  "mapped" the conversation by drawing a circle with the names of the participants in the "fishbowl" and then drew lines between each successive speaker. This encouraged all students to be part of the conversation.

We missed the Band students, but we hope they're having a great time.

On Monday, we will start the Reader's Workshop part of this unit.  Students will choose their books based on possible themes in which they are interested, using the Analyzing Universal Themes Graphic Organizer.  As students are reading, they will be annotating on sticky notes, using this guideline: Annotation Anchor Chart.

Teaching the Canon - Part 2

Today we move into the next part of our unit, which is understanding what the literary canon is and the pros and cons of why we should teach it.

Students will be introduced to both sides of the debate and will read and annotate an article about the topic.  They will then engage in a seminar to discuss the benefits and disadvantages of teaching the canon and what books they would recommend if they were designing a reading list.

What is the Canon?
What Books Should be Required Reading?
Revisiting the Canon Wars
High School Teacher says Shakespeare is Not To Be in her Classroom

Quiz Today - Friday April 15

Othello/Literary Device Quiz 

Please make sure you are doing your own work.  Your ACES should use correct grammar, spelling, and punctuation. Good luck!

When you are finished with the quiz, continue reading Othello silently from where we left off in class. Use the links below. You can read the original text or the modern version, but make sure you take notes on Shakespeare's descriptions (direct and indirect) of any new and existing characters.

Othello

Othello Act 1, Scene 1

Othello Video Overview - Act I

Othello Act 1, Scene 2 - Globe Theater Presentation

Earth Day Haiku Contest

Requirements:

1. Poems should be about nature
2. Poems should follow 5-7-5 as closely as possible - one syllable either way does not break the poem. 
3. First two lines should be a complete thought. 
4. Third line should surprise or delight. 

5. Haikus should be sent to Ms. Collins  (mcollins@chccs.k12.nc.us) and include the statement I acknowledge that this is my own work,  as well as the student's name and homeroom. They should include the subject line Haiku. They must be sent by Friday, April 15th, at 3:10. 

Teaching the Canon

I am excited about this new unit that we are starting this week.  Using a Reader's Workshop format, students will be exploring the pro's and cons of teaching the "canon," or those texts that are considered the standard for literature.  This week we are introducing the essential questions and key vocabulary and concepts that will be discussed throughout the unit.

We started with a pre-test on basic figurative language that students should know. Students, if you have not taken this pre-test, please make sure you take it as soon as possible.

Figurative Language Pre-Test

Essential question #1: 

What cultural or intellectual value is there in comparing two pieces of literature?

We learned the meaning of the literary device allusion, and had some good discussions about the allusions in Shrek 2.

Allusion:  An allusion is a figure of speech whereby the author refers to a subject matter such as a place, event, or literary work by way of a passing reference. It is up to the reader to make a connection to the subject being mentioned.

Some resources that support this activity:

SHREK

I Have a Dream

HW: Do a Frayer Model for allusion

Frayer model template 

Essential Question #2

How do literary techniques help to shape both characters and themes?

RL.8.4

Archetypes Visual

Longer list of archetypes
Archetypes Powerpoint

Students identify characters that meet these types in popular literature.

Students share examples of the different archetypes from their own reading

Ex: Hero - Katniss, Sage- Dumbledore
Mining for Big Ideas - TedEd video which encourages students to "dive deeper" when analyzing literature.

Figurative Language Resources
Read these two resources and complete the simile/metaphor exercises:

Similes and Metaphors in Pop Culture - video
Poetry Terms and Formats - Google slides

"Ode" Analysis Resources
NY Times Poetry Pairings

--Where did the name of the band mentioned in the article come from?
-- What is the meaning of the word "polemical" as used in paragraph 5? Explain.

--Why do you think this poem was paired with this photo and article from The Times? What do the three have in common?

— Which do you like best: the poem, the image or the article? Why?

— What does this pairing say about life today? Do you think someone looking at it 25 years from now would “get” the same meaning? What about 100 years from now?

— What other Times photos or articles could also have been paired with this poem? Why?

— What other works of literature, film, or fine art can you think of that also echo, expand or even challenge the words and ideas of this poem?

Excellent Job on UN Speeches

I have enjoyed this week of hearing presentations to the United Nations.  Students demonstrated strong understanding of the injustices in their books, and the made compelling arguments in favor of the UN investigating the crimes committed.

I am in the process of posting grades. Students who have not yet presented their cases should see me when we get back from Spring Break to schedule a make-up time for their presentations.

Have a wonderful Spring Break!

CONGRATULATIONS TO MS. CRAWFORD

Ms. Crawford, our awesome student teacher, got engaged to the love of her life last night! Please send her your best wishes.  Today is her last official day teaching in our class. We have enjoyed having her with us this semester!


Nouns Quiz Retest on Monday

Study Guide with Answers

Reading Log

Your last reading log assignment for this quarter will be to read 20 minutes for 4 days, and write 3 reading responses.  Each response should be in the form of one of these EOG question stems.

8th Grade EOG Question STEMS

The question that you choose should be based on a passage from your book. Write the question and replace the blanks with specific details from your book. Then answer the question, using specific references from the text including page numbers.  You may use your injustice book or any independent reading book.

Please use lined paper for your responses and clearly mark Response 1, Response 2, and Response 3. Make sure you put your name, class period, and the date on your paper.

Your reading log will be due on Friday, March 25, but please feel free to turn it in earlier if you want.

Literary Magazine - Extra Credit Assignment
Submit a piece of your writing to the Culbreth Literary Magazine and get 10 points toward Home Learning Credit.  Email your work to Mr. Peters and copy me.

Mock Hearing Preparation and Instructions

Mock Hearing Assignment

Mock Hearing Instructions

Evidence and Reasons

Mock Hearing Rubric

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

Dress Code Article

During Cougar Contact today we had an interesting discussion about our school's dress code.  I thought I would share this article that I recently came across, about a NC school in which the dress code is being challenged by the parents.  I would love for students to read it and share their comments.

Parents Sue Charter Day School over Dress Code

Comments 

Updates on Lit. Circle Books

Cool win for Carolina last night!


This is a reminder that you should be finished with 1/2 of your injustice book for a lit. circle discussion on Tuesday.

Character Relationship Map
Character Chart 

When reading historical novels and memoirs, we sometimes have trouble keeping track of characters and how they fit into the story.  Keeping a graphic organizer such as the one above can be helpful in keeping track of characters and useful to refer to as the story progresses. These charts are examples for To Kill a Mockingbird, but you could make one up for your own book as well.

Grammar Packets are also due on Tuesday. Please come to class with any questions you have about nouns to prepare for the test on Wednesday. Also, please remember that I am available after school on Tuesdays till 4:00 for any students who need help.  Please feel free to stop by if you need help with grammar.

Mock Hearing Assignment

Interesting Article

Northeast Ohio College Prep fires athletic director following 107-point loss to Gilmour

Please read and comment on this article in this padlet.

Comments

Injustice Book Assignments

Students have been given their book and group assignments and are doing preliminary research on the injustices in their books.  We are asking parents to sign a letter acknowledging the cost of each of the assigned books in case students lose them.  We are short on some books, so all donations are welcome!  Please make checks payable to Culbreth Middle School if you would like to donate money for us to buy more books for our injustice unit.

Thank you so much for your support.

Another Snow Day!

I hope everyone is safe and warm today!

For those of you in need of reading material, here are some practice readings and questions that I am planning to do in class this week. Check out the first selection, "Song." Does anybody else feel a strong connection to the second stanza?

Practice passages and questions for English II - for those who need a little more challenge!

New Reading Log Responses
The following are additional responses that you can use for your reading logs. After reading, write practice comprehension questions based on your reading using the following formats:

1. Which detail in the selection supports the development of the central idea? RL.8.1, 8.2; textual evidence/central idea
2. Which statement summarizes the selection? RL.8.2; textual evidence/summary
3. According to the selection, what did the ____ seek from the ____? RL.8.3, analyze/character/meaning of text
4. Based on the sentences below, what does _____ mean? L.8.4 analyze words in context
5. In the sentence below, what is conveyed by comparing ____ to ____? L.8.5 interpret figures of speech/analyze word choice
6. In the sentence below, why did ____ feel ____? RL.8.6; analyze/character’s point of view
7. What do the sentences below reveal about the character?  RL.8.6; analyze/ character’s development

Update for students who have to make up their missed reading logs 
Those of you who owe me reading time during study hall can make up some of that time by reading today. Here's how:

1) Read your independent reading book (or read the sample selections posted above) for up to 40 minutes today.
2) Do two reading responses on your Make-Up reading log.
3) Show me your reading log tomorrow in class.
4) Email me if you have questions.

Suggestions for Reading Responses

Some students have asked me for suggestions for their at-home reading logs.  Here are some responses that you can use:

Suggestions for Reading Responses

Introduction to Injustice

This week we will be previewing the historical injustices that form the topics our books for the Injustice Unit. Some of these injustices include the Holocaust, Civil War in Sierra Leone, US Civil Rights Movement, Iranian Revolution, and more. Understandably, this is sensitive material. We anticipate that our students will approach this information scholastically, with careful consideration of others’ experiences. While students’ may have some prior knowledge about these historical injustices, they are not expected to be experts. As we learn about these events through research and through the characters and accounts in our books, students will be encouraged to seek to understand with open-mindedness.

Parents, it is our intention to have students learn about these events honestly and maturely. Please understand that many of these events contain tragic and horrific circumstances, and while we do not wish to inappropriately overexpose students to atrocities, it would also be an educational disservice to minimize the magnitude of such events. As always, parents and students alike, please reach out to me should you have any concerns.

Super Bowl Sunday Reading

I hope everyone is enjoying Super Bowl Sunday. Here's an article that seems relevant to our discussion of generalizations and stereotypes this week:

Warren Moon, Who Helped Clear Way for Black Quarterbacks, Recalls His Struggles

Also, this is a just reminder that reading logs are due tomorrow for 1-3rd periods and Tuesday for 6th and 7th periods.

Have a great Sunday!

Injustice Unit

Today we finished our Follow Your Dream unit. The students and I have enjoyed this unit and they have done a wonderful job with their Career Infographics, presentations, and interviews.

I sent home Performance Series scores today.  Please talk to your child about his or her scores and let me know if you have questions.

Reading logs were also sent home yesterday and today and are due on Monday. Students need to read for 20 minutes a day for 5 days and complete a brief  response to their reading. Students are encouraged to use the "Suggested Learning Objectives" from the Performance Series reports to help them in their reading responses.

Tomorrow we start our literature circle/research unit on injustice. Ms. Crawford, our student intern, will be teaching the unit this week. Here is a note from Ms. Crawford related to this unit:

Injustice Unit

We are excited to be starting a new unit on injustice. Students will be exploring concepts of injustice, stereotypes, and the escalation of hate. For this unit, students will be in literature circles, reading a book that features a historical injustice. The literature circles will help students work together to improve their reading comprehension skills.

A series of research assignments will prepare students for their culminating assignment. They will present a speech in which they address the United Nations, informing them that an injustice has occurred, making recommendations for what should be done. The injustice they report will be the one presented in their book, which they will have researched throughout the unit.

I am excited about this unit for a number of reasons; I believe everyone will be challenged academically and intellectually. I hope it encourages students to consider what role they play in preventing and responding to injustices in the world, as they learn to become socially and culturally enlightened contributors to our community and beyond.

Please email me with any questions you have!

Ms. Crawford, ccrawford@chccs.k12.nc.us

Another Snow Day!

I can't believe we are out of school again today.  For those of you who have been asking, the Infographic assignment will not be due tomorrow.  I want to have two days of school completed before the project is due. Thank you to those of you who have sent me your Infographics for feedback. I am reviewing them and will try to get them back to you as soon as possible.

Also, I want to share an article with you about Cam Newton, Quarterback for the Carolina Panthers, to celebrate Carolina going to the Super Bowl and because I think it's a good read.  I hope you enjoy it. Please share your thoughts and comments if you do.

Enjoy your day off!  Hopefully, we will see each other tomorrow.

Happy Snow Day!:)

Because of the snow days, the Infographic presentations and interviews are now due Thursday at the earliest.We will try to have two class days to work on them.

If you get a chance, check out my blog post from Jan. 13. There's an interesting article from Education Week that relates to our Follow Your Dreams unit. I would love to hear your thoughts and comments in the padlet following the article.

Happy Snow Day!

I hope you are enjoying this day off!

Read what Marcus Paige has to say about reading:

ChapelBoro

And how reading can help professional athletes focus

Also, take a look at this article by a local engineer, reflecting on his job and his life:

ChapelBoro-Engineer

This author leaves an email address at the end of his article in case you have questions for him.

Grades are Posted

Congratulations Fungi on a successful second quarter. I finalized grades last night and most students did extremely well.  Home Learning Credit of 100 points was applied for students who have turned in at least 100 points worth of homework. This was mostly reading logs, so if you are consistently reading and responding to your reading at home, your grades should show it. 

Ms. Crawford and I graded the Writelike and the Forensic Anthropology Essays. Please review the rubrics and our feedback on both those assignments, and please try to learn from them. The skills you learned on these assignments will be helpful as you prepare your Infographics and future assignments. 

Speaking of InfoGraphics... our InfoGraphic Career Projects are due next Wednesday. If we are out of school tomorrow, please make sure you spend some time working on this project. Review the last few posts on my blog to refresh your memory of the requirements. We will have time to work more on the project on Monday and Tuesday, but do not wait until the last minute, or you may find that you need more time.  

Paraphrasing Lesson

Purdue Wise Owl Lesson on Paraphrasing

Monkey Does not Own Rights to Selfies

Sample Paraphrased Paragraphs


Infograph Resources

How to make an InfoGraphic in 5 Steps

Infographic Video

Interesting Article on Career Exploration

Schools Turn to Digital Tools for Personalizing Career Searches

From Education Week, January 11, 2016

Schools Turn to Digital Tools for Personalizing Career Searches

Digital platforms identify student interests

By Sean Cavanagh

What factors point students toward a particular career?

Maybe it's a chance conversation with an adult in the working world—a mechanic, a nurse, or an architect. Or it's the love of an academic subject and the possibility of making a living immersed in it. Or it's a piece of guidance offered by a teacher or school counselor, while going over a lesson or a transcript.

Today, many districts are encouraging students to think about career possibilities earlier in their K-12 journeys—and they're relying on digital platforms to guide that career exploration. Schools are using those online systems to assess student interests and personalities, then feed students, parents, and counselors information about how those inclinations might mesh with potential jobs. The platforms can give students detailed information on everything from descriptions of those occupations to employment data to a map of the academic preparation necessary to reach different careers.

The demand for online tools like Naviance, Kuder, and Career Cruising has increased as states around the country have approved new laws requiring schools to encourage career planning among secondary students and mandating more detailed academic plans leading students toward graduation.In some cases, the use of the online systems begins as early as middle school—though a very general introduction to careers can start at the elementary grades—and continues through the end of high school.

Whether those platforms and policies succeed in sharpening or broadening students' career ambitions is unclear. And, as with many ed-tech platforms, the flow of data required to make the programs work has raised concerns in some quarters about their ability to protect students' privacy.

Many school officials see the tools as mechanisms to engage students in school and help them get a truer understanding of what different jobs are like—beyond the idealized images that come to them via popular culture and other means.

Job Possibilities Abound

Platforms for online career exploration "centralize [the experience] for students," said Katherine Pastor, a counselor at Flagstaff High School in Arizona, where students use Naviance to help with that planning. Otherwise "it can be overwhelming for students. You're a 17- or 18-year-old kid, and you go to Google—what do you type in?"

Pastor, recently named national school counselor of the year by the American School Counselor Association, said part of the platform's appeal is its organizational power. "I have 500 students, and if I have online information in advance, it helps drive the conversation with them," she said. For counselors, "it makes us work smarter—not harder."

Seventh graders at Hughes STEM High sort lines from songs to create a poem for the advisory group. The exercise is intended to foster teamwork skills that could help them in jobs or college.

—Pat McDonogh for Education Week

The online platforms used by schools to encourage students' career exploration typically perform an assortment of other functions. In addition to introducing students to occupations, many guide students' research into colleges, including helping them manage the flow of applications, recommendations, transcripts, and scholarship information electronically.

Those systems have established broad footprints in the United States and beyond. Naviance, a division of the education company Hobsons, has more than 10,000 clients in the United States and abroad. Kuder, which is based in Iowa, works with 30,000 sites—both schools and workforce centers—in the United States and internationally. Career Cruising, based in Toronto, works with 20,000 institutions, mostly schools, districts, and colleges in the United States and Canada.

All those platforms have tools that attempt to draw out individual students' academic and personal interests and provide them with a guided review of career options—coupled with structured advice on the academic groundwork they will need to get jobs.

Students who log into Naviance's site, for instance, take a series of self-assessments on their interests, personalities, and how they think they learn best—tests that typically take between 15 and 30 minutes apiece. That information is fed into the platform, which churns out details on careers that might interest them and suggested academic paths—with courses in math, science, and other subjects—necessary to get them there. That information resides in students' accounts, accessible to them, their parents, and the counselor or other designated school official.

Naviance recently partnered with the organization Roadtrip Nation, which feeds videos into the platform featuring different professionals talking about their daily work and the path that took them there. CNN reporter Soledad O'Brien, forensic anthropologist Bill Bass, and nuclear engineer Deon Clark are among many whose posted interviews are accessible through Naviance.

The 34,000-student Cincinnati public schools began using Naviance during the 2011-12 academic year. The platform is now incorporated within a broader effort launched by the district, called My Tomorrow, which aims to ensure that all students graduate ready to pursue a career path.

Beginning in 7th grade, all students are required to meet once a week in classes known as "advisory" or "guidance" sessions, in which teachers lead them through discussions about academic and career aspirations, though the discussions can cover broader social-emotional and academic issues, too. Students bring laptops with them, which are loaded with Naviance, and take self-assessments and talk about jobs while using the platform.

Randy Gibson, a science teacher at Hughes STEM High School, leads a group of about 20 students through a 45-minute advisory session every Wednesday morning. (Some Cincinnati schools hold the sessions more often.) Gibson admits he was skeptical of the process at first.

"You're going to get kids talking about careers that are 10 or 15 years off," he remembers thinking. "To me, it seemed very far-fatched."

But Gibson's perspective changed when he saw how the self-assessments engaged students. Some were startled when their assessments suggested they might have a future in an unexpected area, like engineering or biomedicine. Others were surprised when they saw how much, or how little, different careers paid, based on labor data Naviance collects.

"It's just getting them to think about who they are, and what their [career interests are], and that the thinking should start now," Gibson said.

Data-Privacy Concerns

Janay Rose, a 7th grade student in Gibson's advisory session, says the process has brought focus to her ambitions.

One of the 12-year-old's self-assessments described her as a "present and future thinker," which she thinks is on point. Janay said she hopes to become a math or science teacher someday. The advisory sessions have reinforced her view that she needs to excel in those subjects, and eventually get a bachelor's degree, to achieve her goals.

"I think about the future a lot," Janay said. "To have a dream goal, you have to do what's expected now."

School districts' interest in platforms like Naviance have grown as state expectations for career planning have increased.

Florida, for instance, in 2006 required all students to complete a course in "career and education planning" by the end of middle school. Last year, the state hired Kuder on a five-year contract worth $3 million annually to provide a career-planning tool for schools.

The system, run through a Web portal called MyCareerShines, is being used in a growing number of middle and high schools, and recently began work with higher education. It will also be used in elementary schools, with the goal of giving students a light-touch introduction to careers, said Pamela Northrup, the CEO of the Innovation Institute at the University of West Florida. The institute administers MyCareerShines through a state virtual program.

Kentucky requires students to explore careers and postsecondary options by creating "individual learning plans," and it hired Career Cruising on a contract worth about $365,000 annually to help administer that program. Career Cruising has contracts for similar work in Delaware, South Dakota, and Wisconsin.

The growing number of state mandates for career and academic planning have been "absolutely essential" to schools' use of platforms like Career Cruising, said Matt McQuillen, the company's CEO.

While schools' interest in having students explore careers dates back decades, technology allows districts to help students promote a more "comprehensive approach" to connecting student interests, career ambitions, postsecondary goals, and academic-planning advice, McQuillen said.

But online career exploration has taken hold as schools' concerns about protecting students' data privacy have grown.

Khaliah Barnes, the director of the Electronic Privacy Information Center's student-data-privacy project, argued that the platforms should function as "privacy-enhancing technologies" and should not need to collect students' personally identifiable information. Much of students' data could be collected anonymously and still provide them with useful information about possible careers and college choices, said Barnes.

"Do the companies need to collect all of this information?" Barnes asked. "The answer as we see it is 'no.' ... At the end of the day, whose data is it anyway? It's the student's."

More than 200 companies have signed a student-data-privacy pledge sponsored by the Future of Privacy Forum and the Software & Information Industry Association. Naviance officials said they plan to sign the pledge but need to update their own privacy policy first. Kuder has not signed it, but a company official said the company follows many of its core principles, including not selling student information and not targeting information based on online behaviors.

Career Cruising came close to signing the pledge, and is considering doing so, McQuillen said. The company is examining whether language in the pledge that puts limitations on providers retaining student information would undermine students' and schools' ability to use Career Cruising and return to their data as needed.

Building in Flexibility

Technology that introduces students to career options is a good thing—particularly if it pushes them to grapple with academic planning as early as middle school, said Claus von Zastrow, the chief operating officer and director of research for Change the Equation, a nonprofit that seeks to promote learning in science, technology, engineering, and math—known as STEM fields.

Some students become intrigued by engineering, medicine, or other STEM careers well into high school, then realize "they haven't even tackled Algebra 1," von Zastrow noted, a gateway course that leads to more-complex math and is often taught in 9th grade.

At the same time, von Zastrow cautioned that any career-focused technology platform needs to be flexible enough to introduce students to "a broad array of potential careers," rather than narrowing their ambitions. He pointed out that many students' personal and academic interests—he cited quantitative ability as an example—are valuable across fields, and that industries' needs for workers with those talents shift. Tech platforms, he said, need to account for those changes.

McQuillen said Career Cruising is calibrated to capture those nuances. It helps students understand the range of career options available to them, he said, and their interests and preferred career paths are almost certain to change as they do more research.

Exploring a career is "very much an investigative process," McQuillen said. "We're trying to encourage that through our system" and "support all pathways."

Coverage of the implementation of college- and career-ready standards and the use of personalized learning is supported in part by a grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. Education Week retains sole editorial control over the content of this coverage.

Vol. 35, Issue 17, Pages s12,s13

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