Still reflecting on everything I learned at NECC.
One thing that was brought up on Tuesday at a meeting for PA educators at NECC, someone (and I am sorry I can't remember who) mentioned that the one thing that really stood out for them from one of the sessions he attended said that Of the 5 questions who, what, when, where, why... 4 of them you can google—the only one you can’t is WHY--Well this has been rattling around in my head ever since.
I think I am so passionate about changes in education because I was a different learner in school. The only class in HS that I ever struggled with was the one where I was only asked to recall information. Read, write, memorize...YUCK because I was looking for the explanations, the exceptions to the rules. I think about my own small children, almost every time they ask a question it is almost always followed up with "why mommy?" Yet as they move on in school somewhere along the road the "why" gets replaced with a need to cover content. What gets lost is the idea that perhaps the content would be learned BETTER if kids were given the opportunity....no REQUIRED to get to the why.
And when reviewing all of my notes I thought about how Alan November said we spend too much time on how and not enough on the when and what and WHY. He spoke about how we shouldn’t be teaching HOW to podcast but spending more time talking about when and what to podcast. In my notes, I thought about how kids then could be using those podcasts to answer the WHY question. November's session will be webcast (http://www.kzowebcasting.com/necc/) but wasn't up at the time of this post. I will definitely go back and review this webcast as he offered a lot of good things to think about when changing systems, getting kids to the why...
Need to keep that in mind when creating a plan for tech integration..
why?
Tuesday, June 26, 2007
Constructivist Teaching With Technology: Learning With Laptops
I have made a promise to myself that was going to try to do less live blog note-taking and more reflective blogging. Chris Lehman said to me today that he has gathered enough "stuff" here for MONTHS of thoughtful blogs and like he, I need time to reflect on it. Kurt Paccio took some good notes on his blog so I will let you look at those...
My thought of the day comes from a presentation I went to by the Arapahoe HS teachers led by Karl Fisch--of Did you Know fame...The newest version of his PowerPoint is on YouTube and even if you saw version 1, it is worth seeing this version. AND David Warlick of the LandMark Project. I watched as a team of teachers shared the process, the successes, the failures of creating a constructivist model. They shared examples, spoke passionately, and really made the walls of their school transparent. Transparency in the classroom...what a risk they are taking opening the doors of their school to the world. Think about what a paradigm shift this must be. And all with just 2 classroom carts of laptops...2 carts...known by the WORLD!!!!! How can they be SO successful....
Professional Development---THEY don't focus on the technology, while they'd LOVE to have it, the focus is on shifting from a teacher centered model to a learner center model. I listened to David Warlick saying the same thing...He actually suggested that we STOP INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY????? If we are to come to a conclusion, it is not that we need to integrate technology.
Instead of integrating technology, we must INTEGRATE LITERACY—we need to think about what are the basic skills the kids need to be ready for their information landscape…the technology will come along—but not because we are putting their hands on machine. These machines are the pencil paper of their time, these are the tools of their time.
Two Things we know
1. We are preparing kids for an unpredictable future therefore the BEST thing we can do is teach them to teach themselves
2. Nature of Information has changed therefore we MUST change how we define literacy
These 2 ideas can be merged by beginning to think in terms of LEARNING LITERACY—they will be learning for the rest of their lives and THESE are the things that we NEED to start to teach...
Learning literacy...preparing kids for their future...wow what a concept
My thought of the day comes from a presentation I went to by the Arapahoe HS teachers led by Karl Fisch--of Did you Know fame...The newest version of his PowerPoint is on YouTube and even if you saw version 1, it is worth seeing this version. AND David Warlick of the LandMark Project. I watched as a team of teachers shared the process, the successes, the failures of creating a constructivist model. They shared examples, spoke passionately, and really made the walls of their school transparent. Transparency in the classroom...what a risk they are taking opening the doors of their school to the world. Think about what a paradigm shift this must be. And all with just 2 classroom carts of laptops...2 carts...known by the WORLD!!!!! How can they be SO successful....
Professional Development---THEY don't focus on the technology, while they'd LOVE to have it, the focus is on shifting from a teacher centered model to a learner center model. I listened to David Warlick saying the same thing...He actually suggested that we STOP INTEGRATING TECHNOLOGY????? If we are to come to a conclusion, it is not that we need to integrate technology.
Instead of integrating technology, we must INTEGRATE LITERACY—we need to think about what are the basic skills the kids need to be ready for their information landscape…the technology will come along—but not because we are putting their hands on machine. These machines are the pencil paper of their time, these are the tools of their time.
Two Things we know
1. We are preparing kids for an unpredictable future therefore the BEST thing we can do is teach them to teach themselves
2. Nature of Information has changed therefore we MUST change how we define literacy
These 2 ideas can be merged by beginning to think in terms of LEARNING LITERACY—they will be learning for the rest of their lives and THESE are the things that we NEED to start to teach...
Learning literacy...preparing kids for their future...wow what a concept
Monday, June 25, 2007
Looking for Global Partners
One of the CFF teachers with whom I worked this past year and I spoke at the end of the year about his desire to create a "global issues" course in our HS next year. The vision is to choose some GLOBAL THEMES and have kids from around the world to have peer-peer "conversations" about them...So one of my themes for this year's NECC was to investigate global opportunities. I signed up for a session today and when I walked in and saw a room full of iMacs, I KNEW I would not be disappointed :) This session was done by some apple distinguished educators. Click HERE for the wikispace they have created.
Global Collaborative Resources
They also had a handout with some great resources for finding global partners and projects.
I know as we sit down to plan in September we will use some of these resources. If you are interested in becoming a partner in our global issues course, please let me know...
OH and if you have any ideas about what ISSUES we should think about...should it be up to the kids...are the issues we are concerned about in the US even ISSUES in other areas of the world...the opportunities...
Global Collaborative Resources
| MA314 Classroom Innovations Series: Teaching and Learning in a Global Context [Workshop : Hands-on] | |
| Julene Reed, St. Georges Independent School with Lucy Gray Monday, 6/25/2007, 8:30am–11:30am; OMNI International A Learn how to use technology and online resources to provide structured experiences so students deepen their understanding of the world as they explore environments outside the classroom. | |
They also had a handout with some great resources for finding global partners and projects.
| Rock Our World | http://www.rockourworld.org |
| The GLOBE Project | http://globe.gov |
| Kidlink | http://kidlink.org/english |
| My Wonderful World | http://mywonderfulworld.org |
| iEARN | http://iearn.org |
| ePALS | http://epals.com |
| Global SchoolNet Foundation | http://glonalschoolnet.org |
| Gloriad | http://gloriad.org |
| Think.com | http://think.com |
| One World Youth Project | http://oneworldyouthproject.org |
| Jane Goodall Institute | http://www.janegoodall.org |
| Roots & Shoots | http://rootsandshoots.org |
| Global Voices | http://globalvoicesonline.org |
| Global Learning | http://globalawareness.com |
| Kids World | http://peacecorps.gov/kids |
| Kids Around the World | http://www.katw.org |
I know as we sit down to plan in September we will use some of these resources. If you are interested in becoming a partner in our global issues course, please let me know...
OH and if you have any ideas about what ISSUES we should think about...should it be up to the kids...are the issues we are concerned about in the US even ISSUES in other areas of the world...the opportunities...
Sunday, June 24, 2007
Raising test scores with 21st Century Skills
Wow...the title of this session is every administrator's DREAM. How can we do BOTH.
Ian Jukes will tell you exactly how and if you EVER get a chance to hear him speak, I would highly recommend it. If you are in charge of curriculum in your district you absolutely must take a look at the handouts page he has put together.
He started his session by telling us that his job is not to educate, irritate...give swift kick in your assumptions and looking at things from a different point of view. He talked about how educators have an unconscious mindset for what education should be...and quoted Lou Salza who said it is "easier to change the course of history than to change a history course…" TTWADI—that’s the way we’ve always done it. Pervasive unconscious way we do things and his societal examples were astounding. Having small children, I really connected with the analogy he made of parents teaching child how to walk independently...they continue to try and fail until they finally get it right. Yet even when they are failing, we encourage them until they do succeed. Why is it that we know intuitively that we need to prepare kids for independence and yet we continue to create a culture of dependence in our schools?
But he didn't just talk about the problems. He also gave some solutions. He said we need to start to plan with the end in mind. According to Dale's Cone of Learning we remember only 10% of what we read 20% of what we hear 30 % of what we see but 90 % of what we do. His idea was to use a 4 D approach: Design, Define, Develop, Debrief.
Here are some of my notes on the approach:
1. Define: have you ever given a kid an assignment and gotten back something TOTALLY different from what you expect: ready fire aim they need to know exactly what they need to know before they go out to do it. At the define stage, the kids need to identify what skills they need to complete task
• Need to define in performance terms
• Must know before they begin how that performance is going to be assessed. Determined in advance. Tell me what you think I just asked you to do…define it in performance terms
2. Design: Have you ever done a garden without thinking through it? Providing a step by step plan in advance—prevents wasted effort and a logical strategy. In the design stage things look good. Ask kids to come up with a plan in advance: Might be working in community, parents, internet…doesn’t matter WHO they learn from as long as they learn it—they have been raised in a culture of dependency—unconsciously they feel that their assessment should be from decontextualized source—if you are not going ot lecture me, how am I going to get help—instead of TELLING them what to do, I am creating a dialogue—
TWO TYPES OF LEARNING
• Determine what needs to be done
• Determine the skills you need to do it
3. Develop: DO IT—put plan into action. Put paper into action. Kids asked to create a real life product. This is NOT a linear process—when we design a project there are always hiccups, always problems. It is EXACTLY like the writing process—we ask them to apply what they learn to perform THE END PRODUCT is important, but in order to improve the product you have to reflect on the process
4. Debrief: Debug CANEI constant and never ending improvement. Right now focus is on the product of learning, not the process of learning. In real life the responsibility of work happens long after the product…to prepare them for their future (not our comfort zone) need to foster independence and self reflection: What was learned, how was it learned, what were the obstacles, what would I do differently. If focus is only on the end product,
Job is not look smart—shift responsibility of learning from me to them
When kids grad from HS, they shouldn’t need us anymore
We HAVE to have the opportunity to FAIL in school there is no success without failure. There is no BIG success without BIG failure….Edison failed 1,000 times when making light bulbs rather than focusing on each attempt, he now knew 1000 ways how NOT to make a light bulb.
I thought the interaction....the how can we do this in OUR schools was the best part of the session. So let's hear it, how CAN we do this in our schools.
Ian Jukes will tell you exactly how and if you EVER get a chance to hear him speak, I would highly recommend it. If you are in charge of curriculum in your district you absolutely must take a look at the handouts page he has put together.
He started his session by telling us that his job is not to educate, irritate...give swift kick in your assumptions and looking at things from a different point of view. He talked about how educators have an unconscious mindset for what education should be...and quoted Lou Salza who said it is "easier to change the course of history than to change a history course…" TTWADI—that’s the way we’ve always done it. Pervasive unconscious way we do things and his societal examples were astounding. Having small children, I really connected with the analogy he made of parents teaching child how to walk independently...they continue to try and fail until they finally get it right. Yet even when they are failing, we encourage them until they do succeed. Why is it that we know intuitively that we need to prepare kids for independence and yet we continue to create a culture of dependence in our schools?
But he didn't just talk about the problems. He also gave some solutions. He said we need to start to plan with the end in mind. According to Dale's Cone of Learning we remember only 10% of what we read 20% of what we hear 30 % of what we see but 90 % of what we do. His idea was to use a 4 D approach: Design, Define, Develop, Debrief.
Here are some of my notes on the approach:
1. Define: have you ever given a kid an assignment and gotten back something TOTALLY different from what you expect: ready fire aim they need to know exactly what they need to know before they go out to do it. At the define stage, the kids need to identify what skills they need to complete task
• Need to define in performance terms
• Must know before they begin how that performance is going to be assessed. Determined in advance. Tell me what you think I just asked you to do…define it in performance terms
2. Design: Have you ever done a garden without thinking through it? Providing a step by step plan in advance—prevents wasted effort and a logical strategy. In the design stage things look good. Ask kids to come up with a plan in advance: Might be working in community, parents, internet…doesn’t matter WHO they learn from as long as they learn it—they have been raised in a culture of dependency—unconsciously they feel that their assessment should be from decontextualized source—if you are not going ot lecture me, how am I going to get help—instead of TELLING them what to do, I am creating a dialogue—
TWO TYPES OF LEARNING
• Determine what needs to be done
• Determine the skills you need to do it
3. Develop: DO IT—put plan into action. Put paper into action. Kids asked to create a real life product. This is NOT a linear process—when we design a project there are always hiccups, always problems. It is EXACTLY like the writing process—we ask them to apply what they learn to perform THE END PRODUCT is important, but in order to improve the product you have to reflect on the process
4. Debrief: Debug CANEI constant and never ending improvement. Right now focus is on the product of learning, not the process of learning. In real life the responsibility of work happens long after the product…to prepare them for their future (not our comfort zone) need to foster independence and self reflection: What was learned, how was it learned, what were the obstacles, what would I do differently. If focus is only on the end product,
Job is not look smart—shift responsibility of learning from me to them
When kids grad from HS, they shouldn’t need us anymore
We HAVE to have the opportunity to FAIL in school there is no success without failure. There is no BIG success without BIG failure….Edison failed 1,000 times when making light bulbs rather than focusing on each attempt, he now knew 1000 ways how NOT to make a light bulb.
I thought the interaction....the how can we do this in OUR schools was the best part of the session. So let's hear it, how CAN we do this in our schools.
Saturday, June 23, 2007
We teach KIDS not CONTENT
This is the philosophy of Science Leadership Academy (SLA) in Philadelphia. I had the opportunity to hear Chris Lehman speak about what fundamental changes need to happen in schools based on the trends of web 2.0. In an open forum, the following points were made:
We finally have the tools to realize Dewey’s dream=they are available…do we all have them…? If so, what are the top 2-3 structures that need to change?
These are the words / ideas of the many fantastic minds in the room…These are my notes…thoughts from around the room
• Time: Change how we use our time: Streamline paperwork, give teachers time to adopt new things. Cant do it on top of already packed curriculum
• Use data differently
o What we collect
o The way we collect
o The way we use
• Planning has to change: can’t just start a blog—expectations won’t be met
• Need more models of that kind of planning. 5 point lesson plan doesn’t fit school2.0
• Teacher attitudes not only about the structure of the day, but the structure of the year: Jump into school year rowing as fast as you can without the pre-preparation—paid teacher time during summer, end of year, mid year. ONLINE CAN BE HUGE WITH THIS…C Lehman met with teachers 1 ½ hours in back yard then online in moodle—weekly chats, live talk then threads etc…When we break down the walls of the schools, need to think who we can invite in: F Institute Wed pm… every week have time to meet and plan—be creative with common planning time
• Vision of Principal: Help learning
• CURRICULUM: Spiral Curriculum needs to be ocneected UBD curriculum planning tool
• GRADING: Stop using grades and grade books as weapons against children: learning and starting and stopping
• Location: physical location? Does it need to happen in building—What about the layout—want starbucks layout
• Role of teacher / student: Break down the wall between students and teachers—parent expectations & student expectation
HOW…
Start in kindergarten
Squarely on our shoulders teachers being willing to learn from students
Tell the kids that we don’t have all the answers
Starts with vision
Can we create a school that is different for each student—end user experience—if you get out of
1:1 laptop initiative so kids have equity home / school
Part of school 2.0 is we teach KIDS before we teach subjects
How do you evaluate teacher performance? Admin in every class every day…no evaluation of lesson plans Goals based assessment
Not using evaluation as weapons
Teacher learning must = student learning
George Lucas site…Sherman oaks elementary school…time is built in every day to review what you learn
Connect with the parents: Schools have been black boxes for years if you enter a students id # in moodle, you get a list of HW, can see website, announcements,
If you make your school transparent, parents will get involved 63 % of kids on free and reduced lunch—95 % have computer access…when told parents progress reports are ONLY available online they came flooding for tech help…
In SLA don’t make p.report available through tech as they want the teachers to come in the more we can do when use the tools: we track attendance on line, hw,
The more we can teach….
More we can get the UPPER ADMIN to blog & put themselves out there…
http://www.leadertalk.org
What is the WORST consequence of your BEST idea…what will happen if you let kids blog? what if we don’t disable ichat? You tell me…
We finally have the tools to realize Dewey’s dream=they are available…do we all have them…? If so, what are the top 2-3 structures that need to change?
These are the words / ideas of the many fantastic minds in the room…These are my notes…thoughts from around the room
• Time: Change how we use our time: Streamline paperwork, give teachers time to adopt new things. Cant do it on top of already packed curriculum
• Use data differently
o What we collect
o The way we collect
o The way we use
• Planning has to change: can’t just start a blog—expectations won’t be met
• Need more models of that kind of planning. 5 point lesson plan doesn’t fit school2.0
• Teacher attitudes not only about the structure of the day, but the structure of the year: Jump into school year rowing as fast as you can without the pre-preparation—paid teacher time during summer, end of year, mid year. ONLINE CAN BE HUGE WITH THIS…C Lehman met with teachers 1 ½ hours in back yard then online in moodle—weekly chats, live talk then threads etc…When we break down the walls of the schools, need to think who we can invite in: F Institute Wed pm… every week have time to meet and plan—be creative with common planning time
• Vision of Principal: Help learning
• CURRICULUM: Spiral Curriculum needs to be ocneected UBD curriculum planning tool
• GRADING: Stop using grades and grade books as weapons against children: learning and starting and stopping
• Location: physical location? Does it need to happen in building—What about the layout—want starbucks layout
• Role of teacher / student: Break down the wall between students and teachers—parent expectations & student expectation
HOW…
Start in kindergarten
Squarely on our shoulders teachers being willing to learn from students
Tell the kids that we don’t have all the answers
Starts with vision
Can we create a school that is different for each student—end user experience—if you get out of
1:1 laptop initiative so kids have equity home / school
Part of school 2.0 is we teach KIDS before we teach subjects
How do you evaluate teacher performance? Admin in every class every day…no evaluation of lesson plans Goals based assessment
Not using evaluation as weapons
Teacher learning must = student learning
George Lucas site…Sherman oaks elementary school…time is built in every day to review what you learn
Connect with the parents: Schools have been black boxes for years if you enter a students id # in moodle, you get a list of HW, can see website, announcements,
If you make your school transparent, parents will get involved 63 % of kids on free and reduced lunch—95 % have computer access…when told parents progress reports are ONLY available online they came flooding for tech help…
In SLA don’t make p.report available through tech as they want the teachers to come in the more we can do when use the tools: we track attendance on line, hw,
The more we can teach….
More we can get the UPPER ADMIN to blog & put themselves out there…
http://www.leadertalk.org
What is the WORST consequence of your BEST idea…what will happen if you let kids blog? what if we don’t disable ichat? You tell me…
What makes an effective international project?
What makes an effective international project?
This was the topic of the first session I attended this afternoon at the EdubloggerCon. I was really excited for this one as I had contact with both Vicki Davis (who skyped into my PETE& C session this February) and Julie Lindsay (who commented on our Latin American Wiki
Vicki Davis is a 10th grade introduction to computer science teacher in rural Westwood GA
At Vicki’s school…Curriculum is research / knowledge based --genuine assessment—she has given up 250 question exams in favor of project based learning.
Vicki Davis and Julie Lindsay connected through k-12 Online Conference last year. Vicki ran online teacher wiki workshop. She talked about having her students read The World is Flat
CQ + EQ > IQ
That’s “Curiosity Quotient” plus “Passion Quotient” is greater than “Intelligent Quotient.”
After the conference, Julie emailed Vicki to say “I am on the other side of this flat world...let's connect our classrooms and talk about it…” and that was how it all began. They wanted to make the project wikicentric. Looked at tools--how they would link classes together, what would be the best tools. Structured the project so that there was ongoing and regular communication throughout. Individual and shared work--assessment would be based on the shared work, but still
They were experiencing the trends and writing about the trends at the same time.
The next step was the Horizon Project
Studied what college education is going to look like in the next 3-5 years. 5 classrooms, 55 students, whole new level of complexity in communications. ie kids need to respond to emails when they are sent. They established a project manager to manage the teams.
If we continue to allow our students to be ethnocentric--thinking that US is the center of the universe, we need to teach them to collaborate and build bridges with these students in other areas of the world
These students : in their classrooms: know how to tackle problems—won state literary competitions, the students were achieving new goals—I was really impressed with how much these students had achieved.
The discussion then moved
What defines an effective international project?
Consistency with both sides
Widen world for rural students
Make administrators aware of trends
Rethink stereotypes & communication: gaming
Must be part of curriculum: cultural awareness… NEED to be aware of it, see world through one another’s eyes
I thought it was interesting that Vicki commented that —while classroom is homogeneous IN the classroom= diverse because of the partners she has created
The attendees were a very diverse group and came up with amazing ideas
And this was just session 1….
We talked about PROJECT BASED LEARNING and how defined curriculum is putting a damper on initiatives—how can we work these initiatives into the existing curriculum.
On a final note…the comment was made…
For a democracy our school system looks very communistic…
Your thoughts?
This was the topic of the first session I attended this afternoon at the EdubloggerCon. I was really excited for this one as I had contact with both Vicki Davis (who skyped into my PETE& C session this February) and Julie Lindsay (who commented on our Latin American Wiki
Vicki Davis is a 10th grade introduction to computer science teacher in rural Westwood GA
At Vicki’s school…Curriculum is research / knowledge based --genuine assessment—she has given up 250 question exams in favor of project based learning.
Vicki Davis and Julie Lindsay connected through k-12 Online Conference last year. Vicki ran online teacher wiki workshop. She talked about having her students read The World is Flat
CQ + EQ > IQ
That’s “Curiosity Quotient” plus “Passion Quotient” is greater than “Intelligent Quotient.”
After the conference, Julie emailed Vicki to say “I am on the other side of this flat world...let's connect our classrooms and talk about it…” and that was how it all began. They wanted to make the project wikicentric. Looked at tools--how they would link classes together, what would be the best tools. Structured the project so that there was ongoing and regular communication throughout. Individual and shared work--assessment would be based on the shared work, but still
They were experiencing the trends and writing about the trends at the same time.
The next step was the Horizon Project
Studied what college education is going to look like in the next 3-5 years. 5 classrooms, 55 students, whole new level of complexity in communications. ie kids need to respond to emails when they are sent. They established a project manager to manage the teams.
If we continue to allow our students to be ethnocentric--thinking that US is the center of the universe, we need to teach them to collaborate and build bridges with these students in other areas of the world
These students : in their classrooms: know how to tackle problems—won state literary competitions, the students were achieving new goals—I was really impressed with how much these students had achieved.
The discussion then moved
What defines an effective international project?
Consistency with both sides
Widen world for rural students
Make administrators aware of trends
Rethink stereotypes & communication: gaming
Must be part of curriculum: cultural awareness… NEED to be aware of it, see world through one another’s eyes
I thought it was interesting that Vicki commented that —while classroom is homogeneous IN the classroom= diverse because of the partners she has created
The attendees were a very diverse group and came up with amazing ideas
- GenYes
- Have to have hooks…
- Clearly defined objectives and assessements
And this was just session 1….
We talked about PROJECT BASED LEARNING and how defined curriculum is putting a damper on initiatives—how can we work these initiatives into the existing curriculum.
On a final note…the comment was made…
For a democracy our school system looks very communistic…
Your thoughts?
Edubloggercon07
So I made it to Atlanta...my luggage unfortunately :)
I just HAD to get to Edublogger proconference and I am SO GLAD I did. Will Richardson, Steve Dembo, Jeff Utecht, Chris Craft, almost my entire blogroll in the same room.
I got to attend 2 sessions this afternoon: Roundtable forums...open discussions...tough topics
Julie Lindsay and Vicki Davis talking about what makes a successful international project...
Chris Lehman examining what we need to change about the "structures" of school 2.0...
Am furiously typing notes and PROMISE to get them up in less time than I last blogged.
Until then... check out the schedule on the wiki to see what you are missing
Boy I have missed this :)
I just HAD to get to Edublogger proconference and I am SO GLAD I did. Will Richardson, Steve Dembo, Jeff Utecht, Chris Craft, almost my entire blogroll in the same room.
I got to attend 2 sessions this afternoon: Roundtable forums...open discussions...tough topics
Julie Lindsay and Vicki Davis talking about what makes a successful international project...
Chris Lehman examining what we need to change about the "structures" of school 2.0...
Am furiously typing notes and PROMISE to get them up in less time than I last blogged.
Until then... check out the schedule on the wiki to see what you are missing
Boy I have missed this :)
Thursday, May 24, 2007
An Online Conference to check out...
I was contacted this week by Anne Mason, the Online Facilitator for the ICT PD (Information and Communication Technologies Professional Development) cluster programme, an initiative of the New Zealand Ministry of Education. She wanted permission to use my Connected Classroom Video on Teacher Tube. It looks like an interesting conference so I thought I would pass the link along...should be some good information--take some time to check it out.
Time4 Online Conference: Engaging Learners in an Online Environment
http://www.time4online.org.nz
28 May - 8 June
Prepare students for the 21st Century. Explore examples of collaborative online learning and the application of Web 2.0 technologies in teaching and learning. Presenters include educators and students from New Zealand and overseas, with keynote speakers Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach , Student Voices and now included, Derek Wenmoth. Sheryl begins the conference this Monday, 28 May, with three video clips and a discussion forum.
Access audio and video links and support material, and participate in collaborative online areas. The Pre-conference Preview and activities are now available, and gaining interest throughout New Zealand and the world. We encourage you to actively participate, so register now, sign our Visitors’ Book, add a comment in the Cafe area and become familiar with the online environment before it begins this Monday, 28 May.
Time4 Online Conference: Engaging Learners in an Online Environment
http://www.time4online.org.nz
28 May - 8 June
Prepare students for the 21st Century. Explore examples of collaborative online learning and the application of Web 2.0 technologies in teaching and learning. Presenters include educators and students from New Zealand and overseas, with keynote speakers Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach , Student Voices and now included, Derek Wenmoth. Sheryl begins the conference this Monday, 28 May, with three video clips and a discussion forum.
Access audio and video links and support material, and participate in collaborative online areas. The Pre-conference Preview and activities are now available, and gaining interest throughout New Zealand and the world. We encourage you to actively participate, so register now, sign our Visitors’ Book, add a comment in the Cafe area and become familiar with the online environment before it begins this Monday, 28 May.
Tuesday, May 22, 2007
PA Legislators...one step forward, one step back..?
As thrilled as I have been with everything Classrooms For the Future...I was equally shocked when I read in Dangerously Irrelevant today (sorry Jim ...D... comes before T... in my bloglines) about the proposed cell phone ban in Pennsylvania. As Scott points out, the vague language of the bill
"... portable electronic devices that record or play audio or video material shall be prohibited on school grounds, at school sponsored activities and on buses or other vehicles provided by the school district" can serve to prohibit well, just about EVERYTHING....HMMM.... CFF requires each classroom to be equipped with such devices.
I disagree with this as an educator, but also as a parent. I want my kids to be able to capture meaningful events... I want to be able to keep in touch with them if they are getting back late from an event.... is this not a step backward?
State Representative Angel Cruz, Democrat from Philadelphia, invites your input on this proposed bill. So go ahead, let him know what you think. I know I want my voice to be heard. If you are a blogger...reading this post...I hope you will encourage others to do the same.
"... portable electronic devices that record or play audio or video material shall be prohibited on school grounds, at school sponsored activities and on buses or other vehicles provided by the school district" can serve to prohibit well, just about EVERYTHING....HMMM.... CFF requires each classroom to be equipped with such devices.
I disagree with this as an educator, but also as a parent. I want my kids to be able to capture meaningful events... I want to be able to keep in touch with them if they are getting back late from an event.... is this not a step backward?
State Representative Angel Cruz, Democrat from Philadelphia, invites your input on this proposed bill. So go ahead, let him know what you think. I know I want my voice to be heard. If you are a blogger...reading this post...I hope you will encourage others to do the same.
Tuesday, May 15, 2007
To click or not to click....
As more schools move to 1:1, I am curious if anyone has found a "clicker like" system that students can log in from their lap-tops and teachers get the results. It seems silly when kids already have laptops in their hands, that you should have to put ANOTHER tool in their hands just so kids can click in...
I was catching up in my bloglines and back in April, Christian wrote in the think:lab about some Clicker-like tools--there were quite a few more mentioned in the comments. I finally got a chance to check some of them out.
Qwizdom : Needs a clicker
2Know: Needs a clicker
CPS: Needs a clicker
GRRRR...So far a clicker system built into the laptop doesn't seem to exist, maybe I am giving away MY million dollar idea....Any developers out there want to work with me:)
In the meantime, give me your take on any of these solutions:
I was catching up in my bloglines and back in April, Christian wrote in the think:lab about some Clicker-like tools--there were quite a few more mentioned in the comments. I finally got a chance to check some of them out.
Qwizdom : Needs a clicker
2Know: Needs a clicker
CPS: Needs a clicker
GRRRR...So far a clicker system built into the laptop doesn't seem to exist, maybe I am giving away MY million dollar idea....Any developers out there want to work with me:)
In the meantime, give me your take on any of these solutions:
Monday, May 14, 2007
TEACHERS..are you paying attention....
I spent an entire week at Apple training talking about what teachers need to know about teaching and learning in the 21st century, but it all REALLY hit home as I was looking over the pages of our Latin American wiki project this weekend. The whole time this project has been evolving I have been so impressed with how the kids are collaborating, but what has struck me even more was what is happening as these kids need to present their final findings.
After their research is done and the pages are completed, the final activity is for the kids to TEACH the material to their classmates and do you know what they have planned? Embedding a YouTube Video of Che Guevara speaking out about Cuba's disadvantage to view in class during the lesson. They have taped interviews an uploaded to Google Video (scroll to page bottom to view.) They are using Quia Quizzes to test prior knowledge of their classmates. One group has asked me if they could embed a news ticker for current events. Yet another is creating an activity using subetha edit where they can discuss what they learned when reading the page for homework...they are choosing to use the tools that engage them, help them to learn best.
Teachers...are you paying attention...
After their research is done and the pages are completed, the final activity is for the kids to TEACH the material to their classmates and do you know what they have planned? Embedding a YouTube Video of Che Guevara speaking out about Cuba's disadvantage to view in class during the lesson. They have taped interviews an uploaded to Google Video (scroll to page bottom to view.) They are using Quia Quizzes to test prior knowledge of their classmates. One group has asked me if they could embed a news ticker for current events. Yet another is creating an activity using subetha edit where they can discuss what they learned when reading the page for homework...they are choosing to use the tools that engage them, help them to learn best.
Teachers...are you paying attention...
Thursday, May 10, 2007
When students become the teachers
| Today on the wiki.... gigiw writes: sp5 students-question Why is Puerto Rico not considered a Caribbean country on the countries list while Jamaica and the Bahamas are? Posted Today 8:57 am - |
| marthalsp5 writes: re: sp5 students-question I do believe it's because Puerto Rico is a commonwealth of America and is not technically it's own independent country. Posted Today 1:45 pm - |
| talsp5 writes: re: sp5 students-question Technically it's not an indpendent country (since our government has pretty much infiltrated theirs). It's a Caribbean state, but not a country. Posted Today 1:46 pm - |
| tonymsp5 writes: re: sp5 students-question According to the facts Puerto Rico is a common wealth of the United States of America therefor it cannot be a Latin American country! (: Posted Today 1:46 pm - |
| vannamsp5 writes: re: sp5 students-question Puerto Rico is partially part of the United State because of their currency. It's not a independent country. Posted Today 1:49 pm - |
| brittanyrsp5 writes: re: sp5 students-question Martha, this is true, but the bahamas are too, if I am remembering correctly, and despite that it is U.S. territory Puerto Rico has its own history and culture, which greatly differs from that of the United States. I stand by that they should be inlcuded in this list By the way sp5= spanish 5 Seniors answering the freshman questions (and debating what they spent the last 5 years learning. Evaluating, judging, defending....all higher level skills....NONE of this coming from the teacher....just students hungry for the answers GOOD STUFF!!!! |
Tuesday, May 08, 2007
Addicted to the idea of Going GLOBAL...
I know that both Julie and Vicki have blogged about how the Horizon Project has been somewhat consuming. While I have followed their project, I only began to understand their addiction when I became involved in my own project. Following the students' discussion board, watching the evolution of their thoughts, and how these kids are moving from simply absorbing content to actually creating content has been SUCH a powerful experience...
When asked what they think it means to present to a global audience...
When asked about collaboration
Thanks so much to Jim G for pointing out our little Latin America Wiki Project... He has way more Latin American readers than the ONE I have (Thanks Jeff D) The Clustr Map shows the students how truly global their work is.....The in-class conversations about what countries actually qualified as Latin American....SO different from GIVING the kids the countries to research. Can't help but think about how cool would it be for them to learn about these regions not from other students in their school, but by students who actually live in the countries they are studying...
SO...If you are reading this ... and you are in a Latin American country OR you are reading this and you KNOW someone who is in a Latin American country...PLEASE pass along our wikispace.
http://learninglatinamerica.wikispaces.com
When asked what they think it means to present to a global audience...
Ketup writes: re: Presenting for a global audienceChecking facts, do our best work, being concise, showing respect....all 21st Century Skills...
Since this project has a chance of being global, I feel, just like Lauren, that we should be cautious about what we write. I also agree with Dani, that we should use reliable resources. We should show alot of respect to other cultures; speak the facts!
jillh writes: re: Presenting for a global audience
We need to presnt our facts concisely so other people don't have to wade through tons and tons of compiled information. With people all the over the world who can view things, it's important to say what you want to say as understandably as possible...and for us people, that means nothing as extremely complex as I know some of us are used to writing. it's like on YouTube--if your video description is more than a few sentences, less people will read it.
laurencl3 writes: re: Presenting for a global audience
The idea of our information going global not only frightens me because it means that people outside of our school might be scrutinizing our work, but also amazes me because i think this is an excellent way to get our school and our abilities as such gifted students out into the world! But like I said, the whole global think kind of freaks me out, so to make sure that we look like we know what we're doing and not embarrass ourselves, we should check and double check our facts before posting them, only use the discussion boards for latin america- related topics, etc. And because it seems like this might be our last project of the year (fingers crossed!) it goes without saying that we should put our best work out into the world and show how much we have grown in our first year of high school because we want to show people that we really are ADVANCED and worthy of the Humanities course.
When asked about collaboration
owaisn2 writes: re: Working CollaborativelyIt has been so great to have them using tools outside of the classroom for this collaboration. Check out how THIS page has evolved--using discussion tools and the wiki mail system.
Every individual in the gropup should have his/her own personal job/assignment to do so that the group is able to collect and share information in an appropriate fashion
reginab1 writes: re: re: Working Collaboratively
Dividing up the research and assigning jobs are important; but before we jump into that I think the group should discuss general facts, prior knowledge and their own interests to make sure everything is covered and people are researching what they're interested in. That way, the work will be easier and there's less chance of one person having to pull through a lot of work on a topic that was forgotten.
Thanks so much to Jim G for pointing out our little Latin America Wiki Project... He has way more Latin American readers than the ONE I have (Thanks Jeff D) The Clustr Map shows the students how truly global their work is.....The in-class conversations about what countries actually qualified as Latin American....SO different from GIVING the kids the countries to research. Can't help but think about how cool would it be for them to learn about these regions not from other students in their school, but by students who actually live in the countries they are studying...
SO...If you are reading this ... and you are in a Latin American country OR you are reading this and you KNOW someone who is in a Latin American country...PLEASE pass along our wikispace.
http://learninglatinamerica.wikispaces.com
Friday, May 04, 2007
Great Graphing Lesson
So I am probably too late to get the free dvd :) but this one is worth passing along.
Do you teach graphing to your students? If so THIS one I found via Chris Craft and Steve Dembo is a great lesson complete with videos and plans. The idea that we can describe things that happen with mathematical graphs isn't new, nor is the idea that this is an effective introduction to a linear unit.
What this teacher did (in his own words)
Do you teach graphing to your students? If so THIS one I found via Chris Craft and Steve Dembo is a great lesson complete with videos and plans. The idea that we can describe things that happen with mathematical graphs isn't new, nor is the idea that this is an effective introduction to a linear unit.
What this teacher did (in his own words)
He has the lessons, description AND videos on his site--check it out, I know I will be following it.I went out and taped ten events. They were simple. I walked down two flights of stairs. I ran up a hill. I drove my car. Each event was exactly fifteen seconds long.
I put a handout on every student’s desk with a graph ready for each event.
I played each event and then paused the video. I asked questions like, “When the clock started, was I up high or down low?”
Wednesday, May 02, 2007
Thinking outside the box...
I have been following some really cool projects these days. I have been fascinated by Vicki Davis & Julie Lindsay's Flat Classroom and Horizon Project. Julie just posted today a whole list of global collaborative projects. Watching these kids collaborate and create, care about their content, and deal with critical issues is very inspiring. I think these skills: collaborating, evaluating, and creating are so critical in the 21st Century and it has caused me to start thinking outside the box. As a technology coach, it is my job to get teachers to work on making the technology use a seamless part of their instruction and I am really excited about a project that we have just started. While on a MUCH smaller scale then the projects mentioned above, we have created a wikispace for the kids to study aspects of Latin American culture and teach one another what they have learned. We JUST started today and so far I am impressed with the discussion that is going on...the planning, the collaborating....I can't wait to see how this project takes off. If you get a chance...check it out.
http://learninglatinamerica.wikispaces.com
I'd love to get some feedback to pass along. It would be interesting to see how the kids react to a global audience.
PS Looks like from my Clustr map that I don't have any Latin American readers....if you know of any that may want to contact us to collaborate or check our information.....
How's that for a shameless plea for readers ;>)
http://learninglatinamerica.wikispaces.com
I'd love to get some feedback to pass along. It would be interesting to see how the kids react to a global audience.
PS Looks like from my Clustr map that I don't have any Latin American readers....if you know of any that may want to contact us to collaborate or check our information.....
How's that for a shameless plea for readers ;>)
Wednesday, April 25, 2007
Really Cool Map Mashup
I have to admit--I have always been VERY social. So when I saw that a PA group started for NECC attendees I was very excited. Now I would be able to tell which of my friends in my networks were going to be there....but Atlanta is a big city, how would I know where everyone was staying?
I started by creating a google map--only to discover that I was the only one who could add placemarks. So I started my quest for map mashups that would allow multiple users to add bookmarks.....I have always liked frappr, but found that when I was on my district network I was unable to access it. Then I found platial. The basic concept is this: you create a map of a certain locations, add bookmarks and people can comment on the bookmarks you added or add their own. I created a map for PA NECC attendees so they could add the placemarks of where they were staying--neat because it could be embedded into the wikispace for the PA group as well.
Platial has some pretty cool maps....like good eats in NY and some cool features, like you can limit who can add to your map.....Then I started to think about OTHER more educational applications. What about creating a map of the battles of Gettysburg. Teacher can bookmark the sites, students can comment on what happened there. OR a map of natural disasters--kids can add the location and others can comment. If you are visiting my blog today--take some time to click on my platial map and let me know where you are visiting from!!!!
I started by creating a google map--only to discover that I was the only one who could add placemarks. So I started my quest for map mashups that would allow multiple users to add bookmarks.....I have always liked frappr, but found that when I was on my district network I was unable to access it. Then I found platial. The basic concept is this: you create a map of a certain locations, add bookmarks and people can comment on the bookmarks you added or add their own. I created a map for PA NECC attendees so they could add the placemarks of where they were staying--neat because it could be embedded into the wikispace for the PA group as well.
Platial has some pretty cool maps....like good eats in NY and some cool features, like you can limit who can add to your map.....Then I started to think about OTHER more educational applications. What about creating a map of the battles of Gettysburg. Teacher can bookmark the sites, students can comment on what happened there. OR a map of natural disasters--kids can add the location and others can comment. If you are visiting my blog today--take some time to click on my platial map and let me know where you are visiting from!!!!
Tuesday, April 17, 2007
Understanding Tragedy in a Connected World...
Like many, I have struggled all day to make sense of what happened yesterday. Our schools are supposed to be sacred places. In a place where people come not only to learn, but to share their knowledge, to produce citizens to make this world a better place, such things should not happen.
My babysitter was a Virginia Tech Student. She found out today that one of her friends was killed in the massacre.
While I don't want to exploit what is a terrible tragedy, I can help but think.... think about how many students at Tech were getting their information from off campus through cell phones and text messaging...think about how a tech alert system in place may have changed the outcome...think about how the first footage from the scene was from a student's cellphone. I think too of how because of media and instant information repeated over and over, how painful this loss must be for those who are living it. My sitter is one of my friends on Facebook, I left her a message on her wall to let her know I am thinking about her and her friends. A group was started in her friend's memory on Facebook. In less than an hour this group grew from 71 members to over 370. I marvel at the power of the tools that are bringing people together in such difficult times...allowing them to communicate, to express, to grieve. There has been so much negative press about the dangers of sites like myspace or facebook and here is an example of how it is bringing people together in very powerful ways.
Vicki Davis talks about a world where technology is a friend, journalist, and tool of safety. where wikipedia has more reliable information than a single news source.
I grieve with the world and continue to pray for the families, students, and faculty who were affected by the tragedy at Virginia Tech.
My babysitter was a Virginia Tech Student. She found out today that one of her friends was killed in the massacre.
While I don't want to exploit what is a terrible tragedy, I can help but think.... think about how many students at Tech were getting their information from off campus through cell phones and text messaging...think about how a tech alert system in place may have changed the outcome...think about how the first footage from the scene was from a student's cellphone. I think too of how because of media and instant information repeated over and over, how painful this loss must be for those who are living it. My sitter is one of my friends on Facebook, I left her a message on her wall to let her know I am thinking about her and her friends. A group was started in her friend's memory on Facebook. In less than an hour this group grew from 71 members to over 370. I marvel at the power of the tools that are bringing people together in such difficult times...allowing them to communicate, to express, to grieve. There has been so much negative press about the dangers of sites like myspace or facebook and here is an example of how it is bringing people together in very powerful ways.
Vicki Davis talks about a world where technology is a friend, journalist, and tool of safety. where wikipedia has more reliable information than a single news source.
I grieve with the world and continue to pray for the families, students, and faculty who were affected by the tragedy at Virginia Tech.
Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Are you paying attention....
I came upon this video via Wesley Fryer's Moving at the Speed of Creativity--In the spirit of Karl Fisch's Did you Know PowerPoint and many of the other conversations being held about how to reach kids and teach them how they learn, I thought it worth posting. Not only does it have lots of good information, but the references on each slide to support. Not only that it offers ways to actually reach these digital natives. Interesting that it actually has more views on TeacherTube than on YouTube--let's hope that continues to stay unblocked in most districts.
Don't let yourself get STUCK.
Don't let yourself get STUCK.
Sunday, April 08, 2007
Get ready for the future....
I came across this via Durff's Blog and Apple Learning Interchange...
As we move towards 1:1 in my school district, I think it is well worth passing along as food for thought.
As we move towards 1:1 in my school district, I think it is well worth passing along as food for thought.
Let’s have a little competition at school and get ready for the future. I will use a laptop and you will use paper and pencil. Are you ready…?It is worth noting that this was originally posted on Abilene, Kansas High School Dialogue Buzz website during the spring of 2003. . Given that 96% of students say that school is important for their success, and only 20% say it is meeting their needs and the fastest growing set of computer users today are 5-7 year olds. Given that at the time of this posting, in 2003 4%of US school districts were involved in a 1:1 initiative. By 2011, it is estimated that 24% of districts will be involved in a 1:1 deployment. The question shouldn't be are we ready...it should be are we moving fast enough?
I will access up-to-date information - you have a textbook that is 5 years old.
I will immediately know when I misspell a word – you have to wait until it’s graded.
I will learn how to care for technology by using it – you will read about it.
I will see math problems in 3D – you will do the odd problems.
I will create artwork and poetry and share it with the world – you will share yours with the class.
I will have 24/7 access – you have the entire class period.
I will access the most dynamic information – yours will be printed and photocopied.
I will communicate with leaders and experts using email – you will wait for Friday’s speaker.
I will select my learning style – you will use the teacher’s favorite learning style.
I will collaborate with my peers from around the world – you will collaborate with peers in your classroom.
I will take my learning as far as I want – you must wait for the rest of the class.
The cost of a laptop per year? - $250
The cost of teacher and student training? – Expensive
The cost of well educated US citizens and workforce? - Priceless
Thursday, April 05, 2007
It's time to rethink a few things....
I read blogs, a LOT of them--sometimes when I blog myself, I feel like an echo of others' thoughts but recently Will Richardson posted an interesting article in Education Week: Let’s Abolish High School and since I had the opportunity to see Willard Daggett speak over this break--I really needed to take some time to make some connections. From the Ed Week article, Will quoted:
FROM MY NOTES taken during Dagget's session:
Our schools aren’t failing—we graduated more 18 year olds despite facts that have more state tests to pass—more children living below poverty line…World outside school is changing 4-5 times faster than world in school. We are suffering from a skills gap. Change is a process. We cannot and will not be able to change until there is more pressure for change than resistance to change. China says they will be #1 in biotech—1 year requirement…India has 2 year requirement—yet many of our schools are teaching sciences in isolation. Project 720—requires 2 years of foreign language—but what languages are we teaching? In China 110 million people studying English—must pass proficiency exam in English. India has 168 million preschoolers. If the preschoolers in India were a nation they would be the 4th most populated nation in world. The Math & Science requirements to enter HS in India are higher than that of our graduation requirements. That is the ones they CHOOSE to educate—The problem is that the ones they choose to educate are going to have us for lunch. Are we talking about this in schools?
Will stated... It’s getting to the point where I’m either going to have to stop reading stuff like this or put my blog where my mouth is in terms of my own school system…Often I feel very much the same way...
When ARE people going to stop reading and writing and start DOING? There are quite a few bold educators...who are taking risks and talking about it. Chris Lehman, Marco Torres, Vicki Davis, Karl Fisch and the teachers at Arapahoe immediately come to mind and I think PA is taking some bold steps between the Keystone Technology Integrators, Classrooms for the Future, Project 720, and PA High School Coaching Initiative but it is systemic change that needs to happen and I think we have a responsibility to our students to have ongoing conversations. Because when kids are given the opportunity to work and learn collaboratively ---and they go on to institutions of higher learning, they come out saying THIS
So I repeat what Daggett said MANY times during his session...Change is a process. We cannot and will not be able to change until there is more pressure for change than resistance to change. I challenge educators to talk more, be less resistant and start to make some changes.
“A century ago, there was no way to address these concerns, but, thanks to computers and the Internet, we now have rapidly improving tools that will soon allow virtually all young people to master essential material at their own pace, and to do so at any point in their lives. There will probably always be a place for the classroom, but it will be a place where intense and intimate learning takes place with highly willing students, not a step on an assembly line.”a place where intense and intimate learning takes place with highly willing students.... I have some concerns about this quote. Daggett was very clear that while he has traveled around the world, there is no place he would rather be that the United States because we are the one country that makes it their responsibility to educate everyone...
FROM MY NOTES taken during Dagget's session:
Our schools aren’t failing—we graduated more 18 year olds despite facts that have more state tests to pass—more children living below poverty line…World outside school is changing 4-5 times faster than world in school. We are suffering from a skills gap. Change is a process. We cannot and will not be able to change until there is more pressure for change than resistance to change. China says they will be #1 in biotech—1 year requirement…India has 2 year requirement—yet many of our schools are teaching sciences in isolation. Project 720—requires 2 years of foreign language—but what languages are we teaching? In China 110 million people studying English—must pass proficiency exam in English. India has 168 million preschoolers. If the preschoolers in India were a nation they would be the 4th most populated nation in world. The Math & Science requirements to enter HS in India are higher than that of our graduation requirements. That is the ones they CHOOSE to educate—The problem is that the ones they choose to educate are going to have us for lunch. Are we talking about this in schools?
Will stated... It’s getting to the point where I’m either going to have to stop reading stuff like this or put my blog where my mouth is in terms of my own school system…Often I feel very much the same way...
When ARE people going to stop reading and writing and start DOING? There are quite a few bold educators...who are taking risks and talking about it. Chris Lehman, Marco Torres, Vicki Davis, Karl Fisch and the teachers at Arapahoe immediately come to mind and I think PA is taking some bold steps between the Keystone Technology Integrators, Classrooms for the Future, Project 720, and PA High School Coaching Initiative but it is systemic change that needs to happen and I think we have a responsibility to our students to have ongoing conversations. Because when kids are given the opportunity to work and learn collaboratively ---and they go on to institutions of higher learning, they come out saying THIS
So I repeat what Daggett said MANY times during his session...Change is a process. We cannot and will not be able to change until there is more pressure for change than resistance to change. I challenge educators to talk more, be less resistant and start to make some changes.
Friday, March 23, 2007
Redefining Copyright....
I have been mulling over the ideas of copyright, since I saw MWesch's Video...and since Google has recently been in the news over their lawsuit with Viacom, I have started to think about it a lot more.
Many of the teachers with whom I work have been assigning multimedia projects... very powerful opportunities for the students to show what they have learned. However, the questions that the students have raised as they come to me to consult with their projects have cause me to think a lot about the ethics of internet content....
A student studying stereotyping in advertisements... goes right to You Tube for her content and finds it is filtered on our district server. Retro Junk is a site which is not filtered, but because content can be added by anyone really does fall into the same category. Does it count as a primary source? Can the videos be used under fair use?
What if the student only wants to use a piece of something-they want to download the content? If they are not taking the video from the primary source, do they have the right?
In reality, a savy student can do a simple search for video downloader....Once they realize the file is not in a form that can be edited....ok do a simple search for file conversion... and viola instant editable video. Developers have created these types of software and they are free.....hmmmmm has really got me thinking.
So this morning I decided to test the process, see how it worked. As I was following links to kid of test this process, I happened upon film.com where you can find all kinds of trailers for movies, etc.... Kids COULD follow the above steps, find a trailer, download it, convert it and use it in a school project under the guidelines of fair use IF--they follow the fair use guidelines. HERE is a link to a ton of copyright resources. I really like the 2 page pdf chart from From October 2002 Technology & Learning Magazine . However I think that many teachers and students do not know these guidelines like they should when assigning (or completing) multimedia projects.
I try to convince the students that no matter what, these user contributed sites do not qualify as a PRIMARY source...that the content does NOT BELONG to YouTube, that sometimes the content posted on YouTube does not even belong to the poster. I try to steer them towards sites that are more reliable and often make the point that they are striving to make more effectively.
Some of the issues mentioned in this CNN video about the YouTube lawsuit by Viacom include Viacom's claim that even though they promised to remove over 100, 000 videos that violate copyright, tens of thousands of clips remain. While they suggest that YouTube establish a better filter system, the problem is that even when they do remove the videos in question, any user can put them back up. What was most interesting was that in my hyperlinking, this morning I ended up on Universal Pictures site. It was not surprising that a banner on the top of the site states "We have updated our privacy policy as of 3/20/2007. Please click HERE to view our new privacy policy. By using this website you are agreeing to be bound by our privacy policy and our terms of use." Of course these policies clearly state that everything seen or read on the Site is copyrighted unless otherwise noted, and may not be used except as provided in these Terms and Conditions without the written permission of Universal.
On the flip side, by going through the process to get what they need....are these students not developing higher level thinking skills, creativity, collaboration and all of those other great 21st Century skills we are trying to create?
Is it time for schools to start imposing stricter policies for violation of copyright in digital projects? And...just whose responsibility is it? OR do these uses constitute fair use?
Please offer your thoughts and help me wrap my head around this...
Many of the teachers with whom I work have been assigning multimedia projects... very powerful opportunities for the students to show what they have learned. However, the questions that the students have raised as they come to me to consult with their projects have cause me to think a lot about the ethics of internet content....
A student studying stereotyping in advertisements... goes right to You Tube for her content and finds it is filtered on our district server. Retro Junk is a site which is not filtered, but because content can be added by anyone really does fall into the same category. Does it count as a primary source? Can the videos be used under fair use?
What if the student only wants to use a piece of something-they want to download the content? If they are not taking the video from the primary source, do they have the right?
In reality, a savy student can do a simple search for video downloader....Once they realize the file is not in a form that can be edited....ok do a simple search for file conversion... and viola instant editable video. Developers have created these types of software and they are free.....hmmmmm has really got me thinking.
So this morning I decided to test the process, see how it worked. As I was following links to kid of test this process, I happened upon film.com where you can find all kinds of trailers for movies, etc.... Kids COULD follow the above steps, find a trailer, download it, convert it and use it in a school project under the guidelines of fair use IF--they follow the fair use guidelines. HERE is a link to a ton of copyright resources. I really like the 2 page pdf chart from From October 2002 Technology & Learning Magazine . However I think that many teachers and students do not know these guidelines like they should when assigning (or completing) multimedia projects.
I try to convince the students that no matter what, these user contributed sites do not qualify as a PRIMARY source...that the content does NOT BELONG to YouTube, that sometimes the content posted on YouTube does not even belong to the poster. I try to steer them towards sites that are more reliable and often make the point that they are striving to make more effectively.
Some of the issues mentioned in this CNN video about the YouTube lawsuit by Viacom include Viacom's claim that even though they promised to remove over 100, 000 videos that violate copyright, tens of thousands of clips remain. While they suggest that YouTube establish a better filter system, the problem is that even when they do remove the videos in question, any user can put them back up. What was most interesting was that in my hyperlinking, this morning I ended up on Universal Pictures site. It was not surprising that a banner on the top of the site states "We have updated our privacy policy as of 3/20/2007. Please click HERE to view our new privacy policy. By using this website you are agreeing to be bound by our privacy policy and our terms of use." Of course these policies clearly state that everything seen or read on the Site is copyrighted unless otherwise noted, and may not be used except as provided in these Terms and Conditions without the written permission of Universal.
On the flip side, by going through the process to get what they need....are these students not developing higher level thinking skills, creativity, collaboration and all of those other great 21st Century skills we are trying to create?
Is it time for schools to start imposing stricter policies for violation of copyright in digital projects? And...just whose responsibility is it? OR do these uses constitute fair use?
Please offer your thoughts and help me wrap my head around this...
Tuesday, March 13, 2007
Is the TEST what matters most...
or is it the learning process? As PSSAs are going on throughout my district...makes you wonder.
Thanks to Chris Lehman for pointing out this song by Tom Chapin
Posted by ME in honor of the PSSAs that are going on this week
Not On The Test (click to HEAR this song)
Thanks to Chris Lehman for pointing out this song by Tom Chapin
Posted by ME in honor of the PSSAs that are going on this week
Not On The Test (click to HEAR this song)
Go on to sleep now, third grader of mine.What struck ME the most was the last line "Don't think about thinking. It's not on the test." Today I sat in on a webinar that pointed out that college teachers are still lecturing because that is what is expected of them--that although kids learn are different and they learn differently, they also want to be successful. This high stakes mentality and high pressure makes kids want to be spoon-fed information rather than taking responsibility for becoming lifelong learners. In thinking about your experiences with high stakes testing...what stands out for you?
The test is tomorrow but you'll do just fine.
It's reading and math. Forget all the rest.
You don't need to know what is not on the test.
Each box that you mark on each test that you take,
Remember your teachers. Their jobs are at stake.
Your score is their score, but don't get all stressed.
They'd never teach anything not on the test.
The School Board is faced with no child left behind
With rules but no funding, they're caught in a bind.
So music and art and the things you love best
Are not in your school 'cause they're not on the test.
Sleep, sleep, and as you progress
You'll learn there's a lot that is not on the test.
Debate is a skill that is useful to know,
Unless you're in Congress or talk radio,
Where shouting and spouting and spewing are blessed
'Cause rational discourse was not on the test.
Thinking's important. It's good to know how.
And someday you'll learn to, but someday's not now.
Go on to sleep, now. You need your rest.
Don't think about thinking. It's not on the test.
Thursday, March 08, 2007
Are you smarter than a 5th Grader...
Is anyone else as disturbed by this show on TV as I am? Grown adults testing their knowledge against that of a 12 year old???? I guess it really does support the idea of how much of the content of what we teach is REALLY relevant outside of the 5th grade classroom. Research supports that kids who learn via traditional lecture and those who are involved in project based learning do retain information differently. Perhaps the adult contestants might fair better if they had been exposed to project based learning when they were in school. Or perhaps Thomas Friedman was right in his book The World is Flat when he stated "In China today, Bill Gates is Britney Spears. In America today, Britney Spears is Britney Spears- and that is our problem.”
The fact that these shows are making it on tv... pretty bad---the fact that I am actually watching and thinking about it :)
The fact that these shows are making it on tv... pretty bad---the fact that I am actually watching and thinking about it :)
Tuesday, March 06, 2007
Hello, Bonjour, Hola...
So I have received my first video comment on my Connected Classroom video.
HERE IS THE CHALLENGE....
So to the 4 (5 as of this morning:) countries in which I have readers :) What do you say, are you up for the challenge? It will be interesting to see how connected we really are.
HERE IS THE CHALLENGE....
Hello World" is the first thing people are taught to program in nearly every programming language. "Hello World" can also be translated into hundreds, if not thousands, of human languages....but how often do we really stop to say "Hello" to the rest of the world?
I challenge everyone that sees this to respond. You get two cards...the first should say "Hello World" in your native language. The second should be your message of hope, dreams or thoughts to the world on one card, five words or less. We will then compile the videos from all over the world and repost on YouTube...spread the word.
So to the 4 (5 as of this morning:) countries in which I have readers :) What do you say, are you up for the challenge? It will be interesting to see how connected we really are.
Monday, March 05, 2007
The difference between natives & immigrants
GAH--I love those bloggers who take such good notes that you almost feel like you've been somewhere...
While I find it hard to keep up with the number of Blog entries that Wesley Fryer has a day, the content of what he writes is always so amazing. Recently he wrote about Marco Torres' Keynote speech at MACE entitled Now What do we do with IT.
Some highlights for me (and I wasn't even there :P )
While I find it hard to keep up with the number of Blog entries that Wesley Fryer has a day, the content of what he writes is always so amazing. Recently he wrote about Marco Torres' Keynote speech at MACE entitled Now What do we do with IT.
Some highlights for me (and I wasn't even there :P )
While Tech plans really reflect big differences in how kids and adults see technology
- adults see technology as a tool for RETRIEVING information
- kids see technology very differently than adults do
one uses technology, one does technology
I witnessed this first hand this weekend. We had gotten my 7 year old Nintendo DS for his birthday--within MINUTES of having it, (while I was still reading the directions) he had figured out how to pictochat his buddy...
Kids see technology as a studio, stage, and a community
Schools see it as a productivity tool
Case in point...the ongoing conversation about using PowerPoint
Wesley's notes also included an activity to have people name three events in history that have had a major impact on one's life
Always in the top 10....Noting that no matter how many times this is done, no one ever writes down something they have read: It is always something they’ve seen or heard
– atomic bomb
- JFK assassination
- moon landing
- challenger accident
- berlin wall
- 9-11
anyhow...check out Marco's websites:
and while you are at it, subscribe to Wesley Fryer's Blog: http://www.speedofcreativity.org/Sunday, March 04, 2007
More lessons...
I am continuing to reflect on Ken's post & responses to mine about the TOOLS kids need not being the tools of technology but the tools of learning--Jeff Utecht had a great post on the Thinking Stick about integrating technology and giving kids choices. Bottom line, they don't like it. However (and he said it about as well as anyone...)
We must reengage students in the learning process invite them back into the learning process and make them the center of learning, not the receivers of information. If we are going to teach students to ‘Learn how to Learn’ then we must at times push them to do so and get out of their way so they can.
One of my students in our teentek.com class came up to me yesterday and said:“What do you do here MR. U? I mean you never teach us anything.”
Exactly!
I am trying to encourage teachers to create the rubric that demonstrates what they want students to learn, but allow the students to decide what that learning looks like to them. It is EASIER to assign everyone to create a power point or a digital storytelling or a wiki or whatever and often times that is what the kids want too--they want to know exactly what is expected of them....exactly what they need to do to get an "A" or to be "proficient". As the teacher becomes the guide rather than the all knowing giver of information, the teacher needs to turn control of the whole learning process over to the students. Only then are we truly preparing them for the world they are entering.
Saturday, March 03, 2007
Sharing a few GREAT finds....
So I SHOULD be working on my graduate work, but I made the mistake of checking my bloglines and Julie Lindsay had a couple of great finds that I had to take time to record. The first find is blaring in my ear as I type...Musicovery. You choose the genre, mood, time frame, whether you want to listen to hits non-hits or new discoveries--it chooses the music--and creates a visual web that it follows for about an hour. Find a tune you like? click on the itunes or amazon button and go to the store for purchase OR listen for free....pretty cool considering I am working at the Panera and left my ipod at home. The next is a cool little counter from NeoWORKS that I have added to my sidebar--so far the only one who has visited my blog today is ME --but what a fun thing to embed in a class blog for students to see who is reading them. I always feel funny blogging someone elses stuff, but these 2 were too good to pass up. If Julie is not on your blogroll, she is definitely worth adding.
Friday, March 02, 2007
Lesson in the Yellow Needlenose Pliers
Some of my favorite things I am reading these days are right from the classrooms of the CFTF teachers here in PA. Ken Rodoff posted that he was in the midst of a Wikipiphany. He had given his class an assignment to use the Teacher's First WikiWalkthrough and then "teach" a group of teachers about wikis during a "mock conference". As soon as the assignment was given, the kids turned to the computers to create PowerPoints. I had 2 thoughts when reading about his lesson and the way kids responded...
1. What a fantastic expression of 21st Century skills....they turned to the computers to collaborate, to be more efficient.
2. Why did they go first to powerpoint when you had given them a new tool that they could have used to present?
It reminded me of a great article I once read...from the Journal of Computing in Teacher Education called The Lesson in the Yellow-Handled, Needle-Nosed Pliers
From that article
1. What a fantastic expression of 21st Century skills....they turned to the computers to collaborate, to be more efficient.
2. Why did they go first to powerpoint when you had given them a new tool that they could have used to present?
It reminded me of a great article I once read...from the Journal of Computing in Teacher Education called The Lesson in the Yellow-Handled, Needle-Nosed Pliers
From that article
"So, while we fill the toolboxes of our future and practicing teachers andAre we doing the same things to our students? How many teachers are assigning the kids to do a creative project but requiring them to use power point, iMovie, and not allowing them to develop the skills of determining the best way to present this information themselves? OR because they are the digital natives, will they figure this out for themselves...
arm them with the knowledge to use the tools for educational purposes,
let’s go a step further to assist them in organizing those toolboxes so that
their knowledge and skills are easy to access when needed. I’ll bet you know
how to swing a hammer, but knowing when a hammer is necessary and
when the job calls instead for a wrench requires some knowledge in context
and perhaps a bit of problem solving. Perhaps we make it too easy on our
teachers. We teach them about using a tool, such as spreadsheet software,
and then give them an assignment using that same software. The result is
that they become good at following directions, but they lack the critical
knowledge of when to use which tools and for what reasons. Unfortunately,
no one will follow them through their careers, standing over their shoulders
to recommend which tools will extend their teaching for any given lesson."
Monday, February 26, 2007
Newspaper 2.0
I admit it, I do NOT read the newspaper. It could be that I can't sit still long enough to do so...It could be that I start an article....only to be distracted by something else when I turn the page to finish that article. I have the same problem with magazines...Books are linear, I can do books, but magazines and newspapers I have never been able to do....until the internet.
I LOVE my bloglines. I can read and link, read then link, if I want to find out more, all I need to do is CLICK...it works for my attention problems. I like getting my news via RSS. I start an article, I CLICK to read more and there is nothing to distract me in between...News 2.0
We get the newspaper delivered at my house...my husband reads it daily. He likes being able to sit down with is coffee and turn through the pages, different strokes for different folks.....
I guess there are a lot more folks like me because This Sunday, I noticed on the back of the sports page that our newspaper has an EXPRESS section. All of the news in one page, visual with directions on where to go if you want to find out more. Under ON PAGE ONE, it shows the 4 stories that appear on page 1--just a summary. Want to know what is happening in the NATION & WORLD? There it is--title, one sentence, and where to go to find out more. There is the entire newspaper all layed out in this 2 page spread, short little blurbs with where to go to find out more. All it is missing are the hyperlinks :)
I LOVE my bloglines. I can read and link, read then link, if I want to find out more, all I need to do is CLICK...it works for my attention problems. I like getting my news via RSS. I start an article, I CLICK to read more and there is nothing to distract me in between...News 2.0
We get the newspaper delivered at my house...my husband reads it daily. He likes being able to sit down with is coffee and turn through the pages, different strokes for different folks.....
I guess there are a lot more folks like me because This Sunday, I noticed on the back of the sports page that our newspaper has an EXPRESS section. All of the news in one page, visual with directions on where to go if you want to find out more. Under ON PAGE ONE, it shows the 4 stories that appear on page 1--just a summary. Want to know what is happening in the NATION & WORLD? There it is--title, one sentence, and where to go to find out more. There is the entire newspaper all layed out in this 2 page spread, short little blurbs with where to go to find out more. All it is missing are the hyperlinks :)
Sunday, February 25, 2007
If you build it....
will they come?
Because technology is SO expensive to implement the question of "is it worth it" often arises.
...when everything is in place... the tools, the resources, the equipment, the reliability, the support... is it worth it? Does something magical happen in the classroom?
Having spent the last few months as a coach for teachers in a one-to-one setting, I can tell you that the answer to this is a resounding YES...
Want to see magic, spent a day in an English class where kids have voice...they use blogs and threaded discussion boards. They take notes in the "notebook" version of word. On a Friday afternoon they spend 10th period bluetoothing plans in preparation for the weekend, taking notes, learning how to access their files from the G: so they can be prepared to present on Wednesday...collaboration, presentation, research...
Want to see magic, watch a chemistry classes revising their labs using subetha edit. A physics class "mapping the wireless access points in the hs by sending information back to their classroom using the same program...collaboration, analysis, revision.
Want to see magic, watch RobTV...the weekly broadcast (produced even without a TV studio...) simply an enthusiastic librarian and elementary students who just want their voices to be heard http://snipurl.com/robtv...
Want to see magic...what about the class relating fictional literature about an autistic child The Curious Incident of the Dog at Nighttime autistic kids to the true story of an autistic woman.
And speaking of magic...how magical is seeing the looks on the faces of a class of autistic students when they get to watch the "movies" they made explaining how a simple machine they learned about works
If you build it...they WILL come...
There IS magic is building these types of learning experiences for children...but it is important that the building blocks: tools, resources, equipment, infrastucture and support provide a solid foundation.
Because technology is SO expensive to implement the question of "is it worth it" often arises.
...when everything is in place... the tools, the resources, the equipment, the reliability, the support... is it worth it? Does something magical happen in the classroom?
Having spent the last few months as a coach for teachers in a one-to-one setting, I can tell you that the answer to this is a resounding YES...
Want to see magic, spent a day in an English class where kids have voice...they use blogs and threaded discussion boards. They take notes in the "notebook" version of word. On a Friday afternoon they spend 10th period bluetoothing plans in preparation for the weekend, taking notes, learning how to access their files from the G: so they can be prepared to present on Wednesday...collaboration, presentation, research...
Want to see magic, watch a chemistry classes revising their labs using subetha edit. A physics class "mapping the wireless access points in the hs by sending information back to their classroom using the same program...collaboration, analysis, revision.
Want to see magic, watch RobTV...the weekly broadcast (produced even without a TV studio...) simply an enthusiastic librarian and elementary students who just want their voices to be heard http://snipurl.com/robtv...
Want to see magic...what about the class relating fictional literature about an autistic child The Curious Incident of the Dog at Nighttime autistic kids to the true story of an autistic woman.
And speaking of magic...how magical is seeing the looks on the faces of a class of autistic students when they get to watch the "movies" they made explaining how a simple machine they learned about works
If you build it...they WILL come...
There IS magic is building these types of learning experiences for children...but it is important that the building blocks: tools, resources, equipment, infrastucture and support provide a solid foundation.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
How are we supposed to talk about 21st C Skills..
when the things that we talk about...genuine TOOLS for improved learning are blocked by SPAM mail filters? How can we ask kids to create content if the places where they can host this content is blocked by internet filters?
I have had the ULTIMATE tech frustration today. I spent a ton of time this afternoon trying to send an email to a list of tech integrators. An email came through our coaching listerve asking for example of good classroom wikis to share with their administrators. After scouring my blogroll and del.icio.us accounts and reviewing my PETE & C presentation, I came up with the following reply:
Check out my presentation wiki from PETE & C
The main page is
http://theconnectedclassroom.wikispaces.com/
The sample wikis are on this page
http://theconnectedclassroom.wikispaces.com/World
Also check out Jenn Dorman PA Keystone http://www.cbsd.org/holicong/jendorman/ as a local example which is part of my page
http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/sites/sites079.shtml this is a good article to share as well
Vicki Davis (who skyped into my session) wrote about how she started using wikis in her classroom
http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2007/02/how-i-started-in-wikis-flat-classroom.html
http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com is a great blog to subscribe to...
Tried it again--referencing the blogs, without the addresses....STILL blocked....
So this is what I wrote--no porn, no ads, no junk and yet time after time it got rejected by the SPAM mail filter. Every day of the 40 or so emails I receive, at least 15 are SPAM in nature. My network administrator assures me that 50% of what he CATCHES is spam and yet almost 50% of what I receive is SPAM and information that is VALUABLE for teaching and learning 21st Century Skills is rejected. Which brings me to my original questions....
How are we supposed to talk about 21st C Skills when the things that we talk about...genuine TOOLS for improved learning are blocked by SPAM mail filters? How can we ask kids to create content if the places where they can host this content is blocked by internet filters?
BTW...If you are reading this from the CFF Coaches listserve, it may be your only chance to give me your feedback it :)
I have had the ULTIMATE tech frustration today. I spent a ton of time this afternoon trying to send an email to a list of tech integrators. An email came through our coaching listerve asking for example of good classroom wikis to share with their administrators. After scouring my blogroll and del.icio.us accounts and reviewing my PETE & C presentation, I came up with the following reply:
Check out my presentation wiki from PETE & C
The main page is
http://theconnectedclassroom.wikispaces.com/
The sample wikis are on this page
http://theconnectedclassroom.wikispaces.com/World
Also check out Jenn Dorman PA Keystone http://www.cbsd.org/holicong/jendorman/ as a local example which is part of my page
http://www.education-world.com/a_tech/sites/sites079.shtml this is a good article to share as well
Vicki Davis (who skyped into my session) wrote about how she started using wikis in her classroom
http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2007/02/how-i-started-in-wikis-flat-classroom.html
http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com is a great blog to subscribe to...
Tried it again--referencing the blogs, without the addresses....STILL blocked....
So this is what I wrote--no porn, no ads, no junk and yet time after time it got rejected by the SPAM mail filter. Every day of the 40 or so emails I receive, at least 15 are SPAM in nature. My network administrator assures me that 50% of what he CATCHES is spam and yet almost 50% of what I receive is SPAM and information that is VALUABLE for teaching and learning 21st Century Skills is rejected. Which brings me to my original questions....
How are we supposed to talk about 21st C Skills when the things that we talk about...genuine TOOLS for improved learning are blocked by SPAM mail filters? How can we ask kids to create content if the places where they can host this content is blocked by internet filters?
BTW...If you are reading this from the CFF Coaches listserve, it may be your only chance to give me your feedback it :)
Sunday, February 18, 2007
It's all about the book...
Maggie made an interesting comment about how librarians may feel about the "connected classroom" video. She stated that many "teachers do not feel that reading on a computer screen is actually reading--and that is all the reading many of our students get each day after school". This raises an interesting question about the definition of literacy and what it means to be literate in today's world. Not only do many kids ONLY read off the screen at home , many times they are ONLY reading from text and writing on paper in schools. If you haven't seen MWesch's Web 2.0 Video you simply must! The types of reading and writing that exist on the internet are different from traditional reading and writing that are happening in schools. So all teachers of reading and writing must engage in the conversation about how best to use these new technologies to teach kids about these new literacies. Donald Leu and his team at the University of Connecticut are talking about just that. We teach kids to read and write for different purposes, yet we ignore teaching kids how to read hypertext. Kids are doing research and while the original site is valid, may end up finding information that is unreliable based on the site where it is located. Even some adults link from place to place (site to site) without realizing that is what they are doing. Isn't it our responsibility to teach children ALL forms of reading and writing? After all, books were once the "new technology" as well:-)
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Apparently I am VIRAL....
I don't know if anyone has read Karl Fisch's recent post about how his Did You Know slides have gone viral...but I feel like I have scratched the surface and the infection is growing inside me more each day as I wake and think about my future in public education.
My version of Karl's thoughts is appearing all over. Interestingly, I have found quite a few Canadian bloggers' sites (all in French) here and here and here even here and who knows where else :P Although unfortunately I had a minor in Spanish Bable Fish has allowed me to follow what people are saying about the state of teaching, learning and today's world.
Although most of the sites I discovered state me as a source--I was a little taken a back when I linked to one that had not only taken off the direct link to my YouTube video, but had made comments to it using Mojiti (video annotation service) in essence changing the work----or had he?
When I looked at what he said....in BEAUTIFUL prose....it was the story of a father....and what he wants for his children.....
Roughly translated..... the annotations read as follows...
I try to be a catalyst of the passage of the school of yesterday towards that of tomorrow
And this (of the photo of a factory job) since a few years already!
Where the chalk will not be a privileged tool.
From there the importance of competences...
VS knowledge
The dad in me asks it to you... PLEASE!
A whole heartfelt cry, not?
My comments to his posting (in French of course:)
As a mother of 3 and a public school teacher in the state of Pennsylvania, you can see why I created that video, no---although US centric as pointed out in other comments I have received, this is a GLOBAL issue. I realize as I see my video embedded in sites around the world. We can NOT finish the discussion OR change the subject. We need to stand up as parents and educators. Globally we must do what is best for our children and their world.
We are in a more powerful place than I can even wrap my head around.....
Thoughts?
My version of Karl's thoughts is appearing all over. Interestingly, I have found quite a few Canadian bloggers' sites (all in French) here and here and here even here and who knows where else :P Although unfortunately I had a minor in Spanish Bable Fish has allowed me to follow what people are saying about the state of teaching, learning and today's world.
Although most of the sites I discovered state me as a source--I was a little taken a back when I linked to one that had not only taken off the direct link to my YouTube video, but had made comments to it using Mojiti (video annotation service) in essence changing the work----or had he?
When I looked at what he said....in BEAUTIFUL prose....it was the story of a father....and what he wants for his children.....
Roughly translated..... the annotations read as follows...
I try to be a catalyst of the passage of the school of yesterday towards that of tomorrow
And this (of the photo of a factory job) since a few years already!
Where the chalk will not be a privileged tool.
From there the importance of competences...
VS knowledge
The dad in me asks it to you... PLEASE!
A whole heartfelt cry, not?
My comments to his posting (in French of course:)
As a mother of 3 and a public school teacher in the state of Pennsylvania, you can see why I created that video, no---although US centric as pointed out in other comments I have received, this is a GLOBAL issue. I realize as I see my video embedded in sites around the world. We can NOT finish the discussion OR change the subject. We need to stand up as parents and educators. Globally we must do what is best for our children and their world.
We are in a more powerful place than I can even wrap my head around.....
Thoughts?
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Nice Wiki....
There has been a lot of talk about my video these days, video is a powerful media. I got an email asking HOW I embedded it right into the site--I thought others might have the same question...what a great topic to blog about---I am really digging this blogging thing.
My first thought for hosting was to put it on my own domain www.khokanson.net but I also wanted to follow the old practice what you preach philosophy so I decided to use a free video host service. the cool thing about youtube or googlevideo, or odeo, or any free video hosting site IS the ability to embed--when you post a video it gives you 2 things--a url to link to and and embed code that you can use to embed--in a blog, wiki, or whatever page takes embedded video.
I guess I got a lot of bang for my buck on youtube because with the tags flat world web2.0 and education a lot of folks have found it. I like that you can also set your videos to be public or private, you can set it so people can comment on it or not, you can allow people to rate it AND you can set it so it either can or can not be embedded by others. am actually being blogged about :) My same video has actually been embedded and commented on in 2 other blogs (http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2007/02/stephen-downes-connectivism-and-second.html#links and http://teacherdudebbq.blogspot.com/2007/02/by-way-19th-century-is-over.html)
The elementary school where I worked prior to my coaching job actually was hosting their weekly news on youtube now using eyespot (http://eyespot.com) which I am just learning about. It takes a while to load, but nice because on youtube there is a little image at the bottom that if you click on it brings you to youtube. Although it USUALLY jumps to a page with like videos that is not always the case. Eyespot as far as I can see, does not do that--but like I said I am just learning, but check out RobTV to seewhat these elementary school students are doing with the help of their very talented librarian. They have a really nice disclaimer as well.
TO EMBED IN A WIKI or whatever--as long as there is an "embed media" icon in the editing toolbar--you can add whatever video has embed text--in wikispaces, the embed media button looks like a tv--you click on it and when the pop up opens--you copy the text from the embed area of youtube (or whatever service you are using) right into the pop up box.
oh heck--if you are using wikispaces, the directions pop up IN the box and are much easier to follow
Add your favorite media clips and applications to your Wikispace in three easy steps:
GOOD LUCK to all of you and hey, send me the link to your first embedded wiki / blog media--Maybe I'll blog about YOU :-)
My first thought for hosting was to put it on my own domain www.khokanson.net but I also wanted to follow the old practice what you preach philosophy so I decided to use a free video host service. the cool thing about youtube or googlevideo, or odeo, or any free video hosting site IS the ability to embed--when you post a video it gives you 2 things--a url to link to and and embed code that you can use to embed--in a blog, wiki, or whatever page takes embedded video.
I guess I got a lot of bang for my buck on youtube because with the tags flat world web2.0 and education a lot of folks have found it. I like that you can also set your videos to be public or private, you can set it so people can comment on it or not, you can allow people to rate it AND you can set it so it either can or can not be embedded by others. am actually being blogged about :) My same video has actually been embedded and commented on in 2 other blogs (http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2007/02/stephen-downes-connectivism-and-second.html#links and http://teacherdudebbq.blogspot.com/2007/02/by-way-19th-century-is-over.html)
The elementary school where I worked prior to my coaching job actually was hosting their weekly news on youtube now using eyespot (http://eyespot.com) which I am just learning about. It takes a while to load, but nice because on youtube there is a little image at the bottom that if you click on it brings you to youtube. Although it USUALLY jumps to a page with like videos that is not always the case. Eyespot as far as I can see, does not do that--but like I said I am just learning, but check out RobTV to seewhat these elementary school students are doing with the help of their very talented librarian. They have a really nice disclaimer as well.
TO EMBED IN A WIKI or whatever--as long as there is an "embed media" icon in the editing toolbar--you can add whatever video has embed text--in wikispaces, the embed media button looks like a tv--you click on it and when the pop up opens--you copy the text from the embed area of youtube (or whatever service you are using) right into the pop up box.
oh heck--if you are using wikispaces, the directions pop up IN the box and are much easier to follow
Add your favorite media clips and applications to your Wikispace in three easy steps:
- Go to your favorite video clip, podcast, or embedded application. Anything from Google Calendar to Odeo to YouTube!
- Find the HTML code to paste into your site. This will be found in a text box labeled "Embed", "Embed HTML", "Add to My Site/Blog", or similar.
- Paste in the HTML below and click "Preview" to see how it will look. When you save your changes by clicking the "Save" button, your media clip or application will appear in your Wikispaces page.
GOOD LUCK to all of you and hey, send me the link to your first embedded wiki / blog media--Maybe I'll blog about YOU :-)
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Maintaining Relevance
As I sit listening to Will Richardson's Keynote at PETE & C--the question that stood out to me the most was...
As kids connect socially to the things which they are passionate about—how do we in education maintain our relevance?
What a concept---we....the teachers....and what we have to say.....does it have relevance to the students we teach? How do we make it important to them? I have really been thinking about this a lot lately as we begin to answer the strategic plan process in my school. How do we continue to support these efforts while preparing for high stakes testing? How do we convince people that we can't continue to do more of the same stuff and make a difference?
Will asked us to think about these things as teachers...
Who are OUR teachers?
How are we building OUR OWN learning network?
How are WE modeling OUR learning for our students?
Groups like The Keystones and GTO mentors, the Classrooms for the Future Coaches, and PAECT are starting to have these conversations...starting to make these connections. So I open it up to you...what changes are YOU going to make?
As kids connect socially to the things which they are passionate about—how do we in education maintain our relevance?
What a concept---we....the teachers....and what we have to say.....does it have relevance to the students we teach? How do we make it important to them? I have really been thinking about this a lot lately as we begin to answer the strategic plan process in my school. How do we continue to support these efforts while preparing for high stakes testing? How do we convince people that we can't continue to do more of the same stuff and make a difference?
Will asked us to think about these things as teachers...
Who are OUR teachers?
How are we building OUR OWN learning network?
How are WE modeling OUR learning for our students?
Groups like The Keystones and GTO mentors, the Classrooms for the Future Coaches, and PAECT are starting to have these conversations...starting to make these connections. So I open it up to you...what changes are YOU going to make?
Saturday, February 10, 2007
Creating thoughtful learners
I guess now that I have been blogged ABOUT...and linked to it is time to resurrect my own blog. I think what I struggle with most in blogging is having to perfect my thinking before making it public--but when asking kids to take the risk, I should do the same.
This coming Tuesday--I will be presenting at PETE & C on the topic of "The Connected Classroom". So that I could embed a video into my wikispace I uploaded it to YouTube.
Now, I use wikis all the time, have blogged time to time, but never really had an "audience" so I was surprised when the day after posting I had a comment about my video. Not only did I have a comment, but it was a comment from Vicki Davis whose Flat Classroom project with Julie Lindsay I have followed. Needless to say the world really is flat. It was interesting to see my work embedded in the context of someone else's blog--to see their thoughts and the related comments and to really reflect on the content of what I created....It caused me to think about the content of my presentation and what points I really wanted to make.... It got me to think about what we want our kids to do, to become creators of information, and reflect on what they have created so that they are prepared for their 21st Century world.
This coming Tuesday--I will be presenting at PETE & C on the topic of "The Connected Classroom". So that I could embed a video into my wikispace I uploaded it to YouTube.
Now, I use wikis all the time, have blogged time to time, but never really had an "audience" so I was surprised when the day after posting I had a comment about my video. Not only did I have a comment, but it was a comment from Vicki Davis whose Flat Classroom project with Julie Lindsay I have followed. Needless to say the world really is flat. It was interesting to see my work embedded in the context of someone else's blog--to see their thoughts and the related comments and to really reflect on the content of what I created....It caused me to think about the content of my presentation and what points I really wanted to make.... It got me to think about what we want our kids to do, to become creators of information, and reflect on what they have created so that they are prepared for their 21st Century world.
Thursday, June 29, 2006
What have you done today to make you feel proud
Reflections On the DEN NLC
“Like….wow!” Steve Dembo’s closing words to our group about our project pretty much tells the story of this past week for me. I hardly know where to begin to tell you about my amazing week at the Discovery Educator Network’s National Leadership Conference held at Discovery Communications Headquarters in Silver Spring, MD. How does one sum up a week spent the week collaborating with some of the Nation's most innovative educators? When I walked through the door on day 1, I was humbled by their eagerness to learn to things and willingness to share their knowledge. How does one begin to describe the words of the inspirational speakers we got a chance to meet; Alan November, Steve Dembo, Hall Davidson, and Josh Wolff (discovery educator abroad) who talked about his experience in digital storytelling from an “in the field” perspective? I learned more things in one week than I can begin to list in this blog entry, but I will try to summarize as best I can and I thank each and every person who added to that list.
We participated in some great workshops on Inspiration, Timeliner, Interactive Powerpoint, Photostory, and the best hands-on podcasting workshop I have ever attended (thanks to Steve Dembo) I was assigned to an amazing group and although none of us had ever podcast before, we were able to put together a pretty good show for beginning podcasters. Check it out. And then there were the Oprah moments….Adobe premier for everyone, DEN National computer bags, and an opportunity to be the first to see Discovery Atlas: China Revealed, the new Discovery HD production premiering on October 1st. Take time to watch this because it was ABSOLUTELY amazing.
A highlight for me was getting a chance to listen to and meet one of the brightest minds in the world of Education, Alan November who spoke about how the real revolution in education is not the technology but in how we access information and communicate. He stressed that it's not about the wires; it's about what flows through them that really matters. He reminded us that we, as teachers of the Discovery Educator Network, are going to be in a position to help define Global competitiveness, to REDEFINE literacy, to impress on educational leaders that it is essential for our students to learn to work with people around the world and become self directed, self assessing and independent. I know I am only scratching the surface so click Alan November to learn more. I know that I for one am up to his challenge.
The following book titles kept surfacing over the course of the week. They are all ones we should consider reading this summer.
- A Whole New Mind: by Dan Pink
- Blink and the Tipping Point: by Malcom Gladwell
- The World is Flat: by Thomas Friedman
- Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms by Will Richardson
- Don't Bother Me Mom--I'm Learning by Marc Presnky
- Empowering Students with Technology by Alan November which I actually WON by bowling a strike on our final night at the conference.
The last day was for project presentation and I was blown away by the work that was done in one week--the range of products was incredible; podcasting, PowerPoint games, videos using Adobe Premiere and photo story, products using Inspiration and Timeliner, each one incorporating the excellent unitedstreaming resources which Discovery Communications provides to member schools. I came away from the conference with so many ideas and connections to other educators who are committed to using Unitedstreaming resources to improve student achievement. I am especially proud of our project http://discoveramerica.wikispaces.com/ and hope you all check it out and join us.
Like the DEN over the past year as a part of this amazing network of professionals, I too have been have been transformed and accept the challenge to do my part to ensure that we truly change the way we teach. My thoughts are best summed up by the words of one of my fantastic group leaders Brad Fountain, Field Manager of North and South Carolina. As a result of the DEN 
National Leadership Conference, “I am forever changed. The more I think about it, I am convinced that perspective is everything, and the more I learn about the DEN and education at large the more my perspective changes…changes for the better.” So to the field managers of the DEN, I give you MY 2 finger salute… for creating a network where educators can work together, and learn from one another ways to best prepare our students to compete in a global economy. To educators across the country, I ask you “what will you do this year to make a difference?”
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