SLOW DOWN, you're in a school zone...

“It’s easy to drive fast in a Ferrari.”--- Graham Wegner

Image uploaded with Skitch!
I recently read a post by Graham Wegner which described that while voices like Kim Cofino, Jeff Utecht, Susan Sedro and Clay Burell have a lot to say about the power of embedding technology into teaching & learning experiences for their students. But as a realist...he sees that when the the ferrari is not there, all you have are teachers that are trying to make due with their hotted up Monaro....this analogy of racing on a track, really hit home for me and I'd like to take it one step further

What happens when GIVEN the Ferrari?
Through Classrooms For the Future we have been given the Ferrari of classrooms....sets of laptops, Interactive Whiteboards and LCD projector, digital still and video cameras, scanners, speakers.... and yet the teachers in these classrooms still have concerns.

Working with teachers who are comfortable with the car they've got
Some folks are very comfortable driving their Toyota Camrys. They are comfortable with the way it drives, they know how the tools work, and they can make their Camray go as fast (or as slow) as they like. It is dependable and that is what makes it so easy to drive. Some folks are afraid of getting in that Ferrari and the risk that comes with driving fast.

Image uploaded with Skitch!

Once they can get the teacher in their Ferrai and start to teach them the power it has, they are restricted by the school limits...
Many coaches returned to their schools from bootcamp only to find that their district has blocked many of the tools and resources that they learned that can help their teachers to start on the fast track. Many of the network administrators see only the danger, not the power of the tools. My advice, don't go to the network guys, go to the people who make the decisions about curriculum and instructional practices. Go to them with examples in other words, put THEM in your Ferrari and take THEM for a RIDE!!!

I continue to urge people get in the race...get behind the wheel of your Ferrari step on the gas, take it out on the road, and see what it really can do...as far as the school zones....
Thoughts?

Keeping Teachers AFLOAT...

I must say that the CFF bootcamp this year was a very rewarding experience as it has given me the opportunity to reflect on my past year of learning, remember where I was 6 months ago, and think about the possibility for the coming year.

Having the opportunity to be a technology integration coach in a tremendous program like Classrooms for the Future and helping teachers to prepare their students can certainly be a challenge as evidenced by the final project created by the gentlemen in my county...thanks @kenrodoff for making this available. I am sure that many of us, even the most proficient user, at times, with all of the tools, and learning opportunities, feel overwhelmed...like they are drowning in a sea of information



The most powerful part of this initiative is the coach, the person who keeps folks afloat as reflected in the ladies's final project...



I encourage everyone to reflect on this role and how we have a responsibility as educators to continue to work together. Please add your voice, your thoughts to our voice thread!!!!

Thanks to my global network and all of the CFF Coaches who are helping me to grow as a teacher, to improve education for my kids....You are an AMAZING group...have a great year!!!!

Progressive Education

How much have our schools REALY changed in the past 50 or 60 years....

and yet...
How much has our world changed...



I think about all of the tools for collaboration and conversation that weren't available even 9 months ago...
And how things will be different by the time NECC rolls around 9 months from now...


I have spent the past week at a "boot camp" for PA educators who are working to help implement a state program so that districts can begin to help their students use 21st Century tools for learning. I know that there has been a LOT put out on platters....sometimes too much. But at least the conversations have begun... I am glad I am developing a network of folks who are thinking about these things, becoming agents for change....for the most important reasonsWhat are you doing, what new things have you learned, how can you act to make these changes happen in your world?

Technorati Tags: 21st century, change

What have you bookmarked lately?

Keeping up with my world has been a little daunting these days, but I wanted to be sure to get a quick post out as I have been tagged...while I am not a big fan of these memes I kind of liked going to Lisa's site and seeing what she has been bookmarking and since I am doing a workshop on Del.icio.us later this week so I thought it would be a good way to prove the power of networks as well as find some other del.icio.us users to add to my network.

So here are the rules and here are my bookmarked sites...
1) Once you've been tagged, link your most recent bookmarked pages back to your blog
2) Name the tag that you have used so others can access the links easily in a blog post
3) At the end of your post, tag 6 people and list their names, linking to them.
4) Leave a comment on their blog, letting them know they've been tagged.

So what have I bookmarked on del.icio.us lately?

Kentucky Virtual Library has a neat how to do research page: I like the steps listed Plan, Search for Information, Take Notes, Use the Information, Report, and Evaluate and that each step models links for student use.

I also bookmarked this article from EdWeek about whether our Graduates are writing ready

I think the process of blogging in subject areas is fascinating and while I have read Dan Myer's Math blog for a while now, I came upon all of Chris Harbeck's Math blogs and wikis, boy is he doing neat things in middle school training kids to think about the Math Process.

Another cool blog project. Have students blog the story of Hamlet from the voice of the characters. The difference between Gertrude's and Hamlet's blogs from the theme of the skins to the voice of the writing is fun to see and I use this as an example all the time

With much of the "international travel" I have done lately with flashmeeting, I was looking for a timezone converter and really like this one.

So there you have it what I have bookmarked recently

I am going to call on some of my PA / del.icio.us network....
A. To help me out with my presentation at the CFF Bootcamp over the next 2 weeks
B. Cause you haven't shared anything recently with the tag for:hokie62798

Ken Rodoff
Kurt Paccio
Ken Pruitt
Chris Champion
Jim Gates

Even if you weren't tagged, feel free to leave me your most recent bookmarks here or better yet, tag them for:hokie62798 on del.icio.us

Define: "Digital literacy"

Vicki Davis wrote a GREAT post yesterday about student's need to learn digital literacy. While the post was thought provoking, the conversation that ensued as a result was even more so. Vicki expressed concern that her MS son came home with a report that included a source that was less than reliable.

When my son brought out his report on 9/11 facts, I was again reminded of how important it is to teach digital literacy.
You see, when he typed 9/11 facts -- he found a conspiracy theory website(s) and came out of it thinking someone had bombed the building.
Yes, he is in seventh grade, and Yes, I've talked so much with him about verifying sources, however, kids so often think if it is "on" Google that it is right.
In fact, Google doesn't verify for veracity but kids often think so.

Her concerns as a classroom teacher and a parent are valid--they are many of the same concerns which I have as a parent of digital kids. Many of the comments on Vicki's original conversation came back to "the kids need to learn to learn...we can't continue to as I call it 'spoonfeed' them resources" and this is VERY true when you think about HS and adult learners. I looked at the conversation through an elementary lens and thought about learning as a process--not the PRODUCTS that are being produced in High School.

It is important teach kids digital literacy (how to read and evaluate information online) and digital citizenship (safety, privacy and ethics). I am going to take it one step further here and redefine it the way Alan November did at NECC as INFORMATION LITERACY. We need to TEACH kids how to find, evaluate and judge INFORMATION and we need to weave all places that kids can find this information, both text and digital resources into curriculums across the board from early learning (kindergarten) on. Early on, kids need to start using and using properly, all of the resources available to them in order to ensure that kids obtain the skills that Tom Hoffman and Stephen Downes mentioned in their comments to Vicki's post as well as enable them to "prove authority" as David Warlick suggested.

Stephen Downes comment that kids can be "'not taught' and yet still not be left to 'figure out' things on their own." and with this disagree. We spend a ton of time emphasizing "healthy schools"--monitoring snacks that are served in the cafeteria, encouraging parents to discuss healthy alternatives for birthday treats, creating opportunities for students to participate in active games during recess. It is important to model these healthy choices. I went on to express that I would NEVER leave my kids in a kitchen full of all the food they can eat, with a big screen tv, nintendo, and a shelf of books and expect them to figure out that they will feel best if they eat healthy and read books...my kids would never figure out on their own that chicken with broccoli and book reading is better for them than video games, the Disney Channel washed down with Cheetos and soda with out some modeling and instruction early on. Kids need to be taught, teachers need to model so that kids can apply those skills when relevant. It is true with literacy as well.

I am a former 3rd grade teacher. Third grade was always an exciting year to teach because it is the year kids move from learning to read and start reading to LEARN. I saw how DIFFICULT it was for kids to navigate even written text to gather information. I was one of the few teachers who was teaching the kids how to read to not only read text, but to navigate webpages and compare information from the web with information in books. One example was our study of space. We had information to deliver from trade books copyright 2002, but I also used relevant sites so we could discuss which contained more valid information. We discussed how we drew these conclusions. We looked at sources. So at the same time they were reading non-fiction text to learn, I taught them how to read online information for information and compare, evaluate, judge what was important. I was fascinated by David's recent post about the future of interstellar space travel and the variety of resources that could EASILY be used with elementary students. As a teacher of elementary students I felt the need to continue to be a LEARNER myself so I could teach my kids these essential skills.

Teach, Model, practice, apply...

The process of acquiring digital literacy is quite different from traditional literacy in MANY ways. David, I WHOLEHEARTEDLY agree with you that teachers need to model HOW they find information. But I think there are still many adults who still feel like THEY are adrift without help in this sea of information, THEY never learned how to validate the vast amount of information to which they are exposed. They at least have a wealth of background information from which to draw upon, but could they help students find the resources that the truly need? You can't teach what you don't know...Rather than suggesting it is the teachers who are at fault, can those of us who have this understanding of the information explosion help them to understand the importance of doing so. And if so, what is the best way to go about doing this kind of modeling, what are the important elements?

Tom, mentioned that the basic skills that are being taught today are no different and with this I DO agree. In the ideal world, where kids at the earliest level are taught these searching and evaluating skills...even if the teachers continue model, practice and go to apply the learned skills, the same learned SKILLS that your now retired mother taught in checking sources, I think the DIFFERENCE is in the EASE and AVAILABILITY of information in today's world. When WE (and I use the universal we to describe anyone who was in school prior to commercial internet and google) did reasearch...applied the learned skills or "looked up" information in the microfische...there were "several" sources that needed to be weeded through for validity...not several MILLIONS... At the upper level, kids need to be taught HOW to access credible sources...via data bases, advanced google searches and other good search strategies. If we don't, they will continue to go to the first sources available. I certainly don't want to start the argument of who is doing this...I think there ARE many teachers who integrate these skills into what they do on a daily basis. What I am professing is that this needs to happen for every student, at every level, every day.

The bottom line, we are all seeking the same outcome...to produce kids that we can release into the world after 12 years or so with the ability to evaluate resources in order to prove authority. We need to continue these conversations in order figure out the best way to give the kids a good background by teaching them the skills they need to build on this foundation in the future.

Technorati Tags: digital literacy, information literacy, downes, warlick, coolcat, reform

What makes an issue GLOBAL: Perspectives on 9/11

Wow has it been 6 years....I remember that day vividly...my mind went back...

Then I noticed his poll...
crafty184 Twitter poll: Where were you when you found out about the twin towers? I was sleeping, woke up to work the night shift. Nightmare I thought. about 5 hours ago from web.

I replied...khokanson @crafty184 teaching had JUST gotten back from my grandmother's funeral in NYC -principal called us each out of room, hubby was supposed to be flying that day

And then came the responses from folks from around the globe...
From Sue Sedro (currently in Singapore)
ssedro @crafty184 In Kuala Lumpur, where it was planned. Sat on couch, in shock, watching it happen.

From Chris Lehmann (currently in Philadelphia)
chrislehmann @crafty184 Teaching in NYC. Car alarms went off on our block when the towers were hit. Strangest day of my life.

I passed by a Social Studies class in my high school khokanson sitting in on a social studies class...they are discussing perspective in 9/11 kids in class were in elem school where were YOU 6 years ago?
and even more folks replied...

From Katherine Staton (currently in VA)
Kstaton I was on maternity leave. When CNN showed split screen of NYC and WASH thought it had to be a mistake, thoughts and prayers go out to all!

From Danielle Abernathy (currently in FL)
dabernethy @khokanson - I was in Bitburg AFB and we had just moved on base. That close to edge of the base I saw my first protest - not all liked us @crafty184 I was at the DO in Sumter District 2, SC. Parents at the base started pulling kids out, fear of an attack on Shaw.

From Jennifer Wagner & Mark Wagner (currently in Southern CA)
JLWagner @crafty184 -- I read the news on the Serenity Sisters webpage (a graphic arts group) and then and sat down on my couch & called my boss.

markwagner @crafty184. Principal mentioned it at a regular AM staff meeting (pacific time)... I thought the guy that told me the details was joking.

A Few PA friends Scott Snyder, Kurt Paccio and Chris Champion offered their thoughts
Thespian70 @khokanson I was teaching. I'd seen early footage during my prep period and decided to keep teaching to keep the kids focused. Chose this path since we didn't know what was going on...maintain some degree of normalcy. Not let the kids' minds wander.
kpaccio @khokanson - was in Thespian70's ACE building. Watched CNN footage of first impact. Watched 2nd impact live and THEN realized...
chrischampion @khokanson I was in our office with a coat-hanger attached to the broken antenna on a crummy TV. Our Training Director couldn't get hold of her niece. She was one of the dead it turned out. My Bro in law was teaching in Manhattan - his group of adult students worked at WTC2 and watched in horror as their office fell to the ground with the twin towers...much more to the story he shared with me later on (in skype)

Jennifer Jones (Seattle, WA) offered this thought...
injenuity Someone needs to archive the 9/11 Twitter commentary and turn it into art.

My thoughts ran deeper...
The incident itself and the War that ensued as a result has had an impact on cultural bias, economics and world wealth, security and travel, view points on different governments...

9/11 had a personal impact on many of my "connections" around the world.
Personal impacts of global issues...

None of us saw the event the same way, because we were all connected in different ways to the event. Our perception had to do with our own personal connection to the incident. I think that this is the same with any global issue. We are in a gas crisis here in the US, but in Kuwait, students pay pennies for their fuel as they watch the tankers leave their harbors. One of the teachers at my school wants to get his students to start to do this, to think about how global issues impact them AND we want to connect with others to see how those same issues impact kids around the world. Our project is just in it's planning stages but with the technology available we envision being able to have students connect (via video conference--Elluminate, Flashmeeting, or skype) both real time and asynchronously in order to get them to take a leap outside of their own perspectives and take a look at issues through a global lense.

Here is the original call for help on the Global Education Ning
http://snipurl.com/1qkkc

We are looking for partners High School Teachers interested in joining our discussion AS WELL AS ideas....what are issues for you in your global world?

Technorati Tags: global issues, twitter, education, high school,

Deep Inside the Invisible Web

Recently Vicki Davis wrote about taking her kids deep inside the invisible web. Yesterday, my librarian pointed me to a great article in EdWeek online asking Are Our Graduates College-Writing Ready? What High Schools Could Do to Help. I think information literacy is ESSENTIAL for students and although I posted these resources on my ConnectedClassroom Wiki, I thought it was worth writing about here as well...
What is the Invisible Web? The deep web (or invisible web or hidden web) is the name given to pages on the World Wide Web that are not indexed by search engines. It consists of pages which are not linked to by other pages, non-indexed or query only pages. It also includes sites that require registration or otherwise limit access to their pages. 95% of deep web resources are FREE. Therefore, there is no excuse for not exposing students and ourselves to these great Internet resources. Google should NOT be a students first line of defense when looking for information.How to Find the Invisible Web Think "databases" and keep your eyes open. You can find searchable databases containing invisible web pages in the course of routine searching in most general web directories. Ones of particular value in academic research include:

• Librarians' Index
• AcademicInfo
• Infomine

Greater Google searches If your students are going to use Google they can use it to locate searchable databases by searching a subject term and the word "database". If the database uses the word database in its own pages, you are likely to find it in Google and it is more likely to contain information that is useful to your students

For example a search for the terms minerals + "data base" turned up two great data base resources without the commercial minerals resources.

• http://webmineral.com/
• http://www.mindat.org/

Deep Web Directories
There are many deep web directories including

• The complete planet
• Online Education Database

Some of the databases listed here are by subscription. However there is a good chance that your library subscribes to many of the resources or can work with you to get the information you need from one of their sources.

Take a look at The Tutorial from the Library at UC Berkeley and read the Wikipedia article on the Deep Web to help give you a better understanding of the valuable resources available for your students...and hopefully you will use a few of these in your classrooms this year

Technorati Tags: library, research, information, literacy, deep web

Questions about education

The questions posed are in red...my answers below...you can see I didn't get far....

Q. No one has really stated what the best way is to manage change in order to innovate curriculum. What are some good ways that you can think of? Would technology be one? How can changes in curriculum be managed?

Change is difficult, no matter what. With the amount of information that is available online today there are 2 truths.

1. We REALLY need to teach our kids how to search for information and provide them with good resources to do so. Joyce Valenza is a librarian in Springfield Township who is the guru of Library 2.0. Her virtual library teaches kids through data bases, etc... and her kids are scaffolded so they become responsible and engaged in finding information from appropriate sources.

2. We can't have the same kind of 6 year curriculum renewal cycle as we have done in the past. Much of this was as a result of budgeting in terms of you can't spend money every year for change in subjects. However if that budget could be spent on technology and the teachers could

In terms of finding these resources there is OODLES of open courseware on the web: MIT OpenCourseWare website, Wikipedia entry for OpenCourseWare, Apple offers the Learning Interchange that offers an ever growing library of content for educational use. Wikibooks is an opencourseware project dedicated to create Open Source textbooks that can easily be shared and edited. You can click here to see a list of free books the site already offers!

Center for Innovation in Engineering and Science Education....the list goes on and on...

In terms of management Using Online Course Management systems such as Moodle or Drupal to build and store curriculum resources in house is a way to manage, but this is going to take quite a shift on the part of teachers--new and old.

Q. Since NCLB is in the process of being reauthorized, what is your opinion on how effective NCLB has been? Do you think it should be reauthorized? Are there pros and cons in NCLB?

I am a huge fan of the YouTube Debates- -You may have seen this in my blog...I feel pretty much the same way as Governor Richardson...It is GREAT is philosophy (all kids can learn) the problem is they need to fund it (as stated in the debate video) so the kids are successful and they need to provide ways for teachers not just to differentiate, but to gather data so that they can see what standards the kids need to focus on so that they are differentiating the right stuff.

Q. I understand that children do not learn the same way. How can we teach all children based on this? How can we even assess them? Would technology help with this?

Here is 1 example of using tech to assess and then using the data to differentiate.

Two years ago when I taught 3rd grade, I had a program called kidbiz...it was an online reading program. Kids took a pretest online that leveled them. Then the kids were delivered an article a day on their reading level via "email" through the system every article was on the same topic just written at different levels. There were then questions (PSSA like) for each one and a writing assignment. The data I was given for scores I could drill down to the standard to see who was missing what and it DROVE what I taught in my reading class and helped me to have flexible guided reading groups. I had 20 kids who ranged from 1st grade- 6th grade level at the beginning of the year...I would have never been able to gather that data without the technology. By the end of the year I didn't have a kid in my class who scored basic or below on the PSSAs and 4 of my kids scored advanced. That is 20% of my class....The articles were current, interesting, engaging...I didn't have to spend a ton of time or money finding books to match all the levels...this is just one way.

Q. How can technology be incorporated into curriculum? Should schools gradually keep implementing more and more until people become comfortable with it? The change might not be so noticeable then and more schools may be willing to give technology a try.

This is the question I have posed for the research study I am designing...Do you force the tech on folks and force them to change...Implement before innovation, or allow them to become innovative before implement (throw a bunch of stuff at them) Here is my analogy...
Let's say you have a couple of really great chefs...and they whip up an AMAZING 7 course meal and then put it all out at once...people are overwhelmed...they don't know what to try first...they eat TOO MUCH and get sick or just walk away from the table. VS having the chefs cooking up the great stuff and then having different folks serve up each course...

In our district we have been granting LCD projectors over the past 3 years. This summer when all of the teachers were issued laptops, all of the rest of the HS teachers got projectors installed...I am doing an eclass training on Wed...I am using a wikispace as my presentation tool. They can go to the site for all of these resources...my objective is 2 fold.
1. to give them a place to go to find resources and to know who to come to if they need help
2. by using a progressive tool like a wiki and having them join and discuss, they see the tool IN USE and may start to think of ways THEY could implement in their classroom.
Other teachers who were in a 1:1 classroom are also presenting stuff we "cooked up" together last year...for their departments so they can see real world applications.

I believe you have to have the technology available, but you should only TEACH it to them once they have seen it in use in a seamless way...it is not about the TOOL, it is about the learning that can happen if you use that tool...yes you have to learn to use it, but you have to know WHY and have a good reason to use it yourself before you need to know HOW.



Q. Do you agree with funding schools with more money based on how well the students do on standardized tests? What is your opinion on standardized tests and how they affect schools?
I think probably the answers I have to #2 should cover this. I think that project based learning is a WAY better way to assess what kids know and are able to do. Kids who can pass a test are good at playing school --I have some GREAT notes from NECC (National Educational Computing Conference) I attended in Atlanta http://www.box.net/shared/z80hv3ltq2
from Ian Jukes regarding testing, project based learning and 21st Century skills. Check those out.

SET 2

Q. As I was reading some of your blog and the articles that you referenced, I wondered what you would suggest for new teachers who see the value in incorporating technology in the classroom but may be entering a district which is placing strict parameters around its use?

BECOME AN ADVOCATE

Q. For someone, like myself, who is an immigrant to the world of technology but sees the power of using it in a classroom, where do you suggest I start without being completely overwhelmed? (Through the multimedia course that I'm currently taking, I have been introduced to WebQuests, Wikis, etc.)

The key word in your question is INTRODUCED...yes you have been introduced, but the way to truly see the power is by using these tool in relevant real world ways. In my latest post, I challenged professors rather than to have their students ASK about these things to USE them. Actually this question should go before the first because if you are using the tools or see value and can argue for it, AND you can reach some of the decision makers....really they have no choice but to take the risk. Check out this MS course from a local school http://onlineconnections.wikispaces.com/ Which leads me to ...

Q. In regards to your Wiki, what all do you like to use it for? I'm very new to it & originally thought that it would be a good tool for me to share information about my particular program with parents and even other teachers. I know there must be so much more to it! What are the possibilities?
I use wikis for everything
A good how to
http://www.teachersfirst.com/content/wiki/wikiideas1.cfm

An interesting model
http://www.wikihow.com/Main-Page


Q. Through your years of experience in education and with your obvious excitment about technology, what are some examples that you've witnessed of the changes to our digital world & the impact those changes have had on student learning/understanding? How about the impact they've had on connecting teachers to each other and other resources?
I have


Q. Okay so here's another question as I'm working on page 3 of my 10-15 page paper!!! AGHHHHH! As far as 21st Century Learning goes and incorporating technology that will enhance students' skills in those areas, are educator's (in your circle of influence) agreeing for the most part that these skills are crucial to student success in the future or is much of it falling on deaf ears?

SET 3
Q. I agree with your take on the 'When Tech Attacks' article and was wondering what effects you think this sort of article has on educators who aren't as comfortable with technology, and/or who are in districts without tech resources. For example, if I had read this article as a tech-rookie, it's possible that I could be scared away from these technologies because of their dangerous potential. Do you think that's likely to have been the case, or do you think most educators are aware of the benefits of such technologies even after having read such a one-sided article?



Q. In your experience, are most teachers effectively adapting to their students' use of technology? Specifically, are they finding ways to reach students with technology?


Q. How big of a role do you think district policies play in individual teachers' technology use as it relates to students, whether it's inside or out of the classroom?


Q. You mention that schools aren't spending enough time thinking about how we can connect with students in our classrooms. I'm a big fan of using technology (although a novice when it comes to using tech in education), and I was wondering why you think this issue isn't getting enough attention.

SET 4 :

Q. Being that there has been a major influx of technology's use in the classroom, how would you suggest a new teacher find a happy-medium? Too much technology closes the door on a good teacher/student bond, yet not using technology today could put student eons behind their peers

I am not sure I understand

Q. How does one come to determining what kind of technology to use in the classroom? Trial and error, school issued/told to use by the school district, studies that have been conducted, etc?

I addressed in a prior question...you really need to know WHY tools are used...the right tool for a job before trying to implement...teacher users should be a district's first line...

It is important for ...

Q. How would you suggest handling a reading lesson using technology? What if there is not a good student:computer ratio? Go old school - all books or have a rotating schedule with the computers your classroom does have?

ISSUES: Equity in schools & at home
address the idea of committment...funding for the future

Q. Would you have any advice to offer a "soon to be" teacher and the use of technology in their classroom?

GET STARTED...read blogs, comment, grow a network explore the possibilities

Q. How do you approach the school district encouraging them to use the new technology you have found, or do you find your district to be on "the cutting edge" with the new world of technology? Any advice/words of wisdom you could give someone wanting to present a new technology idea to the school board?

Have a bunch of folks in PA who DID JUST THAT--hope they will come on and comment

An a-ha moment...

I had an a-ha moment this evening....

Today is our second day of preservice...I was at the Middle School at 7 to set up for the opening day video (which I was up til midnight finishing tomorrow). Had a faculty meeting, grabbed a quick lunch to go, got back just in time to face 3 groups of nervous teacher with new macbooks
trained til 4...Picked up vibes from the group that I would need to revise wikiworkshop for tomorrow....picked up kids, quick dinner (hubby out of town), played outside, 3
kids through tubs and in bed just in time for my 2 hour flashmeeting...I think..

WHAT A GREAT DAY...I LOVE MY JOB...as busy as it is, I get to connect, read, reflect, think, share all of the things I read and learn on a daily basis...can't wait to do it again tomorrow... I will read my mail, catch up on a few posts, perhaps take some reflections down in scribefire...

So I checked my gmail...some of the students who had requested a blogger interview were checking in on my answers. UGH, not on my list for today...yesterday it was on my list, but....

The thing is, I really DO want to answer their questions...they are GREAT questions...things that I and many other folks struggle with...but each question that was posed is a blog post in and of itself. Hmm...answering questions with out feedback, response, others reflecting on the same things isn't how I operate.....

I thought about the assignment... Interview a blogger and write a paper... 1 way conversation...You ask / I deliver A-HA.... is this what is happening in schools

Then I thought about what we want from our kids in their learning...Isn't that what we want kids who are actively engaged in the learning process. It is the dialogue in blogs, twitter, voicethread, the discussions on wikis etc... that is so engaging. I learn SO MUCH by connecting with information, ideas, and PEOPLE...

I explained to the student that the issues that were raised in their questions, were WAY bigger than I PERSONALLY had time to address briefly....I am a blogger :P
therefore, I just cant quick type up answers especially when multiple folks are looking for answers to different question. I thought about using a conference call to discuss skype, ichat, or
aim or even gchat...PROBLEM SOLVING...another GREAT SKILL for kids. Could Elluminate be set up with different bloggers in breakout rooms...would these be a more effective way of using these 21st C Skills in authentic ways? Is a "traditional paper" the best way to assess what these ladies have learned or would having them comment on this site be enough?

Believe me, this document contains a TON of material that I WILL be writing about, reflecting on, and posing to my network...
I think it is great to have new teachers think about these things...but these ladies have a "paper due"

Sorry I can't do more for these ladies at this time...but maybe you could help....

Here is a link to the google doc http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dcf68xfb_18ggdv3k
Am going to try to post right from google docs to my blog (new skill for me, I'll admit)

PLEASE post your comments here or there so we can these ladies can do their paper AND demonstrate the power of networking, blogs, and Web2.0 Skills;-)

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The point of blogging...

Recently Chris Lehmann tweeted about some graduated students contacting him about and I have found a few requests in my email box recently as well. While it is flattering to be considered "interesting" and people who know me know that these are the types of things that keep me up at night...this is a REALLY busy time of year. Many of us have spent the summer learning, connecting, applying and now we want to serve up a 7 course meal of great "stuff" to our teachers and are busy planning. Everyone knows we WANT to share the message of 21st Century in schools (me for my own selfish reasons--my own digital kids) but the last thing I need on my plate when ramping up for a new school year is to have to do a graduate assignment that isn't my own.

I have to say first, that I LOVE the concept of this assignment....send preservices students out to look at how the skills are being utilized, reflect on what they read, make connections and then create something to show what they have learned...What do we want kids to do when they read? We want them to make
connections, reflect, interpret, and then write their thoughts...HMMM
isn't that the point of blogging. Read, reflect, question, analyze, create....One of the best thing that I have discovered this summer (although it didn't do well by me this evening) is scribefire. Scribefire is a firefox add on that allows me to jot notes as I am reading my feeds...creating posts as I go...the only problem is you MUST save as notes as you go in case of a firefox crash. I read a post, comment read another post, make a connection...open scribefire, save as note...eventually I have created my own post, my own meaning from what I have read.

In having the student email the blogger, they are still asking these students to use 20th century ways to get their questions out. I guess my concern is that by having them read and then email the blogger they are losing the concept of collaboration (a 21st C Skill). When a bunch of students email questions that were probably addressed already in the blog, it not only creates a lot of work for the blogger, it also limits the conversation to those 2 people...ANYWAY, I came up with a creative solution of a google doc where I posted all of the questions and answers. If your paper is due Friday too, feel free to email me and ask to be added as a viewer :)

If you are a professor, and you want your students thinking about 21st century learning, rather than asking your students to email a blogger have them comment on what they have read...set up RSS to subscribe to their username if you want to see where they are leaving their mark. Create a google doc for your notes or have your students skypecast your next lecture. Have them create their own learning networks via Ning or tappedin If you want to contact an edublogger (or 2 or 3) ask them to come into your class via their elluminate VRoom or request that they set up a flashmeeting. MODEL the skills that these teachers will need to be using to engage their students when they have classrooms of their own.

AND if you are a preservice teacher and you have this assignment I encourage you to comment on some of the blogs you are reading...start the conversation there. Create your OWN blog, reflect online, talk to others, become an advocate for your students and how they learn.
Pay attention



Cause when they grow up....



I may be ruffling feathers this evening...Thoughts?

Technorati Tags: blog, 21st century

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TV 2.0

Way back in June, Edutopia had a great article (which has been sitting in my draft folder to write about) about the implications of the YouTube era.

"It’s a chaotic time for television, now that Internet video has arrived. Moving swiftly up the media food chain -- from text to images to audio and now video -- broadband distribution has made TV on your PC a reality."

When introducing teachers to resources to use with LCD projectors in creating a multimedia classroom, I created a wiki to point to a variety of digital video sources including the Future Channel, a place where teachers can connect learning to real world applications of math and science using problem solving approaches. This summer, while on a trip to Hershey, to get the baby to sleep, I took my 2 older children and sat them on the floor outside the room...My son's idea..."Mom, can we bring your computer so we can watch those magic school bus movies?" We use unitedstreaming all of the time at my house for learn. Watching something online is a very common event for them. Resources like teachertube allow educators and their students to post content they have created. Splashcast and now schooltube enable entire "tv channels" to create and play this content.

Learning, creating in bits and bytes...engaging, yes...knowledge building, can't help but wonder, what is going to happen to commercial content...and might some folks be tempted to take it so far to the extreme that we lose some kids in the digital void like in Chris Van Allsburg's The Wretched Stone.
I battle this with my own kids...always to turn to TV2.0 vs other ways to find information. I am asking as a parent and an educator, how do you strike a balance?

Technorati Tags: multimedia, web2.0, education,

Learning to learn and Loving learning

Through my twitter feed and blogroll, I realize that many teachers are struggling with the challenge of creating Web2.o experiences and 21st Century Skills to their students...adminstrative challenges such as who's accountable when Web2.0 tools are allowed to be accessed in schools. What will the future of work hold for our kids? Are we preparing them?

"Education is a social process. Education is growth. Education is, not a preparation for life; education is life itself."

I can't define exactly the moment that I realized that I was a lifelong learner...or that I valued the process of learning...but I can tell you that I have learned more this summer through my social network than I have in many years of school....you can bet that our students are learning an awful lot through their social networks these days....

A possibility of continuing progress is opened up by the fact that in learning one act, methods are developed good for use in other situations. Still more important is the fact that the human being acquires a habit of learning. He learns to learn.

Mind you this was not written in the year 2007, these ideas have been around a LONG TIME....From Democracy and Education (1916)...via wikiquote mind you :)

Chris Lehman has been struggling with the difference between change and Innovation, and John Pederson wrote recently about the ACT of change vs the decision TO change... Reading all these things, talking about these ideas via twitter, blog comments, skype has really created a lot of "stuff" in my head...
So this post for me serves many purposes...
1. to remind me..remind us ALL, that these IDEAS are not new...but the tools we have to implement them are and we are going to need to do a lot of supporting of kids and teachers to use these tools in ways that support 21st Century Skills.
2. to get start thinking, and DISCUSSING what is needed to move forward, push the envelope, innovate...or make changes
3. finally to recognize the folks in my blogroll and twitterfeed that have reminded me how exciting it is to be a lifelong learner...Thanks to my local, virtual, and global "colleagues". This summer has been inspiring for me--I can't wait to share all I have learned with the kids, teachers, and administrators with whom I will work this year.
HAPPY NORTHERN HEMISPHERE NEW YEAR :)

Technorati Tags: teaching, education, learning, wiki, pedagogy, bestpractices, change, innovation

Can YouTube get ANY BETTER?

I know there are many arguments against using YouTube in schools, but I came across this nifty little feature and wonder why....



YouTube has given the ability to create an embeddable player from any playlist of folder from YouTube...The above are all the videos that I have added as my favorite Ed Tech Videos. Now I DO wish that they would take away the fact that you can still link out to the YouTube site, but what a great way for teachers to provide resources to their students OR to publish student work and then create a player to embed in their blog, wiki, moodle. I added the same player to my own wiki sharing my YouTube playlist in my blog, my wiki....Hmmmm the possibilities....

Technorati Tags: youtube

When technology....attacks?

I have to admit, I was intrigued when this first hit my twitter thread via John Pederson.
When Technology Attacks. Seriously. "Schools are fighting a war..." and "...be ready to do battle" http://tinyurl.com/2qrb4x Couldn't wait to get off the beach to see what the link held for me....

It was a link to the cover article of the most recent Scholastic Administrator Magazine...
As I was reading I didn't know whether to be shocked, distressed or annoyed...

Schools across the country are waging a war against technology tools gone bad. Read how some districts defend their classrooms against the new school thuggery—from iPod cheats to cell phone punks and sneaky Web surfers.

To start an article like this...SIGH....

Drugs can be used illegally, but they are also a cure for many diseases...A hammer could be used to kill someone, but it can also be used to build shelter...Knives can be used to kill as well, but my even my 5 year old has been taught to use it to cut her food.... and as I pointed out in an earlier post....PENCILS can be dangerous perhaps we should ban THEM from the classrooms.

I have seen Will Richardson present on MANY occasions and have read his book and he is right...this is NOT an easy issue. Teachers are clamoring to use collaborative technology in the classroom and administrators are facing pressures from parents and school boards to implement policies to curb its use. But even the National School Board Association is encouraging schools to re-examine their social networking policies. I understand that the hook, the shock value is what gets folks to read, but to I am disappointed that Scholastic chose only to demonstrate the way schools have been battling "issues" and not focus on ways they have demonstrated successes.

Please, read the article, read John's response to the article, and start the conversations in your own school districts....Make this a successful tech school year in your district and then...let scholastic adminstrator know about it.

Reexamining Social Networking in Schools....?

Recently David Warlick pointed to an article in which the National School Board Association is encouraging schools to re-examine their social networking policies and the conversation surrounding this has been interesting around the blog-o-sphere. If you haven't read the NSBA's Creating and Connecting Report, I encourage you to do so...Will Richardson looked at some of the statistics and the fact that many districts have their own structured online professional communities.

As I was thinking about the implications of the NSBA article, I came across an interesting article in CNN Money about a report done by Microsoft, MTV and Nickelodeon and while I can't find the report itself, Microsoft's press release was posted globally from AllAfrica.com to IndiaInfoline, and the findings as stated in THIS report were intriguing:

  The report found:
   -- Technology has enabled young people to have more and closer
      friendships thanks to constant connectivity.
   -- Friends influence each other as much as marketers do.  Friends are as
      important as brands.
   -- Kids and young people don't love the technology itself -- they just
      love how it enables them to communicate all the time, express
      themselves and be entertained.
   -- Digital communications such as IM, email, social networking sites and
      mobile/sms are complementary to, not competitive with, TV.  TV is part
      of young peoples' digital conversation.
   -- Despite the remarkable advances in communication technology, kid and
      youth culture looks surprisingly familiar, with almost all young
      people using technology to enhance rather than replace face-to-face
      interaction.
   -- Globally, the number of friends that young males have more than
      doubles between the ages of 13-14 and 14-17 -- it jumps from 24 to 69.
   -- The age group and gender that claims the largest number of friends are
      not girls aged 14-17, but boys aged 18-21, who have on average 70
      friends.

The article goes on to examine each of these trends...with a bit of a marketing twist...
I give this as an example "And for IM, the top topics for 14-24s were: gossiping (62%), making arrangements (57%), talking about the opposite sex (57%) and flirting (55%), work or school (54%) and TV and music (52%). "Given the amount of time young people are spending on instant messenger every day presents a very powerful opportunity for brands to connect with the youth audience. When on IM, teenagers are at their most engaged and interactive," said Vogt. [Caroline Vogt, Head of International Research, Microsoft Digital Advertising Solutions.]

For as much press as the NSBA article is getting, I was surprised that this is not getting as much "airtime" Hmmm, the advertising industry is saying connect to kids, the NSBA is saying connect to kids, yes...change is tough and scary, but isn't it time we start to examine how we are connecting to kids in schools? Thoughts?

Technorati Tags: social, education, learning, teaching, schools, nsba

Connectivity...in the eyes of a 7 year old...

I am on a much needed vacation...at the Jersey Shore. The house in which we are staying does not have internet access...but there is a coffee shoppe down the street that has free wifi. I usually go there in the am to catch up on my feeds before everyone gets up. When we are lucky and the weather is just right, we are able to connect to their access...hey I go there for coffee every am any way ;-)

This morning my son was up early. He is 7 and had used his spending money yesterday to buy his 2nd webkinz. The following is the conversation we had at 6:30 am....Mind you I was up at 4:30 to finish my research...but alas, not internet access at the house...

"Mommy...I need to get on your computer...

Me too, Austin, I have work to do.

But I have to garden....Why can't you do your work on your computer and I can do my webkinz on the black one?

Because there is no internet here at the house today.

But we could play yesterday....

I know, but today we can't get internet access...you need to be able to connect to the internet to play webkinz.

So why can't you just plug it in...

Well, it is a different kind of plug you need. You know at home we have the blinky box that tells us we are connected to the internet. That box is a router, it connects your computer to the internet so you can play your games and mommy can do her work. We don't have one here at this house.

Oh....
At this point, he goes and unplugs my cell phone....

What are you doing Austin?

Calling Daddy to tell him to bring down our box.....
PRICELESS...His perception, if we have all of the tools, we can connect...to meet his objectives...hmmmmm what is this saying to us as educators?

Austin & I headed to the coffee shop when it opened at 7. He harvested his garden, set up his rooms, cared for his pets and played games while I did my research. What struck me about the whole experience was the expectation he had...that his tools would always be available...and how he was going to problem solve to be able to do what he needed to do. And watching him play--battleship...and dice kinz, the strategy he used to win the game (and he very rarely lost using his strategy) How he methodically planned his time and money to get what he needed. Reading the kinznews....did I know that if we got back to the coffee shop before it closed at 10 (pm mind you) we could get our coupon for the day..and he is 7...and in September....

I have had an interesting conversation this week with Jeff Utecht which started with a post he wrote about putting it in perspective....why do we keep barking up the same old trees...
Because there are MANY Austin's in our classes...and we want to provide them with the same rich learning experiences in schools to meet OUR objectives.

8 Random Facts

SIGH....

I have been tagged...

TWICE by Ken Pruitt, AND Chris Champion...And although 1 of my facts is I have NEVER completed a chain letter or about me email, I thought since I am on vacation and not participating in the 31 day blog challenge, I would take them up on this meme and complete...

Anyway, here are the rules:

• Post these rules before you give your facts
• List 8 random facts about yourself
• At the end of your post, choose (tag) 8 people and list their names, linking to them
• Leave a comment on their blog, letting them know they’ve been tagged

My Facts:

1. I have visited 47 out of the 50 states...Alaska, Mississippi, and Louisiana the only ones I am missing
2. I ran the Philadelphia half marathon...short of giving birth (3 times), one of my most rewarding (and challenging) accomplishment.
3. I used to drive a red convertible...sigh now a cranberry minivan.
4. I had my tonsils out as an adult...
5. I secretly love dance, dance revolution...although I am not much of a dancer it is GREAT exercise.
6. I love kid's movies ...just about as much as my kid's do
7. For years I spent my summers directing pools and summer camps.
8. Every once in a while I DO crash...although no one seems to believe this

Am tagging 8 folks I think will....a) read my blog and respond, b) won't mind being tagged (or read as a result:) or are likely to find out that I tagged them via technorati:)
Don't let me down power 8....
Diane
Scott
Jim B
Ken
Mrs. Durff
KKoz
Howard
Danielle

Candidates debate the Issues on YouTube

Thanks to Ken Pruitt for getting this discussion started . . Like Jen Dorman, I'd like to see some more chatter about the CNN/YouTube debates last week. I have to admit it is a challenge for me to sit for more than 5 minutes at a time...(those of you who know me well will attest to THAT) so having the opportunity to look at individual issues, when I have time to absorb...priceless.

On the topic of NCLB

Gov. Bill Richardson had a VERY strong reaction to the video and strong feelings about what needs to be done in education...
Scrap NCLB –it doesn’t work
One size fits all doesn’t work
Doesn’t emphasize teacher training, kids with diasabilities or English learning students
Worst thing is that it takes funds away from schools not doing well…need to help those schools…
KEY to strong schools is strong teachers
Need to empasize science and math
Unlock minds in science and math
Federal program of arts


On the topic of Public or Private school


I thought it was great that they took questions FROM YouTube

If you visit the debate site you can see not only clips of the debate...but the HUNDREDS of responses to them. The Republicans will have their turn on September 17.

Ken posed a question:

What legitimacy, if any, does this bring to YouTube as a media outlet?

Ken said..."Like it or not it is time to start paying attention so that we can make an educated decision come Nov 08'.".. Jen D offered her thoughts as well..." the answer is that absolutely this legitimizes YouTube as an accepted form of creative expression. Mainstream media has been lamenting the growing power of the online community (remember the Swift Boat Veterans) for years now. People like Matt Drudge and alternative media bloggers have broken, investigated, and dispersed stories that the mainstream media simply did not want to touch. In doing so they brought an entirely new group of citizens into the ongoing national discussion and empowered them to seek their own answers and make their concerns public. I would wager that a concerned citizen cannot make their thoughts any more public than by getting their video question answered a national presidential debate. " and like the 2 of them, I agree...

What a great learning opportunity for students and what a great way for the candidates to connect to the YouTube Generation. Is YouTube blocked at your school....? This is a great argument for why it shouldn't be.

The reality of Education for first year teachers...

David Warlick had a REALLY controversial post today about a presentation to first year teachers.

He stated that only two of them were bloggers, no one knew about Web 2.0, only a handful knew what a wiki was, and no one had heard of RSS. And he posed the question about whether we were creating a bunch of hype about “Web 2.0″ just to have something to be enthusiastic about.
You need to read the post and the comments--

I thought the best way for me to write about it was by way of "skype cast" conversation between myself and a colleague (who happens to live in FL, but be working in CA at the time of the conversation) Where else but in a Web2.0 world would something like this occur?

Kristin Hokanson 10:06 PM
the reality of it is, even being involved in ed tech in the classroom I have seen a TREMENDOUS shift in the past 2 years. Yes these technologies have been around, but more people are using them today than ever and I think they NEED to be defined....if you ask kids if they have every responded to a blog and hardly any of them will say yes...ask them how many have used myspace...
Zachary Chase 10:07 PM
And they're using them to connect on a much larger, more consistent scale.
Kristin Hokanson 10:07 PM
and they don't understand the ethics of it.... and I agree that it needs to be brought into higher level institutions...colleges NEED to be addressing this
Zachary Chase 10:08 PM
It's the approaching equity of the situation.
Kristin Hokanson 10:08 PM
and quite frankly....5 years ago would 2 people who met randomly EVER be able to have this discussion in 2 time zones in a professional manner
10:09 PM
It almost deserves us posting THIS conversation as a response
Zachary Chase 10:10 PM
I agree.
10:11 PM
My gut reaction is there are more important arguments to be had beyond the semantics of the whole thing.
Kristin Hokanson 10:12 PM
John Pederson made a great point that in the past you would sit and absorb what you can in one inservice and then be left on your own to absorb and apply what you have learned. With the interactive web....you are never alone in applying new skills in the classroom
Zachary Chase 10:12 PM
Saying that you kept a photo gallery online 10 years ago is different than me watching my 8-year-old brother connect the digital camera and upload pics of the family vacation to Flickr It's also got to be noted that many times I'm building on what other people are doing in their classrooms unbeknownst to those teachers.
Kristin Hokanson 10:15 PM
so true--I think David's original point was quite valid--these teachers are coming out of school doing NATURALLY what we older folks (and I won't include you mr born shortly before I graduated HS in that category) had to LEARN to do. Since we learned it to use it, we are using it ethically, professionally and thinking about the implications for the future in our profession
Zachary Chase 10:16 PM
But I'm also not.I'm using tools professionally that I used first personally.
Kristin Hokanson 10:17 PM
Newer teachers do it naturally as part of their world. Exactly my point but I dont think that most people make that connection
Zachary Chase 10:18 PM
I agree From the moment I started using it, I started advocating the use of myspace in schools. It just makes sense. Using cell phones is the same thing.
Kristin Hokanson 10:19 PM
I think we need to do activities that mirror myspace, but there needs to be a separation between personal and professional use
Zachary Chase 10:19 PM
I have two myspace accounts. Mine and Mr. Chase's. The former is private, the latter public. Through the use of the latter, I've been able to communicate with my students from last year and begin signing them up for my 9th grade English course that wasn't on the schedule until two weeks ago. By using the tools in this way, I can model responsible use in a way no one ever did for me. I set up an AIM profile for my kids to communicate with me. When I talk to them there, I use (much to their dismay) Standard English. They notice it and it opens a great conversation. There's nothing covert here, no effort to usurp their ownership of the skills, I'm merely meeting them at their level. Why compete for their attention when I can use the channels that already have their attention?
Kristin Hokanson 10:23 PM
did I open a can of worms?
Zachary Chase 10:25 PM
In Bill Bryson's book A Short History of Nearly Everything, he describes how biology developed as a science and the difficulty in nomenclature. The same process is happening here. Call a swallow a Dutch Swallow or a Netherlands Swallow, it's still the same bird, pity we have to quibble over what we're going to call it while the rest of the world pushes it toward extinction.The other piece that's important, with regard to David's original post, is the knowledge that colleges are teaching new teachers how to teach, not necessarily how to think like teachers. When we talk about thinking literacies and their place in classrooms, we cannot let higher ed escape our gaze.
Kristin Hokanson 10:31 PM
that is true in all cases
10:31 PM
I have friends who did the Columbia writing program with Lucy Calkins. What they are doing is very different from how everyone else is teaching and thinking about writing and yet when we write curriculum rather than using collaborative tools to involve them in the process...they have to wait until the ONE DAY that they can all get together
Zachary Chase 10:33 PM
Can we relinquish the idea that we will wrest education initiatives away from the body politic and instead turn our attention to mandating that the reforms they decide upon are truly what reflect education's needs?
Kristin Hokanson 10:35 PM
only when we relinquish the idea that school is a 189 day 8:30-3:30 job with summers off...

Thought this would accurately reflect both use of tools and conversation….
Interesting thread…. Your thoughts?

Twitter... from kind of pointless to REALLY POWERFUL...

A global community of friends and strangers answering one simple question: What are you doing? Answer on your phone, IM, or right here on the web!

So I know there is a lot of talk about the value of tools such as twitter for education, and I have to admit, I do question it for classroom use--it has really put a new spin on my summer time professional development. Why take time out from your packed schedule to let folks know what you are doing? Well if I weren't on twitter, I wouldn't have met Zac Chase...and followed the NSDC conference in Denver while I was at the Keystone Summit, I wouldn't have been able to get updates from Building Learning Connections conference through David Jake's Chatcasts...

Let people know you are planning a digital storytelling workshop like Brian Grenier
and you will get all kinds of resources tweeted back. When Jason Hando tweeted about a flash meeting he was participating it, I was invited to try an AWESOME new tool ....Crafty shared a tip about Slidecasting making podcasts with I know right away when new blogs are posted--seamlessly...I don't have to make time to seek this all out.

I think that is the greatest value in a good professional network--I encourage all educators to start growing their networks. There are VALUABLE things to be learned that can help to provide really rich learning opportunities for THEIR students. Who's in your network?