Reflection #3 - What I'll try to do differently

The most recent School 2.0/21^st Century Skills lessons were really a stretch that started me thinking differently, a little broader and a little more open-minded to the possibilities of applying technologies that our students are already using. To help refresh and challenge my thinking, I’m subscribing to some of the blogs/podcasts we’ve been introduced to during this course. I’d also like to continue connecting with this summer’s classmates using our blogs along with some study group/support group face-to-face contact.

As a result of this course, I’m changing the role of my classroom website so that it is more of a program overview and archive with links out to specific blogs and wikis. I’ve set up a blog for my Reach students’ parents and I to network. I’m wondering if it is also a place for students to join in on the conversations.

I plan to set up wikis or blogs for student-specific projects or units. I'm especially interested in a collaborative, Model T-style tech project with another class within or outside Hilton. I’ll need to work on setting up and using a wiki regularly to really get a handle on whether a wiki or blog is best for the materials, podcasts, links, student work, and newsletters/announcements that have been available on my classroom website.

Bill Rich quoted a teacher this morning, during the DI Institute keynote session, regarding change & learning. I thought of our journey in this online course. To paraphrase:

By not beginning we avoid progress.
By biting off too much we invite discouragement.
Begin where you can and chart a timeline of your progress.

The requirement to write in our blogs and post comments to each other created a timeline of our learning/change progress.

Overall, this online course has been an amazing eye-opener with practical applications, progressive thinking, and practice. Major kudos to Lori for creating a comprehensive course with the flexibility of web-based learning and the intensity of a graduate-level course. What a great value! Thanks!!

Lesson 11 - School 2.0

What strikes me most about this School 2.0 vision of tomorrow's school is that it isn't really all that visionary (and maybe it doesn't claim to be). We are not all technologically connected yet, but we are getting closer...at least if we choose to or can afford to have access. I believe we're all thinking more futuristic and more "outside the lines" than this visual brainstorming map. The scene is a bit urban/suburban...which includes a big chuck of the nation/world and excludes a huge part of the world. I think the map does work as a teaser, a catalyst to get us thinking, questioning, brainstorming and planning.

I think the School 2.0 map should continue the theme that the school in our future is Community 2.0. I'd keep the People Wheel that emphasizes the importance of everyone collaborating in a "learning ecosystem." I would also keep the drawing and description of technology represented as the school's infrastructure... not the focus but a layered, almost underground/unseen, supporting foundation that connects the school with the outside world and the outside world with the school. We're not there, but improved school management systems may help us get there soon.

If I were to revise the School 2.0 Map, I would change the scene so school will no longer be a singular brick and mortar place...because school is not the only location that learning takes place (like right now, I'm in the living room but could be anywhere). A 'learning is everywhere' theme is a fairly realistic view that I'd like to see more obvious in this map. I'd also like to see the map more inclusive of other settings & regions so that School 2.0 is not only an urban/suburban vision but a vision that connects rural and remote communities. Finally, I'd revise the map to show more lifestyle and multidisciplinary balance. I'd especially like to add scenes representing the the arts, music, and health/physical education & athletics. Making time in our daily lives for art, music, health, nutrition, and exercise ... maintaining a balanced life...will even be more important as our learning/schoolwork connects us more conveniently with each other but also connects us for longer periods of time with a chair and a screen.

Lesson 10 - Dr. Yong Zhao on Web 2.0 Technologies

Yong addressed so many topics: 21st century skills, international education, the global economy, game theory, Web 2.0 technologies and virtual worlds. Regarding students, I agree with Yong that we need to be preparing students to interact globally, with other people, and with cultural competency.

What strikes me as most radical and refreshing is his position that we should rethink our whole "industrial model" school environment, not trying to fit new Web 2.0 tools into existing school environments. Right now, the students' job is to "do what we tell you, study and get good grades to prepare for the future." Every student should be an active contributer like children on the farms…with real chores (like his youth in China, Nebraska farm children). Our students can satisfy their need to be involved in genuine. I like his quote "Education is life, not just preparing for life…we got to change that thinking ."

His call to recognize and make use of virtual environments in education caught my attention when he described applying game theory to teach Mandarin online...available this summer! As protective as we are of our schools and jobs as institutions, we'll need to be prepared to participate in educational outsourcing (e-sourcing?) from different environments (cultures, countries...swapping teachers and curriculum). It is amazing to consider the potential flexibility for students, teachers, school...like this course :)

Finally, his position on 1:1 computing (a laptop for every student) caught my attention when he said, "we don't see results or real creative uses of them because the use of technology is still bound & controlled by what adults know and what adults think is appropriate. I must admit that allowing chatting, student email accounts, allowing YouTube and MySpace is a hurdle when we've spent so much time,effort and money on communicating and maintaining school appropriateness. The challenge is to strike balance between keeping an open mind integrating Web 2.0 tools with the need to keep our children safe!

Lesson 9- Project Ideas with 21st Centery Skills

Wow, "moving at the speed of creativity" means fast with Kevin Honeycutt (will his Google alerts pick this up?). The joy of podcasting really shined through as I was able to pause, refer to the Wesley's podcast notes, add my own notes, rewind a bit and listen again. There were so many divergent ideas delivered with such confidence and enthusiasm.

I'm thinking of following Kevin's lead and create new or revise an existing Math-Science-Technology unit that already includes team collaboration and team problem solving but could lend itself to outsourcing with a team in another location. One unit idea that I could easily revise next year is an existing 3rd Grade MST unit Buoyancy. I've already done some work tiering the unit for advanced math/science students. With 3rd grade teachers throughout our school district and state already teaching this unit, odds are good I could find a collaborative off-site class to join us.

Other possible units projects could include a Rocketry Unit (6th grade does this now), Simple Machines Unit (6th Grade), Design Technology Wheels (4th & 5th grades used to do this, could revive this unit and connect with other classrooms still teaching the unit in our area/state). Another thought, there could be a collaborative outsourcing possibility with the FIRST Lego League groups. It would not connect to the local competition in December but could very well be an exciting extension related to this year's mission but involving outsourcing with any one of dozens of Lego League groups.

I know there are some other great project/activity ideas involving other disciplines. I hope to gather some from reading classmates' blogs.

Lesson 8 – Reflection #2

At this point in the course, I envision preparing blogs and wikis to supplement or compliment my classroom website. Social bookmarking has more potential than I imagined, but probably toward the end of my list of tech tool with which to start out the school year.

• I’m planning on setting up a blog for ongoing interactive communication like a student reflection journal and a Reach parent network This might be the tool to showcase student work in progress, post podcasts, and get feedback from the larger community of learners. Personally, I could be blogging right now to catch up with my journal writing about the summer reunions, visitors and other events. It always helps me to first try a personal application before a professional application especially when it is a technological stretch. For fun, and additional practice, I’m planning to start a family summer blog.

• Wikis I see as a complete or at least partial replacement for my classroom website. I’d like set up a Wiki for either student-specific projects and units. I’m still not clear whether a wiki or blog is better for a parent network. Certainly not both, but whichever one is easier for families to access and interactively share ideas and resources, that’s the one.

• Social Bookmarking with del.icio.us was immediately gratifying for me, making favorites/bookmarks available from any computer and having this as a back up to potentially loose my saved links is added peace-of-mind. Thanks Lori, your video lesson was easy to follow and review. The real power is in collaborating and this requires colleagues with whom to share. I see social bookmarking taking off, with a mini workshop and some handholding at first, when it is applied to a staff development course, a study group, or a grade level/team of teachers working on developing or revising a unit together. Exporting links for kids may be of some benefit, but what’s most promising is bridging connections to improve collegial collaboration. I’d like to try to continue this with teachers from this course who may be taking the DI institute workshops or study groups in my building next year. I hadn’t thought of it, but it would probably be easy for a department of 3 to network with our bookmarks.

I’m planning on doing something different, but I’m still not sure how the past role of the website will change and how the new roles of wikis and blogs will pan out. I like to take on one or two new tech things each year or really get serious about developing/integrating one. Right now, it feels like there could be a lot of juggling. I’d like to put my request in now for a tech study group (AKA support group) this fall. Will you be offering Lori?

Lesson 6 on Wikis

At first, second and third glances, wikis seem to be trumping traditional web pages. There are so many advantages: ease of use, flexibility, tracking changes with user names and timestamps, and using the history feature that allows us to restore the wiki back to a prior version. Again, I’m hooked in a different way. My sense is that I’ll need to tinker with blogs and wikis and really use them with people for a real purpose to really know what took is best. I’m also feeling a need to more clearly define my vision, purpose and audience. Multiple pages or multiple wikis or blog or web? After looking at a wonderful classroom wiki example and a book publishing wiki example, I can see how a wiki might be the best fit for student projects, collaborative sharing, and possibly archiving student work. I don’t sense this will be the best place for a parent networking group, a blog might still be the tool. Well, like so many things (wakeboarding… sushi…roasted lima beans/olives& garlic), the only way to know if you like it is to try it.

Lesson 5 Online VideoAssignment

I’ve been transitioning last year from UnitedStreaming Video to EdVideo Online Service available through school/WXXI http://www.wxxi.org/education/k12/ondemand.html . The content available there seems more organized and more school-related although not as fresh, current and authentic as what’s available on free online video resources. After using and viewing with each of these four online video services, it is clear there are not all equal.

The Wesley Fryer/Rushton Hurley podcast was very interesting…a keeper. I never heard or thought of asynchronous sharing as a convenient advantage of online video. Also new to my ears was the use of a Creative Common license and [noncommercial] attribution …leaving open the possibility to share and alter content (unless I have misunderstood this). A paraphrased/quoted statement from their discussion really got me thinking about the shift in thinking about media. “The old way of thinking of media access is control access and it has value; the new way of thinking is to give it away and it has value…the more people that have access to ideas, the better …that’s where the power lies in freely sharing and attribution only sharing.” I think this shift in old-new media emphasizes the increased need for media literacy to be integrated in our regular curriculum.

As for ease of use for student & teachers: Teacher Tube videos uploaded right away…Next Vista is vetting the material before it is uploaded…improving access to school so nothing appears there accidentally. NV uses a corporate supporter, Photobucket, giving options to stream or download. When they get a video, they make sure it meets the 4 rules mentioned (1. Video must be no longer than 5 minutes, 2. No copyright protected material, 3. Must be factually accurate, and 4. Nothing inappropriate for a young audience). I’m glad to hear they’re expecting things to be of reasonable quality, not pristine and perfect. They also want to allow viewers to remix and remake, offering a different perspective and another slant on a topic. This really appeals to teachers trying to raise the bar on originality and creativity.

Rushton continued on to say “If you have a really good way of teaching something, make a or have your students make a video video …it’s really, really, really easy now…. Contact info@nextvista.com about meeting the rules and finding just the right way to get it over.” After looking at 6 or more videos, the most prolific and interesting seem to be the math videos…although they are simply talking heads and whiteboards, not too much different than a traditional classroom. There is still not much content…I quess that’s up to us!

TeacherTube …organization of videos is difficult, lends to browsing and find dogs and gems like the “Pay Attention” video at http://www.teachertube.com/view_video.php?viewkey=40c570a322f1b0b65909 Another interesting find was the Dr. Altman science demonstrations. I think Teacher Tube holds some promise with increased content.

YouTube is so vast and not always avail live in school. Downloading at home and using at school is a possibility. Searching for educational videos in YouTube brought up all kinds of content…not always related, often interesting, but also distracting. There is potential, but I think there’s much more prep involved in using YouTube.

ClipBlast seemed to have a very weak search function. It appears to offer some of the same links no matter what I search for. I could also be “video-burned out” after looking at the other three services. On a return visit, I’ll look for a way to refine searches but it does not seem worth the time with other options available. Any suggestions Lori or fellow blogmates?

Using video in the classroom could be expanded to students searching for content, especially with safer vetted options from Next Vista or the more refined focus of TeacherTube. Even more exciting: I’d like to consider producing short video to submit to Next Vista and TeacherTube. Some of the units we worked on this year like Field Trip New York State, Poetry Out Loud, and LEGO Robotics Engineering really lend themselves to a video audience. Get the video cams ready!

Reflection #1 from Lesson 4

Classroom blogging has a lot of potential for student-teacher, student-world, teacher-teacher, teacher-world, teacher- parent and parent-parent sharing and communicating. I learned how easy it is to set up a blog. Kids seem to be familiar with blogs, so why not capitalize on their interests? I’m also realizing that it takes seat time which might be easier during the school year and easier for my students than the teacher. I think the biggest hurdle (for me) is not the technology of blogging but the habit of maintaining and monitoring a blog regularly. I found it very difficult on vacation and during family reunions, even with high speed connections, to steal time to sit at the computer and actively listen to video instruction. Headphones/earbuds helped! I’m still skeptical about efficient use of time verses the learning communicating benefits. The only way to know is to give blogging a try.

For student work and feedback, blogging seems easier and more immediately gratifying than uploading their material for a classroom website. Unlike our SchoolCenter websites, it seems like I can give students more control over their work and there is a greater potential for feedback from peers, family, and the world.

Next year, I see a couple ways I might use a blog. I’d either like to maintain a classroom blog, topical/unit blogs, and/or a blog for each student…maybe with my older 6^th or 5^th grade students. I can picture students sharing their work and receiving authentic comments. I’d like to find a way or organizing podcast/vodcast products and making them immediately available. The website still might be the best way to archive student work…still not sure yet. I could also see our off-the charts advanced readers who are not challenged with guided reading getting involved with book blogs.

Next year, I also see the need for connecting parents and promoting opportunities with a Gifted-Talented Parent Blog. Parents have asked for help networking but I don’t see/hear it happening. Blogging seems like an ideal way of getting in on the discussion and keeps it going. No matter what way I use blogging, I’d like to keep connected with other colleagues doing the same.

Summer Blogging Class

I've created this for a summer workshop learn to how to use blogs with student, teachers and parents next fall.