KeepVid: Download videos from Google, Youtube, iFilm, Putfile, Metacafe, DailyMotion!
The Future of the Internet—And How to Stop It
The Future of the Internet explains the engine that has catapulted the Internet from backwater to ubiquity—and reveals that it is sputtering precisely because of its runaway success. With the unwitting help of its users, the generative Internet is on a path to a lockdown, ending its cycle of innovation—and facilitating unsettling new kinds of control. As tethered appliances and applications eclipse the PC, the very nature of the Internet—its “generativity,” or innovative character—is at risk.
ESEA Title II, Part D - Enhancing Education through Technology - Title II Part D
MT OPI page for TitleIID
Monday, April 21, 2008
diigo bookmarks 04/22/2008
Sunday, April 20, 2008
Saturday, April 19, 2008
Friday, April 18, 2008
diigo bookmarks 04/19/2008
Toward A Definition of 21st-Century Literacies - Annotated
Literacy has always been a collection of cultural and communicative practices shared among members of particular groups. As society and technology change, so does literacy.
- Twenty-first century readers and writers need to
The purpose of this little script is to allow a Twitter user to "follow" a bunch of other Twitter users in one fell swoop—a Twitter friend list generator if you will. Dembo made me do it.
VUVOX - slideshows, photo, video and music sharing, Myspace codes
digital collage
Thursday, April 17, 2008
diigo bookmarks 04/18/2008
This tutorial is brought to you by the California School Library Association (CSLA) 2.0 Team as a professional development program.
Information and Community for Teachers in Multi-User Virtual Environments
SimTeach is a place for university instructional designers, faculty and administrators to find information and to share their own experiences designing, teaching and administering classes in immersive environments.Arp Home Page K-12 Education Staff Development Education Content
Missoulian: Taking a stab: Inland Empire Divisional Qualifiers fencing tourney coming to Missoula
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
diigo bookmarks 04/17/2008
Company that provides video streaming services to cities/counties/schools
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
diigo bookmarks 04/16/2008
Community Technology Centers' Network
The Community Technology Centers' Network (CTCNet) is a national membership network of community technology centers (CTCs) and other non-profits, united in their commitment to provide technology access and education to underserved communities. CTCNet works through the CTC Network to provide resources and advocacy to improve the quality and sustainability of CTCs.
Dangerously Irrelevant: Dear Jon letter (a.k.a. The world doesn't care about you)
Educational Origami is a blog, and a wiki, about the integration of ICT into the classroom, this is one of the largest challenges that I feel we as teachers face. Marc Prensky coined the now popular and famous phrase "Digital natives and digital immigrants" in his two papers on digital Children. We the teachers are the immigrants and our students are the natives, brought up in a world where there has always been computers and the internet, where information is always instant and varied.
Monday, April 14, 2008
diigo bookmarks 04/15/2008
Eight Teenagers Charged in Internet Beating Have Their Day on the Web - New York Times - Annotated
- he hoped that the attention the case had drawn would raise awareness about the Internet’s power to desensitize young people to violence.
- And the 1,800-plus comments generally followed a similar line: “its not about youtube and myspace!! its about those 8 freakin’ teenagers!!”
- authorities say the attackers intended to use the attack to become Internet celebrities.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
diigo bookmarks 04/13/2008
Assessing Technological Literacy « Educational Insanity - Annotated
- I also wonder, will “technological literacy” mean something different in 2012 than it does today? If so, how do we develop measures of something unknown?
Friday, April 11, 2008
diigo bookmarks 04/12/2008
Models for Change | Center for Digital Democracy - Annotated
The creation of a more robust electronic environment that is economically sustainable and contains independent sources for civic, cultural and socially conscious content will pave the way for a more democratic society both on and offline. Organizations and models that are making it a priority to shape our digital future are already emerging.
- Freecycle is an amazing community. My wife uses this frequently. - post by mjclausen
- A web service for sharing and exploring information about neighborhoods, serves 63 cities, and 3217 neighborhoods in the U.S.
- Could be a neat project for schools/classes to develop their own community info. - post by mjclausen
- Using the latest technology, Avaaz.org empowers ordinary people from every corner of the globe to directly contact key global decision-makers, corporations and the media.
- Our mission is to build a worldwide gifting movement that reduces waste, saves precious resources & eases the burden on our landfills while enabling our members to benefit from the strength of a larger community.
- The new free wiki encyclopedia of arguments and debates. As a "wiki", it enables anyone (you included) to easily present and organize the unique arguments made by third-party sources (ie. by scholars, experts, leaders,...) on both sides of a debate.
- The "citizen's encyclopedia on Congress" that anyone— including you—can edit.
- Gaming
- Find out about the pollution problems in your community and learn who is responsible.
- ibiblio.org is a conservancy of freely available information, including software, music, literature, art, history, science, politics, and cultural studies.
- An international organization - led by youth and empowered by technology. TakingITGlobal connects youth around the world to find inspiration, information and get involved in improving their local and global communities.
- Digital Youth, UC Berkeley
This project works to address this gap with a targeted set of ethnographic investigations into three emergent modes of informal learning that young people are practicing using new media technologies: communication, learning, and play. - Institute for Politics Democracy & the Internet, George Washington University
Its mission is to promote the use of the Internet and new communication technologies in politics to enhance democratic values, encourage citizen participation and improve governance, at home and abroad; in short, to “democratize democracy.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Friday, April 04, 2008
diigo bookmarks 04/05/2008
Department for Children, Schools and Families : Byron Review
tags: internet safety, professional development, onlinesafety
Learning.now Strengthening Student Resilience to Online Risks
tags: internet safety, learning.now, onlinesafety
CIPA: Key Issues for Decision Makers
tags: internet safety, cipa, filtering, censoring
Thursday, April 03, 2008
diigo bookmarks 04/04/2008
Colorado Filtering Clearinghouse - CIPA Compliance Guide
tags: cipa, internet safety, internet_filter, onlinesafety
Wisconsin Rapids Daily Tribune - Teacher e-mails made public
tags: email, privacy, professional development, tech_and_society
Almost a year after asking for the documents, a Vesper man's request will be honored for e-mail messages from the workstations of five Wisconsin Rapids School District teachers.
Wednesday, April 02, 2008
diigo bookmarks 04/03/2008
tags: American history, curriculum, history, loc, social studies
American Memory project from the Library of Congress
tags: art, asia, culture, curriculum, social studies
Asian Odyssey is a three-year project (June 2002 - June 2005) to advance the study of Asian Art and culture in K-12 curriculum by creating a model curriculum and program that is accessible to a national and international audiences via distance learning and the museum's web site.
tags: English, curriculum, language arts, strategies, teaching
English Teacher Resources: Lesson Plans and Teaching Strategies
ESR - Educators for Social Responsibility
tags: curriculum, social studies
As a leading national center for teaching about conflict and social responsibility, ESR has been providing effective and credible resources for teaching important current issues for over 20 years. Our Online Teacher Center provides teaching resources on a range of issues related to international security, conflict resolution, peacemaking, violence prevention, and social responsibility.
tags: curriculum, foreign language, world language
scroll down for language links
Tuesday, April 01, 2008
diigo bookmarks 04/02/2008
turns text upside down and backwards
tags: curriculum, foreign language, language acquisition, world language
KnowledgeWorks - Map of Future Forces Affecting Education - Home
tags: education, future, learning, politics, tech_and_society, technology, transforming_teaching, web2.0
Cable in the Classroom - Threshold Magazine - Spring 2008
tags: 2008, tech_and_society, threshold, transforming_teaching
Global Warming Skeptic Organizations
tags: climate change, skeptic, special interest groups
List of prominent groups organized to refute the science of global warming
World Language Learning Materials
tags: curriculum, foreign language, materials, world language
Today's spies find secrets in plain sight - USATODAY.com Annotated
tags: information, internet safety, onlinesafety, privacy
Agencies dedicated to covert information are increasinly turning to open networks.
"Open source is the world of the future."
open-source information
main use is to "add perspective and context" to material gathered through classified means.
Additionally, he says, such information helps officials better focus classified missions on material that can't be obtained elsewhere. "Increasingly … we are asked to look at open source first, then show the added value we get by applying (classified) assets."
"Now, counterintelligence is a problem for everyone who has secrets to keep and … lives on a network," Brenner says. "And that's all of us."
ed4wb » Education for Well-being
tags: ed4wb, education, transforming_teaching, video
Education as if people and the planet mattered
Monday, March 31, 2008
diigo bookmarks 04/01/2008
tags: SMARTboard, professional development, smartboards
blog that highlights resources, tips, and tricks for using smartboards.
Open Thread: Your Favorite Teacher Blogs, by Subject Matter? | Beyond School
tags: education, teacher blogs
Comments filled with great edublogger links.
TubeSock - Save YouTube videos
tags: digitalstorytelling, ipod, tubesock, youtube
TubeSock 2.0 downloads YouTube or DailyMotion videos from the web and saves them to your video iPod, Mac, or PlayStation Portable. TubeSock knows how to convert the video using the codecs and bitrates best for each device. It can even add the video to iTunes for you.
kwout | A brilliant way to quote
tags: blogging, quote, screenshot, web2.0
"kwout" is a way you quote a part of a web page as an image with an image map.
Educator Technology Literacy Rubrics - Shifted Learning
tags: rubrics, standards, technology
Saturday, March 29, 2008
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
NCCE Reflections | Day One: Admin/IT Leadership Summit
I spent today in a workshop for administrative and IT types talking about how we can support 21st century learning. While the workshop didn't fully live up to my expectations, I did get some good take aways.
Communication: both groups (admin and IT) expressed a desire for greater communication; there is a real need for each to know what the other is thinking, feeling, planning, so efforts can be fully developed and coordinated.
There was also some discussion about being included in the upper administration thinking process. Some districts have IT and instructional tech leaders at the cabinet level--at least in the room if not in a voting capacity--and more of this would be beneficial in my district. We have started having these perspectives attend the principals' meeting to good effect, and I think having instructional technology represented at the highest levels of decision making would also be an important move.
Vision: Something new for me was learning about ISTE's Essential Conditions; these are a crucial take away for me because they feel like a structure for discussing change within the district. The top condition is shared vision, which happens to be my #1 tech integration priority. The work of the district instructional technology committee will be critical here for crafting and articulating this vision in a manner that can then be used to inform district-level decision making regarding the allocation of various resources (time, money, people). Working this shared vision into the larger district plan will also be very important.
Leadership: Because so many of the decisions that need making are ultimately resource allocation issues, having strong leaders who share the vision and are willing to work toward it are vital. School boards and superintendents need to value the importance of moving the district forward on issues of tech integration and student-centered learning.
And while district-level leadership is important, real change all comes down to building principals who ultimately have the on-the-ground influence and responsibility to make things happen. If principals don't buy in to the district vision, making it part of the the ongoing, day-to-day expectations in the building, what is expected by the district and what happens in the building won't be in alignment. Our building leaders are critical for keeping the priorities in focus so they don't get lost in the daily hustle of teaching.
Something that didn't come up during the workshop but I feel is invaluable is the role of teacher leaders. Integrating technology and making student-centered learning a priority is risky business for the teacher who is used to the tried and true, traditional modes. How do we, as administrative and IT types, support those who are willing to take some professional risks and move outside their comfort zones? How do we work with these teachers to develop them as building and district leaders willing to pave the way for their more reluctant peers?
NCCE08
Communication: both groups (admin and IT) expressed a desire for greater communication; there is a real need for each to know what the other is thinking, feeling, planning, so efforts can be fully developed and coordinated.
There was also some discussion about being included in the upper administration thinking process. Some districts have IT and instructional tech leaders at the cabinet level--at least in the room if not in a voting capacity--and more of this would be beneficial in my district. We have started having these perspectives attend the principals' meeting to good effect, and I think having instructional technology represented at the highest levels of decision making would also be an important move.
Vision: Something new for me was learning about ISTE's Essential Conditions; these are a crucial take away for me because they feel like a structure for discussing change within the district. The top condition is shared vision, which happens to be my #1 tech integration priority. The work of the district instructional technology committee will be critical here for crafting and articulating this vision in a manner that can then be used to inform district-level decision making regarding the allocation of various resources (time, money, people). Working this shared vision into the larger district plan will also be very important.
Leadership: Because so many of the decisions that need making are ultimately resource allocation issues, having strong leaders who share the vision and are willing to work toward it are vital. School boards and superintendents need to value the importance of moving the district forward on issues of tech integration and student-centered learning.
And while district-level leadership is important, real change all comes down to building principals who ultimately have the on-the-ground influence and responsibility to make things happen. If principals don't buy in to the district vision, making it part of the the ongoing, day-to-day expectations in the building, what is expected by the district and what happens in the building won't be in alignment. Our building leaders are critical for keeping the priorities in focus so they don't get lost in the daily hustle of teaching.
Something that didn't come up during the workshop but I feel is invaluable is the role of teacher leaders. Integrating technology and making student-centered learning a priority is risky business for the teacher who is used to the tried and true, traditional modes. How do we, as administrative and IT types, support those who are willing to take some professional risks and move outside their comfort zones? How do we work with these teachers to develop them as building and district leaders willing to pave the way for their more reluctant peers?
NCCE08
Saturday, December 08, 2007
Planning the School of Today (and Tomorrow)
One of my new charges is to facilitate, through the district instructional technology committee, the creation of a recommendation for bringing our schools and classrooms into the 21st century. What hardware, software, and web access do our teachers need in order to prepare students to be responsible citizens in the world today (and tomorrow)? What are the similarities and differences in the needs of K-5, 6-8, and 9-12 educators and students?
Along the way, we will also need to discuss professional development, and I would like to see a mix of formal and informal opportunities. Since so much of web 2.0 is about literacy and learning, shouldn't teachers be allowed to get professional development credit for creating and engaging in their own personal learning environments?
What is your district doing? Is there a plan, a systematic approach, to developing the integration of technology into all classrooms across the district? How is PD handled? Are teachers provided a way of getting credit for their own, informal, explorations of technology?
Along the way, we will also need to discuss professional development, and I would like to see a mix of formal and informal opportunities. Since so much of web 2.0 is about literacy and learning, shouldn't teachers be allowed to get professional development credit for creating and engaging in their own personal learning environments?
What is your district doing? Is there a plan, a systematic approach, to developing the integration of technology into all classrooms across the district? How is PD handled? Are teachers provided a way of getting credit for their own, informal, explorations of technology?
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Sitting at the Big Kids' Table, Part Two
Back in June, I was hired to work part time as a teacher and part time as a teacher on special assignment in the curriculum office. A few weeks ago, the teacher on special assignment I was job sharing with decided to retire early--the end of November. Surprise.
My plan had been to spend the year working with her, learning the job, and then step out of the classroom and into full time curriculum work next fall. Life, as Lennon put it, is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.
Yesterday, I was hired to be the full time teacher on special assignment starting Monday. My head is still spinning. This morning I was up at 4am because the thoughts just kept intruding. My students took the news pretty well, and it was hardest telling the ones I've worked with for two or more years. I teach (er, taught) in a small school, so I've worked with many of them. But they also understood. While the timing isn't exactly what I had planned, the end result is something I've been working toward for the past three years, and my students have seen some of those efforts, especially the ones who were in one of my classes while I was working on my Master's Degree.
What hit me last night, though, as I sent my parents (both educators themselves) an email letting them know the good news, is that while I am leaving my classroom for the rest of the year, I may very well be leaving my classroom for the rest of my career.
Part of finally getting back to writing a blog entry is because this thought keeps popping up.
But I am excited about the change. My new role extends my voice at the table, including helping to shape the district vision for integrating/embedding/verb-of-the-moment-ing technology into the curriculum. I will also be working with folks from across the district on academic recovery, an issue near and dear to this alternative teacher's heart.
Monday morning is going to be difficult. The first of many days that doesn't involving working directly with students.
My plan had been to spend the year working with her, learning the job, and then step out of the classroom and into full time curriculum work next fall. Life, as Lennon put it, is what happens to you while you're busy making other plans.
Yesterday, I was hired to be the full time teacher on special assignment starting Monday. My head is still spinning. This morning I was up at 4am because the thoughts just kept intruding. My students took the news pretty well, and it was hardest telling the ones I've worked with for two or more years. I teach (er, taught) in a small school, so I've worked with many of them. But they also understood. While the timing isn't exactly what I had planned, the end result is something I've been working toward for the past three years, and my students have seen some of those efforts, especially the ones who were in one of my classes while I was working on my Master's Degree.
What hit me last night, though, as I sent my parents (both educators themselves) an email letting them know the good news, is that while I am leaving my classroom for the rest of the year, I may very well be leaving my classroom for the rest of my career.
Part of finally getting back to writing a blog entry is because this thought keeps popping up.
But I am excited about the change. My new role extends my voice at the table, including helping to shape the district vision for integrating/embedding/verb-of-the-moment-ing technology into the curriculum. I will also be working with folks from across the district on academic recovery, an issue near and dear to this alternative teacher's heart.
Monday morning is going to be difficult. The first of many days that doesn't involving working directly with students.
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Umm...are you sure?
I've seen a few of these readability badges popping up and decided to play along. I'm dying to know exactly how this is being calculated.
Monday, November 05, 2007
Marketing keeps teaching me about teaching
I've been reading a few marketing blogs for awhile now, and every now and then a real gem turns up. Frequently, it happens to turn up on Hugh MacLeod's gapingvoid (note: not always SFW).
In a post today, "Social gestures beget social objects", MacLeod ends with
In a post today, "Social gestures beget social objects", MacLeod ends with
So all you corporate MBAs out there, here's a little tip. When you planning on how to embrace the brave new world of Web 2.0, the first question you ask yourself should not be "What tools do I use?"As we educators continue to wade deeper into the 2.0 waters, pedagogy has become the critical topic. So, "How do I want to change the way I teach my students?"Blogs, RSS, YouTube, Twitter, Facebook- it doesn't matter.
The first question you should REALLY ask yourself is:
"How do I want to change the way I talk to people?"
And hopefully the rest should follow.
Think about it.
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Legal Implications of the Backchannel
An interesting article today on the front page of the local paper. Councilman upset about members e-mailing each other during meetings
The main thrust of the article is whether or not council persons' use of email during city council meetings is a violation of open meeting law. Is the public's right to the full and open discussion of a topic being infringed?
Perhaps the council needs to start using Twittercamp ;)
The main thrust of the article is whether or not council persons' use of email during city council meetings is a violation of open meeting law. Is the public's right to the full and open discussion of a topic being infringed?
[Council president] Childers said the communications were appropriate because they dealt with a topic on the table. He also said he does not see a meaningful distinction between an e-mail during a meeting and a council person leaning over and whispering in another's ear, a frequent occurrence.I suppose the comparison is a fair one, but the use of email (chat, twitter, txt, etc) does seem to violate the open intent of transparent, democratic discussion.
Perhaps the council needs to start using Twittercamp ;)
Monday, September 17, 2007
Phases of Online Development
Came across this table while researching electronic portfolios. These phases seem reminiscent of my entry into blogging.
In my own experience, the phases are fluid. I will get comfortable publishing on a specific topic, or with a specific technology, but find myself returning to anxiety when I step outside the usual fair (there's a reason I've done exactly one podcast). However, each back slide is briefer and less intense; the more I work at blogging, the more comfortable working at the boundaries becomes.
Now that I am doing more to promote using online tools, I've certainly seen the anxiety and uncertainty in others, too, as they consider the implications of publishing online. Part of providing support and encouragement to my colleagues and students is remembering this anxiety as I work to encourage engaging in online publishing.
--
Table from Developing Digital Portfolios for Childhood Education by Marja Kankaanranta. 2002.
In my own experience, the phases are fluid. I will get comfortable publishing on a specific topic, or with a specific technology, but find myself returning to anxiety when I step outside the usual fair (there's a reason I've done exactly one podcast
Now that I am doing more to promote using online tools, I've certainly seen the anxiety and uncertainty in others, too, as they consider the implications of publishing online. Part of providing support and encouragement to my colleagues and students is remembering this anxiety as I work to encourage engaging in online publishing.
--
Table from Developing Digital Portfolios for Childhood Education by Marja Kankaanranta. 2002.
Sunday, September 16, 2007
Demo Classroom Update
Work continues on getting the demonstration classroom ready for visitors. The portal is coming along nicely; a calendar outlining upcoming activities is now online, and once we are ready for visitors, an online sign up form is ready for use.
This week was also about hardware, peripherals mostly. All of the "stuff" comes with software, and software means getting time with the tech. Our building tech is great, but like so many techs in our district and across the country, he is split between multiple schools and seriously overworked. So, its not all up and running yet, that may take another week or two, but we are getting closer.
One of the hidden costs of integrating technology into a curriculum is patience. Absolutely nothing, from installation of hard/software to planning how to use it all, goes as quickly as I would like. Remembering that we are in the early stages is important, and while I worry that we are not making progress quickly enough, as a district and as a nation, we are moving forward and seem to be accelerating.
This week was also about hardware, peripherals mostly. All of the "stuff" comes with software, and software means getting time with the tech. Our building tech is great, but like so many techs in our district and across the country, he is split between multiple schools and seriously overworked. So, its not all up and running yet, that may take another week or two, but we are getting closer.
One of the hidden costs of integrating technology into a curriculum is patience. Absolutely nothing, from installation of hard/software to planning how to use it all, goes as quickly as I would like. Remembering that we are in the early stages is important, and while I worry that we are not making progress quickly enough, as a district and as a nation, we are moving forward and seem to be accelerating.
Sunday, September 09, 2007
First week thoughts
Week one of the year of many hats went quite well. I love teaching, and the first days back are always a real treat.
Returning students are refreshed and happy to be back, a few even told me they were ready for school to start. I work in an alternative school with students at risk of dropping out but here they are smiling and upbeat about another year at Willard.
The new students, who account for roughly half our population this fall, were understandably more cautious as they learn the routine and settle into how things are handled here. In a few more weeks they will be fine.
The hardest part of this week has been leaving school each day just as afternoon classes are beginning. As I walk out the door I have this nagging feeling that I'm not done yet, that I'm abandoning my students halfway through the day. During the five minute drive down to the administration building I am learning to let that feeling go and put on my ToSA (Teacher on Special Assignment) hat.
Of all the differences between being in a classroom and in an office, the nature of time has been the hardest to get used to. The classroom is ruled by the clock; there are only so many minutes in a period and, whether you have finished or not, when those minutes are used up the period is over. Current students file out, new ones file in, reset the clock and go.
Not so in administration.
The first meeting I attended was scheduled for an hour and a half, but when time was up we weren't done. We worked for another hour, completing our planning. Being able to do so was a completely foreign experience but also a real delight. No half finished discussions, no scribbled notes to pick up the thread the next day; instead, a task completed by giving it the necessary time. I can get used to this.
Returning students are refreshed and happy to be back, a few even told me they were ready for school to start. I work in an alternative school with students at risk of dropping out but here they are smiling and upbeat about another year at Willard.
The new students, who account for roughly half our population this fall, were understandably more cautious as they learn the routine and settle into how things are handled here. In a few more weeks they will be fine.
The hardest part of this week has been leaving school each day just as afternoon classes are beginning. As I walk out the door I have this nagging feeling that I'm not done yet, that I'm abandoning my students halfway through the day. During the five minute drive down to the administration building I am learning to let that feeling go and put on my ToSA (Teacher on Special Assignment) hat.
Of all the differences between being in a classroom and in an office, the nature of time has been the hardest to get used to. The classroom is ruled by the clock; there are only so many minutes in a period and, whether you have finished or not, when those minutes are used up the period is over. Current students file out, new ones file in, reset the clock and go.
Not so in administration.
The first meeting I attended was scheduled for an hour and a half, but when time was up we weren't done. We worked for another hour, completing our planning. Being able to do so was a completely foreign experience but also a real delight. No half finished discussions, no scribbled notes to pick up the thread the next day; instead, a task completed by giving it the necessary time. I can get used to this.
Wednesday, August 29, 2007
Demonstration classroom: getting started
Students start next Tuesday, the 4th, and the various pieces of the demonstration classroom are coming together. I'll be using 21classes this semester with my English and journalism students. We will start with just the class blog, but as the semester moves along, the students will also have personal learning blogs.
The next piece of the puzzle will be developing the classroom portal, which will serve as a front door to the various web-based tools. My district is using dotnukenet, and so far I've found it fairly straightforward and easy to use. I'm looking forward to having a single URL that will connect students, parents, and fellow educators to all the pieces.
I still need to see if there is a way to provide an RSS feed for the portal. Anyone using RSS with dotnukenet for their classroom / school web portal?
The next piece of the puzzle will be developing the classroom portal, which will serve as a front door to the various web-based tools. My district is using dotnukenet, and so far I've found it fairly straightforward and easy to use. I'm looking forward to having a single URL that will connect students, parents, and fellow educators to all the pieces.
I still need to see if there is a way to provide an RSS feed for the portal. Anyone using RSS with dotnukenet for their classroom / school web portal?
Monday, August 13, 2007
What to tell the principals?
Next Monday, the 20th, I get to spend roughly 90 minutes talking about the wonders of the read/write web with all of the district principals, assistants, and deans. Originally, the plan was to have 3 hours with them during which time I was going to facilitate a more hands on exploration of all things web 2.0. I agree whole heartedly with Will Richardson when he discusses how the transformative nature these tools have on learning only fully reveals itself through use, so I had planned getting them set up with an RSS aggregator, a blog, and an initial "welcome back to school" message recorded as a podcast. Unfortunately, time constraints I learned about today have forced a change in venue and schedule.
Now the plan lacks the hands on nature, so I want to show how these tools are being used by students. That is where you come in. I will be doing the presentation twice, once for high school principals and once for the K-8 crowd. I have some high school level projects in mind (NPR's YouthCast, Vickie Davis & Julie Lindsay's Flat Classroom, and Clay Burell et al's 1001 Flat World Tales) but know little about what has been going on in the younger grades. So, those who know of good examples of younger students (or even a great high school example) using the read/write web please leave a comment sharing the resource.
Now the plan lacks the hands on nature, so I want to show how these tools are being used by students. That is where you come in. I will be doing the presentation twice, once for high school principals and once for the K-8 crowd. I have some high school level projects in mind (NPR's YouthCast, Vickie Davis & Julie Lindsay's Flat Classroom, and Clay Burell et al's 1001 Flat World Tales) but know little about what has been going on in the younger grades. So, those who know of good examples of younger students (or even a great high school example) using the read/write web please leave a comment sharing the resource.
Friday, August 10, 2007
Transform
Growing up the son of a media specialist, there were rules when it came to the proper care and handling of books. Dust jackets were taken off of books while actively reading them. Paperback were never opened beyond 180 degrees. And the only appropriate way to keep your place was by employing some kind of bookmark--dog earing a page was a sin. As a habitual "loser of small things", bookmarks frequently are scraps of whatever paper was at hand.
So, when I finally started reading The World is Flat this summer, I grabbed the first handy scrap on my nightstand, a ticket stub from one of this summer's blockbusters. Today, I happened to notice which ticket stub I had grabbed.
Thanks to Ewan MacIntosh for the invite to Skitch. What a fun program/web service.
So, when I finally started reading The World is Flat this summer, I grabbed the first handy scrap on my nightstand, a ticket stub from one of this summer's blockbusters. Today, I happened to notice which ticket stub I had grabbed.
Thanks to Ewan MacIntosh for the invite to Skitch. What a fun program/web service.
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Student safety, or can we ever publish anything about students ever again?
Last Tuesday, the Women of Web 2.0 brought on Linda Criddle, author of Look Both Ways, for a show about internet safety. Overall, the conversation was very good; I especially like Criddle's emphasis on empowering users to be in control of their personal information and the choices they make online. She also spoke out against fear-based appeals, rightly noting that they simply do not work.
However, she also advocates for what seems to be the complete removal of any and all reference to students from the public spaces of school websites. Names, pictures, examples of work, practice schedules, all verboten for fear that someone will misuse the information--identity theft, predation, etc. The bottom line: we are afraid.
The truth is we have been publishing student information in public forums for as long as it has been possible to publish. But wait, internet safety advocates will say, now the internet lets anyone with access know about and prey upon our children. And I suppose it is easier for the bad people these days. But taking information about the start of football season off the school website only to have it published in the local paper, which has an online presence, doesn't change anything. Except maybe liability.
How sad to think that what we truly fear is not something happening to our children but instead that we will get sued.
Last night I was listening to NPR and happened to catch From the Top, a showcase of rather gifted young musicians. During the course of the one hour program, the listeners learned about these students, including full name (one name was even spelled on air as part of a joke), state, high school, musical instrument, and a quaint biographical story. Basically, enough information for someone with malicious intent to begin grooming that child was provided on air during a national broadcast of a weekly show. And to make matters worse, on the web page for last night's show visitors can also find pictures of the students, again complete with full names.
I had never listened to From the Top in this way before. Prior to the WoW show, I had always seen the broadcast as a celebration of student achievement. Now I see it for what it really is, a buffet of vulnerable youth just waiting to be exploited.
My point in all this hyperbole? That From the Top is a celebration; that schools want to showcase their students' achievements; that while we do indeed need to teach about privacy in this new, transparent landscape, we still need to live our lives; and that while we live in a world with some bad people, our students are doing really neat things and they deserve the recognition and rewards that come with the risks inherent in learning new things.
However, she also advocates for what seems to be the complete removal of any and all reference to students from the public spaces of school websites. Names, pictures, examples of work, practice schedules, all verboten for fear that someone will misuse the information--identity theft, predation, etc. The bottom line: we are afraid.
The truth is we have been publishing student information in public forums for as long as it has been possible to publish. But wait, internet safety advocates will say, now the internet lets anyone with access know about and prey upon our children. And I suppose it is easier for the bad people these days. But taking information about the start of football season off the school website only to have it published in the local paper, which has an online presence, doesn't change anything. Except maybe liability.
How sad to think that what we truly fear is not something happening to our children but instead that we will get sued.
Last night I was listening to NPR and happened to catch From the Top, a showcase of rather gifted young musicians. During the course of the one hour program, the listeners learned about these students, including full name (one name was even spelled on air as part of a joke), state, high school, musical instrument, and a quaint biographical story. Basically, enough information for someone with malicious intent to begin grooming that child was provided on air during a national broadcast of a weekly show. And to make matters worse, on the web page for last night's show visitors can also find pictures of the students, again complete with full names.
I had never listened to From the Top in this way before. Prior to the WoW show, I had always seen the broadcast as a celebration of student achievement. Now I see it for what it really is, a buffet of vulnerable youth just waiting to be exploited.
My point in all this hyperbole? That From the Top is a celebration; that schools want to showcase their students' achievements; that while we do indeed need to teach about privacy in this new, transparent landscape, we still need to live our lives; and that while we live in a world with some bad people, our students are doing really neat things and they deserve the recognition and rewards that come with the risks inherent in learning new things.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
A Blog for Each Hat?
At what point does the blog need to split into two, or more, parallel spaces? Next fall, I will be wearing two hats, and I want to use a blog for professional reflection in both roles. But do I need two blogs? Is tagging entries enough to keep the various posts catagorized/organized? How much should I consider audience in all of this? Would posts about classroom practice and the demonstration classroom mixed with posts on being a Teacher on Special Assignment and all the associated tasks there be confusing? A dilution of messages in some way? Or does this simply reflect the current state of my professional practice?
My career is all mixed together right now; wearing multiple hats will do that. I suppose some of the future posts will be about balancing these two half-time-on-paper-but-we-all-know-better roles, in which case it makes sense to have both roles reflected throughout the blog.
I think I've talked myself into sticking with one space; thanks for being the sounding board. Those who blog and wear multiple hats, how do you handle blogging (and everything else :) )?
My career is all mixed together right now; wearing multiple hats will do that. I suppose some of the future posts will be about balancing these two half-time-on-paper-but-we-all-know-better roles, in which case it makes sense to have both roles reflected throughout the blog.
I think I've talked myself into sticking with one space; thanks for being the sounding board. Those who blog and wear multiple hats, how do you handle blogging (and everything else :) )?
Working outside my comfort zone
I have been thinking a lot about comfort, transparency, and professional growth. I can't think of a single aspect of next fall that lies within my comfort zone.
The demonstration classroom pushes me to the edges of my teaching, my personal/professional space, my comfort with being observed, of dealing with people, of being judged -- my entire professional sense of self worth as an educator. yikes. The demonstration classroom is an incredibly transparent way to teach and part of me is scared to death of the level of exposure I am about to engage in. I am going to make mistakes. In front of my peers. In front of principals. In front of upper administrators. What are going to be the consequences of those mistakes?
The Teacher on Special Assignment position is much the same. I will be in new territory--budgets, grants, planning meetings, coordinating efforts (often with peers who teach in areas I know little about). The organizational aspects, keeping it all straight, are daunting. I am a well organzied person, but this living in two worlds is really going to demand a new level of awareness and coordination.
Even with all this, though, I am really looking forward to the change. As a teacher, I get to do even more of what I've been trying to accomplish regarding tech integration. With the ToSA position, I get to expand this to district level conversations about the changing nature of trying to teach in a world where the notions of what it means to be literate are changing.
As one of my fellow alternative teachers reminded me on the last day of school, growth occurs at the edges, at the borders of our comfort zones and the new things we experience. I need to remember that this is an opportunity. The transparency of the demonstration classroom, of having colleagues come in and observe, is a chance to invite expert teachers into my space to see what I do and get their feedback. Part of the process, of visiting my classroom, will need to include time to sit and visit with me afterward. Face to face commenting, as it were.
The demonstration classroom pushes me to the edges of my teaching, my personal/professional space, my comfort with being observed, of dealing with people, of being judged -- my entire professional sense of self worth as an educator. yikes. The demonstration classroom is an incredibly transparent way to teach and part of me is scared to death of the level of exposure I am about to engage in. I am going to make mistakes. In front of my peers. In front of principals. In front of upper administrators. What are going to be the consequences of those mistakes?
The Teacher on Special Assignment position is much the same. I will be in new territory--budgets, grants, planning meetings, coordinating efforts (often with peers who teach in areas I know little about). The organizational aspects, keeping it all straight, are daunting. I am a well organzied person, but this living in two worlds is really going to demand a new level of awareness and coordination.
Even with all this, though, I am really looking forward to the change. As a teacher, I get to do even more of what I've been trying to accomplish regarding tech integration. With the ToSA position, I get to expand this to district level conversations about the changing nature of trying to teach in a world where the notions of what it means to be literate are changing.
As one of my fellow alternative teachers reminded me on the last day of school, growth occurs at the edges, at the borders of our comfort zones and the new things we experience. I need to remember that this is an opportunity. The transparency of the demonstration classroom, of having colleagues come in and observe, is a chance to invite expert teachers into my space to see what I do and get their feedback. Part of the process, of visiting my classroom, will need to include time to sit and visit with me afterward. Face to face commenting, as it were.
Monday, July 02, 2007
Writing, Comfort, and the Mistakes that Happen
I love how simply organic writing on paper is, but this process is so limiting compared to digital. There is no way to update, reorganize, easily share, or file. But paper carries personality--choices of paper weight, ink, stroke, handwriting--so much more is communicated that just the meaning of words. Looking back on old journals, I can sense mood, intent, context existing in the markings, communicated independent of the words.
One of the fundamental questions when writing becomes "how do I plan to use this?" The answer to which drives media selection decisions; I recently jotted down a list of things to do that should have been done, at a minimum, in a spreadsheet and perhaps more ideally in some form of concept map; something that can be pushed and pulled, revised, posted for comment, tagged, shared... Perhaps accomplishing my list should be done through a wiki, an ongoing, online repository of my own and others thinking about how to accomplish the goals before me.
With so many choices, I pick up my notebook out of habit, out of comfort, out of a need to tap out imperfect thoughts. This reminds me of Miguel's post about sharing and making mistakes in a transparent environment. I'm a bit of a perfectionist; I will probably reread this post three or four times before publishing just to make sure everything is exact.
But how honest is this?
We all know learning is a process and, therefore, messy. This is one of the fundamental lesssons I try to teach my students. I encourage them to engage in the process of writing openly, showing their drafts to classmates, accepting and rejecting feedback, explaining the choices they make between drafts.
One of my challenges for myself is to be more willing to do what I ask my students to do, engage in the messiness of the process. Once I clear out a few thoughts from the notebook (this post started two weeks ago), I will endevor to put my thoughts directly into this space in a more timely fasion.
Of course, that comes with problems. As I reread this (only the second time, I promise), I realize the second half, which was composed on the spot, is only loosely connected with the first. I'm trying to learn to live with that.
One of the fundamental questions when writing becomes "how do I plan to use this?" The answer to which drives media selection decisions; I recently jotted down a list of things to do that should have been done, at a minimum, in a spreadsheet and perhaps more ideally in some form of concept map; something that can be pushed and pulled, revised, posted for comment, tagged, shared... Perhaps accomplishing my list should be done through a wiki, an ongoing, online repository of my own and others thinking about how to accomplish the goals before me.
With so many choices, I pick up my notebook out of habit, out of comfort, out of a need to tap out imperfect thoughts. This reminds me of Miguel's post about sharing and making mistakes in a transparent environment. I'm a bit of a perfectionist; I will probably reread this post three or four times before publishing just to make sure everything is exact.
But how honest is this?
We all know learning is a process and, therefore, messy. This is one of the fundamental lesssons I try to teach my students. I encourage them to engage in the process of writing openly, showing their drafts to classmates, accepting and rejecting feedback, explaining the choices they make between drafts.
One of my challenges for myself is to be more willing to do what I ask my students to do, engage in the messiness of the process. Once I clear out a few thoughts from the notebook (this post started two weeks ago), I will endevor to put my thoughts directly into this space in a more timely fasion.
Of course, that comes with problems. As I reread this (only the second time, I promise), I realize the second half, which was composed on the spot, is only loosely connected with the first. I'm trying to learn to live with that.
Wednesday, June 13, 2007
For Twits Sake
I'm not an early adopter of anything. Blogs, wikis, podcasts; they all needed to generate some traction before I was willing to invest my own energy into consuming or creating with these media. But even as I became passingly aware of each, I knew if the trend continued I would need to experiment with them, learn how to use them, and find ways to work them into teaching. Afterall, this is where students are going; if these tools will help them learn, I need to be using them.
But I'm not sure I get some of the newer things. Second Life, which I have played around in off and on for over a year, just doesn't seem to click for me. The massive nature is interesting, but I'm still not convinced of its educational value except in cases where face to face is difficult, and then video chat seems more appropriate.
Now Twitter is becoming a bit of a thing. I tried it and honestly don't get it. At all. Who cares that I am eating popcorn right now? Perhaps Twitter is still largely in the shiny new toy stage and more engaging uses are still down the road. Maybe the Will Richardson of Twitter will reframe the twit as Will did the blog(v.).
But what got me going tonight was Jeff Utecht's post about Twitter in the classroom. He discusses the ability to use Twitter with cell phones and how this might help his IT department better communicate.
I can see this; this is a practical application that improves upon text messaging because a single twit can go to the entire group.
But then he extended the thought to the classroom.
But the image resonated on another level too. We are already doing this, aren't we. One of the hot topics of tech integration is response systems. What if Twitter is the response system all our students already own? What if, instead of spending thousands of dollars on these systems, we capitalize on the technology our students already bring to school every day.
And now I need to know more. So I've added the Twitter box to the blog, for now at least, and I've downloaded Twitterific from Iconfactory (apparently just for Macs). So, if you are a fellow Twitterer(?, gotta work on the lingo), twit me.
Here is my Twitter profile.
--
photo credit: Ohio University Center for Academic Technology
But I'm not sure I get some of the newer things. Second Life, which I have played around in off and on for over a year, just doesn't seem to click for me. The massive nature is interesting, but I'm still not convinced of its educational value except in cases where face to face is difficult, and then video chat seems more appropriate.
Now Twitter is becoming a bit of a thing. I tried it and honestly don't get it. At all. Who cares that I am eating popcorn right now? Perhaps Twitter is still largely in the shiny new toy stage and more engaging uses are still down the road. Maybe the Will Richardson of Twitter will reframe the twit as Will did the blog(v.).
But what got me going tonight was Jeff Utecht's post about Twitter in the classroom. He discusses the ability to use Twitter with cell phones and how this might help his IT department better communicate.
We are 8 people across 6 schools on two campuses 2 hours apart. It might be interesting to see if something like Twitter would allow us to stay in contact, help each other out, and improve our communication.
I can see this; this is a practical application that improves upon text messaging because a single twit can go to the entire group.
But then he extended the thought to the classroom.
With being able to use it on your cell phone I can picture some uses for it in the classroom as well. With kids able to answer questions via a text that appears on a teachers twitter account. You would have the name of the student, their answer and be able to give them personal feedback with a direct twit.I felt that cold chill, that tightening in my gut usually reserved for extreme heights and spiders. A classroom awash in the glow of cell phones as teacher and students twit away, narry a word spoken. Is this the cold dread other educators feel when I talk about blogs?
But the image resonated on another level too. We are already doing this, aren't we. One of the hot topics of tech integration is response systems. What if Twitter is the response system all our students already own? What if, instead of spending thousands of dollars on these systems, we capitalize on the technology our students already bring to school every day.And now I need to know more. So I've added the Twitter box to the blog, for now at least, and I've downloaded Twitterific from Iconfactory (apparently just for Macs). So, if you are a fellow Twitterer(?, gotta work on the lingo), twit me.
Here is my Twitter profile.
--
photo credit: Ohio University Center for Academic Technology
Thursday, June 07, 2007
Close the Book
Phew. The books are checked in. The posters are off the walls. The students have all gone home. We are done.
This year went by incredibly fast. I was joking with some of my students about how September to April went by in a blur and May took three months.
69 students graduated this year, students that largely would have dropped out if not for the alternative school. I am proud of everyone at Willard for being part of that success, and I am especially proud of the students choosing to be successful even when many people in their lives, including other educators, told them they would never graduate.
Now, getting ready for next year.
This year went by incredibly fast. I was joking with some of my students about how September to April went by in a blur and May took three months.
69 students graduated this year, students that largely would have dropped out if not for the alternative school. I am proud of everyone at Willard for being part of that success, and I am especially proud of the students choosing to be successful even when many people in their lives, including other educators, told them they would never graduate.
Now, getting ready for next year.
Tuesday, June 05, 2007
Sitting at the Big Kids' Table
I've been pretty quiet in this space for a long time. This has mostly been self-censoring; lots of drafts have been written, but the various projects were all too up in the air to make public.
That changed this morning.
Starting next fall, I move into a half-time position as teacher on special assignment as the current teacher steps back to part time. Much of this position will be coordinating career and tech ed programs, overseeing the Perkins grant, and facilitating connections between school and the business community. The remainder of my time will be spent promoting and developing the integration of technology into the core curricular areas across the district. The new role is very exciting, but what I am most looking forward to is being part of the district-wide conversations about 21st century learning.
A significant piece of this second part is also connected to the other 0.5 of my full time day. I have been asked to be the teacher for a demonstration classroom, modeling how a wide variety of technologies--hardware, software, and web-based--can be embedded into an English classroom.
I get to both talk the talk and walk the walk. I can't wait.
That changed this morning.
Starting next fall, I move into a half-time position as teacher on special assignment as the current teacher steps back to part time. Much of this position will be coordinating career and tech ed programs, overseeing the Perkins grant, and facilitating connections between school and the business community. The remainder of my time will be spent promoting and developing the integration of technology into the core curricular areas across the district. The new role is very exciting, but what I am most looking forward to is being part of the district-wide conversations about 21st century learning.
A significant piece of this second part is also connected to the other 0.5 of my full time day. I have been asked to be the teacher for a demonstration classroom, modeling how a wide variety of technologies--hardware, software, and web-based--can be embedded into an English classroom.
I get to both talk the talk and walk the walk. I can't wait.
Sunday, March 25, 2007
Blogs as Just Another Assignment
I have played with using student blogs for two years now, and I just haven't felt like students feel any ownership. The goal was to get away from doing it for the teacher, but based on the effort required to get students to write, I don't feel like my students ever felt blogging was anything more than just another assignment.
Part of the disconnect, I feel, is the tool I am using. I love classblogmeister for its ease of use and security settings. The teacher has control over what goes live, leaving plenty of opportunity for catching student mistakes or inappropriate comments before they cause problems. But how is my role as moderator of student blogs any different from my role as moderator of the hallway bulletin board? If everything a student writes needs to go through me, isn't the student reduced to writing for me?
This has become part of the larger discussion in my district regarding the use of blogs in the classroom. Do we, as teachers, need to moderate all posts and comments? At what point--grade level, age, experience blogging--might teachers move to monitoring instead? Is monitoring ever "enough", or is our professional obligation to student safety so great that moderating is the only option?
Part of the disconnect, I feel, is the tool I am using. I love classblogmeister for its ease of use and security settings. The teacher has control over what goes live, leaving plenty of opportunity for catching student mistakes or inappropriate comments before they cause problems. But how is my role as moderator of student blogs any different from my role as moderator of the hallway bulletin board? If everything a student writes needs to go through me, isn't the student reduced to writing for me?
This has become part of the larger discussion in my district regarding the use of blogs in the classroom. Do we, as teachers, need to moderate all posts and comments? At what point--grade level, age, experience blogging--might teachers move to monitoring instead? Is monitoring ever "enough", or is our professional obligation to student safety so great that moderating is the only option?
Sunday, February 11, 2007
Nuns Get It!
The NBC nightly news just finished, and I'm sorry to say I missed most of the final story, thinking it would be the usual ending puff piece. The gist of the story is that there is a growing number of young women expressing an interest in serving God by joining the convent.
A convent in Michigan is going high tech, using a website to help with recruiting. The nun in charge of recruiting, Sister Joseph Andrew, was interviewed , and I just happened to be walking past the t.v. when she said, "When I travel, I take my Blackberry with me because young women want a response quickly." (no direct link: see "More U.S. Women Joining the Convent" at MSNBC)
Nuns get it! What is taking education so long?
As an aside, I do find it interesting that the ad on MSNBC leading into the piece is for Blackberry devices.
A convent in Michigan is going high tech, using a website to help with recruiting. The nun in charge of recruiting, Sister Joseph Andrew, was interviewed , and I just happened to be walking past the t.v. when she said, "When I travel, I take my Blackberry with me because young women want a response quickly." (no direct link: see "More U.S. Women Joining the Convent" at MSNBC)
Nuns get it! What is taking education so long?
As an aside, I do find it interesting that the ad on MSNBC leading into the piece is for Blackberry devices.
Saturday, January 06, 2007
Wanna Take a Survey?
Scott McLeod at Dangerously Irrelevant is conducting a survey of edublogger types. Please take a minute to fill it out.
Opting out incurs Scott's wrath.
Opting out incurs Scott's wrath.
Those solicited who choose not to participate shalt be labeled both publicly and widely as dastardly scoundrels, notty-pated hedgepigs, or beslubbering, doghearted, maggot-ridden canker-blossoms!
Saturday, December 09, 2006
Wordie - Like Flickr, but without the Photos
TechCrunch has a post about a new social networking site for word lovers, Wordie. Simply enough, Wordie allows users to create a list of words. Each time a word is added, Wordie includes various links to get definitions.
While a wiki would probably be a better way to build a class word bank complete with definitions and examples, Wordie could be useful for reviewing terms, with students checking definitions as needed. This approach could be especially valuable for SAT/ACT prep.
Then there is the sheer word nerdiness of it all that I love. I am going to use the site as a way to keep track of all the fun words I come across. There is even an RSS feed, so I have added it to the blog's sidebar.
Saturday, December 02, 2006
Now with Chat!
Cool Cat Teacher, Vickie Davis, points out Meebo Me, another way to add chatting functionality to a blog.
I love the idea of increasing channels of communication, so I am giving it a try here. However, I'm not sure how useful this will be for the classroom. In order to participate with visitors to the blog, I need to log into meebo, which I am certain my district blocks (I'll need to check on Monday).
Mostly, though, I'm just curious about chat. I rarely use IM, preferring the asynchronous leisure of email (remember when email was considered the fast way to communicate in writing). If I need real time, I would rather use the phone or Skype.
But lets give it a try. I would love to hear from anyone stopping by the blog.
Wednesday, November 01, 2006
Where are my tags?
I hit a wall yesterday while cleaning my desk and file cabinets. As I went to put some copies in a folder I realized the content was generic enough that I could use it for multiple projects. I jotted down the various topics but then had to decide which drawer to put the file in. I typically file by grade period, but the various projects occur in different periods. I suppose I could make folders for every quarter and file the copies in multiple places; only a year ago I would have done just that and been fine.
This time I didn't.
I sat there, wondering how long it will take to be able to tag everything, have it all in one container, and make it appear when needed by keyword. My file cabinet should work like that. So should my operating system. Neither does, and I was truly flummoxed.
Is this what my students feel every day when the school system strips away the tools they have become accustomed to using?
This time I didn't.
I sat there, wondering how long it will take to be able to tag everything, have it all in one container, and make it appear when needed by keyword. My file cabinet should work like that. So should my operating system. Neither does, and I was truly flummoxed.
Is this what my students feel every day when the school system strips away the tools they have become accustomed to using?
Thursday, October 26, 2006
Blogs, Schools, and the Law
My principal was kind enough to pass along "Blogs: A New Frontier for School Discipline Issues" in the fall 2006 edition of A Legal Memorandum, the National Association of Secondary School Principals quarterly law publication. It appears as though only NASSP members can access this online, so ask your principal for a chance to see her copy.
Overall, the newsletter's focus is on students' personal blogs (those created and posted to from off campus using no school resources) and the free speech protections afforded. In short, unless the school can demostrate "a material and substantial disruption to the educational environment", personal blogs are protected and schools may not take disciplinary action if the student writes something unpleasent.
What surprised me, because I admit I was expecting a pretty authoritarian, lock-it-all-down approach, is that the authors then advocate for a proactive stance--educate students as to the legal issues and appropriate use of blogs.
The Hazelwood decision, which I learned about in my preservice classes because it allows principals lattitude in censoring school newspapers, has an interesting implication for school-sponsored blogs.
Calling a classroom blog an open forum would certainly seem reasonable. What implications would that then have for the classroom or school? Does a student's class blog posting have more First Amendment protection than an article in the school paper? These are going to become pressing questions in the coming months/years.
However we choose to engage these questions, I can only take away hope and encouragement from the fact that the NASSP is advocating a reasoned, education-based approach to online resources. Now if we could only get more our education leadership blogging.
Overall, the newsletter's focus is on students' personal blogs (those created and posted to from off campus using no school resources) and the free speech protections afforded. In short, unless the school can demostrate "a material and substantial disruption to the educational environment", personal blogs are protected and schools may not take disciplinary action if the student writes something unpleasent.
What surprised me, because I admit I was expecting a pretty authoritarian, lock-it-all-down approach, is that the authors then advocate for a proactive stance--educate students as to the legal issues and appropriate use of blogs.
It is likely that in the long run continuous dialogue and up-to-date education in the appropriate use of electronic media will be far more effective than punishments such as suspensions and expulsion.
The Hazelwood decision, which I learned about in my preservice classes because it allows principals lattitude in censoring school newspapers, has an interesting implication for school-sponsored blogs.
Of crucial importance in [the Hazelwood] decision was the Court's comment that the school administration does not have the right to censor student speech (oral or written) that is part of an open forum.
Calling a classroom blog an open forum would certainly seem reasonable. What implications would that then have for the classroom or school? Does a student's class blog posting have more First Amendment protection than an article in the school paper? These are going to become pressing questions in the coming months/years.
However we choose to engage these questions, I can only take away hope and encouragement from the fact that the NASSP is advocating a reasoned, education-based approach to online resources. Now if we could only get more our education leadership blogging.
Friday, October 20, 2006
Filtering, Persuasion, and Literacy
On Monday, my students begin their persuasion unit. As a culminating project, they will be creating issue ads based on their research and writings during the grading period. I have never had students do this before, so I am going to do my own first as a test run.
As I have been framing this project in my mind, I keep drifting back to the ongoing filtering discussion. I have been too caught up in the academic discussion of filtering; I need to get back to the students, to the reality of their world, to "the new story", as David Warlick puts it, of filtering and the true impact on student safety.
So my test run is going to be an issue ad supporting the level of access to the internet needed to fully and appropriately teach digital literacy. All I have right now are some random images--mostly cuts between the school/home internet experience, but they will revolve around this rework of "give a man a fish".
Filter the Internet
and We Protect Children for Six Hours
Teach Digital Citizenship
and Children Protect Themselves for a Life Time
As I have been framing this project in my mind, I keep drifting back to the ongoing filtering discussion. I have been too caught up in the academic discussion of filtering; I need to get back to the students, to the reality of their world, to "the new story", as David Warlick puts it, of filtering and the true impact on student safety.
So my test run is going to be an issue ad supporting the level of access to the internet needed to fully and appropriately teach digital literacy. All I have right now are some random images--mostly cuts between the school/home internet experience, but they will revolve around this rework of "give a man a fish".
Filter the Internet
and We Protect Children for Six Hours
Teach Digital Citizenship
and Children Protect Themselves for a Life Time
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Filtering
This fall, my district switched filtering programs and many, many more sites and services are being blocked as a result. I have lost access to, among other things, bloglines, netvibes, writely, and many edtech bloggers, including everyone who publishes using blogger (even me). Thank goodness I still have classblogmeister or much of my lesson planning over the summer would have been shot (although teaching about RSS has become more difficult). To date, my requests to have these sites unblocked have gone unmet.
But there is hope.
Two weeks into the school year the district technology director sent out an email outlining the changes and asking for comments/questions for the web review committee. Such an open invitation is a first, so I answered with the following letter.
September 18, 2006
Web Review Committee,
Thank you for the invitation to share comments. One of the more frustrating aspects to internet filtering in the district has been the lack of dialog on filtering and its impact on student learning, classroom instruction, and professional development. [The technology director's] email on September 11 was an important first step in opening up the conversation, and I look forward to a continuing dialog across the district.
First and foremost, we need to remember as a district that the importance of the internet as a source of information and a tool for communication is only going to increase. Our students have unfettered access to the internet once they are outside the reach of the district filter. As responsible educators, we need to be involved in educating our students of the dangers. But more importantly, we need to be modeling and providing guided practice in the safe and appropriate use of these 21st century tools. Blocking access to the educational use of these tools only serves to leave our students under-prepared to navigate the changing landscape of the internet.
This is not to say there should be no filtering. Certainly, there are many sites unsuitable for students—content of a strictly adult nature should be inaccessible. However, just as our libraries contain information appropriate to the grade levels served, our district should filter the internet at a level appropriate to the grade levels served. Tiered filtering that respects the developmental differences of elementary, middle, and high school students is critical to providing age appropriate instruction.
Additionally, any filtering scheme needs to respect the professional judgment of educators. Educators should have the most latitude in accessing the internet so they may best determine what sites may be used, in whole or in part, with their students. The current practice of blocking a site simply because there is, for example, a shopping aspect to the site prohibits access to related, but educationally appropriate, content. Moving toward a filtering process that allows educators to temporarily turn off the filtering of a given site will improve teachers’ ability to plan and provide for more flexibility in terms of just in time teachable moments.
Ultimately, filtering should be based upon the appropriateness of the content. The new filtering system is blocking entire categories of sites based on the method of publication (notably blogs and wikis, but other important, educationally valubable resources as well). This wholesale blocking is cutting off access to a wide range of educationally appropriate, topical, and timely information.
Finally, I urge the committee to increase the amount of communication across the district regarding the educational integration of the internet and the role of filtering in meeting our educational goals. Committee discussions, or at least the results of those discussions, need to be public and communicated to the district. The committee, if it has not already, needs to become familiar with the growing wealth of online tools—including blogs, wikis, rss feeds/aggregators, and web-based applications—and their relevance in the classrooms of the 21st century. I would be happy to provide more information on any of these topics to the committee as a whole or to individuals.
Once again, thank you for the opportunity to share my thoughts on the district’s filtering policies. I look forward to continuing this discussion.
Sincerely,
Matthew J. Clausen
Willard School
x4755
mclausen@mcps.k12.mt.us
mjclausen@gmail.com
http://blogschools.blogspot.com
There hasn't been much response, yet, but I am hopeful. Thank you to all the edtech bloggers I have been reading over the past year or so. Your ideas helped frame this letter, and any success is a direct result of the wonderful openness of the conversations.
I have already thought of a few things missing from this letter. Most importantly, the notion that often filtering is used as a technological fix to what is really a teachable moment/discipline issue. I am planning a second letter to addres this; anyone have any thoughts on what else to include?
But there is hope.
Two weeks into the school year the district technology director sent out an email outlining the changes and asking for comments/questions for the web review committee. Such an open invitation is a first, so I answered with the following letter.
September 18, 2006
Web Review Committee,
Thank you for the invitation to share comments. One of the more frustrating aspects to internet filtering in the district has been the lack of dialog on filtering and its impact on student learning, classroom instruction, and professional development. [The technology director's] email on September 11 was an important first step in opening up the conversation, and I look forward to a continuing dialog across the district.
First and foremost, we need to remember as a district that the importance of the internet as a source of information and a tool for communication is only going to increase. Our students have unfettered access to the internet once they are outside the reach of the district filter. As responsible educators, we need to be involved in educating our students of the dangers. But more importantly, we need to be modeling and providing guided practice in the safe and appropriate use of these 21st century tools. Blocking access to the educational use of these tools only serves to leave our students under-prepared to navigate the changing landscape of the internet.
This is not to say there should be no filtering. Certainly, there are many sites unsuitable for students—content of a strictly adult nature should be inaccessible. However, just as our libraries contain information appropriate to the grade levels served, our district should filter the internet at a level appropriate to the grade levels served. Tiered filtering that respects the developmental differences of elementary, middle, and high school students is critical to providing age appropriate instruction.
Additionally, any filtering scheme needs to respect the professional judgment of educators. Educators should have the most latitude in accessing the internet so they may best determine what sites may be used, in whole or in part, with their students. The current practice of blocking a site simply because there is, for example, a shopping aspect to the site prohibits access to related, but educationally appropriate, content. Moving toward a filtering process that allows educators to temporarily turn off the filtering of a given site will improve teachers’ ability to plan and provide for more flexibility in terms of just in time teachable moments.
Ultimately, filtering should be based upon the appropriateness of the content. The new filtering system is blocking entire categories of sites based on the method of publication (notably blogs and wikis, but other important, educationally valubable resources as well). This wholesale blocking is cutting off access to a wide range of educationally appropriate, topical, and timely information.
Finally, I urge the committee to increase the amount of communication across the district regarding the educational integration of the internet and the role of filtering in meeting our educational goals. Committee discussions, or at least the results of those discussions, need to be public and communicated to the district. The committee, if it has not already, needs to become familiar with the growing wealth of online tools—including blogs, wikis, rss feeds/aggregators, and web-based applications—and their relevance in the classrooms of the 21st century. I would be happy to provide more information on any of these topics to the committee as a whole or to individuals.
Once again, thank you for the opportunity to share my thoughts on the district’s filtering policies. I look forward to continuing this discussion.
Sincerely,
Matthew J. Clausen
Willard School
x4755
mclausen@mcps.k12.mt.us
mjclausen@gmail.com
http://blogschools.blogspot.com
There hasn't been much response, yet, but I am hopeful. Thank you to all the edtech bloggers I have been reading over the past year or so. Your ideas helped frame this letter, and any success is a direct result of the wonderful openness of the conversations.
I have already thought of a few things missing from this letter. Most importantly, the notion that often filtering is used as a technological fix to what is really a teachable moment/discipline issue. I am planning a second letter to addres this; anyone have any thoughts on what else to include?
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Beta Blocker
I switched over to the new beta version of Blogger. So far, I am liking the changes, even though it did take a little getting used to. I had become pretty comfortable editing the html, so using the new layout feature took some adjustment.
Overall, I think I have the blog back to working the way I like. I have noticed one problem--changing to beta broke my RSS feed for bloglines subscriptions. The bloglines button at the bottom of my blogrole is working again. My apologies to subscribers for the hassle of unsubscribing and then resubscribing. I appreciate your effort to stay connected.
Overall, I think I have the blog back to working the way I like. I have noticed one problem--changing to beta broke my RSS feed for bloglines subscriptions. The bloglines button at the bottom of my blogrole is working again. My apologies to subscribers for the hassle of unsubscribing and then resubscribing. I appreciate your effort to stay connected.
In Memoriam
At 6am last Friday, September 15, Buzz, one of our social studies teachers, passed away after having a heart attack. After thirty-odd years of teaching, most of those in alternative programs, Buzz touched many lives. He will be sorely missed.
When news of his passing reached the students they were understandably hit hard. So many of our at-risk youth have already experienced so much loss. They come to school for stability--as one student put it, "teachers aren't supposed to die."
Buzz would have loved what has happened over the past week, however. His driving mission in education was to provide students with a sense of place, of community, of belonging. On the 15th, many students were too shaken to stay in school, and that is understandable. But many students stayed, comforting one another and their teachers, some of whom had worked with Buzz for over 20 years.
His memorial service was packed; current and former students told stories and jokes, celebrated his life, and reminded us of Buzz's reach. So many of them would not have graduated, or even have believed they could graduate, without Buzz's guidance.
I have never been more proud of our students. For the past week they have been the living embodiment of Buzz's legacy--education is important and as a community we can get through anything.
When news of his passing reached the students they were understandably hit hard. So many of our at-risk youth have already experienced so much loss. They come to school for stability--as one student put it, "teachers aren't supposed to die."
Buzz would have loved what has happened over the past week, however. His driving mission in education was to provide students with a sense of place, of community, of belonging. On the 15th, many students were too shaken to stay in school, and that is understandable. But many students stayed, comforting one another and their teachers, some of whom had worked with Buzz for over 20 years.
His memorial service was packed; current and former students told stories and jokes, celebrated his life, and reminded us of Buzz's reach. So many of them would not have graduated, or even have believed they could graduate, without Buzz's guidance.
I have never been more proud of our students. For the past week they have been the living embodiment of Buzz's legacy--education is important and as a community we can get through anything.
Saturday, September 02, 2006
K12 Online 2006
Announcing the first annual "K12 Online 2006" convention for teachers, administrators and educators aroundhttp://beta.blogger.com/img/gl.link.gif the world interested in the use of Web 2.0 tools in classrooms and professional practice. This year's conference is scheduled to be held over two weeks, Oct. 23-27 and Oct. 30- Nov. 3 with the theme "Unleashing the Potential." A call for proposals is below.
A Difference: K12 Online 2006
Two weeks of podcasts/screencasts about using technology in education. Excellent. The end of October cannot come soon enough. I am especially looking forward to the overcoming obstacles strand (Anne Davis is delivering the keynote). Too often, the conversations surrounding the obstacles are nothing more than collective wallowings in misery. Sure, there are problems. It is time for us to start focusing on " tips, ideas and resources on how to deal with issues".
Thanks to Darren Kuropatwa, Sheryl Nusbaum-Beach, and Will Richardson for organizing the convention!
Monday, August 14, 2006
Choice and Education
Mark Glasser at MediaShift, "your guide to the digital media revolution", has some nice comparisons of the old v. new ways of looking at media and its relationship with consumers.
Remixing marketing messages so they apply to education is nothing new, but one of his comparisons really struck a cord for me.
I know this is certainly the way I prefer to learn. What does a classroom, school, district, curriculum need to look like to accommodate this shift? Certainly, bans on cell phones (as much as I hate them personally), social networking sites, and anything else coming down the pipe will only serve to push students away from the classroom.
I go back and forth on the issue of whether schools will even be around in the next twenty years. I see the value of the social aspect of learning, of schools being a place to gather with a purpose; however, if some schools make the shift and others don't, I do see those that fail to shift disappearing into irrelevance as students choose the schools that stop trying to restrict their learning.
Remixing marketing messages so they apply to education is nothing new, but one of his comparisons really struck a cord for me.
Oldthink: Reading, listening or watching [i.e. learning] on the schedules set by [teachers] and [school districts].
Newthink: Getting the information, news and entertainment [students] want, when [they] want it, on the device [they] want it, with or without [teachers/classroom/instruction/whathaveyou].
I know this is certainly the way I prefer to learn. What does a classroom, school, district, curriculum need to look like to accommodate this shift? Certainly, bans on cell phones (as much as I hate them personally), social networking sites, and anything else coming down the pipe will only serve to push students away from the classroom.
I go back and forth on the issue of whether schools will even be around in the next twenty years. I see the value of the social aspect of learning, of schools being a place to gather with a purpose; however, if some schools make the shift and others don't, I do see those that fail to shift disappearing into irrelevance as students choose the schools that stop trying to restrict their learning.
Monday, June 26, 2006
A Model for Learning
Andy Carvin posted notes from former govenor of Maine Angus King's aalf.org keynote about the state's 1-to-1 laptop initiative. King discusses the process he went through to get the project rolling and then shares some lessons learned. What really sticks out for me is this.
We should look at law school as a model, because there's too much damn law. Nobody can learn all of it. Instead, you learn how to ask the right questions, identify the issues, and find the law. That's a much better model for kids to learn in a knowledge-rich society. It's a different kind of learning.
Andy Carvin's Waste of Bandwidth: Angus King: A Brief History of Maine's Laptop Program
This approach, central not just to law school but the entire practice of law, works in any field. It speaks to the whole notion of getting away from teaching basic facts and moving toward teaching ways of thinking. How do historians/scientists/writers think about their world? How do we, as teachers, guide our students through the process King is talking about?
The "Big Question" assignment is one I've used to move students toward this process. Students need to come up with a ridiculously BIG question, like "what is love?", and try to answer it using an I-search process. They begin by breaking the big question down into managable chunks--smaller, more focused questions--and start researching those. Once they have researched their small questions, they start looking at how the information they have found fits into their own experience. As they write their papers, I tell them it isn't about right answers; instead, the answers needs to be right for each person, at this moment, knowing what they know. They just need to support their versions of the right anwer with the information they have discovered.
Blogged with Flock
Tuesday, June 13, 2006
Process of a Podcast
I tried a little off the cuff podcasting yesterday using just a rough outline. Boy did I suck. I'm a talker, but trying to think, come across as intelligent, and form smooth complete sentences was more than I could handle on my first run through.
Breathing was a challenge, too. I just couldn't relax my diaphram, so I kept talking to the point of gasping.
Much of this all comes down to practice, something I need to keep in mind when trying to do audio work with students. Scripts, practice, time for editing all need to be part of the equation, both in my planning and in my conversations with students. Slapping something together last minute just isn't an option for creating a quality product.
Part of the classroom use will be mini due dates. When do various pieces of the production need to be in by so the whole project can be assembled in a timely manner?
Good thing I love learning by doing. There is still much to figure out.
Breathing was a challenge, too. I just couldn't relax my diaphram, so I kept talking to the point of gasping.
Much of this all comes down to practice, something I need to keep in mind when trying to do audio work with students. Scripts, practice, time for editing all need to be part of the equation, both in my planning and in my conversations with students. Slapping something together last minute just isn't an option for creating a quality product.
Part of the classroom use will be mini due dates. When do various pieces of the production need to be in by so the whole project can be assembled in a timely manner?
Good thing I love learning by doing. There is still much to figure out.
Tuesday, June 06, 2006
Time to Breathe
Phew.
Last Friday was the end of the school year for me. We had 69 graduates this year, bringing the total graduates over 300 in the five years Willard alternative has been open. It feels good to be a part of that. I am also very tired.
Sunday, I finished the last class in my Master's program. The past two years have been very good ones. Glad I went through the program; glad it is over.
In one weekend two major responsibilities wrapped up, and now that I have taken some time to catch my breathe, I am looking at the pile of things that built up during that final push. There are 401 posts piled up in Bloglines and at least that many weeds in the yard. I need to get back on my bike. I want to try a podcast or two. Lots of things to get to; most of them are even fun.
Off to it.
Last Friday was the end of the school year for me. We had 69 graduates this year, bringing the total graduates over 300 in the five years Willard alternative has been open. It feels good to be a part of that. I am also very tired.
Sunday, I finished the last class in my Master's program. The past two years have been very good ones. Glad I went through the program; glad it is over.
In one weekend two major responsibilities wrapped up, and now that I have taken some time to catch my breathe, I am looking at the pile of things that built up during that final push. There are 401 posts piled up in Bloglines and at least that many weeds in the yard. I need to get back on my bike. I want to try a podcast or two. Lots of things to get to; most of them are even fun.
Off to it.
Saturday, April 22, 2006
MySpace?
There has been a fair amount of discussion regarding school districts where the filters are blocking not only MySpace but any site that uses the phrase MySpace. Miguel Guhlin has been discussing this at length and other have joined the conversation. Part of Miguel's response is a call to action, asking fellow bloggers to write "MySpace" on their blogs.
That'll show-em. Or, rather, it won't show them anything--being blocked and all.
I had a student last year who insisted on peppering his discussions with "fuck". When called on it, he insisted that these utterances were an act of rebellion. That he was challenging the system by breaking the taboo. As the teacher in the room I didn't so much feel challenged as bored (& maybe a tad annoyed). His liberal use of the word showed a lack of creativity. I told him so. I added that if he really wanted to rebel he should do something about poverty or world hunger--real social issues that require real social change.
I just don't see writing MySpace on my blog just for the sake of writing it as doing anything of value. I know Miguel is doing other things, real things (see 1 & 2 ), about reforming the way we think about & practice our profession. But a lot of energy is going toward making a noise that lacks creativity and will, at most, annoy.
That'll show-em. Or, rather, it won't show them anything--being blocked and all.
I had a student last year who insisted on peppering his discussions with "fuck". When called on it, he insisted that these utterances were an act of rebellion. That he was challenging the system by breaking the taboo. As the teacher in the room I didn't so much feel challenged as bored (& maybe a tad annoyed). His liberal use of the word showed a lack of creativity. I told him so. I added that if he really wanted to rebel he should do something about poverty or world hunger--real social issues that require real social change.
I just don't see writing MySpace on my blog just for the sake of writing it as doing anything of value. I know Miguel is doing other things, real things (see 1 & 2 ), about reforming the way we think about & practice our profession. But a lot of energy is going toward making a noise that lacks creativity and will, at most, annoy.
Tuesday, March 21, 2006
Extending the Conversation
I have started a new round of blogging, this time with my English students. We are using ClassBlogmeister as a place to reflect on their readings as they do research on a variety of topics.
Today, we started talking about leaving comments. I began the class asking a few students to share what their topics are about. For each student, I made a generic, related but throw-away comment, like "I like black holes, too." Even as we were talking, the students would make faces at my comments, knowing that what I said really wasn't that important.
Then, we talked about why my comments weren't well received. Ultimately, students felt that I wasn't being very helpful. I agreed, and we discussed how bad comments can stop us but good comments help to develop a conversation, a give and take between the people and ideas.
During fifth period, once students had been working for awhile on their entries or leaving comments for classmates, one of my more reluctant bloggers turned to me and said, "Now I get it. I can see why this would be helpful." Then, while visiting with a student after school, I was asked, "How do I comment on a comment?"
They have been bloggers for about four days, now. Already, some of them are grasping what they can do with this tool.
Wednesday, March 15, 2006
Podslam.org
Podslam.org is an impressive new project highlighting slam poetry. The current theme is black history month.
Welcome to podslam.org's first feature, presented by Just Media and Cafe Nuba. We have 15 of Denver's best spoken word artists. They were asked to spit something relevant to black history month, but you can be the judge of that.
Each artist's poem can be accessed in a number of ways, including audio and video. The videos are nicely produced green screens, so for each performance the artist appears in front of a dynamic background, which changes to support what is being said.
Local schools have been getting more involved in holding poetry slams. There were three last year and one this year so far. Students from our school have participated in all of them, and we are considering ways to work even more slam poetry into the creative writing units. The podslam poets I have already watched can serve as great models of the performance aspects of slam poetry. Pacing and body language are difficult to teach, and seeing the high quality performances of these poets will go a long way toward helping students improve their own craft.
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Shameless Plug
PBWiki is a free wiki space tool. I used it to set up a district tech committee space for subcommittee work. So far, the wiki has been useful for sharing documents (mostly revisions to tech standards), and I am trying to encourage its use for conversing and creating/revising documents.
I find the PBWiki very easy to use, and I think committee members who have explored have also found it easy to use. At least, I haven't had to answer many questions.
The shameless nature of this plug is that for writing about PBWiki they will up our storage space, which will help as more files get posted for review.
Sunday, February 12, 2006
NCCE 2006 | What is your philosophy?
I started the conference with David "The Shirt" Moursund's session, "Developing a Philosophy of Computers in Education".
Moursund used the session to walk us through his thought process for using information and communication technologies (ICTs) in education. Questioning is a critical component to this process, and he put many questions on the table.
One of the questions that really struck me was "What is your 'authenticity' philosophy?" There was a time when not memorizing was a radical idea. The use of pencil and paper meant facts, ideas, and opinions no longer needed to be memorized. This, understandably, shook the memorization approach and changed the nature of education.
Now, the computer has changed the professional world to the point where it is difficult to work without open access to information. How does this change what "authentic" means when applied to work being done? to learning? to assessment?
So, Moursund asked, is letting the computer do something "cheating"? If part of our goal as educators is to prepare students for the world they will be trying to make a living in, are we doing a disservice whenever we limit their access to information?
This brings me back to an ongoing lunch table discussion of the importance of teaching facts. In a world where facts can be looked up in seconds and frequently don't require specialized texts to access, I see no reason to memorize facts, and I find making students memorize facts a waste of time. The facts we find interesting and/or use frequently, we internalize. If we don't use a piece of information frequently or see any value in knowing, there is no reason to memorize it.
What I am more interested in spending time on is the use of facts, ideas, and opinions to create something new. This is becoming an important facet of my philosophy--the use of ICT needs to fit into a process of accessing, understanding, and creating.
This idea of creating something new, of "adding value", of extending the conversation should be the beginning of my philosophy. How is the use of technology going to help my students bring something new to the conversation?
Moursund used the session to walk us through his thought process for using information and communication technologies (ICTs) in education. Questioning is a critical component to this process, and he put many questions on the table.
One of the questions that really struck me was "What is your 'authenticity' philosophy?" There was a time when not memorizing was a radical idea. The use of pencil and paper meant facts, ideas, and opinions no longer needed to be memorized. This, understandably, shook the memorization approach and changed the nature of education.
Now, the computer has changed the professional world to the point where it is difficult to work without open access to information. How does this change what "authentic" means when applied to work being done? to learning? to assessment?
So, Moursund asked, is letting the computer do something "cheating"? If part of our goal as educators is to prepare students for the world they will be trying to make a living in, are we doing a disservice whenever we limit their access to information?
This brings me back to an ongoing lunch table discussion of the importance of teaching facts. In a world where facts can be looked up in seconds and frequently don't require specialized texts to access, I see no reason to memorize facts, and I find making students memorize facts a waste of time. The facts we find interesting and/or use frequently, we internalize. If we don't use a piece of information frequently or see any value in knowing, there is no reason to memorize it.
What I am more interested in spending time on is the use of facts, ideas, and opinions to create something new. This is becoming an important facet of my philosophy--the use of ICT needs to fit into a process of accessing, understanding, and creating.
This idea of creating something new, of "adding value", of extending the conversation should be the beginning of my philosophy. How is the use of technology going to help my students bring something new to the conversation?
NCCE 2006
I just got back from two very good days in Portland, OR attending the Northwest Council for Computer Education conference.
Normally, this is a pretty wet time of year to visit Portland, so much so that NCCE gave away umbrellas as member gifts. However, the skies were clear and sunny with temps in the high 40s to low 50s. I took a beautiful walk along the river on Wednesday and really wish I had thought to take a camera.
Over the next few posts I will dig into my notes and start thinking about how to use the ideas I have taken from the conference.
Normally, this is a pretty wet time of year to visit Portland, so much so that NCCE gave away umbrellas as member gifts. However, the skies were clear and sunny with temps in the high 40s to low 50s. I took a beautiful walk along the river on Wednesday and really wish I had thought to take a camera.
Over the next few posts I will dig into my notes and start thinking about how to use the ideas I have taken from the conference.
Wednesday, February 01, 2006
Welcome to my first podcast
Okay, I decided to take the plunge and try out podcasting for myself. Honestly, I'm pretty impressed with how easy it is. And free, too, if you don't count the cost of the computer, thanks to garage band and audacity.
Give a listen here.
The graphic is from Podcasting Graphics.
Process:
Give a listen here.
The graphic is from Podcasting Graphics.
Process:
- Put together a few piano loops in GarageBand for intro music.
- Record vocals in Audacity (I tried doing this in GarageBand but couldn't get stereo output. I will need to dig around in the settings some more.)
- Bring intro music into Audacity, arrange, and add fade out effect for intro music.
- Export as MP3 and upload to Internet Archive.
- Blog away.
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