:What no one knows yet…

 9-A-1 Web Applications

After reading the ComputerWorld magazine 2007 article Online Office Suites: The Winner Is Clear, I decided to focus on Google for Educators. I found a wealth of educator networks, lesson plans, and tools. The Wes Fryer blog post Google Notebook, Google Reader, and Firefox gave some practical uses for these Google applications. He pointed out some pitfalls to avoid, but overall recommended using Google applications.

After entering, I was quickly looking at the Educator Forums and even joined Nellie Deutsch’s Integrating-Technology group. I have a feeling when I’m finished with this class, I’ll be looking for ways to continue developing my web 2.0 proficiency.

After working with Google Notebook, I can see applications for students in my classes. I can see using notebooks as a great place to save and identify key information while surfing. The feature seems easy to use and applicable for independent student research or teacher directed learning. By making the notebook open to invitation or publishing it as a webpage, student access to research can be made easy. This would definitely help the visual learners in my class. Having this information web based means access from any network 24/7.

I entered Picnik and modified my avatar rather easily. This application was as described in the key information, a basic photo editor with a few advanced features. I found it simple and easy to use. I could see using this for visual learners as they work with slide presentations to create interesting and polished photos.

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 8-B-1 Paperless Classes

This post is in response to the prompts of 8-B-1. The article on paperless classes prompted me to think about classroom management. One of the tools I have used in my classroom is the Internet Classroom Assistant called Nicenet (http://www.nicenet.org/). After three years of incorporating it into my sixth grade social studies classes I have found the paperless aspect of assignments to be very efficient. When I post a conferencing topic on Nicenet, I ask the students to thoughtfully respond by the end of the week. This allows students the “wait-time” needed to deeply reflect on an answer. This also allows me to hear a response from all participants in the class. Additionally, student side conversation can then continue long after the concept was presented within the 41 minute class period.

Students can post from home or school, and once posted they are done. The sixth grader does not have to remember to place the assignment in their backpack, bring it to school, remove it from the backpack, and bring it to my class. The on-line ICA allowed for instantaneous completion.

Additionally, the audience for a posting is more than one, the teacher. Other students are then able to read the postings and respond.

My paperless space in Nicenet has allowed my students to interact in a way not possible within the rigid structure of the 41 minute period. Students learn to respect each other’s ideas and points of view devoid of the usual social cues. They hear the message for what it is saying.

In the article, the professors described the Web-enhanced classroom as a combination of face-to-face and on-line activities/resources. I have not gone totally paperless (I am still a digital immigrant), but I could see the advantages of it in my future practice.  

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 8-A-1 Big Shifts

As I read Chapter 9 “What It All Means” of Will Richardson’s book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Tools for the Classroom; choosing only one of the “Big Shifts” for reflection was hard for me. For some time my teaching practice has been moving in the direction Richardson describes. I believe knowing where to find information is more important than memorizing the information (Big Shift #5, Know ‘Where’ Learning). I believe acquisition of knowledge and skills are best demonstrated, not posed as a multiple choice question (Big Shift #9, Mastery is the Product, Not the Test). I believe in student interest driven portfolios (Big Shift #7, The Web as Notebook). I believe in teaching the skills of the 21^st Century (Big Shift #’s 3, 6, 8). Philosophically I have been moving in this direction for some time, and have endeavored to incorporate these ideas in practice in my classes.

I did come away from the Chapter 9 with a vision for my classroom. I think a teacher needs a guiding vision, rooted in research, to connect the curriculum, instruction, and assessment taking place in the classroom. Until I read Big Shift #10 Contribution, Not Completion is the Ultimate Goal; did I realize a vision for the classroom of the future. Combining the shifts listed before it, shift #10 is the culminating vision for a teacher practitioner in the Web 2.0 classroom. The teacher as connector, collaborator, coach, and change agent redefines what it means to teach.

As I enter the high school next year and begin using the strategies learned in this course, I feel I will have acquired a new vision for my classroom, my role, and my expectations for my students. For me, this is my ‘shift’.

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 7-A-3 Responding to Connectivism

This assignment is the blogical response to a portion of the con-side of the Connectivism Wiki page.

To be honest, I’m not sure I have a have a firm opinion about connectivism as a learning theory yet. The arguments put forth by both sides make compelling reading. At this point, I’m willing to admit, “I don’t know”.

On one hand, I can see where Siemens is going as he places the changes in technology into modern context. I agree these changes need to be assessed as they alter the way we live, communicate, and (yes) learn.

On the other hand, I can understand the reservations of critics. Connectivism can be a way of looking at how we acquire new information, but does it explain how our brain processes and assigns meaning to information? I’m not sold it is a learning theory.

Would the description of connectivism as a pedagogical practice be diminishing? In my mind, no. Whether it is a learning theory or a curriculum model, is an argument for people who aren’t busy teaching students. I consider connectivism (as learning theory or curriculum model) to be a compelling argument for adding Web 2.0 tools and techniques into the classroom. At the end of the day, I want to use what I can to help my students grow and understand the world around them. Certainly, connectivism has given me some new ways to think about what is the best way to teach.

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7-C-2 Skype Ideas I can see several uses for Skype. In the past, I have used the phone in my room to conduct remote interviews with government officials and local college professors. I would put the phone on speaker, and my students and the guest would be able to interact. There was a limitation though, it could not be recorded. I like Skype as a podcasting generator and the conferencing function would facilitate the interaction of multiple students. Another idea, would be to have some kind of Skype office hours. Tell students you will be available and online for a certain time. If there were questions, students could be ask me, or, ask each other. A group conversation could take place with the members and teacher of the class. On a more personal level, my wife plans to use Skype to contact her brother while he is in India and England in May. Why not? It’s free!

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Using a daily podcast would fit right in with the unit I am about to begin. The unit is based on political parties and elections, which is tied to our overall goal of citizenship. I found a great daily podcast from NPR providing daily coverage of the election. I could use podcasts to help students understand the process and stay current on topics. I might incorporate the podcast as a bellringer activity to prompt discussion, or use it as supplemental information linked from Edline.  I chose this particular podcast because it is current. It explains the Democratic National Committee process on delegate selection. This is very topical, in that the Pennsylvania Primary is now one week away. http://podcastdownload.npr.org/anon.npr-podcasts/podcast/145/510268/89563742/KPCC%20News_89563742.mp3?dl=1

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 6-B-2 Podcast Differences

I really enjoy the challenge of podcasting. For now, my preference is to keep my podcasts brief and focused.  I like the challenge of condensing my thoughts into quick discernable bursts. Perhaps this is a by-product of our sound-byte society, or the influence of Dan Schmit and his Podcast: The Sixty Second Lecture.

I think the benefits of podcasts are there for the educational taking. I see podcasts reinforcing content and pedagogy. I subscribe to several organizations that use podcasts regularly. One coming to mind is The Gilder-Lehrman Institute. About twice a month, I receive podcasts containing lectures and presentations by historians.  Another educator using podcasts is Eric Langhorst, at his site Speaking of History you’ll see he uses podcasts to supplement his lessons and provide note reviews for his students.

Podcasting would delivers a stronger message than email, because the well directed spoken word can bring tone, rate, inflection, cadence, and subtle ques the written word lacks.

I have taken to podcasting, so far like the results.

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  6-A-1 Flickr PossibilitiesAs I scanned through the images on Flickr, I was struck by the variety of stunning photos. I think I would us the images to awaken enthusiasm for my lessons. This could be a single image posted to spark interest. It could be one picture with a loose connection to the objective for the day, and the assignment for the students would be to make a connection to the content. This would be a great way to start a lesson for visual and abstract learners. Additionally, a collection of teacher selected images could be used to focus the attention. By selecting more directed and topic specific photos, I could focus students on a specific aspect of the lesson using multiple images. Visual learners would relish in the vibrant photos on Flickr.

One image that stood out for me, is the picture of the lunch menu at a sushi restaurant. The specials board lists The Hillary Roll , The Obama Roll, and The McCain Roll. This would be a fun and interesting way to begin talking about the presidential primary in Pennsylvania. As April 22^nd approaches, we will be starting political parties and the political campaigns in my classes (good timing, heh). I, also appreciated the variety of politically oriented pictures on Flickr.

 lisatozzi (2008, March 8). more sushi and politics, lisatozzi’s photostream. Retrieved April 10, 2008, from http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisatozzi/2318049835/

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Web 2.0 Futurama: Discussion Review Podcast

 I must say the reactions to the week five discussion topic are as varied as the comments on Steve Hargadon’s initial post. I know replying to my post was a requirement, but your thoughtful responses and personal insights gave me a lot to think about.

Sarah Lovelidge framed the argument as the idealism of Hargadon vs. the pessimism of O’Hagan.

On the pessimism side, each of us identified road blocks to this new world of education. Sherri described a lack of funding and a focus on test scores. Joan described where she worked as “not a collaborative environment”. It wasn’t hard to identify other common obstacles: lack of money for the hardware, software, and bandwidth; either short sighted administrators or lack of administrative buy-in; and all were concerned about professional training to properly use this technology in meaningful ways in the curriculum to improve student learning. Sachiko said, “What I need is a support to implement technology in the curriculum. I would like to have a person to go to discuss what I vision in my lesson plan and how can it be done.” Chris felt, although his efforts were supported philosophically, they were not supported in a material sense.

On the idealism side, almost all admitted there would be change. Jonna said, “As a result of Web 2.0, I see education changing dramatically”. Whether you saw the change happening as a revolution or an evolution, everyone described how they envisioned education changing as a result of Web 2.0. Terri described the “slow ponderous change”, while Mindy describes the revolution as “more teachers learn about Web 2.0 tools and express the desire to integrate them into their classes, they will demand that their districts reconsider their stands against them or reluctance to use them.” The rate of change certainly is debatable. Susan has hopes for her students, “we might really get to see education become equitable! How I wish for the students I worked with in a high poverty, low achieving area to have what the students just down the street have!” Chris shares her hope, he has just applied for an Instructional Improvement Grant; although he is not sure what to buy.

Thank you all for sharing your thoughts.

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Wikis in My Classroom and Beyond: Podcast 

 5-D-1 – Wikis in My Classroom and Beyond….I must say I’m very impressed with wikis as a collaborative tool. The ability to construct and weave text into a shared structure seems pretty powerful when applied as a tool in the classroom.

I see two possibilities for the use of wikis in my classroom. One involves student to student collaboration (much like we did in class), and the other involves students and those outside the walls of our classroom. Both would have challenges and possibilities.

That being said I already have several possible uses for wikis.

In one case, I could use a wiki in developing a fundraising plan for a scholarship given each year. With the help of some teachers in the district, each building did a fundraiser in the fall of 2007. There was some measure of success. However, the project seemed disjointed and haphazard. I believe I could use wikis to develop a plan from teachers and students. Using a wiki might help build consensus, and ultimately support for the fundraiser.

In the second case, I could use a wiki to create a dialogue between my students and members of the community. The Fairview Community Classroom is a space for a mixture of history and biography. My plan is for students to get a better understanding of the history around them, and tap some of the resources in the community. In this case, everyone involved would be a student and a teacher.

When reflecting on some of the learning I observed in creating our class wiki on RSS in Education; I felt the power of consensus, and working towards a common goal. These skills cannot be underestimated.

Now that I have been won over by the potential for wikis, I need to get others to collaborate. One obstacle is the puzzled looks from people when I talk about wikis. My peers, who I have tremendous respect for, are not yet familiar with wikis and how they work. I believe if I can incorporate wiki use in my personal and professional life, I can influence others to discover this tool.

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