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.

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.  

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’.

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.

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/

Steve Hargadon’s post Web 2.0 Is the Future of Education  is a “flat book” (I’m not certain Tom Friedman would approve of that term J) analysis of technological convergence for education. Hargadon’s post, by his own admission, is a “remixing” of the ideas of John Seely Brown and an article he wrote for  Educause Magazine, called “Minds on Fire: Open Education, the Long Tail, and Learning 2.0″  The post is a mixture of Brown and Hargadon’s thoughts.

Hargadon identifies ten trends he views to be of particular importance in education and learning. I will list and briefly summarize them:

• 1. A New Publishing Revolution – People, not experts, are creating the new content of the web. Blogs, wikis, podcasting, video/photo-sharing, social networking are changing how and why content is created.
• 2. A Tidal Wave of Information – Fewer than 1% of wikipedia users actually contribute to it. Imagine if 10% or 20% contribute? We must figure out what information to give our time and attention to when we are engulfed by it.
• 3. Everything is Becoming Participative – Amazon’s customer use of feedback empowers and connects readers and the Kindle may ROCK the reading world.
• 4. The New Pro-sumers. The word “pro-sumer” is a combination of the words “producer” and “consumer”.
• 5. The Age of the Collaborator – The era of trusted authority is giving away to an era of transparent and collaborative scholarship
• 6. An Explosion of Innovation – The combination of increased ability to work on specialized topics from around the globe and the diversity of collaborators because of the web, should lead to an incredible amount of innovation.
• 7. The World Gets Even Flatter and Faster – Even if that world is spiky or wrinkled, its still getting pretty darn flat.
• 8. Social Learning Moves Toward Center Stage – Learning will depend on the ability of individuals to connect to social groups, because more learning happens in the study group than in the lecture hall.
• 9. The Long Trail – Technology of the web will make “differentiated instruction” a reality that both parents and students will demand.
• 10. Social Networking Really (Opens Up the Party) – If MySpace were a country, it would be the third most populous in the world. Social networking has tremendous potential for education.

I found the Hargadon post to be fascinating. He even goes on to give advice for educators who want to incorporate Web 2.0.

Prompting further thought was a comment on the post by James O’Hagan. O’Hagan sees obstacles to Hargadon’s going-to-change-the-world post. O’Hagan’s response reflected a “Yeah, but….” outlining the reluctance of institutional education to change. For O’Hagan, this change isn’t coming any time soon.

ISSUE: As we are in the process of learning the tools of Web 2.0, you can think of this in terms of your own practice: What are the obstacles you foresee in implementing these tools in your classroom? Does your work environment support change? How can you overcome these obstacles? You may choose to generalize your thoughts: What are the obstacles to innovation in institutional education? Will there be a change in education as a result of Web 2.0? Will it be an evolution or a revolution?

I can envision using social bookmarking extensively in my future high school current events class. As the facilitator in the room, I might develop a series of on-going tags students could use as a reference source, while having students add bookmarks of their own. I envision the course content developing as a collaborative project involving me, the students, and any outside resources willing to contribute something meaningful. Truly, a current events class does not come with a textbook. Hence, the opportunity for a non-linear collaborative curriculum is exciting. Students and I could filter through information and identify common areas of interest via tags. Indeed, the act of tagging an article is an act of evaluation and comprehension. A class based on what students are interested in and researched by students. Constructivist learning driven and led by students.

Perhaps the above scenario is a bit utopian or even Montessori-like, but the possibility in our corner of small town America is exciting. Equally exciting is Open PD. I’ve only recently become aware of this professional development movement. The concept is invigorating. As this course progresses, I will work to develop my del.icio.us, pageflakes, and google reader to reflect the on-going development of my professional practice.