K-12 Online Conference Keynote Address

"Going Global: Culture Shock, Convergence and the Future of Education" by Kim Cofino

I watched Kim's keynote then I joined the K-12 Conference NING so I can participate in some of the followup discussions. The NING includes a map that is constantly flashing photos of all the members and where they are from. Amazing - they are from all over the world. Our world is truly getting smaller and we are more becoming more connected. I can't help but think (and hope) that this "connectedness" may change the way we - individuals and nations - deal with each other.
I am beginning to feel more connected. When I started this class I was focused on learning the tools and sharing them with staff and students. I wasn't thinking about my personal learning and my network. I am realizing - as Kim suggested - I need to build my personal learning network and be actively using the tools for my own learning. Then I will be able to incorporate the tools effectively and hopefully encourage collaboration and learning.

Creativity

Ken Robinson video:
"Creatively Speaking: Part 2." Edutopia. Web. 11 Nov 2009.
http://www.edutopia.org/sir-ken-robinson-creativity-part-two-video
Ken's article:
"Schools Must Validate Artistic Expression." Edutopia Oct 2006: Web. 11 Nov 2009.
http://www.edutopia.org/take-chance-let-them-dance

Stopping, thinking, reexamining what we do and believe, trying to see the world from a different perspective. Be creative. All of these are so important and yet it is so easy to get caught up in the day to day routine . . .
Ken's ideas made me stop and think about education (big picture) as well as how and what we are teaching at my high school (local view).
He got my attention with his creativity test results: 98% of 3 to 5 year olds score high (genius) in divergent thinking/creativity. By the time those students are age 13 to 15, that number has dropped to only 18%. How sad. Our system values academics (some more than others) and discourages "being wrong" and "making mistakes." Our system is educating the creativity right out of them. How many students are left behind or never reach their potential because of our education system's limited focus? I agree that future success - for our planet and our kids - will require creative thinkers willing to take risks and try new things.

Much of what Ken says is even more pronounced at the high school level. The focus on content is intense. Standardized and multiple choice testing is the norm. Smaller schools are often forced to choose between programs and in tough budget times, it gets worse. At my high school the current focus is literacy because our students' language arts results lag behind their performance in math. Nobody is talking about creativity. The state of Maine's curtailment will force the elimination of teaching positions and programs. It seems inevitable that art, performing arts, chorus and numerous co-curricular stipended positions will be targeted. These are some of the programs and activities that educate the "whole person." As programs are eliminated it will be even more critical that we infuse creativity and divergent thinking across the curriculum and into our school culture .. and the earlier the better.

K-12 Online Conference & Teaching Web 2.0

I checked Out: "K-12 Online Conference 2009" & Wendy Drexler's "Teaching Web 2.0" Added both to my blog list and iGoogle bookmarks.

Features I anticipate using from Teaching Web 2.0:
1. Resource links for various tech tools
2. SWOT analysis (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) for each tool
3. Examples of how tools are being used by other educators
I am most excited about this. Where do you go for inspiration when your colleagues are not using Web 2.0 tools? You go to the online community!
Final thought: In her short video "Teaching Web 2.0," Wendy talks about the power of Diigo. I was blown away! I was just starting to feel comfortable and organized in Delicious but now I feel like I want to explore Diigo! Who needs TV when you can explore new tech tools?!

NETS Activity

In my role as the Achievement Center Coordinator I have contact with most of our students during their study halls or free time. Though I can't create assignments or assign projects like a classroom teacher, I have a unique opportunity to:

1. encourage the use of digital tools
2. teach students to use the tools
3. use digital tools appropriately

I am also a tech resource for staff and administrators which allows me to do these same things for my colleagues.
During class ideas of how to apply the tools with staff and students kept popping into my head. My NETS Activity sheet is a brainstorm of those ideas. Perhaps one will become my final project!

The NETS standard most applicable to my role and these activities is NETS for TEACHERS:
3. Model Digital-Age Work and Learning
Teachers exhibit knowledge, skills, and work processes representative of an innovative professional in a global and digital society. Teachers:
a. demonstrate fluency in technology systems and the transfer of current knowledge to new technologies and situations.
b. collaborate with students, peers, parents, and community members using digital tools and resources to support student success and innovation.
c. communicate relevant information and ideas effectively to students, parents, and peers using a variety of digital-age media and formats.
d. model and facilitate effective use of current and emerging digital tools to locate, analyze, evaluate, and use information resources to support research and learning.

Follow the link to my activity sheet to see what I am thinking about and some updates between now and class on December 5th! Activity sheet

REFLECTIONS:
Of the various projects I tackled this week, I spent the most time and energy on the 3rd item on my Activity Sheet:

Publicity for Achievement Center as we prepare for budget discussions

My goal was to share two charts and a video from the school board workshop on November 10th on my Wiki. Once again, I proved that to estimate the time to complete a project -- take the time you think it should take and multiply it by at least a factor of 2! For technology-related projects, I think the factor is more like 10!

What went well?
1. Inserting the two charts was no problem. We did that in our first class.
2. For the video, I had great raw footage to work with including excellent audio .. big plus. Thanks to Chris Hayden who recorded the workshop for the district.
3. Setting up my YouTube account was easy - it is an add-on to my Google Account.
4. Uploading to YouTube was easy. And when I had questions, two of my kids helped me!

What was challenging?
1. Video formats! Why can't they standardize? Original format was Sony DVD .vob files which is not compatible with either iMovie or YouTube
2. Captured the video using Screencastomatic. It worked but the quality wasn't very good.
3. Needed to convert the file format but there are tons of software programs out there. Which to use? Consulted my local learning network (tech dept geeks Matthew, Jake and Jason plus any students who came by). Matthew suggested and downloaded "HandBrake" and we converted from .vob to .mp4
4. Edited video footage in iMovie. Struggled to find my way around the latest version of iMovie - Jake helped out there.

Best part?
Working with my tech colleagues (it was the most fun they had all week!) and with my kids ... Julia (the star of the YouTube video) along with several other kids working in the AC after school. The kids helped with the upload and were excited about seeing the finished product on my Wiki. They are all going to make comments on the video and Julia is expecting a million hits. :-) It was one of those days when you smile and think, "this is why I went into education."

Follow this link to view the final product ....

Google Docs rocks our budget planning

Our K-12 English Language Arts team had to put together information for our school board workshop. 7 people involved. Tons of information. I suggested we use Google Docs and our team leader - our principal - agreed. Google Docs is a bit finicky about format - copying and pasting from Word especially. I remembered we talked about the same issue with our blogs and that Alice said use Text Edit or Notepad for composing offline and copy / paste from there. It worked! Then you format with Google Docs.

The team agreed - overall it was a positive experience and trying to do the same thing using email would have been a nightmare!!!

My thoughts on . . .

"Turning on the Lights" by Marc Prensky
http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational_leadership/mar08/vol65/num06/Turning_On_the_Lights.aspx

▪ Do you agree with Prensky's notion that requiring students to "power down" in school actually impedes their learning?

I agree that powering down and disconnecting is not what kids are used to and I understand why students see a traditional classroom as "boring." I am concerned that what our kids have been immersed in (all media) - advertising, violence, sex, and just plain 24-hour-a-day junk has not been healthy for their development and it influences what they want to do (even in class) online (game, texting, etc). We/I can't change that history but I do think we can still teach digital citizenship and help students take full advantage of these tools for learning and collaboration. But we have to start before high school!!

▪ How might allowing students to use technological devices in class help or hinder their learning? What place do you see in the classroom for laptops, cell phones, mp3 players, social networking sites, Wikipedia, and other technologies?
At my high school, I certainly see the hindering part - the constant texting. Students are willing to risk losing their cell phones for 24 hours just to text during class. Now that we have allowed cell phone use during lunch and between classes- many students spend that time texting. I am particularly concerned about the students who seem completely disconnected from anyone in our school (ear buds in all the time ignoring everything or texting outside the school) -- these kids are using the techonlogy to disengage.
Right now, I don't see much use for cell phones in the classroom.
I do see great potential for devices that connect to the Internet - computers, laptops, netbooks or hand-held devices (iPod touch, blackberry). I have been "talking to" Bill Ferriter via my blog - why can't kids talk to experts on subjects they are interested in and are learning about? So many resources (books, lectures etc) can be downloaded onto a computer, iPod, or mp3 player. I see Wikipedia as a great resource - a first place to check and then a jumping off point to other Internet-based resources. I see social networking sites, blogs, and skype as having incredible potential to connect students to other students and experts around the world. These tools are especially powerful for activists.
▪ What is your school's policy regarding technology in school? Do you believe your policy meets the needs of your students? If so, why? If not, what changes would you make?
As a federally funded institution, we filter our Internet. I don't think this is an issue - it is easy for staff or students to request that a site be unblocked. Our policies are fluid - we have an ongoing dialog about what we allow. We just opened up YouTube because on balance we feel it is a great resource. Our high school tried to go one-to-one but due to budget issues, we were not able to. We have laptop carts which teachers use infrequently. Distributing and collecting laptops takes too much class time. Teachers are more likely to reserve the library because 1. they know everything will work and 2. they will lose less class time. The problem with this is access to the library is limited so most class periods are spent with out the use of the Internet.
I think until each student has some sort of device that connects to the Internet, the way we provide education in my school will not change significantly (this is my biggest take-away from this article).
▪ How can teachers and administrators balance the desire to stay up-to-date with the need to always make sure that teachers can use the techniques and technologies that best suit their students?
Teachers need professional development to learn technology (we don't do enough of this) and more importantly to see how innovative educators are using technology to facilitate student learning (we do almost none of this). Teachers also need technology support from technology integrators or tech-savvy colleagues in order to be able to use technology effectively. We (educators) have to give up the notion that the teacher will be the technology expert in the classroom. We don't have time to wait for that plus the kids are probably always going to know more about technology! Teachers have to have a basic knowledge of technology but we need to realize that the teacher and students are learning together. If a student figures something that's okay, in fact that is empowering.

I absolutely loved "Prensky's Principles for Principals" -- that would change the culture and climate of learning in a school. I am going to share that article with my principal.

Found this on Marc's blog - very interesting. 21st Century Skills are not just about techonology.
http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky-Essential_21stCenturySkills.pdf

My thoughts on . . .

Will Richardson's article "World Without Walls: Learning Well with Others"
http://www.edutopia.org/collaboration-age-technology-will-richardson

Our world is changing in ways that I am only now beginning to appreciate. In this article Will Richardson calls this the "Collaboration Age." We have at our fingertips "the most transformative connective technologies the world has ever seen." Over 1/6 of the planet is online. That is a stunning statistic. Not only do we have quick access to more data and information than ever before, we are able to collaborate with people we could never have connected with even a few years ago. I experienced this when Bill Ferriter started a conversation with me on my blog post about his article "Taking the Digital Plunge."

Richardson outlines the challenges for us as educators:

• Model for our students the skills that will help them be successful
• Show them how to build safe and effective social networks (at my school we limit access to social networks and publishing student work is challenging)
• Help students find and connect with other learners (again, we are limiting access)
• Show students how to sift through the deluge of information to find high quality information from reliable sources (we do some of this)
• Encourage students to collaborate, share, and publish (my school has not "crossed that frontier" - we are more in the mode of "showcasing a finished product at open house").

I agree with Will - if we don't do these things, there is a cost to our kids: they are not adept users of the tools, they lack skills that make them good collaborators, and too many can't balance their face-to-face lives with their virtual lives (we certainly see this phenomenon).

We have not made the shift are my high school. Many of the policies in place disconnect kids from the technology they are passionate about. Many of our students do not understand or demonstrate digital citizenship as evidenced by our ongoing issues with cyberbullying on Facebook and cell phones/PDAs. In my high school I don't think it is so much a movement to preserve the old structures as it is a desire to protect our kids from things like identity theft, Internet predators and cyberbullying.

One of my motivations for taking this class is to be adept at using Web 2.0 tools for my own learning and to share what I learn with my students. Ideas after reading this article:
Checkout the Ning "Working together 2 make a difference" (educators, parents, students involved in volunteerism and service learning - something I am passionate about!)
http://workingtogether2makeadifference.ning.com/
Checkout the Ning "Classroom 2.0" for those interested in Web 2.o tools and collaborative technology in education.
http://www.classroom20.com/

Literacy and Writing Blogs . . .

I added another blog to my blog list: "Write To Done." It's a blog for writers and on it I found 2 great posts about writing a great blog. There are some very unique aspects to blogwriting and I thought it might be helpful. I also added to My Delicious.

Check out:
"15 Basics of Insanely Useful Blogwriting"
http://writetodone.com/2009/10/15/15-basics-of-insanely-useful-blogwriting/

"How to Create an Article of 1000+ Words in 90 Minutes or Less"
http://writetodone.com/2009/10/27/how-to-create-an-article-of-1000-words-in-90-minutes-or-less/