GoodThinking

Midterm Exams

2008-04-11T14:50:00.000-07:00

It is midterm exam week at school. As a resource room teacher, I see a good sampling of the tests that are given. My observations give rise to the following questions:

Dear Teacher,

1) Are you using the same exam that you have used in past years?

2) Could a student who has never taken your course pass your exam?

3) If your learners were to retake the same exam three weeks from now (with no further studying), how would their retake scores compare to their original scores?

Thoughts:
1) If you are using the same exam that you have used in past years...though you have a strong grasp on your curriculum frameworks, you may be giving weight to the belief that youth have empty heads waiting to be filled. Your students are likely asking, "When will I ever use this again?"

Research proves another testing practice to be more successful. Which is, if your exam varies with each new group of learners... this semester's focus probably emerged from meeting your learners at their level of understanding and paying attention to their areas of interest as you moved forward. This increases student engagement.

2) Could a student who has never taken your course pass your exam? This student would have the same set of opportunities given in class (e.g. open notes, open book, allowing one 3x5 notecard full of notes). If your answer is yes, well...

If a student who has never taken your course would find difficulty passing your exam...be rewarded in the knowledge that your students have gained something from their time with you.

3) If your learners were to retake the same exam three weeks from now, how would their retake scores compare to their original scores? My prediction is that in most situations, test scores would go down and this would be a sign that the test assessed memorization of facts - soon after forgotten.

If your learners would perform similar or better, this is a good sign that you are teaching for retention, understanding, and transfer of knowledge. Current research puts an emphasis on learning with understanding.

Assessment is a skill that needs deeper focus in our teacher training programs!

Authority

2008-03-28T08:06:00.000-07:00

This week I was asked the question, "What do you think of Wikipedia?" A year ago, I was one of the people who questioned its validity. I would not have accepted it as a legitimate source. Today, because of three reasons, I find myself often turning to Wikipedia when I am looking for answers.

1) I have accepted Wikipedia as a valid source. This change began while reading Knowing Knowledge (George Siemens, current) and listening to Clarence Fisher (“Classroom 2.0 or You Live Where?", 2007). Their presentations put into words, concepts with which I strongly agree. As I followed their presentations, I found an answer to my concerns about, not only processing information found on the internet, but also the importance of evaluating information given to us in our lives. In this "information age," the listener has the responsibility of evaluating the message. The definition of where we turn for authority is evolving. We live in an age where we can choose our leaders. To chose anyone less than a leader who has demonstrated that they can be trusted, that they are making good decisions, and that they are accountable for their decisions is irresponsible and has the potential for serious repercussions. In a healthy 21st century society, recognizing authority is an active process versus a passive choice.

How do people learn to make such a decision? This is where the words of Fisher & Siemens come alive. We will learn by changing our relationship to information, by becoming creators and questioners of information, and by being good thinkers. (Fisher) We will learn by engaging with, versus being consumed by, material presented. And we will learn by creating networks of thinkers who serve as an effective "pipeline" for knowledge because knowledge has become fluid and the content in the pipe is constantly changing. (Siemens)

2) In accepting Wikipedia as a valid source, I believe the findings of the journal Nature - that Wikipedia and Britannica are equally accurate. My authority on that? - my internal authority (Though it helps that I found confirmation of this statement published by a source I trust, the BBC.) Wikipedia stresses accountability. Citing references is a key focus of each article and Wikipedia will be the first to point out when an article does not cite any references or sources - at the top of the page! Wikipedia asks contributors, "Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unverifiable material may be challenged and removed." Furthermore,"Substandard or disputed information is subject to removal."

They say it best themselves: "Because Wikipedia is an ongoing work to which, in principle, anybody can contribute, it differs from a paper-based reference source in important ways. In particular, older articles tend to be more comprehensive and balanced, while newer articles more frequently contain significant misinformation, unencyclopedic content, or vandalism. Users need to be aware of this to obtain valid information and avoid misinformation that has been recently added and not yet removed... However, unlike a paper reference source, Wikipedia is continually updated, with the creation or updating of articles on topical events within seconds, minutes or hours, rather than months or years for printed encyclopedias."

3) Personal use of Wikipedia has proven it to be a quick, simple, reliable way to access information that is further enhanced with many links.

I have an ongoing discussion with our school librarian. She is horrified at the thought that the internet is introducing so many sources that lack "authority." Her wish for education in America is that we teach our students to become good decision makers. I believe she'll come around.

Terms of Engagement

2008-01-15T16:58:00.000-08:00

Thinking further on measuring engagement in lessons, I have come to the conclusion that grades must be abandoned to get a true measure. Otherwise, it will be difficult to distinguish extrinsic from intrinsic motivation. True engagement comes from the inside.

I watch him lift his head and shoulders up off the desk. I hear a deep breathe and a sigh as the noise level in the classroom changes. I look at what the eyes are doing; I look at what the hands are doing. A blush rises to his cheeks. There is a new warmth in the room – the warmth of engagement.

P. S. Do our assessments do justice to process as well as product? When we assess product, are we encouraging engagement?

You can't get there from here.

2008-01-15T16:28:00.000-08:00

Jeff & Chris,
In my 20+ years of teaching, I have come across two schools of thought that offer insights to deepen pedagogy. Waldorf Education (Steiner) and Understanding by Design (UbD, Wiggins & McTighe). Their beliefs are turning education inside-out (Waldorf) and backwards (UbD). The common threads in the two philosophies are: delving to identify concepts “essential” to the learner, using empathy as a teaching tool, and teaching for understanding. The intensive Waldorf teacher training programs facilitate a more dramatic pedagogical shift whereas, the shifts taking place through UbD are more gradual. I did come across an interesting forum for collaboration based on UbD.

And, in the words of the New England geezer, "You can't get there from here..."
~You have to go back - back to childhood; back to wish, wonder and surprise; back to looking up at the sky and asking what our purpose is. From there, move forward again - following your heart, ever continuing to seek the purpose.

Then, when you design a lesson - connect all material to the purpose, organize intentionally for effect, engage your audience, model advanced techniques, support your purpose with rich, insightful elaboration, and use feedback to make notable changes in your presentation.

Engagement

2008-01-14T16:55:00.001-08:00

Skis, transmissions, lovers, and learners...

Of all the possible conversations to be had under the subject of pedagogy, I have decided that the place to begin is with engagement. While a person may be in the midst of all sorts of work taking place around them, they will benefit when they themselves become engaged. Continuing to present a lesson to an inactive audience is like a motor idling unproductively because the transmission hasn't been engaged.

In the “traditional” school setting, I feel that the missing link to engagement is the feeling realm. Concepts are presented intellectually – rote. Learners need reasons to care. We care about things we can relate to. If a lesson’s relevance is unclear, is it the teacher’s responsibility to clarify it?

What are measures of engagement in the classroom? Notably, the behaviors outside of the classroom are strong indicators. A student continuing to work with an idea outside of the period, outside of the four walls, is an engaged student!

Pedagogy

2008-01-09T15:59:00.000-08:00

“Technology must serve pedagogy, not the other way around.”
(EduCon 2.0)

I often see reference to “pedagogy” in Classroom 2.0 discussions and the critical idea that embedding Web 2.0 technology is changing how we teach. (Clarence Fisher, K-12 Online). I love the word pedagogy. It is an old word for an enormous concept - the art or science of teaching. What concepts are considered “pedagogy?” I have a list rumbling around my brain:

functioning, paying attention, risk taking;
organizing;
equity, personalization, collaboration, engagement;
utilization, movement, reflection, pain,
thinking, feeling, willing;
relevance, connectivism;
foundation building, scaffolding;
freedom

Where do I begin? I am interested in reform in education because I watch too many learners that are not engaged by the present system. Reform in education will not happen by doing the same things and simply changing the medium - to the internet. Change will come by changing the principles – the pedagogy.

Are teacher training programs preparing the next generation of teachers to do this? The traditional teacher has spent 16+ years in school - old school. Then in our own classes, we model our teachers, caring and inspiring yet - traditional.

It is difficult to be guided by a pedagogy that one has not experienced. It may feel like turning one's experiences upside-down or inside out. It certainly requires imagination and reflection.

Students 2.0

2007-12-12T15:37:00.000-08:00

"Be Prepared....We won't be raising our hands anymore..."

... is the message this group of students is sending classroom teachers. Adroit at using the tools of Web 2.0, they are working collaboratively and internationally (of course) to share their thoughts. They are responding to the idea that "students are continually redefining their own lives and how they want to learn and interact." They are aware that we have entered an age where "thinking is more important than knowing." They are adding their voices to the future of education. They have the wisdom to perceive that they, as students, have something to teach. These lofty ideas are their words.

Check them out at http://students2oh.org/

Students 2.0 Launch Teaser from Sean on Vimeo.

Reflections

2007-12-07T05:32:00.000-08:00

Three short months ago, I had no idea that there was a new "generation" of web applications that facilitated collaboration. Though I intellectually see the phenomenal creative potential of technology, I continue to be amazed at what it is making possible and I admire the imaginations of the people that are coming up with these ideas. Even more exciting is that with these tools, groups of individuals are bringing their energies and focus together - synergy.

I live in the transition between two generations. The elder is family, friends, and colleagues that take limited advantage of the internet; the younger is our children who spend more time viewing electronic messages than possibly anything else they do in the course of a day. Furthermore, they have all the facts and formulas at their fingertips. And I, of the elder, will be trying to teach students, of the younger, something that it seems they are more familiar with.

Wait, I do have experience to share. Collaboration, not always simple, improves with practice. I can provide students practice in doing nothing less with the ideas of others than they would do with their own. I can help them identify friendly environments. I can facilitate discrimination of helpful actions vs. actions that "pollute." I can provide practice with organization, following directions, reading.....and.....I can introduce new web applications. Although they may take those applications and run (farther than me), I can provide practice in making introductions and connections.

Having worked with different developmental stages and needs, whenever I think about computers in the classroom, I carry the concern that we are offering electronic tools to children at too young an age. I believe this is a appropriate question that must be sincerely entertained by innovators in the field. That having been said...

Experiencing Classroom 2.0 has given me a new set of powerful teaching tools that are already engaging my students and I in a broader level of awareness. Teaching and learning in a networked classroom opens the doors to the world. How exciting is that?!

Audience

2007-12-01T13:35:00.000-08:00

All the world's a stage...

This morning at breakfast, a discussion on politics led to the observation that actors are often effective public speakers. Consider the actress on stage. Her key focal point is that she is loud enough and clear enough that the audience will be able to follow her message. She has a repertoire of delivery styles and will choose the style based upon the audience. There have been many rehearsals all, again, with the mission to clearly deliver her message.

Consider the word "delivery." There is a specific recipient in mind. Packages come to our doorstep. They are prepared according to the contents and how they will be received. They are not left out in the rain or by the side of the road. Their receipt is acknowledged.

Are teachers effective communicators? Do we look to our audience as conscientiously as the performer? Do we deliver our messages - messages prepared with the sole intent of being understood? Do we assure that our delivery has been received?

One secret to assuring that a delivery will be received is to send something that the recipient cares about. I hope this is the direction that technology in the classroom is going - toward lessons that engage the learners emotionally. The use of Web 2.0 applications provide infinite opportunities to give learners a sense of connection.

It's been said, "Technology is about connections." Indeed - of many kinds.

1-2-1 Solutions

2007-11-28T17:26:00.000-08:00

A well orchestrated lesson involves the movements of expansion and contraction, imagining possibilities and focusing on answers, seeking connections and drawing conclusions. The lesson becomes organic, it breathes and the students breathe with it.

The computer screen - it creates a focal point, a narrowing down. When I compare options of getting each learner access to Web 2.0, the image of students concentrating their focus onto tiny little screens makes my muscles tighten. Give them big beautiful screens; let them appreciate their work in full view with multiple windows open one beside the other. Let them sit back and view their creations and take a deep breath. It is much easier to take a deep breath when sitting straight or sitting back, arms in an open gesture, than (watch somebody on their PDA) when hunching forward, head bowed, wrists together bringing the arms into a closed gesture.

Stay open. Keep breathing.

PodCasting

2007-11-27T15:39:00.000-08:00

Here is a podcast designed to be played by students to help a substitute teacher run my B block class. The class is a "guided study hall" or basic study skills class:

Subscribe Free Add to my Page

One Computer per Student

2007-11-24T12:53:00.000-08:00

If there were one computer for every elementary school student, the computers would sit around most of the day while the students are in language arts practicing handwriting which develops capacities for thinking and learning (Graham, Vanderbilt University), in social studies listening to stories and developing interest in the other, in math working with manipulatives to train their logic, in science studying living organisms and environments, in P.E. developing physical capacities, in art developing capacities to work with form, in music developing harmony, at lunch and recess developing emotional capacities, and after school when healthy children are active outside in the sunlight and fresh air.

If there were one computer for every middle school student, the computers would sit around for extended periods of time while students are in language arts reading their favorite genre and developing critical thinking capacities, in social studies creating maps of the world developing spacial capacities, in math formulating multi-step solutions developing the capacity for problem solving, in science labs developing capacities of observation, in P.E. developing physical capacities, in art developing capacities to work with form, in music developing harmony, at lunch and recess developing emotional capacities, and after school when healthy children are active outside in the sunlight and fresh air.

If there were one computer for every high school student, the students would spend much time sitting around their computers in language arts reading and writing about their favorite genre using critical thinking skills, in social studies respectfully communicating with people around the world, in math tackling real-life problem solving, in science recording research and observations, and in the creating of graphic art and music. The challenge would be to have them step away from the computers at lunch and free time to develop social capacities, and after school to develop healthy physical bodies.

Addiction

2007-11-22T07:21:00.000-08:00

When you leave a party where you have real friends to come home to your computer and sign on to a virtual world...

When you finish a day of skiing early to come home to your computer and sign on to a virtual world...

When you chose your computer over housecleaning, stacking firewood, and decorating for a holiday...

When you are a stable, strong adult making these choices....

I worry about our young people and the powerful attraction of the computer. What percentage of kids will be interacting with a screen instead of with family and friends during holiday gatherings? What capacities is this focus on technology creating? What is being lost as the will finds expression more and more through the keyboard?

Do we have a responsibility to assure that childrens' use of information-technology is balanced with activities to develop their physical bodies? Is there an age that is more appropriate than another to give these tools (like any other tools) to children?

Second Life

2007-11-22T07:01:00.000-08:00

A web application that "provides an online society within a 3D world, where users can explore, build, socialize and participate in their own economy." (www.secondlife.com)

"Dad, I'm in an imaginary room on the computer talking with people from the course I'm taking. Can I call you back later?"

And thus I explained SecondLife to my dad, who phoned while I was participating in our session. I said to my boyfriend that in under five minutes, I could be having a conversation with someone from Europe as normal as the one we were having at the kitchen table. It is truly a phenomena. This was also my discovery of the International Society for Technology Education (iste), in which I see myself becoming more involved.

My mind is moving faster than my fingers when it comes to putting thoughts down about my experience in SecondLife and potential ideas I've been having. Danger Karen, this feels like it could become addictive.

Eureka

2007-11-22T06:40:00.000-08:00

There is a type of student that I find is constantly drawn to the computer. He is begging to play games, put on music, and watch YouTube. And when I've given an assignment which involves using the computer, I need to sit where I can see his computer screen because quick as a flash, he finds his way to these favorite applications. Typically, he can get to the classroom before me (I travel from room to room) and though he knows he is not welcome to log on prior to class - there he is - the attraction to the computer stronger than the consequence.

Monday morning I called in sick and was told there was a shortage of subs. I asked that someone simply get my students to the library and ask them to log in to their gmail accounts and I would conduct class from home. While I still have some practicing to make an off-site session go more smoothly, they loved it. Monday afternoon, I made my way to school. I arrive in math class to find aforementioned student on the computer. As I was about to correct him he enthusiastically said, no Ms. Payne, I was looking to see if you emailed us an assignment. Eureka!

Teacher Tools

2007-11-10T06:33:00.001-08:00

Years ago, traveling on a plane to spring break, the woman in the seat next to me and I discovered that we were both teachers. We probably talked about subject matter, schedules, demographics at our schools.... And then she asked if I was familiar with a tool that every teacher should be using - the Pilot G-2 roller ball gel ink pen. "You must have one," she exclaimed. I believe she even gave me hers that day and I now have a set of twelve colors in the top drawer of my desk.

As I sat on a plane yesterday, traveling for the long weekend, that memory surfaced with this question: If I were to rave about one teaching tool today, which tool would that be?

Assessment

2007-11-07T17:15:00.000-08:00

Our instructor would like us to write about assessment and Classroom 2.0. His vision is that computer use is embedded into lessons and that students reach for internet applications with the same ease that they reach for a pencil - and we do not teach or assess how one uses a pencil - or do we?

Back straight, head upright, fingers relaxed, start the letter from the top and draw downward like a hawk swooping...what teachers used to spend 45 minutes per day instructing, is now the focus for an hour or less per week (Newsweek, 11/12/07). The article sites a new study that shows that handwriting is linked to thinking and learning (Graham, Vanderbilt University). Thus, I make a case that teaching and assessing pencil use is a key part of learning. Furthermore, teaching and assessing use of any tool during the elementary stage of its use is important as it adds to effectiveness and fluidity. I am speaking of 'assessment' in its original form - to sit beside. And I'm stressing its formative use - to observe, scaffold, and reinforce.

As savy as some of our students are with Web tools, most of them need to be taught and provided with opportunities for practice. Then, like those students who we've taught to hold a pencil who can now write better or draw better than we can ever dream of, students will take off with internet applications and take them further than we can ever dream of.

Teaching in a Networked World

2007-11-06T13:18:00.001-08:00

Imagine a struggling reader... who spends hours looking at anime... and dreams of visiting Japan...imagine him communicating with a student in Japan about school, dinner, holidays....

Imagine a reluctant reader...who races toward any conversation about NASCAR... and dreams of meeting Dale Earnhardt, Jr....imagine him communicating with a NASCAR driver about what it takes to face one's fears...

Imagine a struggling reader...who would rather be sent out of class and fail an assignment than have her peers discover that she cannot read the assignment... and dreams of people getting along instead of fighting...imagine her communicating with another high schooler who has the same frustrations...

Heck, why just imagine... Let's have them work together on a presentation about how students who struggled in school became successful adults or about how each of them celebrates their birthday.

Does anyone out there know any English speaking Japanese students that would like to work on a project about Naruto?

Personalization

2007-11-04T14:17:00.000-08:00

"Personal Learning Environments" (PLE) is a key term in today's schools. Educators are experiencing that learning is correlated to motivation and that motivation is driven by emotions and engagement. We fool ourselves if we believe that the best learning takes place in our classrooms. Students gain great knowledge in the informal environments in which they interact throughout their day. Life asks the learner to constantly decide where to pay attention; and we find ourselves looking for the relevant.

Given the overwhelming amount of knowledge in circulation, it can be difficult determining where to focus. Other people are invaluable resources in this process. A "Personal Learning Network" (PLN - cultivated connections with other Web users), is an example of such. Finding a writer on the Web with whom you are of the same mind, is finding a north star pointing to the relevant - no matter who you are or how old you are.

Classroom 2.0 - a Link to High School Reform

2007-11-03T11:32:00.000-07:00

"Today there are multiple federal, state, local, and philanthropic high school reform initiatives that are simultaneously attempting to address the consistent and ongoing criticisms of the traditional comprehensive high school. Despite the diligent work of school leaders and other educators, academic performance in high schools remains stagnant, achievement gaps exist along race and income lines, and low graduation rates and high dropout rates persist."
~National Association of Secondary School Principals

The National Association of Secondary School Principals (NASSP) has a vision of reforming the American high school into an academically rigorous, personalized learning environment. The New England Association of Schools and Colleges (NEASC), the nation's oldest regional accrediting association, stresses the themes of collaboration, personalization, equity, and engagement in establishing and maintaining high standards in education. Classroom 2.0 is an ideal vehicle for implementation of their key themes.

Collaboration is, by definition, the essence of Classroom 2.0 - the term used to describe the classroom in which web-based applications are used to facilitate learners working together. Individuals can no longer possess all the knowledge they will need. Siemens writes that we can collect and store knowledge through "collecting people." He stresses the idea that developing these connections is more critical than possessing content. If one knows where to find answers, the seemingly infinite amount of content of this information age becomes accessible. And when the flow of knowledge becomes too rapid and complex, a network of people can share the processing and interpreting (Knowing Knowledge, 2006). Today's youth recognize these principles and are applying them by creating networks of virtual "friends." When teachers incorporate networking into the learning process, the focus shifts from receiving and memorizing content to thinking about, creating, and applying content. These in turn lead to personalization and engagement.

"Conversation is the ultimate personalization experience..." (Siemens, 2006). In the Classroom 2.0, assignments no longer end with a finished paper (graded, returned, thrown away). Student work becomes the inspiration for the thoughts of others; it is offered as a starting point to build upon. Learners experience that their voice matters, that people are listening and responding, that their ideas count (Richardson, 2006) and they become engaged. And when the school assures that access to the Web is available to every student, this experience is equitable.

Web 2.0

2007-11-03T06:15:00.000-07:00

Web 2.0 refers to the 'second generation' of web-based communities and hosted services — such as social-networking, wikis, and folksonomies — which facilitate collaboration among users. These new applications have brought about changes in the ways software developers, consumers, and producers use the internet. The term became popular following the first O'Reilly Media Web 2.0 conference in 2004 (Wikipedia).

In the last chapter of his book about Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms, Will Richardson points to two "unstoppable" trends in the classroom because of Web 2.0. The first is the fact that more and more content will continue to come online (with some mind-boggling statistics about this), and the second trend is that the creation of content is collaborative. Collaboration is a key concept in education today. The National Association of Secondary School Principals highlights collaboration as a key strategy for creating positive change in reforming the American high school (Breaking Ranks II,2004).

Richardson continues to uncover what this all means to the classroom by describing "10 Big Shifts." These are outlined here:

Big Shift #1: Open Content
A wealth of information on each subject area is now at a learner's fingertips rather than being presented with the limited content of textbooks and teacher-chosen supplementary materials.

Big Shift #2: Many, Many Teachers, and 24/7 Learning
The Web allows connections with experts around the world; it connects the learner with primary sources of knowledge - 24/7.

Big Shift #3: The Social, Collaborative Construction of Meaningful Knowledge
A creator's audience has changed from the classroom teacher to a "world" of people interested in the same topic. The assignment no longer ends with the finished paper; it now has the possibility of becoming ongoing "dialogue."

Big Shift #4: Teaching Is Conversation, Not Lecture
Learners experience that their voice matters, that people are listening and responding, that their ideas count. "Ideas are a starting point for a dialogue, not the ending point" (Siemens, 2002).

Big Shift #5: Know "Where" Learning
The stress on what is the right answer shifts to the importance of knowing where to find answers. Lessons move beyond memorizing facts and formulas (short-term in my experience)to discussing and applying the facts.

Big Shift #6: Readers Are No Longer Just Readers
This is a move from content being carefully checked and edited before being published to recognizing the ease of posting anything without "an eye toward truth and accuracy." Receivers of knowledge are called upon to make assessments and discern good from bad. The activity involved in reading increases.

Big Shift #7: The Web as Notebook
Paper is becoming less and less effective as a way to capture relevant information. The ease of saving notes and linking ideas now includes audio, video, photography, and more.

Big Shift #8: Writing Is No Longer Limited to Text
The web is changing the definition of what it means to 'write.' Writing genres now include audio, video, music, and photography as well as the combination thereof to create powerful messages.

Big Shift #9: Mastery Is the Product, Not the Test
Determining mastery defined by passing tests, typically not even based on what you could DO with the information, shifts to performance based learning and assessment.

Big Shift #10: Contribution, Not Completion, as the Ultimate Goal
The destination of assignments has changed from that of becoming graded, handed back, and thrown away to becoming messages added to a world-wide conversation and being content that could be used to teach others. Teachers become connectors of content and of people, content creators, true collaborators (read: learners alongside their students), coaches, and agents of change.

k12online conference

2007-10-28T15:17:00.000-07:00

The K-12 Online Conference invites participation from educators around the world interested in innovative ways Web 2.0 tools and technologies can be used to improve learning.

The conference has a schedule full of inspiring presentations; I could sit at my computer for hours and collect ideas. Hmmmm...I have been sitting at my computer for hours collecting ideas. I must will myself to move away from the screen and create my own picture of how these possibilities could be used in my classroom. The presentations have provided websites to turn to, questions to consider, models to work with, and connections with like-minded colleagues. There is no doubt that my students will be motivated by working with web 2.0 tools. I need to accept that I will not create extravagant lessons overnight and begin with a little step in the digital direction.

Cool Tools 4 Schools I.

2007-10-22T16:59:00.000-07:00

Google has an office suite with word documents, spreadsheets, and slide presentations - Google Docs - which can be accessed from any computer with an Internet connection and web browser. (Gmail account required, which is a free service.) Files can be created online or uploaded. Here's the cool: files can be shared with multiple users who you name as viewers (read-only) or collaborators (invitation to edit). Multiple people can view the document and make changes at the same time. There's an on-screen chat window for spreadsheets. Document revisions show who changed what, and when.

Note: When collaborators make frequent revisions, the tracking process gets cumbersome. Having participants highlight their changes will help readers locate the changes for consideration.

Watch a video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eRqUE6IHTEA
Take a tour:http://www.google.com/google-d-s/intl/en/tour1.html

k12online conference

2007-10-21T17:07:00.000-07:00

Image source: http://flickr.com/photos/capecodcyclist/105521304/

The K-12 Online Conference invites participation from educators around the world interested in innovative ways Web 2.0 tools and technologies can be used to improve learning. This FREE conference is run by volunteers and open to everyone. The 2007 conference theme is “Playing with Boundaries”. ~ http://www.k12onlineconference.org/

The first keynote address, by Clarence Fisher (classroom teacher, Manitoba, Canada), outlined four factors of "Classroom 2.0" - a term used to name a teaching style which, by embedding technology into the curriculum, changes the possibilities in the classroom. The first factor, and the key, is pedagogy. The tools of the Read/Write Web are transforming our relationship to our subject matter. He stresses that access to the world wide web is changing how we teach. It is a movement away from memorization and repetition of predifined content toward the learner becoming discoverer and creator. The second factor is the use of tools that promote collaboration. The theme of collaboration is receiving much positive attention in the modern schoolhouse. The tools of the Read/Write web call for authors to share in the creation of messages and presentations (wikis and googledocs are prime examples). Factor three is the change in relationship to information. Digital tools require students to be creators and questioners of information. He notes that such activity will take place between the students and people from all around the world (speaking to the conference theme - Playing with Boundries). Being a good thinker is an important lesson in the 2.0 Classroom. We need to be "prosumers" vs. consumers. Finally, curriculum was addressed. Fisher encourages teachers to look into their curriculum and ask, "What is it that is important in there?" Meaning, we need to prioritize.

Fisher suggests redefining what happens in school by thinking of the classroom as a "studio," a place where many creators work under the guidance of a master. A place where energy and enthusiasm are high and participants are actively engaged in an activity they enjoy.

"Playing with Buttons"

2007-10-20T18:05:00.000-07:00

"This is my generation. This is what we do."
~23 year old, laughing at a pair of 50-somethings trying to work a new remote control, as he took the remote out of their fumbling hands and smoothly programmed the DVR to record the Red Sox game.

Using the buttons, something that takes a level of courage for a baby boomer, is second nature for the members of generation X. When we were children our buttons were attached to colorful scraps of fabric. This generation has been playing with electronic buttons since they've been old enough to reach for them. On/Off. Off/On. Change the volume. Change the channel. The two year old is having a ball while the adults are creatively looking for ways to disenable the power... TV, telephone, noisy toys, games, dishwasher, key fobs, microwave, computer key board...This is where I'm heading with this:

I had a day notable for its technological advancements. It began with attending an international conference - online - and ended with watching the Red Sox in High Def. These events were exciting, stimulating, and overwhelming. The remote control will take me weeks to figure out as will the content and implications of the many digital tools to which I am being introduced through the online conference (address below). With their cell phones, im's, ipods, and blogs, today's youth are effortlessly crossing boundries - classroom, school, state, nation, age, socio-economic, religion... From home to 'Philawarepragacago,' they are "playing with boundries." For me, with my brand new computer mic, user names and passwords, I'm in the middle of a whirlwind. I will myself to click on the buttons; I hold my breath to see if my computer reacts as I intended and I feel as if I am braking through boundries chip by bloody chip.

http://www.k12onlineconference.org/

Wikis in Education

2007-10-19T18:14:00.001-07:00

I have to quick write this assignment about wikis so my mind can move on. It is getting very full with thoughts of blogs and online conferences and googledocs and voicethreads and...there is so much to focus on, so much to pay attention to - mind boggling. This is a challenge of the "age of information" and the students I see are having trouble paying attention. And I am paying attention to this. (More on this later.)

In coming up with classroom ideas for using wikis, their most exciting feature is the one that I tussle with the most - collaborative writing. I am attached to the thoughts I create and express in my writing. So while I am excited about the collaborative possibilities of wiki, what inspiration, at the same time I fear losing a piece of writing I liked or having someone change what I liked. Is there a control issue here as well (type A personality, sanguine/choleric)?

I am stimulated by some fabulous examples of wikis being used in education (read: k12online07.wikispaces.com, Blogmeister.pbwiki.com, studentblogwikitools.wikispaces.com, releasethehounds.wikispaces.com). I still am putting thought into the choice of wiki vs. blog to suit the task. And much will depend on characterizing the task. [Note use of the term 'characterizing' vs. defining (Payne, GoodThinking, Connectivism, 10/11/07).]

RSS and beyond

2007-10-15T17:27:00.000-07:00

Referring back to Friday's entry...
Which was completed to fulfill an assignment for a graduate course...
As was the creation of this blogspot...

Whilst I am dancing around expounding the wonders of RSS, the author of the text through which I came to better understand this technology, is virtually at the same time posting to his blog that he is not using his reader any more. It gets worse, he goes on to write, "blogging is work these days. (Have you noticed?) It’s feeling more like shoveling the manure at Tess’s pony club…it’s got to be done, but there isn’t much joy in it."

If I were a less secure person, I would be devastated. As it is, I'm amused by the coincidence and pondering the indications. And to say more would just be work.

BTW - Thank you Will for your description of flickr (Richardson, 2006)
Thank you dinghyman for the pic found at: www.flickr.com/photos/pnelson/183006974/

Social Bookmarking

2007-10-14T15:39:00.000-07:00

Social Bookmarking is like signing up for an electronic file cabinet - free. When you find a website to which you may want to return, or a page that you'd like to save, you file it in this virtual cabinet. You can annotate your files and organize them via 'tagging.' And, there's a whole warehouse full of file cabinets - all kept unlocked. When you have an interest or need for more information, you can go into anyone else's cabinet, browse their folders and access their links. (Note: The saved pages do not appear, the bookmarked links are accessible.) Businesses, committees, departments....can share files and thus share resources. Combine this with RSS (see google reader) and receive notice when something new is added to a selected file. In his book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, Will Richardson portrays this tool as one that is creating a new way of organizing information for the future.

In depth description can be found in the book: Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts (Richardson, 2006)
Social Bookmarking sites include del.icio.us, Furl.net, and Jots.com

Really Simple Syndication (RSS)

2007-10-12T17:02:00.000-07:00

Found under "reader" in gmail (google mail).

Here's another brainchild that is changing the way we use the web. At first, I found the incoming messages overwhelming. Shortly, I began to enjoy skipping through the new posts and finding items of great interest, as well as useful tips. I've shared this one with my school principal, librarian, head of guidance for the district, colleagues, boyfriend, best friend, brother and students. I'm having the urge at this very moment to go check my inbox and see what new items are there. So...

Voice Thread

2007-10-11T15:29:00.000-07:00

Oh my goodness!!!!!!!!!! I can hardly wait. I opened an account and bookmarked this website before the orientation video was through. My parents' 50th anniversary is coming up and this is a perfect idea. We can also use this at the Preservation Society for octogenarians to record knowledge of the pictures in our archives....then there are the pictures of my adorable niece......oh, students will love it too. I'm elated with the electronic creations that I'm being introduced to on the web. When I was a kid I had a reaccuring dream about photographs which came to life...yeh.

http://voicethread.com/#home

"Connectivism"

2007-10-11T13:33:00.000-07:00

A new "ism" for the social studies department to teach?

When new concepts are connected to prior knowledge, one increases the effectiveness of grasping the new concepts. Oh teacher, be mindful that the learner does not make such a tight grasp on a concept that the lesson becomes rigid. A classroom example is the assignment of "defining" terms. At its root, definition means finite, finale, the end, dead. I had an instructor in graduate school who encouraged the use of the word "characterize." This, he said, keeps the concept fluid (actually he was British and used the word plastik). Fluidity enhances learning.

Siemens (http://knowingknowledge.com/), (2006+) states that learning IS making connections. He takes this concept further and describes a type of learning which takes place when a network of knowledge is formed. He calls this 'connectivism.' He writes that the ability to see connections is the core skill for individuals today. Fluidity enhances connectivism by allowing the movement necessary for network forming to take place. Movement also opens the way to forming new capacities. The capacities to learn more, and the connections that enable us to learn, are more important than what is currently known. Siemens and I and my graduate professor agree.

The knowledge available in this Age of Information is vast, complex and moving at a rapid pace. Whereas this can easily overwhelm the individual, a network can share in the receiving and interpretting of information and progress as a team. As a team, the knowledge of one individual becomes the knowledge of another. The sum - greater than the parts - is connective knowledge.

A principle of connectivism is that learning and knowing are constant, on-going processes. "We must learn to dance (engage and interact) with knowledge in order to understand what it is." (Siemens, again) and I agree, again ~ dancingkaren.

What Blogs Are

2007-10-10T17:47:00.000-07:00

I originally thought that Blogs were electronic logs, meaning personal journals. I asked several colleagues and students, "What is a Blog?" The majority responded to the effect that, "A Blog is writing a journal on-line." One student replied, "A Blog is a person's on-line journal stating their opinions of things." This idea is closer to the one presented by the author of our course's text. After reading Will Richardson (Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools...2006), I realize that the inception of Blogs was to allow responses to specific material encountered on the 'Read/Write' Web. Going beyond the 'bookmark,' they make it possible for one to write and read reviews on the products of others. Yet the concept of Blog is not this simple. Blog uses go beyond reviews to recording histories, conversing in the present and describing plans and visions for the future. I personally hope to use them as a tool to encourage reluctant readers and writers to grow their language skills.

If the majority of the population believes that blogs are on-line journals, is that not what they will become? I'll answer my own question - no. Because the myriad uses will be discovered and will spread and this tool will evolve. One more complication, Richardson characterizes Wikis as an entirely different tool from the Blog. It seems that a wiki is meant to be a collaborative effort, a group product. As I presently see them being used, I am struggling with the difference between wiki and blog. Why did Jutrecht choose a wiki over a blog as the home page for his on-line course?

BTW blogger.com, I miss my spell check, thesarus, and font formatting.

School 2.0

2007-10-09T13:37:00.000-07:00

"School 2.0 is a brainstorming tool designed to help schools, districts and communities develop a common education vision for the future and to explore how that vision can be supported by technology." (http://www.school2-0.org/)

To be inspired by a united vision for helping students is one of public education's greatest challenges. The founders of private schools (such as Steiner and Montessori) had very strong visions and beliefs for education and used these as foundations for their curriculum. People who join such school communities unite with firm and specific impulses. I see no such shared vision in the public school system. Understanding the value of a shared vision; the New England Association of Schools & Colleges accreditation process (among others I'm sure) requires the formulation of a school mission as well as mission-based expectations for student learning. Much focus is placed on all stakeholders sharing in the creation of a school's mission. My high school is in the midst of the re-accreditation process this year. Much energy was spent last year developing our mission; School 2.0 looks like it could have been a major focussing tool for that task.

In the 2.0 site's description, the term "Learning Ecosystem" immediately caught my eye (stemming from my interest in the environment). I'm excited by the idea that our leaders would give weight and validity to the learning that takes place outside the traditional four walls! This is an important aspect of the Learning 2.0 discussion. In New Hampshire such a conversation is taking place (I know it would be good if I could get a link to the NH dept. of ed. here) and the state is moving toward awarding credits for independent study experiences outside of school - overseen by a faculty mentor. The possibilities that this opens for personalization, engagement, and real-life problem solving are far-reaching.

The term Learning Ecosystem also brought to mind the term "Personal Learning Environment" (PLE) which I stumbled across in my new my exploration of the blogging world. (I will do my best to figure out how to add a link to that blog.) This is a concept I would like to explore further. I think it is an example of someone putting to words feelings that nudge at the school teacher's passion.

Opening the Door

2007-10-08T18:40:00.000-07:00

I have never blogged before,
I'm looking through the open door,
At myriads of conversation possibilities,
Connections crossing differences, crossing o'r seas.

On my side, I hold my fear,
Of being overwhelmed, of losing something dear;
I take a deep breath and step on through,
Curiosity pulling me toward infinite new views.

Good Thinking

2007-10-08T17:22:00.000-07:00

Good - Of quality, genuine, desirable, effective, valid, advantageous, kind, friendly, feeling well or elated
Thinking - Mental activity

I come to "Good Thinking" as a teacher who once thought her job was to teach her students reading, writing and subject area material and who now believes her work is to strengthen her students' capacities (ie. abilities) to learn and to do. Whereas reading and writing still hold great import, I am in the process of comprehending that the larger issue at question is one of communication. And subject area material...well, that has just become a big game of trivial pursuit. Facts memorized short term for tests are long gone once the testing is over and ironically, may become out-dated just as easily. What remains is life before us and the impulse to move forward.

And so I do my best to prepare learners for life's lessons. Each decision needing made is a multiple choice test. The questions are infinite and the possible answers equally mind boggling. To progress we all benefit from good thinking.