Eureka

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!

Personalization

"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.

Wikis in Education

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).]