always learning

One of my first tips for any teacher wishing to authentically embed technology into their classroom experience is always to start small. It’s easier to build on a simple, achievable idea, than it is to trim down an all-consuming tech monstrosity.

So, with that in mind, one of our amazing grade three teachers, Rebecca (who is also a member of our SUNY CoETaIL cohort), began a small, achievable project for the FOSS Science unit Structures of Life with her students in early April. Rebecca’s goals were to:

• have her students experience tracking and sharing their developing understanding about their hands-on science experiments in a way that would be easy to manage and very student focused.
• visually document the stages of growth in the life cycle of a seed.
• utilize student “class experts” to ensure that the project was completed as independently as possible by the students.

In order to meet these goals, and provide a very simple start, we decided to use VoiceThread. Because this was the first time Rebecca had done a project like this, she wanted to make sure that the technology portion of the project was manageable. So, we decided to create class experts who would be responsible for different aspects of the project, which would allow Rebecca to focus on the science, instead of the technology.

Here’s what we did:

• First, we selected a group of 4 (volunteer) student photographers to be responsible for documenting the daily changes in their seeds, over a period of 7 – 10 days (to capture the full life cycle). These students would take pictures of their own seeds, as well as help other students use the cameras to photograph their seeds. Once all of the pictures for the day were taken, the camera experts were responsible for uploading all of the pictures onto Rebecca’s computer.
• When all of the pictures were taken, Rebecca and I chose which ones to put on the class VoiceThread. When had all of the pictures in a VT, we then showed the class and had them choose which ones they wanted to describe in partners. They spent some time working with their partners to write a script for their selected picture.
• Once they were ready to record, I worked with 2 groups at a time to record their scripts. Each student had their own identity in Rebecca’s VoiceThread account with a hand-drawn self-portrait scanned and uploaded to VT as their avatar.
• After the students completed their recordings, I shared the completed VT with my PLN via Twitter to show the students how many people would be enjoying their work.
• Finally, we had a class discussion about what we’d done well and what could be improved. Among the things the students noticed were the need to speak loudly and clearly, to sound professional, and how drawing and labeling the photo really helped the viewer understand the topic. They were amazed and thrilled to see comments from so many other teachers around the world, thanks to you!

Here’s the completed VoiceThread:

After we reflected with the students, Rebecca and I realized that students learn best from seeing their own work (as opposed to samples) after having experienced the entire process from beginning to end. They are then able to focus on sharing their learning, instead of the ins and outs of the technology tools. So, we decided to repeat the basic process of the project with the next part of the unit, studying crayfish.

We also wanted to add more opportunity for student input, so this time around, we asked the class to choose which pictures to include in the VoiceThread, to select which picture they would describe and give it a title, and to agree on a title for the entire VT.

Here is our second completed VoiceThread:

As you can see, the students applied all of the ideas they generated during the first reflection: improved clarity and volume in their speaking, and increased use of the drawing tool to label the photographs.

Ideally, if we had more time in the school year, we would have repeated this process once more, this time with each student (or partnership) completing their very own VT from beginning to end.

Teacher Feedback

After the success of these two projects, I asked Rebecca to share her experiences in our SpeedGeeking faculty meeting. Here’s what she had to say to our 4 prompts:

What was the impact on student learning?

• The most valuable impact was the gain I saw in students’ use of specific language to describe their observations.
• Observing students’ initial attempts to tell what was happening in the picture was a formative assessment.
• When the words “stuff” and “thing” were banned and students had to generate the description using the scientific vocabulary taught in the FOSS investigation, it became clear where they were lacking understanding.  This gave me the opportunity to clarify or re-teach points.
• When students later wrote an assessment response about what was happening with a sprouting seed, I could see more exact language and explanations.
• Having to express themselves orally and fluently was also a learning experience for most students.

What was easy?

• Once Kim met with the classroom “photo experts” and taught them a few pointers about using the camera and how to download the pictures to iPhoto, the picture taking was easy.  Now the students are teaching each other and helping each other become better photographers.
• Kim orchestrated the recording for the voice thread, but this seemed easy since the students had worked out their scripts in advance.
• Uploading the photos and individual student identification portraits took time but was also easy to do.

What was challenging?

• Making detailed observations and clearly using the correct words in the descriptions was challenging for many students.
• Careful planning was needed to keep students on task on recording days.

Steps to complete the project:

1. Students viewed a sample of a voice thread.  (Kim)
2. Photo/Camera experts (4 students) were taught camera basics: photo tips and downloading pictures. (Kim)
3. Student online identity pictures (self-portraits from the beginning of the year) were scanned and uploaded to voice thread. (Khun Kob, Rebecca, Kim)
4. Students photographed the sprouting process while making their daily observations. (Students)
5. Photos were selected for this project.  (Rebecca)
6. Students picked a picture to describe and worked with a partner to write a script describing the picture.  (Students)
7. Students recorded scripts for their respective pictures.  (Students & Kim)
8. Students viewed and critiqued the final project.

Total classroom time: 4-5 class periods (not counting the picture taking during seed observations). While recording was being done outside the class with Kim (2 periods), other class work could continue in the classroom.

Final Thoughts

It would have been easy to develop a large-scale project using a variety of tools for this unit (I’m seeing a wiki, with the life cycle of a seed mapped out, VTs, pictures, and videos embedded on each page, links to external sources and global partners collaborating), but starting small enabled both Rebecca and her class to enjoy the project, see the potential of the technology, and build the confidence to try it again only a few weeks later. Establishing a successful and positive first experience with technology is a surefire way to encourage teachers, students and parents to keep building those skills and to continue using new tools to enhance learning.

All too often, teachers think that they should use a tool only once and then move on to something else. On the contrary, I have found that using the same tool a number of times not only helps deepen student understanding of both the power and limitations of that specific tool, but it also helps them focus on their learning instead of just the technology. The first time students use a tool, they are focused on all of the bells and whistles, the second time they’re more focused on sharing or presenting their learning using the new tools, the third time they’re “old pros” at the tool and can focus entirely on the information they’re sharing.

What do you think? What are the pro’s and con’s of using the same tool more than once (if it’s the right tool for the task)?

It’s all about connections. Links in the virtual sense, being able to go from here to here. But also in the physical sense, traveling here, thanks to friends you made here. Making friends there, that you can easily bring back here.

Here’s what some of my connections look like:

Twitter:

Facebook:

Skype:

If you don’t understand the power of these connections, you’ll be falling farther and farther behind. Probably without even knowing it….

Because, really, even if you all work here, sometimes you don’t have time to meet there, so you can just as easily meet here:

So, what I’m really trying to say is: embrace the power of the web and find your connections! You never know where they might take you!

• my Twitter Map from Top Twitter Friends
• Twitter Flock from TwitterSheep
• Facebook Wheel from Friend Wheel

Waaay back in September, I read the book Presentation Zen, thanks to Jeff (who insisted I read it before designing my presentations for Learning 2.008). Since then I’ve created and delivered six presentations.

After each one, I received compliments about the style and lots of questions about how I found the right pictures. So, I thought I’d share my steps here (apologies to Garr Reynolds for any misinterpretation of his work – this is only meant to be a reflection of how I’ve used his ideas).

Finding Great Pictures: Kim’s Secrets

OK, here’s the deal. It’s not really a secret. I spend a long time looking for pictures.

First, I flesh out my presentation ideas on paper, following Garr’s suggestions. I start with the big picture, then break it down into 3 sections, then each section gets broken down into individual slides that tell a story.

Each image needs to represent an important aspect of this story. So I start thinking about exactly what type (or types) of images will creatively represent each idea and leave a lasting memory for the audience. Something that might resonate with a bigger concept and not just directly represent the words on the screen. Usually I have a few ideas to fall back on if I can’t find one that works within a reasonable amount of time.

Once I have my picture ideas (one for each slide, I seem to usually have around 40 slides), I head to Creative Commons Search to find pictures that have been licensed for sharing (there are tons of other options for searching CC photos, but I like this one the best). If you haven’t heard of Creative Commons, check this out!

On the search bar, I always make sure to check off “Search for works I can modify, adapt or build upon” to ensure that I’m following the licensing for the images I use.

Next, I click on the Flickr tab, and once the pictures have loaded, I click on the “most interesting” link under the number of results found. This will find me the pictures that have been favorited by flickr viewers the most.

And, that’s when the fun begins. I almost always have to look through several pages. I’m looking for images that:

• represent my idea clearly and interestingly
• are creatively shot
• fill the shot so the image can fill the slide
• are properly in or out of focus, depending on what I’m looking for
• provide enough space to write the words I’m planning to show on screen (usually this means a solid background or appropriate depth of field)
• are unique

Once I find the picture I like, I head straight over to that Flickr image page, download the photo and copy and paste the source URL for proper citation at the end of my presentation.

A Few Little Extras

Along with finding the right pictures, I have also found a few other extras that have improved my presentations:

I almost always include at least one video, usually two. Videos are great conversation starters and can give the presentation relevance in the wider world. They’re also a great way to get background information across without having to cover everything yourself. Feel free to check out my video bookmarks too!

I try to provide ample amount for participants to talk to each other. I add a little stop sign image at the bottom of the screen when I plan to ask participants to “turn and talk” so I don’t forget. I always start with one of these talking breaks at the begining of my presentation, usually inspired by an image or short video. I hope this is helping the audience engage with the content instead of just passively watching.

I always provide a wiki with the full presentation, all resources I used to create the presentation, and recommended resources for the teachers to utilize the information presented. I make sure to share this at the very begining of each presentation so that no one feels like they must take notes. I would much rather have people engaged in a dialogue than writing down what I’m saying.

Thanks to (I think) Scott McLeod Dean Shareski (thanks for the correction, Scott), I’ve started using quotes from the Flickr pool: Great Quotes About Learning and Change. What an amazing and powerful resource – talk about inspiring conversation starters!

Update: Thanks to Andrew Churches, I have just discovered another excellent pool of thought provoking images in Will Lion’s photostream on Flickr. Definitely one to bookmark!

And that’s about it! What other strategies or advice do you have for creating eye-popping presentations?

One of the perks of being an Apple Distinguished Educator is being able to represent Apple at their educational events around the world. A few weeks ago I had the pleasure of presenting a session on Garage Band at Apple’s Think Ahead Roadshow (at my very favorite hotel, The Metropolitan) here in Bangkok.

Wow. I’m still a little bit speechless. The Roadshow was so well-organized, so clearly grounded in sound educational practices, and so totally focused on what we need in the classroom and in our schools. Honestly, I’m still a little surprised that all of this was being presented by a vendor. The one-day session was a lot better than many educational (and edtech) conferences I’ve attended.

Now, we all know I’m already sold on Apple, but if I wasn’t, this would have convinced me to head straight over to the Apple store and pick up a new MacBook. For starters, Adrian Lim (one of the regional managers for Southeast Asia) gave an absolutely fantastic keynote presentation that actually brought tears to my eyes.

Everything that Adrian said was something I have thought, said or heard at one time or another as a teacher in the field of educational technology. His explanation of the stages of technology integration, implementation and professional development in schools was stated so clearly and so accurately it’s almost unbelievable that he’s not actually teaching right now. The background information and research about our 21st century learners described exactly what I’ve been learning and thinking about in my PLN, and the approach for how to engage those students to create a 21st century classroom was almost word-for-word what I was planning to share in Doha the following week.

On top of all that Adrian shared Apple’s vision for the 21st century school, their revised Apple Classrooms of Tomorrow Today program, and of course all of the easy-to-use and innovative software that Apple is known for. All I could think as he was presenting was that we need him in our schools, presenting this to full faculty and the parents. This was more powerful than so many keynotes I have seen delivered by “big names” in education and technology. And it was delivered by a vendor, who’s not teaching, and in fact, not working in schools at all.

Following Adrian’s keynote were two hands-on sessions. I delivered the one on Garage Band and a fellow ADE, Michael Koronkiewicz, presented a session on iMovie.

I have to admit, I was a little nervous to present on a software package in front of the people who work for the company that designed the software. Um, who’s telling who how the software works again? But, it was by far the easiest presentation I’ve ever had to give. All of the materials were provided for me (scripts for my “students” who recorded their own podcasts, research on a wiki already prepared, 15 MacBooks and iPods all ready set up and ready to go, and even some prizes to hand out to the “best” group project!). Plus, I had at least one tech support person in the room at all times. Oh, how I wish that was the case on a regular basis in the classroom. What a breeze!

The best part about the presentation (for me) was how much it reflected my philosophy and classroom practice. Each piece of material provided by Apple was almost exactly (but usually a little bit better than) how I would do it in my own classroom. The “project” my “students” completed was very similar to something I’m doing with grade 5 right now, and I never felt like I was “selling my soul” to present on behalf of a vendor. In fact, I learned quite a few new things that I’m planning to put into practice over the next few weeks. How often can we actually say that about technology vendors?

In addition to the one-day session, I just have to share how supportive, friendly, and approachable all of the Apple staff are. I never once felt pressured to do or say something I didn’t believe in, I was consistently encouraged to share my voice and my opinion on the tools. There were plenty of times in my presentations when I recommended web-based services that would accomplish the same tasks (but are not sold or provided by Apple) and this was encouraged.

If I wasn’t already convinced that Apple is the best choice for education, I certainly would be now. Tools designed specifically for education, with software that could not be easier to use, and support personnel that actually understand education and are as passionate about the changes we need to see in schools as I am. Why wouldn’t we want that in our classroom?

Images by Kelvin Kong

I’m having a little problem with my MacBook. Maybe you can help!

First of all, I can’t complain too much because this is a school-provided laptop. If it dies entirely, they’ll just give me a new one. Even so, my little problem is definitely not helping my productivity at school or at home.

Here’s the story:

I upgraded to OS 10.5 at the beginning of the school year (along with everyone else at ISB) and over the last few months I have been experiencing some annoying sleep-related problems. It seems that at least 50% of the time when my MacBook goes to sleep it somehow wakes itself up (I can see the Apple icon light up on the closed lid if I’m near the laptop). Once it’s woken itself up during sleep (without opening the lid) it can’t seem to go back to sleep.

So when I come back to the computer ready to do some work, it doesn’t wake up. I just end up with a black screen and a non-pulsating, bright, sleep light. I am then forced to hold down the power button until the MacBook shuts off, and then restart. I know this is not good for my shiny white friend, but I can’t seem to get it to wake up no matter what I do.

Previously I had experienced a similar problem that seemed to have something to do with the power connection. If I put the MacBook to sleep and either unplug or plug in the power before it’s “officially” asleep (the pulsating white light), it won’t wake up from sleep unless I replicate the power status of the computer before I closed the lid. Now I just make sure to remember to unplug before I close the lid, or wait until the sleep light starts pulsing. An inconvenience, but one I can definitely live with.

This new problem seems entirely unrelated to the power issue and it’s gotten increasingly more common very rapidly. I’ve checked on various forums, gotten lots of excellent advice from my Twitter pals (see below), repaired disk permissions, tried resetting the SMC and changing sleep and display preferences, but it just keeps getting worse.

I’ve started ensuring that I shut off my airport before I put the MacBook to sleep, have disabled Bluetooth and don’t have an devices connected to the computer (aside from the power). I’m even starting to try to remember quit out of Twhirl and Skype before I put the computer to sleep, just in case they can somehow wake it up.

On Thursday alone I had to do a hard reboot 5 times in just one 12 hour period. One of our wonderful technicians tried to fix it on Friday, but it’s still been a problem all weekend. I read a little bit about the possibility that “safe sleep” may cause this problem, and that can be disabled in Terminal but I’m not sure if that’s a good idea or not.

Either way, now I don’t really want to put the computer to sleep at all (not that I need any more excuses to be online)…

Anyone have any advice?

Light #2 by blakie
Untitled by thejbird

I love technology. I love learning new things. Any time an initiative is introduced in the various schools I’ve worked in, I’m always one of the first to jump on board. However, having said that, I’ve been noticing a little something lately.

We’re always introducing something.

There’s always something new with technology, that’s one of the reasons I love working in the field of educational technology so much. But the problem is that as the new things come quicker and quicker, we are introducing them to our colleagues quicker and quicker.

And for some reason, we seem to forget that not everyone loves technology the way we do. And perhaps that last initiative went by so fast, they didn’t even catch what they were supposed to do with the tools. And now we’re already on to the next one.

It seems quite easy to fall into this tech trap. Introduce something once or twice, assume that everyone understands how they can use the tool to improve instruction, and then move on to the next thing.

But, here’s the problem. Most of our colleagues are still working on figuring out the initiative from the week, month, or year before.

It’s not enough just to introduce a new tool, run a training session or two, and then expect that everyone (or even the majority) has picked it up – or that they have the motivation or confidence to “figure it out.” This is why we need ongoing, “just in time” professional development. Not just for the tools we’re introducing this week, but for all of the tools we have at our disposal.

Maybe that means we’re still talking about SmartBoards years after they’ve been installed, or document cameras months after they’ve been distributed, or blogging almost a decade after it’s been developed. Because, sometimes it’s hard to remember in our tech-focused world, that the rest of our colleages may not operate this way.

I’m not trying to say that we shouldn’t introduce new things (that is a big part of our job, after all), I’m just thinking that maybe we should be more thoughtful about how we do so. Just because a tool is no longer new, cool and trendy in the edtech world, doesn’t mean that it’s no longer relevant to teaching and learning. And just because we have new, cool and trendy tools in the edtech world, doesn’t mean they should replace something that’s working well, just because it can. We need to find an approachable and comfortable balance between supporting existing infrastructure and tools and introducing new ideas.

What do you think? How do you avoid the tech trap?

Segway Tourists by runneralan

At the very end of last year our (very generous) Parent Teacher Association donated ten iPods to our Learning Hub to house our audio book collection, video resources (like United Streaming downloads), and student-produced multimedia content (book reviews, commercials, podcasts, Student Council information, etc) and archives of events at school that have been recorded.

Earlier this year we went through the process of barcoding each iPod, setting up a charging station (inside an old server rack so they can be displayed in the Hub), and entering them into our library catalog so they can be checked out by students.

Next, in order to ensure that all of the iPods have the same resources, we have set up one dedicated iTunes library on one desktop machine in our Learning Hub. All of the iPods are synced through the same library whenever we have updates to our collection.

The final step in the process is a written permission slip that both parents and students must sign before checking out the iPods. Thanks to Paula White and Paul Wood, we had an excellent starting point to work from, but it’s still a work in progress and we would love your feedback.

We want to make sure the permission slip is clear, but also easily understandable by our very diverse population, especially considering many of our parents speak English as a second, third or fourth language (or not at all).

Here’s what we have so far (please disregard formatting):

iPod Permission Slip

The ES Learning Hub now has 10 iPods for checkout, graciously donated by our PTA. In order to check out an iPod from the Learning Hub, you must return this permission form, signed by both you and your parents.

Please note: You will only have to sign this form once. Your records in our database will be updated to show that your child may check out an iPod whenever one is available and requested.

By signing this permission slip, you are agreeing that any damage or loss of the iPod (and it’s accessories) is your responsibility.

• If the iPod is lost, you agree to pay the entire replacement fee.
• If the iPod is damaged, you agree to pay the entire repair fee.
• If the iPod is damaged beyond repair, you agree to pay the entire replacement fee.

The replacement fee is US$200.

Please note: The following terms and conditions apply:

• I am responsible for any damage to the equipment while it is in my possession.
• I will maintain physical control of the equipment at all times while it is in my possession at the location stated below, except during transportation to and from the school.
• I will return the equipment in the same condition as it was at checkout.
• I will follow all rules of the ISB Acceptable Use Policy I signed at the beginning of the year.
• I will promptly report to ISB Elementary School all damage to, or failure of, the equipment while it is in my possession.
• I will pay for the costs of all required repairs to the equipment, which arise from damage, misuse, or failure of the equipment while it is in my possession. All repairs will be conducted through ISB.
  
• I will return the equipment to the school by no later than the due date for return stated below.

Student’s Name (print):
Signature of Parent:
Location of Equipment While Checked Out (address):
Phone Number Where Equipment Will Be Located While Checked-Out:

What do you think? Easy enough to understand? Are all bases covered?

Does anyone else check out iPods from their library? Are we missing anything? Any advice?

I just made a fabulous discovery!

Earlier this year I discovered the power of linked accounts in G-mail for elementary students. Today I learned how I can leverage that shortcut into individual contributing authors for our Grade 3 BlogPals blog on Edublogs. Here’s what I found out:

I would like:

• One class blog – not individual student blogs.
• The teacher or administrator to approve all postings.
• The students to be able to write whenever they want – not just in class, but I want all posts moderated by the teacher before they are published.
• Not to have to deal with individual student e-mail addresses.
• The students to have to log in so I can track who posts what, so students can’t “impersonate” each other, and so students can learn about usernames, passwords and responsibility.

So, here’s what I did:

• Created a class blog on Edublogs (in retrospect, it would have made more sense to use Learnerblogs, since this blog will mostly be authored by students. Ah well, live and learn, right?).
• Created a class e-mail account on G-mail that I have access to, as well as the class teacher.
• Created an Edublogs account for each student using the linked G-mail account feature. For each Edublogs account, I chose “Just a username, Please.”
• Logged into the main blog as the admin user and went to the Users tab.
• Added each student as a Contributor to the blog with their new “e-mail address” (which is really just the one class e-mail address using the “+StudentName” linked account option) under the “Add a User” function.

Now we have:

• Individual student log ins WITHOUT individual e-mail accounts.
• Individual student contributors to the blog WITHOUT their own blog.
• All posts approved by the blog administrator before posting.

Perfect!

This seems like the natural next step in our BlogPals project – once students are comfortable adding comments and writing posts as a “center”-type activity, we will give them individual log-ins so they can manage their posts independently.

Tags: elementary, blogging, grade3, blogpals, edublogs, contributors, student, authors, gmail, linked, email, learnerblogs,

During my riveting (wink, wink) MAP testing training this week, a middle school colleague asked me a fabulous question brought about by her attendance at the FLNW unConference session the day before. She asked:

Kim, how can I connect my students to other students all around the world?

Ah, the joy of getting to respond to that one question in a room full of teachers! One tactic I’ve found that gets teachers interested in using new technology in the classroom is to give them a chance to “overhear” a conversation with a third party, so they can absorb some information without feeling put on the spot. I shared a few ideas with her and got a conversation going with a few others – all in a day’s work, of course.

That conversation also got me thinking about a comment Miguel Guhlin left on his blog regarding my post “A Step-by-Step Guide to Global Collaborations.” Miguel states that:

A nice follow-up would be how to select which tool to use. There are so many of those available, I find some folks have trouble deciding.

And then, yesterday, I was a guest presenter in Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach’s graduate class (using Elluminate) where a teacher asked me:

Given the fact that we have state-mandated standards we need to meet, how do you find a technology tool that lets you bring in exciting collaborative elements?

All three of these little moments reminded me of one part of my “Developing the Global Student” presentation at the Teach IT! conference in Singapore last year called The Technology Toolbox.

I like the metaphor of the toolbox for a few reasons:

• There is a specific tool for every job, but you might be able to make a different tool work if you tinker enough.
• You might require several tools to complete a larger task.
• You should always have a small selection of tools at your disposal in case of emergency.
• If a new tool is invented that does the job better/faster/easier, a professional would use that one.
• You only get the full effectiveness out of some tools if use them together (like a hammer and a chisel to carve a sculpture).
• There are more tools than anyone one person could use in a lifetime, but some will become indispensable to your practice.

The thing to remember with any toolbox is that you need to know what you want to accomplish before you choose your tool. I find lots of teachers often try to make one tool fit many purposes because that’s the tool they’re comfortable with, or that’s the tool they hear other teachers talking about. The most important feature of the toolbox is picking the right tool for the job at hand.

Given that there are so many tools available, I made a basic web 2.0 comparison chart to help determine the right tool for the task:

For most readers of this blog, this is old news, but I thought it might be helpful to have everything listed in one place, as an introduction to those new to web 2.0 tools. I’m sure I’m totally reinventing the wheel here, as this most likely exists somewhere else, but with the questions being asked one after another this week, I figured I might as well have a go!

Please keep in mind that this is just a basic starting guide – there are so many new tools added every day, that there’s no way I could even hope to keep up, and there are much better, and far more detailed descriptions of why and how to use these tools in many different books (Will Richardson’s Blogs Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for the Classroom is my favorite), but here’s my intro list:

Blogging:

The best use of a blog is for an individual seeking feedback – this could be an individual student or an individual teacher. We love blogs because they promote interaction between author and reader, however it is the author that determines the content/discussion focus – not the reader. Therefore, this option works very well when an individual (or even a group of individuals posting to the same blog) are seeking feedback or comments on their ideas and thoughts.

Features of a blog:

• entries posted in consecutive order, newest on top
• comments from readers extend classroom learning
• personal learning journal

Ideas for classroom blogging:

• a teacher blog to share learning with parents and resources with students
• a classroom blog where all students can contribute but there is one blog to maintain
• individual student blogs linked to a teacher blog to allow individual reflection

Wikis:

The best use of a wiki is for collaborative knowledge building. A wiki allows for shared ownership for all members, meaning that together the authors of a wiki determine what information is posted online. Because a wiki is a great place to share and document information, it can be thought of as an easy-to-create collaborative website.

Features of a wiki:

• Easy to create website
• Easy collaboration beyond classroom
• Extend discussion beyond the classroom
• Trackable page edits

Ideas for classroom wikis:

• a resource for all assignments, rubrics, deadlines and resources to increase home-school communication
• a “home-base” for bringing multiple tools together
• a presentation format to demonstrate student learning

Social Networking:

The best use of social networking is for connecting students (and teachers and parents). A social network allows for a variety of tools to be directly embedded within your network (like blogs, podcasts, groups and forums) so it is a great venue for bringing people together and allowing them to select the tool that suits their learning style. Social networks allow users to communicate with all members in a variety of formats.

Features of Social Networks

• Create groups of learners
• Facilitate forum discussions
• Personal reflection space within a community
• Members take ownership of their learning
• Easily upload multimedia

Ideas for classroom social networks:

• to begin a dialogue with differentiated groups of learners
• to private space to connect students
• to help develop independence in leading discussions or planning projects

Collaborative Multimedia:

The best use of collaborative multimedia is to allow for creative representation of ideas. When a blog is too text driven, or a social network is too complex for your needs, or your students would benefit from video or audio presentation, you might want to try a multimedia format. Collaborative multimedia lets you bring together voice, audio, and video into one product and allows others to comment and add on to your work.

Features of multimedia tools

• Integration of multiple media
• Subscription service (podcasts)
• Collaboration on digital storytelling (VoiceThread)

Ideas for collaborative multimedia:

• to add a new dimension to digital storytelling
• to start asynchronous voice conversations around learning topics
• to engage the more creative learners in your class

Voice over Internet Protocol: VoIP

The best use of VoIP is when you want to connect and communicate with your personal learning network on a personal level.

Features of VOIP

• Audio/video e-mail
• Audio/video chat
• Recording discussions

Ideas for VoIP:

• connecting with a primary source
• real-time communication with a partner class
• developing personal connections on a one-on-one basis

What do you think? What else should be added to this list to make it an easy place to start for beginners to web 2.0 tools?

Image from Saffanna

Tags: 21stcentury, learning, global collaborations, step-by-step, guide, PD, web2.0, intro,

Thanks to an invite from Alex Hayes way back in October, ISB hosted 3 amazing educators, John Eyles, Michael Coghlan, and Vance Stevens, on campus this past Wednesday.

John, Michael and Vance are from the Teach and Learn Online (TALO) organization out of Australia/New Zealand and are currently taking part in the Future of Learning in a Networked World unConference here in Thailand. From the wiki:

The Future of Learning In A Networked World is a contentious one. FLNW08 endeavors to build connections, explore new possibilities, expand individuals horizons and network knowledge in travelling open space un-conferences where anything can happen and does without regularity. TALO supports open networked communication and this ensures the conversation remains collaborative. Visit our blog to find out updates from the field, add your name as a participant, and spend some time with us in a range of online and real world spaces and places

FLNW08 will kick off from Bangkok on the 16th January 2008. An itinerary of events outlines all that is happening through out January 2008. A blog is also being used to document progress and an email forum cops the incessant chatter of the participants. The Living Classroom is providing a Moodle as a forum to continue the conversations started during the FLNW 2006 visit to Waiheke around teaching English in a Mobile and Networked World and host new activities with educators in Thailand.

Thanks to their visit, we conducted an unConference session around reading (our organizational goal for the year) and technology (watch the recorded session here). We had around 25 ISB teachers drop in and out throughout the course of the session, along with around 20 educators from around the world via our uStream broadcast.

Not only was it fantastic to have three so well-respected and knowledgeable visitors talk to our teachers in a casual format about their questions, issues and problems, but it was so great to have them reinforce so many of the things Justin, Dennis and I say on a daily basis. There is just something extra special about having visiting experts come in and send the exact same message that we have been pushing from within.

It was great to see our teacher’s eyes light up in amazement when they saw that teachers all over the world were participating from their homes (and so many were awake so late, just to talk to us!). When they realized that everyone in the chat room knew each other already, they were even more amazed. What a fabulous way to welcome them into the world of networked learning!

Even more exciting, for me, is that this Wednesday session kicked off our new Wired Wednesdays PD sessions for ISB staff. Every Wednesday, as part of our new Professional Development program, Justin, Dennis and I will host an after-school PD session on the “whys” of 21st century learning. We will structure the sessions similarly to our parent PD we’ve been running in the Learning Hub all year, and we’ll be broadcasting live via our ISB EduStream from 2 – 3:30 pm (check your local time here) every Wednesday. Join us!

Tags:  21stcentury,  pd, professionaldevelopment, FLNW08, Vance Stephens, John Eyles, Michael Coghlan, Alex Hayes, unconference, future, uStream, network, ISB, TALO, collaboration, technology,