Ideas and Thoughts from an EdTech

Clay Burell is a man of action. I’d call him a radical. More than just about any teacher I’ve connected with recently, he thinks out loud, shares everything and then does stuff.

Clay’s been exploring “unschooliness” for a while and has taken me along for the ride. When he posted his quick chat with Chris Craft, it immediately resonated with me. “Quick in, Quick out” (this is one of many catch phrases Clay is responsible for). While I totally admire the work of projects like the flatclassroom, liferoundhere, 1000tales and such, I know the work involved and I also know that my personal network does not revolve around a project; it just revolves around learning…and socializing. Clay isn’t someone willing to think about this, he attempts to make this a reality in his classroom. I’m all ears and eyes.

So although Clay resides in Korea, he keeps some odd hours as do I so we are able to quite easily connect and on this occasion he did tell me he was recording but I soon forgot that and hopefully didn’t say anything too silly but I’m sure I did. Anyway, head over to Clay’s blog. *Warning, if you’ve never been to Clay’s blog before, I dare you to attempt a “quick in and quick out” there. His posts are filled with insights on some really interesting stuff.

Clay definitely has a good sense of design, even as podcasting goes. Audio design, is something I need to explore more as in “did you see the audio chapters he used?’. It helps that Clay has a voice meant for radio, but better than that his ideas are meant for teachers and all that is “unschooly”.

Technorati Tags: clayburell, chriscraft

Quick podcast ala Bud the Teacher, 12 minutes long on some reflections of things I’m working on.

Show notes: 

• Project Based Learning
• Cellphone Video Post
• Dale Basler twit
• Wes Fryer
• Jeff Utecht
• Vicki Davis
• Clay Burell
• Maria Knee
• Kathy Cassidy
• Erin Remple
• Lisa Parisi
• Alec Couros’ class
• Showcase 2008
• Tlt Learning Summit
  

If you haven’t already, you can subscribe to my podcasts in itunes….Click this

 

 Podcast 36...Project Based Learning and other stuff: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (476)

I had the great privilege of being invited to spend some time in a learning experiment in one of the local schools that I work with. The principal, let’s call him Gord (that’s actually his real name) emailed me about some interesting idea he and his grade 8/9 teacher had.  The class was studying the novel The Wave. The book is about an experiment itself so it seemed perfect to their teacher, Carla to try out an experiment of their own.

So I popped in for a visit and here’s what I found:

• Engagement. As Carla and Gord pointed out, the cellphone novelty will soon pass, the engagement was with the ideas and sharing. Students were not really dazzled by their phones, they simply used them to share ideas, pictures, sounds and videos. The real engagement was with each other and the story. The cellphones were almost seamless.

• Responsibility.  Clearly posted on the wall were a set of guidelines developed by the students and their teacher on how to use this tool wisely. Discussions of etiquette, manners, privacy and safety led them to their common understandings. While we know that kids will mess up, placing them in a position to determine the rules and understand their responsibility will go a long way. It’s called ownership.

• Innovation and Problem Solving. Students discovered their phones were also organizers, voice recorders, and multimedia creators. They discovered bluetooth was a great way to share files, they created concise summaries of their group discussions using voice memos or videos.

• Teacher as a Learner. Carla says she still can’t “T9” like her students, but she’s learning. She wants to understand for herself, how this can be used in learning. She texts her students in the morning to remind them of homework and they actually respond. That in itself is one positive outcome already.

• Reflective Practice. My discussion with Carla and Gord clearly indicate they aren’t sure of the role of these devices in learning but certainly can’t dismiss them as many have. Interestingly enough, the school has signs posted everywhere stating cellphones, mp3’s have to be in lockers at all times. Gord laughs as he realizes he’s circumventing his own rules!  He also realizes that this presents a challenge for his entire staff as they consider what this might mean. He doesn’t know yet but believes in the process of watching kids learn and determine what is best for them.

Not every student has a cellphone by the way. About two thirds have one so it’s not about every kid having it but about using the tools they come to school with. Those that don’t are using other tools like mp3’s and the web and Carla and Gord are looking at ways to support that as well. But these issues aren’t going to stop them from looking at this from a pedagogical perspective. They also get that today it’s a cell phone and tomorrow it’s something else. The question they seek is, “Can this powerful device help students learn?” So far so good.  PS. Video to come soon.

Technorati Tags: cellphones, prairiesouth, mobilelearning, thewave

Received this email from a local principal.

I’m sure we are not going insane, but some would probably disagree.  Carla and I tried something new and, well a little bit rebellious today.  We invited the grade 8/9 ELA class/students to bring their cell phones into class (if they didn’t have one we used mysask for text).  Our goal, using cell phones for learning.  Our objectives, appropriate use of cell phones (manners and ethics), using the calendar/scheduling, using text to discuss literature (lit circles), tracking progress and assignments/projects, and engaging the new learner.  Guess what, it worked like a charm and the kids are peeing themselves with enthusiasm.  Welcome to Web 2.0!!!!  I needed to share.

I like this.

Technorati Tags: cellphones, principal

One presentation I’m working on is called “Lesson#1 Share everything”. It’s based on Robert Fulgham’s book All I Really Need to Know I Learned in Kindergarten. His first lesson is share everything. Of course my presentation will center around publishing and sharing ideas. I could write a book called All I Really Need to Know I Learned From My Network.  Maybe not everything but obviously those who are part of my learning network and others can attest to its power and importance. This is the basis of the network, people’s desire and ability to share their learning.

I get really frustrated when someone tells me about an outstanding teacher and I can’t find hide nor hair of their work online. What a waste. If they are as good as others say they are, why not share that with others?  They’ll tell me their kids made a great video, learned something great from an experiment or gave a great presentation but it means very little to me unless I can be part of it too. But even those who have the means and understanding aren’t sharing like they ought to. Some even offline don’t share much. Part of it is culture. I remember the first conference I attended as a young teacher. In order to be reimbursed for my expenses, I had to complete not only an expense form but a form asking what I had learned and if I would be willing to share it with other teachers. I anxiously filled out all the neat stuff I had learned and happily checked the box indicating I would love to share. Never heard from it again. There was no mechanism in place that allowed for sharing other than the informal discussions in staff rooms. Most schools do not have expectations that sharing is part of our job. I don’t think we’ve always done this as some feel. This has to change. I’ve built it into my classes for pre-service teachers. Part of their grade is based on their contribution to others’ learning.  Our ideas about what we share has to change as well.

Claire Thompson writes,

I know that I am struggling to come up with a meaningful way to incorporate blogs into my science classes. If what I’m planning could just as easily be done as a traditional assignment, then why do it using blogs? An added challenge is that my classes consist of small groups of student’s working asynchronously. If we’re going to blog, it is going to have to be about big ideas in science, not the specific details of, say, the cell cycle.

But Claire, it’s not about you…it’s about sharing. Someone is interesting in the cell cycle. Read this if you don’t believe me. While I know that folks like Clarence, Darren, Chris and Kathy are awesome teachers, part of what makes them awesome is that we can see what they’re doing. There are other teachers doing good work, we just don’t see it.

So if you’re doing good work:share. If you’re doing a lousy job:keep it to yourself.

Image:Sharing by furiousgeorge81
http://flickr.com/photos/furiousgeorge81/177926979/

Technorati Tags: robertfulgham, clairethompson, darrenkuropatwa, clarencefisher, kathycassidy, chrisharbeck, davecormier

These are applications that I began using this year and for me has made the most difference in either productivity or learning. I’m sure I try hundreds of services and applications in a year so in order for them to stick, they have to prove in a very short time that they have value. Sometimes, they are simply improvements on things I’m already using and other times, they are provide a completely different experience. At any rate, I’m not all that patient so they need to work and show their fruits quickly or else, get positive reviews from my network that force me to dive in.

• Twitter…the one application that I hardly ever promote since I it takes a while to “get”.
• Google Reader…switched from Bloglines early in the year and never looked back.
• ScribeFire…a blog editor which allows me more freedom in terms of formatting and embedding content on all the blogs I write for.
• Jing…quick and easy screen capture and video demo tool.
• Google Maps….I’ve been using it for more than a year but the added features of sharing and creating maps

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While some aren’t fans of year end reflections and as educators even argue against what is really a year end, I like to take advantages of opportunities to reflect. So between now and the end of the year, I hope to post reflections in these areas:

• blog posts read
• blog posts written
• comments on my blog
• my images
• my videos
• applications
• events

I’m going to stick to top 5 rather than 10 mostly because I believe in brevity. Now here we go…

Technorati Tags: yearend, reflections

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The digital citizenship discussions have been intriguing and have been teaching me quite a bit. The issue I deal with is whether or not, digital citizenship be taught formally in schools. I”m more convinced that social virtues, as some might call them, are best taught in context. I’m not sure whether one can be taught these virtues or morales in isolation nor should they. While there is certainly an information piece connected to the technologies, it’s mostly about making wise choices and it’s difficult to do this outside of the real world. Just as technology ought to be used and taught in context, I think the same is true of character. The best context is a model of practice and lifestyle that is transparent.

Which is likely the reason for things like this and this. Because most teachers do not practice or engage in the same kinds of online activities which for the most part is social networking, it’s going to be difficult for them to model. In addition, they likely don’t consider it a relevant topic of discussion amidst the daily work load they already face.

Which leads me to my title, can a fat man teach physical education?  Perhaps, but if the goal is to help students lead healthy,active lifestyles, it seems like a hard sell. It would have the same result as a tone deaf music teacher or an illiterate English teacher. If we’re really concerned about teaching our students to make moral, ethical choices online, teachers need to have some experience that can at least validate discussions and suggestions. Stephen Downes recently chimed in on one of my discussions:

But I think even the students will see through the directed curriculum when taught by a teacher that has never set foot online.

So whether we choose to formalize the teaching or not, it may not even matter. You can go ahead and ask every teacher to teach these principles and the results will be limited, if not damaging. Without credibility we’re just blowing hot air. So rather than jurisdictions making these types of requests, I prefer this response from Regina Lynn of Wired Magazine:

All adults who work with youth should be aware of how young people communicate, fall in love and stay connected; I encourage teachers to try social networking services, to have a blog, to text message with their own families and friends. Experienced teachers will not only gain a better sense of the world their students live in — indeed, a world their students are creating — they will have a greater understanding of the young teachers entering the profession.

I think I answered my own my question.

Technorati Tags: digitalcitizenship, stephendownes