I’ve probably used the term social learning more than just about anyone I know in the past 3 years. Many believe that all learning is social. While I don’t if I completely buy that theory, I do believe that our schools in general have downplayed the value of learning with one another both in [...]]]> I’ve probably used the term social learning more than just about anyone I know in the past 3 years. Many believe that all learning is social. While I don’t if I completely buy that theory, I do believe that our schools in general have downplayed the value of learning with one another both in physical classrooms and in “third places“.

As schools begin to recognize the potential of social media or networking as potential learning spaces it might be important to distinguish and identify things a bit more succinctly. I know David Jakes has stated he does not like the term social networking as it suggests social, but doesn’t speak specifically to learning. I agree. The term gets tossed around and means something quite different depending on individual interpretation.

I’ve build a mockup of a diagram I’d like to use to illustrate the merging and blending of social networking and individual interaction with content. This can be either online or offline but primarily I’m thinking about online spaces. Here’s my first draft.

It needs some work both from a design standpoint as well as the message and content.  The social networking aspect is pretty clear. We all have spaces where we are focused primarily on the social. Students in particular use facebook as a primary space to socialize. It’s not seen, nor should it necessarily be seen as a learning or academic space. That’s fine. On the other hand those that see the web or school library or classroom as containers of knowledge and information often aren’t interesting in the social component and interaction that supports learning. The area in blue represents learning and content that is consumed in isolation, reading a book, watching a video, writing a journal or article by yourself. I don’t think the term “academic content” really gets at what I’m trying to say. I’m trying to show that there is a sweet spot in between that can exist and should be fostered in schools. Any suggestions for improving this diagram would be welcomed.

This image also supports the concept but I wanted something a bit more explicit but this is the concept.

cc licensed flickr photo shared by dkuropatwa

Search is highly overrated.

I have a serious problem. As I build presentations I get a clear vision of an idea or concept I want to discuss and I immediately want to visualize it. For better or worse, I gain and make meaning with visuals. To that end I’ve continued to create slides that I reuse and [...]]]> Search is highly overrated.

I have a serious problem. As I build presentations I get a clear vision of an idea or concept I want to discuss and I immediately want to visualize it. For better or worse, I gain and make meaning with visuals. To that end I’ve continued to create slides that I reuse and share with others. Fortunately others have shared my passion and created a nice set that others are free to use.

Today’s vision was around filtering. Not that kind of filtering but the kind I’ve discussed here. On more than one occasion, I’ve quoted Clay Shirky’s quote about filter failure. It has been begging to be visualized, at least for me. So I head over to flickr and realize that my vision lacked easily searchable terms. I had envisioned a larger quantity of some item with one item standing out. I tried several search terms and phrases but didn’t find what I wanted.

I turned to twitter.

After this initial request:

Over the next 30 minutes I recieved 20 various image suggestions and 4 other ideas of how to create one. Here they are:

@robletcher offered these two:

http://bit.ly/80zrS?r=td

http://bit.ly/cWAUc

@triareanews suggested these three:

http://images.inmagine.com/img/imagesource/ie236/ie236003.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3533/3931819587_48fdec1fd9.jpg

http://artforprofits.files.wordpress.com/2008/10/stand-out.jpg

Here’s four from @tuchodi

http://www.flickr.com/photos/15202064@N03/2435295029/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/hollyclark/450509297/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/unlearn_art/3143041781/

http://www.flickr.com/photos/johnkay/3924381425/

@bookminder responded to my "needle in the haystack" concept

http://farm1.static.flickr.com/140/335350003_9ca033ba68_m.jpg

http://www.flickr.com/photos/lisanorwood/1046416640/

I nearly went with this one from @dlsio4 who apparently thought of something he had and took the picture on the spot

http://img96.yfrog.com/i/dyu.jpg/

@njtechteacher offered to take a photo of a pile of legos but did suggest this one

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pagedooley/1804080776/

In the end, Sean Nash gave me six to choose from:

It was that last one that I chose. I could have picked any of the ones offered me and I’m sure you might have chosen differently. The point is that sometimes search doesn’t get it done. Google only goes so far. I needed people to help me sort out my ideas and provide inspiration to reach a satisfying conclusion. I feel badly for folks who don’t have this resource.

Oh by the way, here’s the final product.

cc licensed flickr photo shared by Will Lion

As this article states, the problem of attention isn’t particularly new but it certainly is becoming more and more an issue. I remember teachers back in the 1980′s lamenting that they felt they were competing with the MTV generation. MTV seems pretty tame and managable compared to what we are [...]]]>
cc licensed flickr photo shared by Will Lion

As this article states, the problem of attention isn’t particularly new but it certainly is becoming more and more an issue. I remember teachers back in the 1980′s lamenting that they felt they were competing with the MTV generation. MTV seems pretty tame and managable compared to what we are dealing with today.

There aren’t too many days that go by that someone doesn’t ask me about "keeping up". I certainly don’t claim to have all the answers.  Even highly connected and media savvy folks struggle. I struggle with it too, but I have developed a few beliefs, principles that have been helpful to me. I’ll avoid the "top 5" or "best ways to" kind of approach and simply share a few things I think can be helpful in a day of attention deficits.

Filters

As an avid reader of Clay Shirky, the most important lesson I’ve learned from him is about filter failure. As he so eloquently states, it’s not information overload it’s filter failure. We’ve always lived with an abundance of information. Our libraries were filled with books we never read, movies we never saw and conversations we never had. Today, it’s mostly access that makes us feel like it’s too much. In that past we just weren’t as bombarded with information. It took work to go to the library. We had to physically go to see people. Today we carry around our friends and the bulk of human knowledge in our pockets.

While search engines are getting better and better at filtering information, I prefer human powered search. Three places where that happens for me are:

• Delicious I’ve got 29 people whose daily readings come directly to me. I could have 100 people, I could have 5. I can change these 29 people but the point is most of what they find is of interest to me. They are weeding out the junk to give me what they think is noteworthy.
• Google Reader While I subscribe to over 300 sites but the shared portion of Google Reader is the one place I’ll check everyday. 55 people who share the best of what they find in their reading is pretty much all I need.
• Twitter A bit more random but yet potentially very valuable, usually I find great stuff in the conversations. Great links usually get retweeted. If you just check RTs you won’t miss much

Simply the Complex

Information and technology can seem very complex but in the end, it’s important to distill and synthesize. This is why the Common Craft videos are so popular. The LeFevers have taken the time to take some pretty complex technologies and make them simple. One of the ways I attempt to synthesize is to blog. Writing often helps me figure out what is really important. When educators reject using technology in the classroom it’s often because they think it’s too complicated. What they fail to do is determine for themselves what the key ideas are. Digital Storytelling is a great example. There are upteen dozen ways to tell stories but in the end, it’s always about good storytelling. We can spend lots of time examining the intracacies of using media but without a good story, it doesn’t matter. That’s not to say that simple means easy, it just means it doesn’t have to be that hard to understand. Once you have a clear understanding of a topic, you can more easily sift through irrelevant material and noise.

The Hedgehog Principle

Jim Collin’s book Good to Great talks about success among business who deploy the hedgehog principle. In a nutshell it’s the idea of finding your niche or what your focus is and sticking with it. Other companies, in his examples, often get distracted and sidetracked working on things that aren’t part of the core of the company. Instead, he says, find out what you’re good at and stick with it. Now you can argue this idea to some extent but in today’s world, we have to set limits on ourselves. So at some point you have to decide what where you want to develop your expertise and focus your attention. When the latest and greatest tool or resource comes your way, you need to be prepared to pass on it from time to time.  I tend to rely on others to become experts for me. Simply knowing that someone else can be a resource, relieves me from having to know all there is to know. I never would have anyways but limiting the discussions and ideas that I pursue is of great value.

Another resource that I think about a lot when it comes to dealing with choices and focusing on a few things is the great TED talk by Barry Schwartz called The Paradox of Choice. This video has been very important for me in understanding the greatest of our time as well as the challenges. If you haven’t seen it, watch it, or maybe even watch it again. After watching it again, I’m adding another principle that feeds off of this one.

Sometimes Good Enough, is Good Enough

Dave Weinberger talks a lot sometimes settling for "good enough’. That notion rubs many people the wrong way, in particular educators. Most teachers spend hours telling their students to always do their best and while this is certainly a valid trait we want to instill, at times, we have to settle for good enough. When it comes to information, this is very true. When you get 3 million search results, sometimes you settle. Wikipedia is often good enough. It’s not perfect but most of the work we do and understanding we are needing doesn’t have to be. Again, this isn’t always the case but learning how and when to accept good enough is a badly needed skill. I find this particularly true when I’m searching for an image on flickr. With over 3 billion photos finding an image that depicts an idea isn’t usually that hard, finding the perfect one is. Even the image I’m using on this post could be better, but it’s good enough.

Snacking versus Eating

For me, this is most challenging. I could spend a great deal of time snacking on twitter. While there are many quality ideas, resources and conversations shared, it’s still a snack. I hadn’t thought about it in terms of time and money but this quote from the Globe and Mail article explains it:

The cost of one’s time (approximated, for example, by the average wage) relative to the cost of data manipulation, transmission and storage has increased roughly 10-million-fold in just over two generations – a change in relative “prices” utterly without precedent. This, above all, is what is driving the evolution of online behaviour and culture, with profound implications for the production and consumption of knowledge. The primary consequence is the growing emphasis on speed at the expense of depth.

I like speed and like quick but I have to discipline myself to dig deep. I need to be able to move from a 140 character blurb, to a link-filled blog post, to an essay to a book. It’s not easy but like trying to eat well, I know what’s good for me.  I like a bag of chips as much as the next guy but as a steady diet, you need to peel the potatoes and cook them (even better if you can grow them yourself). Sure it takes more time but it’s way better for you in the long run.

No question that how we manage information and how we teach students to manage it will be a huge part of our lives. It is already. I refuse to engage in conversations about "the good old days" in which we usually look back and attribute fonder and more positive memories about the past that we grew up in. It doesn’t really matter anyway. It’s never going to be like that. If, however, you want to discuss timeless values and characteristics that may be forgotten at times, that’s worth my time. I hope these are some timeless principles that I can get better at implementing.

One of the most powerful things I’ve been part of recent years is the opportunity I’ve had to connect pre-service teachers with experienced classroom teachers via an online mentorship. This has transformed many young people and offered them an experience to work with great teachers from around the world and observe first hand what it means [...]]]> One of the most powerful things I’ve been part of recent years is the opportunity I’ve had to connect pre-service teachers with experienced classroom teachers via an online mentorship. This has transformed many young people and offered them an experience to work with great teachers from around the world and observe first hand what it means to use technology to amplify and enhance learning through technology.

This video illustrates one example of what happened last term as Carey Pohanka and one of my students worked together. If you were one of those students or teachers impacted by this mentorship program, please feel free to leave a comment as well.

I’ve written about it before here so I won’t go into any more detail other than to invite you to be a part of this experience from September to December. If you’re interested, fill out this form and I’ll get back to you. Thanks.

Reposted from the Tech & Learning blog

The concept of student involved assessment is hard to deny as a powerful learning practice. Students taking care of their own learning and being able to use meta-cognition to dissect understanding and progress and seek ideas and support to learn more. The work of Rick Stiggins and others provides extensive [...]]]> Reposted from the Tech & Learning blog

The concept of student involved assessment is hard to deny as a powerful learning practice. Students taking care of their own learning and being able to use meta-cognition to dissect understanding and progress and seek ideas and support to learn more. The work of Rick Stiggins and others provides extensive research into this practice as the most important component leading to student achievement.

Whether or not you’ve done any study of this concept, this video does more than about anything I’ve seen recently to support this notion. (via Will Richardson)

I apologize if youtube is blocked at your school but allow me to offer some insights as to why this is a great example of student involved assessment at its best.

First the young boy demonstrates what he already knows. Using a simple video camera he models and speaks to his current level of understanding. Second he identifies what he doesn’t know, not simply by saying he doesn’t know but by offering some suggestions about what might be wrong but questioning his methodology. And here’s where it gets interesting. Instead of him floundering around with the people in his local vicinity who may not be able to help him he reaches out. Reading the comments below the video you’ll see at this writing 10 comments that are very likely going to allow him to learn more. Lest you think this is some obscure example, the first time I viewed this there were only just over 100 views. That’s pittance in youtube terms. Anyone can get 100 views but that’s all it took for learning to happen.

I do know that a teacher helped him learn this. I don’t if that "teacher" works in a school but he definitely was taught. It’s not simply a matter of posting a video and awaiting responses, this video was tagged and categorized very well. Without this understanding, it’s unlikely that he would get 10 quality answers. It’s not at all surprising to me that people are willing to share their knowledge and help him out. I experience that everyday as part of living in a connected way via social networks.

This represents some of the best ways to help classroom teachers and students understand the power and value of technology. I realize this boy never thought much about what he was doing with technology beyond helping him figure out how to start a fire. As a teacher it would be very easy to assess his understanding but more importantly HE COULD assess his understanding and create his own path to learn more. Now, what if all kids did this?

I’m just back from the IT Summit conference. In general, it was an outstanding conference in many respects.

People

Without trying to list the names of everyone, it’s apparent for most users of social media that face to face gathering times have changed in the past few years. I used to go to conferences and mingle with local [...]]]> I’m just back from the IT Summit conference. In general, it was an outstanding conference in many respects.

People

Without trying to list the names of everyone, it’s apparent for most users of social media that face to face gathering times have changed in the past few years. I used to go to conferences and mingle with local colleagues and a few others I’d met a various functions and committees but there wasn’t much of a community. Now we meet people we’ve never seen and can enter in to meaningful discussion since all the banter and small talk takes place  in other spaces.

This conference brings together not only educators and administrators but also IT. I certainly commend our own IT team for focusing on students but not all do. This is a great way to have them understand that their clients are students and it’s a highly complex task to provide safe, secure environments that also enable them to have the access needed to use the tools that help them learn.

Keynotes

I’ve heard David Warlick live a couple of times but I must say this was worth seeing. David is a gifted storyteller but certainly connects to many outside of educational technology.  Carlene captured the essence of it well. It lead to many meaningful conversations and insights for many including my superintendent who said, “I know you’ve been talking about this for years but it’s finally starting to click”. What’s the phrase about being a prophet in your own town?

Being able to provide a keynote with Clarence, Kathy and Darren was truly a treat. Once I get the audio from Rob, I’ll post it but it was a privilege to facilitate these three tell their stories.

Sessions

So many of the sessions dealt with what’s best for students and how does any of this help our students learn more. The phrase “How does the technology support the practices that lead to student achievement” rang through my mind many times. I heard more praise from various sessions than I have at many conferences.

Critcisms

Nothing is perfect and there were a few things that I’d like to see change. Wireless continues to suck. Why? Last year the wireless at another venue was much better. The hotel did not have wireless so someone had to install a temporary system. It was lousy. This has got to be resolved. I would also like to see more built in opportunity to network. Not a big deal for me personally since I have many connections and can steer informal conversations to meet my needs but for many, they need a time and space to ask questions and contribute ideas.  I mentioned the idea of a “linkable” keynote. A killer opening that had many components that could be explored deeper in follow up sessions or simply building an open space style based on the ideas in the keynote and interests of the participants. Then culminating the conference with a sharing time of what was learned and what plans were made.

That was quick. We talked yesterday and today it’s published. Way to go Rob.

It was a great conversation with Alec, Rick and Rob. One of my favourites. To think it’s year five. Wow. I’m particularly satisfied with the dicussion around Alec’s flickr issue. I think Alec in particular provides a nice response to [...]]]> That was quick. We talked yesterday and today it’s published. Way to go Rob.

It was a great conversation with Alec, Rick and Rob. One of my favourites. To think it’s year five. Wow. I’m particularly satisfied with the dicussion around Alec’s flickr issue. I think Alec in particular provides a nice response to the issue.

Shownotes

I like to share. That’s not a secret. I’ve been thinking about it a fair bit lately.  Several people keep it in their radar and it seems to be a consistent theme for me.

I like to play. That may be not be much of a secret either. If you follow me on twitter, you’ll know most [...]]]> I like to share. That’s not a secret. I’ve been thinking about it a fair bit lately.  Several people keep it in their radar and it seems to be a consistent theme for me.

I like to play. That may be not be much of a secret either. If you follow me on twitter, you’ll know most of my tweets are pure drivel.  At the same time, I actually do a lot of reflecting as I explore various new ways of sharing. I recently began using Qik to stream video from my phone. So far my videos have consisted of me wandering around my house and even sitting with my neighbour in his hot tub (It sounds worse than it was).

The thing I’m wondering about is, even though we live in a publish, then filter world, do I have a responsibility in what I share? I’m mean do I restrict what I share or do I rely on the user to determine what they do and want they don’t want from my stuff? Currently you can subscribe to this blog, my family blog, my work blog, flickr photos, shared reader, youtube videos, Facebook, wikis,and probably a gazillion other spaces where I’ve got content splattered. That’s a lot of Shareski, way more than anyone wants or needs.

When I’m working with teachers who initially want to set up blogs for their students, one question always comes up. “How do we tell the published, edited work from the everyday writing? Outside of using some tagging or categorizing or even separate spaces, it’s tough. Parents or outsiders looking in, might see a myraid of work from seemingly gibberish, text messaging type language to more polished, formal writing. Is that the parents/viewers job to discern? Can they tell what’s supposed to be exemplary and what is simply reflection or practice? Should we be posting play or practice?

So back to me (it’s always about me ;-0). I’ve recently begun to use a few different video hosts to put my personal stuff on. I have 216 subscribers on youtube. I’m guessing most are interested in my education videos, not ones of me hitting golf balls across a frozen lake. So I’ve tried filtering that out for people.  I realize that most experienced web users are comfortable opting out of subscriptions and content, but what about those who don’t? Do I need to help them? Inevitably the blurring of play, personal and professional gets in the
way I don’t know what goes where. Should I care? Should I filter or is
that your job?

Let’s get this discussion started.

Wednesday’s class was one of those classes that make you glad you’re an educator. Once again, I prove that my greatest strength as a teacher is my ability to outsource and maximize my network.

In the early stages of this course there’s no question that students feel overwhelmed. They are introduced to many new concepts and ideas [...]]]> Wednesday’s class was one of those classes that make you glad you’re an educator. Once again, I prove that my greatest strength as a teacher is my ability to outsource and maximize my network.

In the early stages of this course there’s no question that students feel overwhelmed. They are introduced to many new concepts and ideas that are pretty foreign to most. I wondered if a few of my students from previous sessions would want to share with my current students what, if anything, they learned and are using today.  I have spent a fair bit of time with Kyle Lichtenwald so while his responses were excellent, they were not all that surprising since he and I are fairly connected. Darin Janssen and Nicole Little were students in my Winter 2008 class. Both showed quite a bit of growth in the class and were two that continued blogging.  They shared some powerful lessons about many of the themes I’ve tried to focus on throughout the class:

• Learning is social and connected
• Learning is personal and self-directed
• Learning is shared and transparent
• Learning is rich in content and diversity

If there’s one thing I’ve learned about the work I do is that the more you can point to others who are doing the right work, the more powerful and applicable it is. Darren’s student voices is a great example of this.   Alan November has apparently discovered this as well. In other words, “don’t take my word for it, listen to these people”.

Listen to these three students share their discovery and application of networked learning.

Everyone once in a while you try something and it turns out far better than you imagined.

Photo: The Blonde, the Contrabass and the Microphone #5
http://www.flickr.com/photos/brtsergio/1275188911/

Many of our schools are wanting to put interactive whiteboards in their classrooms. Currently the debate is which board is the best: SmartBoard or Promethean. I have no strong feelings about this but am usually the go-to-guy about all things technology. So I oblige and since I have limited experience here I go to my [...]]]> Many of our schools are wanting to put interactive whiteboards in their classrooms. Currently the debate is which board is the best: SmartBoard or Promethean. I have no strong feelings about this but am usually the go-to-guy about all things technology. So I oblige and since I have limited experience here I go to my network. Here are the early returns:

I’m now asking either those folks or others to chime in with some thought via comments and I thank you in advance.

So here’s the learning lesson. Instead of doing a search for Promethean vs. Smartboard, I go to my network. These are the people I trust (see echo chambers have value too) and who use them everyday. I’m not smart enough to make this decision or establish an opinion of my own that carries much weight. The fact is I likely don’t care to but I still need the information and value it. The idea of the human network continues to evolve for me in both esoteric and practical,visible ways. I have a tremendous advantage over other technology coordinators who might have the same questions but don’t have a network outside of their district to draw from. And it’s not just about technology coordinators. What about doctors, lawyers, plumbers, cooks, coaches, candlestick makers, engineers, managers, or principals who have networks? How much more advantaged are they? A little bit? A lot? I sure hope that if my doctor looks at me with a puzzled look, I’m hoping that she has a network that she can tap into that’s both fairly instant and also very knowledgeable.

Building networks can happen in a myriad of ways. For me this little blog is likely the best way for me to build one. I can testify to that. Thanks for all the comments and insights you’ll leave me about IBW’s. You rock.

The concept of using your network to filter content (I don’t mean content filtering I mean filtering content…never mind, just keep reading) is a burgeoning idea. The fact that I spend a huge amount of time online need not be beneficial only to me. Like the spies going into Egypt and reporting of the abundance, I [...]]]> The concept of using your network to filter content (I don’t mean content filtering I mean filtering content…never mind, just keep reading) is a burgeoning idea. The fact that I spend a huge amount of time online need not be beneficial only to me. Like the spies going into Egypt and reporting of the abundance, I can come back with reports of goodness of all that I see, read and hear. Here are  3 simple ways to filter content for your network:

1. Use your the “Share Feature” in Google Reader.  By simply clicking the Share button at the bottom of key posts, I filter out on average about 1 out of every 400 posts I read. If more people did this, you’d quickly create an easier entry point for newcomers.
2. Delicious link Roll. While many have added their del.icio.us links on their blogs, I just added a “mustread” tag. I’ll likely add this tag to about 1 in 10 items I tag. The difference here is that I totally control all my bookmarks but with my Reader, I only control my feeds, not every post. While I subscribe to many folks bookmarks, I think adding a mustread tag would be helpful to those with only a passing interest.
3. Videos I watch. I just recently noticed VodPod on Susan Carter Morgan’s blog which allows you in the same way you add bookmarks in del.icio.us, you can have a bookmarklet to save videos. I do have a favorites list in youtube but this allows me to gather video from a variety of sources. I’ll likely label about 1 in 5 must see. Video is certainly more of a time investment in most cases so it’s likely more I see will be worthwhile.

One argument that continues to surface is that since we live in a publish then filter world, students quickly get the impression that simply posting content online is good enough. I think Sturgeon’s law is fairly accurate: “90% of everything is crap.” Finding the 10% that is really good takes a lot of time. But again, using the same power that allows us to easily publish crap, we can also easily label quality. Sure, it’s still arbitrary, but overall, it’s a pretty good system.

This is all about the power of tagging. As you can see if you’re reading this on my blog, that I’ve added all three of these to my sidebar. I’m trying my best to filter out what I think the best of the best is for me. I realize their are a number of other ways to filter content for your network.

What did I miss? Do you have some other ideas for filtering content?

Image: Seive by James UK

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