Unlike a classroom where a teacher controls the lecture, the organic communities that emerge through collectives produce meaningful learning because the inquiry that arises comes from the collective itself.
https://kindle.amazon.com/work/new-culture-learning-cultivating-ebook/B004S72WOS/B004RZH0BG
 

Integral to this idea is giving yourself opportunities to experience and facilitate serendipitous learning. Currently there really isn't a better way to make this happen than twitter.

Here's the story.

Yesterday I'm attending a full day workshop (workshop is a loose term, it was really a 5 hour lecture) with Dr. Larry Bendtro, researcher and founder of the Circle of Courage Institute which focuses on reclaiming at risk students. Dr. Bendtro is a good speaker and while a 5 hour lecture isn't an ideal way to learn, there were lots of nuggets of learning I took away.

Sitting in the auditorium made up of educators and community people, I did see several ipads out but the majority of course were sticking with pen and paper to capture their learning. Lots of people were talking notes but of course, few, if any were sharing those notes. That's a bit of waste. So when I pull out my phone, I'm sure most people who see that think I'm checking email, texting, playing a game, or generally just off task. I used to be concerned about that but not anymore. I've learned that for me, engaging in a backchannel or simply using hashtags is the best way for me to stay focused and engaged. It may not be for everyone but it's for me. The person I sat with also uses twitter and we simply agreed to use the #circleofcourage as our hashtag.

Sidebar:

Last week one of my students was tweeting about being bored in class. I tweeted back that she should tweet what she was hearing and try and see if she could get others in her class to use a common hashtag to take collected notes. It worked for her.

Back to the story.

Part of the purpose of using twitter to take these notes is both for me, for the others participating but also because you never know. Early on in the lecture, Dr. Bendtro talked about the importance of a good theory but that if you can't explain your theory to a 4 year old, maybe you really don't understand your theory. As I was about to tweet that out, I see my buddy Dave Cormier in my twitter stream. I had the pleasure of having breakfast with Dave and his family last month and enjoy bantering and teasing with him so I decided I had enough social capital to present him a little challenge:

I really didn't know what I expected him to do with that. The nature of twitter is such that it could have easily fallen into the pile of useless tweets, which I'll admit I likely hold the world record. But Dave took my dare and did something, something quite awesome as a matter of fact. (I forgive you if you leave here now and spend time on Dave's blog. Go ahead, it's okay) He obviously had no obligation to do anything with my question. He could have ignored it or told me to mind my own business. Instead he created a useful artifact that is beneficial for me, others and for him as well.

I don't know if that's an amazing story because it's one that likely happens to many people every day because they place themselves in a space that fosters intentional serendipity. It's actually quite wonderful, joyful and meaningful. You can't quantify it, place it in a lesson plan but you also can't ignore it. I'm sure the vast majority of you reading this are twitter users and have your own story to tell. Maybe not. The point here is that intentional serendipity should be held in much higher regard. If you say you're too busy for serendipity, you might want to loosen up your schedule.  I've often felt that every classroom should have a space, be it a wiki or a bulletin board that highlights unintended learning. It's often the best kind.

I like design and I like making slides. We know that images can increase recall and understanding. You don't have to agree and this post isn't so much about convincing you of that as it is about the wonderful ways in which collaboration and push back can happen online and actually make things better. 

I've been thinking about the phrase which I have come to dislike, "it's not about the technology" I wanted to capture that idea in an image and began thinking about the way musicians use their instruments. Trying to find a name of someone who would be most recognizable I chose Yo Yo Ma. You don't have to acknowledge if you've never heard of him before because the image I found tells you all you need to know about his love of music and the cello. 

http://www.flickr.com/photos/worldeconomicforum/2297224410

​So I began with this:

After I posted it to flickr, Darren chimed in with this suggestion:

Try using a brown similar to the cello instead of yellow. You can use the colour picker in Keynote to do that.

Love the pic, and the quote.

I tried that and responded:

Tried your advice Darren but the brown was too dark, not enough contrast with the background. I used the cello colour for the outline though. I think it's better this way though. Thanks for the feedback. I'll take more if you have it.

I like this. Looks better. Are you using two different fonts? I think I'd stick with one; there's something about the font used in the smaller text that clashes with the larger font.

Fair enough and wise. I tried again.

Darren continued to work at making it better,

Ooo, liking that better; wonder how it looks without white outline of the brown text. Maybe no outline but keep shadow? No shadow?

I played a little with the kerning and positioning until I had it somewhat better.

 Darren Draper joined our conversation with his own ideas. 

Outlined text helps, but a solid bg on the photo would make it stronger. 

Darren then went off and made this:

None of us are graphic designers and will all admit our amateur approach to design. However we all three understand that it does matter and we also enjoy the process. But also the collaboration, the push back and willingness to go back, edit and revise lead to a better product. We joked later about starting a Fix My Slide meme. I don't know about that but I do think there's some simple ideas here for you and your students to seek feedback and find ways to learn with others without the limitations of geography and time. 

I thought I would share a little about the content as well as the format and process of this workshop in case it has value and ideas that others might find useful as well as a chance to provide any suggestions for improvement. 

For the morning I decided to chunk my keynote into 3 sections and offer a chance to play and learn in between. My plan was somewhat derailed as my brand new MacBook Pro decided to have a kernel panic twice during my talk and caused me to restart. Some fancy footwork hopefully kept the momentum going and participants were kind and willing to go with the flow. I thought my presentation was synced to my ipad via Dropbox but it wasn't. The internet wasn't fast enough to get it there and I didn't actually have it on my ipad. Lesson learned for next time)

Here's my talk.

The 150 participants were sitting at tables of about 8 each. Activity one had participants choose one of three quotes that I selected out of the Great Quotes about Learning and Change. They were to have a discussion on one and record their findings in the google doc. We did some large group sharing after that was complete.

What I had hoped was there would be time and a way for groups to look more closely at what other conversations were taking place. Time was my enemy here. I was hoping for some controversial ideas to be exposed and while not everything would be addressed, perhaps if they spent some time perusing other conversations, it would not only provide more fodder but also demonstrate the power of collective learning.

The second activity is one I've used before. I've asked participants and those in my twitter network to post a photo to my flickr account. Usually this involves something very easy such as the weather outside. This time I wanted to up the ante a bit and asked folks to consider composing an image directly related to their learning. The response was quite overwhelming. This photo in particular from Amanda Dykes represented something quite powerful. I highlighted it as an example of why networked learning matters. Having someone who is directly affected by this disaster elevates the understanding and empathy that is often lost in mainstream media. Here are the entire 196 photo submissions:

This really helps to show people the power of networks as well as collaboration and social learning. The theme of social learning is one I emphasis a great deal in many of my workshops and particularly for high school teachers as the nature of most high school structures do not lend themselves to social learning because of time constraints and emphasis on content and subject matter. The playful nature of this activity also highlights an important shift for many. Reading  A New Culture of Learning is making that point very clear to me. 

Because of my machine crashing twice I was unable to get to the final activity which was to rethink curriculum by brainstorming ways in which their own curriculum might be changed using Wallwisher. 

The afternoon kicked off with a panel discussion that included 3 students and 2 teachers. They explored how they use technology, what they think of the current structure of school and hopes and dreams for a new approach to learning. It's always great to hear from students. 

We wrapped up the day with Show and Tell. I asked the organizers to identify 10 or so teachers that would be willing to share 1 minute of something they're doing in their classrooms as well I asked for others in my network to do the same. Here are 5 clips from those who submitted video. Andy Marcinek even Skyped in. 

Doing a full day and trying to keep people active, trying to model what I'm sharing about social learning, networked learning and access to unlimited resources when you have limited resources, space and time is challenging. I really would have liked to have participants interact more with the content that was created during the day. There are a few other things I would change but overall was pleased with the ideas and concept I attempted. Save the stupid computer crash and it was a pretty good day of learning. At least for me. 

Why would you Skype someone involved “in the process?” What process? Who? State legislators? What are they likely to tell a student that can’t be found out in a book or article?

The connections you speak of, now matter how much you yearn for them may be as inauthentic as the task itself. Perhaps they just make a task nobody cares about even more arduous. The “you can use Google ____ or Skype with someone” suggestions have become as automatic and meaningless as when a politician says, “We need to pay teachers more, but hold them accountable.”

To be fair, Gary's comments here were about a broader issue and he goes on to discuss it in more detail. For me the striking comment that “skyping someone in” is often a automatic response to trying to demonstrate you have a classroom that “gets it” gave me pause to think. While I applaud teachers who consider this strategy, without thought and purpose it has no more value or impact that asking a parent or principal to randomly come talk to your class.

But today was a day where I saw Skype used in a truly authentic, powerful and yet quite unassuming way. Much like a pop-in. On the surface it was a class in the small town of Mortlach, Saskatchewan talking with students in Philadelphia, PA. Depending on who you ask that may or not be all that remarkable. The technology was pretty straightforward. A laptop, webcam, and a projector. Call someone up and start talking. Today we can longer attempt to think that that requires any degree of skill. it doesn't. Unless you have some type of fear mongering administrator or IT person weary of Skype, or an unwilling teacher, every classroom can and should have the capability. no training required.

Allow me to deconstruct this for you.

A week ago, Zac Chase of SLA posted a wonderful recording on his blog of some students in a task he calls Story Slam. I listened to it and immediately shared it with my own kids and then thought of a teacher in my district that I knew would love this idea. I shared it with her and without asking permission, I suggested that Zac might be able to have his kids and him Skype in and share this. Which brings us to today.

What I witnessed was a group of students sharing a couple of stories and learning about an idea. The students from SLA talked about what story slam involves, students in Mortlach asked a few questions and in turn shared a story too. A brief pop-in that later led to more conversations about storytelling, inspiration, encouragement and learning in a very natural way.

The untold story here is how a conversation like this can even happen. There's a story of networks and connections, a willingness for one teacher to publicly share practice and student work and another teaching actively seeking a better learning experience for her students. I'll take partial credit for the networking and connections. Part of my job is to connect learners.

The willingness of a teacher to share allows me to even know that this good work and good idea exists. Can I once again implore everyone to please share your work? It matters.

Finally, a teacher who sees herself as a learner, wants great things for her students and is open to ideas that will help them finished the story.

All these pieces were necessary for this to take place. This is no flat classroom type project, no massive project based learning example, just some teachers and students interested in storytelling and a desire to get better.

So Skype, for Skype's sake is just superfluous. This is about way more than technology. It isn't just about technology, but in some ways, it is.

Photo: http://www.flickr.com/photos/dkuropatwa/4766403166/

]]> http://ideasandthoughts.org/2011/03/28/the-anatomy-of-a-skype-call/feed/ 0 http://ideasandthoughts.org/2011/02/14/so-i-started-this-google-doc/ http://ideasandthoughts.org/2011/02/14/so-i-started-this-google-doc/#comments Mon, 14 Feb 2011 18:45:44 +0000 Dean Shareski http://ideasandthoughts.org/?p=1254 That's a joke that many of us who know Alec Couros use to describe a number of experiences he shares as part of being a network learner and crowd sourcing. That become the intro to this video I put together along with the help of about 75 others. The Big Picture Learning Stuff While at [...]]]> That's a joke that many of us who know Alec Couros use to describe a number of experiences he shares as part of being a network learner and crowd sourcing.

That become the intro to this video I put together along with the help of about 75 others.

The Big Picture Learning Stuff

While at first glance it may be seen as simply fun, silly and maybe a wee bit cool but I think there's something more here. Lots of lessons perhaps around being connected may be extracted but I'm thinking about Shirky's notion of Cognitive Surplus.

These 75 people contributed about 5-60 seconds of video. While I know that it may have been a little more time the idea that cumulative of all this content could be pieced together for something of value and meaning is non-trivial.

I wonder if the more difficult the question the greater the strength and/or structure of the organizing principle required to make the results intelligible/useful? Meredith Stewart

in this case, Alec is a compelling personality that has made huge contributions to many. I could have easily found another 75 people and likely could have made 10 videos given his network. But we can certainly come up with compelling ideas that would benefit greatly from the contributions of others. This is why having and building a network, while not easy and magic, offers new possibilities for learning and change.

The Little Picture Technical Stuff

A few people have asked about how I put this all together so here goes:

1. Jon Becker sends out a tweet suggesting I do something for Alec

2. I create this google form.

3. I waited until I had about 70 entries. I'm not sure why I choose that number because as it turned out I had to do some fancy stickhandling to make everyone;s part fit.

4. I send out this email:

5. I was careful not to ask people to submit in a specific format since it may be another barrier for some. As entries came in I used MPEG StreamClip to convert any weird files (Windows type files) I used dropittomedropittome.com for people to send their video clips. This is linked to my dropbox account and was a very efficient way to gather the clips. They ranged in size from 989k to 70MB. Dropittome has a limit of 75 MB which was sufficient even for HD submissions of only a few seconds.

6. I began inserting video as it came in except for the parts with multiple video.

7. By Saturday night I had most of the videos and went at creating the final product in Final Cut Express.

8. I again used MPEG Streamclip to take the full Quicktime video to a more youtube friendly mp4 format.

That's it. I'd really like some more thoughts on the big picture part but am happy to answer questions or discuss the little picture part too.

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

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.

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.

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.

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?

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.

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 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.

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.

[display_podcast]

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/

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.

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

Technorati Tags: googlereader, delicious, vodpod, sturgeon, susancartermorgan, filter