Flatten Your Classroom April 5, 2008
Posted by Matthew Woolums in 21st-Century, Articles/Videos, Link Collections.add a comment
Vicki Davis, the Cool Cat Teacher, has posted details for how to flatten (connect to the world) your classroom. She lists 5 levels ranging from using tools like blogs but keeping the content and interaction within the confines of the classroom, all the way up to student directed interaction of connections around the globe. Examples of each level are very helpful. In the past I’ve outlined levels of technology integration for a class I teach and I think this is a nice 2.0 extension.
http://coolcatteacher.blogspot.com/2008/03/five-phases-of-flattening-classroom.html
Bebo Fighters March 28, 2008
Posted by Matthew Woolums in 21st-Century, Articles/Videos, Opinion.add a comment
The BBC is reporting the arrest of six teenagers after they used the online social networking site Bebo. This is a story because it illustrates that kids can be very resourceful and are likely to use online resources as a daily part of their lives. This isn’t a story because kids organizing a fight by talking in the hallway or meeting up in neighborhoods just isn’t interesting.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/england/derbyshire/7318816.stm
Bit by BitTorrent March 27, 2008
Posted by Matthew Woolums in 21st-Century, Articles/Videos, Tools.add a comment
When keeping track of all the new technology, or Web 2.0 specifically, it isn’t an easy task. One technology that I haven’t mentioned at all, but that fits the idea of the end users being in charge of the content, is BitTorrent. What is BitTorrent? In my mind, it is a distributed file sharing protocol. But what does that mean? Andy Carvin posted a question on Twitter asking for analogies for BitTorrent, and several people posted some very good ones that help explain what it is.
I like to think of BitTorrent as ‘the network is my hard drive.’ In other words, the location of the information isn’t as important as my access to it. What I wonder about is how BitTorrent can impact education. Imagine a district or school or classroom that isn’t concerned with having all of the answers, but instead is dedicated to making the best use of those answers or resources regardless of where they are located. I think BitTorrent is a great analogy for the way education should be structured. We each have a small part to contribute.
http://www.andycarvin.com/archives/2008/03/in_search_of_the_perfect_bit_torrent_ana.html
Who Knew? Social Computer Gamers? March 26, 2008
Posted by Matthew Woolums in 21st-Century, Articles/Videos.add a comment
By way of a Howard Rheingold tweet, Physorg.com (anyone know who they are?) has posted an article about how computer games can make kids more social. Common opinion, and a certain car commercial that wants to rethink stuff, notwithstanding…
…in two recent studies of kindergarten and first-grade students, Ching has observed that children find ways to transform their experiences with technology into fun, highly organized group activities. She also found that technology-based activities can be explicitly designed to foster social reflection and advanced planning among young children.
http://www.physorg.com/news125684705.html
21st Century Bookshelf March 25, 2008
Posted by Matthew Woolums in 21st-Century, Book Review.add a comment
From a tweet by Gary Stager, here is an Amazon bookstore devoted to the 10 essential books that should be on the bookshelf of every 21st Century educator. Educators still read and value books, right? Looks like I have a lot of reading to do. I think I’ll make use of my local library though, instead of buying them from Amazon.
http://astore.amazon.com/constructivistconsortium-20/
Mr. Winkle Goes to School March 24, 2008
Posted by Matthew Woolums in 21st-Century, Articles/Videos.add a comment
Mathew Needleman has posted an interesting video on his Creating Lifelong Learners blog called Mr. Winkle Wakes. It tells the story of a man who wakes up after sleeping for 100 years. He is very uncomfortable in an office building and a hospital because of all the changes and technology in use there, but he feels very comfortable at a school, where things are essentially unchanged. The blog post is linked below, and the Teachertube version is embedded here. Enjoy!
Download Video: Posted by videointheclassroom at TeacherTube.com.
http://www.needleworkspictures.com/ocr/blog/
Gap or Not to Gap March 9, 2008
Posted by Matthew Woolums in 21st-Century, Articles/Videos.add a comment
Two articles this morning, one from the New York Times (texting) and one from the Washington Post (facebook) underscore the transitional times we live in, at least from the point of view of children, their parents, and how they interact with each other. Both articles worth reading.
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/03/09/business/09cell.html
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/03/08/AR2008030801034.html
Trust and the Web March 6, 2008
Posted by Matthew Woolums in 21st-Century, Articles/Videos.2 comments
Dennis O’Reilly on CNET Blogs has posted an article about authenticity on the web. The article is a nice update to the (what should be) familiar tasks of deconstructing the URL, checking sites that link to the page in question, and adds searching trusted directories for more information. The article makes the case for how to read web pages with the eye of a skeptic in an easy to understand and concise manner.
http://www.cnet.com/8301-13880_1-9886545-68.html
That’s a Lot of Texts March 3, 2008
Posted by Matthew Woolums in 21st-Century, Data.2 comments
By way of SmartMobs, it looks like texters in 2008 will be averaging about 2 texts per person per day. Add that up (3 billion mobile subscribers) and you get about 2 trillion text messages this year. I’m sure that my own kids are above average in this respect, but still, 2 trillion messages is a lot of reading and writing.
http://www.smartmobs.com/2008/03/03/two-trillion-sms-in-2008/
Talk About an Author Study! February 27, 2008
Posted by Matthew Woolums in 21st-Century, Articles/Videos, Book Review.add a comment
The students at Arapahoe High School have been studying Daniel Pink’s “A Whole New Mind” and the author will be joining them for a video Skype call for a 90 minute question and answer session. Details, along with a Ustream link to see the session for your self can be found on Karl Fisch’s “The Fischbowl” blog. This takes the idea of an author study to a new level when you can include participation from the author.
http://thefischbowl.blogspot.com/2008/02/ustreaming-and-live-blogging-daniel.html
Colorado Conversation: Student Panel February 23, 2008
Posted by Matthew Woolums in 21st-Century, Conference Sessions.add a comment
These are as close to direct quotes as I can type. My apologies if I’m paraphrasing or misquoting. These students are incredibly articulate and represent a reason for optimism for our future.
“It’s not about the technology, it’s about learning. Technology has allowed me to take charge of my learning.”
“It’s okay to fail.”
“We need to start earlier than high school.”
“Each individual education needs to be tailored to each student.”
“Laptops add so much energy to the (classroom) environment.”
“I’m a visual learner but I have terrible handwriting so I take notes on the laptop. It means less work outside of the classroom.”
“Look how many laptops there are out in the room.”
“This is preparing us for after college, for the professional world.”
“Technology can enhance your classroom, to make it more constructivist, to take it beyond the classroom.”
“It feels like it matters more when you put something online. It is more meaningful.”
“It is something that you can continue learning from even after the assignment.”
“The student can become the teacher.”
“The cell phone should be embraced in the classroom. We can text each other. We can be online. We can be live-blogging with our cell phones.”
“The cell phone is a good example of trying to add technology that isn’t necessary. When I’m in a class taking notes, I don’t need my cell phone.”
“We’re reading A Whole New Mind by Daniel Pink, and we’re blogging with him.”
“Students need to find a passion and take leadership for their own learning.”
Colorado Conversation: IT’s Elementary February 23, 2008
Posted by Matthew Woolums in 21st-Century, Conference Sessions.add a comment
IT’s Elementary: Collaborative Classroom Practices from the Lenski Elementary Teachers (Linda Jones, Boni Hamilton, Trecie Warner, Marcia Parrish, Jen Leavitt, Dana Wilhelm).
Quick introductions around the room. Participants include computer coaches, building reasource teachers, classroom teachers, tech coordinators at both building and district level, librarians, school principals, district network director.
How is technology used to support writing at Lenski? Where have we been, where are we now, and where are we hoping to go? Wikispaces will allow for student accounts that do not require student email accounts.
Step-up-to-writing teaches organization well, but the work all sounds the same. One key is to adopt vocabulary school-wide so that each grade level builds on the previous.
Selecting text and converting to table allows a process to deconstruct their writing and facilitate peer editing. Setting a goal, like every writer needs to make at least three changes, allows all levels of writers to focus on improving. Sometimes numbers can be too literal. Color coding is a key to understanding the organization of the writing, for example, one color for first sentences, one for concluding sentences, another for supporting ideas etc. Directions and examples are on the Lenski writing wiki linked below. It may be helpful to tell students (once they have learned to put them in) to remove transition words like ‘first’,'in addition’, and the students begin to vary those transition words on their own.
Only the classroom teacher can truly integrate technology into the curriculum, because only the teacher know what happens before the lab, what will happen after the lab, and what individual students will need. Classroom teachers should view the lab as an opportunity to enlist the support of additional teachers for writing. - Paraphrased from Boni Hamilton.
The focus at Lenski has been to move up the chart on Bloom’s Taxonomy.
http://colearning.wikispaces.com/IT%27s+Elementary+Collaborative+Classroom+Practices
http://tied2lenski.wikispaces.com/
Colorado Conversation: Learning Is Change February 23, 2008
Posted by Matthew Woolums in 21st-Century, Conference Sessions.1 comment so far
Ben Wilkoff, Cresthill Middle School (DCSD) - Starts with a discussion about learning. What is learning? Lots of different ideas, which reinforces my own working definition. Learning is an individual journey to know yourself, and your place in the world.
The presentation from Learning is Change does a nice job of asking the question: http://learningischange.com/
The next question to spur conversation is: How do you create context? Is connecting a way to create context? Is community? Is currency? Ben brought his students to the Students 2.o blog to provide a conversation. His students started from there and extended the conversation to their own world. One teacher in the room said that he has a ‘no tech’ zone in his classroom to limit the wired connections. It is quite true that technology doesn’t create quality learning or teaching. Someone else made the point that technology is just another tool. The demands of the content, and the standardized tests, sometimes limit the connections or context that can be created in the classroom.
Ben moved along to Google Docs and a conversation his class had around the book The Lord of the Flies. Guiding questions around utopia/distopia are placed in a Google Doc and the students work in small groups to respond. What is collaboration? For me, it is a setting that allows for the opportunity for participation and input from every member of the group.
Change directed classrooms: “All knowledge is constantly changing, and so are students’ understanding and demonstration of knowledge.”
Conversations are another component to developing context. Context is also a Continuous process that isn’t limited to a single classroom but relies on access.
Where do we go from here? How do we make our classrooms more authentic?
http://colearning.wikispaces.com/LearningIsChange
Unplanned Obsolescence February 20, 2008
Posted by Matthew Woolums in 21st-Century, Opinion.add a comment
I ran across an interesting post on Infomancy today about obsolete skills. When I was a student, I was pretty good at threading film reels. I could also change the typeball on an IBM Selectric typewriter. I’m sure there are many other good examples of skills I picked up that are now obsolete. I’ve been able to move on and continue to collect skills that will probably become obsolete as well. For example, I can set a temporary greeting on my voice-mail when I won’t be at my desk for an extended period of time. Good to know for now, but for how long?
So I’m left wondering what skills we are passing along that are doomed for obsolescence, and what are we doing to encourage the skills that will allow our children to move on and continue to learn new skills as they become necessary. Below is a link to the list of obsolete skills, just in case you were wondering if any of your own skills are as obsolete as my own. I’m also sure that there are lists of skill we do need, but how long until those lists become obsolete?
http://obsoleteskills.com/Skills/Skills
Teens and Illegal Downloading - Microsoft Edition February 13, 2008
Posted by Matthew Woolums in 21st-Century, Data, Opinion.add a comment
Joyce Valenza has posted a review of a Microsoft study of teens and their online habits and attitudes toward illegal downloading. Microsoft has launched a new pilot curriculum (Intellectual Property Rights Education) to help teach students about property rights. There are some interesting conclusions:
teens are less likely to illegally download content from the Internet when they know the laws for downloading and sharing content online. About half of those teens, however, said they were not familiar with these laws, and only 11 percent of them clearly understood the current rules for downloading images, literature, music, movies and software. Teens who were familiar with downloading rules credited their parents, TV or stories in magazines and newspapers, and Web sites — more so than their schools — as resources for information about illegal downloading.
The complete study can be found here: http://www.microsoft.com/presspass/download/press/2008/02-13KRCStudy.pdf
Joyce’s review goes on to include some terrific resources to facilitate learning about copyright alternatives and fair use.
While I’m sure the the study was well intentioned and the results fairly represent the current status for school aged children, I’m concerned about the launching of a new educational initiative aimed at curbing illegal downloads. I think that schools are unfairly being singled out in an effort to get them to fix a problem that the business world can’t. Schools have plenty of important initiatives already in place, such as literacy and mathematics. Trying to convince schools that they should fix a business problem seems disingenuous and would only dilute those educational imperatives. If students aren’t looking to schools as their primary source of information about illegal downloading, as noted in the conclusion quoted above, then focusing that effort on the schools also seems misplaced.
http://www.schoollibraryjournal.com/blog/1340000334/post/390021839.html?nid=3714
