The conversation I did last week with Teachers Teaching Teachers is now up as a podcast. Plenty of great information about some interesting summer professional development. You should listen. After some gentle nudges in the chat room, I’ll be talking more about CyberCamp at a NECC Unplugged session at 3:30pm on Tuesday in the NECC Blogger’s Cafe. I’ll make sure there’s a stream and will share the link when I know what it is.
I guess the biggest frustration to me regarding the “Oh no - we didn’t realize the policy and now we’re certain that ISTE’s out to get independent media and citizen journalists and quash the edupunks and destroy any chance of education reform ever in the history of forever!” hysteria over ISTE’s NECC audio/video policy is that so many of my colleagues, people whom I respect and value, are probably going to end today or start next week thinking that this conversation and its tone was/is/shall forever be a fine example of the power of blogs and new media to make change. And that would be wrong.
The problem I have with seeing this as a victory is that the bloggers in this one come out looking like a cross between Chicken Little and Tony Soprano. And that’s not a good thing. In the past 24 hours, I’ve read misstatements, threats, assumptions, and lazy research. “I’m taking my ball and going home” lines, too. From educators. Attempting to solve a problem. It’s disappointing. A rational, responsible, and patient tone would have been much better than some most of what I’ve seen and read in regards to this issue.
I’ll be the first to say that I’m pleased to see the policy changed, albeit temporarily. It was an old rule that didn’t fit the current media landscape. ISTE, I hope, would be the first to say that. And I’m pleased that so many bloggers felt compelled to address the issue. But I’d like to think that some more patient and questioning language might have been used in the “investigation.” Questions inviting dialogue, perhaps, rather than assumptions and anger. I felt like we were headed up the mountain to the monster’s castle, pitchforks and torches in hand.
We’d never let our students get away with this type of conclusion jumping and invective. And so, we shouldn’t be happy about the methods, but we should be pleased about the outcome. I hope the folks who make it to the table in future conversations on this and other matters of policy and disagreement are those who approach with patience and kindness, checking their assumptions at the door. And I hope that, if I’m ever guilty of such poor choices in language and attitude, that you’ll be quick to call me on it.
My goal here is not so much to place blame - but to suggest that perhaps we could all do better. I know I’ve been guilty of getting excited and forgetting to do a gutcheck in the past. Let’s all try not to do that. There are too many rules and policies and issues and problems and situations that need changing and will require our best work.
I’ll be talking about CyberCamp on Teachers Teaching Teachers tonight at 7pm Mountain Time as a piece of a show about summer professional development. I’ve invited all the CyberCampers, too, so I hope to include them in the conversation. I hope you can join us, too.
Today’s podcast is a short reflection on my learning experiences today, as well as some seriously first draft thinking about information and knowledge. As always, I hope the conversation continues.
The more I work as a professional developer and teacher of teachers, the more I am resolved that I will do my best to never create a resource for one situation that cannot be useful in another. There are too few of me and too many needs in my district to do otherwise.
I think, though, the careful consideration of audience and purpose that I engage in before creating a resource is a valuable one for all readers, writers, and creators. Perhaps there’s value, in a connective writing class, in spending some time on rhetorical analysis, specifically in the vein of thinking about multi-purposed work.
This isn’t a new statement for me to make, either here or in my classroom(s), as I’ve always operated under the assumption that the best writing happens when writers consider their audience and their purpose for writing, allowing them to determine the focus they should take in a particular piece. This idea (often called the rhetorical triangle, with each of the points defined slightly differently by the person(s) doing the defining) can and should be expanded to include all kinds of composition and writing, not just print texts. This leads me to the teaching point that I would want to include in my connective writing work:
As much as possible, all texts should have a life outside of the classroom.
This “extra-curricular life” can take multiple forms, and won’t make sense for all types of writing and creation, but I strongly believe that we should never create something that will die after a teacher has blessed or cursed it with a grade. I’ve always believed that, but the more I learn, the less I’m willing to suggest that such multi-purposed work should only happen at the end of a course, after all the practice work is completed. Project-based learning, too, embodies this philosophy, as projects should have a life outside of the classroom.
What does “extracurricular life,” or multi-purposed work, look like in a professional learning experience for teachers? One way I attempted to create a multi-purpose-able resource in CyberCamp was through the series of Works in Progress (WiP) presentations that we asked every participant to do. As I explained at the beginning of CyberCamp:
One of the values of CyberCamp is sharing. Talking about what we’re up to is a good way to better understand our own work, and the act of sharing it with a group is useful, too, because it allows your fellow CyberCampers to help you out, be it through good questions, suggestions, or becoming an extra set of eyes and ears in the world seeking resources to help you with your project.
Because sharing is so essential, we’ve set up time here at CyberCamp for everyone to have a 20 minute block of time in which to share their work. Each day, we’ll ask two of you to share what you’re working on and then we’ll give ten minutes to the CyberCampers to give you some constructive feedback. We’ll be talking more about what “constructive feedback” looks at CyberCamp, but know that you’ll be getting help - not criticism.
Again, because sharing is so essential to what we do, we’ll be adding an extra level of sharing to your process. We’ll literally be sharing your Work in Progress conversation with the world and archiving your presentation here on the blog using a tool called Ustream. This will allow you to share your work with, and to learn from, the world. While that can be scary, trust us when we tell you that your work is important and worthy of being shared.
Not to toot our own horn (or whistle, to stick with the camp metaphor), but it seems to me that a twenty minute investment of class time here (thirty minutes if you leave time for some feedback) leads to an excellent archive/snapshot of a work in progress, a chance to get very specific feedback, and a permanent record of the event that is available for further scrutiny, reflection and commenting. Not bad, as far as multi-purposing goes. Add in the fact that these presentations also become resources for other people working on similar projects as well as models of our activity for future CyberCamp experiences, and we’ve got some handy multi-purpose resources.
Other examples of multi-purposing in CyberCamp include our project proposals as well as our blog. Pretty much, any well-written blog (as a whole, not each entry) is a fine example of multi-purposed writing. But perhaps that’s another post.
One of the struggles, of course, with trying to build multi-purpose resources, or to find ways to ask learners to do so, at least one that I worry/wonder about, is making sure that I’m never putting the needs of future learners or secondary audiences ahead of the learners who are the “primary” audience for a particular activity/event/experience. Let me try to say that better - we can sometimes create problems for our class when we try to create opportunities with “outsiders,” particularly if we’re forcing a connection that maybe isn’t organically or authentically there. Connections just for connections’ sake are bad ideas, maybe even educational malpractice. The trick becomes figuring out where those lines and boundaries are, and when to say no to kind invitations to meet/Skype/join up with others who may or may not be in a similar place, educationally speaking.
Another struggle, I suspect, is figuring out how to contextualize those creations in a way as to make them as useful as possible. I’m beginning to practically understand why so many higher ed folks talk about learning objects and repositories and a slew of related issues, and struggle with those things, too.
At the risk of getting a little too meta, I’m going to be talking through my history of thinking about linking, or conective writing, today during CyberCamp as a part of our series of “Works in Progress” conversations. I’m inviting you, if you’re interested, mostly to help me model how a backchannel and uStream conversation can be of value to a face to face group, but selfishly, too, because I’m always interested in how others are thinking about these ideas. So, if you’re willing and able, join us at around 11:30am MST for a short uStream presentation. All the details are on our wiki.
Richelle showed us some fabulous work by Year 12 German Language students, one of whom had composed and sung his own work on what it was like to live in Australia in German!. He had then sent this mp3 file to his German host family to critique and then improved it. This really showed the power of podcasting in the classroom. Richelle also told us about a program called Breakfast bytes, which was a program for teachers in her school to learn about podcasting over a (catered) breakfast which worked so well that she ran it twice. One feature of this was that she sent out the invitations to the staff by a sound file she had recorded.
Richelle demonstrated how simple it was to record podcasts using an iPod (or any mp3player) with a Micro Memo recorder to plug in to the iPod. There were lots more ideas such as when students are on an excursion they can record their impressions of what they are seeing to later turn into a podcast summarising their learning.
One idea I got from this session that I want to try is getting my Year 7 students to make a radio show, writing the scripts in pairs on things that interest them that they have done some research on (or possibly interviews with friends or family) and recording them. I still need to think some more about how to do this.
I also want to introduce the concept to my Year 12s in the next week, as they are doing their orals outside of class time and preparing to write an essay on one of the two texts they have studied so far. I would like them to work in pairs on their chosen text and interview each other on aspects of the text, record these and put them up as podcasts which would be useful for revision at the end of the year.
http://theopenclassroom.blogspot.com/2007/05/alphabet-graffiti.htmlI have just been using one of the ideas that I heard about in Lessons plans by the Yarra. We have been studying Macbeth and though it was an interrupted session due to injections we managed to enact the murder of King Duncan (as I did last year) and Alphabet Graffiti.
It was great to hear the students around the room saying, “What did you get for q? “What about ambition for A?”, having students both ask and answer the questions of each other. To produce a useful list for revision was a really collaborative effort and I loved using it. It might have helped that we were in the computer room and could perform a search of the play script online.
This activity both surfaced knowledge the students already had and created new knowledge for the students. A worthwhile activity on many counts. Thanks to Graham and his colleagues. (I just heard one say, "Use 'yearn'," and the response: “how do you spell that?”) Most of the students are now back from the injections and we will now continue to read the play.
http://theopenclassroom.blogspot.com/2007/05/extendng-workshop.htmlTonight several of the participants in the IBO Language A workshop that I attended in China met together online in a skype conference (Language A is the best language of the students and is often the language of instruction, so in my case English). So there was Tony from Adelaide, Paul from Osaka, Japan, Sheila and her colleague Jeff from Hong Kong, and Jacqui and me from Melbourne. We spent an hour chatting about various aspects of teaching and assessing Language A, texts to help students gain intercultural awareness, approaches like Elsie Belger’s education for human rights resources, how to arrange things so that there is enough meeting time for shared planning and ideas for interdisciplinary study. It is a helpful way to extend the conference, since as I mentioned before there wasn’t much reflection time in the busy schedule of the workshop and these subsequent meetings can give us that.
A most interesting idea that I came away with from the workshop was the idea of the Learner Profile (click here to see a short video on this concept.) The attributes and descriptors of the learner profile define the type of learner the IBO hopes to develop through its programs. It is concerned with the education of the whole person, emphasizing intellectual, personal, emotional and social growth through all domains of knowledge and can be summarized in just ten words. People who are: inquirers, knowledgeable, thinkers , communicators, principled, open-minded, caring, risk-takers, balanced, and reflective. We talked about ways to work towards this, which would mean ways to change the thinking of teachers in some cases. We talked a bit about this tonight as well and I look forward to learning more about it and enacting it in my school.
Last night I went to my first edubloggers meetup. I met Graham Wegner in Melbourne when he and five other teachers from his school came over from Adelaide for the Teachers at Work conference with Jay McTighe. When Graham contacted me about a possible meetup I was very excited, and so we spent some time together having a meal and discussing common experiences and, of course, the conference. Towards the end of the evening when I was reluctantly talking about going home to prepare for the next days lessons, Graham and his colleagues, Annabel, Rebecca, Maria and Nancy came out with several alternative ideas I could use, all from the conference experience they had that day, hence the title of this blog post (thanks, Graham).
One of these was The Little Book made from a folded sheet of A4 paper that reminded me of the Literature Pocketmod made by The Reflective Teacher a while back. This one makes a 6 page little book with front and back covers that may be appealing for students to make and use. It could be used for example, to plan an essay or to summarise the characters in a text – one to a page. (I used mine to record the rest of the ideas that were flowing swiftly round the table.) Another idea was to get the students to make a sociogram of the characters in the text we are studying and have them show the impact the characters have on each other (very relevant for the text my year 11s are studying right now – Macbeth).
Another idea was to have students write the names of the characters or events in the text and work in groups to decide the rank from most important to least important and then present to the class, justifying their decision. Yet another idea was ABC graffiti. Students write the letters of the alphabet and brainstorm in groups a phrase or a word for each letter of the alphabet relating to their text. When brainstorming the idea is not to think too much about the word or phrase but to try to access the notable thing about the text that comes to mind first for that letter. The students could then use the list later to help summarise and revise the text.
Other ideas that the group remembered included the One Minute Write where students write in one minute all they can about a prompt, without lifting the pen from the page. They count up the number of words written and the number of three syllable words. Write down the score. Then the students could set themselves a goal to increase the number of complex words they are using, in other words to improve their vocabulary. They could discuss possible strategies to achieve the goal. . Of course as Graham pointed out, good writing in not always about the number of three syllable words used, but I think that focusing on a broader vocabulary in general would be a good thing. And finally, the memorable quote idea. Take a quote that people know: e.g. “Ask not what your country can do for you….” and rewrite it: e.g. “ask not what your class can do for you… etc”, in order to broaden perspective.
As you can see, the discussion was lively and enjoyable. I did not bring my camera and my iriver was had a flat battery, unfortunately, otherwise I could have given you all a multisensory account of our experience. Oh well, there’s always next time.
http://theopenclassroom.blogspot.com/2007/05/student-writes.htmlEvery year when I start blogging with my classes I get some students who are natural born writers and who show this in the blog entries. And every year they are different sorts of writers. Like this student, Miranda, the blog that they do in my class is often not their only outlet for writing. Miranda writes:
"But, first of all I wanted to talk about writing. I absolutely love writing, and it’s what I spend most of my time doing –I write to penpals, epals, people I know, myself; I keep several blogs, a journal, several folders full of random ramblings, poetry, songs, fanfiction, stories, characters… And after all this, I still don’t know what career I’m going to choose. I’d love to be something to do with writing, but my problem is I don’t know what, or even if I’m good enough… All I know is that I really love writing."
Don't you just love it? And there's more where that comes from. Surprisingly she finishes:
"…And I will shut up about my story and Cael. I could go on forever, and I doubt anyone is reading this. X)"
I am continually amazed at the power of the internet and the delicious diversity among students we teach.
Last night our school hosted a Year 7 Parent Information night for parents at our school, to explain the Middle Years Program (MYP) which we are doing for the first time this year. there will end up being four of these nights (one per term) and, given my new found passion for this program, I thought I'd go along and see what happened. (It is optional for staff to be there.) It was a great night. First Peter had photocopied some of the essays one of the Year 7 classes had done (with no names) along with the task sheet and the rubric for assessment that the students were given. The parents were then asked to assess them. A great discussion followed about teacher accountability and the use of rubrics as a teaching tool. I definitely think that the parents got to see another side of teaching.
Then Daisy, one of the Maths teachers, taught a class on Fibonacci numbers and Pascal’s triangle as if they, the parents, were her Year 7 class. It was very informative, and definitely a highlight of the night. The parents I spoke to felt that they had learned something. Then Peter showed the report formats that the parents will be getting in June and the criteria that students are assessed and reported on in the MYP. Finally there was a bit of a presentation on homework and how the parents could be involved in helping students organise their time.
I think about the advice I have given students in years past about planning ahead and doing a bit at a time and so on, and I recognise that in my work I don't do that. I leave things to the last minute and feel I do creative work under the pressure of adrenaline. When I try to do it ahead, it feels less powerful and not so motivating. Of course, at the time I am doing it I hate it and wish I had done it earlier. But the students maybe find that sort of pressure too much. It was great to see the parents as creative learners and problem solvers at this meeting and discuss the work we do, and I think there was some mutual understanding built.
http://theopenclassroom.blogspot.com/2007/05/reflections-on-travel.htmlHaving come back from my workshop in China on Monday, it is now Wednesday and I haven't written about my experiences on this blog. And I so much wanted to, as attending the workshop, meeting new people, visiting a new country has been quite amazing for me. We were only there for three days with most of a day travelling to, and from the workshop. It is a very short time to pack so much in. And there was no reflection time during the workshop. We worked in our small groups from 8.30 to 4 each day and then went to dinner and a concert on the first night, and shopping in downtown Guangzhou on the second night. When we were free, I was twittering, IMing students back at school (a really fun and new experience for me) and looking up resources mentioned during the workshop. (Not to mention keeping up with emails from family and friends). During meals I took the opportunity to interview various people on their experience of the workshops on my new iriver, but haven't had a chance to process these into a podcast yet. But at least something was captured then. I kept wanting time to sit down on my own and be reflective but it wasn't going to happen without missing out on some other amazing experience.
Since I've been back I've been dealing with my photos (here are just some of them) and emailing some of my new friends in China, Hong Kong, Thailand, Japan and Australia with photos I took of them. And getting back into teaching. When the students found I'd been to China and only missed a maximum of two (or one) lesson(s) with them, they said "But what are you doing back at school? Surely you have jet lag!" But I don't. I'm still on a high and took the opportunity to tell the students that I couldn't bear to be away from them any longer ;) . The content of the workshop is going to really affect my teaching and practice in the classroom, I know. But that is the subject of another post. And right now, I getting up early to get ready to take Lachlan to the airport (again to the airport! I've spent too much time in airports lately) so that he can finally go on his long awaited trip to Norway to work and study. He is only 18 and has never been away from home, but since he was 14 he has been working and saving money for this. He has spent a number of years learning Norwegian with a native speaker, and is finally all packed and ready to go. I must admit to feeling teary as this child goes off as well (Emily is in Ireland doing the same thing), and am now down to two children at home. There is a lot going on in my head at the moment, and I am glad to be able to reflect on it here. Till next time
http://theopenclassroom.blogspot.com/2007/04/on-way-to-china.htmlI have stopped here in Hong Kong for a few hours to wait for connecting flight to Guangzhou and thought I'd keep in touch with my online world. And how important that's become to me just recently. I think it's Twitter that's done it. It's so lovely to hear what Judy O'Connell is up to as well as hearing how Vicki Davis has celebrated her birthday and what everyone else is doing. The travel, the work, the fun, the family life, the frustrations, the conferences, it's all there, a slice of many lives. I'm really looking forward to spending a long weekend with other educators at the workshop I am attending, talking about what makes learning come alive, people from all over the Asia Pacific region, people who have the students at the centre of the educational experience. I want to process it a bit as it happens so I want to record my reflections in the hope of posting them as podcasts and perhaps interview some teachers if that happens to work out as well. I am inspired by others who have done similar things, so we'll see how we go. Till next time.
The following announcement comes via Darren. If you read this blog, chances are you've something to offer the conference, and I strongly encourage you to submit a proposal. At the very least, prepare to spend some time with the conference -- it's a great opportunity.
One of the best things about the conference is that it's not too late to engage with last year's event. You can visit the K12 Online Conference blog for all of last year's info and presentations as well as information on this year's event. I'm looking forward to it.
Of course, now I've got to figure out what to offer the event via my own proposal. Any thoughts?
Announcing the second annual "K12 Online" conference for teachers,
administrators and educators around the world interested in the use of
Web 2.0 tools in classrooms and professional practice! This year's
conference is scheduled to be held over two weeks, October 15-19 and
October 22-26 of 2007, and will include a preconference keynote during
the week of October 8. This years conference theme is "Playing with
Boundaries." A call for proposals is below.
OVERVIEW:
There will be four "conference strands"-- two each week. Two
presentations will be published in each strand each day, Monday -
Friday, so four new presentations will be available each day over the
course of the two-weeks. Each presentation will be given in any of a
variety of downloadable, web based formats and released via the
conference blog (www.k12onlineconference.org) and archived for posterity.
FOUR STRANDS:
Week 1
Strand A: Classroom 2.0
Leveraging the power of free online tools in an open, collaborative and
transparent atmosphere characterizes teaching and learning in the 21st
century. Teachers and students are contributing to the growing global
knowledge commons by publishing their work online. By sharing all
stages of their learning students are beginning to appreciate the value
of life long learning that inheres in work that is in "perpetual beta."
This strand will explore how teachers and students are playing with the
boundaries between instructors, learners and classrooms. Presentations
will also explore the practical pedagogical uses of online social tools
(Web 2.0) giving concrete examples of how teachers are using the tools
in their classes.
Strand B: New Tools
Focusing on free tools, what are the "nuts and bolts" of using
specific new social media and collaborative tools for learning? This
strand includes two parts. Basic training is "how to" information on
tool use in an educational setting, especially for newcomers. Advanced
training is for teachers interested in new tools for learning, looking
for advanced technology training, seeking ideas for mashing tools
together, and interested in web 2.0 assessment tools. As educators and
students of all ages push the boundaries of learning, what are the
specific steps for using new tools most effectively? Where "Classroom
2.0" presentations will focus on instructional uses and examples of web
2.0 tool use, "New Tools" presentations should focus on "nuts and
bolts" instructions for using tools. Five "basic" and five "advanced"
presentations will be included in this strand.
Week 2
Strand A: Professional Learning Networks
Research says that professional development is most effective when
it aims to create professional learning communities — places where
teachers learn and work together. Using Web 2.0 tools educators can
network with others around the globe extending traditional boundaries
of ongoing, learner centered professional development and support.
Presentations in this strand will include tips, ideas and resources on
how to orchestrate your own professional development online; concrete
examples of how the tools that support Professional Learning
Environments (PLEs) are being used; how to create a supportive,
reflective virtual learning community around school-based goals, and
trends toward teacher directed personal learning environments.
Strand B: Obstacles to Opportunities
Boundaries formalized by education in the “industrial age”
shouldn’t hinder educators as they seek to reform and transform their
classroom practice. Playing with boundaries in the areas of copyright,
digital discipline and ethics (e.g. cyberbullying), collaborating
globally (e.g. cultural differences, synchronous communication),
resistance to change (e.g. administration, teachers, students), school
culture (e.g. high stakes testing), time (e.g. in curriculum, teacher
day), lack of access to tools/computers, filtering, parental/district
concerns for online safety, control (e.g. teacher control of student
behavior/learning), solutions for IT collaboration and more --
unearthing opportunities from the obstacles rooted in those boundaries
-- is the focus of presentations in this strand.
CALL FOR PROPOSALS:
This call encourages all, experienced and novice, to submit proposals to present at this conference via this link.
Take this opportunity to share your successes, strategies, and tips in
“playing with boundaries” in one of the four strands as described
above.
Deadline for proposal submissions is June 18, 2007. You will be contacted no later than June 30, 2007 regarding your status.
Presentations may be delivered in any web-based medium that is
downloadable (including but not limited to podcasts, screencasts, slide
shows) and is due one week prior to the date it is published.
Please note that all presentations will be licensed Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported.
» specific ideas, tips, mini lessons centered on pedagogical use of web 2.0 tools
» overcoming institutional inertia and resistance
» aligning Web 2.0 and other projects to national standards
» getting your message across
» how web 2.0 can assist those with disabilities
» ePortfolios
» classroom 2.0 activities at the elementary level
» creating video for TeacherTube and YouTube
» google docs
» teacher/peer collaboration
KEYNOTES:
The first presentation in each strand will kick off with a keynote
by a well known educator who is distinguished and knowledgeable in the
context of their strand. Keynoters will be announced shortly.
CONVENERS:
This year's conveners are:
Darren Kuropatwa is currently Department Head of Mathematics at
Daniel Collegiate Institute in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He is known
internationally for his ability to weave the use of online social tools
meaningfully and concretely into his pedagogical practice and for
"child safe" blogging practices. He has more than 20 years experience
in both formal and informal education and 13 years experience in team
building and leadership training. Darren has been facilitating
workshops for educators in groups of 4 to 300 for the last 10 years.
Darren's professional blog is called A Difference (http://adifference.blogspot.com). He will convene Classroom 2.0.
Sheryl Nusbaum-Beach, a 20-year educator, has been a classroom
teacher, charter school principal, district administrator, and digital
learning consultant. She currently serves as an adjunct faculty member
teaching graduate and undergraduate preservice teachers at The College
of William and Mary (Virginia, USA), where she is also completing her
doctorate in educational planning, policy and leadership. In addition,
Sheryl is co-leading a statewide 21st Century Skills initiative in the
state of Alabama, funded by a major grant from the Microsoft Partners
in Learning program. Sheryl blogs at (http://21stcenturylearning.typepad.com/blog/). She will convene Preconference Discussions and Personal Learning Networks.
Wesley Fryer is an educator, author, digital storyteller and
change agent. With respect to school change, he describes himself as a
"catalyst for creative educational engagement." His blog, “Moving at
the Speed of Creativity” was selected as the 2006 “Best Learning Theory
Blog” by eSchoolnews and Discovery Education. He is the Director of
Education Advocacy (PK-20) for AT&T in the state of Oklahoma. Wes
blogs at (http://www.speedofcreativity.org). Wes will convene New Tools.
Lani Ritter Hall currently contracts as an instructional
designer for online professional development for Ohio teachers and
online student courses with eTech Ohio. She is a National Board
Certified Teacher who served in many capacities during her 35 years as
a classroom and resource teacher in Ohio and Canada. Lani blogs at (http://possibilitiesabound.blogspot.com). Lani will convene Obstacles to Opportunities.
QUESTIONS?
If you have any questions about any part of this, email one of us:
» Darren Kuropatwa: dkuropatwa {at} gmail {dot} com
» Sheryl Nusbaum-Beach: snbeach {at} cox {dot} net
» Lani Ritter Hall: lanihall {at} alltel {dot} net
» Wesley Fryer: wesfryer {at} pobox {dot} com
Please duplicate this post and distribute it far and wide across the
blogosphere. Feel free to republish it on your own blog (actually, we'd
really like people to do that ;-) ) or link back to this post
(published simultaneously on all our blogs).
For the past few years I have been educating students, teachers, administrators and parents about the “realities” of online social networks (Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, etc). For the past few years, I have been wrong. Well, somewhat wrong, anyway. At the encouragement of law enforcement, the media, and other responsible adults, I have feared for the safety of the young women I educate. I was concerned that the details they were sharing online put them at risk for predation and victimization. My main concern was never really their physical safety, as that was such a minute possibility. I was mainly concerned about their futures, their college admissions, their job opportunities, but mainly, the possible humiliation they faced by the wrong people viewing their profiles. In that way, I was right.
Last week, before Congress, the four foremost experts in the country testified to the reality of online youth victimization. Every law enforcement person I’ve heard, and most educators I’ve heard have been wrong. The truth, according to the experts: 1) teens who post information online are no more likely to be victims of sex crimes than those who don’t 2) of all the statuatory rape in the U.S. last year, 7% of victims met the perpetrators online, the rest offline 3) parent education does not work.
There are many more important facts pointed out, so watch the hour and twenty minute testimony. It is the most important professional development I have had in the last few years. I can’t recommend it any more strongly. Original video here, transcript here, or YouTube video below. A post to follow will be on what type of education we need to do for/with our students. Your suggestions would be much appreciated.
The district just north south of where I live and just south north of where I work is going to begin offering e-mail accounts to many of its students if a vote goes well at a board meeting tomorrow night. That's not a super big deal. What is is the reason why they're considering it:
The district’s Technology Advisory committee members recommended the accounts so that students in middle and high schools could “communicate and collaborate locally and globally, and participate in and contribute to learning communities through e-mail,” according to a report detailing the e-mail account plan.
Under the plan, students could create school-related online journals and blogs, design Web pages, work on projects in teacher-created Internet spaces and produce podcasts.
Turns out my first ever scholarly publication, an article on book clubs and preservice teachers that I co-wrote with my friend and teacher Cindy, is available for free online for a short time. She taught me to write for journals; I'm teaching her to blog. I think I came out ahead in the deal.
After reading Seeing No Progress, Some Schools Drop Laptops in the New York Times on May 4th, I decided to use it as a discussion piece with my technology classes. I teach in a K-12 girls school in New York City with a 1:1 laptop program in grades 8-12. I wanted the students to respond to the article using their own experiences as students in a laptop school. A colleague at another school, Bill Campbell, suggested I record this discussion. The audio below is 1 class of my 9th grade answering a series of questions from me. As you will hear, I did not suggest any particular answers, but asked them to speak freely.
If you wish to use this audio, please let me know. Since it is a broadcast of a school class, I would like to let me school know where it is being used. Contact me at arvind [at] 21apples.org.
In this podcast, I begin by trying to explain a trend I'm noticing in my own blogging practice. Then I move into a discussion of being "in the zone" in a creative sense, emphasizing my work with the CSUWP's Advanced Institute on Technology and Teacher Inquiry, and wrap up with some thoughts, and not very articulate ones at that, on how I'd like to see more ways for blogs to represent or honor visual text. Oddly enough, I was listening to this week's Teachers Teaching Teachers and I heard Paul Allison mentioning his desire to see blogs with more visual and audio components. Here's to synchronicity.
Ben shares a frustrating experience he's having with a collaborative partnership torn asunder by parental concerns in a different state. Lots to think about here, amidst the perceived parental overreaction, but I'm particularly interested in
