What Has Changed about Web 2.0 in the last Seven Years?

I taught a Web 2.0 survey class the other night – one of my favorite classes to teach.  Discussing a yummy buffet of Web 2.0 tools with them, it occurred to me that this discussion has really changed since the first blogging class I taught seven years ago.  I was so excited about that first class.  I saw great potential for web tools.  However, within the first 10 minutes of that class, I realized I had come to my own lynching. The folks in the room were not there as educators.  They were there as parents, and they were mad and steeped in fear.  Were they wrong to be fearful?   Had every single pedophile moved from the playgrounds and the malls to the internet? Of course not, but the media sure had us going. Now that parents have their own Facebook accounts, I think all but a reasonable amount of fear has melted away. So, no more fear, or I guess  a reasonable amount of fear – that’s a change I have noticed.  What else? 

I asked Linda what she thought had changed about Web 2.0 and she said sharing and collaboration.  Web 2.0 Tools are focusing more on collaboration, instead of being used as stand-alone tools. Additionally, I see students being much more willing to contribute to the conversation both face-to-face and online. They have found their voice and don’t feel as awkward hearing it. I also see people taking on a greater degree of responsibility along with their confidence. You know the saying: what happens online, stays online.

I asked Scott what he thought had changed about Web 2.0 over the years.  He said nothing has changed.  The technology is still the same, but how we use it has changed.  We are more likely to define how it is used as opposed to the other way around.  Well said.  I agree!  (Yes, I just agreed with Scott.) We are definitely more savvy.

What else do I think has changed? Personally, I am learning to let go of the need to read everything that passes me. It’s okay to click on by – but I still have an extraordinary amount of information I want to see/know. So here’s what has changed.. We are learning to consolidate information in manageable formats by using a variety of web tools to aggregate so, so very much information.  And, because we have so, so very much information constantly at our fingertips, we don’t pay all that much attention to a majority of it. We don’t need to – do we?

Here’s why I ask; I came across a tool the other day called BigThink.com. Check it out http://bigthink.com/ . It’s cool.  This group distills the “big thinks” that are out there down to their essence using a variety of multimedia tools.  According to the website, this process promises to help us “move from the information era to the knowledge era.” 

Hmmmmm . . . .  So, let me get this straight. They are taking a large amount of information and presenting the bits and pieces that they think are most important, most worth knowing, into one size fits all snacks. I like that BigThink.com relies on multiple world views to create one that can be easily understood. This supports the idea that information comes from multiple sources, not just one.  But does it get us any further in really knowing? Is the desire to “read” information gone, or just the need to “read”?  What about the desire to think? 

All things considered, being as busy and uninvolved as we are these days, this should be sufficient knowledge – the nugget kind. Just get to the point – that’s all we want.  Bullet points.  Boil it right down for me and don’t waste my time. But wait. Somehow I feel like I am being cheated out of real knowledge, and I am letting it happen.    So, here’s what I took four paragraphs to say, how we interact with information and what we call knowledge have changed. Yes? No? Yikes?  

Oops!  And here I am writing whole paragraphs.  Big Mistake! Ask Scott what he thinks about people who write whole paragraphs. He will say they are wasting his time.  No one wants to read anything longer than a bullet point.

In the spirit of bullet points,  Scott, here's what  . . . naw.  He quit reading this a long time ago.

There are more changes.  Tons.  Some are great, and some are a little scary.  But I feel for the most part, these changes are good, and all in just seven fast years, too.

Just thinkin’
Lee Anne

Welcome to a New Semester on The Eighth Floor!!

I have lived my entire life by the semester. Not by the year, not by the month, and not by the yard, but by the semester.  I get to start anew three times a year. AWESOME!!  Well maybe.  I think what that really means is that instead of experiencing the “circle of life” – you know each year has a beginning and an end and the usual landmarks in between – I am experiencing the “roller coaster of life.” There is a lot of energy that goes into starting anew three times a year!  Luckily, I like roller coasters.

We have certainly had our challenges the last 6/7 months.  We spent August – November as refugees after storm damage closed our floor and stopped normal operations.  Even though we couldn't have classes in our classrooms, we found ways to have them anyway – TCC and TTC really helped out sharing space.  We can’t thank them enough.  During the month of October we offered a “Scratch ‘n Dent” sale.  We had NO idea how popular that would be.  Although it was challenging taking our show on the road every day, we learned a lot about our consortium members, and we hope they know us a little better.

Here we are again at the start of a new semester on The Eighth Floor.  We are back in our offices and no longer sitting on top of each other in one room.  The good news is we can now go back to our quirky work habits and personal tastes in music.  The bad news is Scott doesn’t read us our horoscopes in the mornings anymore.

We are really looking forward to our regular classes starting next week.  We are ready for a familiar routine.  I am excited to check our enrollment numbers every morning to see what classes are filling and which are NOT.  If you are not enrolled, do it.  http://eighthfloor.org/schedule.html Come ride the rollercoaster with us!!

Just ready,
Lee Anne

Digital Tattoos

As you read the title “Digital Tattoos,” what do you image? Are you thinking of a tattoo that is easily removable from your body because it embodies the mythical and ethereal traits of all things digital? Something you can change on a whim?  OR . . . do you think of something you have put on the internet (or has been put on about you) that you can never remove, no matter how hard you work, there will always be a telltale scar? Where did your mind go?

Now, imagine you are a teenager who is still developing a sense of permanency and thinks tattoos are super cool – the more the better – especially the one on the side of your neck.

I have so many things I think about the whole idea of a digital tattoo, that I’m not sure where to start. Making comparison and contrast to an ink, body tattoo brings some tangibility to it – and may also open up some unusual perspectives.

INK TATTOO	DIGITAL TATTOO
It’s art, and beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Tattoo artists do some amazing work – it’s crazy. What better way to celebrate art than to put it on your body.	What one person thinks is a disaster, another may see as a success. Perhaps you want to be remembered as the girl with too much teenage angst.  People have made millions by it. There are some things we put out there that we WANT to stick to us.
The Hollywood myth is that tattoos usually result from a drunken whim. I suppose that happens, but most people I know with body tattoos have thought long and hard about it.	“Tattooing” yourself on the internet is so easy that most people don’t even think about the possibility. Posting a picture or making a blog post takes very little forethought. In fact, there is basically no ceremony at all.
Something you chose to do to yourself. Few people are tattooed without their permission.	A by-product of a hasty or thoughtless action – either by you or someone else.
Most people realize the weightiness of a body tattoo and put much consideration into their message.  You don’t see a lot of tattoos of people puking on themselves at a party.	Although it seems hilarious at the time, you don’t see a lot of people think about how NOT funny a puking picture looks to a potential employer.
A body tattoo may seem like a good idea at the time, but people change. Neck tattoo guy may want to be a judge or spiritual leader later in life – will our society change that much?	Most people are willing to forgive/overlook adolescent or just plain stupid mistakes. We are all human, after all. But the reality is, the impression is already made.

I don’t want to beat a good comparison to death, but I may have.  I’ve run across the phrase “Digital Tattoo” several times, and it has made an impression on me. But, I am an adult.  Do you think the idea of a Digital Tattoo would make an impression on someone who is not yet an adult?

Just thinkin’
Lee Anne

100+ iPad Apps Perfect For High School | Edudemic

As the presence of iPads in the classrooms increase, educators are looking for apps that enhance education. It is time consuming to hunt for apps, preview apps, and then decide if they are worth the effort to install to the iPad. Edudemic.com has posted a list titled, 100+ iPad Apps Perfect For High School | Edudemic, on their website. These apps were recommended by educators in the Palm Beach School System who have giving their stamp of approval.

There is also links to apps for middle school and elementary school as well. I love getting teacher tested great ideas! Thanks, Shawn Beard for sharing the link!

Paying it forward!

Linda Jones

The Eighth floor Technology and Learning Center

Learning with Passion vs. Custodial Education

Linda shared this article about online education with me.  She knew it was timely as I am in my last week with the group of Eighth Floor participants going through the OnlineLearning Series – this is a class that helps educators learn how to teach in an online environment.  I want to pull out a few points to share as I feel this is timely for everyone, every educator, not just my class.  I encourage you to read the article in its entirety:  Clayton Christensen: Why online education is ready for disruption, now.

The first point that really, really, really caught my eye was this: “Human beings with the best education tend to do best in the marketplace.”  My first thought – besides human beings, what living being even gets an education, and furthermore, takes it to a marketplace?  I will give you that I am a bit of a wiseacre, but come on.   Second thought – I totally agree.  When an education counts, those with the best have the best chance.  Third thought – those who learn online are more likely to get the best. They participate far more deeply in their own learning than those who learn in a face-to-face class. Online learners have to participate in every part of the class and their learning – they have to contribute to the discussion forum, they have to participate in group work, they have to make comments on a peer-review, etc.  In a F2F class, it is far too easy for most students to sit in a chair and passively observe the goings on in a class, whether that be lecture, group work, class discussion, etc. 

Next point: “The internet has changed how we interact with time.”  Ummmm . . . yep.  We have treated learning like work, 9-5, for so long.  Thus, the word custodial sits with us. Nothing about the term custodial education sounds interesting.  Nothing about being told I have to learn between the hours of 7:45 am and 3:30 pm sounds like it will encourage me to be a passionate life-long learner.  With access to the internet, I can be learning all the time and anytime, basically whenever I feel a passion for it. 

I also agree with another point made in the article: “We will still need teachers, but the skills necessary for success will be very different.”   Like many workers who have been replaced with “automation” in past centuries, teachers have been concerned that this technology will make them redundant.  Absolutely not. (I also absolutely would also not call a teacher a ‘worker.”)  But here’s what can/will/should change, we no long need to be consumed with lecturing or delivering content over and over and over.  Students can engage in a variety of ways with content at the speed and level they feel comfortable. They need the teacher to help them understand it and apply it. We will need to build deeper relationships with students. We will need to know even more about our subject matter and how “human beings” learn. 

I know most “human beings” don’t care to deal with change, especially if it is uncomfortable.  I am one of those, too, sometimes.  But, to me, this all seems exciting. I would like to think that I am contributing to a passion for learning and not a custodial education. Am I just crazy?

Just thinkin’
Lee Anne

iPodsibilities

Today while doing some background research for an upcoming conference, I stumbled across a fantastic website called iPodsibilities. The site's creator is Megan Wilson a Special Educator, and an Adaptive Technology Specialist, who has been recognized by Apple as a Distinguished Educator. Megan is an advocate for Mobile Learning particuliarly for special needs students.

iPodsibilities focuses on using ipods and ipads in the classroom. Megan's site includes app reviews, resources, adaptive technology, as well as lesson ideas. If you are serious about integrating iPads or iPods into the learning environment check out iPodsibilities.

As Megan states in her Blog, "Imagine the Possiblities!"
Until next time!
Linda

The Innovative Educator: Five Reasons I'm Not Flipping Over The Flipped Cla...

Up for some lively discussion? Check out the discussion regarding "The Flipped Classroom". If you are not familiar with the term "flipped" classroom this blog will help you get up to speed. After reading the discussion, what are your thoughts????
The Innovative Educator: Five Reasons I'm Not Flipping Over The Flipped Cla...: If you've read my thoughts about the Flipped Classroom in USA Today this week, you probably are either in agreement with my caution over...

7 Good Screen Capture Tools for Teachers

Have you ever been frustrated while training students or staff on some new technology tool? Need a new screen capture tool for your technology toolkit?
Richard Byrne author of "Free Technology for Teachers" discusses 7 Good Screen Capture Tools for Teachers in his latest blog .

We Video - Collaborative Online Video Editor

We Video - Collaborative Online Video Editor

In the video editor you can upload your own media clips or use stock media clips to produce your video. The video editor provides tools for trimming the length of display and or sound of each element you add to your video project. What makes We Video collaborative is that you can invite other people to create and edit with you. Check it out!

Linda Jones
Eighth Floor
Coordinator/Instructor

You Tube for Teachers

Good news for teachers! You Tube has launched a You Tube for Teachers. A slight variation from teacher tube
and School Tube, You Tube for Teachers will give teachers tips that show how to organize videos as well as offer discussions on how to help struggling students through the use of videos.

Why use You Tube in your Classroom?
1. Increase student engagement
2. Free access to thousands of high quality educational videos
3. Use videos to lengthen in-class instructional time
4. Expand your impact by reaching a larger audience.
Check out the article titled Five Reasons Why You Tube Rocks the Classroom if you need more reasons.

Teaching Students to Ask Their Own Questions

Came across this article in the Harvard Education Letter The title caught my attention, as an educator who oftened struggled to design thought provoking questions for my students. The article,Teaching Students to Ask Their Own Questions by Dan Rothstein & Luz Santana offers a different if not new perspective on learning, by having students design their questions using a Question Formulation Technique (QFT.) This technique helps students learn how to produce their own questions.
Teachers use QFT to introduce students to a unit, assess knowledge and to conclude a unit. The article includes all the steps you would need to understand and implement the process.
Love sharing!
Linda

Snappy Words

No I am not talking about a list of words to use for quick comebacks, although Snappy Words might help improve your word choice.
We all like free web tools that our students can use Free Technology for Teachers.com  provides teachers with free websites and resources that they can use in their classrooms.
Snappy Words is a free online visual dictionary and thesaurus. Enter any word or phrase into the Snappy Words search box and it will create a web of related words, phrases, and definitions. Hover your cursor over any word or phrase in the web to read its definition.
Check it out!
Linda Jones
The Eighth Floor

YES WE ARE OPEN - From Construction to Destruction to Instruction

CONSTRUCTION

We had a record breaking summer. We offered the most classes we ever have. We had the most teachers we’ve ever had. We had the most enrollments we’ve ever had.  And we had the most fun we’ve ever had.  I would say the only dark cloud was all the construction in this area. Although presently inconvenient, it is much needed progress. Perhaps the most common remark people made as the rushed into class feeling late was that they could see the build for the last 20 minutes – they just couldn’t get here.  The good news is it is getting better and better all the time. Participants who come for classes this fall will find it a little easier to get here, but should still expect some construction.  Your patience and humor were much appreciated this summer. Finding the secret way in from week to week really was a challenge.

DESTRUCTION
In early August a storm tore the roof of our building. Being the top floor, we bore the brunt of the damage – losing 3 classrooms and all the equipment in them.  Even though our offices we not seriously damaged, they moved us off The Eighth Floor until repairs can be made.  We are now ALL sharing a large, open room on the Fourth Floor. It has been a month and we are still alive and speaking to each other!  So far.

We have been told we should be back in our offices and up and running by the middle of October. (Hmmm . . . . sounds like the “two weeks” answer. All renovation takes two weeks, right? )   In absolute faith, we scheduled classes to be held ON the Eighth Floor starting in November.  Still, we couldn’t wait until then to have classes.  TTC and TCC both we able to find us some space here and there.  So we are able to do some classes in October. 

INSTRUCTION
Even though we were able to find some classroom space, we didn’t think we would be busy enough, and we didn’t want to lose the momentum from summer. So, we came up with our “October Scratch n’ Dent Sale.”  The idea is that for the month of October, we would do District Requests for free.

OMG!!  We had no idea how popular this would be. Between the classes we had scheduled and all the District Requests, we can’t put our finger on a blank spot anywhere on the calendar for the month of October.  No Vacancy. 

This is great news!  I see a number of bonuses: we don’t have to worry about these classes canceling, we get to spend some time in new and different learning environments, we can meet consortium members who might never get to take a class on The Eighth Floor, and we can engage in more specialized and informal instruction.  It has been so popular that we are trying to come up with a way to do something like this on a more regular basis.

Hopefully we will see you at your location or ours at some point this fall.

Just sharin’
Lee Anne

Three Things I am Thinking About

Three things I am thinking about as the summer semester comes to an end.

ONE:  Summers are a blast at The Eighth Floor. I wish we could get that level of enrollment in the fall and spring semesters.  *sigh*    Maybe we can . . . ?

During the fall and spring semesters I miss the large classes and teaching every day, but in all actuality, we need that slower time so we can do research and learn new skills ourselves.  But, as great as learning is, it’s still not as fun as teaching a class to a room full of fabulous teachers. Just sayin’.

TWO: My paycheck doesn’t make me feel like this class evaluation comment does.

“I really enjoyed all I learned in this class.  The information and your modeling answered many questions for me, helped me develop a more critical eye for evaluating online courses, afforded me the opportunity to read the best research, and experience first-hand the best practices both as a student and teacher.”

If someone said that to me every day, I’d likely teach for free.  I know a lot of teachers feel the same way.  In fact, I am spending the summer with a whole bunch of them. There is something about being around these people. They love what they do and are inspirational simply by nature, I think. Here’s why I say that: they are spending their summer learning and no one is “making” them; they take time to share what they know with the people around them; they are constantly looking for ways to improve student learning; they love their students.  

THREE: Technology has changed me as a teacher.  I’m not even sure where to begin on this – which is why it is something I am thinking about.

• I know that number one and first and foremost, I would otherwise be teaching English. Love teaching writing, but it has been an amazing challenge to learn to teach something completely new.  
• I have learned more about teaching in the last six years than I did in the twenty before them.
• I look at students differently, and I see my role for them in the classroom differently - facilitator or manager more so than “teacher.”
• I don’t prepare for class as precisely as I use to.  I have to go with the flow and be ready for most anything and any student.
• I spend more time getting to know what my students are focused on so that I can make their class time relevant to them and less time on what I think they don’t know but need to.  
• I am more connected to learning networks than ever.  My influences expand beyond the building I teach in.
• I learn most everything from people on the internet.  (not college professors – Yikes!)
• I don’t lecture so much as I have a conversation in class.  How we consume information has changed – who can even listen to a lecture anymore.
• I never teach the same class twice – I can’t!  Students’ needs change and so does the technology.
• I am connected with my students on multiple levels – social media allows for this.

These are SOME of the things that technology has change about me as a teacher. Technology has made me keep on my toes. Sometimes, paying attention at that intense of a level can wear me down.  Most times, I love it.  I am particularly curious how technology has (or has not) changed other teachers.

So, not that there is even a grand point to this post – but these are three things I am thinking about today. 

Just Thinkin'
Lee Anne

Thinking About Rethinking it all . . . but I really just want to be playing.

It’s that time of year . . . meaning the time of year I try to take a few weeks off before the chaos of we call summer on The Eighth Floor!  Unfortunately, it’s not looking like I will get to be entirely work free. I have a new class I am going to have to create during my time off, but hey, I don’t have to drive into work to do it, right. Someone suggested the other day that I just rely on the book this first time around . . . really? Show me a book on this stuff, please.

Whatever.  I have some things I want to talk about because I have to get them out of my head and into someone else’s so that I can concentrate on my task at hand and get this darn class finished so I can golf and enjoy my time away from work!  If I am nothing else, I am a sharerer.

So, here’s the stuff:  In my research, I have run across many interesting ideas about where online education and technology integration and digital literacy are going, but I don’t feel like I can afford the time to really investigate and think about it right now.  So, I thought I would take it to the tribe for conversation.  (Love that word – check out this Seth Godin video if you want to know how ideas move these days http://blog.ted.com/2009/05/11/why_tribes_not/ )

First topic – Online Education.  Recently, I commented that we are better at online education now because we know better.  We have learned things like self-paced and one-size-fits all computer based training blows.  (Let’s call a turkey a turkey, okay – I’m short on time.) We now subscribe to the idea that community in an asynchronous learning environment is a must.  So, now I am wondering what we will learn next about online learning.  Will we learn that putting content in a virtual environment and creating community around it isn’t really all that great?  Can we be using online space better? Will we ever get a handle on blended learning?  Will we ever quit calling it blended learning – maybe just . . . learning?

Second topic – Rethinking the definition of teacher, learning, classroom, education . . . you get the idea – just rethinking.  There is so much talk about rethinking our educational system.  Okay.  There are some seriously compelling arguments to be made. But, no one seems to have any answers that don’t, in the mean time, harm the “learner. “  Many argue that schools as we know them have reached their limits in terms of real student learning.  Are we producing “knowers” and nothing even close to actual “learners”?   Is that likely truth a result of our blind focus on standardization?

I’m trying to see into the future – crazy, I know. But I thought I’d see if there was any conversation.

Just thinkin’
Lee Anne

FYI – many of my questions come from Will Richardson’s blog, Weblogg-ed.