Patricia Galien - Educational Blogger Extraordinaire

I have many friends, colleagues, and students "out there" that are doing some really great educational blogs. You know me, I'm a sharerer. I wanted to share Patricia's newest blog, A TESOL ESL File Drawer (Higher Ed.), because I think there is a little something for everyone here. She discusses the different tools and resources she uses in her classroom. REAL examples and REAL resources.

Here's a taste of some of her posts.

Using Respondus (clickers) with her students

Links to Grammar Exercises

Fact or Opinion - two ways to use this PPT lesson plan

Patricia Galien was a student of mine in an online Web 2.0 class I teach occasionally. She teaches English as a second language for a community college in the Mid-West. If you subscribe to blogs, put her on your list and add her to your learning network! She is amazingly creative - and not surprisingly, well educated. (smile)

Just Sharin'
Lee Anne

Latest Brain Research - Low-Income Children Function Differently

Wow, two posts in one day from me!

In the Open Education blog, Tom Hanson discusses the findings of recent brain research. I found this so interesting, and unfortunately important, that I wanted to share his post with you.

Check it out:

Latest Brain Research - Low-Income Children Function Differently

Just Sharin'
Lee Anne

TeacherFirst.com

I am trying to squeeze in a little blog reading. To some, that may sound too much like work. To others, that may just be the most boring thing EVER. But, to me, it is inspiring, and dare I say, a fun part of my job. "The Blogs" is where I find all the juicy stuff! A colleague of mine, Mindy Lower, always finds some of THE best stuff out there on the web. Check out her post about TeacherFirst.com.

Here's a little blurb from the TeacherFirst website:

Welcome TeachersFirst is a rich collection of lessons, units, and web resources designed to save teachers time by delivering just what they need in a practical, user-friendly, and ad-free format. We offer our own professional and classroom-ready content along with thousands of reviewed web resources, including practical ideas for classroom use and safe classroom use of Web 2.0. Busy teachers, parents, and students can find resources using our subject/grade level search, keyword search, or extensive menus.

Let me know what you think of this as a resource. Does sharing get any better than this? Be sure to add this site to your online learning network!

Just Sharin'
Lee Anne

Social Networking: It's a Good Thing ?

Socially, I was pretty busy over the Thanksgiving holiday. In fact, I added a flock of new friends to my cyber network – my Facebook world, that is. You’ve read about my adventures in Facebook – the whole discussion about Ambient Awareness . . . . Well, I decided to step it up a notch and see what would happen if I put myself out there a little. Right before the break, I sent out invitations to join Facebook to about 4-5 friends who didn’t already have accounts. To my surprise, I think all of them joined. Not only did all of them join, in some cases, so did their entire extended family.

So, now, my network on Facebook consists of people from their 20’s – their 70’s . I have friends from high school, college, grown-up life, their kids, their parents, my nieces, nephews, brothers, sisters-in-law, people I’ve met through my job, etc. There is no one on my list that I didn’t already have a relationship with in real life. It’s kind of like “hanging out” with my friends, but online. I guess if I put myself out there even further, I might make actual new friends – maybe join a club or group in Facebook. That may be my next experiment.

Needless to say, when I saw this blog post,
Social Networking: It’s a Good Thing, by Joe Crawford, I had to find out more about this “good thing” I was doing. According to Crawford, “A new study suggests that social networking is a beneficial activity, despite concerns about young people spending too much time tethered to the Internet and worries over online predators. Creating a profile on sites like MySpace and Facebook is a creative way to express one's identity, researchers noted, and hanging out with one's friends online is generally safe and healthy”

I get all that, but I have questions. Is this something we should encourage? Is this something we should deny? Or, is this something we should just roll with? Here’s what I’ve gathered from the post. As usual, adults don’t get it. No surprise there! Adults see time online as risky and unproductive. However, according to research, kids need to be online in order to develop the skills of their generation. (Wow, it may be possible that I am not equipped to see that, being an adult and all.) Kids don’t see it as unproductive – it is more like hanging out or talking on the phone. Seems like I remember my mom telling me I wasted way too much time “hanging” on the phone . . . why didn’t I just go visit the person, it’s much more polite. My mom simply didn’t get it. That’s just what we did. We talked to a “crush” on the phone first, after a dozen conversations with all my girlfriends - not face-to-face. Geez, Mom! I think for kids now, it’s the same thing. This online stuff, these are social skills for their generation. Their networks consist of people they already have relationships with. As for me and my posse, I could paint my nails, eat cereal, watch TV, and fight with my brothers all while talking on the phone – AND I could easily remember at least two dozen phone numbers at any given time. Ummm . . . I think they call it multi-tasking now.

Fast forward to Thanksgiving evening 2008. Picture me with a laptop, the TV, a house full of family, a piece of pumpkin pie, and about four conversations going at once. Have things changed so much? Here’s what really cracks me up. My mother actually said, “Why don’t you turn off that stupid computer and call people. It’s much more polite. “

I will probably never be as adept as kids are at the online facet of relationships that exists these days, but I’m dipping my toe in the water. I like it and I’m doing okay and it’s feeling a little more natural.

BTW – my mother spends most evenings watching television ON THE PHONE with her posse!


Just Sharin’
Lee Anne

What Does a Brave New Classroom Look Like These Days?

I realize I am a few weeks late in sharing this conversation - mostly that's because I'm a few weeks late in finding it. And . . . I can't wait to have time to really read it. *sigh*

Brave New Classroom 2.0 on the Britannica Blog is a conversation that has a little something for every educator, whether you are "into" technology or not. I like that there are a variety of perspectives, experiences, and opinions. For example, here are two divergent opinions on the same "2.0" playbill, Steve Hargadon / Post: “Moving Toward Web 2.0 in K-12 Education“ and right next door, Dan Willingham / Post: “Why Web 2.0 Will Not be an Integral Part of K-12 Education”. I can't wait to fully read them.

The one article I have skimmed thus far is Michael Wesch / Post: “A Vision of Students Today (& What Teachers Must Do)” Here's my favorite sentence from his post, "Our students are so alienated by education that they are trying to sneak right past it." His is an interesting discussion about the "getting by" game students play. It's not a new game - I admit, I've played it once or twice when I was in school, back when dinosaurs roamed the earth - but the game is getting more interesting. Do you believe that their desire to get by has nothing to do with their desire to learn?

Just sharin'
Lee Anne

Why do I Care About Ambient Awareness?

What is it called when you are puzzling over an idea or question, and then the answer, without (conscious) effort on your part, presents itself? Is that serendipity? What a great word!

Of course, I have a story to go with my question. I’ve had a Facebook account for years, and until the last 3-4 months, I’ve hardly touched it. Recently, some of my nieces and nephews were debating Facebook vs. Myspace. I proudly announced I had both and jumped right in the conversation. I quickly found I had little to say about which is better. But more importantly, I found that if I wanted to stay in touch with “my kids” then this is where I need to be hanging out. I also found that several of MY friends were on Facebook and that’s been a bonus.

So, last night I was chatting on the phone with a friend that lives in Michigan. We’ve known each other since we were teenagers – a time when we knew everything about each others’ lives. We talked about this Facebook thing and how we, surprisingly, liked it. We can keep up with the rhythm of each others’ lives through status updates and pictures and wall to wall comments. Yep, I’m up on all the hip lingo.

So, here’s the serendipitous part of this story. After our conversation last night I thought quite a bit about why this social tool made me, a digital immigrant, feel closer to people I already love. Then this morning, BAM! Wouldn’t you know, Will Richardson referred to a New York Times Magazine article in one of his blog posts. The article is called, “Brave New World of Digital Intimacy.” The author, Clive Thompson, gives us the verbiage, AMBIENT AWARENESS, which helped me really make sense of all this. He even used the word “rhythm”!!

Here’s a taste:
“This is the paradox of ambient awareness. Each little update — each individual bit of social information — is insignificant on its own, even supremely mundane. But taken together, over time, the little snippets coalesce into a surprisingly sophisticated portrait of your friends’ and family members’ lives, like thousands of dots making a pointillist painting. This was never before possible, because in the real world, no friend would bother to call you up and detail the sandwiches she was eating. The ambient information becomes like “a type of E.S.P.,” as Haley described it to me, an invisible dimension floating over everyday life.”

Of course, NOW I’m thinking about how this whole phenomenon of virtual ambient awareness works in building online learning communities. How can I use this in a face-to-face class? I’m also thinking that the phrase, ambient awareness, is not on Wikipedia . . . yet. Wouldn’t that be a great project for a class?

Take a few minutes to read Thompson’s article. He sheds some interesting light on why we are so attracted these “awareness tools,” along with some insightful pluses and minuses. (is it me or does it almost sounds like the U.S. Government has had a hand in renaming “social networking tools.”)

Just thinkin’

Lee Anne

Get Out of the Classroom with Virtual Field Trips

When I think of field trips I think of yellow buses, permission slips, and peanut butter and jelly sandwiches with a hot can of pop. Yep, I'm kind of old. But I was just thumbing through the August edition of the eSchool News -- I KNOW! I WAS ACTUALLY READING SOMETHING I COULD TOUCH -- and I had to share this great list of virtual field trips. I gathered them all in my Delicious account under the tag "FieldTrip".

Here's the link: http://delicious.com/lamorris/FieldTrip

If you have a favorite or a link to one not on this list, please leave a comment.

Just sharin'.
Lee Anne

Michael Wesch’s Presentation to Library of Congress

I have to share this discussion from Will Richardson's blog about Michael Wesch's recent presentation to the Library of Congress. Fantastic. He is so wonderful at making (letting) you think. (Remember, he's the guy who did The Machine is Us/ing Us )

The video is about 55 mins. Yes, that is quite a time investment. I promise you. It is worth it.



Just Sharin'
Lee Anne

I Love the Human Brain!

For many in the area, classes are starting. My first TCC credit class was last night. As usual, our first meeting consisted of reviewing the syllabus, the course content and expectations, and getting to know each other. Reviewing the syllabus is never exciting, but important. Without really meaning to, I did something kind of odd. (Is that how oddness happens?) Before class started I checked weather.com to see what was up. When I began speaking, I left it on the projected screen, and every few minutes I refreshed the view.

So, yeeeeah, why am I telling you this? After I drag the (at this point) willing students laboriously through the schedule, I ask for questions or concerns, etc. I always get a few. Generally, the questions are about details I have just shared with them - as in . . . didn't I just say that? After I answer their questions, I ask them questions about what is in the syllabus. Some can answer many of the questions, but these aren't really the results I hope for. This class was different. The only question asked was if they were allowed to bring beverages in the classroom. Great question - I had not said anything about that. When I quizzed them about the syllabus after, they hit about 99.99999999% accuracy.

I really, really don't think I became a better "explainer" all of the sudden, just this week.

Would anyone like to comment on the connection between weather.com on the overhead and their ability to focus on the discussion?

I love the human brain. I think how we are using it is changing.

Just Sayin'!
Lee Anne

Good Question! Are we getting stupider?

Media have been changing the way we “behave” for a long time now – from the first traveling storyteller to the new iPhone. I usually share with participants in our Web 2.0 classes that the way I learn, share, read, and not surprisingly, think has changed over the last few years. It’s the internet, without doubt, that has propagated my new behavior. I feel like I think more shallowly (it’s a word now!), but I see more and make more connections. The question is . . . am I a casualty or am I the fruit of the internet as a medium? I’m sure most of you are thinking fruit. She is defiantly a fruit. Yeah, yeah, yeah . . . .

In the Atlantic Monthly.com article, Is Google Making Us Stupid?, Nicholas Carr explores the notion that our brains are changing and our new media are responsible.

"As the media theorist Marshall McLuhan pointed out in the 1960s, media are not just passive channels of information. They supply the stuff of thought, but they also shape the process of thought. And what the Net seems to be doing is chipping away my capacity for concentration and contemplation. My mind now expects to take in information the way the Net distributes it: in a swiftly moving stream of particles. Once I was a scuba diver in the sea of words. Now I zip along the surface like a guy on a Jet Ski."

Here’s my question, is it a good trade to forfeit deeper insight for a broader perspective? Okay, I guess I have way more than ONE question. What does this mean in terms of how students learn, how we teach, what we teach, where they learn? How should educators react? Should we cultivate this new way of reading? Will you even be able to finish reading this blog post?

I am constantly fascinated by how the simplest inventions or “happenings” can so monumentally change what is us or what is our world. For example, I’m reading a book, Everything Is Miscellaneous: The Power of the New Digital Disorder by David Weinberger in which he discusses how the alphabet was originally a miscellaneous grouping of letters in no rational order. Essentially, it was just a bunch of letters floating in your soup, and even how those letters eventually became letters was pretty much unscripted. Someone along the way put them in a random order and said, here, we’re going to do it this way. Thus was born the alphabet upon which the preponderance of our world is ordered. Blows my mind – you’ll be hearing more about this book when I finish it.

So, let’s move from one unconsidered mind blower to another – the clock. Carr shows us that the clock changed everything about how we thought, behaved, interacted, etc.

"In deciding when to eat, to work, to sleep, to rise, we stopped listening to our senses and started obeying the clock."

Go ahead. Imagine your life without a clock of any sort. Can you trust your senses? How might our world look now if we had never had clocks? Do you think it might be better or worse? What about no alphabet – better or worse? Surely arguments can be made on either side.

I use to be a fairly focused thinker, but even as much as I wanted to read this entire article in one fell swoop, I couldn’t. I followed links in the article, I wrote this blog post, I instant messaged with people, and many other tasks I didn’t know I was doing all at the same time. I had to remind myself to go back to the article. Can you do it? Can you read the entire article? I finally did. It was worth it. Still, in the frenetic process of reading this article and writing about it, I made several discoveries and thought some worthwhile thoughts. I learned, but did I learn better or worse? Am I getting stupider? (no comments on my stupidness, please!)

As a writing instructor turned technology integration instructor, I have to end with a provocative quote from the article, at least provocative to me:

In Plato’s Phaedrus, Socrates bemoaned the development of writing. He feared that, as people came to rely on the written word as a substitute for the knowledge they used to carry inside their heads, they would, in the words of one of the dialogue’s characters, “cease to exercise their memory and become forgetful.” And because they would be able to “receive a quantity of information without proper instruction,” they would “be thought very knowledgeable when they are for the most part quite ignorant.”

I’m just sayin’!
Lee Anne

You - the Voki Avatar

Okay, it's almost the end of the week and almost the end of the summer semester. I think we need to make time for a little play 'n learn.


Get a Voki now!
(click on the play button in the bottom left)

At this point I honestly don't remember where I learned about this site, but it has been fun. Voki.com is a cool (free) little site where you can create your own speaking avatar. It is fairly intuitive and fast.

I sent the link to several coworkers and the Online Learning Series participants the other day. I didn't have time to play with it just then, but I had to share it! WELL . . . I have been getting some hilarious messages from people. Although I should probably be doing something a bit higher on the "productive" scale this afternoon, I am making time for a little play 'n learn.

Actually, I can see many uses for this - not just play. How cool would this be for an introduction to students taking your online class or going to your blog or wiki?

Take a play 'n learn break. You deserve it.

Just sharin'
Lee Anne

George Mason launches online clearinghouse for teachers of American history

I am inclined to believe that when a "clearinghouse" comes aknocking on your door, you are indeed already a winner!

I am reading ClassroomNews - an online eNewsletter by eSchool News. There are several interesting articles, but one certainly caught my eye. Are you a history teacher (or do you know one) looking for useful online content? Here you go . . . I hope! Below is ClassroomNews' link and discussion.

George Mason launches online clearinghouse for teachers of American history
http://teachinghistory.org/
"George Mason University has received a five-year, $7 million grant from the U.S. Department of Education (ED) to build and run an interactive web site that trains the nation’s elementary and high school history teachers in their craft. The new National History Education Clearinghouse is funded by ED’s Teaching American History program, which supports professional development opportunities for teachers in that field. The site will include features such as a searchable database of state history standards, customizable lesson plans, and online discussion forums with education experts on current trends in teaching American history. Kelly Schrum, director of educational projects at George Mason’s Center for History and New Media, said the site is designed to be the most comprehensive resource available for instructors specializing in American history. “There are a lot of clearinghouses and professional training in science and math, but not in history,” Schrum told The Examiner of Washington, D.C. “This is really an outgrowth of our overall mission.”

Check it out and let me know what you think?

Just Sharin'
Lee Anne

Podcasting Advice You Can Use

I have had the boundless pleasure of teaching a couple of podcasting classes this summer. The more I work with podcasting, the more I am convinced that this a fantastic activity and opportunity for student learning and creative expression. The technical aspects of this activity may seem a bit overwhelming at first unless you are a geek. I am NOT a geek (though I want to be!), so I am always grateful when I find tools that relieve me of the need to be geeky.

Through Eduhound's eNewsletter, I found a link to some cool podcasting resources. The creators of Radio Willow Web share their tools and techniques at Learninginhand.com. It is certainly worth a glance.

What I'm most excited about here, is the free music and sound effects links they share. I have not had a chance to roll around in all of them yet. If you find one to be particularly appropriate and easy, please share with everyone.

You may be interested in subscribing to EduHound's eNewsletter, Classroom Tools & Tips.

Just sharin'!

Lee Anne

What About Blogs - July 15th Class

What About Blogs?
Welcome to the Eighth Floor class about blogging in education. As a collaborative and constructive tool, blogs have found their place in education. As educators, we are using them as learning tools not only for our students, but also for ourselves.

Blogs in Plain English


Lee LeFever of the Common Craft Show

So What’s a Blog?
Let the 6 & 7 year olds from Room 9 at Nelson Central School educate you about what they think a blog is and why they love using them!



Let’s Talk About Blogs
How is a blog different from a website?
What does it mean to blog, be a blogger?
Why do you think you or your students might be attracted to this as a form of expression?
The first step to being a good blogger is to be a good blog ____________?

Top 10 Reasons to Use a Blog in the Classroom

Education Professional Development Blogs
Weblogg-ed - A blog by Will Richardson
Moving at the Speed of Creativity - A blog by Wesley Fryer
Blog of Proximal Development - a blog by Konrad Glogowski
Blogs about Educational Blogging - a wiki by Support Blogging.com

Classroom/Student Blogs
Arthus - NewlyAncient (high school student blog)
AP Calculus AB (An interactive log for students and parents in my AP Calculus class. This ongoing dialogue is as rich as YOU make it. Visit often and post your comments freely.)
The Good Habits Blog (blog for students)
Mrs Cassidy's Classroom Blog (elementary)
Blogical Minds (This is a blog created to explore what happens when 5th graders blog and converse about literacies in class and beyond)

Google Search for Blogs
http://blogsearch.google.com/?hl=en&tab=wb

Check out the following education/safety focused postings and articles:
MySpace Education
Change Agency
BlogSafety.com
Blogs, Fair Use, and Paying to Play

Blogging Tips and Tricks:
Web Blog Basics
Blogs - Anatomy
Blogs for Learning
Evaluating Blogging
Blogging Best Practices
Top 10 Blog Writing Tips
___________________________________________________________________

QUESTION!
Since this is a class about blogging, we thought you might want to do a little, well, blogging. So, what are some advantages to using blogs? What are some disadvantages? What can you do to minimize the disadvantages?
____________________________________________________________________

Add your comment to this post. Take a minute to think about the above questions. (Or share something else, if you choose, like an idea your already have for using blogs) Click on the "comments" link below and then type your answer. You can comment as "anonymous or other." Be sure to include your name somewhere so we know who you are. Read others’ comments and feel free to comment on their comments!

Thanks!
Lee Anne

When is an apple more than just an apple?

I ran across a quote this morning that got me thinking about apples. Seriously, apples are an amazingly popular and versatile fruit. Aside from eating them (they are "delicious"), think about all the places apples pop up in our day to day lives:

• An apple a day keeps the doctor away


• Teachers and apples will forever be linked


• The apple of your eye


• Comparing apples and oranges (I actually wrote a paper on this in college!)


• As American as apple pie


• One bad apple . . . isn't there one in every group?


• How do you like them apples?


• And maybe the most famous apple of all . . . . Apple Computers.
  

With all the ways apples figure into our lives, is it weird that my mind went directly to Apple Computers when I read the following quote in the Sloan-C View eNewsletter today?

"If you have an apple and I have an apple and we exchange these apples then you and I will still each have one apple. But if you have an idea and I have an idea and we exchange these ideas, then each of us will have two ideas.
George Bernard Shaw."

I envisioned people literally exchanging computers and realizing that they didn't have any greater insight or technical literacy than they had before. BUT, if they share what they learn while they use their computers – WOW! Imagine the possibilities. As I was reading the quote I thought, what a great example of how technology integration and innovation have nothing to do with 'point and click' skills and everything to do with learning. And then I saw who the author is and realized I need to get out a little more.

But I think I know why my mind did immediately go there. We have been having a great summer on the Eighth Floor. I have been lucky enough to work with so many apple deserving educators – you know, the kind that never stop thinking and sharing – they are constantly popping. I love seeing people make the connections, both with other people and with the potential of technology. There's been a lot of energy to soak up around here this summer! And, I like them apples.

Just Thinkin'
Lee Anne

Are Conversational Skills (in writing) Important?

I ran across an article last week in Campus Technology's Web 2.0
eNewsletter, Learning in the Webiverse: How Do you Grade a Conversation. I couldn't click on it fast enough! Why wouldn't you want to know this? I can't tell you the number of educators that struggle with the discussion boards and web tools, etc.

Right off the bat the author, Dr. Trent Batson, asks two pretty big questions:

1. Are conversational skills (in writing) important and, if so, how do we teach them?
   
2. How do you evaluate written turns in an ongoing conversation?
   

Here are several topic headings to pique your interest.

• An Academic Online Conversation
  
• Principles for Evaluating Online Conversations
  
• Web 2.0 Just Does Conversation
  
• That Old Tipping Point
  

Any thoughts . . .

Just Sharin'
Lee Anne

What did they really learn in class yesterday?

I taught a day long PowerPoint class yesterday. As is usual, the participants ran the gamut from very beginner to fairly advanced. The class is designed to start from the dead bottom beginning and work toward intermediate skills. However, I assured the advanced users that they would surely pick up some valuable tips or tricks along the way - at least I always do no matter how many classes I take on a topic.

As folks filed out at the end of the day, one of the advanced users stopped to tell me how much she had learned in class and how happy she was that she stayed. At the beginning of class she realized she was in the wrong class and considered leaving. I was thrilled, of course! Out of curiosity, I asked her what were a few of the things she learned about PowerPoint. She enthusiastically told me nothing - she already knew all that stuff. The golden nuggets came in between the PowerPoint instruction. She said the websites I talked about were exactly what she needed (I wish I could remember all of them), and the tips on presentation design had never occurred to her. During the break one of the other participants helped her with a completely unrelated technology problem - one that no one at her school could tackle. She wanted to know what was on the docket for tomorrow!

I'm still thrilled that it was time well spent for her. And, I promised her I would share one of the sites we played with called SlideShare . This is a free site where educators have put their PowerPoint presentations in order to access them from anywhere and to share them with other educators. Go have a look. Search a topic you generally work with - I bet you'll find something. Additionally, if you have a great presentation you use with your students - share!

Another site we talked about was PowerPoint in the Classroom, a campy little site full of instruction and tutorials for both 2003 and 2007.

Good Times!
Lee Anne

PowerPoint - My Dear Old Friend

With all the new web tools and free tools and what have you that are available now, we may forget about our dear old friend PowerPoint. When it comes to classroom tools that are versatile and easy to use for both student and teacher, PowerPoint always fits the bill. I ran across a blog post that reminded me of this in the Edublogs Magazine, "Teaching Technology Takes Kids Farther: PowerPoint." The author shares some very nice resources and tutorials (go about 2/3 down the post to find the links), as well as discusses personal classroom integration techniques. I encourage you to take a look at the article and the resources - lots of cool idea sparkers.

If you want to build, freshen, or advance your PowerPoint skills, of course we offer classes on the Eighth Floor to meet just those needs. (Both 2003 and 2007 versions)

Go to the Eighth Floor Class Info for times and dates.

As always, if you have question, comments, or concerns . . .

Just Sharin'
Lee Anne

Its Free! -- K12 Online Conference

Are you looking for a FREE conference?
Look no further: http://k12onlineconference.org/

Welcome to the K-12 Online Conference!

The K-12 Online Conference invites participation from educators around the world interested in innovative ways Web 2.0 tools and technologies can be used to prove learning. This FREE conference is run by volunteers and open to everyone. The 2008 conference theme is “Amplifying Possibilities”. This year’s conference begins with a pre-conference keynote the week of October 13, 2008. The following two weeks, October 20-24 and October 27-31, forty presentations will be posted online to the conference blog (this website) for participants to download and view. Live Events in the form of three “Fireside Chats” and a culminating “When Night Falls” event will be announced. Everyone is encouraged to participate in both live events during the conference as well as asynchronous conversations. More information about podcast channels and conference web feeds is available!

Call for proposals: http://k12onlineconference.org/?p=218

I attended the first two (2006 & 2007) and found them to be well, well worth my time.

Just Sharin'!
Lee Anne

Tips for Digital Literacy - Yes, this is stuff you want to know!

Like many of you, I am still trying to get a comfortable handle on “digital literacy.” I have tons and tons of questions and very few "good" answers.

• How do I help my students evaluate and manage all the information presently available to them?
• How do I help them distinguish the good from the bad from the ugly?
• How do I help them understand copyright and copyleft?
• How do I help them find a variety of information (not just what’s available through Wikipedia or Google)?
• How do I, how do I, how do I????
  

So, anytime I see an article dealing with anything to do with digital/information/media literacy, etc., I’m on it. Needless to say, this article from TechLearning, “Make Students Info Literate” by Judy Salpeter had my full attention. The article touches on several timely topics, such as finding a variety of research options, finding effective research terms, copyright, tools that make evaluation easier, terms and definitions of 21st Century literacy, and NCTE recommendations.

In case you don’t subscribe to TechLearning you may want to . . . no, I don’t get any money for this!

Just Sharin’!
Lee Anne

The Magic of Digital Storytelling

Digital storytelling! How I love thee, let me count the ways. Yes, I am blog reading, again. Here’s a post that definitely got my attention. Alix Peshette, in her blog EdTech Gold Rush writes about the power of digital storytelling. There are so many points I find interesting in her discussion about her recent research (and grant proposal) using digital storytelling with Special Education students, but here’s what got my attention.

"Everything I read or see about 21st century learners speaks about their engagement through digital learning. What goes on in most classrooms are teaching styles that rely on textbooks, lectures and multiple choice tests.

A blinding flash of the obvious is that most school board members and district-level administrators have not been in the classroom (as students or teachers) since the advent of the Internet. They can mouth the words about the importance of technology, but deep down, they just don’t get it. They haven’t seen the engagement that comes from letting our students work in a modality that is second nature to them."

Because I chose this particular excerpt from her post, you may be thinking I am going to "go off" on administrators. Not at all! Remove any negative connotations you may interpret – for example, “They can mouth the words . . .” Replace that with, "They can blindly support . . ." Replace "They haven’t seen the engagement . . . " with "They aren’t lucky enough to participate in learning at this level. " See where I’m going with this? No, the administrators aren’t "there" where the classroom teachers are – teachers and administrators are doing different jobs. It’s as it should be.

Okay, so how do we communicate? Alix talks about a project she did as part of the grant working with 4th and 5th graders using PhotoStory3 (free!).

"In the space of five minutes, as each 4th grader recorded their voice and then listened to it, magic happened. The excitement rose, smiles were wide and friends were listening to each other’s recordings. All this with three-dollar microphones and free software!"

I think administrators get magic.

We offer several classes using free tools that lend themselves to digital storytelling, such as Digital Picture Projects which uses VoiceThread and PhotoStory 3 and Developing Mulitmedia which uses MovieMaker. In fact, much of what we do on the Eighth Floor is all about helping teachers make the magic happen. I’m just sayin’.

Here’s my suggestion: of course we want you to come up for classes, but more importantly, why don’t you come with your administrators or with your teachers (who you bring depends on what you do – see how that works?). Be the team that makes the magic.

Thanks!
Lee Anne

What About Blogs - April 30, 2008 Class

What About Blogs?
Welcome to the Eighth Floor class about blogging in education. As a collaborative and constructive tool, blogs have found their place in education. As educators, we are using them as learning tools not only for our students, but also for ourselves.

Blogs in Plain English



Lee LeFever of the Common Craft Show

So What’s a Blog?
Let the 6 & 7 year olds from Room 9 at Nelson Central School educate you about what they think a blog is and why they love using them!



Let’s Talk About Blogs
How is a blog different from a website?
What does it mean to blog, be a blogger?
Why do you think you or your students might be attracted to this as a form of expression?
The first step to being a good blogger is to be a good blog ____________?

Education Professional Development Blogs
Weblogg-ed - A blog by Will Richardson
Moving at the Speed of Creativity - A blog by Wesley Fryer
Blog of Proximal Development - a blog by Konrad
Blogs about Educational Blogging - a wiki by Support Blogging.com


Classroom/Student Blogs
Arthus - NewlyAncient (high school student blog)
The Good Habits Blog (blog for students)
Mrs Cassidy's Classroom Blog (elementary)
Blogical Minds (This is a blog created to explore what happens when 5th graders blog and converse about literacies in class and beyond)

Google Search for Blogs
http://blogsearch.google.com/?hl=en&tab=wb

Check out the following education/safety focused postings and articles:
MySpace Education
Change Agency
BlogSafety.com
Blogs, Fair Use, and Paying to Play

Blogging Tips and Tricks:
Web Blog Basics
Blogs - Anatomy
Blogs for Learning
Evaluating Blogging
Blogging Best Practices
Top 10 Blog Writing Tips
___________________________________________________________________

QUESTION!
Since this is a class about blogging, we thought you might want to do a little, well, blogging. So, what are some advantages to using blogs? What are some disadvantages? What can you do to minimize the disadvantages?
____________________________________________________________________

Add your comment to this post. Take a minute to think about the above questions. (Or share something else, if you choose, like an idea your already have for using blogs) Click on the "comments" link below and then type your answer. You can comment as "anonymous or other." Be sure to include your name somewhere so we know who you are. Read others’ comments and feel free to comment on their comments!

Thanks!
Lee Anne

Intro to Photoshop on the Eighth Floor - THE MOVIE!

We have ordered some Flip Video cameras for our Eighth Floor classes this summer. I can't wait to start using them in class! These are seriously easy to use video cameras. You know me, I don't like anything too complicated. You also know that I couldn't help playing with one and in the process making Scott my victim.

Since he is teaching an Intro to Photoshop class this morning, I thought I would video the start of his class and thus share the course topics with anyone interested in taking the class. So! If you want to know what you will learn in this very popular class, watch the video.

Even if you don't care about the class, watch the video! I confess that I didn't spend a lot of time "editing" the video and cleaning it up, sorry. I'm dying to, but I just don't have the time right now. I'm going to guess this first attempt at this took me about one and half - two hours including creating this blog post. I'm sure I will be faster next time!




Here are the tools I used: Flip Video, Microsoft MovieMaker, YouTube, and Blogger.com. Except for the Flip video, these tools are all free, and of course, "stuff" you can learn about in our classes.

(Thanks, Scott, for always being such a good sport!)

Just playin'
Lee Anne

Transformative is a Beautiful Word

I've been working with a group of graduate students (all educators) on some pretty sizzling topics like public domain, fair use, and copyright. Let me tell you, these are topics that can really get a madcap party started. I'm just sayin'!

Understanding copyright is a challenge - and that's kind of putting it nicely. But I read a post by Joyce Valenza, Fair use and transformativeness: It may shake your world, and suddenly I felt like it was a little easier to breath. You know, kind of like when you have a cold and you pop a mentholated lozenge in your mouth. Air can suddenly pass through swollen passages. It's a miracle. The word "transformative" was like a mentholated lozenge for us.

Here's a taste of what she has to say about fair use in education.

"My new understanding:

I learned on Friday night that the critical test for fairness in terms of educational use of media is transformative use. When a user of copyrighted materials adds value to, or repurposes materials for a use different from that for which it was originally intended, it will likely be considered transformative use; it will also likely be considered fair use. Fair use embraces the modifying of existing media content, placing it in new context.

Examples of transformativeness might include: using campaign video in a lesson exploring media strategies or rhetoric, using music videos to explore such themes as urban violence, using commercial advertisements to explore messages relating to body image or the various different ways beer makers sell beer, remixing a popular song to create a new artistic expression."


There's much more in the post. And, even though the effects of the lozenge don't last for very long, you feel good for a little while, right. I thought her discussion was worth reading and thinking about.

If you want or need to do a little more reading on copyright (or copyleft) here are links to enough information to keep you busy for a few minutes.

http://del.icio.us/lamorris/copyright
http://del.icio.us/lamorris/copyleft
http://del.icio.us/lamorris/Library

Just sharin'!
Lee Anne

Wanna SEE your Delicious Network?

This is seriously cool!

Here is a way to "see" your learning network.

If you have a social bookmarking account with Delicious, you are going to love this. You can "explore" your network - who hooks up with whom, etc. I was surprised by the number of people who are fans with many of the people in my network.

Delicious Network Explorer:
http://www.twoantennas.com/projects/delicious-network-explorer/

If nothing else, it's entertaining!

Just sharin'!

Lee Anne

What does Web 2.0 Mean?

If you have ever looked up anything on Wikipedia, you have used a Web 2.0 tool. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_2.0) If you have ever watched a video on YouTube or TeacherTube, you have used a Web 2.0 tool. If you have ever been on MySpace or Facebook or LinkedIn, then you have used a Web 2.0 tool. If you have ever watched a movie from Netflix on your computer, you have used a Web 2.0 tool. If you are reading this blog, you are using a Web 2.0 tool. (Check out WebWare for a pretty good list of Web.2.0 tools)

Web 2.0 tools are kind of becoming the way things are "done" on the web these days. Someone asked me the other day what was Web 1.0? Great question! Well, we didn’t really call it Web 1.0 at the time because like most things that change over time, we didn’t know there was going to be a newer version. Think of Web 1.0 as your basic website - a static page that contains information you can consume or access - a one-way form of communication, if you will. Web 2.0, on the other hand, is your two-way form of communication, often called the Read/Write web. This means you can not only consume (read) the information on the site, but you can also contribute (write) to the information. For example, you could leave a comment on this blog post and then you would be writing to the web.

What does this mean? Pretty simple - now everyone and anyone who wants to can be published on the World Wide Web. Everyone has a voice. Your learning network has grown exponentially. You have access to more primary resources than ever. Does that sound a little overwhelming? Don't let it be.

If you are interested in knowing more about Web 2.0 tools and what they look like when used in education, then we have a class for you, Web 2.0: The Lightning Round. In this hands-on class we will look at many of the tools being used by educators in their classrooms and for their own professional development. The class meets this Wednesday, April 2nd on the Eighth Floor from 8:30 am – 2:30 pm.

Hope to see you Wednesday!
Lee Anne

How Safe are Social Networking Sites?

Apparently less dangerous than we have been lead to believe!

I'm a little behind on my blog reading or I would have shared this much sooner. In his blog, Moving at the Speed of Creativity, Wes Fryer, in his post "Study encourages a less hyped view of social networking risks," writes about a recent study that "busts" some of the media induced myths about online predators and Internet safety. Wes does a quick review of the myths and includes links to the article and more.

I won't spend your time with a complete "regurge" - check out his post. It's worth the read if for no other reason than balance.

Thanks!
Lee Anne