Open 24 Hours!

“The only scarce resource left today is your attention span. How do you choose to use the next 24 hours?” Richard Malinski

I recently stumbled across this short documentary and can't stop thinking about it. There are so many ideas here that I don’t know where to start, so I am going to set you loose on the video, Information Bombardment. What do you think? Can you be open 24 hours?

Just Sharin’
Lee Anne

How do you connect coffee with your online network?

If you know me, then you know I am nothing without my morning half dozen cups of coffee, so I can make coffee connect with pretty much anything! But seriously. How DO you make a connection between coffee and your online communities? Biggby Bob makes it look pretty darn easy. A good friend of mine owns a chain of coffee houses, mostly in the Michigan area down to the Florida area called Biggby Coffee. No, I'm not trying to promote a friend's business here! I want to use one particular blog post from the Where is Bob? blog to exemplify the breadth and depth of social media and Web 2.0 tools - their use in business, as well as why our students might need to know a little about them . . . and why you might want to know, too!

In the post, a recruiting manager is interviewed about what job seekers can do to set themselves apart. View the short video on Bob's blog. Can you count the number times the Internet, social media, or web 2.0 tools are mentioned? (I get about a dozen.) Does this give you any ideas how you could build your professional network online?

FYI - There is a Biggby Cafe on Facebook. Not only has Biggby Coffee created a face-to-face community of people who come in and BUY their yummy coffee, but they have a hugely populated community online. (check them out on Twitter, too!) This totally fascinates me. How are coffee and online communities connected!!

Just sayin'
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

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

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

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 do you think is the future of education?

According to Steve Hargadon, Web 2.0 is the future of education. Yeah, I kind of looked twice, too. Really? Web 2.0? Blogs, wikis, podcasting, all that? But you know me, I'm a devoted Web 2.0 enthusiast - so of course, I read the article.

He discusses 10 compelling trends. But even more fun is that he goes on to discuss what they look like in education and what we should/could be doing. Here's a tasty morsel:

I believe that the read/write Web, or what we are calling Web 2.0, will culturally, socially, intellectually, and politically have a greater impact than the advent of the printing press. I believe that we cannot even begin to imagine the changes that are going to take place as the two-way nature of the Internet begins to flower, and that even those of us who have spent time imagining this future will be astounded by what happens. I'm going to identify ten trends in this regard that I think have particular importance for education and learning, and then discuss seven steps I think educators can take to make a difference during this time.

Have a look at the post. What do you think? Will the Read/Write Web have a greater impact than the advent of the printing press?

Just Sharin'
Lee Anne

Can a Blog be a Primary Source?

I subscribe to several blogs, and I try my best to read them with some dedication. Some of the blogs I read are written by past students, and one in particular, by a recent Eighth Floor scholar and graduate of the Online Learning Series, Dana Sterling. Her blog is called, SterlingLikeSilver, http://sterlinglikesilver.blogspot.com/. So, okay, great blog, and it’s just like her: smart, energetic, and insightful.

In a recent post, We're only as good as our sources, Dana discusses the idea of blogging – more specifically, what is it and its value. Her discussion has to do with blogs and their place in journalism. For example,

“There are some stories that are best told via TV. But. As a viewer, I didn't want Diane Sawyer to show me what happened after the tsunami in Indonesia. I wanted the reporter to step out of the frame and let the people that were actually there when it happened speak to me. I didn't want Ms. Sawyer's over-interpreted version of the event, or her emotional response. I wanted her sources.”

In the world of education, this becomes an even bigger question than that of style or palatability. I think Dana is taking us here - certainly challenging us to think about it. Right now, not in the future, now, educators are tasked with being AND helping our students become critical filters of information. (Explore this “filter” idea more in Will Richardson’s post “A Publish Then Filter World”). There are a lot of new resources out there, and not all of them come from “traditional” sources. How do we deal with that?

So, here’s an essential question: How DO you deal with these non-traditional sources? Would you allow or even encourage your students to use a blog as a primary source? What about a secondary source? What are your “filters”?

Thanks!
Lee Anne