How do you Get In the GAME?

I just read an article by Ryan Bretag called Get Off the Sidelines and Into the Game where he suggests that we as educators should try or have intimate experience in an activities before we ask our students to participate in a project or assignment. How often do we say to students do as I say, “not as I do”, create this project – “that I have never done myself”, read this paper / chapter / article “that I have only skimmed” . . . I know that throughout my earlier career I have been guilty of this. I know that when I do ask students to do things that have never experienced before I run into trouble – trouble with timeframes, project management, student learning, student frustration, even behavior and class management issues. The biggest problem I run across is the quality of student work and the relationship of the student product to my expectations and the ability for me to see that the student has mastered the standard being assessed through the project

If we as educators are going to use new Web 2.0 technologies and activities we must have experience using these technologies. Bretag’s bottom line (and I whole heartedly agree) is: if you want your students to BLOG then BLOG yourself – if you want to create a WIKI and collaboratively create an idea or project then get involved in the WIKI yourself – If Pod Casting is your thing then make sure you have some Pod Casts posted for student’s to listen to your voice and your ideas.

Let’s all Get Off the Sidelines and Into the Game!

This is my 2nd BLOG and by no means the quality that I aspire to – but an attempt all the same. My 1st was part of a technology training I participated in online over the summer (Library Evolution). I still have questions and fears about putting my written word to BLOG for all to see. However, I have always been a big believer in taking risks and stepping outside my comfort zone. This is how I learn - through trial and error. It was Thomas Edison who said, “I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.” Thomas A. Edison (1847 - 1931). It sometimes takes me a few more tries than Edison, but I find that persistence is the key to success.

WIKI What?

A Wiki is computer software that allows users to easily create, edit and link web pages. Wikis are often used to create collaborative websites, power community websites, and are increasingly being installed by businesses to provide affordable and effective Intranets or for use in Knowledge Management. One of the best-known wikis is Wikipedia. Taken from Wikipedia

http://napkincommunications.pbwiki.com/

Here is a place where you can easily add – delete – edit and share information and ideas through a collaborative effort to create our plan for technology in Alternative Education.

What you need to know: How to read, type and edit typed information.

What you need to do: Follow the link below to sign up with MY PBwiki Identity – You will be sent an email with further directions. This is not immediate (about 10 – 15 minutes) so plan to come back to this project once you sign up.

https://my.pbwiki.com/new.php

All that you need is an email address and a password that you create!

How to use PB wiki: http://blog.pbwiki.com/2007/06/26/latest-features-roundup-spreadsheets-voice-chat-event-planning-calendars-video-upload/

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Another place to create a FREE Wiki: http://www.wikispaces.com/

Check out this article and video by AL (Atomic Learning)

Gcast- what's that?

In my endless searching for new ideas and information, I came across an article about a site called Gcast. I have heard of audiocast and podcast, but never Gcast, so I had to check it out. I am so glad that I did because I think this is an excellent resource for our students.

Basically a Gcast is a podcast recorded and sent by telephone. The purpose is to allow a person to contribute a cast without a computer. I have created a site for my students to utilize. All of my students don't have computers, but all have access to a telephone. They can now answer questions, participate in discussions, interview and host a broadcoast directly from their phones.

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If you want more information or to setup your own Gcast site simply follow the directions below.

1. Go to the site: http://www.gcast.com
2. Click on the sign up now link in the top right corner of the page.
3. Complete the form and be sure to click on accept terms
(Keep in mind that your username does not have to be the name of your site- you can edit that on the next page.)
4. Enter your 10 digit phone (Your students will need this number- so make one up if you don't want them to have your number)
5. Create your 4 digit pin- (Your students will need this number to post so keep it simple)

You are done!

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To call in your Gcast simply call the toll free number and follow the prompts:
(888)65G-cast

Happy posting!!

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Here's a sample of a Gcast that I did from my phone:

Subscribe Free  Add to my Page

RSS Feeds

RSS stands for Real Simple Syndication

"Also called web feeds, RSS is a content delivery vehicle. It is the format used when you want to syndicate news and other web content. When it distributes the content it is called a feed. You could think of RSS as your own personal wire service."

The photo on the right is a sample of my feed for this page. It keeps me informed of changes to this blog.

A really simple explination is that it is a free service that monitors blogs, websites, etc., for updated information. The latest news, a new blog, or new home page content. It is kind of like the ticker on the bottom of a news screen, as information is updated it shares the info.

Check out the following website for more detailed information:

http://www.press-feed.com/howitworks/rss_tutorial.php

Did you Know

Watch this video by Karl Fisch

Special thanks to Karl Fisch and associates for sharing such great insight. Your presentations give way to thought provoking conversations and create a starting point for us to jump into a world of educational technology and our educational global society.

Now that you have watched the video how will you join the conversation?

SHIFTHAPPENS
taken from shifthappens.wikispaces.com/

Did You Know? is intended to be a conversation starter. Questions such as the following are good ways to start conversation:

1. What are your initial reactions to what you saw in the presentation?
2. How are these changes manifesting themselves in your personal lives? professional lives?
3. What do we think it means to prepare students for the 21st century?
4. What skills do students need to survive and thrive in this new era?
5. What implications does this have for our current way of doing things?
6. Do we need to change? If so, how?
7. How do we get from here to there?
8. What challenges must we overcome as we move forward?
9. What supports will we need as we move forward?
10. What kind of training will we need to move forward?
11. What kind of commitments will we need to make (with each other, our students, and our community) to move forward?
12. Who's scared? Why?
13. What will we do next? What are some concrete actions that we can take in the near future?
14. Is it possible for a teacher to be an excellent teacher if he/she does not use technology?

The Time Is Now

WHY I THINK TEACHERS SHOULD EMBRACE TECHNOLOGY

I am part of the generation who has grown up with technology at our fingertips and I admit that I am truly a techno. geek. I love this stuff, I want to try and learn about everything. I believe it is part of my job to know, understand and be able to utilize the latest technology in my classroom.

My students have grown up with even more at their fingertips and simply embrace the new technologies without question. They may not be technology experts or understand all of the wonderful tools at their fingertips, but they don't make excuses for their lack of knowledge. They simply say things like, "well, then show me how it works."

Unlike our students, adults tend to excuse their lack of knowledge and understanding of the latest technologies. Not only do they choose not embrace the technology for themselves, they fight their students utilizing it to enhance their learning experience. If your not sure if you are one of the these technology crushers, look around. Is technology part of your life, your lessons and your assessments? If you answered no, then please try to learn for the benefit of your students. If we don't embrace these new tools, then how will our students manage to compete with their global counterparts. Computers are not typewriters, they are amazing machines that allow a user to literally hold the world in their fingertips. Information is shared in real-time and conversations are held across continents. When our students go into the business world they will be expected to know how to find, access and utilize information to find solutions and disaggregate data. Typing a word into Google will simply not suffice, they need to know how to narrow their search results, verify information and post it for the world to see.

If we as educators don't give them these skills, who will? Isn't one of our goals to help our students be life-long learners? Am I way off base? Post your responses letting me know what you think.

21st Century LEARNERS Symposium

On Friday, October 19th, 2007, eleven other staff members and I attended the 21st Century LEARNERS Symposium hosted by CTAP region 11, Los Angeles County. This group was composed of most of the members of our newly formed Technology Task Force. We started the day with registration and a cruise around the vendor's tables. We all found each other inside the great hall and crowded around a table for 10 to listen to the Key Note Speaker (Alan November) who was both funny and inspiring. He brought humor and sadness with his stories about his son’s educational experience. Authentic activities and assessment was the theme that played out throughout his talk. At the conclusion of the Key Note we split up to attend the 1st breakout session.

I attended Alan Novembers “Teaching Zack to Think” where Alan demonstrated several great tools to support Information Literacy Skills for 21st Century Learners. As a librarian I was in heaven. For those GOOGLEites who think that the only solution to finding information is to GOOGLE something Mr. November showed us how to use ALTA VISTA. He also reviewed how to find the source of a website for its authority. Other great web sites discussed in his presentation can be found on my delicious account.

We met up again for a box lunch and discussion on our first breakout sessions. Cheryl Lemke, the luncheon speaker shared her ideas on technology as well as a great resource in TED. For the last session of the day I attended the “Leadership Training with McREL”. The session primarily focused on presenting two other workshops sponsored by McREL a research-based professional development group. What I liked about their message was that they are a non-profit research-based professional development group who’s goal is to make other groups (schools, districts, . . .) self-sustaining. They work to help groups obtain the skills necessary to for education and technology to be sustainable without their assistance. Matt Kuhn, a presenter and author shared with us the newly published book: Using Technology With Classroom Instruction That Works base on the same principles as Robert J. Marzano’s book Classroom Instruction that Works: Research-Based Strategies for Increasing Student Achievement (ASCD) with a technology emphasis.

The day ended with a raffle drawing where one of my colleagues and I both won a $100.00 American Express gift card. All in all a very good day - isn’t it always when you can say you have learned something new!