The more things change… Saturday, Jul 25 2009

Call me a realist.  Call me a pragmatist. But don’t call me unimaginative or negative because, despite my tendency to want to stay grounded, I do have some pie-in-the-sky musings about the future.  I’m actually one of those annoying brainstorming people who know just enough to know that certain things CAN happen, even if I don’t have the expertise or know-how to make them happen. 

Lately however, I have been challenged to think of the future and to brainstorm a little.  To be honest, I felt like one of my middle school students when presented with a very open-ended activity (and it’s good to put yourself in the student position occasionally!) and I wasn’t sure where to begin, after all the future is VERY BIG.   

This can be frustrating.  As an educator, I can throw out all kinds of ideas about how the world–how education–might look in the year 2020.  As a teacher, I still have to figure out how I am going to teach my classes when school begins anew next month.  And that, frankly, because that is my chosen expertise—where I can have the most impact–is what I am most concerned about.

Let me just lay it out, then…On the one hand, I think that the people of this world of ours will be basically the same in the year 2020 as they are now, as they were in the year 2000, and before.  On the other hand, the approaches and the tools we use to accomplish goals and to live life will be ever evolving and changing. 

In the year 2020, I can envision a world among industrialized cultures where the links to communication or to information are immediate and commonplace to a level that we can’t even imagine yet. In fact, (and here is one of those brainstorming moments I mentioned) I doubt we’d recognized the “web” of 2020 if we looked at it today.  It will be very different.  Sharing of information via “social sharing” tools will be commonplace; searching for information will be like having a conversation where someone (or something) can read your mind.  Personal communication devices will routinely involve visual uplinks as well as the audio.  The videophone will be common and portable.  

The standard automobile will be environmentally cleaner and mileage efficiency will push beyond miles per gallon into the realm of miles per charge.  Optional technological integrations of today will be considered standard equipment, probably even old-fashioned, as things like real-time holographic GPS replaces the gadgets we use today. 

Perhaps because of the technology surge that the world experienced in the first decade of the century, we will begin to experience a trend to relate more strongly to the community in which we live—in person, rather than electronically.  And, in our country, we will see a concerted effort to promote “local” employment over “outsourced” jobs which will serve to motivate our educational system.

In the year 2020, I can envision an educational environment that is supportive of both teachers and students.  Laptops, which can be purchased today at Wal-Mart for $298.00, will be even more affordable and considered as standard as pencils and glue when purchasing school supplies. Teachers at all levels will be supported and trained (for free) as content and technology evolves in the Web 5.0 era.  Schools, of course, will have the latest technologically advanced tools that industry has to offer, because business has figured out that supplying these tools to schools is the best way to help schools produce the most qualified citizens and employees. 

Since video communication is commonplace, teachers will be able to collaborate and team-teach like never before. Bringing a teacher from anywhere in the industrialized world to share expertise via these tools will strengthen the learning experience.  The collaborative environment that these tools provide will allow teachers the time they’ve always craved to develop challenging curriculum to push students toward meeting the most stringent national educational standards in the world. 

Technology will offer tools for the ultimate differentiated instructional experience, as it will be used in flexible, mixed-learning environments designed to meet the needs of all students’ various learning styles.  In the classroom, I can envision life-skills students taking their portable monitors into a foods lab where they can follow step-by-step visual instructions as they participate in hands-on learning.  Students at various learning levels can, likewise, are challenged at their personal learning level via programs on demand, and still have the personal interaction with their classroom teacher.  This will also free up teachers to provide more personalized attention to students who need one-on-one or small group learning environments.

I’ve said this before, but I don’t believe that good teaching has changed that much over the years.  I believe that will hold true in the year 2020.  Good teachers will still strive to move students forward in content using the best practices and the best tools available to them.  Of course that will mean that we will continue to need training and access to the most up to date information and tools that academia and industry has to offer.  Good teachers will continue to research and study what it is that enables the best student learning possible. 

I think that, in general, teachers try to believe in the best of people.  They try to see the positive nature of others before allowing the possibility of the lesser.  The potential of individuals—of the human race—is enormous.  The reality, however, is never perfect.  Reality never quite lives up to the potential.  That’s not to say that it isn’t good, but that and individual’s reality might depend on where the individual experiences life on this planet. 

This world will always be impacted by those with power and without.  There will always be those that are wealthy and those that are poor.  There will always be those with knowledge and those who need teaching.  People are basically the same as they have been from the beginning.  We come in all shapes and sizes.  We have different capacities to learn, achieve, and serve.  We have the free will to make decisions and to act upon them.  One generation has the responsibility to guide the next generation until they can navigate for themselves.  I, for one, am eager to experience the changes coming for us in the year 2020.  How about you?

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An easy adjustment to help learning Tuesday, Jul 21 2009

My 8^th grade students complete a research project that requires them to find specific nutrition information about assigned food groups and then teach that information to their classmates.  They use the web as their research tool.

It is not uncommon to see the “deer in the headlights” look as students begin to look for reliable sources.  Some of the brighter, gifted students have no trouble sifting through various sites and making quick decisions about valid information, but often my students with specific learning issues such as organization, overload of information, or reading would not be able to use the allotted time efficiently in order to get to the information.

In the past, I have provided printed copies of websites that I have found to be good places for information, but after learning about Customized Search Engines, I think I’ll be able to forego the copied pages and set it up in a way that my students can easily access safe reliable sites.

 This will enable those struggling learners to focus on the task of finding the information, rather than having to evaluate a site for valid information. I will also be able to have a listing of previewed sites that I know to be safe.  Additionally, I can easily add or update a Customized Search Engine. 

This will provide a great jumping off point for students that need a little extra direction.

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Imagining a paperless class… Wednesday, Jul 15 2009

If I were teaching a paperless class…I’m not sure that my role would change very much.  I think that my primary role as guide/facilitator would remain pretty much the same as it is now, the tools would just change.

I still envision the need to provide some face-to-face foundational information and instruction.  I would imagine that I would need to be able to direct students to the online tools and outlines, etc.; as well as know how to use them myself in order to provide support.  I can foresee that I might have to prod younger students to search beyond the easy, obvious online content to dig deeper for meaningful responses.

Paperless classes could stretch the learning process for the student in ways that incorporates elements that are relatable.  Adding images and media to information can add interest, a little mental break, as information is being processed.  It also gives access to material and information that students may never get to see or touch in person. 

As amazingly beneficial as this is, going total paperless in a classroom will just not work for some areas that rely on hands-on manipulation of materials such as art, music, Family & Consumer Science, medical, food service, mechanics and more.  All of these areas have definitely benefited from applications of technology, but learning in these areas, for the most part, must be touched and experienced in person. 

Assessing and measuring paperless learning would require specifically designed rubrics and well designed instructions for the intended outcome.  Of course, one of the advantages of paperless learning is that the end products can take on various forms as the students find and create forms meaningful to them.  So, I would think that there might be some flexibility built into assessing the product, providing that targeted content has been processed.  

A paperless space would be absolutely necessary to build an ONLINE learning network.  Students need a place to save and return to information collected and produced.  However, not all learning “nodes” (to borrow a term from Connectiveness Learning Theory) are available online!  So while it is pretty much impossible to ignore the fact that technology touches virtually every learning opportunity, some things must be learned the old fashioned way and would not be teachable in a paperless class setting.

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Web tools push shift in education Tuesday, Jul 14 2009

As I surveyed Will Richardson’s suggestions of big shifts in how we teach as a result of the Read/Write web, I was struck by ‘Big Shift #9: Mastery Is the Product, Not the Test’ (pg. 135).  It hit me that since I teach a “non-core” content area that regularly uses performance based learning activities, projects and assessments, that I might not have so far to “shift”.  But then I realized that slowly, very slowly, I have begun making this shift in my curriculum as I provide access to and require use of web-based information and learning tools. 

Upon reflection, I see that I have begun to develop a learning environment in which I am more of a facilitator, a guide, for students to discover the content that my state standards establish as important.  And, as I have explored Web 2.0 tools that I previously had only passing knowledge of, I see that embracing these tools as methods of accessing, processing, and producing will create limitless possibilities to expand student learning opportunities.

Whereas once I was fearful that too much middle school student exposure and connectedness could compromise student learning and be a distraction, I have come to believe that, as with other tools, it can be at first a “hook”, then a motivator, and, finally, the conduit for processing information to an end result.

Since, for a while, access to these tools is, and will be, limited by hardware availability or internet safety filters; I see initially using these tools for collaboration and development of lessons and curriculum.  Then, I see using these tools with entire classes at once and then in small group settings.  As our school district opens up my middle school’s accessibility to Blackboard, which offers some of these interactive tools, I believe that several of my lessons will change to mirror the “online portfolio” approach that many Read/Write tools offer. 

Richardson, Will. Blogs, Wikis, Podcsts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms. 2nd ed. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin P, 2009.

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Learning vs. Knowledge Saturday, Jul 11 2009

As I have wrestled with the introduction of Connectivism as a theory of learning, I must admit that I struggled with it.  While I agree that the process of learning and teaching is changing, due to the nature of current and emerging technology, I still hold that learning takes place within the individual and is best done when the method is adapted for the individual’s best learning style(s). 

This wiki: http://bce-summer2009.wikispaces.com/Group+C+Against+-+Karisti%2C+Susan%2C+Julie, summed it up best for me when they explore, “Does Connectivism explain how humans learn?”   They conclude that, “Connectivism does not address the question of: How do humans learn?” 

I haven’t been satisfied that Connectivism recognizes a difference in knowledge and learning.  Technology can store, manage, retrieve and present more knowledge than a human can.  But the human still must process the knowledge, the information, in order to be able to learn something from it.  But, boy, don’t we have a whole lot more to learn at our fingertips?!

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Skype in my classroom Saturday, Jul 11 2009

Skype is perhaps the ultimate online collaboration tool.  Funny, because it is about as close to face to face as you can get…how old-fashioned!  My middle school students will surely be highly motivated to use such a tool.  And the possibilities are endless.

Experts can visit my students, parents can observe, teachers can co-teach and students can share presentations with others…anywhere…in the next room, in the next building, or in another country. 

This potential of utilizing a live, visual connection via technology creates almost endless possibilities…parent-teacher conferences, peer collaboration, student collaboration, observations, mentoring….and many that I haven’t even thought of yet.  It offers the ability to communicate in all three phases of the process—giving information, processing (receiving) information, and feedback.  No other tool can do this in real time with the added dimension of non-verbal ques.

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A different perspective Wednesday, Jul 1 2009

Some of the best teaching tools that I have found for my middle school Family & Consumer Science classes are from non-educational sources.  Such is the case of this podcast I discovered, called “Babysitters are Listening, Too.”

This short, informative piece shares what parents look for in a babysitter with two young girls.  It’s good stuff.  I found it on a parent-info website: http://mightymommy.quickanddirtytips.com/

Click on the link below to hear the podcast:

Babysitters are Listening Too
Episode 44: December 08, 2007

http://mightymommy.quickanddirtytips.com/mommy-babysitters.aspx

I could easily incorporate this into my 7^th grade child development/babysitting unit by using this as a listening/reflection activity or as a review activity presenting acceptable babysitting practices from another perspective.  It is short, so students are more likely to stay engaged, and the audio format plays into a learning style strong in most students at this age.

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Flickr feeds learning styles Wednesday, Jul 1 2009

Piggy savings bank

I suppose one could easily say that access to all of the free “stuff” that web 2.0 tools have to offer is like money in the bank.  Flickr is just another example of how the web has given teachers and students access to more than we ever thought possible.  Not only is there so much to choose from, but this tool saves time (translate $$) spent in searching for just the right image for the need. The possibilities for uses in the classroom are endless.

 Most middle school students are visual, hands-on learners.  Images, and the possibility of manipulating those images, feed right into those learning styles.  Whether students are viewing an image in support of a lesson or searching for an image as an active part of a project, they can benefit from mental and practical stimulation that an image encourages.  Learning can be fun.

 I can think of at least two lessons/projects in my current curriculum where access to Flickr might be very useful.  One is a nutrient/food group research project that requires students to create visuals and another is a project where students create books for children.  I can’t wait to see how I can work with our district’s technology to work this to its highest advantage.

 

 

Image Citation: 

Alancleaver (2008, July 5) Piggy savings bank. Alancleaver 2000’s photostream. Retrieved June 30, 2009 from http://www.flickr.com/photos/alancleaver/2638883650/.

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Inspiration to use wikis in an FCS classroom Wednesday, Jun 24 2009

I like to say that I have the coolest classroom in our middle school.  I teach in a classroom set up for foods labs!  There are four lab kitchens, demonstration table, and tables for sampling the foods students prepare.  Who wouldn’t love this? 

These same tables serve as our student learning area, rather than desks.  This being the room configuration, and by virtue of the fact that FCS content lends itself to group interaction, we often work in groups/teams for learning activities. 

So, as I have investigated Web 2.0 tools, I have been particularly intrigued by wikis.  The interactive, collaborative nature of wikis lends itself to several learning projects that students already use in the course of my classes.  I can easily see using wikis for a nutrition research project for my 8^th graders.

I have been particularly inspired by two examples of teachers incorporating wikis into the classroom.  I first stumbled upon a podcast describing how middle school FCS students use a wiki to work with students in a sister middle school to create “Mighty Minute Podcasts” on assigned topics.  This project seemed to be a good example of a simple, focused assignment that enabled collaboration with students that do not even know each other and yet encourages students to search for and share information.  Responsible learning at its roots.

The second inspirational wiki that I have taken the time to digest is the Flat Classroom Project.  This serves as a fine example of a project that started as a small, but high quality endeavor.  But as is described in this video, the potential for learning both technology and content within a world-wide collaborative environment has taken this project to new heights.

These examples encourage me.  I believe that I can offer my students the opportunity to engage in wiki-based learning projects without the fear of becoming overwhelmed.  As with any new teaching/learning tool, I can “start small” and let it evolve within the context of my standards and my curriculum.  I already encourage collaborative learning in my classroom, maybe its time to go beyond my classroom.

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Social Bookmarking: Two…just two? things I’ve come to realize Sunday, Jun 21 2009

After a fast, and sometimes frustrating, look into various Web 2.0 resources this week, I have come to two conclusions…

Although optimally these tools can decrease time spent searching the web, it takes some up front investment of time to set up, learn, digest, and customize each site to work best for the individual. Thus, though there is tremendous potential for teacher and student use, I can see why some teachers approach these new tools with trepidation.

Secondly, as excited as I am to begin to get more familiar with these tools such as RSS feeds, blog readers, Pageflakes, and Delicious.com, I have realized that I might not be able to allow student usage of some of these tools, since my school district’s firewall will likely not permit access to all of these tools. Blog blockage is almost a given, since the firewall blocks “web communications” in the name of safety, and rightly so. I will be checking with our technology department to find out how they deal with social bookmarking.

In the meantime, I plan to use the social bookmarking tool on Pageflakes for the searches that I tend to repeat when developing curriculum ideas and lesson plans. I like being able to get updates on frequently visited informational sites that I use on a routine basis. Having access to other common searches can greatly maximize the use of my time. (there’s that word again)

One thing I would like to try to implement is the sharing of searches by all five of the Family & Consumer Science teachers in our high school and middle school. If we can share our searches, then we can all benefit. There is often a “gap” between the middle school and high school teachers and this might help bridge that void.

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