Connected Hangout

What a great way to learn!  Last Saturday we participated in a Google Hangout with educators that use technology from all over the world to talk about connected learning. It was eye-opening to experience this type of social interaction to learn what others are thinking, exploring and doing in education.  This was my first time participating in an event like this. Technology is so great when it works and allows for these types of experiences. The conversation and discussion made me think of a recent story on VPR, Not Your Granma's High School: Personalized Learning Plans about how Vermont legislature just mandated that every student in grades 7-12 develops a personal learning plan. What are the pros and con of this new type of assessment?

Our discussion also made me think of a recent post on Seth Godin's blog:

Coordinate and Amplify - He explains that in marketing (I interpreted it to any advocacy for something you believe in), the best way to convince someone of something is not to go out and evangelize it, it is connections that bring change.  This post made me think that it is stories that convince people to embrace ideas.  Is there a video or media project of connected learning stories? This could be another idea for me for my capstone.  

My aha moment this week was that we just did it -we connected our learning via our Wiki on learning theories.  I loved that I could go to others pages on the learning theories and see their examples and learn from them. Why don’t I add more connected learning into my instruction? I don’t know.  As we talked about this past week, it probably has to do with the way I was taught.  I have many excuses like I don’t have any planning time with teachers, I only have 6 computers in the library, and I am too busy with my library management activities.  I need to find ways to get over these excuses and put more energy into connecting learning with students.  I am thinking even with 4th grade - they would love an activity where they share their learning and get to see each others work.  We are going to write short stories about an SOS moment in their lives and I am thinking we should share them on VoiceThread.

I am also doing copyright with the 6th grade and they are going to create copyright public service announcements.  I really need to guide students to think of more real world copyright examples (on their own and not give them examples) and then discuss them.   I tend to just give them the information instead of ask them those good questions.

I also posted this week about my son’s school. I want to note that his teachers are excellent and he is learning a lot, even though he is not in a connected network for learning. His teachers are still helping him find meaning in his learning.  He learns so much from his teachers but he can learn so much from his fellow students too if they were all networked in an online environment. They would have more opportunities to share their learning. My conclusion is, "sharing your knowledge with other people will help you build your own." Learn, Connect, Share, Grow.

Education Technology.. about learning and knowledge

I am excited to start a new course.  I prefer learning and thinking about ideas and theories in Education Technology over applications and tools, so am looking forward to learning in this course.  Applying tools may be more practical for my everyday job, however I prefer learning as thinking instead of doing.   Learning should be a continual process.  Sometimes students just want to get an answer or complete the assignment without reflecting on their process or what they learned.  This type of reflection is a piece of assessment I need to work on as a teacher.

Knowledge is all that I gain through my learning.  It is what I can take back from my learning to apply to my experiences, whether it is a skill, a thought, or a feeling.  Knowledge can be theoretical or practical.  I need knowledge to form an opinion or place a value on something.  Knowledge is what allows me to assign meaning to something.  A lack of knowledge of something without having the means to obtain it or the access to resources to learn about it can feel frustrating.  I am thinking of the frustration I feel lately about my lack of knowledge of the complex situation in the Middle East. How or where can I learn more about a complex issue to feel I have enough knowledge to form an opinion or even understand a situation?  And what if there is knowledge about a topic that I don't have access to?  Valuing the importance of open access to information so knowledge can be obtained freely is one of the reasons I wanted to become a librarian.  Intellectual freedom is so important to knowledge.

Next Year Tech Plans

The tech class this week definitely forced me to use some new technology tools to be creative.  Many of the tools I had heard of but never tried.  I am usually focused on the content of my websites or plans so I was glad to try more with design.  It is great to use these sites for my own graphics and website communications.  Many of them the students would love to try some of them as well.  There are several factors to consider if I am planning on using these tools with students:

1. Is the site blocked for students?
2. If the site is available, is there a way for students to login to their own account?
3. Is there a cost associated with the tool?

My plans for next year are to continue working on a Google Earth webquest for library time, working on my Vermont webquest, and the animal adaptation webquest, explore having students create animoto videos either as a book project, or internet safety videos, continue working on my Only2Clicks bibliography of sites and tools, and sorting out where and when to teach my lesson plans.  I am working on an Xtranormal intro to the library video to add to an About page on my library site.  I also have another website where I am keeping track of library time activities. 

I also want to create screencasts using Jing of Google Apps how to's for things such as setting up your Google account, how to access your Google apps from home, and more.  I love that the videos live on screencast so I can easily them in my site.

Pains and Success this week

My pains and struggles this week have been the blocked sites and snafu's in the technology through the district.  I worked on my Animoto video at home because I wasn't able to preview it in the lab.  One thing I have thought of this week is that  I want to integrate more differentiated instruction strategies in my lesson plans.  One of the biggest issues when I teach technology to students is the different skill levels the students have and trying to make sure I am scaffolding for all students.  I still need to plan a schedule for the year with students.  I would like to use Weebly to create a portfolio of my lesson plans.  I plan to stick with Google sites for the actual units since it integrates easily with my documents, student documents, etc.  However the design elements in Google are very limited compared to the other Website builders that we tried.

My success this week has been trying new tools such as Animoto and Weebly.  Overall, my immediate plans are finish my wetland animals Webquest, add to the Vermont webquest, make a brief Google Earth webquest, work on my Portfolio page (weebly) and make a loose plan of the units for the year.   I also want to publish my animoto video (DCF books) and make an xtranormal video - I was thinking and introduction about me page. 

Thoughts on being an Edge-ucator

Tom March's article, The Edge-ucators Way is a very inspiring summary of the history of how we have approached education (in an industrial way) and why we need change.  He mentions that today in our new "WWW - Whatever, Whenever, and Wherever" society students are surrounded by media and social networks that are not always conducive to the best learning environment.  I  like how he mentions that students really do love to learn.  If we can show them how they can contribute to a community of learners and add meaning to their lives in a digital world then they will see the value of the web not only as entertainment and social networking, but as a motivator to learn.  When I am teaching I feel that if students are not engaged in my lessons then it is my fault as the teacher because I am not reaching their learning style, including enough interaction, or conveying to them that what they are learning has meaning and is connected to their lives.

1st Day Reflection

My learning goals are to plan my curriculum in a way that meets the different needs of my students at their different levels and comfort zones using technology.  I want my students who are advanced to spend some time teaching other students, however I feel that it is also important that I give them additional exercises and activities that will challenge them to learn more.  

In today's class I had a chance to explore new website builder tools.  I am very used to Google sites and noticed a huge difference in the new web builder sites. I like that the tools we looked at today give you much more contorl over the design of a website.  I think the websites overall are look more professional and cleaner.  However, what I love about using Google Sites is that all of my Google Apps, which students are now using to collaborate on documents and presentations, work seamlessly with my Google Sites.  I am also able to find widget that allow me to upload audio and video files for free.