A few years ago I ran across this catchy video clip on YouTube that connected with what my students had been studying in class (Rube Goldberg Machines):
I downloaded it and showed it to my classes and they loved it. It dawned on me just how much of a YouTube generation today's learners are and I began looking for other short clips that I show a few times a week at the beginning of class as the Clip of the Day. In preparing for this weeks wiki classwork I was reminded of another clip I show:
To date these clips are pretty much a one way process - I find them and show them. While once in a while a student recommends one that is relevant and actually school appropriate I am looking for ideas to make the collection (or creation?) and sharing of them more collaborative. Let me know if you have any thoughts!
In the RSS chapter this week Richardson (Richardson, 2010) said one of the things that he
really likes about the tool is that he spends less time looking all over the
web for information. Instead it comes to him through his aggregator. This
reminded me about Twitter and how it really is an aggregator of sorts for me as
well. In fact in the first of the two Richardson clips from the EduCon 2.5 post
from Prof Arzt's Integrating Technology and Literacy blog he talks
about 19 bold ideas for tech in (and out) of the classroom:
For idea 14 he says to stop Googling stuff and
talks about how one of the most important things that has happened to him in
the last 5 years is that instead of going to Google to answer a question he
goes to Twitter where he
has developed a like-minded network who can answer his
questions better. I'd like to say that Twitter helps me find information
about teaching or technology (or better yet both) but I really only use it at
this point to follow my favorite hobby.But this has given me
enough exposure to it to confirm what Richardson
is talking about. I spend a lot less time on the web looking for info because
it comes to me. When my favorite site or magazine publishes an article they
almost always tweet a link to it. To a degree someone’s reputation is
at stake when posting links to make sure that they
are worthwhile, topical and working. With all the recent developments
in the Lance Armstrongsaga I
had all the information, and more, than I could want delivered right to me. I
hope that I find RSS to offer the same kind of functionality but am skeptical
it can do it as elegantly as Twitter.
As for Diigo, I'm ruined. Ruined as
in there is no turning back. It's kind of like the first time you live on your
own without a roommate. Or own a car where it can be locked and unlocked with
the key fob – there's no going back. Diigo has changed the way I surf the web.
The way the web works unfortunately enables my stream of
consciousness, complete no tasks before starting new ones, tendencies. I used
to browse with 10 tabs open at once and now – wait, scratch that, I currently
have 14 open between two browsers haha.
So maybe I still need an
intervention and while I haven’t done much with it other than make bookmarks I
am much more organized and efficient. Prior I used to email links to
myself which just further clogged up my already clogged up email. Even worse I
would sometimes save multiple links in a word document and email that to
myself. And now everything is one easy to search (tags) and organize (lists) place. Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. (3rd ed.). Corwin Press.
It's been a busy week for me on the Technology front. I signed up for and began using Diigo. I am starting to get the hang of it but wondering if the software offers too much. I really just want a simple way to organize and centralize my bookmarks. I am hoping I don't find Diigo to be a product that attempts to be everything to everyone instead of something that really focuses on a core competency and nails it. I am going to give it some more time and see how it goes.
I then spent some time researching and comparing Google Drive to Dropbox. I'd like everything to be as integrated as possible and would like to avoid having to navigate to eight separate web sites to enter a password and log in to use eight different web tools. I know other tools exist to streamline that process but here again we are looking at another log in and password and just on principle alone that doesn't appeal to me. I want to use a tool, not spend time fiddling, adjusting, tweaking, optimizing or managing it (which is a large part why I switched from Android to iOS when I purchased my last smart phone). I looked at a number of comparisons and it while both have their pros and cons as they always do it looks like Dropbox has better iOS integration and a more intuitive interface. I have really liked it so far.
Next up was Animoto. I signed up for an account and started collecting photos in my Dropbox to make one for a lesson that I will do sometime next week. I looked at a number of Animoto's from the links in class but one that really ended up catching my attention was one of the samples from the Animoto site. Its called "Canlis family trip to Europe" (scroll down a bit) and it really resonates with me. I think part of it is has to do with where I'm at in life with a young family of my own (a 1 and 3 year old with another on the way) and how I really look forward to doing a trip like this with them someday.
The other element of the clip that drew me in was the music. I really liked the song they picked. The tone and lyrics fit so well and it even sounded like the singers native language might be French. Right from the first few notes it felt authentic in a way that stock music doesn't. It reminded me of a Hyundai commercial from a few years ago that after seeing a few times I started thinking that what I assumed were actors signing and performing in the video might actually be musicians.
It turned out they were an actual group. And that is also true of the Canlis Animoto.The group's name is The Leftover Cuties and the song it titled "Take a Walk on the Sunny Side of Town". I also just discovered that another one of their (Leftover Cuties) songs was used for a different Hyundai commercial! Weird.
I also like the fact that the pictures in the Canlis Family Animoto aren't rotating around or spinning or bursting into a thousand pieces as they transition from one to another. I find this distracting when you see these kinds of elements in PowerPoints or Prezi's. The effects here are subtle and if the photos (and music) are compelling they should be able to stand on their own merits and speak for themselves. Feel free to remind me of the post after I finish my first Animoto and the music is boring while the pictures fly all over the place!
Reading chapters 3 & 4 (Richardson, 2010) this week gave me a lot to think about.
Beginning with chapter 4, I'll start by saying that anytime someone mentions Wikipedia I always think about this clip from the TV show The Office:
That said I love Wikipedia. While certainly not perfect I think it is one of the most powerful tools on the web and is an amazing force in the continuing democratization of knowledge. Not to mention an almost unparalleled, on the internet at least, level of accuracy. If I haven't crossed the line into overstatement yet let me do that now by saying that in my humble opinion Wikipedia is one of the greatest collaborative efforts undertaken by human kind.
This is a topic that I think absolutely needs to be taught in school and not just left to the few occasions the Librarian has with the kids. Creating and discussing a class wiki would be a great way to hook the students in before even mentioning Wikipedia. The reality is that many of us overuse and/or rely on Wikipedia far too much. Looking at the pros and cons of the resource and what other alternatives are available (and in what situations would it be best to use them) while creating and using a wiki would make for a great unit in my class. Initially I thought I would have the students create one about a topic we are learning in class such as Bridge Types or Galloping Gertie or Newton's laws of motion but then I realized that a better version already exists on Wikipedia as you can see from the links above and it probably would make sense to make our own as they would probably get the info from there anyway. Perhaps it would be better to make a wiki about the experience of designing creating and testing a class project? In regards to chapter 3 I continue to think about ways to introduce blogging to my students but still have some big concerns. Initially I was thinking of starting small as Richardson recommends and use a blog to post daily assignments and objectives. The more I think about it the less it makes sense though. For one thing I have a schedule where the year is divided up into 5 rotations of about 36 consecutive class days each. I have 6 classes a day and see each group of students for two of the rotations for the year. The rotating nature of the schedule makes it more difficult to use a blog due to its chronological nature as I would end up repeating/rewriting a lot. While I have thought about some workarounds I already tend to pretty time inefficient so I'm not sure that would be the best use of everyone's time. I'll keep thinking about this one and maybe try it with just a couple of classes at first. Can't see how it goes until I start. The other big issue for me is digital safety. It would only take one student posting something inappropriate, accidentally or otherwise, to potentially jeopardize a lot of things I'd rather not jeopardize. I guess I could start by keeping the blog(s) "in house" but in my mind that really runs counter to what blogs an blogging are all about. Still have a lot to think about and work out as far as blogging with students go. Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. (3rd ed.). Corwin Press.
I am convinced that the above
title is an ad slogan (or former one) for some company that I can't think of.
My web searches have turned up nothing so it looks like I may be off track. If
anyone knows if it is actually a slogan, or the correct phrase, please let me
know! I was thinking of the slogan while
reading the first two chapters of our assigned text where the author lays out
his ideas on the "read/write" nature of the web and how that
functionality is now accessible to just about any user. It made me think about
how in response to an age of automation and virtualization a strong
do-it-yourself culture has developed. Whether we are talking about the web and
blogs or YouTube or even MAKE magazine. MAKE is an amazing resource that really
captures the DIY spirit. Before my blog for this class
Twitter was my first and only foray into social media. And it probably doesn’t
fully count as I never actually tweet and really only use it to follow others. I
am really an introvert by nature and just happen to do a job that is heavy on
the people interaction. Students, administrators, parents, department supervisors
and colleagues are just some of the folks you come into contact with on a daily
basis. By the time the end of the day or week rolls around and having gone home
and spent time with my family (two little ones and another on the way) my “interact
with others, virtual or otherwise” account is usually reflecting a negative
balance. Yet our book’s author makes the
case for the power and potential of user created content by challenging educators
to experience it themselves first. Not just by digitizing traditional classroom
assignments but by stretching their own learning and in the process modeling
for their students. Other than my classmates (and professors) blogs the
majority of blogs I have been looking at I’ve found through #edchat on Twitter.
My favorite so far is Will Richarson's . Check it out if you get a chance. Richardson, W. (2010). Blogs, wikis, podcasts, and other powerful web tools for classrooms. (3rd ed.). Corwin Press.
Technology Education in West Hartford currently refers to three groups of standards in our curriculum. The first come from our district standards, the second NET·S and the third refers to those set forth by the International Technology Education Association (ITEA). As I mentioned in a previous post we will be rewriting our curriculum next year and my sense is that we will drop one of the above set of standards (NETS·S or ITEA) and replace it with the Common Career Technical Core (CCTC) which is my area's response to the CCSS (Too many acronyms!). I am thankful that the CCTC exists as the CCSS seems to shoehorn the technology piece in at the end of the document and is too narrowly focused.
I look at NETS·S and NETS·T as each pointing to different sides of the same equation. If you are missing one you will lack the balance needed for creating the optimal learning environment for teaching technology. And with the unique nature of this type of learning making sure the teacher is up to speed is more important than ever.
When I think about new literacies I am reminded of how our class text refers to the internet as the read/write web - it's all about interactivity. A model where information and content (media) is not not just absorbed but created as well. One way that I want to cultivate/develop technological literacies in my classroom, that I have yet to do, is to have students collaborate to create a project or solve a problem via a digital medium/tool. Need to think about how I want to do that and where to insert into a project.
I have been
really looking forward to this class as it covers a lot of topics that I wish I
was teaching my students on a day to day basis. For a number of reasons that is
not the case and I believe this to be to the detriment of my students (see my
second post for more on that). In any event I am looking forward to not just
incorporating many of these tools into my teaching but teaching the students
how to use them to enhance their own learning. And quite frankly I expect to be
learning as much from them if not more. Along those lines I know that many of
my classmates automatically think I am a wiz at this stuff. But while I have
heard of a lot of it, know my way around some of it and given enough time could
figure out much of the other stuff out I still have a lot to learn!
I am
particularly feeling overwhelmed with the amount of tools available to
accomplish just one task. There is a certain amount of upfront time and energy
that needs to be invested to get to a point where you can make an app/web tool
work efficiently and fluidly. Making that investment with something you never
end up using is a waste of precious time. With that said, if I can be of any
help to anyone in class please don’t hesitate to ask!
where they detail
how Eric created an app that helps the speech disabled. Eric was inspired by
his older special-needs sister, and with a little help from his dad, created
the first app of its kind that converts handwriting to speech.
I had Eric as a
student last year and was not overly surprised to hear about this as he is a
whip-smart, compassionate and curious kid. But I couldn't help thinking that
most likely nothing he learned in my class had anything to do with his amazing
app. Not that I wish I personally, or my class, got any credit for its development but I
wondered how many other apps, or ideas for apps, could have been generated as a
result of a unit based on studying and developing them.
You would be hard
pressed to find a middle schooler who doesn't use apps on a daily basis. And
it’s not just middle schoolers, it’s younger children as well. It used to be
that a child’s first language was English or Spanish or Mandarin or some other
spoken language. These days it’s technology. Even before my oldest son could
cobble together a few words to form a rudimentary sentence he could take a
smart phone or tablet, swipe it open, navigate to a desired app and begin to
use it. He’s no power user, or child prodigy, just one of a generation whose
native tongue happens to be technology. Yet I am pretty sure that the word "app" does not appear
anywhere in my curriculum. This is a missed opportunity as these are the kind
of 21st Century skills and real world applications that we educators
are always talking and hearing about these days and looking to incorporate into our teaching.
So what am I
teaching? In one of my classes last week we covered part of my curriculum that deals
with something called the Universal Systems Model. The USM is a diagram that
can be used to analyze how a technology produces a result or output. Is the USM
technology itself? No. Does it relate to the Engineering or Design process? A
little bit I guess. Is it something that my students can use to improve their learning
or increase their digital literacy/citizenship? Not really. Is it something that they
can use to impact their daily life or any other area of learning? I’d say
probably not and would wager that most forget it entirely a few weeks after we
have moved on to a new topic.
To be fair there
are many things which we do that does provide tangible, research supported,
benefits for learners and has nothing to do with social media/learning or
digital literacy. That being primarily the hands on work of designing, creating
and testing real (non-virtual) things such as scale model bridges or co2
powered vehicles. This is a topic I’ll have to save for another post but here
is a compelling article on the subject by philosopher turned motorcycle
mechanic Matthew Crawford:
When computers
first came on to the school scene, Tech Ed (known as Industrial Arts at the
time) to its credit was at the forefront of that movement. Even today, apart
from a library or dedicated computer lab, there are few non-Tech Ed classrooms
that have a full compliment of computers in most middle schools. The mass
adoption and use of computers has revolutionized our world. The next revolution
is underfoot and I am worried that if my discipline does not act quickly we are
going to miss the boat on this one and greatly disservice our students.
My department in the process of preparing for a top to bottom curriculum rewrite
next year and I hope to play a role in convincing my colleagues and supervisors
that we need to rethink everything that we are currently teaching and make sure
we are fully equipping students for success in a digital world as they will need this fluency regardless of
what career they end up pursuing.
