I’m currently at a workshop in the Omni hotel in Atlanta attending a workshop titled Sidebar Envy. A Wikispaces notes page about the workshop. We’re exploring Web 2.0 stuff and having some discussions on issues pertinent to schools (K-12) and the new technologies. Lots of links and a chance to try out WikiSpaces for taking notes and exploring the features in that particular wiki. I think I need to talk to them at their booth and see what the situation is for higher education. They offer ad-free wikis for K-12 educators, not higher education people. But what about those of us who teach future teachers? They need to experience and explore wikis and other Web 2.0 stuff and I’d rather not have the ads which is a bad example for future teachers.
I’ve got tons of blogs and web sites to explore and it’s only the second day in Atlanta. I don’t know when I’ll find the time to explore and then think about this stuff and how to use it in my courses coherently. I’m pretty clear in my mind on EDMT 380 and the changes I want to make to incorporate Web 2.0. I have no idea about how or if to change EDMT 285. The audience is the same and different for the courses and I want them tied together but how? Also, how do I make this pertinent to EDMT 380 students without getting the, my students (or school) won’t have this stuff, this is not for little kids, it’s not relevant to my practice (but it’s neat to use personally) or professional development? I need to think about this stuff and figure out what to do.
12:45 I went to lunch at the CNN Center across the street. They have a food court and some shops but what really matters is that I met a teacher from Wyoming–her school district is near Teton and Yellowstone National Parks; a fairly rural area with fair numbers of migrant and ESL students. It sounds like they have a lot of technology obtained through grants. She has a SmartBoard in her classroom, her students do podcasting, video editing, etc. She has six Macs in her classroom and there are several computer carts in the school available for use. We had a nice discussion. She is limited in terms of blogging because many of the students are from migrant worker homes with no internet access, so blogging doesn’t really help her communicate with parents. Looks like I found a place to eat that opens early and is relatively inexpensive.
Notes:
Chris Lehmann Principal at SLA–he used Mac in a lab of Windows
Prosumer–everyone can both publisher and consumer of information
Deborah Meier–principle opened new schools. Writes about school change. Policy differences with Diane Ravitch. Have blog via Education Week–Acuity. The discussion was online. Do search.
Reasons to go to Web 2.0
The End of Parochialism–a way to end, we don’t do it that way here.
Reflective Practice–blogging a way to think about what you’ve done and are doing
Transparency–end the black box syndrome for parents, students and other teachers. About why we do what we do. Need to watch the line behind which you can’t cross because who may be reading. It is powerful. Changing the game for students.
Community–changes the isolation of the classroom. Check out Shoot the Messenger not the Medium blog–3rd year teacher struggles are visible and gets people commented and trying to help him
Personal Professional Development–you create your own PD and network of learners.Blogging is more than just writing–it’s reading other people’s stuff. Inform each other’s practice
School Development at SLA (how we use this stuff) It’s a new school in Philadelphia = Science Leadership Academy
The Walled Garden–a course for teachers to work together and plan there school, weekly planning chats, wrote a curriculum document jointly, continue to use, not open to students–just teachers
Use Moodle for all classes–each has a Moodle site that students/teachers use jointly.
SLA runs 24/7.
Use Drupal to publish student blogs–not used to full extent yet. Used by students to create digital portfolio.
Check out Drupal Ed–bill Fitzgerald. Working at combining Moodle and Drupal–Open Academic is name of company.
Parent Participation–decided not to grant Moodle class access so students feel free to talk/discuss without parents watching. Wrote a hack so parents can see homework assignments but nothing else. Get buy in for process by giving some access.
Don’t have to deal with teachers not interested in working with technology–no barriers to change
1-1 laptop school
Test/Pilot school for Philadelphia School District–district people are there constantly and watching what happens and how works.
Transformation
Schools are basically unchanged for the past x decades or centuries.
Tools can help change us and our schools.
Need to have principal support to have teachers make this kind of change
Train the trainer model does work
Kids will promote this with other teachers and force change
Need to provide time for teachers to explore and try out
What is the worst consequence of your best idea–think about that before doing–there is a dark side to all technology
Try offering a blog instead of staff meeting on a specific topic. Got to do it immediately.
If you’re too busy to reflect, you’re too busy. Blogging as reflection.
Audience Questions/Comments
What do I do–my principal just said we need a blog. No info about who, why, when. Need more information.
Plan pilot projects carefully–start small and think about everything that can go wrong and contingency plans.
Take smart calculated risks. Build things in ways that people know what you are doing and why. Don’t put your job at risk–people are being threatened with losing their job.
How justify cost of technology? What are the benefits? How are our students changing? What makes this better?
Design, knowledge, application, presentation, process–grading rubric for all projects at SLA. They use Understanding by Design for designing unit plans. All plans are posted.
Asked all students to do a reflective project at end of year. Offered 17 prompts. Got some very meaty responses. Lots of time students and teachers forget they are a laptop school–it’s not the first thing they think about when they talk about SLA. Provides life to Dewey’s ideas. Offers opportunities to students with different needs.
Inquiry, research, collaboration, reflection are SLA core values. Partnered with Franklin Institute who does lots of work with inquiry based science in K-12 schools in Philadelphia. Inquiry driven and project based school = SLA.
Practical Theory.org
I have NECC-envy!
very interesting, but I don’t agree with you
Idetrorce