Power Tools for Educators: A Metareflection

I have enjoyed using this blog as a place to “talk out loud” with myself and my colleagues in a freeform way that mirrors whatever captures my attention most at the moment I sit down to write.    As for whether my posts “paint an accurate picture of what I have learned about teaching and learning as a result of my participation in the course,” I am not sure.  I would guess that this blog only scratches at the surface of what I have learned and all of the interesting thoughts, questions and applications that have entered my internal and external dialogue as a result of what we have been asked to do, read and reflect upon this term. 

This class reminds me of a survey course as we were exposed to a very wide swath of Web 2.O tools and applications in a very short period of time.  As I blundered through some projects like editing my iMovie or learning how to use the Smartboard, I was grateful, despite the steep learning curve, for the introduction.  The best part of being introduced to the basic tools and procedures of manipulating something (whether it be a Web 2.0 tool, a place, a vehicle, or really anything new) is that the fear and mystery of approaching it are dispelled.  One may not become an expert in something, but you learn the right buttons to push, or at least lose the fear of breaking something by pushing the wrong ones.  You also gain vocabulary and basic familiarity that enables you to ask the right questions and find the right people and resources should you choose to further pursue learning.

I am not yet sure which tools I will use in the future, I am still digesting it all, to be honest, but I have truly enjoyed ‘the ride’ and would love to be able to keep up this blog as I continue to learn and use Web 2.0 tools.  One thing that happened to me this term is that I fell in love with the iPad!  I know that is one tool I will continue to use both for my own learning and productivity as well as that of my students.  Exploring different apps through our class Webliography was especially helpful.  I know I will use the app I reviewed, Story Creator, with my students, regardless of age, disability, or lack of one.  I see so many uses for this simple and useful app.  

 

Photo: creative commons/inuse pictures

Speaking of stories, we were asked to reflect upon any trends we saw in our blog posts this term.  I would say that one trend I see is the desire to carry on a conversation with others – whether those others be my students , teachers, colleagues, or myself (even though I am not technically ‘other’).  I tend to write as a way of figuring out not only what I know, but what questions I have.  I enjoy posing those questions to my readers and hope to hear back from them.  To me, that is an essential part of learning and collaborative discovery.  

                                 Photo: creative commons/cccartoonsforteachers.blogspot.com

So, if my posts say anything about me as a teacher, I would hope they show how interested I am in other people’s stories and meaning making.  Babatunde Olatunji, a wise old African drummer of some fame, once said in a concert I was lucky enough to attend “There are three versions of the story: your version, my version and the truth.”  In my reading, writing, teaching, and learning, I seek that truth that he speaks of – something that is not based on data or test scores or standards, but on stories and human beings trying to make meaning and learn more about ourselves and the world through engaging in an age-old call and response of question and answer which may change form and shape depending upon the day, the topic, the speaker or the listener.  It has been wonderful to frame this quest in the use and discovery of Web 2.0 tools potentially used in teaching and learning.  There are so many possible applications in Education using UDL as well as in Special Education in terms of accommodations and interventions.  Thank you for being such a great ‘curator’ Dr. Gleason! 

Managing the Deluge of Information Out There: What's the Best Way?

Like many others in our 'Power Tools for Educators' class, I signed up for Feedly in May as a way to manage and organize the Ed Tech blogs I would be reading throughout the term.

 

Below is a quick synopsis taken from the feedly website regarding what feedly is and does.  I've added my comments on my use (or non-use) of its features 'in between the lines' in purple.

What is feedly?

← About feedly

Feedly is the better way to organize, read and share the content of your favorite sites.
A powerful tool. With Multiple layout options, auto-mark as read, tagging, advanced sharing, keyboard shortcuts.

After adding the sites I wanted to follow on feedly, I explored their 'multiple layout options' and just could not find a layout that was digestible to me.  They all seemed overwhelming in a different way.  I'd take a screen shot right now and show you the least cluttered layout I finally chose, but since this blog is registered to my personal gmail account and feedly to my school gmail account, I can not be in both programs at the same time.  This is another con.

All in one place. Organize your favorite blogs, news sites, podcasts and Youtube channels and access them all in one place (or sync with Google Reader).

In another moment in time, this complex functionality could be extremely helpful, I believe.  At the moment, however, due to coursework demands, my reading and listening is mostly focused on school-related materials. 

In truth, I abandoned feedly pretty early on due to almost daily visits to my own blog, the one you're reading now.  Because I log in here almost every day to add content or design features, I added feeds to all the blogs and websites I wanted to follow in my own sidebar using a widget tool.  The best thing about this is that the order of the blogs in my feed list changes depending on which blog has been updated most recently.  Whenever I felt like reading a blog, I just click on one of the titles at the top of my list.  Once on the blog, if I want to read past posts, I can.  Somehow, this system is much more manageable for me that feedly at this time.   

If you look at my sidebar now under the heading "My Classmates' Blogs & Blogs of Interest," you will see the sites I followed initially on feedly, as well as all the blogs of my classmates/colleauges (and professor) and even my roommate's Math blog (She is a first year teacher).  It is so fun to log on to my blog, write my posts, and then peak in on the thoughts of other educators and innovators via these feeds.
 
 Blazing fast. Transforms web sites into pocket-size cards which load quickly and are easy to read.

Hm.... blazing fast maybe; 'easy to read' is subjective I guess.

Open and Extensible. Save articles across devices or share them on Twitter, Facebook, Google+, Evernote, Pinterest or LinkedIn. Directly or via Buffer, Pocket or Instapaper.
Always In Sync. Feedly is available everywhere you go. Your phone, tablet and computer are always in sync.

While I am advanced in some areas of Web 2.0, I am a late adopter in others.  I haven't yet made the transition from cell phone to Smart phone, so the above doesn't apply to me yet.  If I did have a Smart phone, feedly would probably be a great tool due the ability to read "across devices."

I will keep feedly in mind for when I upgrade!  Maybe they will streamline their interface in the meantime.

Help

I wanted to see what words are prominent in my evolving blog today versus a couple of weeks back when I added my blog url into Wordle, to create a picture.  Here's what I got:

I think it's interesting that the word "help" was prominent.  Being helpful and helpful people have been themes to me this summer as I strive to get it all done in a demanding and rigorous summer program.  I have been going out of my way to help others in my program and in my daily life, as I realize how much help I need and receive to be the best teacher and person I can be.  Collaboration is what it's all about!

What is a Flat Classroom Anyway?

I have been trying to wrap my mind around what a 'flat' classroom might be for a while now.  I never did read Thomas Friedman's book, The World is Flat, either, so no help there.  Somehow the metaphor just doesn't work for me -- flat doesn't seem like a good thing.  Flat tires, flat soda, hm.

So what is a flat classroom anyway?  It's hard to get a straight answer on that.  There's a glut of information out there, and what seems to be a plethora of possibilities and guidelines for creating and maintaining a flat classroom, yet this is not a linear concept!  One has to follow many twists and turns and follow popcorn trails of wiki clues to ascertain even a good guess.  I better figure it out quick, as I have to write a flat classroom proposal for grad school in two days!

Here's what Wikipedia has to say: "Flat Classroom Project is an award winning global collaborative project for students in Grades 3 -12, inspired by Thomas Friedman's book, The World is Flat, and leverages Web 2.0 tools to foster communication and interaction as well as collaboration and creation between students and teachers from classrooms around the world."  That's one of the most succinct definitions I've read.  It seems that the projects have now evolved to include even K-3, although, I'm still not 100% sure how it works at this level.  Or any level!?

I had a Eureka! moment today, however.  Fortunately.  It came after trolling the internet and wikis for clues. I finally found a clue that meant something to me....the beginning of a journey.  Here are the words I found from a 2006 blog post on the old blog of Will Richardson, author of one of our classroom texts Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms.  

"…first, we have to stop seeing our classrooms as spaces with four walls. Teachers must be willing to be connectors. And second, in the context of those connections, we can give our students real, meaningful, relevant opportunities to teach the rest of us what they know. The fact that the work of these students will be published in its many forms to the world as a whole is just so radically removed from the ways most educators still look at what happens in the classroom. If we are simply content to shuffle paper back and forth only for the sake of slapping an assessment on the work, we are doing our students a grave disservice."

Two words that really stuck out to me in this quote, and pulled together my prior knowledge to help me see what we're getting at here with flat classrooms were connector and publish.  Teachers connect.  Kids Publish.  And teach!  OK.  Getting it.

Importance of Parental Support

This video made me cry!  Parental Support is so important.  How can we use technology to keep communication lines with parents open?

Flipped Classrooms and Teacher Burnout

Last night's presentation on Flipping the Classroom by Dr. Lodge and Katie Gimbar made me think that flipped classrooms may (in addition to many other potential benefits to teachers, students and parents) help decrease teacher burnout. 

As a special educator, I want to have longetivity in the field and stay happy and healthy while being effective in the classroom.  Might flipped classrooms help educators avoid the "Teacher at the end of the school year" look below?  What are your thoughts?

Rick Baraniuk and The Knowledge Ecosystem

I showed a short clip of this Ted Talk in class the other day to help introduce the Connexions site Rick Baraniuk founded many digital moons ago in a galaxy far far away.  Watch it!  It's worth your time.

Question for when you finish watching the video:  How can educators help students become their own 'educational DJs'?  What might this look like?  Are you ready for it?  Are they?

Wordle for the First Day of School?

Was inspired by a fellow classmate to try out Wordle.

This is what was created after I entered my Blog url, and hit the "Randomize" button a few times (until I got a 'randomized' color scheme and design I liked):

I have seen a teacher use a program like Wordle on the first day of school as a fun ice-breaker with kids.  Instead of typing in a url, they type in words that describe them, and voila!  a beautiful work of art to represent each new student in the class.

Fun!

Curtis J. Bonk and "The Open Education Movement"

Questions for Bonk:

1. In the prequel to the Summer 2011 paperback edition of The World is Open, you discuss "convergent thinking software packages" you used with your students during "The Second Wave of Technology: Enhancing Learning."  Can you tell us more about how, specifically, and in what learning contexts the software "enhanced logical thinking, problem solving, hypothesis testing, classification skills, deductive reasoning, and making inferences"?

2. Can you explain what you mean by the following quote from your Forward to the Chines edition of The World is Open?   Specifically, HOW and WHY might education take center stage in human evolution and what that might mean/look like for economics and politics?

Favorite Quote (from prequel to the Summer 2011 paperback edition of The World is Open):

"