The story continues

The story continues…
Here is day two’s installment. LA Daily News - Citizen journalism makes debut.

This is history in the making," Daily News publisher Tracy Rafter said Sunday…The world is sort of watching this project. It is probably going to set the stage for journalism, for media, for communications," Rafter said. "We are happy to be setting the stage for the future."

I have already signed up and I am thinking of ways to make this a classroom reality. Students under 14 require parent permission.

Innovation for the LA Daily News- You are the Storyteller

Check this out! LA Daily News - You are the storyteller
This was front page story today in our local newspaper. If you check out the link you will see this is not a small newspaper because I live in the greater Los Angeles area. Talk about an opportunity for students and all of us to have a voice! Not to mention the business applications i.e. Change in the ways of gathering and reporting news. Who knows where this will lead and what other papers will follow suit.

As I am putting together my staff presentation I can’t think of any better example of how things are changing right in our own backyard. How much more urgent can it get that we teach information literacy and ethical and responsible use? How much greater an opportunity do we neded to begin to give students a voice and an audience?

This whole idea is brand new and will take some time to digest. In addition to the opportunity I think there is power in the link between print medium and web medium. The implications of this are not 100% clear but ….. I think it helps bridge the divide between digital immigrant and digital natives- that is to say that parents, teachers etc who are more comfortable with print media will see published work and recognize value in the online activity. I need to spend more time thinking about this but I did not want to delay posting this great news!

Help me to Rip ,Remix and Learn

It is time now to synthesize what I have learned thus far. It is not an easy task but it is precisely the task in which we hope to engage our students. I have read 100’s of blogs. I have listened to and looked at many presentations on 21st century literacy, blogs, wikis, RSS, and Web 2.0 but it is time now to consider my audience and craft a message that conveys the big picture and challenges us to think and create our own meaning.

I am indebedt to all of you out there who have graciously posted your handouts, powerpoints, podcasts and links because I truly am in the process of rip, remix and learn.

A couple of things that I think are important at this stage:
As several of you have referenced Alan November’s point that it is about learning not technology. Coupled with that is the concept that for digital natives the technology is transparent ( I believe that comes from Will Richardson among others).

As educators, I believe that our primary goal in the 21st century should be information literacy. This means we are about much more than using technology… we are about teaching critical thinking and evaluation of information and then using that information to accomplish new things or solve problems or create new knowledge.

Please help me out here:
My problem – I have a bloglines account , a de.licio.us account , a technorati account- but I can’t keep the information or perhaps more accurately the ideas organized. Therefore I am having trouble giving credit where credit is due.

For example: Someone wrote something to the effect..
Readiing and writing are about literacy
Web 2.0 is about reading and writing
Web 2.0 is about literacy

Because Bloglines only keeps me current and I did not clip this quote now I can’t find it.

This is a challenge I truly want to conquer so that I can help the students and staff with the same issue.

It is one thing to read and then comment right away…it is another to read and read and read and think and think and then decide this idea or that are important to your audience.
Please share with me some strategies to help …

Examples from Today's newspaper- The world of our digital natives

I am back from vacation and now entering the stress full preparation for the opening of School Aug 29 ( teachers are back on the 20th). I am still in the process of synthesizing what I have learned this summer and finding a way to translate this into something the teachers can grab on to and run with….

This morning when I was reading the paper I was immediately struck by two more examples of how our students view of the world is different than their teachers. In the Buisiness section of the “Daily News” (Los Angeles) there is an article about the changes in TV viewing. What caught my attention was the following quote about Chris Anderson the editor of Wired magazine. ( Bold is mine)

“Chris Anderson’s children don’t know what a channel is. (He) uses computers to record TV shows the same way a TiVo does. His kids can search for their favorite shows..and when they see a show listing on the computer... the only way they know what channel it has ever been on is if they have little logos or signage superimposed on the show.”

Part of the point of the article is that TV schedules no longer matter. And so again we see how different the world of the digital native is … ( I suspect that the ubiquitous availability of programming may also play a role in our flat world)

The other morning article that caught my attention is an example of the half life of knowledge. How many planets are there in the solar system???? 9 this week and probably 12 next week (with an official ruling due). This has also caused a us to consider the definition of a planet. Hmmmm

Time to Think

I leave for 8 days of camping tomorrow morning but when I return it is back to school and all the commotion around making sure everything is ready for the teachers, students and parents. The teachers come back on the 20 th and the students on the 29th.
My head is full of things to think about and I am still struggling with applying the new skills I have acquired. For those of you who like me need to bring others on board and try to provide them with a start in Web 2. 0 you may want to visit A History Teacher's blog. His experience gives insight into where we are and he also provides some great resources to help us move forward. I have a big in- service to plan but I am going to try to disconnect for a while and let everything simmer. To that end I just got the following information from the MIT newsletter…So this will be what I download and listen to in the car… The description sound so right. Once school starts it is hard to find thinking …time
The Ceaseless Society: What Happens to Our Mind, Body, and Spirit When we Just Never Stop?
Jon Kabat-Zinn shares insights about mindfulness, reflection, and stillness in this remarkable and inspiring presentation. Highly recommended for the busiest of busy people, especially those who feel they don't have the time to think.

Assesment an Important Question

In discussing assessment, David Muir writes about what could happen if blogging merely becomes an exercise.

“My worry is that a teacher could arrive at the end of a Blog Unit in the pack, have a full set of ticks for every pupil, and assume that they have "done blogs". They could then move onto the next unit without ever going near blogs again. They may have ticked the boxes, but have they actually assessed learning? Perhaps not.”

He raises an important issue about our educational practices in general I have been thinking a lot about assessment and had already decided that along with our technology discussion it would be an important component of my Sept teacher in-services.

To that end I read Transforming Classroom Grading by Robert J Marzano. I believe he has some very important things to say about the question of how we evaluate students and assign grades. I do not have time at the moment to do a thorough review of his book but as I mentioned in my comment on David’s blog I believe that he has some very practical guides to help us tackle the issues of assessment.

Two key elements in his presentation are the careful evaluation of all assessments to determine exactly what knowledge and skill are being assessed and using rubrics to measure mastery rather than simply giving the average of all assignments as the grade. He believes any assessment (unless they are measuring only one thing) should be broken down by the specific knowledge or skill with separate "grades" for each area rather than a lumped into one test grade. He also has developed a great set of adaptable rubrics around the essentials of the curriculum which he identifies as: Information topics, Skill or process topics, and Thinking and Reasoning Skills. He also makes a case for grades as reflective of mastery levels rather than a simple average of all assignments. He argues that if we are deliberate about what we are assessing we should see growth with more practice. ( I know...Duh..but it is my simplistic explanation...because his work is incredibly carefully done)This is only the briefest of summaries and does not do justice to the well developed concept in the book.

I confess I do not fully know how to move forward with this…But I am hoping that others of you will have read this book and that together we can discover its implications.

On another note I am off to go coming this Sunday so I will not be posting from the 6th to the 14th …I will be back though refreshed and ready to go.

Technorati tags: Assessment /

Web 2.0

Lenhart, A. and Madden, M. Teen Content Creators and Consumers. Washington, DC: Pew Internet & American Life Project, November 2, 2005, states-“ more teens in urban USA with family incomes of less than $30k are publishing digital media to the web than any other group of kids!”

Dr Tyson from Mabry provided me with this interesting statistic.
This is important for our community… for me it says…

This is not about current economic status it is about leading the way for the future. It is about envisioning our students effective and successful in the world market place and WEB 2.0 levels the playing field so let’s get on with helping them discover the knowledge and use it to secure their place in the future! They already know it gives them a voice and they know they can create so lets help them with the purpose and vision..

Maybe reading the World is Flat should be part of the curriculum.

A Light bulb (of sorts)
Reviewing Will Richardson's notes from his Open Source presentation at NECC something struck me that may make a difference in how we blog at school and how we present blogging. In defining blogging and differentiating it from a more general concept of blogging he talks about “Real blogging”
Links with analysis and synthesis that articulates a deeper understanding or relationship to the content being linked and written with potential audience response in mind. (Real blogging)
Extended analysis and synthesis over a longer period of time that builds on previous posts, links and comments. (Complex blogging)

I think this is a key in understanding how to employ the tool and in teaching effective, responsible us of this technology.
If we reach the stage of blogging that is analytical and based on reading (aha web 2.0) then the issues surrounding social and personal blogging are significantly lessened. While there are still ethical issues and conventions of politeness to follow…the emphasis has shifted from me (and others) to the text, idea or concept. There is much less rason or opportunity to stray into the personal or social realm.

Metamorphosis

I was planning to spend a good deal of our opening year staff meeting on the question “What does it mean to educate students for the 21st century?” We say that is part of our purpose in our mission statement but we have never really considered what it means. It will be interesting to see where it takes us. We will spend a lot of time reading blogs and pre-meeting we will read the digital native articles.

But now the ah moment…as I was reading Karl Fisch’s blog I noticed a little box in the corner that said “….21st century teachers program” …to educate students for the 21st century we must become 21st century teachers. This along with the following quote from Karl's comments on the eMints presentation says it all…


“Quote 7: Refuse to think for your students.
I really, really, really (did I mention "really"?) like this quote. I think if all teachers read this to themselves before each class (and maybe even out loud to the class), it would help tremendously.
The title of her presentation (Fearless Courage) came from this quote from Andrew Powell of B.F. Goodrich:
Fearless courage is more than visionary. Many have the ability to look at events and trends and describe the future state. However, few are willing to take the risk of acting on that vision unless the current state is bad. To reform or change tactics when things are working, based on your vision of the future, requires courage.”

Wikis

Wikis

How do we teach our students to evaluate their information?
How do we change prevailing attitudes (especially in institutions of higher learning) to them?

I had an interesting conversation at my family reunion regarding wikipedia. My cousin, a professor at a California State University, was rather outspoken about the fact that the university has banned Wikipedia. Any paper with a reference to Wikipedia can not receive a grade any higher than a “B”. His point was that as a “source” the information has not been validated. While I appreciate the need to verify information I am wondering about the impact of this policy. My argument at the time was that Wikipedia is a great source to review and use to move through to other references. I felt the university policy denied or at best discouraged access to a wonderful source of information and perhaps more importantly to the discussions which center around the creation of many of the articles regarding important topics of knowledge. By default the policy and accompanying attitude probably means that the university professors are not contributing their knowledge base to this growing information portal. So I am saddened and not sure how to answer the second question above.

What can I do?
First, I still need to understand more fully how Wikipedia works. In the meantime, since the conversation with my cousin, I have been viewing some Wikipedia articles and have found the discussion tab and the reference section are wonderful resources. As an educator I need to spend time deconstructing Wikipedia articles with students. As a person who cares about this wonderful source of information I have a responsibility to work in my own areas of expertise providing references for the articles.


wikipedia in the classroom

Stumbling blocks

First, as an administrator I have a concern that I will face my stiffest opposition from parents (and maybe even from my immediate supervisors) as I incorporate Web 2.0 in the classrooms at our school. The most persuasive arguments I believe are the concepts of "half life of knowledge" and The Earth is Flat. The challenge is to distill this into a coherent explanation that will be presentable in 2 or 3 minutes and will be persuasive.

Another difficulty I am encountering is the speed of the current conversation. Sometime (maybe even most of the time) I feel like I can not keep up. If Web 2.0 is about reading and writing it is also about thinking and it is here that I falter. I am finding that it takes an incredible amount of time for me to assimilate and digest the information I am reading- perhaps because there are so many topics that are important and so much to learn. When I read blogs like Will's  I am often inspired to enter the conversation but after a day of thinking there are already 20 plus new comments to read and think about.

Necc06 Further Reflections

Necc06 Reflections of an Administrator- What do we need to create real change?
The true power of NECC depends on us.

I have read a lot of wonderful blogs from individual teacher practioners and I had some good conversations at NECC. I went to a number of presentation which were not only enlightening but which truly encouraged me to make a deep commitment to a vision for digital equity and to improve student learning by embracing Web 2.0. All of that said I feel a need to reflect on some of what I have read and the challenges of systemic change from the point of view of an administrator.
I have read in numerous places that some teachers struggle against district or school policies which deny them access and I sympathize with their challenges. I have also read about the need to involve those decision makers at the higher levels which is also important. At the ISTE institute which I attended at the end of NECC there was discussion of the need to develop a shared vision.. a daunting but important task.
I can not offer any explicit expertise but I can offer antidotal evidence from my experience and I can share something of my own struggle.

Although I hate to admit it I am one of those educators who was using technology to engage students 10 years ago and then I became an administrator and struggled mightily with how to get our staff to continue what I had started. Certainly it couldnÂ’t be legislated and the demands of my new position and the tyranny of the urgent outweighed my efforts.

In the last year I have rekindled my sense of urgency and through the tutelage of numerous bloggers , especially the encouragement of Clarence Fisher(http://remoteaccess.typepad.com/remote_access/ . I have begun to find a way to breathe life into my vision. Time and experience are key components to local implementation so a part of every weekly faculty meeting will be held in the computer lab to work with a variety of things. As I build a learning community through blogging I hope to pull the faculty into the community (and help them build their own- which will suit their needs). I hope to provide time and modeling for pod casting, finding resources and building lessons.

To build on the model of connector I have to connect my facuty with Web 2.0 and beyond. But to be effective I have to also build connections for all of our constiguents. And to do this I have to continue the conversationss of NECC because I do ot have the tineor resources to build the message from scratch. It is interesting to see that the best and most focused conversations may be growing out the brief connectionss I made with others through spotlight sessions or discussions at the poster sessions and the Open Source booth.

NECC06 Reflections

NECC06
Now that I’ve come home and found a little time to reflect first and foremost I am struck by the fact that as much as I would like to deny it I am a digital immigrant and I have not fully assimilated into the new culture. Even now my head is spinning and I can not absorb information fast enough nor multitask well enough to keep my lines of thought clear.

NECC did help me by solidifying my resolve and sense of urgency. Because 4 members of the staff were with me it also helped build a shared vision and a common language so I am confident that we will move ahead.

What impacted me?

The Open Source presentations…
I went to several Open Source presentations and I saw and used thin clients. It was interesting to juxtapose this experience with a hike through the Exhibit Hall. How can one doubt that there are issues regarding equal access. Don’t get me wrong much of what I saw in the Exhibit Hall was great and not everything had a price tag. But understanding the potential for open source software made the hype of the hall less glitzy. One of the most immediately useful pieces of information from the Open Source presentations was the catalogue compiled of the wide variety of software available. Go take a look empower your families and your students without breaking the bank. Let's even the playing field for all students (and schools). (The price of licensing had almost made us put our plans on hold). Wouldn’t it be sad that we marginalized ourselves not teaching to the digital native simply for lack of funding.

For the Open Source catalogue go to http://www.k12opensource.com/

For more info on digital natives see http://www.twitchspeed.com/site/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.htm
And http://www.twitchspeed.com/site/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part2.htm

Will Richardson’s presentation(s)
I had read his blog for a while before I swept away from blogs by day to day life and I knew hearing him was an important step in creating shared vision for our staff and motivation. I was not disappointed! Will puts a face on the issues of digital native vs digital immigrant and he challenges all of us to action. But he also leads from a place of practice which helps us see the road and ahead and the possibilities. His talk on Web 2.0 has been blogged in more details by others but the a few things that will be important to me. The juxtaposition of the beer ad and a my space page opened my eyes in a new way. I have a my space account and I have seen plenty examples of accounts made by the digital natives but I had not made the connection between what advertisers know and we as educators have failed to grasp. Thanks Wil… it really is about connections and links not just on a web page but those links of understanding and insight in our minds. The other important idea for me was the concept of teachers as connectors…this is a powerful image and is different than the concept of facilitator. It conjures a collaborative model and builds on the idea of “work with others” rather than “do your own work”

Finally before this post gets too long I have to comment on the ISTE institute. What an awesome opportunity to set an intentional course for the future. This occupied the full day for us on Friday and Saturday and was worth every minute of time. The institute provided a nice balance between building knowledge and building practical plans. Moving forward is always one person at a time but true systemic change requires a shared vision and willingness to be accountable for your plan…The institute provides the structure for that and more. It helps us set a direction and the wonderful folks at ISTE provide us with the mentorship and support along the way. As we first try to change it is hard to make heads or tails of how to pull all this new information together and put it into practice but ISTE stands ready to help!

Technorati tags: ISTE / necc06

NECC06 Just back

I know I have been silent for a while....but you should hear from me much more regularly now. Not only did I have the opportunity to go to NECC but I along with four memebers of my staff were part of the ISTE institute. This has been quite a week!
Before I hit the highlights just a quick update on our school transformation. In Fall of 2006 we officially open the doors to three new Academies with Grades 6to 8 being a Informataion and Technology Academy. So at the end of this year every classroom was dismantled and reestablished as we changed the physical location of every classroom to facilitate the identity of the Academies! This ws an enormus undertaking not just physically but emotionally because it required a shared vision for the future. The wonderfully dedicated staff took a leap into the unkown and I commend them for their courage!

Returning now to this weeks events.... As a first timer it was a head numbing experience but it also brought focus and energy to the tasks before us. As a staff it gave us a common language and provided a vehicle for my vision to become our vision....for my sense of urgency to beome ours.....
My initial refelctions on NECC06are in a separate entry because of length..

A new paradigm finds its logical place for praxis

Reading the CARET site with the research reports I found myself wondering about why, given the case studies and research, the praxis with technology lags behind. While each specific application may not have been tested and “proved” the potential positive impact on learning is very clear. We are all realists enough to know that this is not a miracle or one size fits all solution but we also know it is an important part of our world and our lives and it is real world learning for our students. Clarence waxes eloquently on these issues in his recent posts.

The issues for me, in the very beginning stages of encouraging implementation and experimentation, center on a reflection regarding the paradigm shift that has been touted for many years now of the “guide on the side”.. It seems to me that though in many circles we talk about this idea and even acknowledge it as the preferred model we have not yet seen it take hold in daily practice.

To my way of thinking two issues surface in my own experience of trying to share the vision for the uses of technology-

· The tools ( and the learning curve) are intimidating for some.
· The technologies of podcasts , blogs, streaming video, and distant experts all force the issue of “guide on the side” and they are messy.

To encourage implementation I was struck by the need to affirm the teachers in their role of curriculum developers and help them frame the questions to guide that practice.

This idea come from an article on CARET which states:

“In a qualitative analysis of nine case studies of schools where technology was used to conduct inquiry-based learning, (Means & Olson, 1997) described the role of teachers as "curriculum developers." Technology integration involved teachers in rethinking and reshaping their curriculum. Key questions for teachers to ask themselves as they reorganize curricula in terms of the technology application(s) they have selected are:
· What does the technology offer students in terms of developing concepts and content?
· How does it help students to carry out inquiry processes?
· How will students work together collaboratively or cooperatively?
· What is the relationship between technology and other instructional materials?
· What new knowledge of my content or discipline, of teaching, or of technology do I need in order to foster new learning in my students?
· What knowledge processes, and skills do students need before using the technology?
· My addition- What is the authentic audience for this learning and how can my students enter into a dialogue with them?

If we are committed to being “guides on the side” to support inquiry based learning then we need to begin to practice this and we need to provide the enhanced access to knowledge and dialouge that current technology offers.

As an administrator I must lead by example and then provide practical opportunities for the teachers to try it for themselves. What better use of faculty meeting time than everyone together in the computer lab sharing and trying together.

If this is the vision how do we evangelize others

There is an interesting disscussion going on regarding the "new story" on David Warlick's blog. It covers alot of interesting territotry about what is at the heart of what we are doing. I resonate with a great deal of what is said including the concepts that it is more about instruction and learning, and relationships and connections than it is about blogs, computers or podcasts.

Right now for my purposes though the clarification of vision/mission is important. Below is a shortened and slightly edited version of David's conclusion that i think form the nucleus of the importnat message.

• In this time there is a new notions of the basic information skills — literacy,
• The student future ecconomic activities will be based far more on their inventiveness, than their ability to perform tasks and retain knowledge
• Children who are adept at technology, but who desperately need us to teach them how to work the information.

I can write about this or talk about it but how do we communicate it in an experiential way to our stakeholders- teachers, parents...other administrators?

Seeking input as we move forward

First, I have to say this is the most exciting thing I have done in a long time! For those of you who have been around for some time now let me remind you about the thrill of seeing comments on your blog or the sheer awe caused by seeing a link to your blog on another site. No wonder this is such a powerful tool.

As I am contemplating the next step in rolling out our plans for fall of 2006 a couple of things strikes me. First, I see a need to get my teachers reading some of these blogs so at the next faculty meeting I think we will visit the computer lab and set up some blogline accounts. Phase two will be the creation of their own blogs because you can not teach what you have not done and of course, I want them to experience the same excitement awe and wonder I have experienced.

The other area I am pondering has to do with communicating with our stakeholders. I have read Nancy’s blog with all of the posts regarding why we blog but now I need to decided what do I need to communicate to my community of parents. Does anyone have any wisdom or insights? When you began blogging in your schools how was this handled? Did you or your administrator meet with the parents or did you just start blogging and then the students shared with their parents? Or????

On the same topic but from a slightly different perspective- What information should I make available for the parents? I do not want to overload them with technical information but I do want them to be informed about what we are doing and why. I am interested in links for articles, power point presentations, podcasts, or other sites that would be suitable to share with them. I think I am going to put a FAQ section on our website with links to relevant information but I need you help to gather the best information. Thank you!

Finding new vision and energy for education through blogs

I am in awe of what a powerful vehicle blogging can be for my own professional growth and development. My thinking has been stretched and I am gaining first hand experience of the power of building communities of learning. Reading through the blogs and moving through the various links the pattern of a rich and deep discussion begins to evolve. Because I am rather new to all of this I have been trying to take the time to read some of the earlier post too.

One recurring discussion is the issue of journaling vs blogging which raises the question what is it all about. It reminds me of the early complaints about computers in the classroom when some employed them as essentially expensive workbooks for drill and practice.

In Will Richardson’s blog there is a pertinent discussion that centers around presentations at the recent CUE conference. Which I have excerpted below:

Referring to CUE
The bad news is that to some extent, I think the conversation misses the point. What got me going was when Hall Davidson said “Blogs are online journals when done right” and then added that it’s “not a format that going to pull anything else out of you” compared to more traditional tools.

Will’s take on blogs-
Blogs are much more than online journals when done right. They offer much more than the traditional tools in terms of giving voice, building community, enhancing learning not just from a writing standpoint.

And….
Peter said that from a teaching standpoint, your colleagues are no longer just the people down the hall. They are teachers in Australia and journalists in Russia and scientists in India. What a very cool, expansive way to start thinking about teaching.
Peter said that from a teaching standpoint, your colleagues are no longer just the people down the hall. They are teachers in Australia and journalists in Russia and scientists in India. What a very cool, expansive way to start thinking about teaching.

I agree whole heartedly with Will and Peter. In just one week of reading and beginning to blog I have experienced the power of collegial connections across the globe. I have experienced the need to take time with information and reflection in order to form an informed opinion. I have seen the difference between my daughters use of My space and the application of blogs in the classroom. This distinction was not immediately obvious to me as a neophyte but I get it now and hope to help others see it. Blogging in the classroom, to my understanding, is about learning to think critically and also learning to express yourself with an audience in mind.

To this end I understand when Clarence posted about his disappointment when his students writing about current events at a factual level and with only one resource. He had to reframe his assignment which leads us to remember that the questions we frame are critical to teaching thinking and to an effective use of blogs in the classroom. If we are serious about building learning communities and opening students to new sources of knowledge we must create an atmosphere of inquiry.

Let me end where I started...blogging has provided me with new hope and energy. As Peter stated so eloquently and as I have experienced this is a wonderful and "expansive way to think about teaching"

Daring to Dream Big

We are on the verge of big changes as we explore avenues to pursue excellence in education. As we seek to reconceive our classrooms, our teaching and our approach to curriculum I invite you to share your thoughts and insights.
Sorting out all the component of moving into full technology integration is overwhelming. Planning for presentations to various stakeholders has my head spining. Different materials are important for different audiences. For the parents , teachers , and potential donors we need to compile the data driven information regarding student achievement. But i also need to address parental concerns in face of all the my space news. How much information is enough and how much is too much?
We also need to choose from the myriad of potential blog sites, look at programs like moodle and find the best of professional development opportunities.....Sometimes it seems like too much..But the dream is also very exciting ...

About Me

I am an administrator in a Pre-K to 8 school in Los Angeles. Our school has a five year plan to go 1:1 in grades K to 8. In 2009-2010 6th, 7th and 8th grade will be the first 1:1 classrooms. My blog is one of my links to Web 2.0 and the reflections and expertise of the many cutting edge educators across the world.