Liked the classroom on wheels

Last week's visit to the bus/classroom on wheels was pretty fun. Even though I was only there for part of it, it was impressive. Will this be the new standard, or will it only be available for the schools and districts with the most money? Really liked the cooperative activity and the ability for students to "vote" for the correct answers anonymously. Seems like a great way to get the kids who are shy or unsure of answers involved.

Loved the Guest Speaker

Thinking about our class about two weeks ago with the guest speaker. It was really good to hear some specific applications for what we are learning in class in addition to what our instructor is doing. Since I am very interested in the sciences, I very much appreciated hearing how much the strategies can be applied to specifically teaching science. It really is a natural partnership & the guest speaker was inspiring.

Musings

Trying to catch up on my blog assignments. Where am I right now? A bit overwhelmed with trying to keep track of all my different accounts, user names, and passwords. Wondering if people really care what I think about any particular issue. Sometimes the blog and twitter thing seem so narcissistic that I feel self conscious about posting. . . Also, how does a new teacher find the time to implement what we've been learning about? On the other hand this is opening up a lot of venues for me that I would not have pursued on my own.

Digital Nation

After watching Digital Nation, I feel like a lot of my reservations about the use (and maybe abuse) of technology and the digital world are validated. The whole multitasking phenomenon sometimes makes me crazy when my friends are doing it and I have a close family member who very well might meet the criteria for video/computer game addiction (the Asian criteria-the show indicated that the US doesn't yet recognize this addiction). While technology is great in many ways, the constant connectivity seems to make it impossible for many friends of mine to relax and truly unplug from work, even when they are on vacation. I hope that as a society we are able to find ways to truly use the digital world to serve us as people and not as ways to live in our own isolated digital worlds

Equal Access to the Digital World??

Can teachers provide equal access to the digital world to all students? My first thought is that no, teachers cannot provide equal access to all students to the digital world. Students in public school come from all walks of life and all socioeconomic levels, which allows for different levels of obtaining technology at home. However, as technology evolves and becomes less expensive, more people are able to obtain and access technology. I have been working as a volunteer at an organization that provides after school programming to low income and at risk students and I have been amazed at the level of technology that many of these students are able to access at home. Generally speaking, though, these students have just recently (within the last 6-12 months) been able to obtain a computer at home. From my personal experience, almost all the "middle class" students I came in contact with as a paraprofessional and as a mom had home computers 10 to 15 years ago. That is a 10 -15 year gap between what more affluent families can provide vs. what lower income families can provide! Assuming that dropping technology costs will solve the problem is not the answer. Also, even if there is a computer at home, what type of internet access is available? There is a huge difference between dial-up and broadband, which will significantly affect what students are able to do at home.

I think teachers have to be very careful about assuming that students have access to the digital world at home. I have heard teachers say that students without home access can just use the library. While that may be technically true, using technology at the library can be difficult to access if parents are unable to get the child to the library. Once at the library, students may face waiting for an available computer, as well as time limits on their use.

I think one thing teachers can do is to make sure that any assignments requiring access to the digital world can be done during the school day with access to school technology. As long as issues with teacher contracts don't prohibit it, teachers can provide after school access to technology as well. Students should be graded on what all students can access, not what a few or most can access. In other words, if some students can create a YouTube video at home, and some cannot, the gist of the grading or assessment should not be based on the video, but on what the students actually learned from the assignment.

Short of physically providing a computer or laptop to each and every student, teachers cannot provide equal access to the digital world. They can try to provide a more level playing field as far as assignments and expectations of digital literacy go. At some point in the future, perhaps access to the digital world will be considered a fundamental right and be provided by society. Until then, teachers can try to provide as much access at school as possible, along with education about the digital world.

K12 Online Conference - Thriving in a Collaborative Web 2.0 Classroom: The "Great Debate" and "Student News Action Network"

Just got done watching Tom Daccord's December 16, 2009 K12 Online Conference presentation, Thriving in a Collaborative Web 2.0 Classsroom: "The Great Debate" and "Student News Action Network". It was really interesting. Daccord points out that youth are "online all the time", that "kids are immersed in technology at an earlier and earlier age", and that their goals are to be part of a social and participatory culture. They also expect a "low threshold to express themselves artistically" and cites YouTube as an example. He also points out that since 2005, youth are writing more online than offline.

Daccord states that for students to be engaged in their learning, the work must be meaningful to them, authentic (having a wider audience than just their teacher), and has to have a social aspect. He used an assignment called "The Great Debate of 2008" to engage students in the issues of the 2008 Presidential Election through the use of a Wiki and Ning. He viewed his role as ensuring quality and keeping bias out of the content. Daccord also pointed out that 21 out of 23 conversations on Ning were student initiated, that students spontaneously inserted videos on Ning, and that students were asking to write more than they were assigned for the Wiki.

Daccord's students also participate in the "Student News Action Network", which is entirely student produced by students in at least 5 different countries. As with the above assignment, all of the work looked professionally produced, which speaks to the students' abilities to artistically express themselves. This project again illustrates that when students have ownership over the content, have opportunities to be social and connected, and have an authentic assignment, they are capable of learning a great deal and producing high quality work. He also suggests that by co-opting the social networks for academic reasons, teachers are able to meet their students where they are in a way that is relevant to them.

He finally points out that in order for teachers to overcome the isolation they often work in and to practice what they are trying to impart to their students, teachers might consider joining or forming an academic community.

Tom Daccord's style was engaging and interesting. His knowledge of youth and what motivates them was impressive, as was his knowledge and application of what is available on the read-write web. It is a bit daunting to think of myself setting up Wiki's, Ning, Voicethread, etc. for my students. I better get this stuff if I want to engage students.

What Can We Gain by Collaboration?

This question is a tough one to answer because I think that we have almost everything to gain, and very little, if anything to lose, by collaboration. Collaboration allows everyone involved to test ideas, to build on others' ideas, and to create at a geometric rate instead of a linear rate. Use of technology allows global collaboration and increased exposure to other perspectives.

According to Tom Daccord, a contributor to the 2009 K12 Online Conference, for teachers and students, collaboration using the read-write web provides authentic, meaningful, and social opportunities for learning. These three attributes are important to engage contemporary students in learning. Daccord also points out that since teachers traditionally prepare lessons in isolation, joining an academic community online can help teachers to break out of isolation, get comfortable with the technology, and to test their ideas and learn from colleagues around the globe.