So, I put together my google docs presetation for my homework..... but, I don't know how to link it to the MILI site??!. I missed the instructions last meeting and the tool/skill was probably also covered several meetings ago I am sure. The beautiful part about saving it on google docs is that it will be there tomorrow night and it won't be left home or on my desk at school stored in a flash drive!
I started using google Calendars to organize summer planning time for our DigMe 9-10 grade teaming. Then I started using it for organizing information for the two soccer teams I am "coaching" (having never played and after "coaching" last year still not knowing much about the sport I feel I must place the word in quotes) now and into the summer. I believe it will be a very powerful tool to organize projects for students.
Between the last two meetings and now I have worked with students on content blogs and wikis. For the responses to questions posed and the inter-student discussion I wanted the wiki seemed to be a better model. It was really nice to not have to take home any hard copies for the units I used thes with and the real-time feedback for the students was really motivating for them. My issue with it was/is that it must be kept up to date constantly and consistently to be truly effective. With my feet spread out between the paper chase and the digital realm it feels like I'm a contortionist at times. But, throughout the year I have moved closer to embracing fully the digital realm as I see the benefits to my documentation and to the motivation of the students. It really is a no-brainer, it is truly time to dive headfirst......
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
So, got a chance to look at the MILI wiki a couple of days ago and spotted the Research Project Calculator (RPC) for the nth time since reviewing the wiki. Thought I'd dig deeper with it this time as the sequence of Question, Gather, Conclude, Communicate, & Evaluate matched up with ongoing conversations my interdisciplinary team has been having.
We had been discussing interdisciplinary projects for the 4th quarter and vacillating on a topic. Our Social Studies teacher then suggested that we focus on identification of all the skills we want students to be proficient with as critical thinkers and then backwards design our curriculum so that we were all using the same language to explicitly teach these skills and use them as performance goals for students to strive for. Not super revolutionary other than the common language bit to use with our common students.
Once we had discussed and listed these skills I found that they reminded me very much of the inquiry process in science and in PoL's Discipline Literacy. Which brought me to look deeper into the RPC. I really liked the 3 Questions activities as it gets at a skill missing in many of our students, matches up nicely with several of the critical thinking skills mentioned above, and allows explicit teaching of the way we think.
So, matching this up with technology and Web 2.0. I could see using a Smartboard to document classroom conversations surrounding the Questions activities. Saving them and publicizing them on a wiki and then having students continue the conversations about types of questions and how to research them would be way cool. I know the Smartboard is supposed to be able to recognize handwriting and convert it to a printed form.....has anyone done that?
I want to spend some more time looking at the rest of the RPC and bring some of their ideas into my on-site team discussions. That among the other items I need to check off for myself and my MILI involvement over the next few weeks left. Until then.....
Later.
Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Online University
Heard this morning on NPR a story about an entrepreneur from Israel who is starting up a totally online university that he wants to eventually get accredited. They intend to use the online courses that university professors currently post for free, volunteer professors, and a peer review/discussion format. That last strategy I am assuming will use social networking formats to carry out the discussions.
Will this change the current "free" access to those courses? What about the intellectual rights of those individuals who created and posted those courses? How will this online university accept students? How will they determine that the work they provide online was done by the "registered" student? When these students post truly original, potentially groundbreaking work, how will they safeguard their intellectual property? How will the professors be accredited and peer reviewed?
I know there are solutions to all of the questions/issues I bring up in the above. But, if not done well, with a high degree of integrity and respect for individual property rights this would promote "the culture of the amateur". On the other hand, what a savings to the cost of running a brick and mortar university! What a savings to the student who cannot afford to physically leave their circumstances! What a wonderful democratization of educational opportunities!
Finally, although run at a high level of cost savings this "university" will still need some income. How that income is made? Will it run at a profit for long-term development re-investment? How much of that income becomes profit for individuals managing the university? Does the fact that it is online make all of the answers to these questions more or less transparent?
Success of a model that they are proposing dramatically affects how public schools might be run. Those students with access could be allowed to take our courses anywhere they could get access. Seat time would be calculated using online time. The actual numbers of students in the classroom might be reduced and we might be able to truly differentiate regularly for our sitting students. All the above questions need be answered and administrated in addition a consideration of the education/learning curve for our teachers who are digitally non-natives...... Gotta run for now.....
Sunday, February 1, 2009
Feb 1, 2009
On learning from my aspirations:
None of which I write below is meant for any of my readers to feel one bit of sympathy or pity. They are just comments on a dilemma I have always faced but, much more so this year. You see, I try to see the potential in everything thrown my way and as such I end with way more to do than I could ever possibly complete. This year I have taken on so many "initiatives" (as mentioned above these are all of my own choosing with no one forcing me to take them on so... ) that I cannot keep a full count of them in my head at any one time. So, for anyone who has not yet moved on to another reading here is my list, more for my own documentation than anything else:
MILI (goes without listing)
the Unfolding Vee (a really neat graphic organizer for anyone doing inquiry)
a new 4 teacher team
a Smartboard
a few more animals for my Biology class
a AAA grant incorporating art into a new unit
a new unit on comparative anatomy using live animals (no dissection of them)
incorporation of Digital Media into curriculum
district level Discipline Literacy training
cognitive dissonance "probes" from DL trainings
and finally 3 very different science preps
A few of them I am doing okay on, to a greater or lesser extent. The rest, well.......other than self-induced anxiety over not doing much with them.......
All of them really intersect and support each other well. I need to just stop whining about the ones that I am not doing much with, start doing one of the things I am doing some with really well? and move on. Ah, best laid plans and all that....
On Copyrights:
All this discussion about how to create plagiaristic-proof assignments is great! But, without a teaching of the ethics claiming originality, without our whole society enforcing this ethic we are but tilting at windmills. Just as we the teachers always do though, no? We look toward the future possible world and not the one we encounter today.
As a science teacher pushing students to complete classroom labs that are not cookbook and more their own, I haven't thought too much about plagiarism other than students copying their classmates work. My rule their is that both students involved fail that assignment, unless it can been shown that it was copied from the originator unwillingly.
Creating curriculum that is not cookbook, that is authentic is always a hard job. The reason I took on all of the digital stuff described above is because I believe that, once I get past my huge learning curve on all of it, it will open many new possibilities for students to experience authentic learning. That said I better sign off for tonight and learn some more "digital stuff", get lunch for the week ready, some clothes together, some grading done, some planning done, .........
None of which I write below is meant for any of my readers to feel one bit of sympathy or pity. They are just comments on a dilemma I have always faced but, much more so this year. You see, I try to see the potential in everything thrown my way and as such I end with way more to do than I could ever possibly complete. This year I have taken on so many "initiatives" (as mentioned above these are all of my own choosing with no one forcing me to take them on so... ) that I cannot keep a full count of them in my head at any one time. So, for anyone who has not yet moved on to another reading here is my list, more for my own documentation than anything else:
MILI (goes without listing)
the Unfolding Vee (a really neat graphic organizer for anyone doing inquiry)
a new 4 teacher team
a Smartboard
a few more animals for my Biology class
a AAA grant incorporating art into a new unit
a new unit on comparative anatomy using live animals (no dissection of them)
incorporation of Digital Media into curriculum
district level Discipline Literacy training
cognitive dissonance "probes" from DL trainings
and finally 3 very different science preps
A few of them I am doing okay on, to a greater or lesser extent. The rest, well.......other than self-induced anxiety over not doing much with them.......
All of them really intersect and support each other well. I need to just stop whining about the ones that I am not doing much with, start doing one of the things I am doing some with really well? and move on. Ah, best laid plans and all that....
On Copyrights:
All this discussion about how to create plagiaristic-proof assignments is great! But, without a teaching of the ethics claiming originality, without our whole society enforcing this ethic we are but tilting at windmills. Just as we the teachers always do though, no? We look toward the future possible world and not the one we encounter today.
As a science teacher pushing students to complete classroom labs that are not cookbook and more their own, I haven't thought too much about plagiarism other than students copying their classmates work. My rule their is that both students involved fail that assignment, unless it can been shown that it was copied from the originator unwillingly.
Creating curriculum that is not cookbook, that is authentic is always a hard job. The reason I took on all of the digital stuff described above is because I believe that, once I get past my huge learning curve on all of it, it will open many new possibilities for students to experience authentic learning. That said I better sign off for tonight and learn some more "digital stuff", get lunch for the week ready, some clothes together, some grading done, some planning done, .........
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
In order to make sense of stuff I've got to process it by writing it in my own format, then read it, and then write about it.... Yeah, very old school I know. So if you'll bear with me here goes:
"INFORMATION LITERACY:
The ability to assess the need for information
& Be able to –
· Locate
· Retrieve
· Evaluate
· Analyze
· Apply
Within the community (work, home, the coffe shop, etc)."
I like the phrase "assess the NEED". But, what info is needed for the problem we're trying to solve is a very high level order of thinking. How do we teach this "assessment" process?
" MILI Foci (da 3 R's +):
1. Research Process -
2. Reliable Resources - copyright, Creative Commons, and technology use
3. Responsible Use - plagiarism proof assignments
4. The TOOLS that make 1-3 happen"
MILI Intents??:
1. Research Project - (Are we involved in completion of a "research project"? And if so, have we a rubric by which it will be evaluated?) What are the "5 Steps"?
2. Learn Web 2.0 tools that work for:
- collaboration
- communication
- creativity
within classrooms and school bldgs
3. Shareback of experiences and learning
Other quotes/phrases that caught my attention while reviewing stuff at "Thing 1"
Research - the ability to solve problems and answer questions using information and technology.
Also of importance in doing research.... an understanding of the ethical /legal issues surrounding the access and use of information
All of the above making our classroom experience "AUTHENTIC!!!!" (which is inherently valuable to our students)
Truth Article:
Collateral Misinformation - had not heard of the phrase but I like it. What serves as truth and knowledge in this "user-generated world of information saturation"?
The "Cult of the Amateur" and "wikiality" resulting in the "death of information literacy" forces the question "Has information replaced KNOWLEDGE?"
Knowledge is about context. Knowing what to do with accumulated knowledge.
Versus >>> using information merely to reinforce our own belief system
truth = accuracy?
The process >>> the lessons that come through understanding a process should NEVER become a thing of the past.
Lifelong learners must therefore learn to appreciate the intricacies and difficulties in the search for the "truth". Knowing that "truth" is elusive and that the "fight for it can be rewarding"
(99% of the above comes from the resources found at the Thing 1 site. I claim no originality in the above other than the rearrangement of information that merely helps me process said information.)
QUESTIONS/COMMENTS of my own that have filtered down from processing of the above:
How do we teach a faithful process of the search for the "truth" when information found in this search conflicts with a previously held belief system? How do we inculcate our students with the courage to confront a belief system that conflicts with information wrought from the processes described and modeled in the above and our own learning with MILI this year?
In order to run an "authentic" classroom as described, my students need relatively immediate access to the technology. I say this because motivation and inspiration is fleeting at best. When a student is inspired to dig deeply into a topic and truly search for their answers the barrier of a pass to the media center, scheduling time for the computer lab, etc. (you can fill in many more from our daily practice) suffocates the inspiration and motivation.
Having several thin clients connected to a server allowing many students at a time, within the walls of a regular classroom, access to these resources seems a paradigm we as educators should be pushing for. This would allow for real-time student to student, student to teacher, student to resource interactions which would promote a positive and accurate version of the wisdom of the collective. It would allow for real-time challenging of information sources for accuracy, bias, etc. and I think help with the cultue of wikiality.
Shifting Gears:
Looking at the Web 2.0 directory was overwhelming. If I had a couple of years to evaluate their potential use I wouldn't be able to cover all that is in that directory. Are there educator websites that are doing this? Or, are we the people doing this?
Gotta go....it is late....working on another 10 hour day.
"INFORMATION LITERACY:
The ability to assess the need for information
& Be able to –
· Locate
· Retrieve
· Evaluate
· Analyze
· Apply
Within the community (work, home, the coffe shop, etc)."
I like the phrase "assess the NEED". But, what info is needed for the problem we're trying to solve is a very high level order of thinking. How do we teach this "assessment" process?
" MILI Foci (da 3 R's +):
1. Research Process -
2. Reliable Resources - copyright, Creative Commons, and technology use
3. Responsible Use - plagiarism proof assignments
4. The TOOLS that make 1-3 happen"
MILI Intents??:
1. Research Project - (Are we involved in completion of a "research project"? And if so, have we a rubric by which it will be evaluated?) What are the "5 Steps"?
2. Learn Web 2.0 tools that work for:
- collaboration
- communication
- creativity
within classrooms and school bldgs
3. Shareback of experiences and learning
Other quotes/phrases that caught my attention while reviewing stuff at "Thing 1"
Research - the ability to solve problems and answer questions using information and technology.
Also of importance in doing research.... an understanding of the ethical /legal issues surrounding the access and use of information
All of the above making our classroom experience "AUTHENTIC!!!!" (which is inherently valuable to our students)
Truth Article:
Collateral Misinformation - had not heard of the phrase but I like it. What serves as truth and knowledge in this "user-generated world of information saturation"?
The "Cult of the Amateur" and "wikiality" resulting in the "death of information literacy" forces the question "Has information replaced KNOWLEDGE?"
Knowledge is about context. Knowing what to do with accumulated knowledge.
Versus >>> using information merely to reinforce our own belief system
truth = accuracy?
The process >>> the lessons that come through understanding a process should NEVER become a thing of the past.
Lifelong learners must therefore learn to appreciate the intricacies and difficulties in the search for the "truth". Knowing that "truth" is elusive and that the "fight for it can be rewarding"
(99% of the above comes from the resources found at the Thing 1 site. I claim no originality in the above other than the rearrangement of information that merely helps me process said information.)
QUESTIONS/COMMENTS of my own that have filtered down from processing of the above:
How do we teach a faithful process of the search for the "truth" when information found in this search conflicts with a previously held belief system? How do we inculcate our students with the courage to confront a belief system that conflicts with information wrought from the processes described and modeled in the above and our own learning with MILI this year?
In order to run an "authentic" classroom as described, my students need relatively immediate access to the technology. I say this because motivation and inspiration is fleeting at best. When a student is inspired to dig deeply into a topic and truly search for their answers the barrier of a pass to the media center, scheduling time for the computer lab, etc. (you can fill in many more from our daily practice) suffocates the inspiration and motivation.
Having several thin clients connected to a server allowing many students at a time, within the walls of a regular classroom, access to these resources seems a paradigm we as educators should be pushing for. This would allow for real-time student to student, student to teacher, student to resource interactions which would promote a positive and accurate version of the wisdom of the collective. It would allow for real-time challenging of information sources for accuracy, bias, etc. and I think help with the cultue of wikiality.
Shifting Gears:
Looking at the Web 2.0 directory was overwhelming. If I had a couple of years to evaluate their potential use I wouldn't be able to cover all that is in that directory. Are there educator websites that are doing this? Or, are we the people doing this?
Gotta go....it is late....working on another 10 hour day.
Monday, September 15, 2008
RHS - OLC 9-15/2008
Just read several messages from a fellow RHS science teacher, David Groos regarding his efforts to set up his renewed computers (acting as thin clients), flat screen monitors and his server network. He is the one who I inherited the 12-15 G3s and the tables custom built by David, that they sit in. He and 2 other science teachers wrote up a grant last year to get the new/used hardware into the classrooms allowing them to set up their Growing Communities of Scientists (GCOS). Best I can tell he has yet to get the computers up and running - this has involved running electrical lines to computer from wall outlets and network lines from from computers to server as well as custom building a newer and refined version of computer tables.
I am quite a bit behind David et al as I still need to run electrical cables and network wires. This like David's effort involves running electircal cables up from the computer tables, hanging same below ceiling, to wall, running down wall to socket. Additional, these cables must be run into surge protectors for fire code and equipment protection.
After that network lines need to be run from each computer to the classroom server. The classroom server then needs to be connected to the building server. And they all need to cooperatively talk nicely to each other. This will not be a painless process as I know of the issues other teachers in the DigMe program here at Roosevelt have had connecting up their new Mac computers directly to the building server.
I will connect our MILI community up to David's cMap that illustrates what he is trying to do with a variety of applications to get students to talk content online with each other and the teacher. It is really cool and I hope to model some of it in my own classroom, that is when I get allllll the infrastructure connected up and the connectivity issues unbugged.
I am quite a bit behind David et al as I still need to run electrical cables and network wires. This like David's effort involves running electircal cables up from the computer tables, hanging same below ceiling, to wall, running down wall to socket. Additional, these cables must be run into surge protectors for fire code and equipment protection.
After that network lines need to be run from each computer to the classroom server. The classroom server then needs to be connected to the building server. And they all need to cooperatively talk nicely to each other. This will not be a painless process as I know of the issues other teachers in the DigMe program here at Roosevelt have had connecting up their new Mac computers directly to the building server.
I will connect our MILI community up to David's cMap that illustrates what he is trying to do with a variety of applications to get students to talk content online with each other and the teacher. It is really cool and I hope to model some of it in my own classroom, that is when I get allllll the infrastructure connected up and the connectivity issues unbugged.
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