STUMBLE!

Have you tried stumbleupon.com?  I am sitting with my student, Elixabeth, and she has just shown me really cool site where you write in your interests and it finds sites for you... make lists from it, etc.  I am about to try it.  More later!

On letting go: Thoughts after the webinar with Jeff Utecht

Jeff Utecht is positive and enthusiastic about technology and what it can do in a high school setting. I really enjoyed listening to him speak and having the conversation with him about the use of technology in schools.  I also read his article on blogs as web-based portfolios and I watched this digital story work, Romeo and Juliet Heaven Scene, from one of his students at ISB. 

I wish I were him sometimes.  I raised a jealous eyebrow when I reviewed his work and listened to him speak.  I know what resources there are out there and I know that if I tried hard enough, I could probably make my way into a job like his, where there is a lot of money and support for programs in art, language, cutting edge educational practice and an educated public running the school that allows room to move in terms of technology and taking chances with it.

But I am where I am because I choose to be... it is where I set out to be when I decided to be a teacher.  I won't say that I am not as fortunate as he is.  I am.  I make my choice to be where I am and it is not by default.  However, where I am represents the majority of education whereas where he is represents a very small minority.  Now, I am not a negative person but I do have to deal with the stack of cards I have and I have to figure out what I can do with my resources and my kid-pool and my laws and controls.  That isn't to say these things can't be changed but, if I want them to change, I have to change them from within and that will take time... I am working toward this but I have 75 students NOW.  I have to do for them now... so, my biggest question I wound up with after the call, once I put my ego aside (no, your point in teaching is not to be a super hero movie star teacher that doesn't have a real life outside of the classroom) was this:  What can I do?

I am now able to view his work as something that can be modified rather than something to envy.  And once I did that, I realized that the free tools online are certainly enough to start from.  I think googledocs is a great place to start.  I know that, if I can find a way (and I will) to acquire cameras, we will be able to do digital story telling.  And I am looking into a grant to get a bank of laptops for my creative writing class so I don't have to fight so hard over the lab at school.  There are ways.  

In any case, I have continued to peruse his blog and will continue so that I can steal all the ideas I can find.  I will think of myself as Robin Hood of Technology...  :)

Good Ol' KWL!

What did you know?
I knew some pretty basic Web 2.0 tools from previous classes and I knew some of the lingo; podcasts, googledocs, etc...  but 

what did you want to know
I wanted to know how to really use them and why I should.  I wanted to know what ways I could integrate technology into my classroom in meaningful ways that create an environment of learning and self discovery.  

what did you learn (or not?) -
The first thing I learned is that digital books are great.  I learned that I often hold on to old ways of doing things because they are comfortable but that if I stretch and try new things, it only takes a while to get over the discomfort before I start seeing returns.  I learned a little about being an activist... that there is a need for activism in schools in order to make sure that our children are ready for the world we are only just forming.  I learned the confidence to try new things and to be open with my kids and explain that this is my first time too... so let's learn together...  

How will you use what you have learned in this course to further your technology integration into your own classroom?

I will "Just Do It" like the Nike commercial.  I really appreciated the time I was given to do the final project and that I chose to do the class wiki because I honestly feel like I am really getting ready for next year.  It is making me feel braver about trying new things and different approaches even to thinking about technology.   I am SO MUCH looking forward to doing my digital story telling project.  I learned to amke connections and to ask questions.  I learned that I still love to learn and that this uncomfortable stretch is worth everything... if it means getting my kids to be ready to face what is ahead.  Great class!

Final Week: Including Celeste

What can I say?  I am a total sap and actually teared up the first time I saw this story and this time, it had the exact same effect.  The funny thing is that it isn't because the little girl is sick or because she can't attend school but it is because of all the things that can be done and that someone cared enough to make the time and technology work in his favor in order for her to be included.  I loved how the kids explained how skyping worked and that they were very reflective about Celeste's inclusion in this class. And then there was Celeste, herself, happy, acting her age and really participating in the classroom antics.  Can we forget that she has leukemia and that she isn't actually in the room? Yes.. in a way we can because she has access to tools that make sure, no matter what, this little girl's voice is heard and she is learning from and is part of the learning in that classroom.  I am so proud of that teacher for doing this and showing others how to as well.

Week 11: Why I don't have a Personal Learning Network. Yet..

Of course, NOW, I think it is really important to have a personal learning network.  At first, when I was reading this assignment, I misunderstood and thought  it was going to be about PLCs.  I have had a lot of experience with PLCs  (Professional Learning Communities).  I think they are very similar—in fact, I think you can have a PLC through a PLN!  

Do I have a PLN?  Not formally, other than the classes I have been taking.  Honestly,I hadn’t really thought about it.  The real reason I have been taking classes in computer/internet applications is that “technology” and “21^st Century Learning” are the buzzwords/phrases  in education right now.  I have been in a multimedia class, an Integration of Technology class and now, this class, Teaching and Learning in a networked classroom but I still feel like a stranger in a strange land.  In the past months, I have learned more than I can keep track of in my head so, really, I have been relying on my classes (instructors), my fellow students and my colleagues for advice, inspiration and techniques.  I know that soon there will be a time when I am going to need to be able to find a lot of this information outside my personal world and so I definitely see the value in creating a network.  I have to say I am really liking the whole blogging thing…  it makes a huge difference to me to get my thoughts out in a visible way and the comments and suggestions are very helpful. I also like my brand-new Diigo toolbar and all the opportunities I am still uncovering through it's use.  I do, however, feel quite overwhelmed with the RSS feed and some of the other Web 2.0 tools we have that filter and hand us information.  Reading Miguel Guhlin's posting on Wes Fryer's Moving at the Speed of Creativity weblog at least made me feel like I am not alone.  Here's a quote from Guhlin's posting on Personal Learning Networks:

"As someone who awoke to that fact just a few years ago, I am continually astonished at the rapidity of change. In fact, I had my first — and so far, only — panic attack in July 2005, when driving down the highway to work, I realized that the world is changing faster than I can keep up."

Personally, I have always been very good at multi tasking in terms of my physical social world, but the networking thing online, while exciting, can be very daunting. I know it is going to be something I will become familiar with and I also know that, while it is always uncomfortable to learn something new, ultimately, the discomfort is worth the return.  I guess, in a way, this is a good lesson to have anyway as I am always asking my students to trust me and to be uncomfortable... always promising them that it will be worth it.

But, here I am.  And, yes..  I should have a PLN.  Anyone want to be in one with me?