Communication and Collaboration
The Communication and Collaboration standard encourages the use of digital media and digital environments for communicating and collaborative work. This could be done at a distance, to support individual learning, or even contributing to the learning of others. Students should use this media or digital environment to communicate with peers, experts, or multiple audiences and to promote cultural understanding and global awareness while contributing to teamwork that produces original works or solves problems.
David Thornburg in SigTel forum shared about Communication research done by Dr. Jenkins @MIT about participatory culture which focuses on:
- Affiliation, i.e. social networking
- Circulation, i.e. blogging,.., beta reader, po casting, music, lecture video, skype,
- Collaboration, i.e. problem solving, Cmap tool,
- Wikipedia i.e. (beta reader), moodle
- Epressions ( i.e. wrting not for grade, but for adience)flicker, fan fiction, scratch, Youtube
Just a tidbit from a session on collaborative tools – wikis are weapons of mass collaboration!
Session: Virtual Classroom–Hybrid Learning in Action. It seems as if Moodle is the new thing. I need to learn more about it. What I liked about this session is it took traditional teaching methods such as focus activities, kwl, reflections, etc. and integrated those into the virtual classroom where students are collaborating and discussing through moodle, wikipedia, etc.
The presentation format was one I haven’t participated in before. We participated in the virtual classroom as the presenters (Mary Pratto & Julia Lott from Arizona) facilitated. It enhanced the experience.
Session: Classroom 2.0 and Web 2.0
Steve Hargadon lead a panel discussion regarding classroom 2.0 and web 2.0. Used the Ning for the session, and had a live poll running during the session. Used Chatzy for a live chat as well. Definition of web 2.0 is not an educational phenomenon – it is driving change across the planet. 8 basic principles: 1) web is a platform (Travelocity), 2) harnassing collective intelligence (Wikipedia), 3) Wisdom of the crowds (You Tube), 4) Data as the “intel” inside (Amazon), 5) End of the software release cycle (Google), 6) Loosely coupled systems (Netvibes), 7) Software beyond a single device (Facebook), and
Rich User Experience (Swivel).
Active instead of passive. Proactive. Read/write. Collaborative. All of these describe web 2.0, which is driving development in every field around the world. How can we NOT engage our students in this environment and help them get comfortable in this setting as opposed to the model from the early industrial age. (Sorry this is beginning to sound like a sermon – I’m trying to take notes while they speak!)
Barriers: fear of the unknown, trying to protect students from inappropriate content, or just ignorant of the resources available.
Something learned from students: “Hey I wonder what this button does?” Hee hee – I like that one!
Stef – Moodle is kind of an open-source version of Blackboard. Can we do what they were doing in Blackboard?
Steph-Yes we can. That is what I thought but I got to the session late due to cleaning up the poster display
. I was thinking of ways we could apply it and Blackboard is the first that came to mind.
Speaking of Blackboard…I have had some great discussions today concerning how we can use it among our staff to improve communication among our teams and departments. We are so lucky in Irving to have such great technology available on a daily basis. Walking through the exhibit hall, I was reminded how lucky we are and how we need to work on our campuses to better maximize the resources we have at our disposal.
Another great form of communication – ali.apple.com.
It’s a great resource for teachers to network and share ideas on line as well access many wounderful lesson plans and podcasts.
We may not use the apple programs, but could implement many of the lessons with comporable programs.
If Moodle is the similar to BB and free do you think we might change to Moodle? Then the next question would be does Moodle let us do everything BB does?
We attended the session on podcasting for beginners this morning. It was more of what do you need to start instead of how to or why podcast. The people seemed very knowledgeable. I can see great possiblities for podcasting. I think that since many of the teachers are downloading music and using their mp3 players this might be an area that we could interest them by building on their existing knowlege of music. I would love to get the principal to do a weekly or monthly podcast to start.
I was wondering about the capabilities of Blackboard in regards to Moodle capabilities. I really plan on checking out the Moodle thing. Is it supported on our network and would we be supported if we decided to use something like this?
Podcasting and Podcatching for the Absolute Beginner
I attended this session this morning and, yes, I am an absolute beginner on podcasting. Several panelists went over the definition, history, terms used and then items you might need/want to make this successful. I look forward to going to their website (http://podcastingforbeginners.wikispaces.com/) to learn more about podcasting. I can just about bet that when I am back on campus and put out an email asking who has podcast that I will get replies and help from a few people there. I really like the part about what you need to begin and the advice about not having to spend much money on things. I think I will borrow my son’s iPod and get started before school starts. One thing that went completely over my head was RSS; can anyone clue me in on this?
Exhibits this afternoon were wonderful. I think we got half way through. I am very sad that I did not win the Sony laptop.
The first session I went to was basically about open source and how using an open source operating system and open source software can help make a 1:1 program more sustainable. Dr. Thornburg talked about how the state of Indiana and the country of Brazil are using a Linux operating system and almost exclusively open source software in their governments and education systems.
Another concept that was discussed also came from Brazil. It is called “Tropicalia.” It is the idea of cultural mixing, building networks instead of walls, learning from other cultures and incorporating what is learned with elements of your own culture. In education, the idea of tropicalia also includes connecting new learning to elements of students’ culture in meaningful ways.
The sesssion that I attended earlier today was: Pod casting and Podcatching for the Absolute Beginner. It was an informative and humerous session which gave the audience practical information on Podcasting and Podcatching .For example, it defined the term, history, how to get started, cost of the project, and how to implement the information for student use. I am looking forward to checking out their wiki. The Administrative Nets that applied to the presentation were: A: I-iV, VI
Also, I viewed the exhibits this afternoon and was very impressed. The quality of presentations and information available was top notch. I enjoyed speaking to a representative from Pearson in detail about Successs Maker as an intervention tool. Thanks Andrea!!!!
ISTE – NETS Conference
June 30, 2008
Truly Technologically Integrated Planning For Teaching and Learning
Judy Harris & Mark Hofer
School Education, College of William & Mary
Williamsburg, Virginia
NECC 2008
This session was informative at first, addressing various aspects of planning lessons integrating technology.
“Technology should be an indistinguishable part of teaching”. Teachers need to continue to plan instruction according to the needs of the students and curriculum (learner-centered, curriculum-based planning)”. The tools should simply assist the teaching. Instructional planning should not be done according to the possibilities that the technological tools provide.
• Technology evolves and we as 21st century educators must adapt to today’s social changes. Paper is a form of technology, which has evolved to a word doc. etc….
Teacher Planning (Address this because there is a need for planning with the tools)
Lessons usually incorporate:
- Situated
- Contextual
- Activity-based
o Needs to be focused on the lesson not the tools (tools are merely the first step).
- Routinized
Steps for developing lesson:
1. Learning Goals
a. Student centered
2. Pedagogical decisions
a. What type of learning is most important for the lesson at the time?
b. Where are the students with the prior knowledge?
i. Differentiation
c. Structure of lesson?
d. Grouping needed?
e. Need a computer lab, new programs, etc.?
3. Activity Types
* Matching appropriate technology to the lesson is important.
* Naturally, different ways of thinking determines the way educators will approach teaching the lessons.
* Knowledge Building & Knowledge Expressions (on ISTE website)
4. Assessment
5. Tools & Resources
Technology Integration is complex :
Koehler & Mishra, 2008) Model
- Look for the overlaps in the model
- Educators need to aim to reach the very central point of the diagram, which incorporates the complexity and interdependence of each skill listed.
Those are a few of my notes on the lesson. As I mentioned, the first part really helped me focus for my personal studies. If you have any questions, please ask!
I attended a session called “Blogging Communities in the Classroom”. The presenter’s blog is http://www.teachandlearn.ca/blog.
One of the quotes I liked from this presentation was, “If you have time to read everything your students write, then they are not writing enough!” He suggested that teachers become “readers” (for pleasure) of their students’ work and move away from simply being an “evaluator”.
I attended two sessions today that would support communication and collaboration. The first was the Podcasting and Podcatching for the Absolute Beginners and the second, Collaboration Around the World: Social Networking for Educational Videoconferencing. Both sessions were interesting and filled with information. I feel the need to have time to sit down and look at the sites of both presenters and play around with creating a podcast or coming up with an idea for a collaboration with a class somewere outside of Irving. Both presentations filled my head with possiblities for my students to change hats with me and become the teachers of others. Videoconferencing would seem to take James Surowiecki’s “The Wisdom of Crowds” to an even bigger level.
Keynote with Jim Carleton and Mali Bickley
Wow. This is powerful. Notes later, but wow. Check out iearn.org
This session has been reviewed several times already, so I won’t repeat all of those comments, except to say that I whole-heartedly agree. This was a very moving, motivating session with some excellent resources highlighted. It is remarkable to see what has been accomplished by this group of students. Notice I didn’t say teachers? It is the students who took the ball and ran with it. Their teachers had the courage to step out on a limb and try something different. I appreciate that they made sure they didn’t lose sight of the required objectives, and made sure that what they did was grounded in curriculum. Sometimes when you get so excited about the possibilities, it is easy to just let it go without making those essential connections. When you can do both, the students’ benefits are multiplied.
I went to Kathy Shrock’s session Tuesday morning entitled “Get a MUVE On.” MUVE stands for Multi-User Virtual Environment. Kathy thinks these environments are the “next frontier” for technology in education. Being able to connect online, in real time with people anywhere is a real benefit. Right now, she thinks MUVEs are probably most useful for staff development, but implementing them in the classroom it might not be too far away. I think bandwidth is probably the main obstacle at this point.
Kathy ended up spending a lot of time on Second Life, which was interesting. I have almost no experience with SL, but I plan on checking out some of the areas she suggested such at the NOAA island, SL Planetarium, ISTE Aquarium, SL Pioneers, Discovery Educator Network, and her own island, Lighthouse Learning. Kathy also talked about some other MUVEs like TappedIn and WiZiQ.
This afternoon I went to a session by Will Richardson this that focused on creating learning communities. He talked about the importance of teachers and administrators becoming “networked learners.” He has decided that top-down, presentation-style, skill-based workshops are not as effective as an ongoing learning experience through PLCs and networked communities. He explained that learning how a tool works is not enough. Staff development should focus on what you do with it after you have learned to use it. He suggested a book called “Here Comes Everybody” by Clay Shurky.
I have spent a little time in Second Life. I first heard of it in an episode of CSI then visited the ISTE Island and was able to view a lot of details on this conference and the work of ISTE. I met someone in Second Life that was enrolled in a graduate course on using Second Life in education. She shared a great notecard from her instructor that listed a lot of great places for educators within the Second Life world. Send me an email if you would like the info and I will be glad to send it!
We attending the opening session this morning. It was really inspiring. I would love for all of Irving to have seen the presentation. The projects described would receive a LOTI level 100. The statement that we should learn with the world instead of about the world has stuck with me all day.
The greatest session EVER!!!
We attended the “It’s in Your Pocket: Teaching Spectacularly with Cell Phones” presented by Discovery Education’s Hall Davidson. By starting the session rather humorously with the comparison of educators and the Taliban as the only two organizations still out there that ban cell phones, you immediately knew the direction the discussion was headed.
As educators, we have to look at the power of the cell phone. While not all of our students have computers, almost all of them have a cell phone. While the discussion focused on tools we could use with our students, he also explored ways administration and educators can utilize video and text information constructed with their phone to improve communication with staff and parents.
Looking into next year, I will use gcast,com to have students respond and reflect on their learning. To replace traditional homework partially with these type activities will engage students in a new way.
The keynote session brought me to tears. My hope is that all our teachers become as passionate as Jim regarding technology, communication, and collaboration. The need to take risks and go beyond our comfort zones are necessary to become technolgically fluid. I will return to Sam Houston and challenge my teachers to get out of their comfort zones to seemlessly integrate technology in the classroom and break down the barriers of the classroom and look outside their walls to educated our children of the 21st century. The prevailing message that I heard through out the conference today was that it is not the tools that we use but the method in which we engage the children to reach them and engage them through a multimodal means to teach them the expected curriculum. Through collaboration and a variety of tools we can create change and move the masses.
Jim Carleton And Mali Bickley, Tuesday Keynote
I was not going to comment on the keynote since so many already have but really wanted to just say that it was wonderful. It is amazing what the students and these two have done. Since this was probably taped I wonder if there will be a way we can get a copy to show. It might just be the motivation someone needs to move forward with an idea and plan.
I went to a really good session on using ipods in education on the last day. There is a free booklet and a LOT of resources on the guy’s website. I hope people are still checking this. The website is http://www.learninginhand.com
GREAT SESSION!!
I’m still checking it Roseann! Good resource – thanks!