I've just returned from The National Educational Computing Conference (NECC) in Atlanta. The most amazing part of the experience was the opportunity to speak in person with some of my Web 2.0 heroes. Starting with the edubloggercon unconference, and followed by discussions at the blogger cafe and the MassCUE reception, I personally spoke with Steve Hargadon, Will Richardson, Kathy Schrock, Joyce Valenza and Chris Lehmann. Joyce even mentioned my podcasting project in her presentation. I wish I had brought my autograph book.
It is interesting to me how starstruck I am by these people. I know they are teachers just like, but through their blogging and presentations I have found them to be inspiring educators. I guess I shouldn't be embarrassed by my awe of these people. It is just amazing to me that I've gotten the opportunity to shake their hands. I thank the edublogosphere for that!
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Blogging with Grandma
My mother-in-law writes a family note every week and sends it out via e-mail. She lets us all know what she has been up to, sends us pictures and also updates us about each other. I recently suggested that she set up a blog as a better way to communicate with all of us. She can write her weekly notes as blog entries and post and share her pictures. We can comment on her blog and the whole family can see our comments. Finally, we can add her blog to our aggregator and read it along with the rest of the news we regularly read. There are many free blogging services, I'm using one of them right now, that are easy to set up and use. Check out this great wiki on blogging for lots of ideas and resources.
You may be asking your self "What is an aggregator?"An aggregator is a tool that uses RSS feeds to collect all of your news in one place. Still confused? Watch this great video to learn more. If you would like to set up your own aggregator, I've put together a series of screencasts to teach you how. If grandma can do it, so can you!
You may be asking your self "What is an aggregator?"An aggregator is a tool that uses RSS feeds to collect all of your news in one place. Still confused? Watch this great video to learn more. If you would like to set up your own aggregator, I've put together a series of screencasts to teach you how. If grandma can do it, so can you!
Sunday, May 20, 2007
Crashing the Server
We have been very busy here at the Runkle school making movies and podcasts. So busy in fact that we have nearly crashed the server several times. Movies and podcasts are big files. Note to self - next year don't do them all at the same time.
The 8th grade has been in movie heaven (although it has at times felt like the other place). They have just completed their element music videos. They worked really hard on these videos, finding facts about their element and then putting them to music and adding visual effects. I hope to get them up on the Web soon, so that you all can check them out. In addition to their element videos, they have also completed travel videos for countries in Europe, and both animation and claymation projects. You can see many of their animation projects here:
Third and forth graders have been hard at work on their book review podcasts. We should be finishing these up soon and I will add them to the Brookline Book Review Website. The seventh graders have finished their wiki project on genetic disorders. You can check them out here. The year is definitely coming to a close with an exciting finish!
The 8th grade has been in movie heaven (although it has at times felt like the other place). They have just completed their element music videos. They worked really hard on these videos, finding facts about their element and then putting them to music and adding visual effects. I hope to get them up on the Web soon, so that you all can check them out. In addition to their element videos, they have also completed travel videos for countries in Europe, and both animation and claymation projects. You can see many of their animation projects here:
Third and forth graders have been hard at work on their book review podcasts. We should be finishing these up soon and I will add them to the Brookline Book Review Website. The seventh graders have finished their wiki project on genetic disorders. You can check them out here. The year is definitely coming to a close with an exciting finish!
Wednesday, May 9, 2007
A wiki by any other name...
I dislocated my pinkie last week. I know that sounds kind of pathetic, but it really has a serious effect on one's ability to type. Particularly the letter p, the semi-colon, question mark, period, and any capital letters made by the left hand. I'm a pretty fast touch-typist, and this has slowed me down big time. I have gained a great appreciation for the benefits of being able to type as fast as I think, and also for the importance of the pinkie! O.K. enough complaining, on with the blog.
Seventh graders started a wiki project in science class this week. They are working in groups researching a genetic disorder and publishing their findings on a class wiki website. You can follow their progress here. This is a first for all of us, so we are all figuring this out as we go. So far so good. What I like about the wiki is there aren't many formatting options. Students have to focus on the content and can't spend all their time choosing fonts and colors.
Speaking of wikis, most people are only familiar with the wiki, Wikipedia, around which there is a lot of controversy about using it as a source. Here is a video titled "Why Wikipedia Sucks" that does a good job of summarizing that sentiment.
Personally, I am not an anti-Wikipedian. I believe, as with all web sources, all information found on the web is suspect. As researchers, we need to be diligent about using more than one source and checking the reliability of the sources we use. Chris Harris cited a great rule for research in his blog, infomancy:
Seventh graders started a wiki project in science class this week. They are working in groups researching a genetic disorder and publishing their findings on a class wiki website. You can follow their progress here. This is a first for all of us, so we are all figuring this out as we go. So far so good. What I like about the wiki is there aren't many formatting options. Students have to focus on the content and can't spend all their time choosing fonts and colors.
Speaking of wikis, most people are only familiar with the wiki, Wikipedia, around which there is a lot of controversy about using it as a source. Here is a video titled "Why Wikipedia Sucks" that does a good job of summarizing that sentiment.
Personally, I am not an anti-Wikipedian. I believe, as with all web sources, all information found on the web is suspect. As researchers, we need to be diligent about using more than one source and checking the reliability of the sources we use. Chris Harris cited a great rule for research in his blog, infomancy:
One is none, and two is one. This rule comes from a variety of sources, including the maxim for flashlights in serious situations like caving. If you have one tool, then you effectively have none because of the source for failure. If you have two, then you can hopefully count on one, but one is none. This is why, among other very silly reasons, that I tend to have three flashlights on me at any given time. In the world of library research, the same is true. Having one source is as good as having none. I don’t care if the source is Britannica or Wikipedia, one source has no validity.With more than one source to confirm the information you find, Wikipedia can be a great place to start. What do you think?
Thursday, April 26, 2007
Learning to write - Writing to learn
The students at Runkle have been very busy using technology this week. Kindergartners just completed their Ocean unit and each child drew a picture, wrote about something they learned and then recorded their voice sharing one thing they learned about ocean life. I put the pictures together into a movie which you can watch below. The thing I love about this project is the combination of visual, written and oral expression. For students who are not quite ready to write full sentences, recording their voice provides them with the opportunity to show what they have learned. If you would like to download a copy of the video, right-click (PC) or control-click (Mac) this link.
It has been so interesting for me to watch the growth of our Kindergartners this year. I have worked with primarily with middle school students for most of my career as a teacher. Working at Runkle has allowed me the privilege to work with students in the primary grades. As I've observed our Kindergarten students in the lab over the course of this year, they have grown in both their technical ability and their literacy skills. When they first started coming to the lab, many of the students couldn't find the letters for their name on the keyboard, let alone write a full sentence. And, when they began writing words and then sentences, they rarely included vowels or spaces between their words.
As this year comes to a close, I am thrilled to see these 5 and 6 year-olds using vowels (even if they aren't always the right ones), including spaces, and easily reading their own writing (even when we can't). This growth has been fascinating and thrilling for me. I want to thank Runkle's Kindergarten teachers and paraprofessionals for all they do. They really are amazing teachers.
This is just one of the amazing ways that Runkle students are using technology. I'll be sharing more projects in future blog posts.
It has been so interesting for me to watch the growth of our Kindergartners this year. I have worked with primarily with middle school students for most of my career as a teacher. Working at Runkle has allowed me the privilege to work with students in the primary grades. As I've observed our Kindergarten students in the lab over the course of this year, they have grown in both their technical ability and their literacy skills. When they first started coming to the lab, many of the students couldn't find the letters for their name on the keyboard, let alone write a full sentence. And, when they began writing words and then sentences, they rarely included vowels or spaces between their words.
As this year comes to a close, I am thrilled to see these 5 and 6 year-olds using vowels (even if they aren't always the right ones), including spaces, and easily reading their own writing (even when we can't). This growth has been fascinating and thrilling for me. I want to thank Runkle's Kindergarten teachers and paraprofessionals for all they do. They really are amazing teachers.
This is just one of the amazing ways that Runkle students are using technology. I'll be sharing more projects in future blog posts.
Saturday, April 21, 2007
To blog or not to blog...
that is the question. Why read blogs? Why write a blog?
We are living in an amazing time in history. Speech is truly becoming free. People everywhere are saying what they want to say and publishing their ideas for people around the world to read. Web 2.0 has given a voice to millions of people and also given us the ability to share our voice with other people around the world. Web 2.0 has taken out the middleman (middle person). We don't need a publisher to tell us that what we want to say is worth reading. It is the readers who will decide. And the readers who can tell you what they think. We no longer write in a vacuume.
What does this mean for teachers? Teachers are learners at heart. Reading blogs provides teachers with a community of colleagues beyond their own school. That community has ideas and opinions about teaching that can motivate and inspire. Writing your own blog is a learning experience in itself. You have to ask yourself, what do I have to say and how do I want to say it? Finally, it makes the teaching of writing that much more important. If blogging is the future, then writing is the future. We want our students to be prepared to make a point and argue it articulately and creatively.
What does this mean for parents? Parents are also learners. Reading blogs provides parents with a community with ideas and opinions about parenting that can motivate, challenge and inspire. Writing your own blog is a learning experience and also lends your own voice to the voice of parents everywhere. There is so much propaganda about parenting. Parents need to take control of their own issues. Finally, blogging by teachers lets parents in on what is happening in the classroom. It opens the black box. It allows conversations to take place within a classroom community that can lead to better understanding and learning for everyone in the community.
What does this mean for students? Blogging provides a public voice for students. It makes writing authentic. When writing a blog, you really have to consider your audience and be open to feedback. This provides incentive to students to think before they write and to write well. Blogging forces students to dress up their writing for a public audience.
What does this mean for school administrators? School administrators should be participating in a community of bloggers. Administrators can learn from each other about what is working and what isn't. They can provide each other with support, feedback and ideas to make schools work better. They can model writing and participating in the future of technology for their teachers, parents and students. And, they can make their goals and intentions transparent to the school community. Nothing keeps you more honest than laying it out on the table and opening yourself up to your community for ideas and suggestions.
Of course, the public nature of blogging is scary. Is anyone listening? Are they going to criticize my writing, my spelling, my ideas? As a community we need to respect the risk that bloggers are taking by laying their ideas and opinions out there. We need to presuppose the good intentions of the writer and honor his or her vulnerability by contributing in a caring and nonjudgemental way.
What do you think - teachers, parents, students, administrators? Are you willing to come on board? Are you willing to lend your voice to the blogosphere? To submit your ideas to the conversation? Do you need help to do that? Do you have questions? Ideas? Ask me, ask others. Let's get this party started.
David on classroom 2.0 at ning just shared this amazing wiki site on how to start blogging. Check it out!
We are living in an amazing time in history. Speech is truly becoming free. People everywhere are saying what they want to say and publishing their ideas for people around the world to read. Web 2.0 has given a voice to millions of people and also given us the ability to share our voice with other people around the world. Web 2.0 has taken out the middleman (middle person). We don't need a publisher to tell us that what we want to say is worth reading. It is the readers who will decide. And the readers who can tell you what they think. We no longer write in a vacuume.
What does this mean for teachers? Teachers are learners at heart. Reading blogs provides teachers with a community of colleagues beyond their own school. That community has ideas and opinions about teaching that can motivate and inspire. Writing your own blog is a learning experience in itself. You have to ask yourself, what do I have to say and how do I want to say it? Finally, it makes the teaching of writing that much more important. If blogging is the future, then writing is the future. We want our students to be prepared to make a point and argue it articulately and creatively.
What does this mean for parents? Parents are also learners. Reading blogs provides parents with a community with ideas and opinions about parenting that can motivate, challenge and inspire. Writing your own blog is a learning experience and also lends your own voice to the voice of parents everywhere. There is so much propaganda about parenting. Parents need to take control of their own issues. Finally, blogging by teachers lets parents in on what is happening in the classroom. It opens the black box. It allows conversations to take place within a classroom community that can lead to better understanding and learning for everyone in the community.
What does this mean for students? Blogging provides a public voice for students. It makes writing authentic. When writing a blog, you really have to consider your audience and be open to feedback. This provides incentive to students to think before they write and to write well. Blogging forces students to dress up their writing for a public audience.
What does this mean for school administrators? School administrators should be participating in a community of bloggers. Administrators can learn from each other about what is working and what isn't. They can provide each other with support, feedback and ideas to make schools work better. They can model writing and participating in the future of technology for their teachers, parents and students. And, they can make their goals and intentions transparent to the school community. Nothing keeps you more honest than laying it out on the table and opening yourself up to your community for ideas and suggestions.
Of course, the public nature of blogging is scary. Is anyone listening? Are they going to criticize my writing, my spelling, my ideas? As a community we need to respect the risk that bloggers are taking by laying their ideas and opinions out there. We need to presuppose the good intentions of the writer and honor his or her vulnerability by contributing in a caring and nonjudgemental way.
What do you think - teachers, parents, students, administrators? Are you willing to come on board? Are you willing to lend your voice to the blogosphere? To submit your ideas to the conversation? Do you need help to do that? Do you have questions? Ideas? Ask me, ask others. Let's get this party started.
David on classroom 2.0 at ning just shared this amazing wiki site on how to start blogging. Check it out!
Sunday, April 15, 2007
A new literacy...
I am a reader. I love books, especially young adult and adult fiction. I know how to read a book. I know how to look at the cover, to read the inside flap, to find out about the author, to make predictions and connections as I'm reading. I know how to read from left to right and down the page. Reading books is a two dimensional experience. I'm pretty fast and I usually remember a lot of what I read.
Reading Online is a whole different animal, a "three dimensional animal" (Warlick, page 22). The more I do it the more I learn how, but it requires attention and practice. In a Web 2.0 world, it is just as important to teach kids to read and navigate information Online as it is to teach them on paper.
Just reading this blog takes a different kind of attention and approach. There is a lot on this page, pictures, videos, and links. As you are reading this blog there are opportunities to go elsewhere, to read and reference more than just what is on this page. That is the beauty of Online literacy, but also the challenge. It is easy to get lost, to wander off to explore a link and then lose the train of thought where you began.
I myself am just learning how to do this. So far this is what works for me: I first look over the whole page, reading headings, looking at pictures and reading links. I then read the article that interests me from start to finish. After I have read it through once, I start exploring the links on the page. This works for me, but I have had to figure this out for myself.
As teachers, we need to be able to support and help our students to do this as well. I think this is an essential skill for students to have. Students are constantly interacting with Online information. We need to give them the tools and skills to do so in an effective and efficient manor. And, this needs to happen inside the classroom, not just in the lab. This is not a "technology" lesson, but a reading lesson that involves technology. Check out this interesting Website: 21st Century Literacies, Tool for Reading the World You will find a lot of resources on how to teach these skills.
What do you think? Are you addressing this type of literacy in your classroom? If so, how are you doing it? If not, what kind of support do you need to start bringing this into your "reading" lessons? Do you agree that it is important?
Works Cited: Warlick, David F. Redefining Literacy for the 21st Century. Linworth Publishing, Inc. 2004.
Reading Online is a whole different animal, a "three dimensional animal" (Warlick, page 22). The more I do it the more I learn how, but it requires attention and practice. In a Web 2.0 world, it is just as important to teach kids to read and navigate information Online as it is to teach them on paper.
Just reading this blog takes a different kind of attention and approach. There is a lot on this page, pictures, videos, and links. As you are reading this blog there are opportunities to go elsewhere, to read and reference more than just what is on this page. That is the beauty of Online literacy, but also the challenge. It is easy to get lost, to wander off to explore a link and then lose the train of thought where you began.
I myself am just learning how to do this. So far this is what works for me: I first look over the whole page, reading headings, looking at pictures and reading links. I then read the article that interests me from start to finish. After I have read it through once, I start exploring the links on the page. This works for me, but I have had to figure this out for myself.
As teachers, we need to be able to support and help our students to do this as well. I think this is an essential skill for students to have. Students are constantly interacting with Online information. We need to give them the tools and skills to do so in an effective and efficient manor. And, this needs to happen inside the classroom, not just in the lab. This is not a "technology" lesson, but a reading lesson that involves technology. Check out this interesting Website: 21st Century Literacies, Tool for Reading the World You will find a lot of resources on how to teach these skills.
What do you think? Are you addressing this type of literacy in your classroom? If so, how are you doing it? If not, what kind of support do you need to start bringing this into your "reading" lessons? Do you agree that it is important?
Works Cited: Warlick, David F. Redefining Literacy for the 21st Century. Linworth Publishing, Inc. 2004.
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