I just completed a 5 day course learning how to coach and facilitate a type of professional development called Critical Friends Groups or CFGs. In CFGs, groups of 10 - 15 teachers meet regularly (monthly) to discuss student work and teacher practice in an effort to improve student achievement. They do so using protocols facilitated by a trained member of the group. These protocols provide a structure that focuses the conversation, keeps people accountable for the things they say and helps the group find solutions to difficult problems.
I believe in the effectiveness of this work. I wonder how to both bring technology into the work itself and how to use the work to help increase the use of technology in the classroom. Can one support the other? I'm sure the answer is yes, but I don't yet know how. Perhaps a social networking site like ning, a blog or a wiki could help teachers to stay connected, keep the conversations going, and reflect on practice in between sessions.
I also wonder if there is a way to use the protocols Online. Could these types of structures help facilitate Online interactions? Could we create some protocols to help guide our Web 2.0 conversations? Do we need to? What do you think?
Saturday, July 21, 2007
Thursday, July 12, 2007
What is the question?
"How will you incorporate information literacy skills, such as evaluating and comparing the quality of sources, effective and efficient searching for information, and issues of copyright and plagiarism into your teaching?"
This is the question I recently posed to several candidates applying for a teaching position at my school. Some of the candidates followed with, "Are you asking me how I will use technology?" I realized through this interchange that I wasn't really asking about technology, I was asking about information. Yes, technology is changing rapidly. Yes, there are millions of interesting Websites and Web 2.0 tools out there. But what I really want to know is, how you will teach your students to navigate the massive ocean of information in an intelligent, efficient and ethical way.
David Warlick refers to this as learning literacy. He describes it as " — the skills to resourcefully use your information environment to help yourself learn what you need to know, to do what you need to do." So it isn't really about the technology, it's about what you do with it. We need to teach our students to think critically about information. This is not new to teachers. Good teachers have been doing this all along. There is just a lot more information out there to wade through.
On a side note - not one of the candidates had read any of my blog entries. My blog is linked to the front page of our school Website. It isn't hard to find. (I thank my principal for allowing it to be so prominent on the page -Thank you David if you are reading this). So narcissistic me thinks that maybe one of the candidates will walk in the room and say "Oh I read your blog..." Not one of them did. I'm not sure what that says - and if you are out there reading this please leave a comment and prove me wrong - but I have to say I was a little disappointed.
This is the question I recently posed to several candidates applying for a teaching position at my school. Some of the candidates followed with, "Are you asking me how I will use technology?" I realized through this interchange that I wasn't really asking about technology, I was asking about information. Yes, technology is changing rapidly. Yes, there are millions of interesting Websites and Web 2.0 tools out there. But what I really want to know is, how you will teach your students to navigate the massive ocean of information in an intelligent, efficient and ethical way.
David Warlick refers to this as learning literacy. He describes it as " — the skills to resourcefully use your information environment to help yourself learn what you need to know, to do what you need to do." So it isn't really about the technology, it's about what you do with it. We need to teach our students to think critically about information. This is not new to teachers. Good teachers have been doing this all along. There is just a lot more information out there to wade through.
On a side note - not one of the candidates had read any of my blog entries. My blog is linked to the front page of our school Website. It isn't hard to find. (I thank my principal for allowing it to be so prominent on the page -Thank you David if you are reading this). So narcissistic me thinks that maybe one of the candidates will walk in the room and say "Oh I read your blog..." Not one of them did. I'm not sure what that says - and if you are out there reading this please leave a comment and prove me wrong - but I have to say I was a little disappointed.
Wednesday, July 4, 2007
iLove my iPhone
I just got an iPhone and WOW! it is so amazing I can hardly put it down. I am not normally a gadget person, but the beauty of this phone just sucked me in. And no, I didn't have to wait in line for it. I went to the store and asked for one, easy as that. Setting it up was just as easy. In a matter of minutes I had synced my contacts, calendar, music and podcasts. The interface is so easy to use. I got lost yesterday, put an address into the phone and figured out where I was. I can search the Web, access Google reader and check my Gmail and Yahoo mail. And, oh yeah, it is a phone too!
Thursday, June 28, 2007
Star Struck at NECC
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!
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!
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?
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