Learning through Technology

I haven’t posted in a long time for many reasons (one I was keeping another class blog going elsewhere) and two I have been engaged with lots of technology but haven’t written about my involvement (shame on me). I was convicted lately by a wonderful post from Roger Ebert  I Think I am Musing My Mind which has convinced me that I am not writing nearly enough to allow my muse a chance to speak. I have been too quiet within as well as without.

Now is the time for me to break my silence. Last night was an historic night that moved me deeply. I witnessed a man become President-elect because he chose to unify this country instead of using partisan rancor. He chose to engage young people with technology instead of alienate them from the process. I am no pundit but I think he ran a near perfect campaign. I was probably biased because he chose to engage me through technology and that is my bent but his message of hope resonated within me. This is NOT a political blog nor will I debate such issues. I think John McCain is an honorable man who loves this country and would have made a fine President but I did not hear a clear plan of where he wanted to go. He seemed to be the traditional candidate and Obama the opposite. I was ready for a change from Washington as usual. I hope I get that.

As I watched the returns come in on CNN I wasn’t sure if I was watching the election returns or Star Wars. They used hologram technology to “beam in” reporters and others or create an image of the Capitol complete with democratic or republican standings and pictures of those in contested races. Real-time graphs, the “magic wall” and analysis of exit polling complete the tech reporting. I was impressed. In class last week, we talked about beaming a holographic super model into a runway show or actors into a recent theatre production and now we are doing it with reporters. It seems there is a change in the future in what technology will be available for the classroom. Imagining beaming in a distant professor to teach class or studying the architecture of a building through a holographic rendering, playing a virtual instrument or inspecting virtual art in 3D. I think the possibilities are endless.

So I find myself on the cusp of a new political landscape, a new way of reporting the news, and a new way to engage the educational process. At the end of Obama’s first term, where will technology be? What role will it play in how he governs? How will it be used to bring us closer together? What will it mean for education? If we consider the 2008 Horizon Report, we will be getting close to Social Operating Systems and Collective Intelligence being fully adopted or well on the way to adoption. How will that change the landscape? How will it help us better understand the world around us or the politicians leading us? How will these two technologies intersect with holographic imaging? Will such technology be affordable for the rest of us?

One night. So many exciting possibilities. So many questions. So much hope for the future.

Announcing the second annual “K12 Online” conference for teachers,administrators and educators around the world interested in the use ofWeb 2.0 tools in classrooms and professional practice! This year’sconference is scheduled to be held over two weeks, October 15-19 andOctober 22-26 of 2007, and will include a preconference keynote duringthe week of October 8. This years conference theme is “Playing withBoundaries.” A call for proposals is below.

OVERVIEW:

There will be four “conference strands”– two each week. Twopresentations will be published in each strand each day, Monday -Friday, so four new presentations will be available each day over thecourse of the two-weeks. Each presentation will be given in any of avariety of downloadable, web based formats and released via theconference blog (www.k12onlineconference.org) and archived for posterity.

FOUR STRANDS:

Week 1

Strand A: Classroom 2.0

Leveraging the power of free online tools in an open, collaborative andtransparent atmosphere characterises teaching and learning in the 21stcentury. Teachers and students are contributing to the growing globalknowledge commons by publishing their work online. By sharing allstages of their learning students are beginning to appreciate the valueof life long learning that inheres in work that is in “perpetual beta.”This strand will explore how teachers and students are playing with theboundaries between instructors, learners and classrooms. Presentationswill also explore the practical pedagogical uses of online social tools(Web 2.0) giving concrete examples of how teachers are using the toolsin their classes.

Strand B: New Tools

Focusing on free tools, what are the “nuts and bolts” of usingspecific new social media and collaborative tools for learning? Thisstrand includes two parts. Basic training is “how to” information ontool use in an educational setting, especially for newcomers. Advancedtraining is for teachers interested in new tools for learning, lookingfor advanced technology training, seeking ideas for mashing toolstogether, and interested in web 2.0 assessment tools. As educators andstudents of all ages push the boundaries of learning, what are thespecific steps for using new tools most effectively? Where “Classroom2.0″ presentations will focus on instructional uses and examples of web2.0 tool use, “New Tools” presentations should focus on “nuts andbolts” instructions for using tools. Five “basic” and five “advanced”presentations will be included in this strand.

Week 2

Strand A: Professional Learning Networks

Research says that professional development is most effective whenit aims to create professional learning communities — places whereteachers learn and work together. Using Web 2.0 tools educators cannetwork with others around the globe extending traditional boundariesof ongoing, learner centered professional development and support.Presentations in this strand will include tips, ideas and resources onhow to orchestrate your own professional development online; concreteexamples of how the tools that support Professional LearningEnvironments (PLEs) are being used; how to create a supportive,reflective virtual learning community around school-based goals, andtrends toward teacher directed personal learning environments.

Strand B: Obstacles to Opportunities

Boundaries formalized by education in the “industrial age”shouldn’t hinder educators as they seek to reform and transform theirclassroom practice. Playing with boundaries in the areas of copyright,digital discipline and ethics (e.g. cyberbullying), collaboratingglobally (e.g. cultural differences, synchronous communication),resistance to change (e.g. administration, teachers, students), schoolculture (e.g. high stakes testing), time (e.g. in curriculum, teacherday), lack of access to tools/computers, filtering, parental/districtconcerns for online safety, control (e.g. teacher control of studentbehavior/learning), solutions for IT collaboration and more –unearthing opportunities from the obstacles rooted in those boundaries– is the focus of presentations in this strand.

CALL FOR PROPOSALS:

This call encourages all, experienced and novice, to submit proposals to present at this conference via this link.Take this opportunity to share your successes, strategies, and tips in“playing with boundaries” in one of the four strands as describedabove.

Deadline for proposal submissions is June 18, 2007. You will be contacted no later than June 30, 2007 regarding your status.

Presentations may be delivered in any web-based medium that isdownloadable (including but not limited to podcasts, screencasts, slideshows) and is due one week prior to the date it is published.

Please note that all presentations will be licensed Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported.

As you draft your proposal, you may wish to consider the presentation topics listed below which were suggested in the comments on the K-12 Online Conference Blog:

• » special needs education
• » Creative Commons
• » Second Life
• » podcasting
• » iPods
• » video games in education
• » specific ideas, tips, mini lessons centered on pedagogical use of web 2.0 tools
• » overcoming institutional inertia and resistance
• » aligning Web 2.0 and other projects to national standards
• » getting your message across
• » how web 2.0 can assist those with disabilities
• » ePortfolios
• » classroom 2.0 activities at the elementary level
• » creating video for TeacherTube and YouTube
• » google docs
• » teacher/peer collaboration

KEYNOTES:

The first presentation in each strand will kick off with a keynoteby a well known educator who is distinguished and knowledgeable in thecontext of their strand. Keynoters will be announced shortly.

CONVENERS:

This year’s conveners are:

Darren Kuropatwa is currently Department Head of Mathematics atDaniel Collegiate Institute in Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. He is knowninternationally for his ability to weave the use of online social toolsmeaningfully and concretely into his pedagogical practice and for”child safe” blogging practices. He has more than 20 years experiencein both formal and informal education and 13 years experience in teambuilding and leadership training. Darren has been facilitatingworkshops for educators in groups of 4 to 300 for the last 10 years.Darren’s professional blog is called A Difference (http://adifference.blogspot.com). He will convene Classroom 2.0.

Sheryl Nusbaum-Beach, a 20-year educator, has been a classroomteacher, charter school principal, district administrator, and digitallearning consultant. She currently serves as an adjunct faculty memberteaching graduate and undergraduate preservice teachers at The Collegeof William and Mary (Virginia, USA), where she is also completing herdoctorate in educational planning, policy and leadership. In addition,Sheryl is co-leading a statewide 21st Century Skills initiative in thestate of Alabama, funded by a major grant from the Microsoft Partnersin Learning program. Sheryl blogs at (http://21stcenturylearning.typepad.com/blog/). She will convene Preconference Discussions and Personal Learning Networks.

Wesley Fryer is an educator, author, digital storyteller andchange agent. With respect to school change, he describes himself as a”catalyst for creative educational engagement.” His blog, “Moving atthe Speed of Creativity” was selected as the 2006 “Best Learning TheoryBlog” by eSchoolnews and Discovery Education. He is the Director ofEducation Advocacy (PK-20) for AT&T in the state of Oklahoma. Wesblogs at (http://www.speedofcreativity.org). Wes will convene New Tools.

Lani Ritter Hall currently contracts as an instructionaldesigner for online professional development for Ohio teachers andonline student courses with eTech Ohio. She is a National BoardCertified Teacher who served in many capacities during her 35 years asa classroom and resource teacher in Ohio and Canada. Lani blogs at (http://possibilitiesabound.blogspot.com). Lani will convene Obstacles to Opportunities.

QUESTIONS?

If you have any questions about any part of this, email one of us:

• » Darren Kuropatwa: dkuropatwa@gmail.com
• » Sheryl Nusbaum-Beach: snbeach@cox.net
• » Lani Ritter Hall: lanihall@alltel.net
• » Wesley Fryer: wesfryer@pobox.com

technorati tags:K12OnlineConference, Education, OnlineConference, K12Online, ProfessionDevelopment

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I just finished reading “Oversold and Underused” by Larry Cuban. Although I understand the point Cuban is making, I did not see solutions to the problem. Yes, schools are purchasing more and more computer equipment with only periodic training (and one shot at that) for teachers. I agree that teachers are relying on incorporating current technology into their teaching paradigm without full integration and because of the lack of training, typically are not successful.

I think Cuban misses the opportunity to bring out the important aspects of utilizing technology in the classroom. My professor stated in class that teachers are at the heart of teaching and rightly so. Technology is not here to replace the role of the teacher nor can it. Cuban rightly states that some are waiting for the tipping point of computers in the classroom which means when a certain number of computers are introduced into the classroom, then teachers will integrate technology (read embrace) in the their teaching. This will not happen.

The extent technology will be accepted in the classroom is the extent schools go to in educating the faculty in how technology can be used to enhance the teacher’s philosophy. There is no one way to integrate but many. It also is not a matter of either/or thinking. Computers are the latest technology to be introduced but not the first. Blackboards, overheads, video, etc. were all new technologies at some point.

No matter what technology is chosen, it must relate to the content being taught. You cannot nor should separate technology from content or philosophy. Koehler and Mishra at Michigan State University are doing some great work in this area but that is a matter for a future post. It is enough to say that schools cannot divorce one segment (technology, philosophy or content) in professional development.

To the point, Cuban stated the truth, we have been inudated with computers for years and there is little evidence the technology is enhancing education. Cuban did not finish the argument, however, because the reason this is true goes back to professional development not including all the necessary components. Up to this point, professional development has focused on the technology (training about a software or hardware) not how to integrate it into the teaching. To be fair, not all trainers have done this but most are guilty. Simply having the technology is not enough. We must help our teachers integrate the technology in a meaningful way that enhances the content using the teacher’s philosophy. It can be done and must be done if we are to see a return on our investment.

technorati tags:K12, development, education, technology, teaching

Blogged with Flock

(Author’s note: This is from the 21st Century Learning Blog (http://21stcenturylearning.typepad.com/blog/2006/09/k12_online_2006.html). Please support this worthy endeavor!)

Announcing the first annual “K12 Online 2006″ convention for teachers, administrators and educators around the world interested in the use of Web 2.0 tools in classrooms and professional practice! This year’s conference is scheduled to be held over two weeks, Oct. 23-27 and Oct. 30- Nov. 3 and will include a preconference keynote.  The conference theme  is “Unleashing the Potential.” A call for proposals is below.There will be four “conference strands”– two each week. Two presentations will be published in each strand each day, Monday – Friday, so four new presentations will be available each day over the course of the two-weeks. Each presentation will be given in podcast or screencast format and released via the conference blog (http://www.k12onlineconference.org) and archived for posterity.
THE FOUR STRANDS ARE: