Lifelong Learning 2.0

In our chats about EduBloggerCon on Twitter, Jon Becker made a comment about it being like the first day of summer camp.  I love the analogy! It’s funny to look back at the first photos I took, with a room full of people that I had never met in person. Sure, some I had connected with virtually and consider a valuable part of my personal learning community.  Yet there were many in the photos, (even sitting in the rows right around me) that I didn’t know that day, but came to know well by the end of the week. Now, it feels like I’ve known them for years. (I mean that in a good way.)

Steve Hargadon organized EduBloggerCon to be about getting together in a “collaborative conference” setting, to share experiences, questions, tools and strategies. He did an amazing job putting it together, giving enough structure that the day could be organized, yet allowing enough freedom that the schedule could grow organically around conversation.  The free event was also organized by the participants in a wiki and allowed for virtual participation.

The day began with an hour of time to socialize. Who wouldn’t love a whole hour for a meet-and-greet? I was all over that. It was a wonderful time to catch up with old friends, meet virtual peeps in person, and get to know new people.  The room was busy with business card exchanges, cameras clicking, hugs and conversation.

My first session was difficult to choose.  My interest in Professional Development Models made me want to attend the session led by Liz Davis.  However, since this was my first time at NECC and EBC, I had to experience a Web2.0 Smackdown for myself. The basic idea involved people lining up to demo their favorite Web 2.0 tool.  However, there was a 3 minute limit per person.  I love that the event was streamed live in elluminate and Ustream for virtual attendees, and backchanneling goodness in CoverItLive.  Thanks to Vicki Davis for facilitating, Paul Wood for officiating, and Kristin Hokanson for organizing the backchannel.  Many thanks to all who took the stage to demo a cool tool.

Go here and scroll down to watch a fun remix of Smackdown Memories from 2007 and 2008 that Vicki Davis put together.  You’ll also find the recorded video and backchannel recordings from the 2009 Smackdown.

Here is a list a few of the cool tools from the session:

Diigo Lists – Vicki Davis – I heard a lot about Diigo this week. Amazing features. Need to switch over. Vicki also shared how the Diigo lists can be shared as a WebSlide.  Very cool!

FreshBrain – Rushton Hurley – open & free website for teens to create projects, engage in social networking, and explore technology

QR Codes – John Costilla – What are these things?  Had to check Wikipedia!

Google Similar Images Searches – Lisa Thumann – Loved her recent CR2.0 session on Google Tools.  This Google Lab feature is cool!

CompFight and FlickrStorm – Angela Maiers – Amazing tools for images.  Angela did a refined search for literacy.  You need to try this!

CoverItLive – Kristin Hokanson – This is a great find.  I plan to use this one a lot next year. Loved the line: “Students notes are better, because they are doing it together.”  On the break, Kristin (below) took time to give me a more detailed tutorial of CoverItLive. Awesome!

Wikispaces – Adam Frey – tools and tagging tips from our favorite wiki guy

Fur.ly – David Jakes – Shortening multiple urls into one

Twoogle and Twitalyzer – Scott McLeod – Cool Twitter tools! Twoogle is a genius idea!

Woot – Leigh Zeitz – online store that sells cool stuff cheap, selling one item per day until it is sold out

K12 Online Conference and EdTech Talk - Wes Fryer – Can’t wait for this conference!

Taggalaxy – Lee Kolbert -This is an awesome find!  Try it out!!

TinEye – Maria Droujkova- a reverse image search engine

Opus09, Noteflight, JamStudio – Chris Chater – great resources & new ning

Bump – Chad Lehmann – Love this.  What a quick and easy way to exchange information!

Today’sMeet, TinyPaste – Craig Nansen – A backchannel option and an interesting tool.

And last, but not least, I have to mention the…

New and Improved Web 2.0 Keychain – Kevin Honeycutt – Loved how Vicki had Kevin demo this from a train, on his way to NECC. (Gotta love Skype!)  If you weren’t able to get one of these keychains, you can download it from his website.  I need to ask him permission to use this idea with the teachers at my school this year.  I’d love to give them “a new key” every time I finish a presentation.

If I’ve left anyone out, please add it in the comments.  I typed as quickly as I could into my Google Doc.  Time flies when you’re watching the Smackdown!

More on the other EduBloggerCon sessions in another post.  I’ll leave you with this list of resources for now:

Resources:

EduBloggerCon Wiki: http://www.edubloggercon.com/

EduBloggerCon Group on Diigo: http://groups.diigo.com/groups/edubloggercon

EduBloggerCon Schedule: http://www.edubloggercon.com/DC+2009+Agenda

EduBloggerCon Aggregator: http://www.edubloggercon.com/EduBloggerCon+Aggregator

Thanks to kjarrett for the many awesome photos he took at EBC09 and NECC09!

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Have you attended an Unconference?  Recently, the opportunity to attend a free workshop on Web 2.0 came my way, and I quickly registered.  (Did I mention free?)

The first of the 2-day conference began with introductions and a few rules of the loosely structured format.  Steve shared the “rule of two feet,” commenting that anyone could get up and leave if this wasn’t what they were looking for.  The first day was interesting, but it was the afternoon session and the entire next day that really took off.

Here are a few notes about the sessions:

Friday’s Sessions…

Google Maps/Earth: Joe Wood presented on creating tours using Google Maps and Google Earth.  I’ve heard him present it first at the ILC, and several times since.  I seem to get something new from it every time.  (Besides the fact that his birthplace seems to change every time he presents. LOL)  He speaks with enthusiasm and a confidence that makes you want to bust out the laptop and give it a try.  And I have.  (More about my park-hoppin’ Google tour in another post.)

Backchanneling: Interesting thoughts were shared by Zack Dowell on this topic.  Back-channeling involves having “sidebar” electronic conversations during a presentation or conference.  I get in trouble for that during Professional Development meetings all the time.  Apparently, some see it as good practice.  Cool!  Zack had us join in on a live back-channel discussion using Today’s Meet.

Storage: One of the participants told us about adrive.  50 gigabytes of storage backup goodness! And free too!

Saturday’s Sessions…

If Friday was a cup of drip coffee, then Saturday would have to have been a iced venti double Americano. I couldn’t get enough.

Blogging: Larry Ferlazzo and Alice Mercer did a fabulous presentation!  They shared tips, tools, and examples of their innovative teaching practices.  Check out Larry’s blog here. Man, can he blog!  He not only manages to add blog content daily, but he often has several posts per day.  Alice’s blog is here. Alice is a computer lab instructor, talented presenter, and blogging queen.  She is a wealth of information.  In fact, I just saw her last night at a CTAP meeting, at CUE, and recently, at this conference.  I told her last night that I’m really not stalking her. Really.

Speed Demos: The lightning round speed demos were faced-paced.  I heard about slideshare, scribd, delicious, diigo, and jing, to name a few.  Even though I am familiar with these tools, it is fun to see how teachers use them for learning.  Steve shared that even though he is not a huge Twitter fan, he organizes his seven Twitter accounts using Netvibes.  (Yes, I said 7.)

Here are 3 Things I Learned about Myself from this Conference:

I love the format of the unconference.

It is organic and fluid, allowing for diversions and restructuring of ideas.

It is collaborative, allowing for brainstorming and trouble-shooting.

It is more intimate, allowing for deeper conversations.

I value networking.

Anytime the focus of the sessions turned to social networking, I was all over it.  I am active on at least 5 Nings, and 2 other social networks.  I value people.

Participants took over the agenda by volunteering to  share ideas, present, or ask questions. This opened doors for networking at the breaks, and even to this day in subsequent online communication.  Larry Ferlazzo shared links with me with samples of student work, to answer some questions I had thrown out.  Alice Mercer invited me to get the word out in our efforts to plan follow-up meetings in Sacramento.   Several teachers gave me suggestions for a virtual open house project I’m tackling.  The discussions continue in a forum post on CR20, offering great feedback.  Zack Dowell asked me to be the K-12 Liaison for a Web 2.0 conference coming up next fall, at Folsom Lake College.  Networking can not only bring greater results, it has the potential to help us become better people. I’ve always preferred the team teaching model. Vince Lombardi said it well:

“Individual commitment to a group effort – that is what makes a team work, a company work, a society work, a civilization work.”
- Vince Lombardi

I need to take bigger action steps.

Steve Hargadon was kind enough to chat with me and gave me a couple of “pep talks” over the conference breaks.  He asked questions of which he seemed to already know the answers.  He encouraged me to take bigger steps and told me that he belived in me.  I was inspired!  And I took his advice immediately.  Several things have fallen into place since then.  When sharing about these opportunities in an email yesterday, Steve responded that I’m becoming a “web 2.0 mover and shaker”. Wow!  I’m not sure about that, but I do know that my professional development, educational goals, and perspective have been movin’ and shakin’ and I can’t wait to see where it takes me!

Many thanks to Steve Hargadon, of Classroom 2.0 and Melissa Green, of Sac City College, who hosted the event.

I am a goal-setting girl.

When it comes to project completion, I operate best if I take a few moments to set goals for myself in writing.  It puts things in perspective and holds me accountable to completion.

I thought I’d share the post that I have on the blog that I use with my students and their families.  It may be helpful to some teacher out there who has been on a similar journey as I have these past 10 months of taking a good look at pedagogy for best teaching practices and discovering how technology and tools can fit in.  It can put one in the state of being overwhelmed.  Unless….  you take time to narrow in on just a few things to apply, and set goals to that means.

It is only the beginning of May, you ask?  True.  Yet in the past 18 years of teaching, I’ve found that if I take time to do goal-setting and planning in May, then I’ll be more reflective than I’ll be in August, when the whirlwind of meetings, and set-up and expectations begin.

Here’s the post, written to my families, taken right from my other blog:

In the previous post, I’ve shared the mission and core values of Visions in Education. Our mission is to prepare each student to succeed in a rapidly changing world. An important part of this mission is a focus on helping students become familiar with the technology tools that are available. These tools can help students communicate, collaborate and contribute now, as a student; in their future education; and later, in the workforce.

I’ve taken the opportunity this year to learn more about educational technology, research how teachers are integrating it into their curriculum, and investigate some of the web 2.0 technology tools available. I am learning so much that I’m almost overwhelmed. (Okay, I’m already overwhelmed.) To help, I am choosing to focus in on just a few things for next year the next several years. I will be sharing more about these in the future. For now, here’s a brief description of the goals I’ve set to address our school’s mission statement.

1. Blogging: I will be using this blog to communicate and keep you informed. Additionally, I want to provide a place on the blog for student blogging. Students tend to write better when they have a purpose and an authentic audience. I will provide a “publishing place” on my blog for posting student-writing projects next year. There will also be a “student spotlight” which I’ll share more about later.
2. Social Networking: The Visions Homeschool Network will be used to facilitate community and connections for you and about 800 other parents. I have it just about ready to launch so you’ll have a chance to join before summer.
3. Technology Instruction: I’m not sure how this will take shape yet. This is in addition to regular tech instruction.  I hope to create a “Tech Club” for interested students. Let me know if you are interested in this or have ideas.
4. Project 2.0: This is a self-directed learning program that I am putting together for 7th-12th graders or Parent Educators who want to learn more about Web2.0. I hope to have it completed for the fall semester.  I’m really excited about this one!!
5. Online Portfolio Projects: Colleges are seeking out potential student candidates through online networks. I will be available to help your high school student create an online portfolio that they can add to throughout their high school years, and later present, as they apply for colleges and scholarships.  Let me know if you are interested.

If you have any thoughts about any of these, I would love to hear it. Post a comment below.

Creative Commons Photo Attribution:

Web2.0, by Tyler Howarth

Determination, by Pixleposition

Event Description:
Don Tapscott, the author or co-author of 13 widely read books, including Wikinomics, discusses with Steve, the future of education, Grown Up Digital (his latest book), and the Net Gen Education Project. Log-in and other details at http://www.futureofeducation.com/forum/topics/don-tapscott-talks-about

Date: Wednesday, May 6th, 2009
Time: 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern / 12am GMT (next day) (international times here)
Organized By: Steve Hargadon
Location: In Elluminate. Log in at https://sas.elluminate.com/m.jnlp?sid=2008350&password=M.B00667
The Elluminate room will be open up to 30 minutes before the event if you want to come in early.

If you missed the interview, here are the recordings:

RECORDINGS:
Full Elluminate Recording:
Audio (.mp3): http://audio.edtechlive.com/foe/tapscott5-6-09.mp3
Chat (.rft): http://audio.edtechlive.com/foe/tapscott5-6-09.rtf (open in word processor)
Portable Video: http://audio.edtechlive.com/foe/tapscott5-6-09.mp4

Will Richardson’s recent blog post resonated with me. He opened quoting a tweet from John Pederson:

“Community building is the new professional development.  We forgot that and taught Web 2.0 tools.”

Hmm.  I love that line about community building providing for professional development.  He’s so right.  As for the Web 2.0 tools, it’s hard to decide which should come first.  I believe for the teacher not versed in the innovative ways that technology can be used to engage students, that the tools must be taught first.  However, not for immediate use in the classroom.  I feel the learning takes place best when that teacher uses the tools for their own professional development first. I personally got much more out of experiencing the tools in my own educational experience, before teaching them to my students.

It’s okay to take a year or any time you need to practice using the tools first. I am still learning.  And I will continue to have more to share with them.  And that’s how it should be.  But I will be far more effective having a handle on it, being able to explore these tools in the setting of my online networks and community first. The value of learning in the setting of community is immeasurable.

As I commented on Will Richardson’s blog, there is such value at seeing ourselves as lifelong learners first, teachers second. Social communities and networking can play a huge role in our professional development. We can’t wait to be spoon-fed through power points and handouts.  We need to make our learning experience relevant and set out to create our own plan.

Prior to this past year, professional development trainings at my school were not often relevant to what I feel I needed to know to make a difference in how my students learn.  At first, I sought out my own professional development in frustration, because I didn’t want to be “fed” with announcements or listen to speakers that didn’t understand our learning environment.  It didn’t interest me. I wanted to grow professionally so I could turn around and share that passion for learning with my students.

The frustration soon wore off and I became excited at the possibilities.  I joined Classroom 2.0 and loved the opportunity to connect with other educators seeking similar paths to lifelong learning.  I “attended” the K12 Online Conference, and registered for courses in EduFire.  I subscribed to online webinars.  I listened to interviews, learned from tutorials and slideshares, and watched alot of Ted.   I read books and joined other educational social networks.  I try to catch as many of these Saturday Elluminate sessions as I can.  I was blessed to be asked by my school to attend the Innovative Learning Conference, in San Jose last fall, as well as the CUE conference, in Palm Springs, this past March.  This past year, my school decided to focus on technology, which aligned nicely to what I was learning on my own.

I chose what I wanted to learn.  And now, I can more effectively share the web2.0 tools I’ve been learning about with my students. But the learning doesn’t stop here. I will continue to seek other like-minded colleagues to develop my PLN, so we can learn, collaborate, and share ideas and projects. Does it take time? It takes a ton of time.  But the students are worth it!  Will Richardson talks a bit about the time it takes here:

“So when John Tweeted “Community building is the new professional development” it really resonated, because it suggests that unlike most so-called pd that schools offer, getting our heads and our practice around this is a process, not an event. It’s learning, not training. (I cringed a couple of weeks ago when a principal said “Wow, our teachers are going to need a lot more ‘training.’” Ugh.) It’s not something we can “deliver” in a four-hour PowerPoint-like session. As Linda Darling-Hammond suggests, “…teachers need to learn the way other professionals do—continually, collaboratively, and on the job.” If that’s not a description of what I see most of us doing in these spaces I don’t know what is. Somehow, by luck or hard work or a combination, those of us who are taking advantage of the affordances of learning in online communities and networks have found a way to invest the time, not in big chunks in a physical space classroom but in as-needed, passion-driven, hour-here-fifteen-minutes-there learning flow that relies on the interactions of many learners, not on the expertise of any one person. And it’s in knowing how to effectively navigate those interactions where the value lives, not in effectively navigating the tools.”

Yes!  I couldn’t agree more.  I want time to observe other teachers, learn from mentors, and work collaboratively, as Linda-Darling Hammond suggests. Read her findings in the recently released report from Stanford University and the National Staff Development Council here.  The report states that:

“Most states and districts are still not providing the kind of professional learning that research suggests improves teaching practice and student outcomes. The research tells us that teachers need to learn the way other professionals do—continually, collaboratively, and on the job.”

Technology has always been around at my school, but not being utilized to its potential to make learning engaging and meaningful for kids.  No, it’s not about the tools.  However, there are amazing ways that we can teach innovatively, using these tools.  When taking control of my own professional development this year, my eyes were opened to the innovative things that educators are doing in their classrooms, as well as the amazing things students are doing to contribute and find their voice.

I want that for our students.  They deserve the opportunity to connect, collaborate, and contribute.  I am doing what I can to help others get things moving forward at my school and the possibilities are beyond exciting.  It will be transformational.

What are your thoughts about professional development? What resources have you found interesting to learn about? Anyone open to my observing their classroom or computer labs so I can learn from you?

Photo Attribution:

Working from the Mobile Office, by David Sifry

Sprouts, by Plutor

Here are a few activities I shared on the blog I use with my students and their families.

Ten Web 2.0 Activities You Can Do With Your Kids

1. Go on a park hop.

Shared this with the homeschooling families I teach.  They loved it!  Start at home by searching for a few parks in a particular area.  Use an online mapping tool to map out your day.  When you’re at the park, give the camera to one of the kids to take a photo.  It’s great seeing pictures of the parks from their perspective.  Record that child’s thoughts about the location and features.  Have the kids take turns being the photographer and reporter for each park.  Later, map out the parks using place markers in Google Earth.  My students decided to create a placemarker, upload their picture, type a few sentences highlighting the best features of the park.  Now they can share the Park Hop Travel Guide with others.

2. Have an art day.

Turn up the music, set out materials, and get creative.  Have each child choose their best masterpiece and take a picture of it.  Upload the pictures to Art Snacks.  While there, check out the other artists and find 3 pieces of art that you enjoy on the network.  Choose a rating and leave a comment for those fellow artists.

3. Start a family blog.

Have each person be responsible to post on a particular day of each week.  Teach your kids how to find a picture using creative commons, and how to give photo attribution.  There are so many skills that can go into this one.  Want a safe way for the kids to surf the internet or keep a family blog?  Check out KidZui.

4. Write a song together and record it.

Upload it to your song and invite friends and family to listen to and post comments.

5. Create a digital storytelling project.

See what you can do with Photostory3.  Document a family vacation, a trip to the zoo, or what your family does on an ordinary day.

6. Interview an older family member.

Have the kids write the questions and record the interview.  Upload and share on YouTube or a video sharing site.

7. Plan a meal together.

Choose a theme and delegate the tasks.  Have each child find one recipe online that you can add to your menu.  Go back later and have them write a short review or post a rating for the dish.  Create an original dish together and photograph it.  Upload it to a recipe site and check back later to see what people think of it.

8. Review a book.

Check out an online bookstore such as Barnes and Noble, Jr., Borders, or Amazon and find a favorite book.  Have each child write a short review.  Consider choosing a new book or two to add to your library.

9. Become authors.

Publish your story and share it with others.  Decide on a topic and map out the storyline.  Give each person specific pages to write and illustrate.  Transfer your story to a self-publishing website for kids like this one.

10. Create a movie

Check out Kerpoof Animation Studio.  It’s free.  Animoto makes it easy to create videos.

10 Cool Web 2.0 Activities To Do With Your Kids are great, but 12 would be even better; with one activity for each month of the year!  Can you think of a great idea or two to add to this list?

Photo Attribution:  Kidzui, TikaTok, Computer Keys: Lizzardo

Blogging Workshop at CUE

The benefits of blogging with students were the focus of a couple of the CUE sessions I attended. They focused on the features of popular blogging platforms. Discussion also centered around CyberSafety and ways to teach your students to participate in blogging, at an early age. Alice Mercer shared how “Blogging with elementary students is a good way to add transparency and engagement to learning, and to give students an authentic audience for their writing.”  I learned a lot from her workshop and the examples of how she engages her students in the process of leaving comments for fellow students on the blog. I was able to hear a wealth of information on blogging and great ideas. I even won a complementary support status on Edublogs.org for a year, thanks to Sue Waters at edublogs, and Alice Mercer.  There’s no excuse for putting off blogging with students.

Recently, I stumbled upon this article on Glencoe’s website. The author states the following about the functions that blogs can serve in the classroom.

Classroom Management
“Class blogs can serve as a portal to foster a community of learners. As they are easy to create and update efficiently, they can be used to inform students of class requirements, post handouts, notices, and homework assignments, or act as a question and answer board.”

Collaboration
“Blogs provide a space where teachers and students work to further develop writing or other skills with the advantage of an instant audience. Teachers can offer instructional tips, and students can practice and benefit from peer review. They also make online mentoring possible. Students can also participate in cooperative learning activities that require them to relay research findings, ideas, or suggestions.”

Discussions
“A class blog opens the opportunity for students to discuss topics outside of the classroom. With a blog, every person has an equal opportunity to share his or her thoughts and opinions. Students have time to react to ideas and reflect on learning. Teachers can also bring together a group of knowledgeable individuals for a given unit of study for students to network and conference with on a blog.”

Student Portfolios
“Blogs present, organize, and protect student work as digital portfolios. As older entries are archived, developing skills and progress may be analyzed more conveniently. Additionally, as students realize their efforts will be published, they are typically more motivated to produce better writing.”

Blogging Anyone?

I work at a charter school, supporting families who choose to homeschool or participate in independent study.  This year, I had hoped to have my students participate in blogging. I wanted to tie in their core subject assignments to their blog posts. I was excited to pilot this practice this year with a few students. When discussing the possibilities with a few parents, I found that they were not ready to embrace blogging.

Transfer of Enthusiasm – Take Two!

To help transfer enthusiasm for blogging, I realized a few things.

1. Modeling is important.  I need to be more consistent with blogging to keep my parents informed.
2. I need to invite them into the conversation with questions, polls, and relevant links.
3. Instead of emailing my newsletters, I need to move that content to the blog.
4. I needed to find a way to share information with parents about blogging and other tools.  I started working on a project to help them become familiar with the use of web 2.0 tools.  I hope to have it completed soon.
5. Lastly, I would like to have an orientation meeting in the fall to present the option of blogging, importance of CyberSafety, and the benefits of having their homeschooling children participate in the read/write web. I hope that by offering to meet them in small groups for a workshop, they may be more open to have their students participate in blogging and trying out new tools for learning.

What steps did you take to make your parents feel comfortable with having your students blogging in the classroom?

Photo Attribution