An Experience with Multimedia

Excellence & Imagination: all the joy of junior high in one small package

This is an amazing classroom site. Clarence Fisher has surely worked hard to prep his students for thinking critically! I love the design of this class site. It’s very simple, organized, and pleasing to the eye graphically and spatially. The tabs at the top give you plenty of information as a viewer and I’m sure it is even more hands-on and user-friendly for the students. Mr. Fisher does a great job of encouraging and congratulating his students through his feedback on the main page. The links on the side bar have many options. I enjoyed looking through student blogs and class projects – I got lost in the links taking me to podcasts, wikis, and the class Flickr site. The podcast was a great example of students diving into technology. Finally, one of the most resourceful links was to Fisher’s professional blog, which is jam-packed with learning opportunities. Students, no doubt, are engaging in relevant learning within this school blog.


AP Calculus AB (2006/2007): An interactive log for students and parents in my Pre-Cal 20S class. This ongoing dialogue is as rich as YOU make it. Visit often and post your comments freely.
http://apcalc06.blogspot.com/

This school blog was full of great ideas for teaching pedagogy. The downfall was that it seemed a little difficult to navigate. It lacked the typical “About” tab and other tabs that would link readers to more information about the creator and site. Granted, the purpose was for students and not necessarily to educate viewers like myself. With that being said, the homepage was very inviting and you can tell right away that both teacher and students have respect for one another and for the site. A neat feature in this blog is “Answer Tips.” At the top of this blog there are directions that say, “Double click on any word in this blog that is not a link and you might learn something…” and guess what? I did!! So cool! I also was impressed that the teacher posted links for the class to read about themselves and that as a whole they were being linked to and followed for their content production. Even thought I had some troubles figuring out the layout and determining the site’s overall meaning, the sidebar contained great links for students (by students and teacher).

I had no idea that a site that houses images could be used in such versatile ways both personally and educationally. I love the idea that I can create digital stories, presentations, discussion pieces, learning maps, etc. (so too can my students). And this is yet another tool that has that “interconnection” option with the ability to tag, organize, share, create albums, subscribe to feeds, and blog.

I plan to start using Flickr soon. I have artwork I created in the past and uploading it would be a good way to introduce myself to the application. I will return and update my post as I have more relevant learning to record.

In terms of my work as a teacher-librarian - I think an in-service for teachers would be my first priority. But first, I will need to do more research and gather a portfolio of examples to share with them. This will make my professional development blog so that I have a place to organize my findings and begin preparing the in-service.

This is perhaps where I've learned the most in the first few weeks of Multimedia.

We are currently working hard in my district to create a pathway of relevance for students in the work they are completing for us at school. When I think about the traditional classroom, it is not much different than what still remains in many of our schools. Even though I have been attempting to introduce students to the interconnectedness of the Internet, I have not come close. Why? One example, I created a Twitter account over a year ago… for what? I don’t know – seemed like the cool thing to do and didn’t log in again until I received some emails recently that a few of my friends and two strangers were following me!?!? Following me (?), I thought. Yikes! I recently revisited my Twitter account and started making meaning out of its purpose: https://twitter.com/teresaalesch. But have only posted one time. The same can be said for many of the other accounts I have created in the past year or two (I created a Delicious account but didn’t know how to use it so haven’t been back, and I’ve set up a few different Wikis but since they wouldn’t do what I told them to I broke off our love/hate relationships)… how can I help my students if I cannot help myself? Good question!

I could really identify “learning in isolation” as it relates to my usage of social web tools but even more so as it relates to our students. They write a paper or complete an assignment, turn it in, and get it back…over and over and over again (I am guilty of this more than I want to admit). Very rarely is there a connection to the whole class or a collaborative effort with peers. I do try to do this, but since I have been reading this book, it’s dawned on me that I’ve only scratched the surface. Last year, however, I created a Ning account for my English 9 class: http://knightenglish.ning.com/. I think it’s a great start, but wow, do I have a ways to go?

Before I can introduce these tools to my colleagues, I really need to understand them myself. This is definitely going to take some time, patience, and dedication on my part... dedication that extends beyond the assignments given in my Multimedia class.

RSS -is to- Real Simple Syndication ...AS...
KISS -is to- Keep It Simple Silly

…until now – I’ve been a little mystified by RSS feeds. I even have a few; I just didn’t quite “get it.”

In simple terms, I’ve learned that the content comes to me – I don’t have to go out and search for it or check on a regular basis to see if something I’m interested in has been updated.

Richardson mentions that he has created a “Personal Learning Curriculum” through his RSS set up. I love the sound of this. I am most definitely a student for life. I believe this is going to be the resourceful tool that Richardson promises. And what’s more is that learning to skim and scan through these feeds for relevant information is a skill, a skill that our students should begin learning right away.

I am looking forward to organizing some feeds I can share with my colleagues. Furthermore, I would like to clean up my mailbox by unsubscribing from the tons of professional and news related emails and picking up RSS feeds instead. How exciting!?!? So that's what that link is for in my mailbox settings!

Wikis. I've personally struggled with the concept of Wikis...not so much Wikipedia or its relatives, but with creating a Wiki myself. I've made it out to be a challenging and complex process. As a matter of fact, I really chuckled at the term, "Whackipedia" as I was feeling pretty whacked out trying to create a Wiki of my own. I think the number one reason is because I'm a design-oriented person and you don't have a great deal of layout freedom if you aren't versed in HTML coding/practices. BUT, after reading this chapter, I am sold regardless of my insecurities. I didn't realize the opportunities for students when involving them in this collaborative process.

In terms of Wikipedia, many teachers do stiffen at the thought of their students using it for research. I am excited to have gained some ammunition to the table and I think I could help my colleagues to respect what the Wikipedia really entails.

WIKIBOOKS!?!?!!?! Where have you been? I spend hours looking for online books that will supplement my English course work or that I can recommend to colleagues to support their curriculum. I spent just a few moments browsing this site - and I'm SOLD: http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Basic_Writing/Invention. This is a basic English/Grammar book and has about anything a teacher would want to send students out for more information.

As with everything I'm picking up in my readings and throughout class, I need to organize my learning and set it up to be presented to my colleagues via in-service or even more informal ways that are less threatening. I've set up a professional development blog where I will add my in-service ideas/plans as I learn about the Web 2.0 tools myself. I am excited to be more of a resource to my peers in the years to come!

"The true potential of blogs in schools comes when students and teachers use them as publishing tools."

I am ready for a change. In this chapter, Richardson reminds the teacher that before we teach students blogs, we must blog. He goes on to discuss how reading and writing through the web changed the ways he reads and consumes information [in addition to how he writes]. My biggest challenge will be maintenance. Life can move quickly and it is one of those things - I've never been a journal person and blogging, to me, has similarities. I have a head start, however. Richardson makes reference to a quote from Barbara Ganley, one who implements weblogs in the classroom and she talks about having confidence in her tools and how this can infect even the most resistant students. I joined Facebook when my students started teasing me and calling me old. Even they said, “Mrs. Alesch it’s not only a great way to connect with us, but it is also a great way to stay in touch with your classmates.” And so, they were right. I joined Facebook as a teacher. I put my disclaimer out there that if students connected with me, they needed to be aware of my professional obligations if they should post inappropriate content that I might see. So far, it’s been a great experience and my students and I have used Facebook to enhance our communication. They really seemed to respect the fact that I was willing to open my page for them to see and take tine to visit their pages and comment on their activities and pictures.

Back to blogging. I am excited to try to incorporate blogging into our curriculum to improve critical thinking and analytical writing. These are 21st Century learning goals and a major part of the Iowa Core Curriculum.

Step 1 in becoming a blogger – study other bloggers and their means. Since I’ve had to do this in my coursework, I am already on my way. I’ve looked at some neat Weblogs and I’m already visualizing my own cup of tea. I can see how as Richardson said one’s reading and consuming of information can change. When you visit a Weblog, especially an Edublog, you are welcomed with endless links to resources. It’s like being a child in a candy shop! A couple I’ve already learned from are Will Richardson’s and David Warlick’s Edublogs: http://weblogg-ed.com/; http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/.

Blogging is mental work? Yes, according to Richardson, blogging involves reading, thinking, linking, annotating, etc. This is what makes it different from journaling. While you can grow from journaling, you take leaps and bounds from blogging – that is if you are within definition. I was glad to read that it’s okay to have a little fun too. I know that from a personal experience when I was stumbling back upon Richardson’s Weblogged, I came across a more personal post. He told his readers about an incident of a person with his same name who refers to himself as “Cuddle Bug” on Facebook. It was the first laugh of my day. Getting to know this humorous side encourages me to keep coming back for pleasure as well.

Weblogg-ed: learning with the read/write web
http://weblogg-ed.com/

Will Richardson's weblog is the "ideal" in terms of content and structure. He provides his background, resources upon resources, links to more resources, podcasts and videos, and much more. One of the best parts of his blog is his links to his wiki as well as another wiki that supports educational blogging. I am excited to refer to this source and to use it in my endeavors to implement blogging throughout not only my district's classrooms but also the teachers' desks.

2¢ Worth: teaching and learning in the new information landscape...
http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/

Because David Warlick is another author we are reading for class, I decided to take a look at his blog also.

I especially appreciate the layout of his blog. On the right hand bar/frame, I can really get to know Mr. Warlick by viewing the books he’s written, pictures he’s taken, videos he’s uploaded, other blogs he’s written, and of course I can also look into his archives there. There are subscription options, a couple of neat widgets, and an award for being the winner of “Edublog 2008 – Lifetime Achievement” – pretty neat. The top bar offers several tabs to explore further Warlick’s content. A feature I will definitely come back to is a Wiki designed for educators, media specialists and administrators and involves acceptable use policies. It seems in the past ten minutes I’ve been navigating through it that information is endless.

A Sales Pitch on Based on Strength

We know that students (children through teens) can be impulsive by nature, and this fact can lead to misconceptions about Web tools in school. Students themselves may have false impressions of how sites such as Blogs should be used and therefore, mistakenly use them as journals or other social avenues that could even draw negative attention or perhaps predators of different sorts.

TEACHABLE MOMENT, educators!

We teach our children to tie their shoes. We teach them to look both ways before crossing the street. We teach them not to trust strangers. We teach them manners. We teach children daily rules in life to prepare and protect them. And so should education be in Web 2.0, specifically “blogging.”

Even as a supporter and promoter of various Web 2.0 applications, I had no idea of all that blogging has to offer. The learning possibilities are infinite and more importantly profound in value. As Richardson states, “Students are learning to read more critically, think about that reading more analytically, and write more clearly...[while] building relationships with peers, teachers, mentors, and professionals within the weblog environment.”

The learning possibilities extend beyond our students. Germane to my situation, I want to first get my colleagues on board. How can I do this? I’ve already started. 1) I need to become more familiar with blogging, especially to the point where I feel comfortable and able to share my own learning curve; 2) this may include opening my own blog that will by then have developed into a resourceful and inviting weblog where curiosity is sparked from just browsing; 3) I need to enlist a small group of colleagues who will run with this and together, we will start sharing ideas (perhaps in the form of a best practice sharing) and I will enlist another small group of a different nature (a few of my education association members who will collaborate and share to brainstorm ideas for increasing membership); 4) I need to design a simple, nonthreatening in-service that will inspire my colleagues to “join the fun” (not your typical “Oh great, what now!?!” in-service); 5) I need to create a small assignment for my colleagues to practice (similar to what we are doing in class but applicable to an initiative the principal is working toward to help administration).

This post is before reading this book for more ideas and direction (before finishing the Chapter 2 itself... I may need to adapt my ideas as I learn).

It seems like just yesterday I was playing the "Oregon Trail" on the early Apple with the black screen and green text/graphics using a floppy disk!! The birth of the Web was 1989 and here we are in 2009 with what seems like unlimited possibilities: limitless: colors, graphics, fonts, videos, games, publishing, networking, organizing, etc...

Richardson made an important point, "...this new Read/Write Web promises to transform much of how we teach and learn as well." There isn't even a slot for the FLOPPY disk! Yikes! I embrace this change, but I worry about my colleagues who have been ingrained in the traditional methods of teaching and fear changing to a more student-centered and technological classroom.

The following excerpt is SO important for those "AFRAID" of Web 2.0 and what it has to offer and truly highlights the change that has and is taking place.

..."But, as is often the case, education has been slow to adapt to these new tools and potentials. In other areas of our lives, however, we can see some of these transformations happening right now, right in front of our eyes... At this writing, we're in the midst of the "YouTube Campaign," as some have called it. Every major candidate for president has made extensive use of blogs and video and podcasts throughout the campaign. Each has a MySpace page, attempting to take advantage of the power of social networking, and the voting public has had more ways of engaging in the conversation around issues than ever before. Each is using the web to connect to their very passionate supporters, allowing them to invest their own time and creativity and, in many cases, money in the cause. The very model of how we run campaigns and "do" politics is changing right in front of us, driven by these technologies that allow us to connect and collaborate more easily than before."

I was reminded of the fact that technology has allowed us to make our lives more transparent and this is what many are afraid of. However, if we do not take some responsibility in educating students in the appropriate uses, who will? They will simply "plug in" at home or some other place and open the doors of vulnerability that we block in school. It comes down to schools having to options: 1) block, or 2) role model and teach students the skills needed to make better use of the Web and how to respond to distasteful situations. To me, an educator, the choice seems very obvious. Are we not day-by-day preparing students for the rigors of life? These are the Millenials - they are the technology generation...are we really going to deny them the right to be educated in their own world?

With that being said, privacy for students should be a number one concern for teachers and parents. It is an area that should be well planned between teacher, parent, and student. Teachers can teach students ways to remain anonymous and ways to publish their work on the Web while providing only limited information. This chapter is an important intro into exploring ways to bring a Web 2.0 application such as blogging into the classroom appropriately and with students' safety considered.