More than just a break

It's that time of year again. Passover and Easter, for those who celebrate, spring vacation and my birthday. I got the usually email from my mom asking what I wanted for my birthday. As usual I ignored it, as I do my birthday. Never been a huge priority for me. Another day in the life of... So, I got a second email. This time a reminder that my birthday is coming soon and asking me what I wanted. I wrote back that I wanted to not deal with that right now. Something I suspect my father might say...

As I reflect over the four+ decades of birthdays, many of which have fallen during Passover, I remember the struggle to find a cake that was Kosher. Back in the late 60's/early 70's there really weren't any flourless cakes, or at least none that tasted like something you would want to eat. My mom, always tried her best though to find something that would be appropriate for a celebration. I suspect there were some that were not celebrated on my actual day so that I could have a proper cake. My mom went to great lengths for me and always has.

I then started to think about all of this. Almost 43 years ago my mom went into labor, an extraordinarily painful experience. Been there, done that myself. She pushed me out, quicker than my dad expected as the movie he was watching in the waiting room hadn't yet ended. All of this effort on my mom's part, alone except for the doctors and nurses, and only to spend the next 43 years having me aggravate her.

So, what do I want for my birthday? I don't deserve anything but my mom does. I recommend that all cards, e or otherwise, wishes, etc, go to my mom this year. If you're a friend of mine, you can thank her. if you are family, you can ask her why on earth she has put up with me for so long. Or just wish her well, she deserves it.

Thanks, Mom for all that you do and put up with. (Yes, I know I ended with a preposition...)

Getting started...First step isn't always a doosy

Overwhelmed by all that is out there? You're not alone. We all feel that way at times with juggling teaching, grading, creating new ideas and trying to learn to use emerging technologies that change so rapidly. Having the opportunity to get an elementary school started with technology integration has been a tremendous opportunity as we pave the way or better said, stumble, fall and get up to start again. For the district, we may be the pioneers. In the world view, where have we been that we are so behind???

Regardless of where you are, and we are all in different stages of learning, there is something for everyone. For those who are just getting started and are totally new to today's emerging technologies, I want to recommend a couple of new reads. In case you are wondering, they are both free, in true Web 2.0 technology style.

1) The Amazing Web 2.0 Projects Book edited by Terry Freedman contains 87 project suggestions. If you aren't sure what you want to do to get started using the web this is a great book of ideas. It is organized nicely by age of the students for each project described which helps to narrow your ideas to age appropriate options.

2) Twelve Essentials for Technology Integration by Richard Byrne is an online document for some suggested web tools to get you started. The tools chosen all have free options for educators. It's a quick easy read. Although it doesn't go in depth into examples for use, it does describe what each tool can do and offers some brief suggestions for their use.

Feeling overwhelmed is a common theme for those who are first getting started with emerging technologies. There is so much information and so many options it becomes difficult to narrow that down and know where to get started. While my primary focus is on technology tools for learning, I  struggle to keep up with the newest, latest, and greatest. It takes time, of which none of us have enough.

So here is my short list of what I use to keep up:

1. Twitter, my PLN (professional learning network) is the key to discovering new tools, staying on top of the latest articles and research, and a great place to get instant feedback on any questions I have.
2. Netvibes helps me to keep up with all the blogs I want to follow. I make it my home page so when I open a browser I see all the news I most want to read. It does take scheduling time to read it though.
3. Social Bookmarking with diigo has been crucial to my ability to return to the tools and ideas that I learn from my PLN. In addition I joined a group of educators on diigo and receive regular suggestions from that group for other sites and information of interest to me. For research diigo allows me to annotate and highlight content in any online article I read. As an added bonus any items I bookmark also go straight to my delicious feed.

I would love to know what others are using to make the technology in their world manageable. How do you keep up and what are your favorite tools?

Uninterrupted text...Oh, my!

Nothinng like the tongue in cheek Onion articles to give us a little reality check. The article "Nation Shudders At Large Block Of Uninterrupted Text" was brought to my attention this morning. In addition to LOL (laughing out loud, for those of you unfamiliar with "texting" abbreviations), it gave me pause. What is it that our students come into our classrooms expecting to see? 

There have been many claims about how computers are ruining the lives of our children. They aren't reading any more... There is a great conglomeration of statistics that I found on the Media Literacy Clearinghouse site. It includes statistics from Pew, FCC, and several others. Not surprisingly they all report an increase in the use of technology and a decrease in the use of print media. But does that necessarily correlate to we are reading less? I'm not so sure that it does. There are a number of videos that talk about how the way our students learn has changed and actually demonstrate that students are reading more, although perhaps differently. If you aren't familiar with the "Did you know" Videos you might check this out:


As teachers we spend lots of time thinking about learning styles and differentiated learning so we can meet the needs of our students. Is technology just offering us another way to do that? If students are motivated to read, or if you are finding this blog post more interesting because the text is broken up by related pictures and some video, perhaps you too are using those "in text" clues to help you reconsider what reading looks like in today's world. 

Recently Apple released some new hardware, the iPad. Tablet PCs aren't a new concept but the look and feel of the iPad may be for some people. How will this technology change reading for our students? Not long ago the Kindle was a "must have" for those who wanted books digitally. Are we really reading less or just reading differently? What are the different skills we use when we read digitally? Are our students spending more time skimming and scanning content? How will textbook companies respond? As you can see I have more questions than answers. 

What I do know is that I'm a huge fan of diigo as it helps me share electronically what I'm reading with friends and followers. But it is even more than just a social bookmarking tool as it also lets me highlight and comment on the content that I read. While I could do that before in a traditional text, those notes were only for me. With diigo, I can share my comments and highlights with others with whom I collaborate. I'm still reading but now my reading has become more active. Sharing what I read adds new questions and new ideas as I develop meaning from a text as a result of not just my own thoughts but those of my colleagues who are able to read the same exact "page" of text. 

Now that you are overloaded with too much "uninterrupted text" (the last 4 paragraphs) let me know what your thoughts are. How is technology changing the face of reading in our students? What are your predictions and concerns for the future readers we are shaping in the classroom today?

Light bulb moment

Today was the first full day of the Central States Conference in Minneapolis. It's always a wonderful experience to see language teaching colleagues old and new, check out what's in the exhibit hall and roll the dice to see if I pick the best sessions of the many that are offered. It's interesting as I reflect on my teaching, not only in the classroom tools but in the content that I teach and how over the years that changes the face of my choices in sessions. This year I'm combining a look at technology tools in education and attending mostly elementary sessions. As I retool myself to meet the needs of my current audience, I recognize that what I'm doing today may be completely different from what I'm doing in five years. Through all of this the pedagogy and best practices aren't changing, its how we approach them.

So, what do I mean by that. Let's start with mobile learning. When asked most people seem to be thinking of cell phones, smart phones, any technology that they can carry with them so that you can learn anytime anywhere. While I don't disagree with that, I don't see it as a new idea either. People have been learning "mobilely" forever. As a language teacher we know that the best way to get to know a culture and learn a language is to be there. It doesn't happen within the walls of a classroom, it happens outside in the real world. Now we just have some additional tools that can be used to give us some more in depth information than what we perhaps used to have. Or maybe it isn't even the information that has changed so much as the way we access that information. The trick is making it a natural part of our learning. For many teachers it may still be hard to let go enough to recognize that learning can happen when the teacher isn't around and the teacher's role can be to ask the questions that help the students recognize what they have learned in the process of simply being out in the world as observers and explorers.

Another question that has come to mind as I think about the presentation we did today and the workshop I will present tomorrow is terminology. In language teaching we refer to the use of "backward design" of a lesson. The idea of starting with assessment so you know what it is that you want the students to be able to do when they are done. Then you build your learning such that students can reach that goal or demonstrate to what extent they have reached that goal. So why is that "backwards?" Seems to me it is forward design. We don't build a house without having the architects complete plan in place first and then take all the pieces and put them together to reach the final product. Is that design backwards also? I have no answers to that question right now and perhaps it doesn't matter. After all it's just the jargon we use. The most important part is focusing on the learner and being sure that they have the scaffolding in place to learn wherever they are whenever they want to and to have the skills to make sense of what they are experiencing. Those will be the skills that will help them to be creative, contributing members of a society that we can't yet imagine.

Power of the audience...

Groove Salad

So, today was an amazing example of the power of the web and more so the power of a real audience. I have only been blogging for a couple of weeks. Don't really have an "audience" yet as I haven't been particularly public about my blog, at least not until today...

I found myself frustrated as I have been grappling with a tool, Glogster to be specific, for some time now. I love the tool but keep running up against the same wall when I try using it with my own students and helping teachers to use it. I have spent too much time trying to figure out how to "get around" the problem since I can't get through it. I couldn't find a forum on their website or any real way to contact them but I knew I couldn't just complain and do nothing.

Today, about five hours ago I blogged  about it in Glogster are you listening... Then, I tweeted it. Just the title and the link. I wondered if anyone from glogster might catch it. Within two and a half hours, I had a comment back from them.

This is the power of an audience.

I hope that they will in fact take my issues with their tool under consideration thus making the .edu version as embed friendly as the regular version.

Most importantly what I have learned is that it is possible to affect change, or at least a response, by using our voices. There is an audience for all of us.

Thank you glogster, for listening...

Glogster are you listening...

Well glogster, are you listening. I'm not sure as there is no spot for a user forum/help on your website so I'm not sure you are willing to hear feedback. I can only hope I'm not writing this for myself alone...
In review and for those of you unfamiliar with it, glogster is a great way for students to demonstrate what they have learned in the form of a very easy to create poster. While it has many built in graphics, you may also upload your own or link to items that you want from other sites. You can record your own audio and video directly into glogster as well. All around a great idea. Once your posters are created you can embed them into a wiki or blog. Awesome! Now my students, and yours, can still keep all the wonderful things they create in one location behind a password protected site. That's our responsibility as teachers in keeping students identities and information safe. (Although in my case, it is student work not pictures of them or personal data so nothing really to hide or protect IMO.)

Glogster has also created a great section for educators. It is a bit more protected so students won't be seeing inappropriate general content as they are choosing what to add to their glogs. Glogs are also automatically set to private in this area. No advertising cluttering the screen or bombarding students. Thank you for that!

However, the folks at glogster for some reason decided that there was a reason to alter the embed code for these glogs in the education area. I can't for the life of me figure out why but it makes embedding in my course wiki by my students impossible and even if I were to do it for them, it incapacitates the glog. Let me explain...

The embedded image is so large that it gets cut off by the wiki window so that you can't see the entire glog. This is NOT the case with the regular glogster version, only the edu version.

Now, you can change the code in the edu version, assuming you are comfortable looking at code, which I am but not all children can find the correct place to make the change without accidentally deleting the wrong thing. I'm not really interested in doing all the embedding for ALL of my students.

For the sake of argument, let's say I do change each student glog so that is 50% of the original size and can be viewed in the wiki page. Doing so makes the text so small it can't be easily read. Unfortunately the fix for this, available ONLY in the NON-edu version is an automatic dropdown that allows you to view the full version.

They tell me it is for protection, but from what am I protecting myself and my students? Viewing their work? If the glog is set to private and only available by entering a password protected wiki where once found by the authenticated user, that user clicks on the "view full size" link, which takes you to the full size version (marked as private) what on earth are they protecting? PLEASE PLEASE GLOGSTER, reconsider putting the same embed options in the .edu version as you have in the regular version. This is a show stopper as far as user friendliness in the .edu community.

On another note, perhaps less important, why am I not able to create usernames for my students? You have a crazy assigning system. I realize you are trying to protect student identities but that is really my job as the teacher. My students have more than enough different IDs to remember for things. Give me the option of uploading my classlist or naming my students the way that I want to, OR using your naming convention. PBWorks figured out how to do that for eductators, why can't you?

So glogster, you really do have a great product but I fear that the developers have lost track of our reality in the classroom. Please don't force me back to using paper and limiting my student's audience again...

Project funds, slowly but surely...

This morning as I was reading one of the many links provided to me by one of the people in my PLN, I stumbled upon Donors Choose. What a phenomenal idea. We no longer can sit back and complain about what we don't have for that cool thing that we want to do in our classrooms or with our students. There is now a website out there where we can write up what our project is, our learning goals, and what exactly we need to make it happen. So, let's no longer sit back and wait for it to come to us. Let's motive and make it happen for our students!

 Photo: Cambodia
--By Talea Miller, Online NewsHour