BRITZ R CUMN BYH2O CUL8R

If Paul Revere were to communicate his important message in today's world, might he text that to the patriots? On the drive to work this morning, I was thinking about the new research project that my students will be embarking on (more on that in another blog post), and I had an idea. Perhaps it was the fact that I had the Mustang out on nice icy, snowy roads (should have left it in the garage) and I was restricted to about 15-20mph the whole way. Perhaps it was the CD that I had decided to listen to. I started to ponder that very thing. What if students were asked to retell important events in history using text messaging as the media? Is there anything wrong with that? Let me premise this by saying that I don't text message. I email. I Skype. I instant message. All of these use the typing skills that I know and love. I feel comfortable typing, but I have never texted. Isn't this what Will Richardson was talking about when he spoke to the staff of my district? Is it okay to throw the conventions of grammar out the window, the rules of language arts pushed to the wayside in order to use a means of expression that is more meaningful and relevant to the lives of our students. While this is something that my fourth grade students might not be able to make the most of, but no doubt a middle school class might jump at the chance to research, analyze, synthesize and recreate these moments using the preferred expression and communication resource of today's teenagers. I would love to hear your thoughts. Thanks!

Table For 25 Please....

I am now in my third year with my SMARTboard Interactive Whiteboard, and I am always looking for and innovative ways of enhancing my instruction for my students. With each new version of software or incorporation new features, I like to 'play' with it to see what I can do with it. This also helps me when I teach professional development classes within my district. I love my board, but I know it still has its technical limitations. One of the limitations is that only one person or one thing may provide physical input on the board at once. While this reinforces waiting ones turn, it limits the potential for more than one 'user' to participate in the learning experience at the same time. Over the last nearly three yars, it is something that I have simply learned to deal with, and it has become less of an issue than I had originally thought. Having said that, I was browing a collaborative forum for SMART Educators, and I saw "The SMART Table". While I don't necessarily see this particular technology being used in my classroom, the potential for multiple input interactive whiteboards would be.. well, it would be very cool.

I wonder what is next? Check out the movie for more info on the SMART Table.

Name, Rank, and Facebook Page...

So I was watching some new channel the other day, and the talk was all about the upcoming Obama administration. Now there will be a changing of the guard, the new administration is offering a whole slew of newly vacated positions (bye bye W!). Anyway, the new application includes 63 fields of personal and professional information. It isn't just the usual job app info that is being requested. It isn't that potential employees are asked about their families and if they own a gun. What made it interesting and different to me was the fact that one's digital life was being called into question for validation. They are asked if they have sent any e-mails that might embarrass the administration. They are asked for all Internet handles and screen names that are used by the potential employee. They are asked for blog posts and Facebook pages that might also provide cause for concern.

This piggy-backs my previous blog post regarding Will Richardson's talk at my district's Professional Development Day. Technology truly has become a give and take environment, and he is the upcoming executive branch of our government holding potential job applicants accountable for their 'actions.' If this isn't cause to start rethinking technology education and digital ethics, what other catalyst are you looking for???

Facebook and other social networking sites have also been used a tools. If you doubt it, take a look at President Elect Obama's own Facebook page. Barack Obama's Facebook Page It worked so well that an anti-Obama group put up a fake looking one to convey their messages. Even the haters love it I guess.

The Good, The Bad, and The Googled...

My district brought in ed-tech guru Will Richardson to speak at our professional decelopment day. He posed a lot of questions and spoke about his own experiences and beliefs in education. I was also fortunate enough to have been selected to participate in a small group of educators to informally speak to him afterwards.

He spoke about using technology in education, or course... but the points that resonated most with me were the following:

1) Our students are 'hyperconnected' through text messaging, instant messaging, etc. The entire network is literally 'in the palm of their hands'

2) I have already read and heard people speak about how web2.0 is more of a participant experience than a spectator sport. Will said "it's not read/write and not just read".

3) Business is now more about the conversation of the conversation about the product than the product itselves. The Internet allows people to open dialoges about their experiences in a way that is so powerful it helps to drive consumer purchases.

4) We are preparing students today for a world that we know is changing. The top ten jobs for the very near future have not even been created yet. How can we best prepare our students for success in tomorrow's world when we don't even know the skills?

and finally..

5) We must prepare our students to anticipate being "Googled". He spoke about asking school administrators if they use Google to check out potential hires, and then went on to ask them "How do you prepare your students for the job interview of tomorrow?" I found that very interesting.

Social networking can be a powerful tool. It can make or break you. It can create global and local connections that can empower students and enrich their learning experiences. On the other hand, it can damage one's credibility and destroy reputations. It can provide reasons to take a chance on someone or disregard their potential.

I believe that we need to transform the definition of technology in education. It is not hardware or software. It is not the presence or the absense of visible technology. I believe that is an underlying theme or way or thinking. The visible tech resources are used as tools to carry out this new mission.

Will said that we must "live this ourselves." Thank you Will Richardson for speaking to us and planting some ideas and cultivating other ones.

Interesting Video - Pay Attention

After our discussions on Prensky's views regarding digital natives vs. digital immigrants, this was very interesting.

"I" guess "I" am finally a member of the cult...

I finally did it. (Pardon the pun). I received some Best Buy gift cards for my birthday, and I picked up an Ipod. I thought I would never do it, as I am perfectly content listening to my CDs in my car, Internet radio early in the classroom, and even singing myself (I am not very good, but I entertain myself without causing too much distress on others). I struggled with what I could do with the gift cards. I already have a good digital camera, a digital camcorder, a fairly new laptop and desktop computer. In my classroom I have a good scanner as well. What more do I need? My wife asked if perhaps I wanted an Ipod, so yesterday I picked up a Shuffle.

Over the summer, I started riding a bicycle again. It was awesome, especially in the early hours of the morning. When I think back to the first truly portable audio component (the Walkman!), it felt like such a revolutionary item to have. It was relatively small and light compared to that boom box my buddy Scott used to wheel around. It made it possible to take your tunes with you, although more than one cassette (remember those???) made it quite cumbersome. Now, I can bring this teeny tiny thing with me and bring 1GB of music with me. I am not one of those people that need 300GB of music files. I don't have that kind of time or interest.

I loaded up some songs without going to that insane ITunes Music store. My musical tastes run the gamut. I have Dr. Dre and Eminem sharing drive space with the three tenors. KRS-1 from old school BDP and LL Cool J sit contently alongside Dean Martin, Frank Sinatra and Louis Prima. Pink Floyd and Led Zepplin can jam next to Public Enemy and Rage Against the Machine. My musical motto is ABC. "Anything But Country" - my apologies go out to country music fans.. I just don't get it.

Anyway...
I chose the picture above because this is the world of our children. Everything is accessible. This includes music, but also any information that is needed. It is also a place of personal space. Ipods and bluetooth headpieces make it easy to close out the rest of the world, and that is a double edged sword. As I type here I am listening to my IPOD, but I don't think I oculd hear a knock at the door (I like good music kind of loud). On one hand, is this helping to create a society that is so self-absorbed that they don't care to or understand how to interact with others? On the other hand, is this helping to create a society that can more easily multitask and thus make the insanity of this on demand need it now world more manageable?

Is this how our students should be learning? This is how many of them are spending a good of time. Think about your answer for a bit.. a good JayZ song just came on, and my bike is calling my name (as if I can hear anything now).

Pioneering Into the Unknown with Exciting but Useless Tools

I consider myself a digital pioneer, but let me explain. The teachers that showed me how to use the Commodore Pet in elementary school were digital pioneers. The teachers that taught me how to use Bank Street Writer on the Commodore 64 to replace the typewriters that prior classes had used were digital pioneers. The teachers in high school that showed us how to use the Apple IIc were digital pioneers, and the college professors that showed us how to use the Internet to perform effective research were digital pioneers.

Pioneers are termed as "a person who is among those who first enter or settle a region, thus opening it for occupation and development by others." While the Internet is certainly not new nor is technology as a whole, the ever-changing digital landscape would support the fact that as each of us enter "technology" in a different place, time, capacity and goal. It is for that reason that I consider us each pioneers to some level.

So here I am doing my best techno-Lewis and Clark exploration of applications that I can use. I am very comfortable with blogging, and I very much enjoy using it with my students. This year has afforded me the opportunity to use our class wiki in a very constructive way. Last year I tried to find a spot in my curriculum for it, but now we are using it to build a true research based knowledge base. I will be exploring digital video again, but who knows where this new class will lead me. I am thinking that we will be doing some very cool things based on their interest and enthusiasm.

What does the title mean? Well, I have been exploring applications and gadgets since the beginning of the school year, and they usually fall into one of the following categories:

1) Useless and boring
2) Engaging but cumbersome
3) Engaging but disconnected from curriculum
4) Engaging and connected to curriculum

In my quest to find 4s, I have found a few 1s, a good amount of 2s, but a whole lot of 3s. Just try a Google search for something like "technology in education" or "web 2.0 in education" and you will soon be overwhelmed with a ton of leads. It can be disenchanting when you find something that makes you think "Wow! My kids would love to see this!" but when it comes down to it, it might not be developmentally or skill level appropriate for them to actually have them learn, apply and create from, so you end up with teacher created entertainment materials that might not even be connected to curriculum. That is not (in my opinion) appropriate or effective use of technology. That's why I don't like to see educators using technology just for the sake of using technology. Add in the constraints of the school year time limit, the reality of state assessments, district mandates and student learning styles, and you can imagine how immense the challenge is.

I don't know where the answer lies, and I am not sure how to really find examples of #4 without searching on and on. It's too bad that we couldn't find a digital Sacajewah to show us the way.