I remember getting into fights on the playground as a kid. I remember my parents sitting me down and explaining how what I did was wrong, and then they told of stories from their youth when they had experienced the same types of situations. These discussions could be used for many challenges that have faced children of many generations. I bet even the kids of colonial America were caught cheating on tests or hiding their report cards.
The challenges that face students of today are similar in concept but radically different in the manner and form in which they manifest themselves.
The video by Dan Topscott "Grown Up Digital - The Net Generation is Changing YOUR World" is very interesting and worth the minute forty eight. He begins by essentially berating the digital generation. He tells them that they are lazy, lack motivation or interest in the world around them, that their only concern is of themselves, they spend too much time in front of their technologies, yadda yadda yadda. Once the viewer is fully irritated by his words, he breaks the news that all he has said is, in reality, unsubstantiated. He also says that this new generation is the smartest generation and possesses the capability for real change.
In Passport to Digital Citizenship, Mike Ribbie takes this and runs with it. He speaks of nine elements of digital citizenship that are aligned with the new NETS student standards. While I do believe them to hold a good deal of merit, the question on my mind is "On whom should this responsibility lie?" Should this duty be placed in the hands of parents, educators or both? Is the digital realm solely the domain of technology educators or should technology as an extension to learning be part of every subject area's curriculum? In this crazy world that we live in, who has the time to invest in this most important part of socio-digital development? Perhaps we should ask "Who has more time (but surely not enough?)
Remember the bully on the playground when you were a kid? What about when you were cyber bullied as a kid? Remember when someone stole your identity? Oh my gosh.. remember the time that you accidently commited to buying something on the Internet without permission? What about the time you installed a virus on your mom's computer by clicking on the link in the browser? Chances are, aside from the first example, you didn't have any of those experiences as a child. How do you prevent your children from making those mistakes when you don't have your own life experiences to draw from? As cyber bullying becomes more and more prominent, bully prevention programs (as antiquated as they usually are) are being forced to come into the 21st century and address this. I had this happen in my classroom about 3 years ago, so I began an "Ethics of Technology" program with my students. If you type the word "dog" into the search field of a search engine such our beloved Google, you will be face to face with nearly 100 million results (as of this writing). How can you distinguish "good" sites from "bad" sites? This has less to do with any kind of digital divide and more to do with being an informed and intuitive web surfer and person.
I have long been opposed to 'filters' or 'blocking software' or whatever soft and fuzzy name makes you feel like you are helping kids (NetNanny comes to mind.. what the heck kind of fuzzy name is that?). It's like teaching someone to drive a car in a parking lot, giving them their license and then giving them directions to get home on the Long Island Expressway. Filters are nothing more than putting bumpers up in a bowling alley, but they don't teach the student how to filter and censor for themselves. When they get home, odds are they won't have those filters. If they do, they won't be up for very long. We need informed Internet participants, as Web 2.0 has now transformed the Internet and its power. Once again... who is to teach it?
Who am I? I am Adam Dugger, and I am probably not what Marc Prensky would call a "Digital Native". To Mr. Prensky I most respectfully say that I disagree. While I did not have an Ipod or the Internet as part of my childhood (I remember the Internet coming about when I was finishing college!), I was a digitally immersed. Dare I say a "digital pioneer?" You see, I had a Commodore 64 in my bedroom. I did my programming in BASIC computer language, and I made my own games. I used my external modem to dial up into CompuServe and surfed text based "sites" if you can call them that. I did my word processing on a dot matrix printer that made so much noise I couldn't use it too late because it would wake my family up. I had cassettes and CDs. Although we couldn't burn CDs we did "dub" cassettes. Same thing? Nobody said that was wrong, but I suppose we had to buy the first copy...
I am able to navigate technology with relative ease. I would much rather 'play' with something and figure it out than be told how to do so. I like trying to make things better by "tinkering" and these are all extensions and evolutions of what I did as a child whether with Legos, bicycles, cars or computers. Having said that, rights and wrongs must be taught, learned and to some degree experienced.
I think that the ethics of technology should begin in the home. Parents must accept technology and the collaborative nature of the Internet as "here to stay" and treat it that way. Lack of information breeds fear and distrust. Just look at how "Internet security" is viewed on news shows. Tell someone that you are on a social networking site like MySpace or Facebook and immediately the glares come out. My own mother tells me that Facebook is bad news, and nothing I can do to explain to her the positive of social networking will help sway her.
Parents alone cannot handle the burden alone. We infuse technology into our lessons and explorations all of the time. We ask our students to grab hold of this resource and use it as a tool for their learning and expression. How can we as educators ignore the "right and wrong" part of that?
Morality has always been subjective, and it comes from your experiences as a child. Right and wrong are clearly defined with a wonderful little area in the middle we lovingly call "gray". If we are to share this digital environment, not as digital immigrants or digital natives, but as digital citizens, we must coexist with respect and keep the cyber landscape lush and green. The "not so good areas" must be allowed to stay, but students should be educated citizens that can quanitatively and qualititively make informed decision based on what they have learned.
The question is "from who?" I wish I had an answer... but this brings up even more questions for me.
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Tuesday, April 14, 2009
Get a Charge Out My Flash Project!
Yeah.. I know.. horrible pun.. Then again I don't charge by the chuckle.. or should I..
Anyway.. part of my electrical circuits unit plan is to show my students how electricity passes through a circuit and lights up a bulb. I decided to use my flash project to show this step by step and point out the parts of the bulb that perform specific jobs.
So here it is.
This is the second incarnation of this project. The first was not as specific with words and vocabulary. I am thinking of redoing it again; this time adding an interactive switch to show how a switch works within the circuit. The teacher in me says that since the objective of the lesson would be to explain "why a light bulb lights and how", I should leave the switch concept for another (flash) lesson. Only time will tell.
Anyway.. part of my electrical circuits unit plan is to show my students how electricity passes through a circuit and lights up a bulb. I decided to use my flash project to show this step by step and point out the parts of the bulb that perform specific jobs.
So here it is.
This is the second incarnation of this project. The first was not as specific with words and vocabulary. I am thinking of redoing it again; this time adding an interactive switch to show how a switch works within the circuit. The teacher in me says that since the objective of the lesson would be to explain "why a light bulb lights and how", I should leave the switch concept for another (flash) lesson. Only time will tell.
Monday, April 13, 2009
My Next Vista Video
Drumroll please...
While I certainly won't be walking the red carpet and having my picture taken by relentless paparazzi, I have completed my video for Next Vista through Long Island University's T.E.A.M. Educational Technology program.
I chose to create mine to help students use Classblogmeister with their teachers and classes. I suppply documentation to my students, but a video just felt like natural progression and a better way to help them on their way to blogging.
While I certainly won't be walking the red carpet and having my picture taken by relentless paparazzi, I have completed my video for Next Vista through Long Island University's T.E.A.M. Educational Technology program.
I chose to create mine to help students use Classblogmeister with their teachers and classes. I suppply documentation to my students, but a video just felt like natural progression and a better way to help them on their way to blogging.
The End of Social Studies Education?
A few weeks ago, I participated in a workshop discussion entitled "Digital Technology and the End of Social Studies Education." As a Social Studies buff (it is my favorite both as a student and as an educator), I was intrigued and somewhat worried. How could it be "the end?" Isn't the person that ignores history doomed to repeat it?
I was asked to start by looking at the following quote:
Where did this little bit of quoted text come from, do you ask? It comes from an article written in the Spring 2007 edition of Theory and Research in Social Education written by Bill Tally. Ordinarily, I find articles of this nature very interesting, but I have to be honest when I say that I was less than excited when viewing the pdf and seeing "Page 1 of 17". Yep.. I was all smiles thinking of how I would be able to digest this digital dilemma in one sitting. Boy, was I in for a surprise. The article was lengthy, but it was very thought provoking and I am glad that I read it. By the way... the "end" is not speaking of finality but of cause and purpose. Rest assured, we will still be teaching Social Studies.
In many ways, I agree with Tally. He wonders why technology has not infused new life and a deeper sense of being to Social Studies education. While there are some educators that have embraced it to (in Tally's words) slow down learning, Social Studies has not "come into its own" just yet.
Why is this? Hold on.. Let's discuss the "progressive tinkerer" that Tally speaks of. These are the people that modify and shape what technology designs will best compliment instruction and support the learning of students. Being a tinkerer myself, I am intrigued even more. I am a firm believer in tinkering with something to best understand it and to find faults and/or improvements.
So let's point the blame. It must be someone's fault. First in line were the teachers. Surely they were resistant to integrating technology for whatever reason. It is sad that this belief still exists today when so many educators are using technology as a resource and investing a great deal of time into them. Do other professions reinvent themselves as well?
After that notion was dispelled, the schools were next in line. Surely you have heard the old joke about Rip Van Winkle, who awoke after a great many years of sleep to find the world a very different place. When we walked around, he was so amazed to see all of the changes in society, but when he came to a school he immediately knew what it was. He recognized it as it was, and this drives home the belief that while our world has changed, our schools have not. Tally goes on to say that technology was quickly integrated into schools, albeit at a very light and refreshing superficial way. He says that the "tasks are ruled by format and as riddled with convention as the business letter. (311) If the task is so defined and the student's expected (required) tasks are so clearly layed out, the grade will be constructed by following them and not the content or what has been created.
Tully also seems to discredit "Webquests" which have become all the in educatopia. I don't particularly care for them, as they seem too "cookie-cutter" for me. I would rather give a task and allow the students to come up with the project or outcome with me as a guide instead of restrictor. The amount of time required for technology rich projects can be staggering. This can be unrealistic to assume that teachers will invest this time willingly without issue.
This really hits home. I consider my classroom to be technology rich, and I am proud that I am able to provide such a setting. Having said that, such projects are very overwhelming even for me, and I am a tinkering tech junkie. Why do I continue? I don't know.. either I am glutton for punishment or an idiot.. or maybe both.
Tally goes on to dispell the rumor that students have some inborn ability to pick up anything digitally. I totally agree that this is not true. While the media is more natural to use, the competencies that would be taught can still be challenging. The digital world is their world (and ours too btw), but how natural is learning in this new landscape?
Tally says (last quote I promise)...
Very interesting indeed.
Looking at Museum Box (http://museumbox.e2bn.org/), I really like it. It allows the students to go as deep as they want to. It also doesn't define what type of artifacts that can be used (good or bad depending on grade level). I just looked through a few student created boxes. There was one titled "The Treatment of the Jews by the Nazis." It used text from student research and images that they had found. I would like to see the teacher directions and/or task description that brought this Museum Box to fruition, as I am interested in perhaps using it in my own classroom. It's open ended nature does lend itself to "slowing down thinking" a good deal.
When I envision Social Studies in my classroom, it is more than just facts and dates. It is a series of stories in the lives of real people. We study their experiences so that we can perhaps apply them to our own. We celebrate their triumphs and learn from their errors. We objectively validate their choices and relive their journeys through their eyes and our minds. History never repeats, right?
I was asked to start by looking at the following quote:
"Our beliefs about learners and tools come via Dewey and Vygotsky, and have been informed by the 'cognitive revolution' that in the last thirty years has given these ideas scientific weight:
~ Technologies as tools that amplify and extend fundamental human capacities to observe, understand and communicate about the world- tools that give us rich data, help us manipulate and think about it, and connect us with others around it in new and powerful ways." - Bill Tally (p. 308)
Where did this little bit of quoted text come from, do you ask? It comes from an article written in the Spring 2007 edition of Theory and Research in Social Education written by Bill Tally. Ordinarily, I find articles of this nature very interesting, but I have to be honest when I say that I was less than excited when viewing the pdf and seeing "Page 1 of 17". Yep.. I was all smiles thinking of how I would be able to digest this digital dilemma in one sitting. Boy, was I in for a surprise. The article was lengthy, but it was very thought provoking and I am glad that I read it. By the way... the "end" is not speaking of finality but of cause and purpose. Rest assured, we will still be teaching Social Studies.
In many ways, I agree with Tally. He wonders why technology has not infused new life and a deeper sense of being to Social Studies education. While there are some educators that have embraced it to (in Tally's words) slow down learning, Social Studies has not "come into its own" just yet.
Why is this? Hold on.. Let's discuss the "progressive tinkerer" that Tally speaks of. These are the people that modify and shape what technology designs will best compliment instruction and support the learning of students. Being a tinkerer myself, I am intrigued even more. I am a firm believer in tinkering with something to best understand it and to find faults and/or improvements.
So let's point the blame. It must be someone's fault. First in line were the teachers. Surely they were resistant to integrating technology for whatever reason. It is sad that this belief still exists today when so many educators are using technology as a resource and investing a great deal of time into them. Do other professions reinvent themselves as well?
After that notion was dispelled, the schools were next in line. Surely you have heard the old joke about Rip Van Winkle, who awoke after a great many years of sleep to find the world a very different place. When we walked around, he was so amazed to see all of the changes in society, but when he came to a school he immediately knew what it was. He recognized it as it was, and this drives home the belief that while our world has changed, our schools have not. Tally goes on to say that technology was quickly integrated into schools, albeit at a very light and refreshing superficial way. He says that the "tasks are ruled by format and as riddled with convention as the business letter. (311) If the task is so defined and the student's expected (required) tasks are so clearly layed out, the grade will be constructed by following them and not the content or what has been created.
Tully also seems to discredit "Webquests" which have become all the in educatopia. I don't particularly care for them, as they seem too "cookie-cutter" for me. I would rather give a task and allow the students to come up with the project or outcome with me as a guide instead of restrictor. The amount of time required for technology rich projects can be staggering. This can be unrealistic to assume that teachers will invest this time willingly without issue.
This really hits home. I consider my classroom to be technology rich, and I am proud that I am able to provide such a setting. Having said that, such projects are very overwhelming even for me, and I am a tinkering tech junkie. Why do I continue? I don't know.. either I am glutton for punishment or an idiot.. or maybe both.
Tally goes on to dispell the rumor that students have some inborn ability to pick up anything digitally. I totally agree that this is not true. While the media is more natural to use, the competencies that would be taught can still be challenging. The digital world is their world (and ours too btw), but how natural is learning in this new landscape?
Tally says (last quote I promise)...
Many children who are fluent at at ease with the 'Commercial Web' i.e., who fluidly find and browse their favorite popular media sites, play games, and communicate with friends, share photos etc., have difficulty when it comes to even basic uses of the 'informational' or 'academic web' - things like executing a competent search; reading and making sense of text and graphics; identifying the source of information; copying, saving and citing information, etc
Very interesting indeed.
Looking at Museum Box (http://museumbox.e2bn.org/), I really like it. It allows the students to go as deep as they want to. It also doesn't define what type of artifacts that can be used (good or bad depending on grade level). I just looked through a few student created boxes. There was one titled "The Treatment of the Jews by the Nazis." It used text from student research and images that they had found. I would like to see the teacher directions and/or task description that brought this Museum Box to fruition, as I am interested in perhaps using it in my own classroom. It's open ended nature does lend itself to "slowing down thinking" a good deal.
When I envision Social Studies in my classroom, it is more than just facts and dates. It is a series of stories in the lives of real people. We study their experiences so that we can perhaps apply them to our own. We celebrate their triumphs and learn from their errors. We objectively validate their choices and relive their journeys through their eyes and our minds. History never repeats, right?
Sunday, March 29, 2009
The Internet as a Pied Piper
The Internet is, at its very core, is a network. Social networking, blogging, link exchanges, etc. are such natural progressions of this technological necessity that it truly isn't even funny. My main hobby is cars, and I have been part of a few forums dedicated to a specific car for a long time - some as long as nearly 13 years. The exhange of information and learning from the experiences of others has made it possible for people to tackle projects that they might not have attempted before.
Fast forward to 2009. In a moment of absolute insanity and crazy "what the hell", I purchased a motorcycle that needed some work. When I bought it, I knew that it was a popular model, but I had no idea that the passion behind the owners of this model might rival that of my beloved Mustang.
Having served as a warehouse of information (so to speak) for the Mustang community for so long, I had somewhat forgot what it was like to post 'newbie' questions and ask others to share their experiences. Since I have a solid foundation experience for mechanical projects (My Stang has been apart and back together quite a few times for quite a few incarnations of its life), I felt confident that I could jump into the motorcycle arena with just a bit of guidance. Just about 2 months later, the bike is looking better than ever and almost ready to hit the road (some parts haven't arrived yet).
I did the same when I gutted and rebuilt my daughter's room in our house, but I didn't find message forums resources as plentiful as the fossil fuel burners. I had to look through DIY sites loaded with advertisements and Youtube provided a good amount of online video instructions (but be careful what you follow and believe). Good old books (I have some of those fossils in the basement.. hehe) are also great sources!
The piece that was lacking was the interaction of people to people. You hear so much from "those people" that our students and we lack the person to person interaction that the Internet takes away. I think that it is easy to make the arguement that the interaction is surely there, although it has manifested itself in a different form but it has evolved to another level. Just because I am not staring face to face with someone doesn't mean we aren't communicating.
If that is your absolute quantifier, then I suggest getting a web cam and a clue. The "Great Communicator" is us. The tool is the Internet, and I can only imagine how communication will evolve next. Let's hope that we will be literate enough and open-minded enough to speak its lingo.
Thursday, March 19, 2009
Web 2.0: Buzzword or Transformative Tool?
In preparation for an online conversation with one of my professors, I was asked to read an article called Why Web 2.0 is Good for Learning and for Research: Principles and Prototypes. In this article, web2.0 tools are presenting as using information in a different way. The author goes on to tell us that web2.0 is in danger of becoming a buzzword much like "e-learning" once took over the pedagogical lingo scene.
I was then asked to come up with four attributes to used as criteria by which technology resources should be evaluated to see whether or not they are truly web 2.0 tools. In no particular order, here they are!
So having said that.. let's take a look at a few web sites to see how they do with the aforementioned judging criteria...
Classblogmeister.com - This site offers educators a place to begin a class blog.
Creativity: Yes
Users can browse through menus and options to customize blog pages at both teacher and student levels. Creativity is encouraged, and there is even an option to design one's own template instead of choosing from premade ones.
Digital Presence and Expression: Yes
Students can upload pictures (either of themselves, user selected pictures and/or avatars) to make themselves known. Students can also title their blog and each entry they create. Although students have the ability to write nearly whatever they wish, teachers can (and should in my opinion) make it so that they have final approval on all.
Community: Yes and No
This is a place where Classblogmeister excels. David Warlick, the creator and blogger in charge guru behind CBM even has a feature called "The Collaborator" through which classes can find each other based on user selected and submitted criteria. Outside of the site itself, there is a ning and an online Yahoogroup that are just as valuable for teachers to find other teachers to collaborate with. For students, the ability to find others is not as robust, but perhaps that is with good reason. If a teacher decides to post a few links to other classrooms on his or her blog site, then students can really take advantage of the global community of the educational blogosphere.
Technology: Yes!
Classblogmeister is a web site on the Internet. You can use images in your articles (although they must be hosted elsewhere.. David W. can we upload please???), you can embed flash video and animation, and audio.
Notes: I am a big fan of this site, and I am happily in my second blogging class. David Warlick provides this site for free and without any advertisements.
Voki
Voki is an avatar creator that offers its users a very dynamic, almost fun interface that allows one to create a digital representation of one's self.
Creativity: Yes!
I have to admit that the possibilities are almost endless. One can choose from a myriad of physical characteristics, and a color palette with which you can grab your own. Backgrounds can be selected or uploaded. The voice can be chosen from a list of genders, accents and then a few within those parameters. In the preliminary research that I have done, it seems that 60 seconds is the time limit for uploading voice, but that is surely enough time to get any message across.
Digital Presence and Expression: Yes!
This is where Voki truly hits the mark. Users can choose from a ton of accessories and physical characteristics to make nearly any type of identity desired. I like the fact that you can choose to use the text to speech feature for those that might not want to upload their own voice. This could be useful for younger students or those students with speech and language challenges.
Community: No
This seems to be an area that is lacking. Voki seems like much more of a 'me' application than an 'us'. There is a news feature on the main page (at first difficult to find if you don't know how to get back there) that has some articles and news feeds written by others, but for the most part, you are on your own.
Technology: Yes
Clearly this web based JavaScript site uses technology in an innovative way. It is engaging, exciting and inviting. Voki is also adding new features on a continuous basis.
Notes: Overall I like Voki, but to me it is more flash and polish than substance. It could be the icing on the cake for your students' projects or a fun way to grab their attention, but as a standalone it isn't the "cat's cyber-meow". Having said that, I do like how registration with an email is NOT required. That is a big draw for teachers. However, registering one account can allow the teacher to keep editable copies of each student or teacher Voki. I am not sure if there is a limit to how many avatars one can have (there was no mention on the site). Another "turn-off" is that the free versions will have advertising on them. Feel free to check out the Voki I made on the right. That is a preloaded voice named Mike from the US.
del.icio.us
Delicious is a social bookmarking website that is used for storing and sharing one's personal and professional website bookmarks.
Creativity: No
Delicious does give each user their own page, but it isn't specific to each person in look and feel. It is totally template driven and standardized and although I suppose one could differentiate by tags and the resulting folders, there isn't much room for personalization.
Digital Presence and Expression: Yes
Through Delicious, you can have your own place on the World Wide Web. While there isn't a pretty digital presence like those of an avatar, one can show or identify those web sites that can be useful. Tagging allows easy differentiation or reasons why such a site was chosen.
Community: Yes
You can keep links to your favorite sites, share them with others, take the recommendations of others or follow the taggings of others that you choose.
Technology: Yes!
The Internet is the playground for Delicious, so being connected is essential. Without the web, Delicious is just a flat document.
Note: At first I was weary of trying Delicious. I had my bookmarks or favorites or whatever you want to call them safely nestled within the confines of my own PC. After a few weeks of using this, I was converted. It is a powerful tool for not only keeping those bookmarks at your fingers whenever you want or wherever you are, you can easily share or use some professional voyeurism to see what others are tagging.
Flowgram
Flowgram is site that offers a way to present digital photographs
Creativity:
Creativity: Yes and No
Allow me to explain. While you are offered many variations of choice, I do feel that it is a little "PowerPointish" in a way that you are restrained by templates. Having said that I still think it is a very valuable tool for the classroom since these templates provide a solid structure that students can use as a guide.
Digital Presence and Expression: Yes
While the digital presence isn't like that of an avatar creator, you can truly express yourself however you want with Flowgram. You can share your photos, speak your mind and comment on what you have seen on specific web pages.
Community: Yes and No
Once again, there is way to see the work of others, but nothing that truly fosters community. On the other hand, one could easily use this tool to share experiences and points of view with the world. This could go either way.
Technology: Yes
Flowgram can easily be embedded into a blog or wiki. You can record audio through your microphone or upload. You can use images or text and record motions such as highlighting to redirect the viewer's attention to wherever you want it.
Notes: The few times that I have used Flowgram I really enjoyed it. It is intuitive and easy to navigate. The only thing I have noticed (and perhaps it is limited to me) is that it runs somewhat slow in this "I want it now" digital age. not horribly slow, but slow nonetheless. I am exploring the use of something like Flowgram or Voicethread with my students to share our experiences on a field trip. I am hoping to explore the importing of video as well as photographs.
So how could these tools be used in a constructivist learning model classroom?
Classblogmeister
During a study unit on the Native Americans of New York State, students would be asked to choose whether they would have preferred to have been an Iroquois man Iroquois woman, Algonquin man or Algonquian woman. They would be asked to support their choice with facts and opinions. Interaction and collaboration are truly cultivated as students evaluate and respond to each other's work.
Voki
During a study unit on European explorers, students would work to research and gather biographical information on a given explorer. They would then use an image of that person and the information that they have to write a journal entry or that person's personal reflections. Finally, the student would use everything to construct a Voki telling the story. The application by itself doesn't do much for community, but placing it in a wiki, a ning or another collaborative space will greatly help interaction.
Delicious
Students might be working to gather information for any given task and need a place to house it. This can be done collaboratively in groups or independently. The task can be anything from Social Studies research to math activities to technical expository sites for use of an application or software.
Flowgram
Following a series of lessons on writing from photographs, students might be asked to share the images of their favorite place in the whole world. They could supplement their own photos with their voices and use web sites to document the history of their chosen place and any other significance it might hold in the world outside of them.
I was then asked to come up with four attributes to used as criteria by which technology resources should be evaluated to see whether or not they are truly web 2.0 tools. In no particular order, here they are!
Creativity - Does this application or tool allow and foster creativity in students?
Digital Presence and Expression - Does this application or tool create or help create a digital identity for the user in a safe and secure manner?
Community - Does this application or tool encourage its users to become part of a larger community of learners and creators?
Technology - This is probably the most obvious defining attribute. A Web 2.0 tool should be anchored in technology, and use that as its arena of existence.
So having said that.. let's take a look at a few web sites to see how they do with the aforementioned judging criteria...
Classblogmeister.com - This site offers educators a place to begin a class blog.
Creativity: Yes
Users can browse through menus and options to customize blog pages at both teacher and student levels. Creativity is encouraged, and there is even an option to design one's own template instead of choosing from premade ones.
Digital Presence and Expression: Yes
Students can upload pictures (either of themselves, user selected pictures and/or avatars) to make themselves known. Students can also title their blog and each entry they create. Although students have the ability to write nearly whatever they wish, teachers can (and should in my opinion) make it so that they have final approval on all.
Community: Yes and No
This is a place where Classblogmeister excels. David Warlick, the creator and blogger in charge guru behind CBM even has a feature called "The Collaborator" through which classes can find each other based on user selected and submitted criteria. Outside of the site itself, there is a ning and an online Yahoogroup that are just as valuable for teachers to find other teachers to collaborate with. For students, the ability to find others is not as robust, but perhaps that is with good reason. If a teacher decides to post a few links to other classrooms on his or her blog site, then students can really take advantage of the global community of the educational blogosphere.
Technology: Yes!
Classblogmeister is a web site on the Internet. You can use images in your articles (although they must be hosted elsewhere.. David W. can we upload please???), you can embed flash video and animation, and audio.
Notes: I am a big fan of this site, and I am happily in my second blogging class. David Warlick provides this site for free and without any advertisements.
Voki
Voki is an avatar creator that offers its users a very dynamic, almost fun interface that allows one to create a digital representation of one's self.
Creativity: Yes!
I have to admit that the possibilities are almost endless. One can choose from a myriad of physical characteristics, and a color palette with which you can grab your own. Backgrounds can be selected or uploaded. The voice can be chosen from a list of genders, accents and then a few within those parameters. In the preliminary research that I have done, it seems that 60 seconds is the time limit for uploading voice, but that is surely enough time to get any message across.
Digital Presence and Expression: Yes!
This is where Voki truly hits the mark. Users can choose from a ton of accessories and physical characteristics to make nearly any type of identity desired. I like the fact that you can choose to use the text to speech feature for those that might not want to upload their own voice. This could be useful for younger students or those students with speech and language challenges.
Community: No
This seems to be an area that is lacking. Voki seems like much more of a 'me' application than an 'us'. There is a news feature on the main page (at first difficult to find if you don't know how to get back there) that has some articles and news feeds written by others, but for the most part, you are on your own.
Technology: Yes
Clearly this web based JavaScript site uses technology in an innovative way. It is engaging, exciting and inviting. Voki is also adding new features on a continuous basis.
Notes: Overall I like Voki, but to me it is more flash and polish than substance. It could be the icing on the cake for your students' projects or a fun way to grab their attention, but as a standalone it isn't the "cat's cyber-meow". Having said that, I do like how registration with an email is NOT required. That is a big draw for teachers. However, registering one account can allow the teacher to keep editable copies of each student or teacher Voki. I am not sure if there is a limit to how many avatars one can have (there was no mention on the site). Another "turn-off" is that the free versions will have advertising on them. Feel free to check out the Voki I made on the right. That is a preloaded voice named Mike from the US.
del.icio.us
Delicious is a social bookmarking website that is used for storing and sharing one's personal and professional website bookmarks.
Creativity: No
Delicious does give each user their own page, but it isn't specific to each person in look and feel. It is totally template driven and standardized and although I suppose one could differentiate by tags and the resulting folders, there isn't much room for personalization.
Digital Presence and Expression: Yes
Through Delicious, you can have your own place on the World Wide Web. While there isn't a pretty digital presence like those of an avatar, one can show or identify those web sites that can be useful. Tagging allows easy differentiation or reasons why such a site was chosen.
Community: Yes
You can keep links to your favorite sites, share them with others, take the recommendations of others or follow the taggings of others that you choose.
Technology: Yes!
The Internet is the playground for Delicious, so being connected is essential. Without the web, Delicious is just a flat document.
Note: At first I was weary of trying Delicious. I had my bookmarks or favorites or whatever you want to call them safely nestled within the confines of my own PC. After a few weeks of using this, I was converted. It is a powerful tool for not only keeping those bookmarks at your fingers whenever you want or wherever you are, you can easily share or use some professional voyeurism to see what others are tagging.
Flowgram
Flowgram is site that offers a way to present digital photographs
Creativity:
Creativity: Yes and No
Allow me to explain. While you are offered many variations of choice, I do feel that it is a little "PowerPointish" in a way that you are restrained by templates. Having said that I still think it is a very valuable tool for the classroom since these templates provide a solid structure that students can use as a guide.
Digital Presence and Expression: Yes
While the digital presence isn't like that of an avatar creator, you can truly express yourself however you want with Flowgram. You can share your photos, speak your mind and comment on what you have seen on specific web pages.
Community: Yes and No
Once again, there is way to see the work of others, but nothing that truly fosters community. On the other hand, one could easily use this tool to share experiences and points of view with the world. This could go either way.
Technology: Yes
Flowgram can easily be embedded into a blog or wiki. You can record audio through your microphone or upload. You can use images or text and record motions such as highlighting to redirect the viewer's attention to wherever you want it.
Notes: The few times that I have used Flowgram I really enjoyed it. It is intuitive and easy to navigate. The only thing I have noticed (and perhaps it is limited to me) is that it runs somewhat slow in this "I want it now" digital age. not horribly slow, but slow nonetheless. I am exploring the use of something like Flowgram or Voicethread with my students to share our experiences on a field trip. I am hoping to explore the importing of video as well as photographs.
So how could these tools be used in a constructivist learning model classroom?
Classblogmeister
During a study unit on the Native Americans of New York State, students would be asked to choose whether they would have preferred to have been an Iroquois man Iroquois woman, Algonquin man or Algonquian woman. They would be asked to support their choice with facts and opinions. Interaction and collaboration are truly cultivated as students evaluate and respond to each other's work.
Voki
During a study unit on European explorers, students would work to research and gather biographical information on a given explorer. They would then use an image of that person and the information that they have to write a journal entry or that person's personal reflections. Finally, the student would use everything to construct a Voki telling the story. The application by itself doesn't do much for community, but placing it in a wiki, a ning or another collaborative space will greatly help interaction.
Delicious
Students might be working to gather information for any given task and need a place to house it. This can be done collaboratively in groups or independently. The task can be anything from Social Studies research to math activities to technical expository sites for use of an application or software.
Flowgram
Following a series of lessons on writing from photographs, students might be asked to share the images of their favorite place in the whole world. They could supplement their own photos with their voices and use web sites to document the history of their chosen place and any other significance it might hold in the world outside of them.
Thursday, March 5, 2009
Seemless Integration vs. Add-on extension
Let's talk about our good old friend, the pencil. This antiquated, yet effective wriring instrument has many names. Call it No. 2, Dixon Ticonderoga or whatever you like, this usually yellow but sometimes flashier graphite scriber is the preferred tool for nearly all students regardless of age.
Do you remember learning how to use the pencil? Once you mastered its use, what happened next? Did you take any advanced pencil usage classes? No.. of course not. You simply accepted the pencil as an effective resource for learning. There weren't any additional pencil training classes. This new tool was simply fully integrated into every other subject area that you learning. The pencil became a part of everything.
I was in a discussion with other teachers from Long Island, and we were asked a question by our professor. "Would you be able to do your job without technology?" I was the only one in the discussion that answered "yes". A few of the others mentioned how wonderful technology is for engaging students, how it allowed them to express themselves in a new exciting way, and how it opens the classroom up to the world. With this I totally agree, and I prefaced my rationale by saying that I am a huge proponent of technology. Having said that, technology is not necessary for "the job". Even in the year 2009, the job of a teacher can be accomplished without technology. Who can argue against rows of students in that good old teacher centered environment getting knowledge from that one all knowing all seeing center of information - the teacher! Oh how lucky one would be to catch some pearls of wisdom! While technology certainly does enrich the learning (and teaching!) that happens in our classrom, fundamentally the job doesn't absolutely require it.
Sarcasm aside... Technology is often an add-on to learning. It is, in many cases, an extension activity to what has been explored through traditional means. In a progressive classroom, it is a central part of research and expression, and even while this is becoming more common it is still a relative rarity. What we need is for technology to really become integrated in the 21st century classroom. It should be taught as a resource and as a skill, but after that it should be used as a learning tool in every subject. It should be utilized in such a way that students will improve their skill and proficiency with it without feeling that they are practicing. How do students practice using a dictionary? They use it where it is relevant in your classroom explorations.
We really need to take a long hard look at the curriculum and find a place for technology within it. Students shouldn't feel like they are learning technology. They should feel like they are using technology to learn. If we don't do that, we might as well just keep practicing our penmanship for no reason at all.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
