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.

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!

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.

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.