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PETE & C 2011 has been an interesting voyage.

Staff Development

Saturday's class was a great one to start with, "Celebrating with Successful Technology Staff Development". Gained a number of ideas on how to jazz up and spark interest in training sessions for teachers and administrators. A key is the marketing and creating themed trainings. One idea was to create invitations; Reserved seating, boarding passes, 'tickets' etc. Another is to have "field trips" for teachers or administrators. Arm each with a digital camera, bus or car pool them to a location and set them loose on a theme of their choosing. Then reconnect back at the building offering one or more software based labs for the participants to explore using the photos that they took during the field trip. Some great sites explored were:

http://vistaprint.com Create cards, brochures etc.
http://www.dumpr.net/ Creates different effects on uploaded digital pictures
http://bighugelabs.com/

As with any online resource, please check the site first before allowing students to access. Some have ads, and others may not flow through your school's filtering software.

In addition to training teachers and students to utilize online tools and other software for educational purposes, this session also addressed the need for Internet Safety training for all levels of users. Some of the recommended resources were:

iSafe http://www.isafe.org excellent training program for teachers and staff, as well as a program for student peer teaching and mentoring.

Internet Safety Resources http//www.internet-safety.org

Safekids.com http://www.safekids.com

Watch for a complete listing of sites and resources in various categories which will be posted in the next few days.

NECC 2009 Around the Corner

I am looking forward to heading to NECC 2009 this weekend. Educators, innovators and vendors from around the country and around the world will be converging to view the latest technology and instructional methods. When signing up for sessions, the Web 2.0 options were the ones that filled first. Everyone is looking for economical ways to appropriately weave technology into daily learning. During NECC 2007 in Atlanta, I attended several 2.0 sessions, so I have some items to share in that area already. This year I am focusing on the global learning sessions, as well as inventive ways to use PDAs, and cell phones as learning tools. The plan is to Blog and share what I learn with you. I hope to also use a Flip video recorder to bring those who cannot attend, closer to the action.

Blogging Experiences

Blogging is a tremendous resource for educators and students alike. However, it has taken some time for educators to embrace it as an educational medium. Personally I admit, I had a difficult time sitting down and attempting my first Blog. It reminded me of sitting in from of a blank piece of paper with pencil in hand. You have a general idea of the purpose of your writing, but not where to begin and whether you should write at all. Although I had diaries and journals throughout my life, I never imagined sharing my thoughts on such a grand scale. For teachers, it can be a bit frightening.

Teens and younger adults don't seem to be as inhibited with posting their thoughts and feelings for the world to see. I can't help but think that it is a reflection of the gap between the Digital Natives and the Digital Immigrants. The Natives have grown up with communication methods that are fast, yet more tangible then the generations before. The Immigrant generation communicated as well, but their communications were not generally in permanent form. For instance, Immigrants primarily communicated their thoughts or feelings to one another through vocalizations. When Immigrants were together they would talk, when apart, they would use the phone for more verbal communication. Verbal communication is generally not recorded, or made permanent. Communication between Digital Natives however, has developed through verbal, but also through text messaging. Whether IMs on the computer, or texts on the phone, the Natives have been putting there thoughts into a more permanent form for most of their lives. Blogging is then just the next step in the progression.

While we as Immigrants are leery of putting out our thoughts for all to see, the Natives do not think twice about it. As discussed in a previous blog, this can be a safety issue as well as a character issue. Posts and comments, seen or misunderstood by unintended audiences can affect outcomes later on. Natives, as the term applies are familiar and comfortable in their environment. Interaction and maneuvering through the Cyber landscape is a natural function. It is a comfort zone. When you are in a comfort zone, defenses are down. As Immigrants, you are aware of all around you as you try to navigate through the environment. You are also more keenly aware of dangers and the possibility of taking the wrong turn. The uncomfortable state heightens your senses to dangers, making you cautious.

Is it any wonder that we as Digital Immigrants have such a difficult time using and embarrassing this form of communication?

Blogging for Teens

I just finished reading a book titled, "Blogging for Teens" by John W. Gosney. I found the book very interested and I would recommend it for any teacher that is thinking about using Blogging in their curriculum with some modifications in delivery.
Written for the teen age blogger, the book explains what blogging as a way of finding your voice and establishing a personal style. The writer draws a connection he calls the, "Blog-to-Bedroom-Wall Connection". He draws that analogy that blogging is a way to create and share personal identity. In much the same way as teenagers decorate their bedroom walls with posters and things that speak to their uniqueness, so to the Blog becomes an expression of the teens uniqueness.
The writer goes on to make suggestions as to how to find your own voice and uniqueness and how to consider your audience. There are chapters devoted to the actual creation and hosting process of Blogging as the "Care and Feeding"of your blog.
The book is written for the teen and the author does a good job speaking to his intended audience, however, as an adult reader, a mom and a technology expert, there were some aspects that were not covered as well as I would have liked. The main issue that was skirted was Internet SAFETY! Throughout the book there are examples of a fictitious teenager's blog. Even within the example blog, there were many references to information that could have been used to find the writer. Although the writer does discuss safety issues it does not occur in earnest until the middle of the book and then it is skimmed over.
Back to my recommendation, I still believe that with guided reading, the material in this book could be used to introduce Blogging to teens, however, I strongly recommend that a class in Internet safety be addressed first. Let's help them find their voices in a safe way!

Internet's Affect on Education

The internet has had a profound affect on society. Not since the invention of the automobile or the telephone, has an invention had as great an impact ton the daily lives of people. The internet has two major components that have shifted the way people live, one is purely the amount of accessible information and the second is the speed at which one can access that information.

Throughout history, information has been a powerful tool that guides society and also defines social places with in that society. In ancient times, the clergy and the wealthy were the only ones that had access to written documents. The invention of the printing press helped to spread the collected knowledge to more people. As information was shared, society changed from predominately agrarian to industrial.

Now with the advent of computers and the internet, we have shift to the informational society with more emphasis on the collecting, sharing and understanding of information. The workforce has moved from skilled labor positions to informational, computer driven positions. The speed at which this has occurred is been unprecedented. It has left our schools far behind in preparing our youth for positions in the workforce. This is the first time in history that experts are unable to predict what jobs will be in demand in the next 10 years.

The internet has created a real opportunity and a real challenge for education. It has created vast resources for information, as well as global learning opportunities for students and staff alike. However, it has also spurred the need for formal education centered on internet usage. Internet safety, netiquette, site evaluation skills, plagiarism and copyright laws, have needed to become part of the classroom curriculum. There is a real need for the Internet to be infused into the curriculum. To that end, teachers and administrators have needed additional training.

Districts are also wrestling with a new set of demands when it comes to internet access. Who should be allowed access, to what sites? Should everyone have access? Is the school responsible for internet usage of the students beyond the school day? In the past there existed a more defined line between school time and non school time. Now that has changed. As far as the information that is now available, in the past schools had an established set of text and materials to pull information from. It was easy for the district to select and use the defined sources. Now with the internet, there is no defined information. The information is fluid, ever changing. This has created a huge conundrum for school district. How do you monitor the internet usage?

Personally, my life has been changed by computers, the Internet and email. The primary change is that it is the basis for my career in education. I have been involved with the online delivery of educational material as well as internet education for a long time. So part of my position is keeping up with the changes, advancements, laws, regulations and issues that arise with the internet. My home life has changed in that I am saving time shopping online, paying bills, requesting forms and documents as well as finding the information that would have previously had me at the library, on the phone or deep into the encyclopedia and other reference material. It certainly has made homework time with my kids a lot easier. I was also able to locate relatives and trace family genealogy through online searches.

Life for the typical K-16 learner has changed tremendously for those with access to the internet on a daily basis. Learners have at their fingertips all of the resources that they need to become self directed learners. They no longer need to rely on or wait for the teacher to confirm their understanding of concepts. They also have a new resource for feedback and collaborative activities. Some of these activities stem from the student’s use of online social networks such as Facebook and MySpace. Other resources that they use are text messaging, gaming and Blogging sites. Students are more connected with an even broader range of other students than ever before.

For the K-16 learner there are many advantages. But those advantages can only be realized through the proper usage of the internet. The learner needs to have the basic skills required to affectively harvest the internets resources. They need to be taught how to evaluate sites, how to interact safely and how to utilize aspects that are appropriate for the task at hand. The internet can provide a wealth of networking opportunities both domestic and global, but peer to peer in person interaction and sharing needs to also be addressed. The internet is a tool. It is not the “Solve all, be all” of education and should not used in isolation.