More than just knowing stuff!

Web 2.0 & Pedagogy

A couple of posts ago I reflected on three themes – CREATE, COMMUNICATE & COLLABORATE. I like the way the Wollongong Catholic Education Office have captures this in a clean and simple presentation.

Add comment September 18th, 2009

Have to Get Better at Believing the Impossible

One of the things that I have found in my career is that there is always a stack of ‘reasons’ or ‘excuses’ for not being able to do something or to believe in something. This week was interesting and I found myself listening to the ‘but’ word over and over, and almost felt defeated by it.

I watched Kevin Kelly tonight on TED and what he said very much resonated with me. He said we ‘have to get better at believing the impossible’.

I feel I am an optimistic person, some might think naïve possibly. However, without believing that things can be done we will give up on trying to make them happen. Like with new technologies and new ideas. Why can’t we have laptops in classrooms? I’ve had them in my rooms. Why is this so hard for others to believe this possible? Why can’t we use the web2.0 for learning? Predators, paedophiles? Surely there is more than that out there for our students. Some believers are using blogs and online technologies to the highest advantage for student learning, whilst others ‘are not ready’.

I like to believe in the impossible and to give things a go. I think this is what makes education rich and authentic. And I applaud the teachers who are out there doing what most people say they can’t

2 comments September 7th, 2008

Learning in the ‘hallways’ of Twitter

Dare I admit this in my blog? I think I am addicted to Twitter!

A day doesn’t go by without checking my Twitter updates. I haven’t quite put my finger on why it is so addictive. What possesses me to log on each morning to see what are people are doing, reading, saying or thinking? And why do I feel compelled to answer in 140 characters or less the question – What are you doing? Do people really care?

Today I am a panelists on KnowledgeBank for a follow up session of Steve Hargadon keynote – Web2.0 is the Future of Education. It is reading his paper on 10 Trends he believes have importance for education, that I started to make some connections with why I like Twitter.

Trend 1 – New Publishing Revolution – I can create content through micro-blogging and make links to other content.

Trend 2 – A Tidal Wave of Information – There is so much to learn from the Twitter community. You can always find new tools, find out about a project or some interesting research. You can even call on the Twittersphere for advice – see Jess McCulloch’s post.

Trend 3 – Everything is Becoming Participative – Twitter allows for opinions, reflections and comments. Dialogue can be generated out of a link to a news story or a video.

Trend 4 – The New Pro-Sumers - I can consume, produce and digest.

Trend 5 – The Age of the Collaborator – I can find new ideas and great experiences shared via Twitter. I can work on shared understandings and collaborate to create new knowledge – all through a tweet.

Trend 6 – An Explosion of Innovation – Many new ideas, projects have come about from communicating globally with other like minded, or not so like-minded people.

Trend 7 – The World Gets even Flatter and Faster – Twitter is anytime, anywhere! I can connect globally 24/7. Twitter does not close for the day.

Trend 8 – Social Learning Moves Towards Centre Stage – Much of my learning about Web2.0 most definitely has come through social online interaction. Twitter has been my ‘hallway’ for learning. It is that quick chat, the touch base with a colleague, the overhearing of the a little gem that for me, is the most addictive thing about Twitter.

Trend 9 – The Long Tail – The more I learn about Web2.0 on Twitter the more I want to learn. I have a passion to learn and am active in my pursuit.

Trend 10 – Social Networking Really Opens Up the Party – and wow what a party it’s been so far.

So what do others think?

6 comments July 22nd, 2008

ICT – Integrated or Integral?

Do we integrate technology or make it integral to learning?

When I first returned to teaching after having my family leave of 8 years, I was blown away with the technology that surrounded me.  I was working at a Navigator School and the use of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) was expected, applauded and supported.  That was great for me because I loved using technology and wasn’t afraid to ask hundreds of questions.

At that time (year 2000) I made many attempts to integrate ICT into my lessons.  I would get kids to publish their work in Word or PowerPoint, use Excel to create graphs for Maths and create pictures and slideshows in KidPix.

However, was I integrating ICT or making it integral to learning?

Over the years I planned for more uses of ICT for learning, such as using Kidspiration for brainstorming ideas, Comic Life for recounts of excursions or camps, claymation and movie making for story telling, information projects and making short ads, and so on.  I was thinking about reaching outcomes, as well as taking into account the students’ learning styles, their backgrounds and linking all this to the thinking curriculum.

Over time the students became more proficient users of a range of technology tools and I became less focused on thinking of ways to use it.  We were finding that the tools were just there – laptops, cameras, video cameras, iPods, microphones, a range of software such as Comic Life, iStopMotion, iMovie, GarageBand, EdCube and so on.  The Internet was always available to us.

We began to naturally use the technology just as we would a pen and paper.  It started to become integral to our learning. If we began a new inquiry topic the technology was used.  As we got into our inquiry we used it some more. When we sorted and shared our new understanding and skills the technology was there again.  Not to mention reflecting in our digital portfolios and using iPods and iSight cameras on the go.

No longer did we have to ‘think’ of ways to integrate ICT.  ICT was just a part of the classroom, part of the norm and part of the pedagogy.

However, with Web2.0 I feel I’m back on the merry-go-round.  I am consciously thinking about ways to use the new tools.  I am reading, exploring, thinking, devising and trying wikis, blogs, avatars, RSS feeds, book marking and a plethora of free apps.

This is an exciting time for me and hopefully for the teachers and students I will be supporting in their journey, where ever they may be on that merry-go-round.

If you get a chance, read – “Engaging with the transforming possibilities of ICT: a discussion paper by Sarah Prestridge, Griffith University. Published in Australian Educational Computing Vol. 22, No 2.

What are your thoughts?  Integrated or Integral?  Or does it just mean the same thing?

2 comments January 21st, 2008

RSS feeds – What are they, how are they used?

Today I listened to a broadcast of EdTechTalk with a topic on RSS. Still feeling very new to many Web2.0 technologies I have spent a lot of time these holidays becoming more aware of the vast range available these days.

I had heard about RSS feeds mid year in 2007 but really didn’t get it at that time – at all! It was only addressed briefly as part of a blogs and wikis workshop and there was so much going around my head that I was unable to comprehend one more thing.

However, since then I have taken the time to explore and press those orange buttons to see what they do. I started subscribing to feeds mainly as widgets on my iGoogle home page. Then I pushed my boundaries and explored iGoogle Reader and viewed the explanation video. I learnt that RSS was a format for delivering regularly changing web content. Still I was not too sure what this all meant in the big picture of learning and teaching.

Today when I listened to EdTechTalk things started to fall into place. I heard how teachers use RSS feeds in their classrooms. Some of these were –

For Students -
To follow other classroom pages
To follow their interests
To follow teacher pages
As reading material to respond and comment on
To support collaborative projects with students subscribing to each other’s pages, such as in pageflakes

For Teachers -
For professional reading
To find appropriate classroom resources and content

For Parents -
To follow student and classroom pages

Now to explore and learn further. Thank goodness for holidays!

(Thanks to the team at EdTechTalk for the heads up on RSS)

Add comment January 16th, 2008