Of Mice and Middle Years…

My new position has been to say the least, quite challenging. The high school has been quite a change for me since my many years with elementary students (move from a half hour lesson to a full hour, for example). My Information Processing 9 course has been a great part of that challenge.

Since my involvement in Alec Couros’ EC&I 831 course, I decided to move away from a more traditional lecture/ optional CMS course delivery system with the traditional view of “type, type” to one that includes issues and topics in today’s digital world. I do not have a blackboard/whiteboard. I have a projector in the lab with my laptop/ Sunray. I have set up a course wiki and I have just set up a school blog passcode with Blogmeister. I have learned not to trust streaming with video..download and play the video in flash…

As we move through topics, I ask the students to explain to me what they have just learned, then I type the content in the wiki..hopefully soon each one can come up and edit it themselves. Most of the time they phrase the lesson objectives better than I can! Sure the typing/document formatting/spreadsheet work will still be there, but it will certainly be a different experience in Google Docs (I hope). I am also looking forward to blogging on issues such as Digital Citizenship and Media Awareness and working with Web 2.0 tools (like Mind42)

It’s not perfect, but it’s my first run at it. Please check it out… Comments are certainly welcome.

Another gem gleaned from Stephen Downes OLDaily.

It just makes sense.

One of the most valuable concepts I take from this course is the social “backchannelling” discussions I have had with my classmates in this EC&I 831 course. After Chris Lehmann posted his course information that allowed those with student numbers to access grades from classes, we had some interesting and thought provoking discussions on communication with parents/students/teachers. In the end, I really believe we as educators have a responsibility to keep in touch with parents no matter what the size of class/classes we teach. I remember as an intern at Mount Royal High School in Saskatoon spending my prep and after school calling parents in regards to attendance!
Chris’ example is one answer, especially for those teachers with large and multiple classes to connect to parents, and what better way to move teachers toward moving to new technologies than to begin with this challenge. Improved parent communication/ accountability are resounding issues in our school systems. I believe one lends itself to another.
I also value the new ideas each presenter contributes to my learning journey. I finished reading Chris’ reference to the article entitled Neil Postman: Five Things We Need to Know About Technological Change
Please read! I provided a brief summary below (most of it directly) from the text. I hope it is enough of a teaser to arouse your interest!
Five Things We Need to Know About Technological Change
Idea Number One, …culture always pays a price for technology.
Idea Number Two: …technology favors some people and harms others, these are questions that must always be asked. And so, that there are always winners and losers in technological change.
Idea Number Three: …every technology has a philosophy which is given expression in how the technology makes people use their minds, in what it makes us do with our bodies, in how it codifies the world, in which of our senses it amplifies, in which of our emotional and intellectual tendencies it disregards. This idea is the sum and substance of what the great Catholic prophet, Marshall McLuhan meant when he coined the famous sentence, “The medium is the message.”
Idea Number Four: Technological change is not additive; it is ecological….A new medium does not add something; it changes everything. (think of the first printing press and the ramifications on European society)
Idea Number Five: …technology tends to become mythic; that is, perceived as part of the natural order of things, and therefore tends to control more of our lives than is good for us.
His concluding statement: We need to proceed with our eyes wide open so that we many use technology rather than be used by it.

By the way Rob, many people have influenced much of my thinking in educational technology. Richard Schwier, Seymour Papert and the many professors, colleagues and friends I have met over the years. Indeed, I hope that thinking never remains static.

Dedicated to those that believe technology is for the young….
I bet they are twittering Alec.

Click to see the full size version.

Boy is this true….

Paradigm

Amusing image from Flickr.

Its the hardest thing, in my opinion, educators have to deal with when they develop relationships. My students are my children. They know that. I remember each and every face. The names blur. Homeroom teacher for most of my career. Blessing and a curse.
One of my former students committed suicide. He was one of the “challenging” students according to many of his teachers. I never laughed so hard that year when he and his classmates were in my homeroom. I taught all of his brothers and sisters. Many memories.

He was on Facebook. Just discovered 366 people wrote about this young man to date. Stories and memories. Pages and pages.
We grieve in many ways. I am not going to ramble on about the implications for Facebook and other social network tools in this case. Not now.
I guess I will post.

My community school has 200 plus students with a a few classes that have grade alike groupings. Our division utilizes Sun system thin clients with no sound. This limits a lot of projects that I am interested in as a educator who has taken a number of classes in video production and value such as an effective learning tool to engage students! I also teach a multigrade behavioural class which presents it’s own challenges; not behaviourally mind you ( I have a certain way with kids but in the fact they are often integrating into other classes at various and random times during the day…
So I have decided to look to a project directed more towards our staff. I enjoyed Alec’s presentation Wednesday night on a number of internet apps. So here is my plan.
1.) Select a small number of teachers, possibly grade alike, that have a common challenge or need that maybe addressed within a digital/ social learning context (yes, this is huge, but hey, I am rambling)
2.) Get my head around some tools (sound excluded tools) that teachers would be interested in using in relation to that challenge and develop objectives to meet the challenge or need.
3.) Play with the tool(s) and find time to collaborate to show these tools. (I think I can pull this off..or after school if I bribe the staff with donuts..)
4.) If we can find some digital tools to meet objectives, possibly develop screencasts to use the tools so I don’t have to repeat training.
5.) Yes, there is no sound! But, if they have computers at home to help them use audio for the screencasts…
6. Develop a blog/ wiki/ webpage to showcase the project.
To much, not enough?
O.K my fellow group of scholars (within or outside the class)….comments PLEASE!

Another interesting video….want to glimpse into the future of educational and other related technologies?
Well, at least one person’s opinion. A wonderful vision.