Yesterday, while working at home, a realization crystallized for me. For 80% of what I do, I am working within two applications, my web browser and a twitter client. Nothing more, nothing less. This has occurred more significantly since we migrated to Google Apps for Education.
Occasionally, I will also use other applications. I do use a podcast client, Juice, connected to my iTunes library to fill my iPod with content. I do use Adobe PhotoShop once in awhile for photo manipulation. I use Audacity for audio editing. And yes, I am not able to break my Microsoft Office habit to do fine tuning of material I create in Google Apps. I still think that the formatting in Microsoft Office is far superior. But I am an advanced Office User, I have created several documents with multiple sections, glossaries, and other higher tools and have done significant data manipulation in Excel. But I am opening these applications less and less.
As I am due for a new system next fall, it begs the question, what type of system do I really need? Obviously, one with Internet connection and enough data storage for my audio, video, and pictures, but beyond that, I really don’t need much more. I am thinking that a netbook, or similar product, would enable me to do 90% of what I want to do. All I really need is a web browser to access email, Google Apps, iTunes, a podcatcher, an RSS reader, and access to web streaming to watch videos or an occasional television show. That’s all.
What about the other 10%? This could easily be solved by shared access to specialized systems to do the higher level work using more specialized software. That’s all.
It makes me wonder, if these Apple iSlate rumors are true, then I may be able to migrate to this device for 90% of my work. Hmm…
Addedum – after writing this, I “stumbled upon” the Kindle App for PC. The iPhone/iTouch versions of the software are already available. the Macintosh version is promised. Hmm… More thought for thinking, further cementing my ideas.
I have not been as active posting reflections to this site as I would have liked this past fall. In reviewing my RSS reader, I find that I am not alone with this problem. It seems that Twitter, Nings, other social networks, or other aspects of life which have sucked up available time or energy for everyone. As we close out 2009, I want to get back into the habit of reflecting on what I am doing and why this may make a difference in the lives of students and teachers.
Over the past three months, I have begun ten blog posts, which I deemed as not ready for sharing. These reflections are still important. Since we have the luxury of time via Winter Break, at least for the remainder of the week, I will be revisiting these posts, finishing them, and sharing the best of them.
I also plan on taking more time for me as part of my New Year’s resolutions, which includes exercise and reflection.
I hope that you had a wonderful holiday season and I look forward to sharing with those of you who might still stumble upon this site.
On Wednesday, October 28th, the principal of our high school and I planned an experience for our weekly faculty meeting. We wanted to simulate the conditions that we may experience if faced with an emergency closure, either for H1N1, fire, tornado, or other reason to do so.
At noon, the following email message was sent to our high school faculty:
Upper School Colleagues,
Our meeting today will begin at 3:30 as planned but we will not convene as a group in the conference room until 4:10. Please look for an email message at 2:30 that explains what we will be doing at 3:30 to begin our meeting.
Please notify your colleagues about this, in case they do not have time to access their email before the meeting
Then at 2:30, high school faculty members recieved the following email:
Upper School Colleagues,
In order to experience some of the possible solutions that we need to employ if we begin to experience larger numbers of both student and faculty absences due to H1N1, we feel that it is important that we conduct a small drill to begin to test our readiness.
For this experience, we are asking that you simulate the conditions that would exist if you were to have the flu by staying in your classroom. If you have questions during this simulation, please use your phone to call contact the help desk or a fellow colleague to get assistance.
During this simulation, you will be experiencing synchronous tools, which can be used by many at the same time (Chat Room and Google Docs) and asynchronous tools, which can be used by individuals regardless of the time (Flip Video recording to YouTube, Google Docs). Another asynchronous tool that you may already be using on Moodle is the forum feature.
During the meeting today, please note any problems that you may experience while participating. It is important for us to identify areas which need further attention. Examples might include time lag in trying to watch the video or trouble accessing the chat room. We also want to know whether there any hardware or software issues that prevent you from accessing the various elements of the simulation.
We will also want to determine areas where you may need to get further help with the various tools, either through individual or small group training which we will be scheduled in the future.
We will begin our meeting today utilizing a Moodle course which can be found under the Staff Development section entitled H1N1 Prep.
Between 3:20 and 3:30, please go to H1N1 Prep course. In the course, you will see the resources for the meeting. Here you will find an opening video and two resources titled, Faculty Feedback on Teaching and Scheduleand Upper School Weekly Timetable Model 6 x6.
For this part of the meeting please:
Watch the video introduction
Read the Faculty Feedback on Teaching and Schedule
Join the chat room Feedback – Teaching and Scheduling Priorities to share your thoughts and react to the comments of others.
Review the US Weekly Timetable Model 6 x 6 (Sample Schedule)
Respond to the writing prompt on the Google Doc, Feedback on US 6 x 6 Model
We will reconvine at 4:15 for a 15 minute debrief on the experience of utilizing Moodle, working in the chat room, and working on the Google Doc.
We look forward to connecting with you shortly.
As expected, it was an interesting experience. What I share next is my reflections on the experience this morning with our high school faculty:
I first want to thank your willingness to try something different during yesterdays faculty meeting. I also want to apologize for the length of this email. I feel that it is important to share my reflections and reactions to the experience we shared yesterday.
I do feel that the experience was successful for many reasons, including:
Exposure to the Flip Cameras. The opening comments were recorded using one of the Flip Cameras and tripods that we now have available for checkout in the library. If you are unfamiliar with these cameras, these cameras are low cost, small (the size of a deck of cards) cameras which will shoot up to 120 minutes of video using AA batteries. While not capable of high quality video, for many of our student projects they are sufficient enough to record and upload to YouTube, TeacherTube, Moodle, or VoiceThread. (Please see Sharon Minnoch if you want more information)
The introduction of the Chat activity of Moodle. This module allows for a group of students to have a synchronous (at the same time) conversation. Some of our teachershave used this module with some success in their Bio-Psych course in the past. This is in addition to the Chat capabilities available in our Google Applications for Education. The Google chat, however, is capable of maintaining a 1 to 1 conversation.
Your ability to access Moodle and Google Applications. It is helpful to know that you can access and utilize these tools, since they may be a large part of a strategy that you use to deal with long term absence and closure, but also as a strategy to supplement your face to face teaching environment.
We also learned that there are several areas that need further reflection and development. These include:
The changes in how voices are perceived in an online environment. Many of you found the chat environment disorienting. This is because it different than the classroom discussion model that many of you are employing during your synchronous, face to face classes. In a chat room, the power of thought is democratized. The side comment, which may be directed at one individual and shared in hushed tones in a live conversation, seems to have the same weight as the one which is on point. The rules of order that exist in a classroom environment, the fact that I wait my turn to speak until the current person is done, that I raise my hand, that I can nod and use physical gestures, like nodding in agreement or disagreement disappear when working in an environment where we cannot see each other. Rules for behavior in this environment have to be established and cultivated. Having both taught and participated in many online experiences, these behaviors canemerge over time and experience, the same way that they can in the classroom
People need direction to understand what do, since it is more difficult to ask clarifying questions. At the beginning, there seemed to be confusion about what was supposed to be included in the Google Doc, It would be better and helpful to have included directions and prompt questions included to help guide participants, so that they know what the expectations are for their participation.
In an online environment, there is going to be competition for attention. Yesterday, the competition was the desire to nosh on the great set of refreshments. In the case of an absence or closure, you or students may either be ill, be distracted by others who happen to be in the house or apartment, a great Oprah episode that on the television, or the desire to listen to music. It is important to design experiences so that they are short, simple, and meaningful and are constructed so that they can be listened to, watched, or read, and then give the student the chance to reflect and compose their reply. It is often best to allow one to post their reflections, and then have time for others to reply, and then allow the participant to come back at a later point in time. This is why forum discussions and blog posts may be better tools for this, as they are tools to allow individuals to read, reflect, and then comment, giving time for each to occur, rather than force discussion over a short period of time.
I know that for me personally, that I was getting antsy at the end of the experience. I needed to get up and move, but with the compressed time and interactive aspects of yesterday’s experience, it would have been difficult to do so. We all agree that it is difficult to sit and stare at a screen for a 40 minute period. How many of you did so? In the case of an absence or emergency closing, it will be difficult to expect a student or faculty member to be chained to their screen for a seven hour stretch. Even with more demands that expect us to sit in front of our screens (reading email, entering in grades electronically, etc.) we often get up, stretch, walk to the lounge to get coffee, go and sit and chat during lunch. These are all normal and important activities. One needs to design instruction factoring this need and desire to get up and move for a long term closure.
Old fashioned text and audio are good methods of communicating. When discussing possibilities, everyone seems to gravitate to experiences which are interactive, flashy, and video. While these are all good mediums, the oldest ones, use of audio, text, pictures, and drawings, are still powerful and oftentimes easier and better ways to communicate messages quickly. In the case of a closure, we may not have the time to develop material like Dave and I did. We may have to ramp up quicker without having the time to develop the materials that we would like to. In our discussion, we cannot forget the importance of text and audio.
From this experience, I hope that you are now better aware of the challenges that may face us in the case of an emergency closure. I hope that you will continue to think and ask yourself that if faced with an emergency closure or an extended absence by yourself or your students, how will learning continue to happen?
Explorer Hall of FameThis year, our ninth and tenth grade history teachers are revamping and reshuffling their curricula. Because they are changing the content and the way that they are delivering the material, they are also rethinking each of the units that they are teaching.
Later in the year, the sophomores will be working on a term paper. Tim Curren (tcurren@nscds.org), our World History II teacher, wanted to create an assignment that would re-introduce students and provide students an opportunity to practice the the skills that they will need to complete for the term paper, researching, note taking using NoodleBib, and using a variety of resources, both print and electronic. Hence the genesis of this project.
In this project, Tim asked students working in groups of two, to research the voyage of one of the world’s explorers. Students were assigned either Dias, da Gama, Columbus, Magellan, Drake, Hudson, or Cartier. They were given a week to collect their data, mostly outside of class for homework.
Instead of a traditional paper, Tim and I worked with the students to create a Google Earth Tour. Using Jerome Berg’s model of creating a Google Lit Trip, students had to locate the locations of their facts and create annotated place markers for their assigned journey. The student teams then had to create the path of the journey taken by the explorer. Lastly, the students were asked to create an audio tour for each explorer. This project taught students how to organize their data and create an organized collection of points.
Attached to this post is the Explorer Hall of Fame, the research projects which were the best of the best. They are student projects and we have incorporated them as is. There may be a few spelling and grammatical errors that we left in order to acknowledge that this is student work.
Once you load the file into Google Earth, you will be able to turn on (check) or turn off (uncheck) one of the trips. Upon openingExplorer Hall of Fame the explorer’s folder, you can access each of the research points or double click on the tour to take the tour that the students created.
The most difficult part of the project was in saving. If you did not click on on the outer folder, you only saved the item which was highlighted.
As a technology mentor, we exert a tremendous amount of energy not only helping faculty and students learn the skills necessary to complete the current projects, but we also devote time to seeding faculty with new ideas and approaches that we know will help them accomplish their educational goals. More recently, these approaches and ideas include the incorporation of of a variety of Web 2.0 tools including wikis, blogs, podcasts which enable faculty and students the opportunities to share with a larger audience.
Earlier in the year, I helped one of our French teachers, Beatrice McKenna (bmckenna@nscds.org), and her students
Trumpet, by Sara Bjork
set up a class blogs. I cannot claim much credit for her willingness to adopt this solution, other than a willingness at our school to experiment and implement new web based tools. Last year, she began to play with Gabcast with students phoning as a way to get more student oral work accomplished throughout the year.
Late last week, I received and email from Beatrice. Here is an excerpt from the email:
You asked about the blogs the other day, and after parent-teacher conferences I thought I should get back to you in more detail – the reason being that many parents mentioned how much their children enjoy their French blogs! Since it’s my first time doing it I didn’t really know how it was going to turn out, but after being up and running with it for 4 weeks now, it really has proven to be a positive experience. So I don’t mean to blow my own trumpet because the students are the ones doing the work, but here are a few things you could mention if you ever want to use them as an example of how we integrate technology in the classroom:
In French 2 we started using the blogs as a way to replace the traditionally notebook based journal entries. Students post a blog entry every week.
The blogs provide an extension of our French immersion environment. Students are not allowed to post in English. Initially, I allow the interface to be in English for setting up purposes (blogging is new to them and the setting up takes a little bit of trial and error which would be too lengthy in English only). Next week, we are switching the interface to French for a completely French environment. The idea is that their French skills are naturally expanded every time they use their blog as they navigate a totally French virtual environment.
The blogs provide an interactive environment. Each student’s blog is linked with all of his/her other classmates’ blogs (and mine), and students can either post on their blogs or they can read and respond to their classmates’ posts, depending on the assignment. So the blogs offer a great opportunity for collaboration and peer review on our writing work which wasn’t there before with the traditional journals. The fact that everyone else in the class can look at the blogs is also an incentive for students to post quality work.
The blogs are easily used as an extension of class activities. Students can use them to upload any work they want to share (projects etc …) without having to save their work on an external drive, so all their work is easily stored and accessible from their blog. We can post links to YouTube for songs, set up feeds with French sites for news and educational/cultural material etc …
The blogs provide an environment that the students are right at home within – it fits their own world where many things happen electronically and they respond to it with great enthusiasm. Actually, they are the ones driving it and they are proud of their own French space as well as eager to share it. Many take it to the next level, uploading extra information they want to share with pictures or animes etc … A couple of parents told me that they do not allow their child to have a Facebook account, so their blog is their outlet into the world of virtual communication … only in French!
