Comments on: A "Missionary Summer": Call to Edtech Specialists http://beyond-school.org/2007/05/28/a-missionary-summer-call-to-edtech-specialists/ More education. Less schooliness. Tue, 06 Jan 2009 06:57:57 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.7 hourly 1 By: Miller http://beyond-school.org/2007/05/28/a-missionary-summer-call-to-edtech-specialists/comment-page-1/#comment-234 Miller Wed, 06 Jun 2007 02:52:00 +0000 http://beyond-school.org/?p=218#comment-234 Clay: I like the idea of a shorter text earlier for the reasons you mentioned. I'd like to get the kids set up with blogs early and this might be a good start...<br/><br/>The laptops will be a daily fixture in class via a laptop cart etc. The purpose of the grant is to pilot MyAccess online writing evaluation software, the hardware etc was thrown in to make that happen. <br/><br/>This summer, I plan to sketch out a rough outline of my year with another teacher who shares a room with me, so I hope to have a clearer idea of what I'll be doing and when. I'll keep you posted. Clay: I like the idea of a shorter text earlier for the reasons you mentioned. I’d like to get the kids set up with blogs early and this might be a good start…

The laptops will be a daily fixture in class via a laptop cart etc. The purpose of the grant is to pilot MyAccess online writing evaluation software, the hardware etc was thrown in to make that happen.

This summer, I plan to sketch out a rough outline of my year with another teacher who shares a room with me, so I hope to have a clearer idea of what I’ll be doing and when. I’ll keep you posted.

]]> By: Clay Burell http://beyond-school.org/2007/05/28/a-missionary-summer-call-to-edtech-specialists/comment-page-1/#comment-232 Clay Burell Tue, 05 Jun 2007 05:05:00 +0000 http://beyond-school.org/?p=218#comment-232 Bing, Cheryl, Cindy, Patrick, Christina:<br/><br/>Bing, you say:<br/><br/>"My next big goal is to collaborate on a flat-world project, ideally based on a text we read in class."<br/><br/>I also look forward to shared reading collaborations. I'm sure you've scratched your head over how to beat the odds that different teachers would be teaching the same novels or plays at the same time. <br/><br/>So what do you think of trying (a) short story and/or poetry text(s) for a first run-through? Another benefit of that is its shortness of duration. We learned some lessons about overly-long projects this year. I think starting short at the beginning of the year (or at least early), and expanding into longer projects once everybody, teachers and students, have their feet, is probably prudent.<br/><br/>Thoughts? AND....will those laptops be a daily fixture in your grade 10 classroom?<br/><br/>---<br/><br/>Lynn:<br/><br/>If we coordinate calendars and keep our scope small, we might have some interesting "vertical collaboration"--18-year-olds interacting with 11-year-olds--in some way. I'd love to explore the possibilities.<br/><br/>---<br/><br/>Christina, you know I know you and trust that you'll make things work with whatever resources you have. So we'll definitely talk~<br/><br/>---<br/><br/>Cindy,<br/>LOVE your closing maxim :) I'm a firm believer in making the first 1000 mistakes in order to have them out of the way. We all learned by doing this time out, and your situation in the southern hemisphere actually increased the learning value of the project immensely. Now we know. So we can plan within the constraints of the calendar, and as you so rightly note, be sure that our collaborations are not "add-ons," but rather core activities. I'd love for us to hook up, especially since we're both 1:1 Mac schools. Some tasty possibilities there.<br/><br/>See my reply to Bing above, in this same comment. Bing, Cheryl, Cindy, Patrick, Christina:

Bing, you say:

“My next big goal is to collaborate on a flat-world project, ideally based on a text we read in class.”

I also look forward to shared reading collaborations. I’m sure you’ve scratched your head over how to beat the odds that different teachers would be teaching the same novels or plays at the same time.

So what do you think of trying (a) short story and/or poetry text(s) for a first run-through? Another benefit of that is its shortness of duration. We learned some lessons about overly-long projects this year. I think starting short at the beginning of the year (or at least early), and expanding into longer projects once everybody, teachers and students, have their feet, is probably prudent.

Thoughts? AND….will those laptops be a daily fixture in your grade 10 classroom?

—

Lynn:

If we coordinate calendars and keep our scope small, we might have some interesting “vertical collaboration”–18-year-olds interacting with 11-year-olds–in some way. I’d love to explore the possibilities.

—

Christina, you know I know you and trust that you’ll make things work with whatever resources you have. So we’ll definitely talk~

—

Cindy,
LOVE your closing maxim :) I’m a firm believer in making the first 1000 mistakes in order to have them out of the way. We all learned by doing this time out, and your situation in the southern hemisphere actually increased the learning value of the project immensely. Now we know. So we can plan within the constraints of the calendar, and as you so rightly note, be sure that our collaborations are not “add-ons,” but rather core activities. I’d love for us to hook up, especially since we’re both 1:1 Mac schools. Some tasty possibilities there.

See my reply to Bing above, in this same comment.

]]> By: Cindy Barnsley http://beyond-school.org/2007/05/28/a-missionary-summer-call-to-edtech-specialists/comment-page-1/#comment-231 Cindy Barnsley Sun, 03 Jun 2007 04:46:00 +0000 http://beyond-school.org/?p=218#comment-231 Hi Clay, <br/>I agree that 1:1 "schools are prime candidates for "normalizing" flat classroom collaboration across the curriculum". Most schools who have taken the decision embrace a 1:1 environment do so because they value collaborative and constructivist approaches to learning and the development of post-industrial skills, such as multi-modal literacy, critical thinking and problem solving.<br/>Global interaction has the potential to engage students in a way that hasn't been possible before and to add an authenticity to ouctomes such as "students become global citizens". However, there are a number of issues that can undermine these kinds of projects and I'm wondering whether your focus on linking "core content" teachers might help overome them.<br/>As you have noted, the second Flat World High Schools project, hit some considerable bumps. These included three different sets of holidays, which meant that there was a six to eight-week lapse, which fatally undermined the flow of the project. From my end, our three-week holiday was followed by an excursion week and an exam week, meaning that whole endeavour came to a halt. To borrow and extend your "we're building this mid-flight" metaphor the wings on our jet fell off and we crashed. Having said that, students in my class were still checking out the site, reading other people's stories and comments this week even though the project had stalled and there had been little activity for weeks. This demonstrated that in terms of engagement, students are very excited by the prospect of global collaboration and communication with students from other countries. I'm sure this is probably the case for most students, but as a school in regional Australia (five hours from a major city in any direction), we are aware that we are geographically isolated in a national and international sense and this is a reason why using laptops to facilitate genuinely international communication is potentially very powerful. <br/>The main problem stemmed to a lack of planning and also the difference in the school year in the southern and northern hemisphere- in Australia we run from February to December, so by the time we were ready to resume in early May, the end of the school year was closing in on schools in the nothern hemisphere. <br/>Another key problem was that this was essentially an "extension" project that was in addition to syllabus ("core") content my class was covering. One of the main impediments to initiating these projects succcessfully is that teachers, and students, are "time-poor" and that's why working with teachers who are teaching in the same area may be a way to address this issue. For example, imagine if students studying World War One or the French Revolution could interact and discuss these topics. Or students reading "To Kill A Mockinbird" or "Hamlet" were able to analyse and explore concepts together, and compare how their cultural contexts can lead to different interpretations and critical readings. There are many teachers who can see the value in these projects but I think they are unsure about how to proceed. Modelling successful projects and sharing tips and guidelines on planning and implementation are practical ways to make these types of projects more mainstream. <br/>I'm also going to embrace the maxim that "if it's worth doing, it's worth doing badly" until we can use our shared experiences to address the inevitable hiccups that arise from trying new things.<br/>Cindy Hi Clay,
I agree that 1:1 “schools are prime candidates for “normalizing” flat classroom collaboration across the curriculum”. Most schools who have taken the decision embrace a 1:1 environment do so because they value collaborative and constructivist approaches to learning and the development of post-industrial skills, such as multi-modal literacy, critical thinking and problem solving.
Global interaction has the potential to engage students in a way that hasn’t been possible before and to add an authenticity to ouctomes such as “students become global citizens”. However, there are a number of issues that can undermine these kinds of projects and I’m wondering whether your focus on linking “core content” teachers might help overome them.
As you have noted, the second Flat World High Schools project, hit some considerable bumps. These included three different sets of holidays, which meant that there was a six to eight-week lapse, which fatally undermined the flow of the project. From my end, our three-week holiday was followed by an excursion week and an exam week, meaning that whole endeavour came to a halt. To borrow and extend your “we’re building this mid-flight” metaphor the wings on our jet fell off and we crashed. Having said that, students in my class were still checking out the site, reading other people’s stories and comments this week even though the project had stalled and there had been little activity for weeks. This demonstrated that in terms of engagement, students are very excited by the prospect of global collaboration and communication with students from other countries. I’m sure this is probably the case for most students, but as a school in regional Australia (five hours from a major city in any direction), we are aware that we are geographically isolated in a national and international sense and this is a reason why using laptops to facilitate genuinely international communication is potentially very powerful.
The main problem stemmed to a lack of planning and also the difference in the school year in the southern and northern hemisphere- in Australia we run from February to December, so by the time we were ready to resume in early May, the end of the school year was closing in on schools in the nothern hemisphere.
Another key problem was that this was essentially an “extension” project that was in addition to syllabus (”core”) content my class was covering. One of the main impediments to initiating these projects succcessfully is that teachers, and students, are “time-poor” and that’s why working with teachers who are teaching in the same area may be a way to address this issue. For example, imagine if students studying World War One or the French Revolution could interact and discuss these topics. Or students reading “To Kill A Mockinbird” or “Hamlet” were able to analyse and explore concepts together, and compare how their cultural contexts can lead to different interpretations and critical readings. There are many teachers who can see the value in these projects but I think they are unsure about how to proceed. Modelling successful projects and sharing tips and guidelines on planning and implementation are practical ways to make these types of projects more mainstream.
I’m also going to embrace the maxim that “if it’s worth doing, it’s worth doing badly” until we can use our shared experiences to address the inevitable hiccups that arise from trying new things.
Cindy

]]> By: Christina Botbyl http://beyond-school.org/2007/05/28/a-missionary-summer-call-to-edtech-specialists/comment-page-1/#comment-230 Christina Botbyl Sat, 02 Jun 2007 19:00:00 +0000 http://beyond-school.org/?p=218#comment-230 hey clay,<br/><br/>you know i'm in for just about anything tech-related! however, as i've mentioned to you in a previous email i'm not certain exactly what tech resources will be available at my new school in kuwait. based on my previous experience in kuwait i know that students will be well-equipped at home. i could potentially become the poster child/teacher for the minimalist approach to getting tech into the core curriculum! no laptop carts for sure...however, i have an agenda! ;) <br/><br/>getting teachers on board with technology is a challenge. it's those of us who like to 'tinker' with technology and teach ourselves who are on the front lines (in my experiences thus far) to serve as models and recruiters. i am still surprized that many teachers still see their computers as word processors with email. back in the mid-90s i was a bit of an anomaly when i (an elementary specialist teaching french) decided to (on my own) create a web page for my classes that then led to creating a web-page for the division i worked in (all self-taught wysisyg). at that point the tech dept seemed to be more about procuring machines and keeping them working than developing the concept of 'instructional technology' for the purpose of instructing! even tech teachers of the present are teaching stand-alone classes of how to create a power-point...am i ranting?<br/><br/>clay, you said, "But this time--and this is my main point here--I did need help from the edublogosphere." the edublogosphere is an obvious place to find tech-inclined/curious teachers to get involved--preaching to the choir, if you will. the bigger challenge is to bring the teachers into the fold who are not currently using technology. i believe that in order to get more teachers on board with technology and the amazing collaborative options it offers classrooms around the world, it's necessary to spread the word. i do think there is 'missionary' work to be done with our colleagues. there are those who are willing to dabble with the guidance of a trusted colleague. i also think that it's really important for teachers who use technology like you (clay, et. al.) do to get the word out by presenting these projects at local, national, and international teacher conventions. many teachers don't even know what's out there waiting for them, nor where to even begin!<br/><br/>i look forward to future readings and collaborations! this is so exciting for me because i know the students involved benefit beyond anyone's wildest dreams.<br/><br/>christina hey clay,

you know i’m in for just about anything tech-related! however, as i’ve mentioned to you in a previous email i’m not certain exactly what tech resources will be available at my new school in kuwait. based on my previous experience in kuwait i know that students will be well-equipped at home. i could potentially become the poster child/teacher for the minimalist approach to getting tech into the core curriculum! no laptop carts for sure…however, i have an agenda! ;)

getting teachers on board with technology is a challenge. it’s those of us who like to ‘tinker’ with technology and teach ourselves who are on the front lines (in my experiences thus far) to serve as models and recruiters. i am still surprized that many teachers still see their computers as word processors with email. back in the mid-90s i was a bit of an anomaly when i (an elementary specialist teaching french) decided to (on my own) create a web page for my classes that then led to creating a web-page for the division i worked in (all self-taught wysisyg). at that point the tech dept seemed to be more about procuring machines and keeping them working than developing the concept of ‘instructional technology’ for the purpose of instructing! even tech teachers of the present are teaching stand-alone classes of how to create a power-point…am i ranting?

clay, you said, “But this time–and this is my main point here–I did need help from the edublogosphere.” the edublogosphere is an obvious place to find tech-inclined/curious teachers to get involved–preaching to the choir, if you will. the bigger challenge is to bring the teachers into the fold who are not currently using technology. i believe that in order to get more teachers on board with technology and the amazing collaborative options it offers classrooms around the world, it’s necessary to spread the word. i do think there is ‘missionary’ work to be done with our colleagues. there are those who are willing to dabble with the guidance of a trusted colleague. i also think that it’s really important for teachers who use technology like you (clay, et. al.) do to get the word out by presenting these projects at local, national, and international teacher conventions. many teachers don’t even know what’s out there waiting for them, nor where to even begin!

i look forward to future readings and collaborations! this is so exciting for me because i know the students involved benefit beyond anyone’s wildest dreams.

christina

]]> By: Vicki A. Davis http://beyond-school.org/2007/05/28/a-missionary-summer-call-to-edtech-specialists/comment-page-1/#comment-229 Vicki A. Davis Sat, 02 Jun 2007 14:09:00 +0000 http://beyond-school.org/?p=218#comment-229 Hey, thanks for the change but I think perhaps it hit a raw nerve with me because it is precisely the term "ed tech specialists" and not teacher that people use to pigeonhole such projects. It is so important that we move such projects to the mainstream.<br/><br/>As long as technology is relegated to being treated as "non core" we will have issues -- I think it should be viewed as important as other subjects because it will be used to learn in all subjects. Hey, thanks for the change but I think perhaps it hit a raw nerve with me because it is precisely the term “ed tech specialists” and not teacher that people use to pigeonhole such projects. It is so important that we move such projects to the mainstream.

As long as technology is relegated to being treated as “non core” we will have issues — I think it should be viewed as important as other subjects because it will be used to learn in all subjects.

]]> By: Patrick Higgins http://beyond-school.org/2007/05/28/a-missionary-summer-call-to-edtech-specialists/comment-page-1/#comment-228 Patrick Higgins Sat, 02 Jun 2007 11:09:00 +0000 http://beyond-school.org/?p=218#comment-228 Clay,<br/><br/>To answer all of your questions:<br/><br/>If you could, throw the idea out to the 6-7 teachers and see if they might be interested in an authentic learning experience. You and I might brainstorm on this later. <br/><br/>Our AP LANGUAGE and Composition teacher is who I had in mind, but give me a day or two to seek out the lit teacher and I will get back to you on this one. What I have in mind is something of an international consortium of AP classes where they can share resources, but most importantly where the students can write critically and reflect on meaningful works of literature or prose. We did it within our AP class this year and it was extremely successful.<br/><br/>I think making the newteachergeekday wiki a starting point is a great idea. We can add resources to the first few sections and create whatever we need off of those pages. Feel free to add resources, as it is completely open now. <br/><br/>As for iShowU, I have not gotten too deep into the compression settings yet. What do you have? Clay,

To answer all of your questions:

If you could, throw the idea out to the 6-7 teachers and see if they might be interested in an authentic learning experience. You and I might brainstorm on this later.

Our AP LANGUAGE and Composition teacher is who I had in mind, but give me a day or two to seek out the lit teacher and I will get back to you on this one. What I have in mind is something of an international consortium of AP classes where they can share resources, but most importantly where the students can write critically and reflect on meaningful works of literature or prose. We did it within our AP class this year and it was extremely successful.

I think making the newteachergeekday wiki a starting point is a great idea. We can add resources to the first few sections and create whatever we need off of those pages. Feel free to add resources, as it is completely open now.

As for iShowU, I have not gotten too deep into the compression settings yet. What do you have?

]]> By: Lynne Crowe http://beyond-school.org/2007/05/28/a-missionary-summer-call-to-edtech-specialists/comment-page-1/#comment-227 Lynne Crowe Sat, 02 Jun 2007 07:33:00 +0000 http://beyond-school.org/?p=218#comment-227 Hi Clay<br/>I'm interested but I have 11 - 13 year olds (accelerate class) but we are not in the same school year cycle as you guys in the north. I do want to get my students involved in some sort of online collaborative project. Let me know if you think its possible for us to be involved. Hi Clay
I’m interested but I have 11 - 13 year olds (accelerate class) but we are not in the same school year cycle as you guys in the north. I do want to get my students involved in some sort of online collaborative project. Let me know if you think its possible for us to be involved.

]]> By: Miller http://beyond-school.org/2007/05/28/a-missionary-summer-call-to-edtech-specialists/comment-page-1/#comment-226 Miller Sat, 02 Jun 2007 02:02:00 +0000 http://beyond-school.org/?p=218#comment-226 Hi Clay, I would definately be interested in linking the students in my class with those from anywhere else. So count me in by all means. Next year, with the state grant I received, I will have access to a classroom set of laptops for my sophomore classes.<br/><br/>Like Patrick said, it may be difficult to drag a critical mass of teachers into this. However, what I've found in my school is that there are some who say they are willing... I've tried to forge ahead on my own, hoping that others will naturally follow. My next big goal is to collaborate on a flat-world project, ideally based on a text we read in class.<br/><br/>Keep me posted.<br/><br/>Bing<br/><br/>ps - The inclusion of comments on the student blogs by you and others has added an interesting learning opportunity wrinkle to the project. Unfortunately, being the end of the year, I do not feel I have taken full advantage of it. Just remember, the students are mostly new to this and still a bit unfamiliar with all the intricacies/protocol of commenting etc... Hi Clay, I would definately be interested in linking the students in my class with those from anywhere else. So count me in by all means. Next year, with the state grant I received, I will have access to a classroom set of laptops for my sophomore classes.

Like Patrick said, it may be difficult to drag a critical mass of teachers into this. However, what I’ve found in my school is that there are some who say they are willing… I’ve tried to forge ahead on my own, hoping that others will naturally follow. My next big goal is to collaborate on a flat-world project, ideally based on a text we read in class.

Keep me posted.

Bing

ps - The inclusion of comments on the student blogs by you and others has added an interesting learning opportunity wrinkle to the project. Unfortunately, being the end of the year, I do not feel I have taken full advantage of it. Just remember, the students are mostly new to this and still a bit unfamiliar with all the intricacies/protocol of commenting etc…

]]> By: Clay Burell http://beyond-school.org/2007/05/28/a-missionary-summer-call-to-edtech-specialists/comment-page-1/#comment-225 Clay Burell Sat, 02 Jun 2007 00:43:00 +0000 http://beyond-school.org/?p=218#comment-225 Patrick,<br/><br/>By all means, hook me up with your AP Lit teacher if possible. I'd love to play with ideas.<br/><br/>Sorry I didn't answer that clearly earlier. School's not out over here yet, but my mental candle almost is. :)<br/><br/>Clay Patrick,

By all means, hook me up with your AP Lit teacher if possible. I’d love to play with ideas.

Sorry I didn’t answer that clearly earlier. School’s not out over here yet, but my mental candle almost is. :)

Clay

]]> By: Clay Burell http://beyond-school.org/2007/05/28/a-missionary-summer-call-to-edtech-specialists/comment-page-1/#comment-224 Clay Burell Sat, 02 Jun 2007 00:21:00 +0000 http://beyond-school.org/?p=218#comment-224 Hi Jeff,<br/><br/>"How do you get teachers to do it?"<br/><br/>I say by doing as much as is humanly possible to lay the groundwork and basically team-teach with them until they get the hang of it.<br/><br/>SAS is going 1:1 next year, isn't it? It's official as of next week that we are too. That fact--plus the fact that you and I are separated by only one hour, as opposed to the 12 and 17-hour lag in the 1001 Tales--makes me think we could hook some Shanghai-Seoul connections up next year.<br/><br/>(And what do you mean, "How do you get teachers to jump in?" You got me to a couple years back, didn't you? And that Welker guy in economics is doing some fantastic wiki work. So they are jumping. It's a question now of getting them to swim together.)<br/><br/>C. Hi Jeff,

“How do you get teachers to do it?”

I say by doing as much as is humanly possible to lay the groundwork and basically team-teach with them until they get the hang of it.

SAS is going 1:1 next year, isn’t it? It’s official as of next week that we are too. That fact–plus the fact that you and I are separated by only one hour, as opposed to the 12 and 17-hour lag in the 1001 Tales–makes me think we could hook some Shanghai-Seoul connections up next year.

(And what do you mean, “How do you get teachers to jump in?” You got me to a couple years back, didn’t you? And that Welker guy in economics is doing some fantastic wiki work. So they are jumping. It’s a question now of getting them to swim together.)

C.

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