Been working a lot with teachers and wikis lately. The more I work with them, the more I see them as the most powerfukl read/write web tool available. We have been using wikispaces for the simple reason that it was the first one that I came across through the link from edublogs.org and that they are giving away 100,000 ad-free spaces for K12 education (if only Blogger would follow that lead!).

The power of wikis lies in their simplicity and collaborative nature. They are easy to set up and versatile in terms of rights / security.

A couple of examples…First of all, a Grade 9 Math teacher is using a Math wiki to share lessons / resources / assignments with his students and parents. Now, to start his Math class he covers a few basics and then students begin to works in assigned groups, following his lessons and assignments as they learn together. He likes the results and is finding new ways to use this tool everyday.

One of the real benefits of wikispaces is that they permit users to upload files of all types, not just pictures. If you check our Mr vR’s page, you will see that his PPT lessons are uploaded, linked on a separate page. This allows students to download / view lessons at any time. If they don’t have PPT, they can always download the PPT viewer program for free.

The second wiki I can’t show you – cause it’s locked up. One of the benefits of wikispaces is that they can have varying levels of security / access – a wonderful attribute for a student-based site. This site includes student pictures and videos, and is only accessible to members of the space – namely the teachers and students involved.

While I can’t show you the site I can, however, let you in on what is happening there. The space involves a Grade 7 class from Nasis Middle and Grade 7 and 8 students at St. Martin’s Episcopal School in Metairie, LA. They are all studying French as a second language. First of all, students are working right now on collaborative writing spaces as they introduce themselves to each other (en francais of course).

When we get back, the REAL fun begins. Each class will appoint an “ambassador” in the form of a stuffed animal. They will send that ambassador to the other school, where it will be received and treated like any guest to a round of visiting and sight-seeing. This will all be documented in pics and vids by the students, who will then create narrated (en francais) audio/video podcasts (photostory/moviemaker) which will be posted for sharing with the other school.

The real powerful, and largely unknown, benefit to wikispaces is the ability to upload and link not just photos, but all types of files, including audio and videos. This allows the wiki to be used as a free and easy platform for podcasts! The only limit seems to be a file size for individual files of 10 Mb – a full five minute wmv video! This, combined with the ability to restrict access to a variety of levels and it’s ad free feature for teachers, makes wikispaces truly awesome!

As a final example…check out the Flat Classroom Project wiki, a project between Vicki Davis‘ class in Georgia and a class in Bangladesh. While the complexity is probably beyond the comfort level of most teachers at this point, it does give us a glimpse of what wikis and other FREE web-based projects might look like in the future.

ps…One quick note…if you head off to wikispaces, don’t sign up eagerly. Look waaaaaaay down in the right hand corner for the ad-free K12 educators sign up link…:)

 Technorati tags: education, future, wikis, vicki davis

Received this document – Future Ready Students for the 21st Century – from a colleague a couple of days ago, and then saw David Warlick’s blog response.  Seems the State Board of Education in North Carolina has decided that maybe preparing our students for the future as we rush headlong into a the 21st century can’t necessarily be measured in standardized test scores.

I was particularily encouraged by the section that explicitly emphasizes the importanec of access to technology for students.

• Every student uses technology to access and demonstrate new knowledge and skills that will be needed as a life-long learner to be competitive in a constantly changing international environment.

The educational apostles are succeeding.  It’s not about the technology.  It’s about the information.  Information is the currency of the new century.  The new story of education must include giving students the skills to harvest, assess, evaluate, manipulate and communicate that information.

The vision is exciting – just the kind of conversation piece that we need to start the new story that needs to be told.  I am also, however, concerned that while the people in the trenches, and even in the support roles behind the lines, recognize the necessity of reflecting the new global environment in a new educational system, the generals in the war rooms haven’t received the message.

We have just had an election in our province.  A new government has emerged, and we have yet to receive any indication as to what role technology will play in their plans for education, especially where they place the growing 1:1 laptop project.  It’s one of many projects being reviewed, but the one that is dearest to my heart.

I have much respect for the new Minister of Education.  New Brunswick is a small jurisdiction, so small that I am lucky to know him personally.  I consider him a friend.  He is smart, thoughtful and respectful.  I am just not sure of his government believes that 1:1 is cost-effective.  The new government is cash strapped to keep election promises, and has even altered one already in the name of budget constraint and questions about whether or not it is good public policy.  Then there is the question of optics (1:1 was insitiated by a political rival) so I am afraid that the educational changes that had placed our province on the inside of the 21st century may be stalled or shelved.

Weekly trips to media labs just won’t cut it.  The ONLY way that we can accomplish these goals and teach these skills is to venture into the world inhabited by our youth.  We can’t complete with the ubiquitous access to information our children expect, we must provide it in our schools, and that can only happen in 1:1 environments.

Then again, maybe my concerns are ill-founded.  I hope so.  The fundamental shift from educator centered “teaching” to a “community of learners” brough about by 1:1 is powerful and the right direction.  I hope the new Minister of Education has a chance to read the North Carolina document and the recent cover article in Time.

There seems to be a bit of excitement with the “New Blogger” that has recently been introduced by Google.  We’ve been using Blogger sites for a couple of years to manage homework and student/subject blogs, and have mostly hosted these on our Department of Education server space via FTP. 

However, a couple of changes are causing us some concern.  First of all, our DOE is “encouraging” us to look for alternatives to FTP – mostly due to security concerns surrounding providing Blooger with a network login/password for server access.

We have used Blogger blogs hosted on blogspot, but the NavBar on the top of these blogs is concerning, especially the random “Next Blog” link.  We have been able to remove the NavBar with a small, and suprisingly easy to install, bit of HTML code, but we are unsure as to what Blogger is saying about this (the TOS is unclear…)

The other is the fact that DOE restricts access to external, web-based, anonymous email services.  This includes Yahoo, Hotmail and G-Mail.  Our teachers are not able to create Google accounts from school that will allow us to migrate homework and student blogs…we are still trying to assess the impact on our use of this service.

We have also used Classblogmeister for some student projects.  It is a nice alternative, but it’s weakness lies when it comes to providing space for uploading files and pictures. 

We are hoping that we might someday have a dedicated server for our schools province-wide for blogs, wikis and other w2.0 tools…but that may still be a ways away… 

Just read the CNN on-line summary of the upcoming TIME magazine cover story – How to Build a Student for the 21st Century.  It seems the outside world is starting to listen. 

The difficult part is to convince three groups that we can no longer have our students in rows and subjected to the confines of a text. 

The first group is administrators (and there are many who get it!) who set the vision for schools.  Their support is integral.  While it helps for them to have some basic technoliteracy,  they don’t necessarily have to KNOW about the fine parts. They must be able to grasp the potential for change, see the role of technology in facilitating that change, and chart the course…

Secondly comes the teachers.  Many still have their classes centered on their teaching, not the students learning.  They too have to have some basic tech competencies, but don’t have to be techheads.  What they do need to be is open…open to change, open to their own learning and, most importantly, open to taking a chance with technology.  Students will figure out the technology and apply it in the best way, but they must be given the resources and the opportunity.  Teachers need to flatten their classrooms.

Lastly, comes the “public” in public education.  Governments and school boards are important players, but they only react to parental demands.  The problem is, parents are experts in schooling – after all, they lived through 12+ years of the education system – but their “understandings” are based on their experience – of 20+ years ago.  Most don’t take the time to see the changes in the world (heck, neither do most teachers!) and don’t see that the global economic, social and cultural environment has changed (whether we like it or not!).  Our children’s world will be very different.

A daunting task!