Whip Blog

We’re a couple of weeks removed from the hype, bustle and seemingly endless sales pitch that we call ISTE (don’t get me wrong, I love ISTE for the connections it affords) and my brain is still full from the ideas and conversations that I downloaded there. After not being at ISTE for a couple of years, it was invigorating (sales pitch types notwithstanding) to be part of the global conversations – the big buzz!

However, this weekend will be special. Saturday I get to head back to where it all started for me – Memphis, Tennessee and Lausanne Collegiate School’s Laptop Institute. First of all, I have to tell you, I have been to my share of events but the Laptop Institute is still my favorite. The folks at Lausanne are amazing hosts, the conversations are focused on shifting how we teach and learn using the power of connectivity, and the organization leaves nothing wanting. With around 600 delegates, the event is intimate enough that you feel like to have an opportunity to follow up on the conversations at a later time and not get lost in the sheer size of the conference around you. If you have an opportunity and are considering one-to-one or tech rich programs, this is the event for you.

Six years ago I was teaching in a pilot 1:1 classroom at my school. It was just by happenstance that I ended up at the Memphis event (it was – at least at the time – a consolation prize for giving up a January trip to FETC) with my teaching partner at the time. I wasn’t sure what to expect – we seemed to be doing OK with incorporating the laptops into our classroom – so we intended to enjoy ourselves.

Boy, was I blindsided. At the opening keynote some old guy comes on stage and starts talking about new understandings about literacies and forms of information. My first reaction was to continue answering my email, but as he continued talking my focus shifted from my digital connection to a real connection with his ideas. I had never quite heard ideas quite like it before. He was talking about a whole new story of school. I was, in the space of an hour, blown away by his ideas and what it meant for me as a teacher. The “old guy” on stage was Dave Warlick.

Later that day I had a chance to talk to Dave on the bus to the hotel and we began a great friendship. From that connection grew a new set of personal ideas about the possibilities for school, connections to other authors and educators, two visits by Dave to my home province where I was so proud to introduce him to my colleagues, my own start in blogging and eventually the journey has led me to where I am today – promoting and supporting change with teachers and students in our schools.

I have been back to Memphis every year since, sometimes alone, sometimes not. Last year was particularly gratifying as I was able to lead a delegation of 13 educators from my school as we were featured as the Spotlight School for the conference. This year I am excited to be leading two workshops and 5 presentations over the two days on topics ranging from “Ten Secrets About Wikispaces” and “Learning to Blog: Blogging to Learn” to “Global Collaborative Projects” and “Digital Footprints: Building a Personal Brand on the Web”. It’ll be a busy two days, but I am excited to be heading back to see old friends and make new ones.

This year’s event is particularly special as it will take me right back to where it all began for me – Dave Warlick is the keynote once again. I have heard Dave speak many times since that day six years ago, but I always learn something new each time. I am sure as I settle into my seat for the keynote in the beautiful theatre on campus my memories will reflect back on my journey and the amazing side trip I began in that very spot. There might even be a tear in my eye.

Hope to see you in Memphis. Will you be the next member of my PLN?

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Below are notes form the Project-based Learning Session hosted by Jane Krauss and Suzie Boss, authors of the ISTE publication Reinventing project Based Learning at ISTE2010.

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Birds of a Feather Session – Encouraging Project based Learning
Jane Krauss & Suzie Boss

Thing that most of what we see as PBL in our schools is simply fact-finding and presentation. The difference to higher order thinking in PBL is the driving question.

Differentiation happens more naturally. It’s also not so exposing of student weaknesses. It should have a place for kids to meet the project with their skills rather than the other way around. Give students choice.

It’s important to understand the difference between teacher-directed projects and student-initiated. All projects won’t be successful…important to learn from mistakes. Real life can be mirrored – it’s full of failure.

Good to package project…eg. “Figures of the Renaissance” vs “Mingling at the Renaissance Ball” – creates student interest.
Important element is that kids drive instruction, not teacher. Find things that interest them. (e.g. use comparing phone plans to learn about slope. Make it REAL!

Set expectation: eg. Every teacher in the building will be involved in a parent exhibition of student work…teachers wanted to show interesting stuff…sharing of results…contribute to body of knowledge…interesting work comes from projects.

Classroom 2.0 Ning – subgroup called “PBL – Better with Practice” (some great examples, sharing and conversations there)

Motivation for teachers will come through kids; improved attendance, etc… “If you’re bored, they’re bored!”…teachers must be learners too!
Exercise/Challenge: Looking at the current gulf oil spill, how might you come at this? (conversations at table)

Students can have different questions/projects based on their perspective

Relevance for students “What if it happened to us?”

Tags: iste10

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I hope not!

At yesterday’s Edubloggercon10, the first circle I participated in was one titled “Are Wikis Dying?” It was suggested / moderated by Jeff Utecht (check out his thoughts on the session here) and was even attended by James and Adam from Wikispaces.

Jeff first started thinking about wikis and their future based on some conversations around the use of emerging Google web tools with teachers at his school in Bangkok. There can be no doubt that the emergence of web-based publishing tools of all sorts are/will have a tremendous impact as we shift to change the story of teaching and learning. The discussion was lively (and respectful), with many people sharing their experiences with both wikis and google apps.

In my experience, the real power of wikis is two-fold, the ability to embed other web tools with ease to create a dynamic story and it’s ease of use.  While Google Docs (and I use them regularly for many purposes) are powerful for collaboration, I think there are some things they don’t do as well as a wiki. And thus the point that I think many of us arrived at / reinforced yesterday – the tool has to match the application.  What wikis, google docs and all the other current and emerging tools give us is options.

Teachers often ask me about whether they should use a blog, a wiki or another tool. The answer is simply “YES!”. However, in order to suggest a specific tool(s) for them and their students, the real question is what do you want to accomplish? The tool will hinge on the learning activity.

Are wikis dying? For me the answer is a resounding NO! At least not anytime soon.  As Adam and James so aptly pointed out, all tools evolve. Wikis will also evolve, but the idea of a collaborative, shared space where students (and teachers) can quickly publish to the web and share their learning using a variety of tools, wikis are alive, well and thriving, another powerful web-based tool for our learning.

I am a huge wiki fan. I promote them heavily and believe they are the most powerful web tool for our classroom. In fact, I do many workshops each year on wikis and their use entitled Ten (Not-so) Secrets About Wikis.  It’s always a hit and teachers quickly see the power in the tool.

Image: Where to Find a Good Wiki, Uploaded to Flickr by CogDogBlog, Creative Commons license

Tags: iste10, ebc10, ebc10wikis

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View from Hotel, Denver and the Mountains

I’ve been to ISTE before, but never had the chance to take in EduBloggerCon. Yesterday, that story was interrupted.

When making plans for this year’s event, I booked my flights to arrive in town in time for EBC, and I wasn’t disappointed. First of all, EBC is about learning. To have the time to meet, chat and listen to people – some of whom I knew before, some not – was great for my own learning. Secondly, it’s about the social interactions that help grow networks. It’s a whole lot easier to connect with another teacher using twitter or skype once you have met them face-to-face.

I’ll blog a bit more about the sessions later, but for now, thanks to those of you who contributed to my own learning yesterday through the conversations. EBC10 won’t be my last!

Tags: technology, education, whipple, learning, iste10, ebc10

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Well, I’ve made it to ISTE2010.  I decided to drop by the Opening Session. I wasn’t going to as I was hoping to catch up on some blogging from yesterday’s EduBloggerCom, but Richard Byrne  from Maine opined that the speaker Mario Armstrong was worthwhile, so here I am! Here is a summary of the session….

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It’s been an exciting couple of weeks at work. We’ve been busy putting together some summer PD, including our showcase event for our new 1:1 schools in our district and around the province – One-to-One Bootcamp for Teachers.

To say I am excited about what is happening in New Brunswick is an understatement. There is a real move here, a current that is growing stronger by the day, led by people who get it at the departmental level and supported by a cadre of change agents in districts and schools across the province.

We announced the One-to-One Bootcamp on Monday, and today we’ll pass 100 teachers who have registered, indicating their willingness to give up their time to start to piece together their personal story of change in their classrooms and schools. This number is exciting, but we want more (although I think my boss might be a bit nervous that we have created something we can’t manage!!). Today I sent the following email to colleagues at three schools in my district that I have worked with over the past few years (and all of whom will be involved in one-to-one initiatives next fall) and my technology mentor colleagues across the province.

Hi guys…

Next year might very well be the most exciting and important year in New Brunswick education history. The move from a traditional story of school where teachers and texts are the source of information and the audience for most student content is contained by the walls of the classroom is about to be challenged and interrupted by a new model of learning for the 21st century, a model where students can connect with information and individuals outside their classroom to create their individual stories of learning and have a global audience for their content.

SMART Boards and other technologies are powerful, but they don’t necessarily change the game.  One-to-one learning environments absolutely cry out for a new way of teaching and learning. Many teachers and students are about to embark on an exciting new journey where they will join together to learn, where the lines between “teacher” and “learner” become blurred. It a shift that is both exciting and absolutely necessary to transform our schools to places that help prepare our kids for THIER future…a future that is information-rich, digital and connected…one where individuals will work, play and learn in a global community.

I would hope that you could encourage teachers to check out the One-to-One Bootcamp for Teachers to be held in Fredericton in August.  It will not only begin to give teachers some practical ideas about what teaching in an environment where digital connectivity is ubiquitous and the student is the center of learning, but will also allow those of us who will be involved in the one-to-one movement around the province an opportunity to come together and start to build a professional / personal learning network to support a new model of learning for the 21st century.

http://1to1bootcamp.wikispaces.com

Educators across New Brunswick are invited…hope to see you there!

Yours in learning,
Jeff

You see, there’s one thing that we – as change agents for a new vision of school – need to do, and that is to promote and push new ideas and opportunities, without regret! It’s up to us to be the salespeople for our students and a new story of learning.

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I have been so stoked the last few months. I must admit the last year or so have not been particularly inspiring here in New Brunswick. It appeared that, just as a real shift in the learning narrative was starting to gain hold through a series of initiatives (1 to 1 programs in 28 schools, funding for innovative projects, etc), all those gains started to slip away. It looked like we were in danger of repeating the past, with 21st century learning spaces becoming “just another edu-fad”.

But alas, the initiative is back – and with it my excitement for a new learning landscape in New Brunswick. Over the past six months 21st Century learning – how that looks on the ground is still up for some debate, but at least the conversations are happening – has moved to the forefront in the New Brunswick Education system. They’ve even spent money creating a fancy video!

But alas, words mean little without some backup of resources. What has me excited about the recent developments is that there seems to be some seriousness in approach, with a high degree of consultation from the departmental level on down. I am particularly impressed with how senior management at the department have sought and welcomed input from a variety of stakeholders.

Recently our district has announced that a new 6-12 school in a rural area about an hour out of town will be a 1-to-1 student laptop school when it opens in September. Two things excite me about this; it restarts the shift we were experiencing a couple of years ago and it will go a long way to addressing the disparities, both real and perceived, between urban and rural schools. The learning spaces for their staff and students will suddenly become much flatter!

As I continue to read of the effects of the economic situation on education worldwide, particularly public schools south of the border, I am so thankful to be an educator in New Brunswick. While their may have worn different political stripes, the last several administrations have continued to add to the vision of previous leaders – doing what is right for our students as we begin to prepare them for a future that will be digital and connected.

Bravo Nouveau Brunswick!

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Want to see a young student write?  Give them an authentic audience!

Most of our students are still writing on paper. They write because they are told they have to – and are usually given a topic. They write for an audience of one – their teacher – and the ONLY reason they write is for a mark.  The paper usually ends up getting handed back with lots of red markings for rewriting or, worse yet, thrown in a garbage can or recycle bin. Hardly motivating stuff for a young boy or girl who spends most of their non-school time playing to a global audience on one of the myriad of social networking sites available.

Some teachers and projects are trying to change that. One is the 1001 Flat World Tales Writing Project, the elementary level workshop of which I have had the pleasure of “coordinating” with the amazing Kim Cofino at International School Bangkok (one day I actually hope to meet her in person, maybe ISTE 2010??). To say that we coordinate anything is a slight misnomer because most of what we do is provide a platform for teachers to connect, a few suggestions for a project structure (although teachers are free to change as they wish) and play a bit of matchmaker for classes who ask for the assistance. The teachers and students do the rest! It’s a REAL joy to see it come together.

Despite the late start – we usually run from March to May – we are running again this year.  Last year almost a thousand students at over 30 schools connected to write.  The key – an authentic audience of their peers from around the globe. It was amazing!

A brief summary: classes are connected with one or two other classes in a “workshop”, where students are grouped in two’s, three’s or four’s, students are given a story starter (most teachers choose to have students write a persuasive piece around the frame provided), the groups peer edit each others work until final stories are crafted for each child.

In short, the project provides an opportunity for students to engage in learning activities around the three essential elements of being information artisans, developing networks for learning and managing personal profiles on the web. It’s all there.

Are you an elementary learning leaders? Want to join us?  For more information and to sign up your class, visit the 1001 Flat World Takes Writing project for 2010.

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The second week of Tech20Tuesday is in the books.  Yesterday afternoon we looked at Slideshare, an on-line tool for sharing presentations and other documents.  Think of it as a “YouTube for PowerPoints“.

Tech20Tuesday is our district’s latest initiative to support teachers in embedding technology within their learning environments.  With almost 800 teachers spread in a variety of schools, many over an hour away from the city, it’s sometimes a challenge to get mentors and coaches on the ground to support both teachers and students in 21st century learning on a regular basis.  We also recognize that teachers are busy, far too busy to give up large chunks of time in after-school PD.

The whole premise of Tech20Tuesday is that, by utilizing the connectivity of the web, we can meet teachers wherever they happen to be; school, home, the local coffee shop! We are using SMART Technologies Bridgit conferencing software, which is bundled within the Notebook software, to share a common presentation screen and audio/video.  The idea is, in twenty minutes, to show teachers a new tool, how it works and an example or two of how they and their students might utilize it within their classroom. No huge demand on time or effort.

After two weeks, the feedback is overwhelmingly positive.  Each week we have had 30-40 teachers “attend” virtually.  Some are individuals, but many are in groups. One school, located almost an hour outside the city, provides coffee and muffins for their staff who gather together (10 or so) each week for a bit of learning and professional talk.  Through technology, we are able to support their journey.

Oh yeah, then there’s my son’s Grade 11 Biology teacher.  My son came home Friday and noted he had a test. His teacher, who had attended the initial session on Wordle, used the tool to create a word cloud on the test, from which students could pick terms.

While the idea isn’t a walk-off homer, I would count Tech20Tuesday as a lead-off double at least!

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