The last time we bloggers at TechLearning wrote about going to dinner together was during the NECC extravaganza, where 52 of us signed up online to meet up at a restaurant in San Antonio, and we pulled it off!
Well, the big happening in the virtual online network of Personal Learning Networks just finished up the last official event on November 1, 2008. I had not planned ahead to take part in the When Night Falls Event, but by October 31, 2008, I was wishing I had, so, I checked out the schedule and found that my good, virtual friend, Vance Stevens was moderating a one hour time slot from Abu Dhabi at GMT. For me it was going to be 4 PM EDT on the east coast of the United States. Vance would be checking in from Abu Dhai and for him it was going to be 1 AM his time.It was a fascinating global hour. We talked to several people in the chat room of Elluminate, we instant messaged among ourselves, asked questions of moderators, of one another and generally had what you would imagine would be your typical coffee shop conversation about a fabulous event we had just attended.It was somewhat of a relief that the live events were done, it was also a significant let down for the faucet was turned off at the end of that 24 hours around the globe! Yet.....
I just happened to be reading a follow up blog account about a school in Florida that was holding a LAN, local area network, gathering for their teachers as they continued to participate in the conversations of the online blogs, posts and videos. I left a comment, which is a really polite thing to do when you read someone's blog post, it lets them know someone is reading their work and then lets them know if you agree or disagree. We don't want the blogosphere to be an echo chamber of comments and only agreements, we want challenges, arguments-polite of course, as we struggle to make our journey into 21st Century Learning.
I offered to SKYPE into their LAN meeting when they next met. A couple days later I heard from Silvia Tolisano, Langwitches that her group was meeting again on November 11 in the late afternoon. I jumped at the chance to join their after school conversation. So, my question is, when was the last time you were invited to dinner, 1,500 miles away and accepted the offer? At a pre-determined time, I answered my SKYPE call, and joined about 20 or so people. If I remember correctly it was the first time for 9 of them to be in a SKYPE call. YEAH, they accepted the challenge, they participated and hopefully enjoyed the conversation and found purpose for their own lives and classrooms. Yes, we need to try out these tools on our own networks before we bring our students into them. We need to make the mistakes and learn, we need to experience the success of a challenge and share that with our students.
My hope is that you accept a challenge and try something new with your own network, then find purpose for using a similar tool in your classrooms. You can still participate in the k12onlineconference.org, it lives on and so do the events, just ask and someone will join you and your group.
If you would like to comment on this post, please head over to CherylOakes.com and leave your comment! Thanks.
This is also cross-posted at http://www.techlearning.com/blog
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Tuesday, November 4, 2008
What did you accomplish this past month?
If you have any connections to the blogosphere you already know about the k12onlineconference.
However, if you have not heard of this great FREE resource read on, but first check out some short teasers to give you a glimpse of the types of presentations you can attend. I have participated in this virtual organization for the past three years. The first year , 2006, I was part of the crew choosing the presentations for a strand. The second year I participated with two groups and presented with Women of Web 2.0 and Seedlings, Flat Agents of Change.
This year with my good buddies Alice Barr and Bob Sprankle, we were invited to Keynote, How to Get Started with the ReadWriteRevolution! When you ask educators to develop a proposal for an idea, send to it a juried process, then publish for the world, it can be a scary proposition. Then someone like David Warlick posts this message. "I like Cheryl’s quest to make the classroom like an ongoing homecoming. On top of some many things that means, it attracts the involvement of the community — because the community has been there. We’ve all been there, in the classroom, and we remember — and we can be inspired to be a part of the “revolution,” as they call it."
I sent an immediate message to Alice and Bob, "he got it!" We were so excited. Why? Because we shared our personal experiences, our personal stories, and we wonder. Will people understand? Will people view this and make a connection to their own journey? Will our stories help move others to try educating their students for the 21st Century? Yes and no. Another viewer who watched our presentation didn't get the value they were looking for. They posted their reflection and it will become part of the online dialogue. It is all part of the continuing conversation! Everyone gets a voice and everyone can choose to continue on. Personal choice!
This year the k12online conference was so well done that I have barely had time to get past the first week. I like the fact that I can go back to the conference when I want to and have the time to spend. I like that I can recommend presentations for others and the presentations will be there.
I especially have enjoyed the CupOJoe this year! It keeps me going back to see when new comments are made and it makes me reflect!
Oh, and I really like to read blogs with the k12online08 tag, it reminds me to head back and spend more time. So, thanks to the conveners Wes Fryer, Dean Shareski, Darren Kuropatwa and Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach and all the behind the scenes folks. This year was really special and I enjoyed it!
However, if you have not heard of this great FREE resource read on, but first check out some short teasers to give you a glimpse of the types of presentations you can attend. I have participated in this virtual organization for the past three years. The first year , 2006, I was part of the crew choosing the presentations for a strand. The second year I participated with two groups and presented with Women of Web 2.0 and Seedlings, Flat Agents of Change.
This year with my good buddies Alice Barr and Bob Sprankle, we were invited to Keynote, How to Get Started with the ReadWriteRevolution! When you ask educators to develop a proposal for an idea, send to it a juried process, then publish for the world, it can be a scary proposition. Then someone like David Warlick posts this message. "I like Cheryl’s quest to make the classroom like an ongoing homecoming. On top of some many things that means, it attracts the involvement of the community — because the community has been there. We’ve all been there, in the classroom, and we remember — and we can be inspired to be a part of the “revolution,” as they call it."
I sent an immediate message to Alice and Bob, "he got it!" We were so excited. Why? Because we shared our personal experiences, our personal stories, and we wonder. Will people understand? Will people view this and make a connection to their own journey? Will our stories help move others to try educating their students for the 21st Century? Yes and no. Another viewer who watched our presentation didn't get the value they were looking for. They posted their reflection and it will become part of the online dialogue. It is all part of the continuing conversation! Everyone gets a voice and everyone can choose to continue on. Personal choice!
This year the k12online conference was so well done that I have barely had time to get past the first week. I like the fact that I can go back to the conference when I want to and have the time to spend. I like that I can recommend presentations for others and the presentations will be there.
I especially have enjoyed the CupOJoe this year! It keeps me going back to see when new comments are made and it makes me reflect!
Oh, and I really like to read blogs with the k12online08 tag, it reminds me to head back and spend more time. So, thanks to the conveners Wes Fryer, Dean Shareski, Darren Kuropatwa and Sheryl Nussbaum-Beach and all the behind the scenes folks. This year was really special and I enjoyed it!
30 Days to Better Blogging
This was the prompt I needed.
TaDa, my domain has resolved! 2008-11-08 10:35 AM EST.
- I moved my domain from Yahoo to GoDaddy, thanks Wes Fryer
- I moved my blog from Weebly, I was very sad to leave, and on over to Blogger, thanks to Google.
- I updated my gadgets on Blogger
- I am waiting for all my addresses to resolve.
- My first official post will be thanks to K12onlineconference.org
TaDa, my domain has resolved! 2008-11-08 10:35 AM EST.
WritingTools4All, Presentation from ACTEM08
Presentation Writingtools4all
This is where you can follow the presentation by Beth Goodwin and Cheryl Oakes. You can listen to the audio and follow along with the website. Thanks to all the great participants. Thanks to Beth's students for giving us the photos and good information to share.http://writingtools4all.pbwiki.com
ACTEM08, MaineEd08, was the BEST!
Actem08, Mained08 was the Best!
If you were able to attend ACTEM08 I think you will agree it was really exceptional this year. The Civic Center Crew were most accommodating, the food was great, the lines were much easier than in the past, the internet and wireless was flawless. I presented 3 times over 2 days including one webcasting session and no complaints! Our keynote, Sheryl Nussbaum Beach, really spoke to how we can move to the next challenge, the next level and we need to all be part of this transformation for our students. I really liked her challenge to us at the end, we are the last generation of teachers as we know them. We are the last individuals who chose to be teachers, mentored by our great teachers in our lives. We are the last individuals who will be able to study to be teachers as we have known our educational society. When information begins to change at a rate of doubling every 72 hours by 2020, how will those teachers manage their content, their curriculum, their classrooms. It will only be through change, through facilitation, through flattened classrooms, through personal and professional networks. That will be the easy part. How will our students participate in that kind of learning environment. I know I will be reading more of what Sheryl Nussbaum Beach has to say on this topic. I know that I will looking at ways to facilitate that change. I have to, I want to stay current, I want to mentor our new pre-service teachers, I want to be there.
Thanks to John Brandt for the great photo!
Resources for Cheryl Oakes at ACTEM08:
HandsonPodcasting
Seedlings Geek of the Week
Onlinewritingtools4all
Tags: ACTEM08, Mained08, cheryloakes
Countdown to Sugarloaf Opening Day! Thanks to John Brandt for the great photo!
Resources for Cheryl Oakes at ACTEM08:
HandsonPodcasting
Seedlings Geek of the Week
Onlinewritingtools4all
Tags: ACTEM08, Mained08, cheryloakes
| Sugarloaf Opening | |
 | Gadgets powered by Google |
It is about time!!
I know it is really about time that I updated this site. To be honest, I wanted to leave my tribute to Vicki Davis here as long as I could. But, now it is time for our Fall ACTEM Conference and I really want to begin promoting that.October 16 and 17, 2008, in the State of Maine, we have two terrific keynotes coming to join in a conversation with educators in the state. Tim Tyson and Sheryl Nussbaum Beach are going to be in Augusta, Me for all of us to listen to and learn from.
Our state has really grown with all the technology that has been infused into our districts. Many educators, worldwide, look to Maine to see what is happening, what should be happening and what will be happening.
Check out the Actem website and sign up for some conference sessions. You won't be disappointed! For some, it will be a chance to see folks they have chatted with all year. For others, it will be a chance to make a connection and then continue the conversation throughout the rest of our school year. See you next week! Be sure to say hi, no matter who I am talking to stop by and make yourself known. Over and Out!
Tribute to Vicki Davis
You know it isn't often that you meet someone virtually, work with them for a year and finally meet up with them and make great connections. Well, this is how I first met Vicki Davis.Vicki and I were approached by Jen Wagner and Sharon Peters to make a quartet and become the Women of Web 2.0 in an effort to present at NECC07. It came about when Jen was listening to the male bloggers at NECC06. This had nothing to do with the male bloggers, some of them are counted among my virtual and face to face friends now, but the women's voice was lacking.
Our proposal was accepted. We all chatted online, we decided to try a live podcast, called a webcast, since I had taken WebcastAcademy and was a beginning webcaster. That was back in October 2006! Now 84 or so shows later, Vicki is leaving the show and moving on to make more time for her family and more flexibility in her global projects.
What will this mean? Well, first of all Women of Web 2.0 has taken on a life of its own. The audience and members make the show in the chat room and by being guests. This organization will live on. This organization will change and this organization will be by the educators and for educators.
However, this is my tribute for Vicki! I have learned so much from Vicki. I really admire that she has been so transparent in her presentations, she provides google chats for the back channel, for her classrooms, she blogs about them, for her turmoils, she chats/blogs/struggles openly about those moments and gathers information from her network. She is constantly looking for purpose with new web tools, she is constantly looking to make connections and provide opportunities for others!
Her organizational skills are incredible. She has calendars I have never heard of, she makes connections I have been part of and she orchestrates many behind the scene ideas with great chutzpah! I mean, Thomas Friedman has been part of Flat Classroom, and now VIcki and Julie are in his book!
I am so glad that Vicki was able to come to Maine and get introduced to our wonderful teachers, was a huge positive part of our ACTEM Conference. She is now part of our Maine family.
Vicki has paved the way for those of us in education to continue to make connections, to market ourselves and to look to the future. I am proud to call Vicki Davis a friend, I am happy to have met her family in San Antonio, and I am glad she will be taking more time to hang with her family because family time is precious. You need to be available to make those memories that will get your family through good times and tough times. I agree with the blogger who said, I don't want to regret missing my family times, I can never make those up,( that is why I took my Mom to dinner this June and missed a show) but I know my educational peers will be with me through those times and will carry me through those times. So Vicki, enjoy your family, make your own schedule and keep in touch!
Thanks to Gary for this photo of Vicki, Will and Cheryl at ACTEM 07.
Signs of Spring
How do we demonstrate transitions in education? For those of us in the northern hemisphere we begin school in late August or early September and finish in late May or late June. It is always fun to be on Twitter and listening and observing our friends in New Zealand, Australia and China as they talk about tomorrow or the opposite season depending upon their time zone and geographic place on the planet.
There are definite cycles and patterns in nature, and since the brain looks for patterns, we seem to adopt patterns elsewhere in our lives. Religious holidays, seasonal holiday, historical holidays and iconic days. May 4th is designated as Star Wars Day,may the 4th be with you. I just had to get that in the post!
How do you transition in your professional life? Do you look for patterns? Do you look for mile markers? Do you celebrate mile stones? As we think about this process I want you to project and see if you can make some explicit connections not only to your professional development but also with your peers.
We can take courses and get college credits and then apply those to our teaching certificates. However, recently, we have seen conversations and blog posts about how to apply some of the virtual conversations and learning to our professional certificates in our schools. Here are two of the conversations I have read, Darren Draper, as he talks about OpenPD, and Ernie Easter, who talks about paving the way for some online hours counting for Professional Development at the Seedlings Ning.
At this point in time, there isn't a one size fits all way of applying our online learning, our non-credit learning to our professional plans. But you will hear many people state that the time we spend online , conversing, learning, sharing has more impact than some of our recent conferences, workshops and college classes.
So, adopt a new cycle or pattern, be explicit in celebrating your mile markers in learning new ways of teaching, celebrate your milestones and your new found connections you have made with others. Months ago I posted "Vote me off the Island" as an explicit way of looking for connections with professionals outside of your building. Had I not expanded my network I wouldn't have read or shared Ernie's or Darren's blog posts.
My cycle of new learning:
Read blog posts, comment on blog posts, ask people for help with my new learnings on Twitter and Skype , as well as attend conferences, and SHARE and have CONVERSATIONS with others. Then CELEBRATE and start AGAIN.
What is your cycle of new learning?
There are definite cycles and patterns in nature, and since the brain looks for patterns, we seem to adopt patterns elsewhere in our lives. Religious holidays, seasonal holiday, historical holidays and iconic days. May 4th is designated as Star Wars Day,may the 4th be with you. I just had to get that in the post!
How do you transition in your professional life? Do you look for patterns? Do you look for mile markers? Do you celebrate mile stones? As we think about this process I want you to project and see if you can make some explicit connections not only to your professional development but also with your peers.
We can take courses and get college credits and then apply those to our teaching certificates. However, recently, we have seen conversations and blog posts about how to apply some of the virtual conversations and learning to our professional certificates in our schools. Here are two of the conversations I have read, Darren Draper, as he talks about OpenPD, and Ernie Easter, who talks about paving the way for some online hours counting for Professional Development at the Seedlings Ning.
At this point in time, there isn't a one size fits all way of applying our online learning, our non-credit learning to our professional plans. But you will hear many people state that the time we spend online , conversing, learning, sharing has more impact than some of our recent conferences, workshops and college classes.
So, adopt a new cycle or pattern, be explicit in celebrating your mile markers in learning new ways of teaching, celebrate your milestones and your new found connections you have made with others. Months ago I posted "Vote me off the Island" as an explicit way of looking for connections with professionals outside of your building. Had I not expanded my network I wouldn't have read or shared Ernie's or Darren's blog posts.
My cycle of new learning:
Read blog posts, comment on blog posts, ask people for help with my new learnings on Twitter and Skype , as well as attend conferences, and SHARE and have CONVERSATIONS with others. Then CELEBRATE and start AGAIN.
What is your cycle of new learning?
Celebrate Earth Day April 22, 2008
Earth Day is celebrated worldwide on April 22, it began as an environmental teach-in during the spring of 1970. There are many web pages dedicated to Earth Day on the web. However, my search for kid and teen friendly earth day pages brought several I would like to share.Keep America Beautiful has an amazing site with games, activities and news articles about what is happening in the United States. There is a huge campaign and it is not too late to be involved. The campaign spans from March 1 to May 31, 2008. See if you can find an activity for your classroom. In our neighborhood many families get out and clean up the sides of the road as part of this endeavor. A week or two later in the spring we have a Beach clean up that many people are involved in as well.
I found another page EcoKids from Canada. This site has games, colouring pages, activity starters and similarly is a great place to begin with small children and cleaning up our environment in small ways.
The international site that I would like to share is PlanetPals. They have gone commercial with tee-shirts and games, articles and similar environmental friendly activity starters for groups as well as classrooms. However, this organization has ties to 120 different countries.
When I searched for earth day activities for teens many of you will smile when I say I found it on a Ning site.
Connected to the teens is a site for eco-teachers .
Both of these sites are looking to bring teachers and students along to the environmentally friendly business ventures. It could be called problem based learning with benefits!
My final word, it has taken since 1970 for Green
to take hold of our collective attention. It has taken adults to be interested in Earth Day and the meaning of Earth Day, it has taken young people this long to grow up hearing about Earth Day and in some small way participating and now we are beginning to see countries being successful with their Green
philosophy and commitment. Businesses are committed to being Green
and successful. Do your part, share what Earth Day means to all of us! Celebrate Earth Day 2008.
Image from: http://www.flickr.com/photos/oceanflynn/276344173/, creative commons
I am a technology omnivore, what are you?
On my way home the other day, in my car, I wasn't listening to a podcast but rather to National Public Radio- live-, All things Considered with Robert Siegel.I just happened to hear the story by Mary Madden, Teens' Online 'Friends' Often Number in Hundreds. I was fascinated to hear Mary say the same kinds of things we as educators write about when speaking to parents and their internet using teens and pre-teens. Put your computers in public places in the home. Monitor Internet use, use a filter, talk to your children and teens, be involved and yes, even friend your child in their, or our, social network. These are all things I have said, and knew about. Then came my aha!
Mary said we need to let our children/students know that MySpace, is really our space. Our students are creating and need to be aware they are leaving a digital footprint. Hey parents, educators, google your child's name with them in the room. Parents need to know how information persists online. Interestingly only 47% of us adults have googled themselves. I have, probably because I am a technology omnivore, more on that in a bit. I remember when I googled my 3 sons. All of them were in high school and all showed up in google having answered math questions in an online math contest, all showed up online due to their presence on the school honor roll. So far, that was the extent of their online presence. Now, 4 years later one has a spot on Facebook and he has friended me, as well as some of his friends have friended me. We share the space and trade stories on occasion. I don't preach, I just live nearby when they want someone to share with.
We need to change our view about how we look at this online information. Mary also suggested that parents read the following websites; GetNetwise, ConnectSafely and NetSmartz
The last comment that really had me thinking was Robert and Mary talking about the future. When our 10 year olds are in their job seeking era, they will be interviewed by 50 year olds who have lived the digital online world. Maybe those 50 year olds will be more accepting of 10 year old or 15 year old indiscretions. We shall see. It was comforting to hear the research results 93% of 13-19 year olds who use the Internet use the privacy settings. 55% keep their profile private and most restrict access in some ways, well that is until they friend hundreds of friends, but the intent is there.
Since I heard the story on the way home,I was able to come home and wait 2 hours to hear the online podcast,( thanks NPR) and now I have listened multiple times to get the best information! When I went to the Pew website I found a great survey. You can take it too, then be sure you leave a message telling me what you ended up as from the survey. If you want you can leave a twitter @ techlearning and share your results with all who have friended techlearning at twitter. Go to PEW research and take the Typology Quiz. Then be sure to read what it means, read about what your friends are and then share the results at twitter or here in the comment section.
I am an omnivore similar to 8% of the American public.
"Omnivores embrace all this connectivity, feeling confident in how they manage information and their many devices. This puts information technology at the center of how they express themselves, do their jobs, and connect to their friends." From the PEW Typology survey results!
I didn't so much celebrate this for me, but rather I am curious about the other labels. You see, being an omnivore means that I have to consider carefully the kinds of technology tools and successes I share. I can share anything on Twitter with my other omnivore friends. However, when I want to entice my workmates to try a new technology tool, I have to go through the back door. For example, today at lunch I said I had a show and tell to share. I had "published" 2 online photo books, one at Snapfish, the other at Shutterfly. It was a simple share, just letting folks look at the photo books, and then sharing how easy it is to upload and follow the directions at a website. That's it, 5 minutes. Now, I will wait, maybe month, to see if someone brings in their own photo book to share-before I will know if my sharing worked.
You will have to take the survey to see the other interesting categories. It is worth the 5 minutes it takes to finish the survey! http://pewresearch.org/interactive/
If you liked this post and you are interested in the PEW Research information you can have a say in what is collected. Just go to the PEW site and ask for specific questions to be included in their surveys, Mary says they are always looking for new ideas.
How technologically green are you? How technologically green are you while teaching your students?
This is my blog post from TechLearning February 26, 2008. Enjoy!
This blog post is very different from most of our blog entries for the TechLearning team. We usually have blog posts introducing you to something that happens in classrooms or schools which could have implications for your students. Today is a little deviation.
During our school vacation, many of us in Northern New England have a week off from school, I had an opportunity to take a winter hike and stay over at a hut. A visionary, Larry Warren, President and founder of Maine Huts and Trails, started with an idea, to bring nature closer to more people in a non impact way, year round manner. He has worked with forest companies, individual land owners and the Penobscot Indian nation to get folks to agree to let others walk across their lands. There are no motorized vehicles allowed on these trails.
Many of you will be cringing at the idea of a winter hike, complete with 4 feet of snow in the woods, cold temperatures of less than 15 degrees F(-9.4C), and finally to top it off a sustained wind of 10 MPH for a whopping wind chill of 3 F, - 16 C. Did I mention the crystal blue skies, mountains looming in the distance, steep hills that we traversed both up and down, the whisper of the beech leaves as they danced while clinging to the trees, and the pine needles huddled together on branches reaching towards the ground?
If this sounds like an adventure to you thus far, you should add to your reading list the Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv .
So far, where is the technology? Normally when hiking in the woods you make sure you have matches, a jack knife, such things as hand warmers, blanket, water and some kind of high energy food, just in case. Just in case the weather turns bad and you have to camp right where you are hiking, or you get lost. You might recognize this as your backup plan. We had all of those, and an extra set of clothes to change into, and a sleeping bag. Anyone of these items could be the life or death of a hiker.
We hiked in from the trail head of Maine Trails and Huts located in Carrabassett Valley, ME for 2.5 miles. The hike in was great, the trail was well marked, we met lots of other hikers and cross country skiers who were out for an afternoon hike. We were the only ones going in for an overnight. We didn't stop and take many photos as we were on a time crunch to get to the hut before the sunset.
Finally, we had a glimpse of the huge solar panel in the woods, then we saw the lodge. From the outside, without the solar panel, it could be a lodge anywhere in the woods. Here is the technology part, the hut although 3 miles in the woods, 3 miles from a local power source, is powered by the solar panel, a hydro-power turbine from the stream, a wood fired boiler, the floors are heated by radiant heat. Now the technology part comes into focus. The solar panel takes the solar energy and stores it in battery cells for later use. The hydro-power turbine takes the water force and turns it into energy like heating the 800 gallon tank of hot water reserve. I asked Jamie Corriveau, the operations manager, for a tour of the power supply for the hut and had a real treat. Downstairs in the basement of the cozy lodge is the tidiest set up and the hub of the hut. Jamie explained that there is a huge amount of technology coordinating all the different systems, each piece has to send and receive messages throughout the day in order to keep the floors warm, the solar panel energy in use or going to the backup battery cells, and the lights and heat maintaining a certain level based on outside light and temperature.
Upstairs the first floor the main hut is outfitted with huge pine/cherry tables and sturdy chairs surrounding a fireplace, a huge drying room where all the damp clothing is hung to dry out with a reverse air process, a kitchen large enough to cook for 40 guests, a huge warm shower/bathroom facility and a loft just right for reading or playing board games. All the guests sleep in outer bunk cabins which also have radiant heated floors, comfy bunks and enough windows to enjoy the moon and stars during the night. What no outhouses? Well, the toilets are composting toilets which use only 3-6 ounces of water with a drop of soap which cleans at each use when all the waste drops into a huge hopper in the basement which composts the waste, drains excess filtered liquid and only has a wheelbarrow full of removable compost after 4 years. No, there is no odor!
We were very comfortable and enjoyed being away from the technology that most of us live with every day. Despite our greener experience the kitchen is outfitted with all the conveniences necessary to cook up great meals. Our two cooks managed an incredible meal of Jambalaya , fresh baked bread and carrot cake. In the morning they cooked up bacon and scrambled eggs on the wood stove! This hut in the woods is a perfect stop for a sleepover or a bowl of soup and fresh bread. Just being part of a greener hiking system has really started me thinking about how to encourage young people to think about our daily lives in a different manner, a greener, more environmentally friendly manner. So, how technologically green am I teaching my students to be? I will be sharing more and more stories like this one, how about you?
BubbleShare: Share photos - Craft Ideas
This blog post is very different from most of our blog entries for the TechLearning team. We usually have blog posts introducing you to something that happens in classrooms or schools which could have implications for your students. Today is a little deviation.
During our school vacation, many of us in Northern New England have a week off from school, I had an opportunity to take a winter hike and stay over at a hut. A visionary, Larry Warren, President and founder of Maine Huts and Trails, started with an idea, to bring nature closer to more people in a non impact way, year round manner. He has worked with forest companies, individual land owners and the Penobscot Indian nation to get folks to agree to let others walk across their lands. There are no motorized vehicles allowed on these trails.
Many of you will be cringing at the idea of a winter hike, complete with 4 feet of snow in the woods, cold temperatures of less than 15 degrees F(-9.4C), and finally to top it off a sustained wind of 10 MPH for a whopping wind chill of 3 F, - 16 C. Did I mention the crystal blue skies, mountains looming in the distance, steep hills that we traversed both up and down, the whisper of the beech leaves as they danced while clinging to the trees, and the pine needles huddled together on branches reaching towards the ground?
If this sounds like an adventure to you thus far, you should add to your reading list the Last Child in the Woods by Richard Louv .
So far, where is the technology? Normally when hiking in the woods you make sure you have matches, a jack knife, such things as hand warmers, blanket, water and some kind of high energy food, just in case. Just in case the weather turns bad and you have to camp right where you are hiking, or you get lost. You might recognize this as your backup plan. We had all of those, and an extra set of clothes to change into, and a sleeping bag. Anyone of these items could be the life or death of a hiker.
We hiked in from the trail head of Maine Trails and Huts located in Carrabassett Valley, ME for 2.5 miles. The hike in was great, the trail was well marked, we met lots of other hikers and cross country skiers who were out for an afternoon hike. We were the only ones going in for an overnight. We didn't stop and take many photos as we were on a time crunch to get to the hut before the sunset.
Finally, we had a glimpse of the huge solar panel in the woods, then we saw the lodge. From the outside, without the solar panel, it could be a lodge anywhere in the woods. Here is the technology part, the hut although 3 miles in the woods, 3 miles from a local power source, is powered by the solar panel, a hydro-power turbine from the stream, a wood fired boiler, the floors are heated by radiant heat. Now the technology part comes into focus. The solar panel takes the solar energy and stores it in battery cells for later use. The hydro-power turbine takes the water force and turns it into energy like heating the 800 gallon tank of hot water reserve. I asked Jamie Corriveau, the operations manager, for a tour of the power supply for the hut and had a real treat. Downstairs in the basement of the cozy lodge is the tidiest set up and the hub of the hut. Jamie explained that there is a huge amount of technology coordinating all the different systems, each piece has to send and receive messages throughout the day in order to keep the floors warm, the solar panel energy in use or going to the backup battery cells, and the lights and heat maintaining a certain level based on outside light and temperature.
Upstairs the first floor the main hut is outfitted with huge pine/cherry tables and sturdy chairs surrounding a fireplace, a huge drying room where all the damp clothing is hung to dry out with a reverse air process, a kitchen large enough to cook for 40 guests, a huge warm shower/bathroom facility and a loft just right for reading or playing board games. All the guests sleep in outer bunk cabins which also have radiant heated floors, comfy bunks and enough windows to enjoy the moon and stars during the night. What no outhouses? Well, the toilets are composting toilets which use only 3-6 ounces of water with a drop of soap which cleans at each use when all the waste drops into a huge hopper in the basement which composts the waste, drains excess filtered liquid and only has a wheelbarrow full of removable compost after 4 years. No, there is no odor!
We were very comfortable and enjoyed being away from the technology that most of us live with every day. Despite our greener experience the kitchen is outfitted with all the conveniences necessary to cook up great meals. Our two cooks managed an incredible meal of Jambalaya , fresh baked bread and carrot cake. In the morning they cooked up bacon and scrambled eggs on the wood stove! This hut in the woods is a perfect stop for a sleepover or a bowl of soup and fresh bread. Just being part of a greener hiking system has really started me thinking about how to encourage young people to think about our daily lives in a different manner, a greener, more environmentally friendly manner. So, how technologically green am I teaching my students to be? I will be sharing more and more stories like this one, how about you?
BubbleShare: Share photos - Craft Ideas
Internet Safety
I can't wait until Thursday to join 5th graders at lunch! (also posted at TechLearning.com)
For the past 6 weeks, I've been working with 5th grade students, 120 of them, and their teachers on an Internet Safety Project which included discussions about cyberbullying and has since morphed into conversations and instruction about proper use of images harvested from the internet, creative commons and beginning today, how to determine the validity of a website during a research project.I've been adding my links to my Moodle page, and you are welcome to stop by and use any of the links which make sense to you.
One of the comments heard, from more than one 5th grader, when beginning this Internet Safety project, oh we've already done this on Netsmartz! I reminded them that Internet Safety will be taught from K to grade 10 as part of the curriculum in our district. My two observations about this are that, students need repeated exposure to the Internet Safety conversations since developmentally they only take in what they can understand at that place in time . The second observation is that parents are relieved that someone is having the conversations with their children, as it takes the pressure off. However, the purpose is to support students and families as they navigate the new technologies. I wonder if this gives a false sense of security to parents, since their student has been through an Internet safety activity, do they think the job is done? I would like to encourage that this should be a time for parents to practice Internet safety too, it is a shared responsibility students should share with their parents, start now and then it will be easier to keep the conversations going when they finally graduate to Facebook or Myspace or a variety of other social networking sites.
As part of our Internet Safety project with 5th graders,we watched a few short videos to jump start the conversations. You will find links to these great videos at my Moodle page. Then we went to a great website where our students created Internet Safety comics at www.makebeliefscomix.com. This is great instructional tool since if adults do all the talking it becomes, just yak, yak, yak. However, when students make their own comics demonstrating Internet safety rules, they create it, they own it. Once we completed this part of the instruction, then we opened our Think.com account with the access to our school only. Think.com is a free school site support by Oracle. This way our students have been able to practice their skills about designing a webpage, presenting information and conversing with others while following our school rules. Even with practice, they might make a mistake, I call them teachable moments, this is a place to make mistakes, plus there are a whole host of peers who are not afraid to remind students of the rules of Internet Safety and Think.com .
My job as a Collaborative Content Coach for Technology allows me time to work with teachers on integrating technology into their content area. Really technology is just using an instructional tool differently, in an engaging way to accomplish the same instruction teachers have been doing for years. This collaborative piece works best for the teacher and me, when there is on demand instruction. By collaborating this way with teachers, the technology tools are not contrived but real to the instruction, real to the process and real to the moment. The students, parents and teachers have been a great group to work with during this project.
Why talk about Internet Safety with 5th graders? Because it should be part of frequent conversations at home, school, and in the news media. Just listen to a bunch of 5th graders and ask what they have to say about Internet safety. Listen to their examples, and continue to have these good conversations. Find a student and take them to lunch. And yes, I do eat school lunch when I have these conversations.
I want to recognize Allanah as an international blogger from New Zealand. I've enjoyed Allanah's blogs, her love of new technology tools and her enthusiasm. Check out her blog and leave comment. AllanahK, the New Zealand blogger, , Allanah has been fun to follow recently with her conversations in twitter and her blog. Check out her use of voice thread and her enthusiasm! I love Allanah's bio on Twitter, Embrace Ambiguity- a NZ primary school teacher taking a year's leave to be ICT facilitator in Tasman. How many of you would love to take a year and become an ICT facilitator? Leave a message!
Around the Web in 80 Ways!
Here is the challenge! Can we collectively come up with 80waysaroundweb2?
I write for TechLearning.com/blogs a couple times a month. A few weeks ago I wrote about How well do you share your knowledge, your enthusiam, your web 2.o tools?
After I posted, my editor, Gwen Solomon, challenged me that I had mentioned people I knew and the tools they were using. She wondered how prevalent it was to have teachers and administrators using Web 2.0 tools. Gwen asked, "what was hype and what was hope. I'm still questioning how widespread exemplary use of these wonderful tools is in classrooms." She continued, "Other than Bob Sprankle, what great models are there? What exemplary uses of the tools can you share? I want to see how learning what to do translates into teaching with the tools and I'm hoping that you know."
Well, although Gwen didn't mean this as a challenge, it is a collective demonstration of our love of the tools we find on the web and how we use these tools to engage our students and staff. Bob Sprankle and I brainstormed and came up with this idea. (Shoutout to Bob for his help, and a huge shoutout to all of you who will participate!)
I am going to use Twitter.com to start, all my contacts with the Webheads, my contacts with Classblogmeister, my contacts at Webcastacademy and WomenofWeb2.0.
How will this work?
If you are inclined to share one Web 2.0 tool and how you use it with staff or students please go to our Delicious account, login with 80waysaroundweb2 and the pw of sharing2 . Or you can always leave the same information here in the comments section! It would be totally amazing to get 80 comments, I think Gwen would flip!
Leave the name of the Web 2.0 tool, and the URL connected to the tool. Leave a little description, mention where you are from. If there is a URL for an example of how you have used the tool please share that too. You too can be part of Around the Web in 80 Ways!
After I posted, my editor, Gwen Solomon, challenged me that I had mentioned people I knew and the tools they were using. She wondered how prevalent it was to have teachers and administrators using Web 2.0 tools. Gwen asked, "what was hype and what was hope. I'm still questioning how widespread exemplary use of these wonderful tools is in classrooms." She continued, "Other than Bob Sprankle, what great models are there? What exemplary uses of the tools can you share? I want to see how learning what to do translates into teaching with the tools and I'm hoping that you know."
Well, although Gwen didn't mean this as a challenge, it is a collective demonstration of our love of the tools we find on the web and how we use these tools to engage our students and staff. Bob Sprankle and I brainstormed and came up with this idea. (Shoutout to Bob for his help, and a huge shoutout to all of you who will participate!)
I am going to use Twitter.com to start, all my contacts with the Webheads, my contacts with Classblogmeister, my contacts at Webcastacademy and WomenofWeb2.0.
How will this work?
If you are inclined to share one Web 2.0 tool and how you use it with staff or students please go to our Delicious account, login with 80waysaroundweb2 and the pw of sharing2 . Or you can always leave the same information here in the comments section! It would be totally amazing to get 80 comments, I think Gwen would flip!
Leave the name of the Web 2.0 tool, and the URL connected to the tool. Leave a little description, mention where you are from. If there is a URL for an example of how you have used the tool please share that too. You too can be part of Around the Web in 80 Ways!
Around the WEB in 80 Ways!
Sunday, November 2, 2008
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