Thinking About Learning

At last! With the release of Diigo 3 and the subsequent chatter in the Twitterverse, this great social bookmarking app is finally getting the attention it deserves!! Until recently I only had 2 close friends who were Diigo users. We included a social bookmarking page on our Digital Educators wiki to use in our Diigo evangelization efforts in our district. In spite of our best efforts, we’ve been unable to convert many other Technology Integration Specialists or teachers to our way of thinking about the advantages of Diigo. People just have a hard time moving out of their delicious comfort zones, but maybe some will be willing to jump on this bandwagon soon.

Here’s how I’m introducing Diigo at my K-5 school…I set up a school-wide Diigo account. Only teachers have the ability to add bookmarks (they’re still learning about tagging), but students can access the bookmarks. It’s a great way for teachers to collaborate and save sites for students to use for research, extending learning, and at-home study. Students use the highlighting tool when they are researching. When I taught them how to use the highlighting, we had a fabulous lesson about finding main ideas and determining important information.

Diigo 3 offers some useful new tools. A Diigo sidebar allows quick and easy access to your bookmarks, annotations, and other readers of your URLs. The bookmarking dialogue box offers a suggested tag and the option to share it with friends, groups or Twitter. The send button enables you to email your bookmark, blog it, or send it to Twitter or Facebook. I still need to play with the slideshow feature.

Diigo has added new meaning to the word “social” in “social bookmarking.” While I find this personally appealing, I am concerned about how this may impact my students. At this point they are novice users and stay within our own bookmarks, but they are digital self-taught learners. Soon they will figure out how to explore the larger Diigo world, which contains lots more than elementary-appropriate content. It would be great to have an education version of Diigo.

Ryan Bretag posted a great entry about Diigo on his Metanoia blog. He includes a great chart that compares the features of Diigo with Del.ic.ious and Zoterro, and includes the Diigo promo video as well. He makes a very strong case for the use of Diigo!

It’s finally spring break! Yesterday was a gorgeous day, and I went hiking with my mom. Every so often, I need a strong dose of nature to keep myself balanced and connected. I believe that connections are what matter the most…our connections to ourselves, to others, to the Divine, and to the planet.
Ramsey Falls, Chau Ram Park
I was reflecting on the past week and some small successes I experienced in my efforts to facilitate changes in pedagogy in my school regarding teaching from a 21st Century perspective. After a 3rd grade teacher had a fantastic podcasting experience, another 3rd grade teacher wanted to give it a try. She asked me to get their habitat podcasts posted quickly because it would be a good way for students to study for the test. Right then she had a 21st Century “aha!” moment, and she said, “Hey, I don’t have to give them a test. I can use the rubric and grade them on their podcasts.” Authentic assessment for authentic work products…I love it! Making a connection between old expectations and new practices helped her realize that a new way of doing things would save her time and still generate the desired results.

A third grade student in another class made an awesome connection this week as well. When I use my iPod to record student podcasts, I explain to them that if they goof up, I can use Audacity to edit the recording and remove the boo-boos. That seems to relieve their nervousness about speaking into the microphone. After a recording session with me, a girl went back into her class and told her teacher that I could edit their recordings just like they edit their written work. Connections between old ways and new ways… change will happen! I hope that I’ll continue to be an agent for change in both thinking and learning…one teacher, one student at a time!

I’ve been off grid for about 2 weeks…never have time to write at school and had other obligations every night. Cool week at school though! I worked with 3rd grade students to create podcasts after they had researched Revolutionary War battles that took place in South Carolina. After completing the research, they worked in teams to write newscasts about each battle. This was a first podcasting experience for these students. They were very excited, and their teacher reported that she got much better effort with the writing because of their high motivation. In addition to all the Social Studies standards covered in this lesson, 14 state ELA standards were addressed through the course of the unit:

• Analyze informational texts to draw conclusions and make inferences.
• Create responses to informational texts through a variety of methods such as drawings, written works, and oral presentations.
• Carry out independent reading for extended periods of time to gain information.
• Use graphic features such as illustrations, graphs, charts, maps, diagrams, and graphic organizers as sources of information.
• The student will use word analysis and vocabulary strategies to read fluently.
• Use prewriting techniques such as creating lists, having discussions, using graphic organizers, and using literary models to organize written works.
• Use complete sentences (including compound sentences) in writing.
• The student will write for a variety of purposes and audiences.
• Create written descriptions about people, places, or events such as those important to South Carolina history.
• Use print sources such as books, magazines, charts, graphs, diagrams, dictionaries, encyclopedias, atlases, and thesauri and nonprint media to access information.
• Organize information by classifying or sequencing.
• Paraphrase research information accurately and meaningfully.
• Use the Internet as a source of information.
• Use vocabulary (including Standard American English) that is appropriate for the particular audience or purpose.

That’s the beauty of project-based learning! Multiple standards can be covered in relatively short chunks. Students spent 2 class periods researching and 2 class periods writing/revising/practicing for the podcasts. They also learned about social bookmarking as they used Diigo to locate bookmarked information. Check it out: Ms. Wayne’s Podcasts. Expressive voice was a positive, noticeable focus of student writing. To share my opinion of these student efforts, I will quote a student from the Battle of Camden newcast, “Yes, Sir-ee!”

As I have been catching up on my professional development blog reading, I have noticed a common thread. First I read David Warlick’s excellent post, “A Path to Becoming a Literate Educator.” It was affirming to realize that my own personal professional growth matched up well with his suggestions. As I continued to read through my Google Reader, I noticed a transition from personal growth to a collective consciousness.

Weblogg-ed » Changing Ourselves, Changing our Culture
I think Will hit it right on the head. For several years, the question for me has been, “How can I get more teachers interested in using Web 2.0 tools with their students?” Now I’m beginning to see that the question needs to be much larger. In order for real change to occur, there needs to be a buy-in from a larger audience such as a school or district.

My friend, Ron, recently attended 2008 Learning Summit: Learning By Doing. In his latest blog post, A Real Shift is Happening, he says, “Since that time as a school we have started to have some really good conversations about the purpose of our school and the direction we want the school to go and some action has started to take place. One of the best things that has happened is that teachers are starting to truly collaborate and use each other as a valuable resource….It is funny how all of us have come to the realization (it seems so obvious now!) that working together makes us more effective teachers and holds great potential for impacting the learning of ALL students.”

As I sort through all these thoughts, I have come to the conclusion that it will take both components: a personal commitment to continued professional development and a collaborative environment where teachers hold a common vision, share, grow together, and support one another. We CAN make a difference, and I think it’s well worth a long-term investment.

My school is in the midst of a blogging revolution!  It all began with one 5th grade teacher who was willing to try something new, (thanks, Emily!) and now it’s the latest craze.  The students in all six 5th grade classes, four 4th grade classes, and even one 3rd grade class have their own blogs.  That’s over 220 blogs in our school!  The goal is to blog at least once a week.  The students love it because it’s fun.  They stop me in the hall in the mornings to ask if today is their day to blog.  Teachers love it because it motivates their students to write, it ties directly into their curriculum, it builds literacy, it improves technology skills, and it provides a great way for students to reflect and share what they’ve learned.

I’ve put together a wiki with some good blogging resources that I hope will be useful.

Curriculum Connection:

All subject areas: Digital books are a great way to express learning.  I have used PhotoStory 3 to do make digital books in the past, but I discovered a really awesome digital class book created by some 5th grade students in Georgia with KeeBoo software.  Check this out: Our ABC Book on Blogging .

What a week! Have you ever worked on a project where turn after turn you encountered a roadblock? That is exactly what happened to me this week. I have a 4th grade teacher who is working on National Board Certification. She asked me to videotape a small group discussion lesson for her. As I have previously mentioned, I don’t have a digital video camera. When I inquired about using the school news team’s camera that had been recently dropped and broken, I was assured that it would work sufficiently for the task. I went and video-taped a superb lesson, but when I tried to capture the video to my computer, the screen showed up with 1/3 of the area blue, and there was a file error message. Needless to say, I was not a happy camper!

I shared my troubles with my principal, who authorized me to purchase a new camera. I was encouraged to buy one with built-in hard drive memory. Okay, I admit, there are lots of things I just don’t know a lot about. Turns out that HD cameras have their own file type that isn’t compatible with Movie Maker. (Now you tell me!) Also, the cameras in my price range don’t have an external mike jack. I bought what I thought was a decent camera for the money, and taped this teacher again. Great video…terrible audio quality.

Being the perfectionist that I am, I was fairly peeved by this point! I called my former partner, Ron, from the Global Horizons class to borrow the old Sony camera(which I knew had an external mike), and I scheduled a time for a 3rd videotape session.  FINALLY I was able to get a video with quality audio, and the lesson was superb! My next challenge is to learn how to effectively use my new hard drive video camera.  I’m going to need a DVD burner next!

Curriculum Connections:

Literacy: One of my 5th grade teachers found this great lesson on learning to write details in descriptive writing: Looking for Details? It’s a fabulous lesson for teaching sensory imagery.  Her students posted their writing on their blogs.  Check out this great student work sample: A Snowy Day.

In support of my efforts to promote blogging at my school, I have produced a couple of very simple videos about blogging.  One is for teachers (embedded in an earlier post) and one is for students, introducing the concepts of blogging.  Originally I produced the videos in PhotoStory.  When I uploaded them to TeacherTube and played them, they kept hanging up with buffering.  Needless to say, this was not satisfactory to me.  Who wants to watch a video that keeps stalling?  I have spent a ridiculous amount of time trying to redo them in a format that would play smoothly.  Ultimately I used Movie Maker to upload the images, an iPod to record the narrations, and then imported those audio files into Movie Maker.  This version of the video plays just fine in TeacherTube, but the transitions are not as interesting as with PhotoStory.  Click here for Blogging for Beginners.  Anyone have any tips for using PhotoStory videos with TeacherTube?

On a personal note, my nephew, Joshua, won his school spelling bee today for the 2nd year in a row.  You rock, Joshua!!!

I had the privilege Friday of attending a Panel of Peers workshop sponsored by NCR. It was a gathering of people from the business world who share and discuss best practices for eCommerce. As an educator, I was interested to see how the business world is utilizing Web 2.0 tools. I have concerns about the fact that the education establishment is not changing quickly enough to keep up the the rapidly changing digital world. NCLB has reduced the educational focus of lawmakers to test results and national rankings. This narrowness generally precludes a creative educational environment with an ability to adapt itself to the challenges of a global digital market.

I believe that the only way this will change is for there to be a stronger partnership between businesses and schools. Let’s face it…money talks. Lawmakers don’t listen to teachers about what’s best for education, but the business world has the clout to be heard. Business leaders need to see first-hand what’s going on in our schools. In spite of our poor reputation in this state, some amazing things are happening. But are we doing enough to prepare our students for this century?

Some benefits of a stronger bond between businesses and schools:

• Two-way communication about the skills future workers need and what is being taught would strengthen the curriculum.
• The presence of business leaders in schools provides good role models for students and illustrates the value of a good education.
• As business leaders become informed about the needs of schools and students, they will be better prepared to communicate with lawmakers as a supportive voice for education and the changes that need to be made.
• Career education can be greatly enhanced by a variety of business partners regularly interacting with schools.
• Businesses have resources to meet some of the needs of students and teachers. (I currently need a digital video camera to use for a variety of purposes at school.)
• As businesses invest in schools with both human and capital resources, the return that will be reaped will be a stronger educational system and a better-prepared workforce.

Curriculum Connections:
Uses of digital video:  record Readers’ Theater presentations to share online, record oral student presentations to enable students to do self-evaluations of communication skills, record book talks for vodcasts, record students demonstrating math processes to post online for students to access at home, record “You Were There” news reports of events studied in social studies, record student skits acting out favorite scenes from books.

My fifth graders are really getting into blogging.  At this point, they’re still writing about topics assigned by teachers, but they love doing it.  As of this week, all 6 fifth grade classes at my school have individual student blogs.  This has been one of my goals, and the teachers and students are loving it! 

Earlier this week we had Math/Science night, and parents came with their students to various classrooms to participate in fun, educational activities.   I was hosting some interactive computer math games in my room.  One of the dads who came in was asking me about teaching the fifth graders to blog, and he told me that this is what he does in his work.  He works for a large company and travels around the country presenting seminars teaching businesses how to use blogs, emails, Flickr, YouTube, and Twitter to improve marketing.   His blog, http://www.emailyogi.com/, shares some great tips for using Web2.0 tools in the business world. 

After talking with him, I became more convinced than ever of the need to teach our students how to responsibly use these tools in ways that will encourage them to be lifelong learners.  As I have been a little immersed in blogging in the past few weeks, I decided to put together a little video about what I consider the most important reasons to blog with students.  I uploaded it to TeacherTube, but it keeps slowing down for buffering.  Then I tried Google Video.  It plays smoothly, but video quality is fuzzy.  Here’s the Google version:

One of the highlights of my week has been to have the privilege of getting two more 5th grade classes started on student blogs. We are using 21 Classes. It’s exciting to expose students and teachers to the possibilities of blogging! The potential for the expression of student learning and literacy development through blog writing is virtually an untapped resource in elementary schools. Students love to blog. It gives them a real world audience for their writing. It also allows them the opportunity to express their opinions and interact online with peers in meaningful ways. Blogs can enhance instruction in every content area. These students are excited about blogging, and it’s a great way to motivate them to write.

Curriculum Connections for Blogs:
Science: Write lab reports for experiments, discuss the application of the scientific method to various science activities, post research findings.

Math: Describe new math processes learned, post answers to word problems.

Social Studies: Commentary on current events, post research findings, compare and contrast events in history, summarize historical events, write biographical information about key historical people.

ELA: Book talks; describe specific story elements such as character analysis, setting, or plot; write poetry; personal narratives; demonstrate reading skills such as fact and opinion, cause and effect, compare and contrast, or figurative language; write biographies or autobiographies.