Dena’s Blog

I really liked doing the slideshow of pictures, and I think I could use this particular application for student projects. I chose photos related to a novel I teach in my online Contemporary Literature course, Life of Pi, and I used the photos to tell the novel’s plot (in a very rudimentary way, I must confess). I could use this as an option to the well-worn PowerPoint choice. I struggle for topics to cover in my weekly online office hours, and I think this could be a mini-lesson for one of those sessions. I could use live sessions to demonstrate for the students how to do a slideshow and then give them the option of doing one for their timeline of Part 2 of the novel.

BubbleShare: Share photos – Play some Online Games.

I had a hard time at first thinking of a topic that I would use for searching for photographs or images. then I thought of my online Contemporary Literature course, where we read the book The LIfe of Pi. I thought having the students search for images of tigers, zebras, hyenas, and life rafts might make the story’s themes come to life a little better. Particularly the life raft, since many students may have had an idea of a small, rubber, inflatable craft.

To be honest, I was a little overwhelmed (there’s that word again) at the sheer volume of links to click on the Flickr assignment page. I just cant seem to make it all manageable.

This image is from Coyotos(back in Paris)

I have to say I’m still a little confused about Creative Commons. I think I understand the freedom it gives us as educators, but I’m still not sure how it is different from fair use. I had never seen the CC logo on any website, and I’m not sure I’ll notice it much. I’m not much of a noticer. I go straight for whatever content I was searching for.

I’m not sure CC will impact students’ work too much, no matter how much we try to educate them on fairness, copyright, artistic rights, etc. This generation has grown up with the idea that if it’s on the web and it doesn’t cost anything, it’s fair game. I read the statement that “citing is not the same as permission” and was a little perplexed. How do we explain to some students, who already don’t see copying something from the web as cheating, that they must both cite a source AND get permission to use it? Sigh.

I do use digital images on my school wiki. I get them from a source for which I bought a year-long subscription. Does that give me the right to use them on an unlimited basis on my wiki and my blogs? I’m embarrassed to say that I’m not sure.

I don’t really claim ownership of the activities and projects that I put out there for students to use and complete. I rarely have something that was completely original anyway. So if others want to borrow things from me, I don’t really mind. I think. I guess I figure that we’re all in this thing together, and any help we can give each other is for the common good.

Negatives for using CC…… the only thing I can think of is that if one uses it exclusively, it might pose limitations? Hmmmm…

I visited the topic of “online learning” in Wikipedia and found, not surprisingly, several controversies brewing. Many of the comments were of a sound constructive nature, like the one that said, “It is stated in the Online Learning section that according to a Sloan Consortium there will be 3 million students taking online courses this year, which year is this?” Excellent point. As fast as these entries get edited, it would seem necessary to document statements such as these with a citation or at least a date.

I also saw another discussion item that was valid, but I didn’t read further to see if it had actually been addressed. One commenter noted that all the information presented in the Wikipedia article was positive, and that surely there were negative aspects of online or distance learning as well. Another excellent point. It would seem beneficial to show both sides of the story and not just assume that everyone is embracing online learning, especially in the high school environment.

That is another issue that I would like to see addressed, the different levels and purposes for online learning. An adult using online resources to learn a new skill is considerably different from a teenager using online learning as a way to earn credits toward a diploma. Hmmmmm….. food for thought.

On a personal note, I realized while watching the video that using a wiki is an excellent way for us to plan our next family reunion, which we lovingly call the “Nash Bash.” My cousin typically sends out like a billion emails in the months leading up to the reunion, trying to coordinate plans, who’s bringing what, where is a good location, etc. I think a wiki is a wonderful idea for a planning tool for something like that.

This wiki was chock-full of information, links, pages, etc. Just a wealth of information. I checked into her professional blog and gleaned some nuggets of her personality from it. I think I would like her if we worked together, but I would always feel pressed to keep up with her! J

I started using a wiki this year for my classes, and I’m amazed at the flexibility, the endless possibilities, and the ease with which they can add to my teaching. My students are BUSY, and they are PRODUCTIVE (most of the time), and it is wonderful to see.

I’m a little embarrassed that it never occurred to me to post student samples of work on the wiki, and I intend to remedy that immediately. I have them doing PowerPoints and PhotoStory projects, and I love that I can post them for other students to see. I don’t yet feel comfortable enough to allow students to edit “MY” wiki (ha ha), but maybe that will come with more practice. Or, knowing me, I’ll create a separate wiki for them to play with so they don’t “mess” mine up. It’s the control freak in me, although I will deny with my dying breath than I am a control freak.

I liked the way this wiki was organized. Everything was easy to find. The only thing I wish is that links opened in new tabs or windows, so I don’t have to keep clicking “back” to return to my original spot. Picky, I know.

I got some good ideas from another wiki. What I noticed first: gotta have a Voki!

I like the way she has her links categorized. I currently have the assignments on my wiki categorized by name only, listed in the order in which students should complete them. Perhaps I should organize them in a different way: units, quarters, etc. Something to think about. The good news is that wikis are incredibly easy to edit, and if I don’t like my changes I can always revert to the way it was.

How does she have time for all those networking sites?

I like the way this wiki builder (wikist?) has her courses listed separately, and on each of them she has a calendar that I’m assuming updates automatically.

I loved the test she had on her site for her computer fundamentals class.

That’s something else I would like to incorporate into my wiki. At the present, I have students take a 5-question multiple-choice quiz over each reading selection, copy/paste the results into a Word document, and save it to their computers. How 20^th century is THAT? (I don’t think most of them are even aware that they can keep taking the quiz over and over until they get 100%. That’s why it’s not the only thing I grade them on.) Although I have gone paperless this year, using NetSupport to retrieve documents from students’ computers, I believe there must be a better way even than that. One step at a time, even if they are BABY steps.

On another personal note, I have just learned that copy/pasting from Word into a blog post can make a mess. Thank goodness for editing!

I had a hard time finding something blog-worthy in all my reading. I think I got caught up in the task at hand and forgot that finding information was the original purpose.

I have enjoyed reading most of the blog entries from Cool Cat Teacher, like this analogy comparing people to the Dead Sea. My initial reaction upon reading it was “Yeah! People shouldn’t be like that!” And then, inevitably, because I ALWAYS do this, I found myself asking, “Ohhhh…..am I ever like that? Do people see me that way?”

Cool Cat Teacher, like many others I encounter out there in cyberland, intimidates me a little bit. I’ve just gotten a handle on a reader and RSS and blogging and wikis and STUFF, and then I encounter a little alien words like “skype” and “diigo” and I start wondering, “Why the hell do I bother? I’ll NEVER EVER EVER catch up in a MILLION YEARS!!!!!” I thought I was in a state-of-the-art classroom because all of our students have immediate and constant access to the Internet (both a good and bad thing), and then along comes something like THIS that I can’t even wrap my mind around.

But I love learning just for the sake of learning. I don’t even have to have a practical use for knowledge; just knowing it is rewarding enough. Makes me sound arrogant. I’m not really.

This also makes me sound arrogant, and this time it’s (partially) right. Even in the relatively informal world of blogging and all the other verbs we’ve made up to refer to things we do on the web these days, I expect correct grammar and spelling. As soon as I note an error in a person’s use of the English language, I (not toally but sort of) discount whatever he or she has to say. I’m a grammar snob. The first step to recovery is admitting I have a problem. But I don’t see it as a problem.

To be honest, I hate assignments that say, “Find something interesting and post a blog entry aboutit.” EVERYTHING I read is interesting for one reason or another. Some more useful than others, but all useful. Even if I don’t agree with something, I can still find it an interesting perspective.

Like the blog about cell phones in schools from Infinite Thinking. It appears to scoff at those who would ban cell phones in schools because they obviously don’t see the value of using cell phones as ”powerful learning tools.” Well, I’m in a school daily, and while I value my cell phone and use it pretty much throughout the day, I don’t see the students learning much from/by it. They use it to cheat, target, harass, bamboozle (just had to get THAT word in there), flirt, annoy, intimidate, fight, conspire, confess, but not much for learning. I’m not saying it COULDN’T be used for learning. Just that it isn’t. And as long as it is used for activities that INTERFERE with learning, I’m going to be against their widespread use in classrooms. In fact, I was just noting to myself earlier today, before I read this article, that since we cracked down on cell phone use in our own small, self-paced learning environment, it appears that more……learning……is going on. We wouldn’t go so far as to say the students couldn’t HAVE their cell phones, but the lost instructional time due to texting, calling (however surreptitiously…..or not) has been diminished. This post has been brought to you by an apparently newly emerging fuddy-dud.

I think blog writing in general is very liberating, at least for me personally. It doesn’t HAVE to be academic — but it often is. It doesn’t even HAVE to be meaningful — but it usually is. In my personal blog writing, I have found that I can flit from topic to topic and be as serious — or not — as I want to be. In my educational blogging (such as this one….who am I kidding, this is my ONLY educational one), I feel more obligated to produce “smart” writing.

One thing that blogging has in common with other types of writing is that I find I write differently when I know people are going to read it. If it were just for me, I might not care. As for blog READING, I feel obligated to read everything that someone writes. That is so overwhelming! I try to pick and choose, but sometimes I get bogged down with the sheer enormity of how much information is out there. What if I skip something that is really profound? Arrrrrgggghhhh!!

I appreciate the comments left on my blog by other people, but in this situation I feel like people are just commenting because they’re supposed to! I think blogging can facilitate learning, particularly among the high school students I have used blogging with as an assignment. They write better when they think their peers will be reading what they write. One student made a mistake on his blog (he said he was born “immature” instead of “premature”), and when his classmates ragged him about it, he went back to his blog and edited it. I’ve been trying to get them to edit their writing for years!

I was fascinated by the blog about not assigning homework but dismayed at how much time this teacher spends just getting ready for each class. I love my job, but I’m not going to sacrifice what little family time I have to spend 2 hours preparing for every hour I spend in the classroom. That’s just crazy!

The blog about a rationale for educational blogging is right on the money. The worldwide audience and global nature of blogging give students a purpose for their writing, and isn’t that all they’ve ever asked for?

The blogs written by students are probably my favorite, especially the younger students. Teaching them writing skills early makes it more likely that it will become a lifelong habit.

And speaking of a habit, since I started my personal blog, I have felt obligated, compelled even, to write every single day. That wasn’t true of my sporadic attempts at journal writing. I don’t put restraints on myself like I have to do something serious or uplifting or even sensible every day, but I have to write. And I have refrained from making my blog a “this-is-what-I-did-today” writing activity, because I know no one cares. In two years, I probably won’t even care myself.

Complete a blog post reflecting on your initial thoughts about Web 2.0 and its role in 21st Century teaching and learning. Consider the ways in which Web 2.0 tools might change (or have already changed) your professional practice. How might you be able to use these new tools to to engage today’s “digital learners?” Why would you want to? How might you be able to use these tools to support your own learning?

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Most Challenging — I think the most challenging habits of the 7 1/2 habits for me are #1 and #5. It’s not that I don’t know that beginning with the end in mind is important, it’s just that I tend to jump in and start immediately without thinking through all the kinks. Of course, if I tried to work out all the kinks, I never WOULD get started. There is no way to anticipate every situation and likelihood that may arise. So I usually begin with the MIDDLE in mind and work my way around obstacles as they occur. Habit #5 isn’t really a challenge for me, because I LOVE adding new tools to my toolbox and finding new toys to play with. Even in my personal life I’m a gadget freak. I just need to remember to keep those tools sharpened. Once I’m comfortable with something, I tend to stick with it way beyond its life expectancy. Even if something newer (and better) comes along, I stay with what I’m comfortable with because I don’t want to “start all over again.”

Easiest – Accepting responsibility for my own learning is one of the easiest things in the world for me to do. I have always loved learning and can’t remember a time when I wasn’t learning. My mother says when my older brother was learning math, I would sit across the table from him and come up with the answer before he could. Reading upside down. Before I started school. I wasn’t doing it JUST to get on his nerves; I just loved the feeling that learning something new gave me. Habit #3 is also easy for me, because I (usually) readily accept problems as challenges. The worst thing I can hear is “you can’t do that.” Because then I’m bound and determined to do it. When I’m working with technology, the most frequent phrase I use is “I want to win!” I want to figure out a way to do something. And I just want to yell it from the rooftops when I discover something new or acquire a new skill. Only no one wants to hear it. Except my dog, and I’m not sure he really understands the significance of what I’m telling him.

Most Important — I think in this day and age, using technology to one’s advantage is the most important thing we can do, especially in the field of education. Our students were born and raised in a digital age, and their own informal learning is born of all things technological. In order for them to see what we are trying to teach as relevant in their world, it must resemble the things they encounter in their everyday communication and entertainment. I also think it’s important to teach and mentor others. I find this one a little frustrating when there are educators who don’t see the importance of learning new technology and think that taking courses such as these is a waste of time. I want to bring everyone along with me, and I’m afraid I’m one of those who gets on other people’s nerves by sharing every little thing with them. Sigh.