Ed Tech Axis

Saying Goodbye to Ed Tech Axis

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 11 Nov 2014 15:30:00 +0000

Hello readers. As of today, I'm not going to be updating this blog any longer. As times have changed, I have shifted my own way of gaining and sharing information. Just as I have discontinued use of Facebook, I find that I'm just not blogging. If I find a site I find worthwhile, I'll share it on Twitter. Although there is great value in reflecting, in discourse of more than 140 characters, I don't take the time any longer. Note that I didn't say I don't have the time. I just spend it differently. And that, my friends, is called moving on. So, I'm moving on, but I'm going to leave the site active because I did a lot of work on it, and the posts are still, even as stale as they are, getting hits. So, goodbye. Check me out on Twitter @BermanDry.

Touchscreen or Not? Chromebooks

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 23 May 2014 13:33:00 +0000

My school is on the brink of offering computers to every child for the first time, ever. I know we're behind the curve on this. Lots of schools have been doing this for a long time. However, my school is on the conservative side, the traditional side and the budget-conscious side. We began with Chromebooks this Fall, and a set of iPads for the littlest nuggets. The Chromebooks were a wild success, I'm happy to say. The iPads....meh. The first graders used them in ways that I'm proud to talk about. The Kindergarteners and Preschoolers...it's just reinforcement of key skills. I know that has its place but I want more. I don't really see that iPads are a better way than simple flashcards for reinforcement. Just more expensive, engaging and entertaining, which reinforces that education should be entertaining. Let me just do a little dance for you while I make you learn your ABCs, too early for you to actually learn them, I might add. But, I digress.

The reason for this post is to ruminate on the decision before us for next year: Touchscreen Chromebooks or Not? We had Samsung Chromebooks this year and they've been fine. Not great, about 40% breakage of screens and such, but they did the job okay. Next year, we want more for our money. We're looking at HP 11s and 14s, as well as the new Lenovo Touchscreen Chromebook, the N20P. The Lenovo is about $150 more than the basic HP and that's a tough sell for our school, for our parents. However, our kids are going to have these devices for at least three years. My argument is that we should buy as much technology as we can because we can't ask them to go buy something newer in two years, when touch will inevitably be the standard. That begs the question: Is touchscreen really going to be the standard for Chromebooks? Obviously phones have gone that way and tablets were made that way. Are laptops really going that way. There's no way to predict the future, but if you're a "betting man" then you have to assume that water flows downhill. So, I guess as I write this, it's apparent that I really
want to get the Chromebooks with the touch feature. Now, I just have to figure out if I want the touch feature because the market wants me to want something we don't REALLY need? That's one of the most frustrating, yet exciting parts of my job: Guessing which way the wind is going to blow. Just call me the Weather Woman. I'm predicting Touchscreen.

Reactionary or Visionary or Just Plain Scared Cyber Parenting?

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 11 Feb 2014 15:20:00 +0000

I recently spoke to a small group of parents at a DC middle school and present in the room was some righteous indignation. It's an enjoyable experience for me to hear a concerned parent share his or her views about cyberparenting from a radical perspective. Lots of parents are happy to be in the middle, going along with the crowd. As I learned from this fascinating article by Dr. Agarwal "Why Some Human Brains Become Leaders While Others Followers" on BrainBlogger, constructive and reflective intelligence are not easily found in people. At most of my talks about parenting in the age of social media, there is usually one, or maybe two, who espouse the notion that it's okay to ban social media altogether. The jaded, edtech professional in me often nods my head agreeably when they talk, all the while thinking "your kid is using it outside the home whether you know it or not." This is mostly because I read articles like "Web the Web Kids" and it seems like it is just so much a part of the fabric of our children's lives that there is no way they are not speaking in their native tongue at some time or another, despite being told, like Native Americans were told by white settlers, that they could not do so.

However, upon reflection, I think that maybe there is another space, another way. Last night, I had a parent who felt it would be a good idea to just jump in the pool with the kids and have some fun. Yes, do that. The other parent asked every other parent in the room, can't we just let them have regular phones without the smart features? I'll say, all they need is an iPod Touch and they pretty much have the same thing; it's not really about the phone, but she kind of piqued my interest. Is there a space in between elementary school and high school where we can and should limit their exposure to these tools or ban them altogether because they are such an emotionally vulnerable group at this age? There's no doubt that the technology tools make it easier to be mean to each other--what they're doing online is just a mimic of their real lives and it's normal to be mean to one another at this age. However, maybe it's important to have a "time-out" where they become literate in face-to-face social conflict before we allow them to immerse themselves fully in online social life. It won't necessarily translate to better online behavior (look at adult behavior online!) but maybe it will allow us adults to get a word in edgewise between the spaces. Just a thought.

Wikipedia Lesson for Research 6th Grade

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 23 Jan 2014 15:46:00 +0000

Our school has a trimester-long class on Research for our sixth graders. It is team-taught by myself and the librarian with an eye towards helping students to understand the wide variety of research tools available to them, and which to use for what. It's fairly heavy on the tech side because, well, that's what our kids seek to use first, but we try hard to show why books are just as important to use. One of the lessons is based entirely on Wikipedia because of its widespread use. I retooled the lesson this year and thought I'd share:

1.Quick mind-map/brainstorm of what they know about wikipedia using Coggle online tool: https://coggle.it/

2. Compare what we know to short Discovery intro video:

3. Read New York Times Article about senator with false accusations made about him: http://www.nytimes.com/learning/teachers/featured_articles/20051205monday.html

4. Fill out worksheet to go along with the article to focus students:
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1K9pXhfcjBWp5hX-6kPqysZK-O3L22xXZbWObcMu4ync/edit?usp=sharing

There's more I want to do, especially after finding this fascinating article about gender and Wikipedia entries, as well as this short CBS wikipedia video that introduces the founder of Wikipedia.

Copyright Unit: Lesson Two (Movies) Update

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 11 Dec 2013 15:54:00 +0000

This year, I have a particularly loquacious fourth grade class and I knew that a "reader's theatre" approach to teaching movie copyright would be an epic fail. Thus, I rewrote the lesson to be less "whole-class." Instead, I used the cases on the Copyright web site as a basis for a new lesson. For this lesson, the students are placed in the role as JUDGE. Each of them has this handout. They are given four different scenarios and must then judge whether copyright was infringed upon. We view "evidence" (clips) from the movies, then students answer questions. Some of these are admittedly not open-ended enough, but did inspire a rich, spirited discussion. Feel free to adapt this lesson for your purposes. The other lessons in this unit are documented in this blog post.

I created a youtube channel with links to the movies and scenes in question. The playlist is embedded below:

iPads and Preschool: Tired of the Rote

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Wed, 13 Nov 2013 18:44:00 +0000

This fall, we implemented a single class set of iPads that are shared between our Preschools, Kindergarten and our First Grade. I'm thrilled to say that our first graders are really working those machines. They use apps to create books and slideshows and multimedia artwork. The Kindergarteners are working on it, sometimes approaching some creative tasks but I'll admit they do a lot more of what we're calling "reinforcement." The preschoolers, I'm sad to say, are strictly playing apps that reinforce skills like letter recognition, number recognition, size and shapes, and so on. That is valuable in many ways, of course, because we need practical applications for those skills. The iPad is a high-interest tool that itself generates enough focus to practice those skills that preschoolers might not otherwise want to practice.

However, I have not yet figured out a way to get to the next step. We're stuck on the very bottom of Bloom's and the substitution or augmentation level of the SAMR model. I follow a host of Pinterest boards for preschool technology and have a whole column on the TweetDeck set aside for #preschoolapps. However, I have yet to see a creative, innovative use for iPads in Preschool. Maybe the problem is that I want them to be doing something that they are not yet ready to do, developmentally. Maybe the way preschoolers innovate is through Pretend Play--not on the iPad.

Brave New World: Managing the Internet in the Age of Handheld Devices

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 22 Jul 2013 18:56:00 +0000

This evening, I am giving a presentation at PEP Kensington to a packed house on managing mobile devices for parents. Here is the presentation, complete with links:

Brave New World: Managing the Internet in the Age of Handheld Devices from bermandry

Ask.Fm: The Newest Teen and PreTeen Social Media Sinkhole

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 24 May 2013 14:26:00 +0000

In the hallway at my school yesterday, a parent of a fourth grader asked me if I had heard about "Ask.fm." Ashamedly--because I'm supposed to be on top of these things--I said I had not. Apparently, it's the newest cyberbullying hotspot amongst some of the fourth graders. After a bit of research, I've discovered that it is in fact being used by several members of our community. The idea behind Ask.Fm is that it's like a game of 20 Questions. Only, there are unlimited questions. You have a photo, a tagline, sometimes a link to your feed (like Instagram or Tumblr) and then anyone either on your feed if you're private, or anyone at all if your're public, can ask whatever questions they want. You can answer, and the idea is that you're supposed to answer truthfully. Here's a great example of a middle school student's profile. I don't know this middle school student, but her page is featured on the Ask.fm home page, so I clicked, read and saw a whole bunch of details about her and her life.

So, how did this become popular and what's the problem with it? Instagram--the most popular social media site among tweens at this point--includes a link to the site on its pages. Thus, lots of curious kids followed their clickers to see what it was. And down the rabbit hole they went. I gotta admit, the idea is intriguing to me too. I don't have to come up with anything interesting to say about myself, I just have to answer questions that OTHER people post for me! I'm a flipping exhausted parent of a toddler; anything that saves me time and brain cells is attractive. I'm not sure what excuse tweens have for taking the path of least resistance.

As for what the problem is, that revolves around the fact that it's an international Web site. Tweens are tweens and cyberbuyllying is largely just a reflection of the very real bullying happening both in schools and out of schools. These technologies just make it easier to do what they are developmentally most likely going to do anyway. However, Ask.fm has these peculiarities:

- A user can register and access full functionality of the site ANONYMOUSLY.

- Unlike most other sites, there is no way to "report" or "block" someone who is abusive.

- The privacy settings (and that's using the word very loosely here) are very limited.

- The site is based in Latvia, which has no laws designed to protect children. There is no one to sue for the fact that children under 13 are its fastest growing segment. There is no one to ask for help to identify anonymous cyberbullies.

Social media sites are a lot like terrorist cells: You take one down and another one (maybe worse) just springs up in its place. Today's Snapchat is tomorrow's Ask.fm is next month's ______ (fill in the blank). For those parents and teachers out there, I'll tell you the same thing I always say, "It's not about the technology, it's about the child." If you have open and regular discussions about ethical behavior both online and offline they are much less likely to engage in cyberbullying. If your child has issues with self-control, you could consider using your filtering tool to limit access to this site. Either way, this is a parenting issue. I'm not sure Ask.fm has any redeeming qualities, but it's important that we are all aware that it's the next big thing...for now.

Image: abstract250206cameraobscura3.jpg By vicky53

Magazine Cover Creator

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 21 May 2013 14:41:00 +0000

It’s the last couple weeks of school and we all probably have our curriculum in place and know what we’re doing. In case you could use one last project or could use a new idea for next year, here’s a neat one:

http://bighugelabs.com/magazine.php

This simple site allows kids to make up their own magazine covers. I plan to use it, for instance, with my second graders who are studying an animal. The animal will be on the cover and ‘articles’ will be about the animal’s features. You could use this for:

-Scientific Breakthroughs

- Characters from Books and from History

- Significant Events from History (to show understanding of key points)

- Math processes (Upload an image of an equation) the headlines explain how to solve it? (this might be pushing it)

I got the link from Teachers First.

Social Media Presentation Number 2,896 and What I Give Parents

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 14:42:00 +0000

This year has been among my busiest ever making presentations to parent groups about Social Media. There has of course always been a casual interest by most, and an intense interest by some. As an outside observer without kids for some of those years of making presentations (and an insider now), I think social media was seen as an afterthought. Kind of like I view toothbrushing with my toddler. Should I do a better job of making sure he gets to all of his teeth? Yes. However, instead I stress out about exactly how many minutes of screen time he has had a day and how much his overall IQ has diminished as a result. Is that nonsensical? Yes, probably. However, I just don't pay as much attention to tooth-brushing as I know I should. I think most parents have had that mindset about social media for the last decade.

This year, however, there has been some existential zeitgeist in American culture. Perhaps world-wide culture, if including the use of media in the Arab Spring. But, I will stick to what I know: social media in suburban culture among tweens and teens. What I know is that parents have awoken, as if from a dreamy stupor, and realized that they have no idea what is happening in their kids' social media lives. When I speak to other parents, there is no way I can give them control over what is happening. Instead, I am giving them the knowledge and the certainty that they do actually have the deciding vote. They do, like the 80s cartoon character He-man, have the power.

A great example is when I explain to parents that the cell phone, the iPad, the Kindle Fire are all MOBILE devices. That means they move. Don't spend hundreds of dollars a year on a fancy app or device that can automatically shut your kids' devices off at a certain time to make sure they are sleeping at night. You'd be surprised how many parents spend hours combing the Internet for solutions for the fact that Apple won't let any one app control any other app. The revolutionary idea I share with parents is that they can physically demand that a device be collected and stored in a set space every night at a certain time. The parent bought the device, the parent pays the bills, the parent is actually the owner of the device, not the child. The parent is completely within his or her own rights to collect the device. I would argue that it is their responsibility.

The other way that most parents have abdicated their rights (unwittingly) is forgetting the power of the group. A concerned and insistent group of parents can together decide that their kids will not use a given application or Web site. A great example is Snapchat. If you and the parents that you know were aware of the fact that the primary use of Snapchat is to send naked images that then "self-destruct"....but not really...you could decide not to allow your children to use it. If everyone decides it's not allowed for their kids then none of them can argue that "everyone can do it." The power banding together as a group of informed parents is limitless.

So, how do you become an informed parent? And stay that way? I cannot tell a lie, it's work. You must read the news. Some colleagues of mine have set up a wiki for parents called Digiparenting. This is a site with links to blogs, books, Web sites and more, all on the topic of raising digital kids. Common Sense Media is also a great resource. They post reviews of apps, movies, games and more. Finally, the very best resource is your child. Be a part of the conversation. Learn how to use Instagram. You might not find it very interesting, but your child does. Your very best source of information about what's going on is your child. If they trust you and you have a dialogue open about the topic, you're more likely to find out what's happening online. All of this is to say that although the parents have more power than they might know, to quote another superhero, "With great power comes great responsibility."

Image Source: http://images.fanpop.com/images/image_uploads/He-Man-Masters-of-the-Universe-he-man-604198_393_616.jpg

1:1 and Learning Outcomes

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 18 Mar 2013 14:51:00 +0000

Last week, there was an interesting thread on the ISED listserv about how 1:1 programs affect learning outcomes. One of the most cogent replies came from Dr. Damian Bebell, an Assistant Research Professor at Boston College's Lynch School of Education. Here's what he said (posted with permission):

"As a full-time researcher and policy adviser, I hear this important question A LOT :)

As others have pointed out, defining and measuring "student learning and outcomes" can be tricky. Also, it is important to remember that 1:1 programs, by definition, mean nothing more than the access ratio of students to computers. So, a 1:1 program in a progressive educational setting may look and operate completely differently than a 1:1 program used exclusively for test prep and productivity in a different setting. So, it is critically important to define and measure your student outcomes (how do you define success?), but also to define what teacher and student practices and uses that the 1:1 program is supporting.

I often joke that policy makers likely imagine that laptops arrive down on students desks on parachutes and instantly test scores start improving (or other student outcome). It really has everything to do with how the 1:1 is implemented. My own research of 1:1 laptop and iPad programs suggests that even in schools with clear expectations and directives for new technologies, individual classroom teachers play a HUGE role deciding when, how, and why students access and use any resource. So, a middle school math teacher in a 1:1 school might have their students using their laptops or tablets for a rich host of self-paced learning activities, peer-initiated projects where kids regularly model 3D relationships and functions. Across the hall in the same grade and school, a different math teacher could have the same resources but use them very differently; perhaps to have kids follow along on a PowerPoint or play a simple math skills game once students had completed a paper-based exercise. My point is that even within a really well-designed and intentional 1:1 school program, we generally see a wide variation in how and when teachers and their students use these tools. From a design perspective, this further complicates research and evaluation efforts since different students are using the technology in different ways and for different amounts.
To answer the original question, most studies do find that the 1:1 programs yield positive results (or at least those get published!). Here are some examples (with links) from my own work conducting and publishing empirical research from 1:1 settings that may be useful:
JTLA Special Edition on 1:1 Laptop Research
This 2010 special edition of the Journal of Technology and Assessment (Vol. 9) presented four empirical studies of K–12 1:1 computing programs and one review of key themes in the conversation about 1:1 computing among advocates and critics.

This journal edition provided a forum for researchers to present empirical evidence on the effectiveness of 1:1 computing models for improving teacher and student outcomes, and to discuss the methodological challenges and solutions for assessing the effectiveness of these technology-rich educational settings.

In the summary article below, editors Bebell and O’Dwyer provide an introduction to JTLA 1:1 special edition, and synthesize results and themes across the studies:
Bebell, D. & O’Dwyer, L. (2010). Educational Outcomes and Research from 1:1 Computing Settings.
http://ejournals.bc.edu/ojs/index.php/jtla/article/view/1606

The individual 1:1 research studies included:
Bebell, D. & Kay, R. (2010). One to One Computing: A Summary of the Quantitative

Results from the Berkshire Wireless Learning Initiative. http://ejournals.bc.edu/ojs/index.php/jtla/article/view/1607

Drayton, B., Falk, J.K., Stroud, R., Hobbs, K., & Hammerman, J. (2010). After Installation: Ubiquitous Computing and High School Science in Three Experienced, High-Technology Schools.
http://ejournals.bc.edu/ojs/index.php/jtla/article/view/1608

Shapley, K.S., Sheehan, D., Maloney, C., & Caranikas-Walker, F. (2010). Evaluating the Implementation Fidelity of Technology Immersion and its Relationship with Student Achievement.
http://ejournals.bc.edu/ojs/index.php/jtla/article/view/1609
Suhr, K.A., Hernandez, D.A., Grimes, D., & Warschauer, M. (2010). Laptops and Fourth-Grade Literacy: Assisting the Jump over the Fourth-Grade Slump.
http://ejournals.bc.edu/ojs/index.php/jtla/article/view/1610
Weston, M.E. & Bain, A. (2010). The End of Techno-Critique: The Naked Truth about 1:1 Laptop Initiatives and Educational Change.
http://ejournals.bc.edu/ojs/index.php/jtla/article/view/1611
-----------------
2 other studies:
Ipad Kindergarden study
Freelance journalist Audrey Watters summarizes the first look at the results of Auburn, Maine’s 2011-2012 study:
http://www.hackeducation.com/2012/02/16/ipads-in-auburn-maine-kindergartens-literacy-learning/

Newton Public School 21st Century Pilot Study
Through the integration of 1:1 student and teacher laptops as well as additional digital tools (such as interactive white boards) in a pilot classroom, a 13-month research and evaluation study was conducted to examine how such digital resources impacted teaching and learning in a traditional middle school environment.

http://www.bc.edu/research/intasc/researchprojects/nps21/nps21.shtml

Dr. Bebell's Contact Information:
Damian Bebell, Ph.D.

Assistant Research Professor
Technology and Assessment Study Collaborative
Lynch School of Education
Boston College
www.intasc.org

Image: By cohdra
Image URI: http://mrg.bz/o0ebQQ

Stuck in Between: Device Decisions

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 15 Mar 2013 16:43:00 +0000

As much as we strive to keep the conversation focused on curriculum, at some point, a school implementing 1:1 pilot is going to have to choose a device. We're at that crossroad right now. We have examined so many devices and visited a variety of schools. I have created a pros and cons table. Yet, I have not been able to come to any conclusion. We're stuck between iPads and Chromebooks. There are so many reasons to try the Chromebooks in our middle school, not the least of which is that the students themselves seem to like the idea! The management of the devices is quite simple and requires very little from our non-existent technical support department. Our families can afford the cost associated. However, most of the high schools to which our students matriculate use iPads. Is it in some way irresponsible to ignore that fact? I always argue that we should be preparing our students for their future. We know for a fact that their futures include iPads. However, what about after high school? Are businesses adapting iPads? Some of them, but I would argue that more of them are adapting Google Apps. In the long run, we want our students to be proficient across multiple platforms. Will they retain the knowledge gained in middle school? Probably not, but they might not be afraid when they see it, telling themselves, "oh yeah, in some corner of my mind I have familiarity with that." As I write this, I can tell that I am slanting towards Chromebooks. Is that because it's familiar to me? Ugh! Sturm und Drang! One week to clear this up.

Image :By kaagen
Image URI: http://mrg.bz/9HTxut

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 01 Mar 2013 22:04:00 +0000

Tablets or TV: which is better?
http://mashable.com/2013/03/01/ipad-kids/

Social Media Safety for Parents (Feb 2013)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 20:02:00 +0000

Social Media Safety presentation for parents.

Social Media Safety for Parents from bermandry

Choosing An Internet Filter (Feb 2013)

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 04 Feb 2013 14:53:00 +0000

I'm giving a presentation at Carderock Elementary School to their PTA on Choosing An Internet Filter on Feb 5th. This is the updated presentation here:

Easybib School Edition

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 17 Jan 2013 14:57:00 +0000

Our school has made a big leap this Fall by finally agreeing to a standardized, school-wide bibliography format and citation tool. Our English teachers, Technology team and Social Studies teachers all agreed to use Easybib (http://www.easybib.com/) as the single way we will all use to create and generate citations. In the course of the last few weeks, all of the students have been trained. For the first time in my experience as an educator, almost ALL students not only took to it like fish to water but used it for a project within two weeks. They immediately saw the benefits of using the tool to, say, create notecards tied to citations, which then can be printed out and turned in. When given the choice, every sixth grader chose to complete their notecards using Easybib rather than a traditional notecard or notebook. One of my students said to me, "This is so much easier and so useful." Be still my beating heart. We're doing it right, by golly.

Fake Text Screenshot Generators

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 14 Jan 2013 18:26:00 +0000

While perusing this week's Teachers First list of Featured Resources I came across iFakeText. This tool allows you to create false text message exchanges. Immediately, I saw tons of potential uses for this fun, witty tool. Of course there are also some real implications for our cyber-safety (Issues in Tech) lessons, too.
I tried it out and had really a tough time getting it to work. Kept getting errors. I wrote a fictional exchange between MLK and his wife Cora in his last moments. Would NOT produce the text. Tried it in Chrome and IE. Same error. Used iPhone Text Generator instead and it worked!

Here are some ideas:
1. Write an exchange in Spanish to practice their language skills.
2. Create an exchange between two historic characters (like General Lee and Stonewall Jackson) at an important moment in time.
3. Write a similar exchange between two characters in a book or play.
4. Explain how to complete a math lesson in text speak. The act of "translation" means they understand in a whole new way.
5. Create an exchange about a book (like a book report) to replace book reviews.
6. Write a conversation about a political issue (social studies) that reveals two points of view.

I could keep going but I have more resources to read about!

Logical Fallacies

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 07 Jan 2013 14:55:00 +0000

When I saw the Though Shalt Not Commit Logical Fallacies web page, I thought long and hard about who, in my elementary school, might find it useful. Not many folks actually. However, I think it's just really neat and I want to remember it myself. So, here it is. For $20 you can also order a print poster to put up near your computer (as the site suggests) "for when you are arguing with people on the internet." There are so many times I would like to explain why someone is full of...baloney. Now I can sound all smarty pants when I explain why.

Morse Code Generator

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Mon, 01 Oct 2012 15:02:00 +0000

My fifth grade classes are partnered with a class in New Mexico for an exploration of communication forms. I am using this Communication Through the Ages Infographic as a starting point and a guide for our interactions. Our classes are exchanging type-written introduction letters to start (they are handwriting theirs), and I'm thinking about maybe making some cave-paintings to send as well. Next, we will be creating Morse Code messages to send using this translator. I'm not sure how we could simulate carrier pigeons or smoke signals without incurring the wrath of the fire martial and animal rights activists.

What Facebook Knows About You

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 13:27:00 +0000

This Fall, I am teaching a course called Issues in Technology. It's basically an opportunity for students to think about moral issues they will soon be facing when using a technology tool like, say, Facebook for example. I want them to look at the different sides of the issue and then take a stance. Today, Alec Couros (@courosa) tweeted a really cool video called What Facebook Knows About You. I'll certainly be using it:

Teaching About Data Storage

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Thu, 13 Sep 2012 13:16:00 +0000

I'm teaching sixth graders about the different sizes of data storage and I see the blank looks on their faces when I show them a pyramid graphic of all the different levels (bytes to terrabytes). So, I went looking for a good infographic that could better explain it. I didn't find anything really great, but this one from the RackSpace Blog is neat:
Data Storage

Web 2.0 Smackdown in Faculty Development Session

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 31 Aug 2012 12:13:00 +0000

As I wrote previously, this summer I attended my first edcamp. While there, I attended the closing session, entitled the Web 2.0 Smackdown! It was an incredibly useful fast-paced session in which any willing participant went to the front of the room and had 1 minute to show a resource on the screen. There were so many Web sites and apps shown that I have fully integrated into my own practice now. I thought it could be a good activity for my own Back to School Faculty Development days. We had an incredible amount of new technology to introduce to faculty and staff, between Brightlink hardware and a new home-school portal. I wanted to make sure to keep it light and fun, because it could have easily been overwhelming and frustrating. I knew I wanted to package it for them in some fun way, and considered a game-board like approach (Candyland? Clue?). Thanks to a suggestion from a friend, I settled on the Olympics...the Tech Olympics. My presentation introduced each task they had to master as "events" like Brighlink Basketball and every faculty member was given a country name, like Valbania and Steven Nam. Sure, it's cutesy, but it worked!

There were so many positive comments sent my way and every single faculty member--even the self-proclaimed technophobes--presented a web site or tool that they use in their teaching practice. Here is the resulting list. I am in a post-training afterglow. Thank you, St. John's faculty for "playing" with me.

Teachers Pay Teachers (www.teacherspayteachers.com)
Class Dojo (www.classdojo.com)
Jam Studio (www.jamstudio.com)
Study Jams (www.studyjams.com)
ToonDoo (www.toondoo.com)
Eduplace (www.eduplace.com)
Abcmouse (http://www.abcmouse.com/)
SciLinks (http://www.scilinks.org/)
Quia (http://www.quia.com/web)
Wisc Online (http://www.wisc-online.com/)
MrRoughton (www.mrroughton.com)
Youtube.com (www.youtube.com)
Geosense (www.geosense.net)
EdHelper Puzzles (http://edhelper.com/crossword_free.htm)
BMA Matisse Interactive (http://www.artbma.org/flash/f_conekids.swf)
Xtranormal (www.Xtranormal.com)
JW Pepper (for music) www.jwpepper.com
PE Central (www.pecentral.org)
Brainpop (www.brainpop.com)
St. John’s Library Online (http://library.stjes.com/)
Pinterest (www.pinterest.org)
Study Spanish Cultural Notes, History (http://www.studyspanish.com/comps/)
Google Earth Gallery (http://www.google.com/gadgets/directory?synd=earth&cat=featured&preview=on)

Tech Olympics 2012 on Prezi

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Tue, 14 Aug 2012 18:27:00 +0000

There were times in days past when I would relax in the summer, catch up on technology journals, travel and finally reach such a state of ennui that I would welcome the return of the school year. That process has not occurred this summer. Today, as I write the very first blog post I've written in two months, I am poised to rush away from the unfinished post to greet my son as he awakens from his afternoon nap. It could happen any minute....

Yes, it's true things are different. The "me" before was on TOP of her game. I knew what what happening in the blogosphere (as if that matters anymore now), my aggregator was clear, I spent time developing my PLN and could speak thoughtfully about most educational technology issues. Every summer, I had a feeling of what was the "next thing" for our school and what our students need to know. It is with some trepidation that I write (and post!) down my fear: That I'm not in the ed tech loop anymore. My priorities have shifted. That's not to say that hundreds of men and women have made this transition before, and have managed to navigate both the parent and ed-tech worlds. Somehow, I just haven't done it. I am aware that it was a choice. I chose to spend my time with my son, in entirety.

He goes to school for the first time this fall, in about three days. Not that I'm counting. As I get back to work, I do know that I will feel reinvigorated by my subject. I will be teaching a class this Fall that I have lobbied to create and teach for years about "Issues in Technology." It asks students to examine moral issues they face when using technology tools and to develop their own opinions. It will be centered upon debate. I'm hoping things get heated! We're also migrating to a new student information system and we have some new interactive whiteboard hardware school-wide. I think I feel a glimmer of excitement somewhere inside me.

There is a place, I'm sure, inside of me for both my child and my career. I've never been great with balance...even in yoga class I found the "tree pose" nearly impossible despite being an advanced yogi for all the other poses and positions. I'll get there, I think. I may never be on top of my game again but I'll be in the game at least instead of at another stadium entirely.

Image: Some rights reserved by theseanster93

I Get Twitter

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Fri, 25 May 2012 12:59:00 +0000

If you've read any of my previous posts, you'll know I have been sometimes ambivalent about Twitter and sometimes downright dismissive. Last weekend, I finally "got it." When I say "got it" I mean that I have figured out how it can fit into my PLN/continual learning model. Previously, I felt largely fulfilled by reading and writing blogs, by reading professional journals and participating in conferences and workshops. What was different about last weekend? I accompanied my friend and colleague Sarah Barton Thomas to my first edcamp. Edcamp Philly to be precise.

This "unconference" was purposefully unplanned before we arrived. Read more here if you are unfamiliar with the concept. It's my way to try to make order from chaos, so naturally I created a wiki to record the day's links and various resources. I wanted to make sure that the other conference participants had a way to contribute, but wasn't sure how to reach them. I'm a bit hazy on how the idea came to me (Sarah? The organizers? myself?) but I somehow knew that I could use Twitter to distribute the link. I have a Twitter account that I established back in October--reluctantly. What I did not understand was how I could somehow connect with all the folks in the room who were not my "followers." That's when hashtags--this vague tagging notion that I kind of sort of understood a little bit on the periphery--became solid in my mind. "Ooooh!" If I tweet this with an #edcampphilly hashtag, then anyone who is looking for that hashtag can see the Tweet. Halle-frickin-lujah. The clouds part. I get it. That day, I tweeted more than I had ever previously tweeted. Seriously I doubled my number of tweets in one day and my followers tripled.

Sarah says I am a tweeting maniac now. I'm not sure I agree with that assessment, but compared to before the conference I certainly am! I will check Twitter once a day.I will post maybe two tweets or so. I'm still checking blogs and reading journals. I'm still relishing the fact that I can write as many characters as I want on this blog post. But now, I understand the power of the hashtag, and the connectedness that can instantly result through the use of them on Twitter. This tool still remains largely a headache to me because of the mass of information that comes through my feed and I still have a that aforementioned desire to make order out of chaos. I'm still working on this, and my approach is evolving. Until then, I do feel as if I have had an a-ha moment. That allows me to personally identify with and remember once again how I want my students to feel each time they work with me. Thanks Sarah, edcamp, and Twitter.

Photo credit (creative commons license): http://www.everystockphoto.com/photo.php?imageId=222751&searchId=feed5d47c860f422712ac902a89865db&npos=7

Ed camp Philly wiki

noreply@blogger.com (Unknown) — Sat, 19 May 2012 14:16:00 +0000

At my first Edcamp--Philly--and in typical fashion I have bitten off maybe more than I can chew by offering a session and creating an unconference-wide wiki for resource sharing: http://edcampphillyresources.wikispaces.com/