1. How does your passion affect and reflect who you are as a person and learner?
2. How does technology affect and reflect who you are as a person and learner?

To begin answering these questions, students must come to understand that learning can be informal, social, and networked.  Social networking, the topic of our second lesson, binds these ideas together and is of vital important to Generation Y:

According to Pew Internet, 65% of teens 12-17 use online social networks as of February 2008, up from 58% in 2007 and 55% in 2006, and this upward trend is likely to continue.  Consider these recent findings:

“The Pew Research Center’s Internet & American Life Project and the Imagining the Internet Center at Elon University recently interviewed 895 technology leaders as part of a series of surveys on the evolution and social impact of online technologies. Participants previously opined on the social impact of the Internet by 2020 and the future of cloud computing.

Sixty-seven percent of respondents believed that information sharing will prove to be more than a passing fad for Generation Y as the habit has grown to become an integral part of how burgeoning and young adults find information, seek help, sustain and nurture friendships and remain engaged with their communities.”

While the relevance of online socialization to Millennials is clear, the role and presence of social media in the classroom is imprecise at best.  Students frequently venture into virtual spaces with little or no sense of what constitutes proper behavior, the consequences of their naivety can be severe, and as educators, we need to assume a degree of responsibility.  Just as classroom expectations are introduced, reinforced, and ingrained from an early age, so too should the principles of digital etiquette and responsible use.  And just as classroom rules and procedures are best learned in the classroom, the intricacies of online behavior that can facilitate informal, social, and networked learning are best acquired in a secure yet authentic online environment.

Digital Literacy Learning Network

Every student in my course is a member of the Digital Literacy Learning Network (DLLN).  Powered by Schoology, the DLLN  is a private community that provides (1) a space for student resources and learning activities and (2) an interface for exploring social networking.  As I explained to the students, it is a safe environment–a virtual walled garden–where we can learn together without the pressures of the outside world.  As such, parents, teachers, and administrators are not yet part of the process.  Our first steps (and missteps) will be ours alone to experience; we are a newly-formed team and holding closed practices.  Although some may question that decision, social networking is built on relationships and trust.  Students need to get to know and trust me, and each other, before moving to a wider sphere of influence and interaction.

In social networks, user profiles are essential for establishing  relationships.  As a first activity and introduction to the DLLN, students completed their online profile.  As the students began detailing their interests, hobbies, and extracurricular activities, the question of what types of information should/should not be shared invoked lively conversation.  While everyone was quite familiar with the expression TMI, many were unaware that divulging identifying information (e.g. school, age, address, etc.) is unwise and potentially dangerous.  Although there is nothing in the Schoology profile that would be considered questionable, establishing the “TMI mindset” now will hopefully prevent problems later when such safeguards are not in place.

The students and I still have a long way to go in developing our DLLN; learning to make “friends”, post status updates, send messages, form and join groups, and other networking activities will all come in good time and foster the teaching-learning experience.  For the moment, though, we have taken the first step toward establishing an online space that is engaging and instructional rather than simply didactic and prescriptive.  Social networking IS more than a passing fad; hopefully our efforts will help ensure that responsible online sharing becomes the rule, not the exception.

In reworking my course over the summer, I decided to draw upon lessons learned from our Summer Teacher Institute and (1)  reframe my curriculum using elements of Understanding by Design (UbD), (2) employ principles of Passion-Based Learning (P-BL) (3) design differentiated learning experiences, (4) utilize student expression styles, and (5) create an online learning network to connect students and faculty.  Given that “Digital Literacy” only meets once every six days, for a total of 8 lessons, it’s something of an ambitious plan but one that I feel the students are ready to embrace.

Goals, Questions, Understandings, and Outcomes
To begin our first lesson, I presented students with the essential questions, enduring understandings, and performance outcomes for the course:

DL_UBD_2010

As Bill notes in his introduction of the book on The Tempered Radical, ” While you’ll find plenty of handouts detailing best practices for introducing new digital tools to your students, the focus of each chapter—and the strategies that I recommend—stands squarely on the characteristics of good teaching.  Readers will learn about the characteristics of effective persuasion and information management practices.  They’ll explore the characteristics of collaborative dialogue—a communication practice that has been essential for centuries—and take a closer look at the types of problems that students need to solve.”

Although iGeneration is available in hardcover and paperback (and well worth the nominal investment), for a very limited time Solution Tree is making the book available FREE OF CHARGE when you sign up for a complimentary Solution Tree account.    In addition, Meg Ormiston, author of Creating a Digital Rich Classroom, and Adam Garry,  iGeneration co-author, will be joining Bill for a  focused three-day Voicethread conversation, August 26-28, on the characteristics of effective teaching.  Details will be forthcoming and I would encourage you to participate in this exciting endeavor.  In the meantime, grab a copy of iGeneration and enjoy.

Happy Reading!

“Designed as an effort to raise awareness about the importance of being digitally resilient in the 21st Century Classroom and to help teachers new to technology understand that even digital veterans have computer meltdowns, Epic Tech Fail Day authors should write short pieces about the struggles that they’ve had in their work with technology…and then share lessons learned from their disasters. “

Having been in education for nearly 20 years, I’ve certainly experienced my share of technical failures.  My personal best (or worst as the case may be) occurred last August and left quite an impression on all concerned.

Out of the Box Day: An Epic Tech Fail

For those who may not know, I work at a JK-12 independent school with a 1:1 Tablet PC program in grades 7-12.  As the middle school instructional technology coordinator, I am responsible for helping organize our 7th grade Tablet deployment, more commonly known as “Out of the Box Day.”   As anyone who has experienced the joys of computer deployment can attest, Box Day is a hugely important endeavor, made even more so for us because it’s the first official event of the year and serves to welcome new students and parents to the School community.   Our faculty and staff endure months of planning and preparation, countless meetings and emails, endless revisions to the orientation wiki, and untold pressures to ensure that everything goes according to plan.

The plan, in simple terms, involves students, parents, and faculty gathering together to hear some inspirational remarks from the Division Head, Academic Dean, and yours truly, then dispersing into smaller, more manageable groups for basic training.  When properly implemented, the plan leaves students feeling comfortable with the Tablet, parents confident in their choice of schools, and the faculty and staff energized for a new year of teaching and learning.  But, to paraphrase Robert Burns, “The best plans of men and mice often go awry.”

Having dutifully listened to the prerequisite speeches and instructions, our students’ persistence was finally rewarded; at last they received their Tablets and were directed to log in to the network.   However, instead of being greeted by the familiar Windows chime they were instead presented with a  blank blue screen and rotating hourglass.  One minute passed, then another.  As the clock steadily ticked and the hourglass spun, anxiousness gave way to apprehension; nobody could log in and no one knew why.  The students were terribly disappointed, the teachers openly frustrated, and the tuition-paying, Tablet-leasing parents extremly wary.  Out of the Box Day was dead in the water but the show, as they say, had to go on…and it did.

As our Epic Tech Fail unfolded across campus, extraordinary teachers rose to the occasion, asked the students and parents to be patient, and formed their own versions of “Plan B.”  As they waited for the login script to finish,  they lead discussions on responsible use, electronic etiquette, learning in the digital age, and anything/everything else the students and parents wanted to know.  What could have been a complete waste of time became time well spent.  Finally, after nearly 20 minutes, the Welcome Screen appeared, a collective sigh of relief was heard, and we moved forward.  Adjustments were made, the schedule was maintained, and everyone left feeling comfortable, confident, and energized: mission accomplished.

Image Source: www.flickr.com/photos/leoprieto/ CC Attribution

A few days later we learned the cause of our login issues; someone had inadvertently plugged both ends of an Ethernet cable into a switch, thereby creating an infinite loop and flooding the network with traffic.   At the time, we did not have the proper tools in place to detect such a problem; today we do.  We also learned that having a “Plan B”  when using technology is essential, even when “Plan A” must be carried to completion.  Our Box Day agenda this year includes a list of topics that can be addressed should unforseen problems arise.  Perhaps the greatest lesson, though, was the simple reminder that although the technology of our 1:1 program sets us apart, the character of our teachers is what makes us stand out.

Over the years I’ve acquired and read a substantial number of books on the many facets of education. My collection, which spans several shelves in our home library, includes names that should be familiar to us all: Howard Gardner,  Grant Wiggins, Jay McTighe, Alfie Kohn, Carol Dweck, Robert  Marzano, Charlotte Danielson, Eric Jensen, John Bransford, John Bruer, Rick Wormeli, Carol Tomlinson, and scores of others. Collectively, this group has influenced countless educators across the country and around the world; teachers flock to their keynotes, administrators make their work required reading.  And while they represent some of the brightest, most respected minds of our time, not one of them appears to have mastered the subtle art of social networking.

If you search Twitter for Dweck or Danielson, you’ll come up empty.  Same holds true for Gardner, Jensen, Bransford, Bruer, and Wormeli.  Carol Tomlinson aka @cat3y has tweeted only twice, most recently in August of 2009.  Marzano, Wiggins, and Kohn have written dozens of books and hundreds of articles; together they follow a total of eight people.  Perhaps McTighe was speaking for them all with his one and only tweet: “I just signed on [to] TWITTER. Now what?????”  Now what indeed.

Social tools like Twitter, Facebook, and LinkedIn have enabled educators to form vibrant, extended learning communities.  Pre-service and veteran teachers alike are able to exchange ideas, shape and expand their thinking, and find and develop their professional voice.  Some voices are more learned, some simply more vocal, but the voices we should all be listening to are largely missing or silent.  And yes, I did say “we should all be listening to.”  Whether you agree with their research and theories or not, the aforementioned literally wrote the book (or at the very least a good number of its chapters) on modern education.

Imagine being able to read Gardner’s latest tweets about multiple intelligences, or Danielson’s thoughts on successful teaching practices.  Wouldn’t it be something to follow a conversation thread about differentiation with Wormeli and Tomlinson, or put a few questions to Wiggins and McTighe regarding essential questions and enduring understandings?  Granted, there are certainly others who tweet about these topics, and many do an exceptional job.  Does it really matter, then, if Gardner et al. are not engaging us online?

Absolutely.

By not effectively participating in social media, the aforementioned are missing opportunities to share and accurately represent their work with a global audience and solicit feedback from those of us who put theory into practice.  Because these luminaries are not part of our learning landscape, they risk becoming irrelevant to a growing populous of networked teachers.  Without lending their voices to the often chaotic stream of online thought that is social media, louder but often less thoughtful voices will lead the way.

To those whose ideologies have shaped this profession, it’s not too late to get started; come join us.

• Written
• Oral
• Artistic
• Computer
• Audio/Visual
• Commercial
• Service
• Dramatization
• Manipulative
• Musical

My goal is to have the students complete the instrument, identify their preferred form of expression, and create a final product for their research project (a topic for another time) that (1) reflects their preference and (2) utilizes technology.  For example, a student who leans toward musical expression might use TraxPC, GarageBand, or Aviary’s Roc to create a composition; an artistically minded student could make a cartoon or graphic novel using Comic Life or ToonDoo.  Although the students will be free to choose whatever tool best meets their needs, I would like to provide technology suggestions for each expression style…and this is where I would really appreciate your input.

This open-access Google spreadsheet has a column for each type of product/form of expression and representative student outputs from Kettle, Renzulli, and Rizza.  If you have a favorite Web 2.0 tool or other technology that can support a form of expression, please add it to the list.   Once I’ve compiled all the recommendations, I’ll share the results so that others can benefit from your collective wisdom.  In the meantime, I hope you’ll take a moment to look things over and contribute if you can.

Cheers!

Throughout the course of the morning, our small, diverse, and dedicated group explored some of the pedagogical benefits of wikis (cooperative learning, project-based learning, and authentic assessment), explored a variety of wiki examples that spanned all grade levels and disciplines, experimented with several wiki tools, including Wikispaces, Mediawiki, and PBworks, and discussed strategies for effectively assessing student work. Whether you are new to wikis or simply looking to enhance your skills, all session notes and resources are available here; please use and reuse to your benefit.

We invited teachers to show us how ePals has opened the world for their students. Applicants each submitted projects that they had successfully implemented in their classrooms, examples of student work, and a video application, telling us what ePals brought to their teaching and to their students’ learning. Outstanding entries came from all corners of the world, inspiring us with amazing projects, successful collaborations, and enthusiastic students. The winning Teacher Ambassadors showcase ePals core principles of global awareness, collaborative and authentic learning, digital literacy and innovation. Take a look at their projects; watch their videos; peruse their student work. They are inspirations to the entire ePals Global Community. Congratulations to ePals 2010 Ambassadors.

Natural Disaster/Severe Weather Investigation

Mike’s Natural Disaster/Severe Weather Investigation Project, which was also featured on St. Louis’ Fox 2 News, asked students from around the world to respond to three questions:

1. What severe weather/disasters does your country experience?
2. What do you do to prepare for such events.
3. Tell us about a famous weather/disaster event that occurred in your country.

Here is Mike’s video overview of the project:

The artifacts and final products, which include photographs, videos, and essays, are all available on Mike’s GeoSquirts Website.  Here are some of his students reading first-hand accounts of Typhoon Ondoy from fellow students at the Claret School, Quezon City, the Philippines:

Winter Olympics

In the spirit of the Olympic games, Jeff’s class created their own Olympic torch and attempted a “virtual” torch relay. The five Olympic rings represent the five regions of the world, the Americas, Europe, Asia, Africa and Australia. Their goal was to see if they could get their torch to all of these regions.

Here is Jeff’s video overview of the project:

All the images submitted of the torch are available on Jeff’s Winter Olympics Project site. Here is the class Wallwisher page with comments from students from several continents and countries:

Congratulations to Mike, Jeff, and their students; you have made global education come alive in the classroom!

Angela: Inspiration, Adaptation, and Being Intentional

Candice sent me the materials she had previously used for TKM. In several email attachments I found vocabulary words, reading notes, a multi-genre project, and a variety of miscellaneous files. The mutli-genre project caught my eye, instantly I had an idea to both revamp the project and introduce students (and incidentally Candice herself) to the Prezi.

In the upper school I’d seen teachers use the Prezi in the place of PowerPoint and other presentation editors, but I had not seen students introduced and asked to create something with the technology. The idea of allowing them to take charge and create something new based on TKM was too good to pass up.

I spent the following weekend brainstorming and adapting the multi-genre project for the Prezi. The original project consisted of three parts: a creative writing piece, a visual arts piece, and a technological piece. From the materials given to me by Candice it was clear that students had to add another layer to the book outside of what is presented by Scout’s (the narrator) point of view. It seemed to me that the Prezi would provide an interesting medium to bring all three components of the project to one place.

Before presenting the idea to Candice I showed her previous Prezi’s I had created.

With Candice’s support I immediately started work on a TKM Prezi to introduce students to both the technology as well as how TKM could be transformed. I began by playing around with images (both contemporary and historic) to represent the varying aspects of Scout and Maycomb. I decided to focus on the first half of the book based on Scout’s viewpoint. My first crack at creating a Prezi for TKM left me feeling as if I was not quite expressing what I needed. I was not being intentional enough. I had to sit down and rethink how to arrange the Prezi to show students the capabilities of a Prezi (the cool zooming effects and hidden images within larger words and images) while having an invisible path that made sense to 8th graders. Furthermore, I had to be more intentional about content. If I was going to ask 8th grade students to not only tackle a new technology but to complete an assignment worth a significant part of their grade I had to be intentional about showing them new aspects of the book not presented directly in the text.

I presented my rather lengthy and content heavy Prezi to students. We discussed how I had given my Prezi its path, why I had chosen to visually present it the way I did, and why I chose the images I used. Students understood that while my path was invisible there was indeed a method to my madness. I chose to path my Prezi based on the chronology of the book, introducing characters as they were introduced by Scout. I used quotes from Scout to give a snapshot view of the characters personality. For example “Jem was born hero” and “Dill Harris could tell the biggest one’s I’d ever heard”. Furthermore, family members were placed together in frames to represent kinship, something highly important to the older citizens of Maycomb. A map of Maycomb, drawn by a child, was used as the centerpiece of my Prezi. Students were asked why this was appropriate – the narrator Scout is a young girl.

Through Scout readers are introduced to the geography of Maycomb as well as the underlining themes of race, class, and gender. Using Scout I introduced students to the conflict between Scout’s tomboyish ways and the sweet young lady Jean Louise (Scout’s birth name) is supposed to be according to the matriarch of the family (Aunt Alexandra). To introduce the theme of racism, students were shown a series of quotes from Scout about her caretaker Calpurnia and the mistreatment of the Robinson family compared to the much despised Ewells. Lastly, Scout’s encounters with the Cunninghams and Ewells gave the perfect opportunity to introduce students to the underlying theme of classism.

After presenting, I informed students that they would soon be given the opportunity to create their own Prezis. They were instructed to begin thinking about what they would like to do – they were not allowed to use Scout. They were told that they needed to choose a character or a theme based on TKM and add another layer based on their own understanding.

Lessons Learned

While hindsight is a blessing, it means nothing if it does not lead to reflection and lessons learned. In designing and implementing this project I learned quite a bit:

• Eighth grade students for the most part may be easily overwhelmed and/or will do the least amount of work when introduced to new technology.
• While some projects were brilliant, far too many were subpar and showed little understanding for the intended goal of the project. Learning how to create a Prezi was secondary goal and due to its status as new technology for these students became the focal point instead of the book.
• More class time is needed to discuss the capabilities of the Prezi as an English tool
• In my view, the Prezi is a much needed complement to the study of classic literature. In a one-to-one school such as MICDS often students fail to see the value of classic texts, with computers always at arm’s length there is always a video or pre-packaged tool to use. With the Prezi students are pushed to evaluate the book and incorporate visual support for the themes found in literature. Imagine a student giving a presentation on symbolism and using images to present to his or her peers. Or a student wanting to delve deeper into the use of juxtaposition as a literary tool and using the technology of the Prezi to give a visual representation of its usage in a novel. Using the Prezi students are able to create a marriage between the never ending resources they have access to via the web and stylistic elements of classroom literature.
• In teaching the Prezi to students, Candice also became a student.

Similar to any other student presentation, a Prezi must be graded not only on the visual aspect, but on what is added. Students own perspectives and interpretations of the novel must shine through creating a second layer to the story.

Candice: Becoming the Student

Angela sat next to me one day and said, “Hey. Have you ever seen a Prezi?”

“No,” I replied, “I’ve never even heard of one.”

“Here, let me show you one I made.”

And she did. I was amazed at what Angela had accomplished with this application and asked if she thought it would work as a tool for my students to use for a project for To Kill a Mockingbird. We commiserated on the objectives of the lesson, but I settled back and for the next couple of classes, while Angela taught, and became a student myself.

This is what I learned:

1. It is not easy to learn a new application. It takes time and practice and repetition.
2. It is not easy to put all the steps together. Lessons need to be broken into chunks.
3. Students need to see the objective of the project clearly before they undertake putting the project together.
4. It would be a great idea to talk through ideas before allowing students to pull information together from the internet.
5. Students need to create a Prezi file!
6. Putting in the pathways could drive a person crazy! (Until they discover this sweet shortcut!!! Which now that Angela showed me, I can explain it to students myself ahead of time).
7. Teachers should create their own projects because then we can troubleshoot better! (Having been through the process ourselves)
8. The Prezi can help enhance presentations that start out with a broad idea and focus into a main idea, Prezis are good for comparing and contrasting, and Prezis do not take the place of an oral presentation but rather enhance the oral presentation.
9. It is a good idea for the student to write the presentation first…then create the Prezi around it.
10. Prezis are a good tool for a creative and more informal presentation…the PowerPoint is better for a formal and more direct presentation.

To experience Prezi for yourself, create a free account and then visit the Prezi Academy for Basic, Advanced, and Expert lessons that will guide you through the creation process. As Angela, Candice, and the students will attest, Prezi can be a very powerful tool for teaching and learning…even when applied to a modern classic.

Background and Task

To make the project easily accessible and the students’ progress highly transparent, the entire project structure is organized on The Evolution Project wiki. To begin, students are provided the following background and task:

Background: Up to this point in our short study of evolution, you have learned about evolution and how it happens through natural selection. Mutations in DNA and new combinations of DNA from sexual reproduction can lead to variation in the individuals in a species. This variation can be harmful or helpful. If helpful, the organism is left with an adaptation that makes it better suited to its environment, thus increasing its chances for survival against the natural pressures from predators, competition for living space and food, and changes in an organism’s environment.

Your Task: You will choose one of the options below as your final project for the evolution unit. All class time and homework time will be dedicated to completing this project. You will present your project, using PowerPoint, in front of the class, and it will be video recorded and streamed live over the internet for others (like your parents!) to see. More info will come later about whether you are working alone or in groups.

The task options, while focused on evolution, represent three levels of academic challenge. This tiered approach to differentiation allows students to choose the option that best suits their abilities and aspirations.

Option 1: Humans are environmental scientists and conservationists who work to study organisms and the environment in which they live. These professionals try to prevent endangered species from becoming extinct. An endangered species is one that is on the verge of extinction. Pick an endangered species and research the following questions/topics. (67 points = B)

1. Why did you choose to research this species?
2. Where does this species live and what survival pressures does it experience there?
3. Which variants within the species might be better adapted to survive the pressures? (This might not be in the research…you might have to figure it out.)
4. How are environmental scientists and conservationists helping to save the species from extinction?
5. What can we do to help?

Option 2. Humans are evolutionary biologists who study how species evolve (when and how they appear, change, or go extinct). They also study how different species are related. Pick a species – living or extinct – and research the following questions/topics. (72 points = B+)

1. Why did you choose to research this species?
2. When did this species appear in Earth’s history?
3. Describe the environment and adaptations that led to the selection of this species.
4. Describe the evolutionary history of this species: From what organisms did this species evolve? Who are some of its ancestors? (Use a timeline or branching tree in description).
5. What evidence supports the common ancestry or relationships identified in #4?
6. What’s next for this species?

Option 3. Humans are driving the evolution of other species because of how we impact the environment. Just one example is how we develop land for our own use, which can destroy the habitat for other species naturally found there. Pick a human activity and research the following questions/topics. (80 points = A)

1. Define/Describe what your human activity means. Why do humans do it?
2. What are some populations of species that are affected by this human activity, and how does this human activity contribute to their struggle for existence?
3. How do we know these species are being affected by this pressure? What is the evidence?
4. Because of this human activity, how is natural selection at work in these populations? Or, if no change has been documented yet, then predict how these organism(s) might evolve.
5. Why should we be concerned by the impact of this pressure?

To help students chose the best option, they are provided possible topics and resources, including a list of human activities that have the potential to drive natural selection:

• Land Development/Destruction
• Use of Antibiotics (antibiotic resistance)
• Use of Herbicides (herbicide resistance)
• Use of Pesticides (pesticide resistance)
• Over-Fishing (commercial)
• Hunting/Poaching
• Genetic Engineering
• Selective Breeding
• Pollution

Once they have selected a task option and specific topic, they begin the research process.

Research Wiki

Each student group is provided a wiki page that outlines the major components of the research process. This approach provides several benefits, including the ability to better facilitate group work, see the contributions of each member, and allow the teacher to provide timely feedback via the Discussion tab. Notice the corrective feedback in the example shown below (click to view full size):

In addition to library resources, students are encouraged to locate relevant websites. Each site used, however, must be evaluated by the student using a simple Website Evaluation Form based on the The Big6 approach to research:
Website Evaluation

Visual Aid and Presentation

As a culminating activity and in lieu of writing a traditional research paper, students create an image-based PowerPoint (i.e. minimal text) and present their finding to the class. The presentations are streamed live and recorded via UStream.tv and parents are invited to watch at their convenience. Students complete a peer evaluation for each presentation and are required to view their own and fill out a self-evaluation form. Sharing their work in this way helps develop their sense of audience, and the reflection that occurs as they critique themselves adds a valuable dimension to the experience.

Making it Work in Your Classroom

The Evolution Project can easily be adapted to other disciplines and grade levels but there are a few points to consider:

• Provide Engaging Choices: In general, the research options engaged the students because they were timely and relevant. Students will not invest themselves in something they cannot relate to or care about so the task must be meaningful. Remember: not everyone enjoys your subject as much as you do.
• Leverage the Wiki: Students appreciate the organization and collaboration benefits of using a wiki. The Discussion tab can be a very powerful tool for monitoring progress and providing feedback, and the History tab provides insight into student contributions. Collaboration does not mean divide and conquer; students must be taught how to work together even when they are apart.
• Visual Literacy is Important: A formal paper is not the only way to demonstrate knowledge. The visual aids the students constructed required them to have at least a basic understanding of good design and visual literacy. A picture can truly be worth a thousand words.
• Audience Matters: Streaming and recording the presentations raised the performance bar and helped the students appreciate the concept of audience. Sharing beyond the classroom provides new opportunities for learning; you’ll be amazed how parents, colleagues, and even students will respond.