ETMCHAT on a Wednesday evening

I participated in Wednesday's etmchat. I'm getting better at watching the tweets fly by, stopping to read some, skimming over others. It's a test of brain power. As I get older, I keep reading about doing activities that keep the brain flexible. Tweet chats have to qualify with the enormous amount of processing, multi-tasking and connecting.

As I read, I quickly click on links to be visited after the chat. So here are some I explored later.

Someone mentioned cowbird
http://cowbird.com/
I love their byline: Stories: How we make sense of our lives.
Later someone pointed us to the stories of Barbara Ganley on cowbird
http://cowbird.com/barbara-ganley/

The premise is simple - an image and a story. I've been doing that through a photo blog I have, though the story-telling has diminished a bit. It was an interesting process as with each image I was inspired to try different genres from story to editorial writing to poetry.  I started doing the photo blog because I firmly believe as teachers - if we ask students to write, we have to write too.

Bryan Jack shared a post on digital radio http://bryanjack.ca/2012/12/07/web-radio-in-the-k12-classroom/http://bryanjack.ca/2012/12/07/web-radio-in-the-k12-classroom/
I loved listening to the story behind DS106 - linked from his post http://cogdogblog.com/2012/10/21/ds106-radio-rockumentary/http://cogdogblog.com/2012/10/21/ds106-radio-rockumentary/

Someone else shared http://mediaspecialistsguide.blogspot.ca/2011/08/58-sites-for-digital-storytelling-tools.html 
I'm always a little wary about the lists of tools - concerned that the emphasis is on the tool and not on the content. I love digital storytelling - but we have to put the emphasis on the storytelling with the digital being the way we can make the stories more powerful - adding images, video, transitions, music with a purpose - so that each layer strengthens the story. We have to be cautious to avoid the powerpointlessness syndrome of animations and transitions that add nothing to the message. I have spent time reading Joe Lambert's Digital Storytelling Cookbook and one thing always stood out for me - "the gift of your voice"
Don't get me wrong - I love these tools - but we have to look at them with a critical eye and think about what each offers and how they can be used for specific stories. While I like Animoto - I don't like the fact that so much is canned - that most of the creativity is given over to Animoto. Not bad for a quick upload to show off photos from a day at school - but not great for a deep story.

Winter in Quebec

  Not sure if this link was shared last night - but from Wes Fryer http://teachdigital.pbworks.com/w/page/19791043/ds I highly respect the work he has done. His book Playing with Media has many great ideas for K12 schools

Some stories I have loved to share in workshops:
I adore Connor's story - a great place to explore and think about what the student had to do to prepare for this production. And think about what his voice adds!
http://www.dtc.scott.k12.ky.us/technology/digitalstorytelling/connor_T1.mov
 Visit SFETT - started by Marco Torres. There is a large collection of student made videos
or visit the youtube channel of the Center for Digital Storytelling (adult made stories).

So much to explore. So much to learn. Keeps me young!

Walking the Talk

I think one of the reasons I joined etmooc was to force myself to "walk the talk." I give workshops to teachers - one of which is on digital storytelling. I know about the power of story and encourage teachers to help their students to become more powerful storytellers. We talk about the use of the different layers of the story. Each (image, text, voice, music, timing...) should compliment each other, adding a new dimension to the story. But how many digital stories have I made?

So here is my iMovie attempt. I'll be exploring other ways of creating stories over the next couple of weeks (iPad apps, online apps...)

Comments Feedback Grades Self-reflection

Single Slice Photo by Pernilla Rydmark under a CC license

As we each carve out our slice of etmooc, I know that I am just nibbling on a slice, not eating the whole pie (nod to Darren Kuropatwa's vlog about moocs. I guess we each have to think about how this fits in with our lives. One idea that has been percolating in my head is the difference between grades, feedback and comments.

Grades end conversations. It is a long time since I was in school, but I do remember that virtually anything that was graded was quickly filed in the garbage can - no discussion, no reflection, no going back to puzzle out the why of the grade. So sad that our society seems to thrive on grades without understanding what they do and don't do for learning.

Feedback is an improvement. Hopefully teachers give feedback to help a student on his/her learning path, to point out ways of improvement, to start a conversation with the student about ideas. Does the teacher expect a  response to the feedback or is it one way? What does the student do with the feedback? Feedback is often about the form and not necessarily about the content of a student's work. While this is important to becoming better writers (or scientists...) too much emphasis in our current education system is on those things which are easily measurable. After all, it's good for the testing industry which has a lot of money invested in this way of thinking.

Comments are conversation starters. I find as I write, it is the comments that drive me to write more. And what kinds of comments are most helpful - those that deal with the ideas not just the "I like the way..." I don't always find blogs the best place for these conversations. Sue Waters has been pushing us to go back and read the comments, to continue the conversations. In my experience, often once a comment is made that is the end. I have enjoyed using Google+ more because it is easier to go back and discuss, to follow a threaded discussion. Comments create connections

Comments are important because they help us examine our ideas. Mulling them over, revisiting them and remixing them because of the input of others as well as because of our own thoughts leads to clarity. But learning requires more than that and etmooc is a great place where self-reflection is essential. Not only do we have to think about ideas, but also about how much and how we will interact with them. This requires strategies.



And it is that self-reflection that is most important. Julie Balen shared a post on How Metacognitive are You. Self-reflection is involves setting goals, thinking about strategies to meet those goals and always revisiting and refining both the goals and the strategies. We all need a tool kit of strategies to help us learn in a variety of situations. Learning isn't just about the skill we are acquiring or the knowledge we are assimilating, but it is about the processes that get us there. Still working on those... but then life is about always learning.

Finally Got the Nerve

As an educator I am always encouraging students, workshop participants to risk. It is through mistakes we learn. When I was an ed tech teacher I had a sign in my lab

"An expert is a person who has made the most mistakes in a very narrow field - Niels Bohr"

Mistakes were celebrated as an opportunity to learn. Yet how many teachers risk and are willing to make mistakes. Our culture doesn't seem to celebrate those.

While I am not a risk taker in terms of sports, I have always pushed myself out of my comfort level when it came to trying new things with students, allowing myself to say to them, "I don't know, let's figure it out." And since I left teaching I have blogged and joined all kinds of social networking sites just to see what they were about. But a video blog! Oh no!

So here is my first - not inspired, but a first attempt and a willingness to put myself out there. Isn't that what we have to do? Learning isn't about doing over what we already know, it's about confronting our beliefs, listening to others, pushing our thinking and trying new things even if at first it is beyond what we thought we could do. Isn't that how we learned to drive or to learn any of the many things that our now in our repertoire.

So here it is.
.
.
Much to learn but I had to start somewhere.

Getting Organized

I jumped into ETMOOC without much preparation. So now I am going back and thinking things through. 

What do I want from this experience?
* I am hoping this will push me to try out some new things - to push myself to put myself out there.

Some years ago I was involved in teaching philosophy for children. One of the notions we tried to get across was that once an idea is put out there, it is there to be examined. A disagreement, a building on it, can be done by anyone including yourself. Funny how as teachers we often ask students to do things we don't ask of ourselves. So I will have to put my ideas out there - to be examined, critiqued, and expanded upon. And be willing to examine them myself and, after thought, may retract or change them. It's not only OK to do this - this is the path to growth.

* I have been toying with blogging for a number of years and have wanted to do more reflective blogging. I get started and then peter out. I hope this will push me to write and reflect more, both on my own ideas and those of others - getting inspiration and seeing where it takes me.

In terms of technology -

• I want to use twitter more, both as a contributor and consumer.
• I want to explore curation tools I have not yet used - storify, livebinders - how to keep this flow of information and ideas organized...

* I want to make more connections with educators who are thinking about the changes needed in education. How can we make those changes real (and not just grumble about the current situation).

____________________________________________

Some thoughts on curation.

I have been a long time user of delicious and then diigo. I really appreciate social bookmarking because I can easily re-find articles, sites etc. that I save. I can also create lists of links on a specific tag or tag bundle and embed them on a web page
http://www.diigo.com/tools/linkrolls

e.g.

My Diigo

This is one way to supply links on a specific topic.

I have played with Pinterest. While I like the visual aspect, topic curation can get unwieldy, especially as more and more sites are added. What seemed like a good way to organize at first may have to evolve. The advantage of social bookmarking is that the multiple tags allow you to sort in multiple ways.

I have also been using Scoop.it. Again - it creates a nice visual artifact. If you are not tagging large quantities or sites on a specific topic (e.g. favourite reads on digital storytelling  http://www.scoop.it/t/digitalstories/ ) this is a nice tool. I have used this when giving workshops. However, I discovered that you can only have 5 topics with the free version, so that really limits its use.

I'll be exploring other possibilities and share my reactions. The amount of information being shared through etmooc is massive. I need to keep organized.

Ripples

I've been thinking about sharing. I participated in last night's etmchat -an interesting challenge as the tweets quickly scroll by. One topic had to do with one's PLN and sharing and I wrote

PLN like rings in the water - different levels get different contributions - links, blog posts, direct contact

I started to think about my online presence and my PLN. It seemed to me that I am different things to different people and what I share is different in each sharing space.

There are overlapping circles each spreading their own ripples. I sometimes feel alone, but the experience of writing and sharing, whether photos, personal writing or thoughts on education has helped me grow. Will I ever know how far those ripples reach? Perhaps they barely reach out just to that first degree of separation, but perhaps a little farther.

 I started blogging over 6 years ago and experimented with different blogs from reporting (critiquing) on the many early music concerts I go to, to blogging some of my travels. I vowed I would have a professional blog and share there and started this one in 2005 but I never managed to sustain the writing. That is definitely a goal for this etmooc course.

I had been on Flickr for quite a while when, in 2009, I discovered groups of educators who shared a photo a day. As I am always up for a challenge I joined and decided to blog as well - a way to make me write (it has helped me explore a variety of genres of writing, even getting the courage to share some poems). Each step led to other steps.

Each foray into social media, whether Flickr or blogging has helped me build the confidence to share more. While my digital footprint is large and my online relationships have been increasing and deepening, I still haven't consistently added my voice to the education community. I have lurked. I have even interviewed people in webcasts through edtechtalk and been able to virtually touch some amazing experts - but I haven't really shared a lot of my thinking.

I think an issue with many educators is isolation. Many teachers teach behind closed doors. Sharing is not part of the culture. I spent 18 years as an ed tech teacher. I was not always able to connect with others doing that kind of job. Some questions I would like to think about:

• How do we get teachers to see the need for community - for a sharing and caring place?
• What should those spaces be? Look like? (surely not one size fits all!)
• Do teachers join more if they have colleagues who join? or when they feel isolated and need to find like-minded educators?
• How can an animator help grow a community without becoming too directive?

I'm sure more questions will come to mind. In the meantime - I have blogs to read, comments to leave to start building some connections that may help me answer some of my questions.

About Me

This voicethread will help you learn a bit about me.



I also have many more interests.
I'm an avid photographer, having really started when I got involved in a photo a day in 2009 on Flickr. I also started a photo blog. Although I no longer post every day, my photo blog continues:

I am very involved in music, especially early music (baroque era and earlier) and play a variety of recorders. Here are some of my instruments.

I'm a reader, a would-be writer and lifelong learner. I hope through etmooc I will learn from and with others, and hopefully, they will learn from and with me!

A New Adventure

I decided I needed to polish up some skills and be part of a larger community so I joined the etmooc course. One requirement is blogging. Though I have had blogs of one kind or another since 2005, I have never sustained a professional blog. This is the challenge for me over the next few months. It all starts tonight. And then serious blogging begins.

Kansas City Library: photo by Jonathan Moreau

Reposted from LEARN blog

There has been a lot written lately about curation in education, specifically digital curation. Here is a definition from Wikipedia

Digital curation is generally referred to the process of establishing and developing long term repositories of digital assets for current and future reference  by researchers, scientists, historians, and scholars.

I never saw myself as a curator, but realize that, in using a variety of digital tools, I am acting as one. Although I am not digitizing the content, I am making selections, collecting and organizing. Curation adds value. In an age of info-glut, finding and then being able to easily re-access web sites and articles that I have found useful is essential. With the social aspect (being able to tap into what others whom you respect are curating), my PLN (personal / professional learning network) multiplies the possibilities of finding just what I need.

I started with  social bookmarking sites, where I collected and tagged sites I thought would be useful later. I became part of a network, joining groups in Diigo and I now receive recommendations from other curators; these people are now part of my network. This brings me interesting links in subjects of my choice. I also share some of what I tag to appropriate groups. The advantage of tagging (attaching key words to the item) is that I can easily find articles later. For example, I have been using the key word "curation" and have easily found these items. In addition to tagging, you can add notations. Learn more about social bookmarking at the LEARN site.

I have recently been experimenting with other curation tools and thinking about ways they can be used by teachers for their own work and their work with students.

At a very basic level, teachers may curate websites on a specific topic and share them with their class via a website or document.This is important when you have specific sites you want your students to visit, when the goal is to access the information, not to learn how to find the best sites.

Many librarians curate on topics and publish them as LibGuides. You can find many at this site on a large variety of topics. The sites are vetted by librarians, so the student knows s/he can rely on the information there.

One tool I have been experimenting with is Scoop.it. When you "scoop" an item it is added to your topic. The resulting list looks somewhat like a newspaper. Here is a sample of a topic I have been curating: Visual Literacy. If you want to supply your students with a small number of articles, this is a nice option. Too many articles and it would be unwieldy. There can be a social media aspect to this tool as you can follow topics to get recommendations (and be followed). Here's an interesting blog post about Scoop.it. It might be interesting to have high school students curate "magazines" on specific topics to share with the class. This could be a magazine which reflects different view points on a topic. Students should be able to justify why they chose specific articles for inclusion.

Another interesting tool is Pinterest. I don't recommend it for teachers to use with their students as they can come across questionable material. However, it is a place where educators are "pinning" links on a variety of educational topics. You can follow everything a person pins, or just a specific topic.  One aspect that distinguishes Pinterest is that it is image based, not text based. I've only recently started pinning, but you can get an idea of what Pinterest looks like by viewing my boards. Teachers and and administrators are pinning on topics such as teaching in various subject areas, classroom management, educational technology and books to read. Here's what one blogger shares about Pinterest.

Listen to what some curators say about curation:

What is Curation? from Percolate on Vimeo.

There are many more tools, each fitting a specific purpose. I'll be looking into this more. Are you a curator? Please share how you are using a curation tool. Is it for personal use? for use with your class? or with your colleagues? Is there a tool you love and why?

How are you Reading

cross-posted from http://blogs.learnquebec.ca/

I bought an iPad in May and it has definitely changed my reading habits. While I am an avid reader and my house is filled with books, I have started to read books on my mobile device. Why am I switching?

I’ll be moving this year and am looking at the many books on my shelves. They take up an enormous amount of space. While I love to see them and remember the hours of pleasure they afforded me, I also think about how they will fit as I downsize. The books I buy now don’t need to fit on shelves, just on virtual shelves.

I like the pluses of electronic books. I can easily highlight sections, add notes and bookmark parts I want to go back to. I recently read Lorna Crozier’s biography, “Small Beneath the Sky: A Prairie Memoir” and reveled in her poetic language. I highlighted favourite passages and can easily go back to them. (I read this one with the Kobo app).

I love to read in bed and my partner loves to sleep! Now I don’t have to switch on a light to indulge in my simple pleasure. My current read is “Steve Jobs” by Walter Isaacson, which has been revealing as well as a trip down memory lane as I bought my first computer in 1983 and have owned Apple products ever since. I am using the iBooks app that comes with the iPad to read this one.

I can adjust the font and font size to the way I feel most comfortable reading. This is great for students too.

Travelling becomes lighter as both the books I take to read while on holiday and the travel books themselves are all on the one device.

If you have students who struggle with reading, the iPad can read the text to them. They don’t have to be held back by their difficulty deciphering the words. And for those who read, but still need some words defined, holding down on the word opens a dialogue box. One of the choices is define and the word’s definition is readily available.

The biggest bonus comes when reading books that were written for mobile devices. They can be embedded with links, videos, animations. Then reading takes on new dimensions. I have been reading “Playing with Media: simple ideas for powerful sharing” by Wesley Fryer. It is a great way to learn about digital text, audio and video editing and where to post it. As I read, I can watch the videos which provide step-by-step instructions. This book is a great place to start if you are just getting into using digital media with your students as well as for the more tech savvy of you who want to broaden your knowledge.

Many libraries are now loaning ebooks. You can download the book and it disappears from your device after the loan period.

In a future post, I will share a bit about how your students can become creators of ebooks. Consuming and creation are two sides of the ebook revolution.

What are the downsides? I can’t pass my books on to my 93 year-old cousin who is still an avid reader. I am not patronizing our few local independent book stores as I buy the books online. With my choice of an iPad vs one of the less expensive ebook readers, I won’t be taking it to a beach to read.

Do I read everything on a mobile device? No – I still buy books which I want to share. I have a collection of children’s books and love to sit with a child to share the text and illustrations. Though, recently I came across an amazing children’s book that was created for the iPad, The Fantastic Flying Books of Mr. Morris Lessmore. I still buy professional books. I like to take them to workshops and pass them around to inspire others – hard to do with a digital device.

How are you reading? I’d love to hear about how you feel about the switch to digital books. What device are you using? Would you recommend it to others and why or why not. Are you using eReaders with your students?

And, of course, share your favourite titles.

John Grierson

Living in Montreal, I grew up with films from the National Film Board of Canada. My father had a 16mm projector and my brother rented films for a group of his friends. I got to watch with them. I became a huge fan of Norman McLaren and of course, learned about John Grierson as the first head of the film board. When I was in university, I had the privilege of taking a film course (appreciation of films, not making them) with the man. He was already in his early 70s, but his passion and depth made the course compelling. It was just a couple of years before he died.

The NFB has made its films available on line and today I was pointed in the direction of a film about John Grierson. Well, I just had to watch it. It was worth every minute.

He talked about telling stories -
Walter Winchell  asked how people could know everything about everything in the modern world. Grierson thought about how he could help spread knowledge.

Grierson initially was interested in the press - but "if you dramatized things..... as distinct from giving information you might find a way of illuminating the world" Then he got interested in movies. It was he who coined the term documentary film.

During WWII, he was invited to Canada and it was then that the film board was founded. He was an innovator ahead of his time. I think of how we are helping students tell digital stories. They could do well to watch some of the many films available from the NFB to see how the masters, many of the early ones schooled under Grierson's directorship, plied their craft. Grierson knew that the best way to educate, to inform was through story.

Reaching out to the Network

I just watched two keynote presentations from this year's K12 Online Conference: Playing in Public   by George Couros and The World’s Craziest Educational Videos Featuring ds106 by Jim Groom and Tom Woodward. One thing that struck me about both was that they reached out to their networks to help tell their stories. Each is part of a network of learners and they are prepared to do their learning in public.

Jim and Tom describe their experience teaching and learning with DS106, an open course that has participation from people both enrolled in the course and not. People share their work, comment on and help each other and even set assignments which anyone can choose to do. All those who contributed, spoke of this as a life-changing experience. In some classrooms, where peer-editing and conferencing is encouraged, some of this goes on. In DS106, educators are experiencing the "learning in public" that they expect of their students. I'm intrigued, but not yet ready to jump in. I've been part of the Flickr education groups and just keeping up with my own photography and writing in my photo blog,  as well as commenting on my contacts' work is time-consuming. I am not yet ready to commit more time.

George Couros' talks about putting learning "out there" - to connect and create ideas with others. Here is his blog post where he asked for feedback. He muses on play being about engagement (and isn't that what we want for our students). He pointed to educators who are posting their learning online and who are modelling what it is to be a lifelong learner. In the video, Dean Shareski points out that teachers have to be learning experts, not just teaching experts. Teachers need to model that learning, to show students that it is not about having the answers, but knowing how to find them, whether through books, the Internet or through our connections.

We have to play together, to connect with others and share our learning. And we have to make sure our students have the same opportunities to connect to learn in the larger community.

Howard Gardner at the Global Education Conference

I had the privilege to hear Howard Gardner interviewed by his son, Andrew Gardner, at the Global Education Conference. I did not have to go to the conference; it came to me through Blackboard / Collaborate.

I was aware of Gardner’s work on Multiple Intelligences. I was not aware of all the work he has done on ethical issues. He is part of  Project Zero at Harvard.  Two projects, Good Work and Good Play were of particular interest.

Good Work http://www.goodworkproject.org/

“The GoodWork™ Project is a large scale effort to identify individuals and institutions that exemplify good work – work that is excellent in quality, socially responsible, and meaningful to its practitioners – and to determine how best to increase the incidence of good work in our society.”

He talked about the three "E's" – technically Excellent, personally Engaging and carried out in an Ethical way. This is very pertinent in today's society.

Out of this project came their Good Play project which looked at people participating in new media. The five aspects they looked at are

• What does it mean to have a sense of identity in an online world
• What happens to a sense of privacy
• Ownership and authorship
• Trustworthiness and credibility
• What does it mean in the digital era to participate in a community

This project led to a digital ethics curriculum aimed at high school students: Our Space: Being a Responsible Citizen of the Digital World. The book is available to be downloaded in pdf form under a Creative Commons license. http://www.goodworkproject.org/practice/our-space/

It looks at the issues listed above through moral dilemmas.

From the introduction

"Our Space is inspired by the belief that young people need to think habitually about online life in
ethical terms.
In this casebook, we define ethical thinking as the capacity to think about one’s roles and
responsibilities in the communities in which one participates, offline and online. Such thinking requires the capacity to think abstractly about one’s roles; to do so in a nonpartisan, disinterested way; and to consider the impact of one’s actions beyond the self and on a larger collective—such as one’s school, community, state, nation, and world. Research conducted by the GoodPlay Project suggests that young people rarely think in ethical ways about their online activities

Part of the problem is that young people have had little mentoring in living in the digital world. In the Our Space Curriculum, there are suggestions to teachers as to how to use the dilemmas and guide discussions. It is not enough to tell students that things are wrong; the discussions around these dilemmas will help students to see the multi-dimensional aspects of these issues. I think this will be a valuable asset to teachers.

You can watch and listen to the session here.

https://sas.elluminate.com/mr.jnlp?suid=M.ED21ED4435E02E4D78111D742981E2&sid=2008350You will be asked to download an app which will then give you the recorded session in Blackboard Collaborate

Some of Dr. Gardner's books include:

Frames of Mind (1993)
Five Minds for the Future (2006)
Good Work: When Excellence and Ethics Meet (2001) with Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi and William Damon
Truth, Beauty and Goodness Reframed: Educating for the Virtues in the Twenty-First Century (2011)

He has written many more.

Links to all archived sessions from the 2011 Global Education Conference

http://globaleducation.ning.com/page/2011-conference-quick-links

Learning any time anywhere

One Day on Earth

As the seven billionth child has been born to this planet I've been thinking a lot about the Earth and the state of people on it. While I sit in a warm and comfortable home, there are many whose lives are very difficult. Studies have shown that happiness has nothing to do with affluence. We need an attitude shift in the developed world to see that acquisition is not the road to happiness.  I know that we will all have to simplify our lives so that the constant consuming does not drain the world of the resources and so that we limit the pollution spewing into our atmosphere. While we downsize others around the world are "upsizing" - gaining access to goods that were once out of reach. We need to even out the divides.

This year for the second time everyone has the opportunity to participate in One Day on Earth.

From their web site:
"On November 11th, 11.11.11, across the planet, documentary filmmakers, students, and other inspired citizens will record the human experience over a 24-hour period and contribute their voice to the second annual global day of media creation called One Day on Earth. Together, we will create a shared archive and a film."

I would love to see students take up this challenge and share their voices. And then - follow up by viewing and discussing the stories told by others around the world. Another way to help our students become global citizens, sharing and learning from others. They need to see the view from other parts of the world and in many cases, other parts of their own country.

Learning 24/7

 Cross Posted from LEARN

As money gets scarcer, it becomes harder to get to conferences and other professional development events. In the twenty-first century, this is not a reason to miss out on professional development.  There are more and more alternatives both synchronous (you meet in a virtual space at a specified time) or asynchronous (the session is recorded and may be watched / listened to at any time). Each has advantages. All the virtual conferences listed below are free – and in this case the price does not reflect the value. Top educators from around the world have contributed to these conferences.

Preconference Keynote: November 21
Week 1 sessions: November 28 – December 2
Week 2 sessions: December 5 – 9
For the past five years, I have been participating in the K12 Online Conference. I have learned so much from the many educators who have freely shared their practice.  Most of the sessions are asynchronous – not more than 20 minutes long. All sessions have been archived from 2006 to the present. You can watch at your leisure, learning from teachers and other educators from around the world. You can download them or watch online. It’s great to watch some sessions with fellow educators to spark discussion. This year the sessions will be posted, starting with the keynote on November 21. The following two weeks will feature 4 new presentations each week day with sessions aimed at every level of technology user. The thrust is pedagogy and education in general and how technology can help provide powerful learning situations. (Disclaimer – this is the second year that I have been on the organizing committee).
 November 14 – 18
The Global Education Conference will be held for the second year between November 14 – 18 in Blackboard (a kind of virtual classroom).  Sessions are synchronous, but all are archived so they can be watched later, but, or course, you would not be able to participate in the chat room to ask questions. From their site “ Sessions will take place in multiple time zones and multiple languages over the five days. The 2010 Global Education Conference had 15,028 unique logins and presentations from 62 countries.” I managed to attend some sessions last year and they were of very high quality. The chat room also gives you the opportunity to interact with other educators and perhaps, find partners for projects. Last year’s archive is still available.

November 2 – 3
A new conference this year is the Library 2.011, taking place on November 2 and 3. It is sponsored by the School of Library and Information Science at San Jose State University. Although it is not aimed specifically at K12 Education, I am sure there will be many sessions of interest to school librarians. The schedule should be available shortly.
LEARNING 2.0: The Future of Education January 2012
A new conference is on the horizon, spearheaded by Steve Hargadon. It will be held in January. I’ll keep you posted as I learn more. Steve Hargadon hosts a series of interviews with educational leaders. You can learn about upcoming interviews and  listen to the archives of past shows here.
 Classroom 2.0 Live is not a conference, but a weekly show (though it is on hiatus for the month of October). Each week there is a guest educator who shares classroom practice often around the use of technology. All shows are archived as well as all the resources the guests provide. I know there are some Quebec educators who have participated (I’ve met them when I have been there) and whose students have profited from what their teachers have learned.
Learning can now take place any time, anywhere. It can be done in small increments (20 minutes for a K12 Online session) so you don’t get overloaded. You can watch a session more than once if you missed something or just need a refresher. I know I have watched a few several times as I have either needed a refresher, a boost, inspiration or wanted to share with a colleague. You can pick and choose the sessions that are of interest to you and watch them at a time convenient to you.
One teacher in Shanghai held a LAN (local area network) party, inviting his colleagues to watch sessions together along with food and drinks. It was a great way for colleagues to learn together in an informal atmosphere and to have discussions about education and about changes they wanted to see in their own schools. I have used his model and invited colleagues – it resulted in some great conversations. We want to help our students become lifelong learners. What better way to show them that learning doesn’t stop when you leave school, than to model it ourselves.
Have you taken part in an online session – synchronously or asynchronously? How did it contribute to your learning? Please recommend some sessions you have watched.
Susan van Gelder

Terry Fox Run: Interview with Debbie Laurie

 Cross posted from LEARN

I just read a blog post which talked about 21^st century skills for teachers and students. One of the aspects mentioned was the importance of community involvement. I had the opportunity to interview Debbie Laurie, a teacher in Port Cartier who has lived this for 30 years by getting involved and involving her students in the Terry Fox Run.

Why did you get involved in the Terry Fox Run?
My dad died of lung cancer at the age of 43 in March 1976. When I turned on the news on April 12, 1980, and watched a young amputee dip his leg in the waters of St. John’s Harbour before undertaking a marathon to run across Canada to raise money for cancer research, I knew right then that I was witnessing something that was special. I followed his progress all summer and when, on September 1^st, I heard that lung cancer had forced him to abandon his run, I cried along with millions of Canadians and knew that, if needed, I would do my part to help him succeed.
How have you involved your students?
Every year our school has participated in the Terry Fox Community Run held on the third Sunday of September. Since 2005, we have joined forces with the two French elementary schools in Port-Cartier, and we all walk together on National School Run Day held at the end of September during school hours. I also read Eric Walters’ novel RUN with my class at the start of the school year (learn more about the book here). He has combined Terry’s story with that of a fictional troubled teen, and the kids learn all about the Marathon of Hope and Terry Fox in a well-written book!
What do you think it has done for your students?
I hope it has made them realize that anything is possible if you dare to dream and have the courage and perseverance to pursue that dream. I believe it has also helped sensitize them to what cancer patients go through and how important ongoing medical research is. It’s all about educating and passing the message on to future generations.
How do the parents feel about yours and your students’ participation?
They support me and have since the beginning. Many came out to walk in the community runs, and some even come out to walk with us on National School Run Day. They help their kids get sponsors as well, often at their workplace. Many of the French kids in the town call me Madame Terry Fox.
You have been doing this for many years, have any of your graduates kept involved?
Every year when September rolls around, I begin to mobilize my resources. Facebook has helped me connect with so many, and some have written to tell me they will never forget that first run we did in 1980, and how proud they are to have been part of it. Some participate in their own area…quite a few are kind enough to sponsor me…usually online. One student comes to work annually at the Terry Fox Centre in Ottawa for a week in February.
Why do you continue to participate?
I made a commitment when I organized the first run in 1980 that I would continue to do it every year for as long as I had breath in me. Terry had a dream, I took it up when he was unable to see it through, and I believe in the same things as he did. “Somewhere the hurting must stop…”
Why do you feel it is important for students to get involved in causes?
As global citizens, they must realize that we must all work together for the common good. There is not one of them whose family has not been touched by cancer. They can also relate to the fact that he was Canadian, young, athletic, and determined. I want them to have a dream and reach for it with all they have. I also want them to realize that they are not alone in this world and that they are part of a global community. As such, they have responsibilities towards their fellow human beings on this journey we call life.
I would like to add that because of my ongoing involvement with the Terry Fox Run, I was selected by Coca-Cola to carry the Olympic Torch in the Torch Relay for the Vancouver 2010 Winter Games. On November 10, 2009, in Sept-Iles, QC, I became a part of Olympic history, and it was the greatest night of my life!!
Debbie’s involvement in the Terry Fox Run has impacted on her students. Have you involved your students in fundraising for causes? How has that affected your students? How have you integrated this activity into your teaching? Do you have students who have initiated these efforts? Share your stories.
Susan van Gelder
Educational Consultant
LEARN

No Excuse

I will be adding my notes for the ISTE Conference - but I've been sidetracked with other things. In the meantime

You didn't get funded to go to a conference? This is not an excuse for missing PD opportunities.

Watch the keynotes from the November Learning 2010 Conference
You can watch this year's keynotes live.

From ISTE 2011
Watch John Medina's Keynote
Watch Chris Lehmann's closing keynote

or go to TED talks
Here is a sampling from the education talks

More to come...

ISTE 2011

This blog has been dormant for quite some time, but conferences always push me to share what I am learning. It is great to be back at ISTE, to meet people I only know online, having met them through flickr, through my photo blog, through edtech talk and through the K12 Online Conference Echos. And then there are all the new people I am meeting - exchanging ideas, hearing what is happening in other places and sharing frustrations. Years ago I was given the advice that when at a conference, walk the halls and indeed those conversations that start with other delegates that really get me thinking.

I know these old and new connections will continue to nourish me after the conference. This is not to say that there is nothing to be learned from the sessions. In some cases sessions just reaffirm what you already know (especially for those of us who have been in the field a long time). In some sessions you pick up gems - ideas to mull over, applications which make a difference for students, pedagogical tricks and inspiration to see how some teachers are making a difference.

I have yet to tackle the exhibit area - a daunting place the size of a few football fields. As it is, I am sure I am getting my 10000 steps each day going from session to session. What will follow are my notes from some sessions, impressions of the conference and musings.

K12 Online Echo

I am starting a new show at EdTechTalk, the K12 Online Echo. It will be held twice a month at the EdTechTalk studio. Guests will be drawn from the 2006-2009 conferences and will feature a representative sampling to target beginners, the technologically comfortable, administrators, teachers of students of different levels etc.

The first guest, on January 26 will be Jen Wagner whose 2009 presentation, If You Host It They Will Come will be streamed. There will be time for discussion, questions in the chat room, etc. This is a big leap for me, though I co-hosted Teachers are Talking in the past, technology changes and I have to get up to speed on newer ways of streaming.

It is wonderful to be part of a supportive community both at EdTechTalk and at K12 Online. I urge people to get involved in either organization. I am constantly learning, challenging my beliefs and building virtual friendships. It doesn't get much better.

October K12 Online LAN Party

Please join us on October 20, 2009
from 6:00PM to 8:00PM EDT (10pm GMT)
for a second live event of the
2009 K12Online Conference

On October 20^th, the K12Online Conference is hosting a LAN party from 6:00PM to 8:00PM EDT (10pm GMT). We invite everyone to gather in the EdTechTalk chatroom with colleagues in order to view two past conference presentations and then engage in lively discussions in the EdTechTalk chatroom at http:www.edtechtalk.com/live. The following presenters will be in attendance:

6:00 – 6:45pm Travel Through Space and Time
Silvia Tolisano
Born in Germany, raised in Argentina and living in the USA, Silvia graduated with a Bachelor’s Degree in Spanish & International Studies and a Master’s Degree in Instructional Technology. Silvia is currently teaching at a private elementary school where she serves as the Instructional Technology Facilitator and Webmaster. Having lived on three continents and traveled extensively, Sylvia is well aware of the importance of instilling global awareness & cultural sensitivities in all her students.

6:45 – 7:30pm How Can I Become Part of this ReadWriteWeb Revolution?
Alice Barr, Cheryl Oakes and Bob Sprankle
Alice Barr has lived, taught and traveled on five continents. She now lives in Maine where she is the high school Instructional Technology Integrator in a 1:1 laptop environment. Alice also teaches in the summer at The University of Southern Maine and provides professional development sessions during the year.

Alice was a Technology Learning Leader with SEED, Spreading Educator to Educator Developments and worked with teachers during the beginnings of MLTI, the Maine Learning Technology Initiative. She is now part of the SEEDlings webcast show, along with Bob and Cheryl, which is streamed live three Thursdays a month at EdTechTalk.

Cheryl Oakes lives and works in Maine and around the world virtually! Cheryl works with students and teachers in Wells, Maine and throughout the states of Maine and New Hampshire. “I am also lucky enough to be involved with folks from around the world through my online networks of the Webheads, Worldbridges, EdTechTalk and Seedlings. Join in any of these conversations. You will flatten your classroom.”

Bob Sprankle comes from Wells, Maine, where he is a Technology Integrator in a K-4 Elementary School. Bob teaches over 500 students technology skills for the 21st Century and has been integrating technology in a 3/4 multi-age class for 10 years prior.

Bob was involved with the SEED group in Maine as a Technology Learning Leader and helped train the first wave of teachers using laptops for the 7th and 8th grader MLTI project. He was awarded Maine’s Technology Teacher of the Year in 2006 from ACTEM. Bob’s students have received world-wide recognition for their “Room 208 Podcast”, and have appeared in numerous articles, including, The New York Times and Apple’s Education Site. Bob’s professional development blog and podcast, “Bit by Bit”, is geared to helping teachers incorporate technology into their classrooms and can be found at www.bobsprankle.com.

The EdTechTalk community will host this event at http://www.edtechtalk.com/live.
For questions or more information, contact Susan Van Gelder, Live Events Committee, at susanvg@mac.com or on Twitter at @k12online.