Course 1 Project & More

What makes us Uniquely Human?
I've posted a course project using ISTE standards to explore the question: What makes us uniquely human? It reflects my current thinking on one section of our g.6 Humanities unit: Becoming Human.
As I wrote the unit I thought about how we're teaching Humanities now. This is my 7th year to teach early humans in grade 6, but it's hardly the unit we taught 7 years ago. Why:

• We collaborate as a teaching team of passionate thinkers & learners. We think, we research, we get caught up in learning more about our subject, the kids we teach and the times we teach in. It's a great environment for growth.
• We work in a context of trust and autonomy. Our common understandings, guide us as does our past teaching, but they are a far cry from the kinds of tourniquet-like scripted top-down mandated curricula that are out there.
  

• We have fantastic digital media readily available to us. We are more than ever linked to recent research trends and findings in social studies. It's typical for a team member to find a great article/podcast/video share it and sparking further discussions and adaptations to what and how we teach. As always, our challenge is to help our students learn from what are often highly complex articles written for an older audience.
  
• We reflect on, communicate and share our learning through digital media. The publication process pushes us as teachers and students alike to learn, clarify, ask more questions, consolidate and collaborate. Digital tools like googledocs, learning blogs, wikis and forums provide a real way for us to collaborate, publish and learn.

It's a good time to be a teacher and learner in the humanities. Thanks for expanding on and affirming this with me in the coetail course 1!

Sixth Sense Technology

2D computing isn't quite sixth sense
After looking at upcoming sixth sense technologies, seamlessly linking the digital world with the 'real' world, I notice even more how ergonomically awkward our laptops are. Here's a creative way my students tried to overcome the digital divide this week.

Wikiwise?
Ever had a great lesson and then thought to go one better? In the past I'd given groups of students key terms from a new unit and set them off to write how they answered a key question for the unit. We then used these to think, rethink and rewrite with some great results. So, this year I think why not build a wiki right from the start! We can build in the links to the words and links to more ideas...it'll be boundlessly amazing. I set about arranging everything in great detail and off we went. The server was running slow, the groups were confused, the process was misleading...pretty soon there were squabbling students and a grumpy teacher with the timer running and me screaming, "Hurry!!!" And the thinking and writing was so awful I couldn't begin to see a way to work on it. The next day we moved on to something else. Note to self, don't throw out the baby with the bathwater. In my haste to make the product better, I lost the process with predictable results.

Email me
Why didn't I think of this before? One of the bonuses of taking a class with teachers is the new ideas you pick up. This week Jeff asked us to research and email him an answer by a certain time. We were racing to get that info-packed email in on time. How about sixth graders? I posed a question, gave some hints where to look and projected my inbox and the deadline. They raced to the task, eagerly watching my inbox and waiting for my email reply. And we're sitting in the same room! I've had them save documents in past to a common location on a public server, but something about the email format really ticked. Thanks for a great idea! Still trying to build up the courage to try opening a forum for chatting during class. Ever tried it with sixth graders?

Etherial

This week I add Matthew Taylor's blog to my reader. As chief executive of the Royal Society of the Arts, he's blogging as he works on his annual speech on the mission of the group: 21st Century Enlightenment. If you like TED talks but occasionally find them a bit processed, check out the RSA. If you're a humanities teacher, even better.

His thinking so far already encapsulates what I am only beginning to aspire to as a Humanities teacher. Granted it's only g6 but as we study early humans, what can we discover about who we are as humans? And then as we study early settlements and the beginnings of agriculture and civilization, what do we discover about our incredible abilities to adapt to and advance in changing environments? Both of these questions offer insight for the future. If only I could be half as articulate as he is!

The 21st century enlightenment recognises that human fulfilment must be pursued on the foundations set by human nature and within the finite limits of the natural world. Human efficacy is about understanding and adapting to those limits, not accepting less than we are capable of, but neither believing that we can ignore or defy who we are as a species and the world we occupy.

This is not pessimism it is wisdom. For example, the amazing power of our conscious mind can only be fully realised when we recognise that rational choice is only a part of what makes up our nature and drives our behaviour.

At the heart of 21st century enlightenment lies the ideal of sustainable citizenship; the way we must live to create the future we want. Combining the values of civic republicanism, the fast developing science of social behaviour and an enthusiasm for innovation in the public realm, the central quest of the 21st century enlightenment is for the ways of thinking, the forms of action and the types of institutions that will foster sustainable citizenship.

If only I could think of any comment to post on his blog. Any ideas?

Week 4 Reflections

EDUTOPIA

The pinnacle of attainment in one's field of expertise is to create something truly innovative and transformative within your field. So ed tech Geeks the world over like those at the George Lucas Education Foundation are quite rightly looking for schools to not just do old things in new ways, but "new things in new ways" through technology--one step closer to"edutopia." (Sounds like a sure-fire dystopic novel!) And there's the tension in a nutshell.

In school, we are enjoying dramatic increases in technology--both the amount and ease of access to digital media and technology. So, can we hope to truly see new things done in new ways? The MacArthur Foundation report found:

Youth who engaged in a dynamic range of learning opportunities with new media generally had robust technology access, ample time and autonomy to experiment and explore, and a network of peers who supported their new media interests. Sporadic, monitored access at schools and libraries may provide sufficient access for basic information seeking, but is insufficient for the immersed kind of social engagements with networked publics that are becoming a baseline for participation on both the interest-driven and the friendship-driven sides. (p.36)

So what are the conditions:

1. 'Robust access to technology'- doable to the extent you have a continuous supply of resources & willpower
2. 'Ample time' - already we begin to squirm because for reasons that have less to do with learning and more to do with practical managerial concerns, schools are walled in by time constraints from similar age classes to year calendars to class semesters and even daily class periods, we limit learning at the same time we limit the complexity of our responsibilities. Fortunately, sporadic learning initiated in school can initiate students in the basics providing an entry-way into more immersed forms of participation. the more we fewer technological walls dividing school and home, the more this is possible. Internet connectivity has helped, one-to-one computing would be another big step forward in this. We continue to limit school time, but at least we hope time extends beyond school time to sufficiently allow much greater student engagement. For many students, that is happening with social networking as they stay socially connected through digital media throughout the evening and weekends (and no doubt a lot more during school than we 'digital immigrants' imagine--I myself still have to text two handed so you know I'm not keyed in to the slick kinds of networking common place among digital natives). But still, I wonder how much interest-driven networking is actually happening--especially of the kind that will lead toward growing expertise and participation in a community of experts.
   
3. 'Autonomy to experiment and explore' - Here's where there seems to be no hope and where you can't blame it on resources, time or training. No matter how flexible, open and tech savvy an educator is, how do you put autonomy and school in the same sentence? We know humans are motivated to achieve by autonomy. We also know that large numbers of kids plus autonomy = a force to be feared, probably not financed.
   

Will technology provide the answer? I guess Marc Prensky might refer to the power of games to focus such a crowd. Some are advocating schools need to be more like computer games where individuals network with communities, build skill levels and experience that totally absorbing sense of 'flow' for hours on end. My concern with that is when you shut the game down, how has you and your world changed? To enjoy a similar feeling of 'flow' AND produce a truly innovative/transformative contribution to our world has in past taken years of training and practice to develop expertise in the field. Can we skip or speed up some of this in order to achieve the latter? I wonder.

Week 3 Reflections

ISTE NETS
I remember the days of writing technology standards/expectations for each grade. They usually included pretty precise skills and even programs. Looking at ISTE's standards, you can see that indeed educational technology tools were more the focus a decade ago. Social learning/thinking activities including innovation, problem solving, communicating & research are now the focus. The tools are dynamic and accessible. The goals are common to all areas of education. I find in my own practice that despite the frustrating glitches that take me time to work out later, in class my focus on a particular tool or program is actually pretty minimal . The kids have the skills to find their way through all sorts of different tools, the tools themselves are accessible & similar enough and things work well enough that we can focus on the more complex issues of researching information, building understanding, working out what to do with it and how to communicate--the focus of education.

Geeking out in specialized networks
The fact that we're not focusing on the tools shows we're really only using new media to hang out in our academic community in my classroom. Rarely messing around and certainly not geeking out as described in this week's section of the Digital Youth Project Report. I like the potential of students participating in and sharing/building expertise with peers in interest-based digital communities, but I can't yet see it within the boundaries of my classroom/class time. Something from class could initiate students heading off on their own towards deeper levels of participation just as students form groups that later form into garage bands outside of school. In some ways, we currently use resources like wikis, blogs, voicethread and video production inside sheltered environments like school blogs, school based google accounts & Panthernet resources to begin to safely simulate this kind of participation.
It's the age old problem of trying to educate in the context of meaningful authentic experiences connected to the real world but within a sheltered, safe learning environment. As students bring more connectivity into school, we'll find ourselves testing these waters more than ever before. When I was in school you could stare out the window or sneak in a comic book inside your text book, but that was about it. There was little access to and pretty much no participating in the world beyond the school walls till the bell rang. Both are possible now and both are becoming readily available to kids throughout their day in school. There are lots of interesting new challenges in the days ahead!

An authentic unit of inquiry following the backwards design process which reaches at least one of our core content standards as well as at least one of the NETs Standards for students: Coming soon!

Reflecting on My Reading Week 2

Cogitating on Coetail Week 2 Readings:
Connectivism: A Learning Theory for the Digital Age
Interesting to say one model of cognition and learning (connectionism) is better at describing this in the digital age (than behaviorism or constructivism). It seems to me the winning model must describe learning and cognition in any context in which we learn. But OK, connectionism has an elegant sci fi appeal--the potentially seamless interface between biological and electronic networks. In reality, until we plug in, the two networks are only metaphorically connected.

Messing Around Online
I enjoyed the first section on hanging out in social media. I'm trying to hang in by hanging out. This section of the report shows how kids gradually transition from this to more intentional participation by tinkering, exploring and extending their understanding. This can be initiated by school projects, but really happens outside of school when an individual pursues and directs their own interests & learning. What's cool is how accommodating electronic media is to this. Not many other realms where a semi-novice can lurk, explore, tinker and gradually build their own knowledge and presence to take on more active participation. Imagine doing that at your local airport or hospital.

Bloom's Taxonomy
Nice wall chart of electronic activities organized under Benji's Hierarchy.

Cogitating on my own feeble attempts to hang out online this week: This week I try to hang out in Google Reader, my own PLblog & social bookmarking.

• Google Reader--So, I've set up a Google Reader in past and left it to rust. How about this time? One week down, and I've clicked on my new account twice. Maybe out of guilt, I skimmed a bit and left frustrated. Am I getting old that I have such a small appetite for quantity? I was at a workshop this week where the presenter claimed to have 500 strategies for teaching. How intimidating. Of course I wanted the binder even though I'm sure I clock up at least 182 strategies/year. But oh the thought of 500! Take me to a buffet, and it's a guaranteed belly ache. I have to sample everything because well what if I miss something? That's why I never go back to buffets and why binders full of 500 strategies sit on the shelf. I soon have a belly ache. Better to chew on one interesting delicacy. To delve into one inspiring idea, no? So, I know there's a buffet awaiting me on my reader, but where's the joy of discovering that one interesting article, one cool podcast to take home and dig into? My hard drive is full, my IPod is full. My mind is full. So, I close the reader and go back to a favorite site, pour over the menu and select just one maybe two (OK 17) articles/podcasts/whatever the format. Then I tuck in. And so it goes. Yesterday, I listened to a great podcast on how totalitarian regimes and big corporate powers are using the Internet. Although blocking and removing information or viewpoints you don't like is a time-honored tactic, someone will probably find it and post it again. So, powerful entities are using the weight of their resources to hire & crowd-source more posts, more actions, more links, more sites... touting their agenda, incorporating their spin. So maybe, I can't block the noise by closing my Google Reader. Instead, I need to get more people to make more of me-affirming noise. 555!
  

• Blogs--So, I'm posting my entries. And I'm thinking I should really get on to the following/followers bit. But really, I follow 43 student blogs plus plus, I dig around all sorts of sites for my classes, I click on how many emails/day, read all sorts of documents, create and send how many more of my own, sit through meetings...well, I'm once again overwhelmed with the buffet bellyache. If I'm going to read more, it better be worthwhile. Smart, meaty, understandable, well thought out and concisely presented by an expert.... (e.g., I don't want to read my own blog!) So what about that PLN...Networking with other learners? Following each other's blogs. Should be a democratic teacher's ideal. Let's see. How many followers/followings do I have...there's the numbers again. How intimidating! Here I am complaining about too much incoming and yet every where I go online, my FB, my blog, my Destiny bookshelf, my google friends, you name it, there's a number, usually not much greater than 0, mocking me! Remind me to invite my mom.

• Social Bookmarking/Diigo--I've got my toolbar set up. I made 1 bookmark! I told 10 teachers the clever tip of tagging with a specific term like isbg6 agriculture. Maybe at last I can begin to deal with the numbers without a bellyache. After all, these are just bookmarks and other people can make them for me. What's the danger in that?
  

My Expectations for this Course

Exponential times mean exponential possibilities, exponential participation. No more pressure to feel you need to be firmly seated on the latest bandwagon. No more insiders and outsiders. The technical tools available for us to use together in our learning are multiplying, evolving and mutating exponentially. The number of users and ways they'll develop for using these technologies is far too big to draw simple lines that could leave me on the wrong side. I can hide my ignorance, intimidate my neighbor by clicking on something I just tried, all this while casually watching what someone else is doing to try to get a clue, just like a million others are doing. And it's not bad. It's necessary. Exponential growth in knowledge, cultural technologies and human problems guarantees millions of solutions are not only possible, but necessary.

I like it, usually. It's a great time to be a learner and a teacher as long as I'm still employed. Exponential learning set against exponential numbers of other learners doing something different than yourself is exciting and humbling. We're all constantly evolving what we do. No more talking about staying on top, getting it down, who's is and who's not cutting edge. I'm one among billions. And even within my quasi-comfort zone of the day, I know I'll go to log on and there will be a new twist, an unexpected glitch, a forgotten pathway, password or quirky fix, or simply the battery is dead. I have to be ready to change in an instant. If I can't bear to postpone till tomorrow, I'll tell my students I can't remember how, but I'm sure they'll figure it out or I'll persevere patiently while six different kids all try the same 6 solutions because the seventh one by the seventh student will probably work. Above all, I'll laugh a lot. I won't be bored.

Every technology is a hotbed of potential solutions and problems. Working together with colleagues and students more than ever means we toss in different possibilities till start to settle on something that seems to suit our needs. For today. Colored markers, paper & scissors, Voicethread, Panthernet, blogs, googledocs, Google Earth...? Someone will have an idea and someone else will come up with a better way to adapt it and someone will know how to make it work better. And next time we'll change that.

So, one thing I know I'll enjoy and learn in this class is more of what I enjoy already: discovering & exploring new possibilities. New programs, new sites, new tricks, new shortcuts, new ideas, new possibilities used in intriguing, more streamlined ways by others. All good. Already this week thanks Chris Betcher and Jeff Utech for lots of great new ideas and cool tools I can use right away including:

• Google Square - lists search results in a table format
• Google Wonder Wheel - Click 'Show Options" for any Google Search to see your search in a webbed format
  
• Tag Galaxy - Search for images and see them come back as planets
• Newsmap - See major news headlines in different countries organized by size
  

When I get overwhelmed, I can tune out and calm myself in the assurance I'll forget or never get around to using a lot, and that's fine. I'll enjoy learning about it again in future in whatever mutation it exists then. And so much is within my limited reach now. It's not like the days when I had to sit through hours of classes to learn how to build just the title for my class website or to animate a sphere bouncing across a page. I don't think I have quite the same gumption for the exponentially steep learning curves anymore. I'm old enough to know there will be a quicker, easier way if I procrastinate another day. Maybe I'll get back to that bouncing ball as a result of something I see in this class.

The other thing I know I'll enjoy is thinking about us and our world. When we see ourselves in different contexts we see the constants--the human in us all, for better or worse. The kids Prensky refers to with "a myriad of devices" in their backpacks, downloading, texting & gaming, can seem a little intimidating demanding their teachers to "engage me or enrage me." Then I remember the kids growing up on my street (back in the dark ages) spent evenings and weekends running around the neighborhood, the woods, and across the highway when we got really courageous doing all sorts of things that could fill up an article and intimidate any teacher. We weren't anymore in place sitting at a desk in the fifth row from the black board. You can see us both striving for autonomy, personal growth/challenge and meaning. It's fun to watch us in different contexts. I'm sure I won't I'll discover the key to breaking down institutional walls, but it will be fun to look at what we do as the walls change.

I will enjoy thinking about us, how we learn, how we teach, how we advance, how we manage or not. I'll enjoy the autonomy of navigating around while I'm probably supposed to be following something else. I'll enjoy the satisfaction of gaining new tools and skills and thinking about how I'm going to use this or that to make my class more meaningful. I'll enjoy thinking about texts like this week's "Genres of Participation with New Media." I'll have more fodder to toss in to the hopper. My students will, no doubt, benefit from hearing my ensuing banter on such issues as "maintaining a continuous presence" and hanging out and subverting institutional barriers. I'll think about what to teach and how to teach in a world of 'always-on" communication or where hanging out online is especially important for marginalized kids or how to compose that perfectly controlled casual comment on your wall or one line headline for your text. When my students are on three other websites and chatting when I clearly said they were to be writing their essays, I'll probably wax eloquent and drive them nuts. They won't be listening anyway. But I'll enjoy thinking I just constructed the perfect casual comment and run to post it on my blog.

Yes, it'll be fun hanging out together in exponential times.