A Twitter Fable

Actually, it's a true tale, not a fable. You can decide for yourself the moral of the story. 

I am fairly liberal with my follow-backs on twitter. If the person is any type of educator or seems (based on their tweets and other stats) fairly interesting, not trying to sell me something(a big one) nor on a quest to follow thousands nor playing some sort of follow-and-seek game, I usually follow back. 

Anyhow, I got followed a while back by a guy whose name I'm not going to use in this story. I'm not sure why I decided not to reciprocate the follow, but I didn't. I couldn't tell much about him from his profile or picture. Definitely had a sense of humor, not following many people at all. Wondered why he followed me. Maybe a fluke?

I noticed, though, that he was quick to @me in response to any of my computer question tweets. Recognizing his worth in my network, I quickly corrected my earlier non-follow-back. I still had no idea what value I brought to him, nor why he chose to follow me. It was pretty obvious that he wasn't a teacher, and, aside from being a family-man with a sense of humor who was quick to help me with computer-related questions, I didn't know much about him. 

Recently, I tweeted asking for help with a server problem. He dm'ed (direct messaged) me and told me he could help me but easier to ichat than to dm back and forth in twitter

As we started chatting he made the disclaimer that although he worked for Apple, he wasn't helping me as an employee of Apple. 

Fine by me!

Not only was I able, after our brief chat, to fix the specific issue, but I gained a better overall understanding of the server. I have been in-over-my-head with the server for years. Reading through the big, fat training manuals has not helped me understand one thing. 

Later, out of curiosity, I googled him. He is a senior engineer for Apple. 

I still have no idea why he follows me! 

image from gesteves.

Critical Mass

Have we reached a stage of critical mass in EdTech?

Has the hundredth monkey caught on to new ways of learning, teaching, schooling?

I believe the answer is undoubtedly "yes." 

I mean, it is 2009. Ed Tech is kind of old news. 

Some personal anecdotes:

1. FETC.  Swarming with people. The exhibit floor packed with the newest, cool thing. And it is only one conference of many happening all over the world, all the time. 

2. One of the teachers at my school told me that she thought about getting a Master's degree in educational technology and doing a job like mine, but why would she? She said that young teachers entering the profession have no need for someone to help them integrate technology in the classroom. They have always used computers and naturally integrate it in their classrooms. 

3. I applied to ADE. In my own mind, I keep current with what is going on in Ed Tech and education in general and have, for years, been passionate about teaching (which was why I got into the tech stuff in the first place.) I spent a lot of last night viewing the application videos of my competitors and was pretty blown away by some of them. It made me feel two different things: first, it made me go "wow." There are some hugely impressive people out there. When I see what other people are doing and the quality of some of the videos, I feel like I am lagging behind. On the flip side of that thought, I feel like, well, if I'm behind, then the big picture as far as EdTech must be pretty solid. 

And then I look around my school. Papers, desks in rows facing forward to look at the teacher, who is almost always an adult, text books (that cost a fortune. I know, remember I'm a parent at the (private) school, too. We buy all our books.) Oh, to think what technology we could afford if we pooled our textbook money! 

I know, I know, it's not about the tech. But, at the same time, it is about the tech! It's not just the stuff, the gadgets and tools, the coolest flashy fun thing, but, at the same time, it is. How do I explain? I think it's about an attitude. An attitude about teaching, an attitude about learning, an attitude about kids. It's about letting go and trying something new, letting the students have some control. What I tried to convey in my ADE video was that it was a certain attitude about learning and motivation that drove me into the EdTech world in the first place. I always had the passion as an educator. It was only natural that I would get into technology. Because I look to the students to teach me about how to teach them. 

Which brings me back to my little anecdotes. I have to admit I was bothered by the young teacher telling me that my job is unnecessary. Not just because she was calling me old & in the way, but it is the attitude that disturbs me. This attitude, from a teacher," I can't learn from you" really bothers me. She's not the only teacher at my school who has insinuated this to me in one way or another. I find it hard to understand how a teacher could have that closed-minded attitude about learning? 

My questions-

Is the job of ed tech coordinator becoming obsolete and, if so, how soon? Is that a good thing, indicative of arriving, as opposed to striving? Is the Ed Tech teacher who alleviates the need for an Ed Tech teacher, a sign of a job well done?

I don't think that my school has arrived. We've grown, but it's slow going. I feel stuck, and I don't think it's all my fault. And I'm not sure what to do about it. 

Because technology in education is not the end, it's not THE GOAL. The goal is authentic, student-centered... I can't even finish this sentence because it's all starting to sound like buzzwords to me.  

I've been there for the journey. I've seen education before tech, during tech and now, where tech has reached critical mass. 

There were great teachers doing great things before a computer ever entered a classroom. And having all the latest, greatest gadgets will not change the fundamental values of the teacher. 

How do we get there? How do we let students lead us into the future? How do we put aside our egos and let ourselves learn from anyone? Isn't that the path?

What Matters? Part 2: Discussion

Instead of trying to sort through my own answers to the bottomless question of what really matters in education, I decided to create a Voicethread. Please don't be intimidated by the broad scope of the question. Leave more than one comment if you like. I am just excited to hear your thoughts on the subject. Thank you!

What Matters? Part 1: Reflection

Synchronicity? 

Background info: I write blog posts in my mind all the time. I'm a much better thinker-writer than a real, sit down and type on the keys writer. One of my recent "mind posts" has been about what really matters in education. Typical of these free-flowing thought-posts (they are QUITE brilliant by the way), the ideas follow a winding path with many tangents and dead-ends. 

Funny that as I was reading some blogs tonight, also a long and winding road what with all the hyperlinks to click, I stumbled upon David Warlick's recent posts "Should it Matter?" and "More on What Matters," reflections of his after Educon2.1. 

I also recently read Clay Burell's spot-on post on change.org, "Reading Despite Teaching or How the Hulk led me to Hamlet."  Reading is high on my list of what matters, and Clay has a way of sharing his stories that helps you see clearly the silliness of schooliness.                                                   

Both of these pieces intersected in many places with the thoughts I've been thinking. 

I  feel compelled to add a disclaimer here lest you imagine that I am comparing myself as a writer or thinker to the likes of Warlick or Burell. No, I'm most certainly not. 

But isn't that the beauty of asking what matters? Isn't what matters to me, an ordinary teacher, as important as what matters to those who have risen to the ranks of leaders in education? Isn't that the very essence of web2.0? 

I start with my thoughts about education, based largely on my own experience. I explore my thoughts as I attempt to write a coherent post. As I try to communicate, I find myself in a different place. I never know, when I start writing, where the path will lead. Others can read and respond, draw me out, question me, challenge me, help me along.... I can read the blogs of others, too. It's a different type of experience than reading a book. It's immediate, accessible. I can leave a comment!

These early-stage thoughts that I refer to as my mind-blog-post can be compared to a spring that is hidden underground. As the spring bubbles to the surface, it meets with greater bodies of water, at which point it becomes visible, yet changed as it merges with the river. 

That, to me, is the learning process that I find taking place through this process of writing, reading and interacting through blogs and other networks. 

Now I'm nowhere near where I thought I'd be when I started this post. What do I do? Do I leave it here and write part 2 later? Do I keep going, trying to get back to what I thought I wanted to say about what matters? 

I think I'll opt for Part 2. In the meantime, I want to ask you to think about what matters. What really, truly matters about learning, going to school, educating kids, even being human? There are, of course, no right or wrong answers- just the conversation.

 

Image: "Spring Water" from Atemzeit's photostream 

Where to share?

I have a lot of student work that I'd like to share. 

Of course, I want to share it with parents. 

I'd also like to share with interested people in the education community. I know that for me, one of the best ways the Internet has completely made teaching easier and more enjoyable is by giving me access to what other teachers and students are doing. When I see student work that I like, I am quick to think of ways to adapt it to my students and my school. 

While I want to share, I also really want and need to be efficient. Share smarter not harder.

I'm here to tell you that I have tried several strategies already including blogs, nings, wikis, a password-protected site called edline for which our school pays a yearly subscription fee...

I'm starting to feel like an online litterbug of sorts, putting my things all over and not keeping them neat and organized. That is one issue for me, being organized and having things make sense in terms of navigation and layout, as well as being visually appealing. The other issue I face is that no matter where I share their children's work, very few parents take the time to go look at it. I think that this is because technology is not yet fully integrated at our school; it is seen as an "extra." That is a topic for another post, though.

I decided to ask my PLN on twitter what they do.

Here is what they said:

It looks like everyone is finding different things that work for them. 

Here are some examples I like. 

Langwitches    I like how organized this site is. Everything in one place and easy on the eyes. Silvia has multiple blogs and places she shares, but they are all linked here to the main site. You could probably spend days reading this amazing blog and following links, and get yourself a thorough education in technology integration at the elementary level. 

Cliotech's wiki This wiki impresses me with the way it is organized. It also seems to be a really complete site with so much in one place.

A table of contents Here's an idea. Put all your stuff all over the place, but then catalogue it with links in a "Where's all your stuff?" place. 

Vicky's wiki Another excellent example. She really uses the wiki and linked blog to communicate to students and parents as well as to show what they're doing. It makes sense and is all in one place and easy to navigate. This is the idea I was trying to emulate when I started my school wiki this year.

All of these examples represent an amazing amount of work!

I have this blog, which I really want to keep as a professional space. Obviously it is public and any parents can easily find it, but its purpose is not to communicate to parents. I also started a blog (which I will not link to because I haven't kept up with it)to share lesson plans and projects with students/parents, as well as a wiki in progress(with the same intended audience- students and parents). I also post work on edline and share samples on various nings. I suppose it is part of my desire to focus that I want to have all of my work in one place or at least all linked to one place. Or maybe I should just let go and post things all over the web and let google take care of it for me.

Where do you share?

FETC Session: Digital Portfolios

Digital Portfolios

Kati Searcy

One of the concurrent sessions I attended at FETC was a session on Digital Portfolios. I'm not sure of the need to actually blog notes from the session, as any good presenter shares his or her session online. But, since I sometimes enjoy taking notes, I figured I'd share them here. Here are Kati's presentation slides as well as samples and additional resources on digital portfolios. 

Traditional Assessment:

•Recall or Recognize

•Meets need of teacher

•Multiple choice, fill in the blank, true/false, matching (forced choice)

•Summative, not formative

•Teacher-structured

•Indirect Evidence

People in room asked to discuss what %age of assessments at their school are traditional assessments, answer is 60-80% or more. 

Authentic Assessment

•Measures ability using real-world challenges

•Students construct own responses rather than select

•Students choose task/student-structured

•Direct evidence

Selecting your portfolio medium: 

•paper-based vs. digital/online

lots of reasons given why it is better to move away from paper-based portfolios and move toward digital portfolios:

-minimal storage

-easy to create/back-up

-can be reproduced, shared

-interactive

-long shelf life

-increases tech skills in a meaningful way

Disadvantages of digital

-access to equipment

tech skills with younger students

can be difficult for one teacher to orchestrate esp. w/younger students (process not usually as much an issue as tech troubleshooting)

Ultimately, we want the best of both, traditional and authentic. 

What is a portfolio?

A collection of student work over a period of time

purposefully selected by student

demonstrates how and what student has learned and how they feel about it

conveys a students abilities, experiences, achievements, etc.

A portfolio is a creative means of -

organizing 

summarizing

sharing artifacts

sharing information

sharing ideas about learning

reflecting

evaluating

setting goals

What can be in a digital portfolio? 

EVERYTHING!

-scanned handwritten work

-Photo documentation of activities, field trips

-games/products students have created

-written reflections

-document science experiments (video, photos, etc) [here she showed an example of a science experiment her students did with potatoes, they took pictures and made a video w/animoto showing all the pictures of the experiement--very cute!]

wiki- set up teacher account, give student access 

Advantages of web-based:

-read-world audience

-motivating

-continue documenting learning outside of school

Disadvantages of Web-based portfolios:

-maintaining student anonymity

-if you have inconsistent access to Internet at your school

she recommends Inspired Classroom (said to google it - I did, but couldn't figure out which of my google results had to do with web portfolios?)

My note: I don't see these as disadvantages. I am lucky to have consistent Internet access at school, and I think this is yet another way to teach students 21st century skills, how to represent themselves safely and appropriately online.

Types of portfolios:

Working portfolio - work in progress

Showcase portfolio -students favorite pieces

Evaluation portfolio -used to document progress, used for grading

Reflection Requires:

Instruction and modeling, 

feedback

practice

Questions--

What are the strengths of this work?

What are the weaknesses of this work?

What did you learn from this?

What could have made this better?

Getting (and Staying) Focused

It's a little late for New Year's Resolutions, but hey, better late than never! It's a new day!

This past Thursday/Friday I attended FETC. One of my tweets from the conference:

It's not just twitter either. I am in a very different place than I was a year ago. 

Last year when I attended FETC, I had just started this blog. I didn't know from a PLN. I was an island at my school, swimming against the tide, looking for ideas, figuring stuff out-- mostly by myself.  I was at a critical point where things were about to really change, but I was unaware of it.

In one year the changes have been phenomenal. Last year at FETC I had just started reading blogs. I had bookmarked a few and jumped around reading here and there. I had no idea about using an aggregator to read blogs. Now I subscribe to around 70 blogs in my google reader. I have a twitter network of around 400 educators. I have joined some 20 nings that have to do with education. I have connected with, collaborated with and been influenced by colleagues all over the planet. I've been inspired. I've pushed myself and my students in new directions as I've learned from others.

Now, one year later, I'm suffering from overload. Like a kid in a candy store I stuffed myself too full of all the goodies. It's time to go on a diet. I have become frenzied, my energy scattered. In order for my tree to grow and stay strong, I must prune back the branches. It is time to focus. 

I am a believer in the merits of  backwards planning, so I will start with my goals. What is it I really want to achieve?

1. I want to be the best teacher I can be. Ultimately, I want what I do to help me where it matters - in the classroom with my students.

2. I want to do justice to my job as an edtech leader at my school. I would like to develop my leadership skills so that I may help facilitate change.

3. I would like to be a better writer and make a difference, through blogging and other forms of sharing, for other teachers.

4. I want to continue learning, growing and being challenged in my career and my life.

What do I need to do in order to make these goals reality? What is my plan of action?

•Rededicate myself to blogging. I started by giving EdTech Workshop a new look. If you read in a reader, stop by the blog to see the new look. I need to become more succinct, too, and spend less time fussing over each post. There is something to be said for just getting the words out there. Which brings me to my next item.

•In the words of Miguel Guhlin, "Share more." This is hard for me and something I must push myself to improve.  I compare myself constantly -my writing, my students' work, the soundness of my ideas to those around me, and it holds me back. The process of sharing is part of the process of learning and improving. I need to trust that there is a place for me in this edublogopshere universe. Which brings me to my next item.

•Keep my ego in check. I've gotten a taste this year of the egos in the education world. It has been one of the less pleasant parts of my involvement in the blogosphere, but I have as much to learn from it as from anything else. I need to continually remind myself that it's never really about me.

•Let some things go. I am going to cut down my google reader. I know I don't have to read everything in it (and I don't). But seeing all those unread posts, it's overwhelming and sometimes guilt-inducing. It reminds me of all the things I'm not doing. If it's important, and it's going to benefit me in a useful way, I need to trust that it will find me. Between all the links on twitter and others' blogs, plus the shared items in my reader, I have plenty to keep me busy. 

Less IS more.

Along the same lines, I am going to let go of all the nings. I will keep the Elementary Tech Teachers ning, which has proven to be very useful for me, and I will make an effort to be more of a contributor there. I also recently joined a Tech4Learning ning, and I would like to actively engage there as well. 

I'm also letting go of the print magazines I receive, with the exception of The Creative Educator. Not only is it my favorite, but, like the new me, it is focused. It is in-line with my goals and does not cause me to scatter my energies wishing for equipment and software that my school doesn't have. (Note: The Creative Educator is available online, but I prefer to receive and read a printed copy).

I'm keeping twitter!!!!!!!! I love twitter. I don't know if I should get rid of my plurk account or just continue to not use it but keep the name edtechworkshop for myself to avoid possible confusion if someone else takes it. I have no interest right now in updating myself all over the place using ping, although I know some people swear by that. I just really like twitter. I will continue to grow my network there and follow new teachers.

That's my plan. I'll let you know how it goes. 

image credit: Keeney, Carolyn. candystore.jpg. October 25, 2003. Pics4Learning. 25 Jan 2009 

Another Example of Why We Don't Have to "Teach Tech"

I remember reading this post on Melanie Holtsman's blog called "Why am I Surprised?" about how her 5 year-old twins had playfully and independently discovered text-messaging each other with pictures. Digital Natives? 

It's obvious that children approach technology with no fear and a spirit of exploration while some adults are still having trouble getting into the head-space required to really have fun with it.

So here's my example. While I am not surprised, I am pleased and impressed with both the process and the product. I'm going to share one of the little movies my 8 year-old daughter has created while playing on WebKinz. In case you have been living under a rock for a while WebKinz is a virtual world for kids. You must buy a little, stuffed animal in the real world in order to get a code that allows you to adopt the pet in the WebKinz world. Both my kids love WebKinz. They earn money, buy and sell stuff, cook, feed their pets, search for gems, spin the Wheel of Wow, play games, decorate rooms, even watch virtual television. It is extremely safe, creative, engaging, and in my own humble opinion (disagreed with by some), educational. 

One recent morning my daughter was especially engaged in something in the WebKinz World. She didn't want to stop to eat breakfast. When I went to see what she was doing, I thought I'd find her playing a game, but she showed me that she was making a movie. Turns out she bought a movie camera (for 1000 Kinzcash) and, all on her own, with no instruction or previous movie-making experience, was creating digital stories. 

I know, I know....I'm the mom! But, I am pretty impressed with how she came up with the story so quickly and used the different faces of the characters to show the emotions as the story progressed. 

P.S. I used Jing to capture the movie.

Seven Things About Me

Thanks, Angela, for tagging me for the "7 Things You May Not Know about Me" meme. I've really enjoyed reading these on everyone's blogs, and it is a good assignment for me to get me back on the blogging bandwagon. Apparently I need a meme a day in order to have something to say.

Here are 7 things you may not know about me- 

1. After I graduated college I rode my bike from Boulder, Colorado to Guatemala. I didn't actually ride the whole way...there were some planes, trains and automobiles involved  (even a boat) but always with the bike, and I did ride much of the way. Someday I may even publish my journal from this trip (don't hold your breath). It is comical and maybe a bit perceptive in its metaphor of life as a bicycle ride. 

2. I was co-editor in chief of my high school newspaper, The Nova Vue. I wrote scathing editorials about such important issues as homework and graduation requirements. Truthfully, I don't remember what I wrote about, just that I was passionately opinionated. Some might say I still am, although I am much more tempered these days. Looking back, I was so immature I probably didn't deserve to be given the job of editor-in-chief, but my teacher, Mr. Moore, put up with me and showed faith in my potential. I never thanked him. Thanks, Mr. Moore. You were a great teacher!

3. I went to college at the University of Michigan. It was a great school, but that was not my main motivation for choosing it. Very important to me, having grown up in South Florida, was to live where it would snow. The morning after the first snowfall of my freshman year I was up early, so excited, trying to wake up everyone in the dorm. I thought we would build a snowman, have a snowball fight, go sledding. My fellow freshmen, who were all from the North, were not amused nor did they have any intention of leaving their warm beds to play in the snow. After 4 years of ice-cold winters I had enough experience with snow and moved to California then, later, to Florida. Now my children feel deprived of winter fun just like I did.

4. I've always worked multiple jobs at the same time and switched jobs frequently. I could never imagine working a "normal" job or staying in one job for a long time. If I go back to my current job next school year (which I hope to do) it will be my 4th year at the same school, the longest I've ever stayed at one teaching job. 

5. While living and teaching in San Francisco, I worked a night job for 10 years as a cocktail waitress at the Warfield and the Fillmore, both legendary music venues. That is where I met my husband. 

The Fillmore -isn't it beautiful?

6. I've been an ovo-lacto vegetarian for over 20 years. I am not a "real" vegetarian because a few years ago I started eating the occasional piece of fish, mostly salmon. I stopped eating meat after reading this book for a class in college. I try not to be too picky and just go with the flow about food when traveling, eating at friends' homes, etc. 

7. In my true nature I am a night owl. I could sleep late every day if I had my way. I try to make myself go to sleep at a decent hour so that I'm not tired in the morning.

I have read a variation of this post on so many blogs that I don't know who is left to tag. If you have not yet done a "7 things meme" post, you are officially tagged.

One Year and Several Days Later

Time and attention- 

The not-so-secret ingredients that, when showered upon something, cause that thing to flourish.

I started EdTech Workshop on January 3rd, 2008. This is my one-year blog anniversary post. The fact that it is two weeks overdue and my last post before this one is over a month old (and  a meme to boot), well, what does it mean?

Like so often happens in life, I started down the path not knowing where it would lead. I did not know how much I did not know. I had a feeling that it was time for me to start a blog. And so I began. I knew that no one was reading, so I wasn't shy or self conscious. 

Here it is, a year (more or less) later, and I am in such a different place. I have become part of an amazing network of educators I didn't know existed. I feel a connection to my fellow edubloggers. I have more to share than ever before, but for some reason I am having a hard time putting down the words. 

I want my blog to flourish, to be a place of growth, sharing, meeting of the minds, revelations and reflections.  I need to dedicate the time and attention back to blogging. 

To my wonderful readers- I feel like I know you and consider you colleagues and friends. I can't thank you enough for joining me on this path. 

I recently realized and wrote the following:

I always felt set apart from most of the teachers around me by virtue of my ideas and opinions about learning and schooling. Now, with technology to connect me to other educators who share my values, I no longer feel set apart, rather I feel a part of a growing movement of educators using amazing tools and strategies to reach learners and infuse life and excitement into schools.