Educational Uses for Facebook, Twitter, iPad Features and Much More

Is Facebook the New School Web Page?

Colleen Dickmann, superintendent for Wisconsin Rapids Public Schools, sees clear advantages to using Facebook for school-to-home communication. “Using social media allows us, as a school district, to tell our story in the manner we want it told. We can publish stories that otherwise might not make it into the local media’s hands.”

http://tinyurl.com/lj3p927

Ten Ways Teachers Can Make the Best of Twitter

For us in education, the potential of Twitter exceeds all expectations. In a relatively short span of time, Twitter evolved into one of the best educational social networking platform of choice for educators and teachers. It has also become an essential element in teachers life-long learning and a key driver of professional development. As such, I deemed it necessary that I create this short introductory guide to help those of you who are new to Twitter make the best of this tool. There are also tips and resources for advanced users as well. Enjoy

http://tinyurl.com/mx6nkzt

http://i0.wp.com/www.justonesandzeros.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/educational-hashtags.jpg?resize=660%2C264

The Top 10 iPad Features That Schools Forget

9. AirDrop – . . .if you have a newer iPad you can take advantage of a great feature called AirDrop. With AirDrop enabled, you can send photos, videos and other files to another iPad or Mac wirelessly and without email. Students could use this to share photos or video clips with each other while working on a group iMovie project, or to turn in assignments to a teacher’s Macbook.

http://tinyurl.com/o6kwhul

A Comprehensive Guide to The Use of Edmodo with Students

Edmodo is a powerful web-based platform that has a huge potential for us in education.  The features and functionalities  provided by Edmodo for teachers and students are invaluable and hence the importance of having access to a handy guide.

http://tinyurl.com/mu3byul

New [University of Michigan] program seeks to promote use of technology in classroom

“The purpose of the Digital Innovation Greenhouse is to take things from innovators and grow them up to maturity, to provide the support that’s needed to do that, to have the right kind of interaction between developers and users to make sure that as they develop it, it gets better,” he said. . . . “Will students be involved?” he said. “Yes, as developers, as interns, as personalization fellows to support the kinds of projects the greenhouse is focusing on initially.”

http://tinyurl.com/m952hh6

28 Apps for Challenge Based Learning Projects

From Challenge to Solution

Research: InstaPaper ($3.99) saves webpages for offline viewing; Wikipedia Mobile can be invaluable on-the-go.

Polling/Surveying: Polls Online, PollDaddy, and Socrative might help gather responses.

http://tinyurl.com/n5zprqq

The Future of Education and Other Matters

"Linked Together" by willowmina

The Future of Education is Mobile"

by Daniel Donahoo
The revolution in technology, and subsequently educational technology, is an opportunity, but not a guarantee.

http://huff.to/k1CTqB

"10 Facebook settings to check right now!" by Mark W. Smith

As Facebook becomes the window to the Web for its more than 500 million users worldwide, the security of the social network has never been a hotter topic.

http://bit.ly/kNQQaV


"Apple is Killing the WWW"  by Ben Camm-Jones

Venture capitalist thinks the company's iOS app model is winning the battle for the internet.

http://www.cfoworld.com/technology/7255/apple-killing-world-wide-web

"Peak Social" by George Siemens

Social is one of those lovely words that can be added to anything to make it better.

http://www.connectivism.ca/?p=317


"Bring Your Own Device Catching on in Schools" by Jason Ohler
It is especially important to understand how students use mobile devices for learning, and how educators can encourage that use, so that technology is not incorporated without a positive impact.
http://www.infosavvygroup.com/blogpost.cfm?blogID=1925




" . . . Please Make My School a Prison"  by Scott Mcleod'
A school superintendent in Michigan has written a public letter to the editor asking Governor Rick Snyder if his school can become a prison instead.


http://bigthink.com/ideas/38573

This week the Drive-thru begins its twice-a-week summer schedule.

Snow Day + Facebook + Health Challenge= Eureka!

I received the call regarding our snow day the night before.  Pretty sweet-- I could sleep in a bit and plan out a leisurely day.  I'm not sure why, but I found myself musing about the stir of inter-disciplinary activities I was entertaining for my American Government class.  One of them, I have been contemplating for launch as early as April, 2011.  It's the notion of having student create political ads as a way of showing their understanding of media and politics.

The idea actually came to me from Health Class.  In one of our professional cluster group's we have been working on a CBL related to teaching the influence of media on health issues.  Mike Gruber made (at least in my opinion), a terrific suggestion for a challenge:  Use media to "counterattack"  negative media influence.

To tell you the truth, I'm not sure that this challenge is going to come off this way.  But it sent me in a different direction. I intend to assign the students to make campaign ads.  The instructional goal will be the same-- By using media, the students will understand its influence.  We will study some ads and then give the students' their mission.

All of this was in my head, the morning of snow day.  I even had the notion that I would have them develop two ads-- one attacking an actual office holder and the other promoting the fictional campaign of the challenge.  Yet, I also wanted this fictional campaign rooted in reality.  I was thinking of having the students "run" an actual person against the officeholder.  However, when I started to write down potential "candidates" the list was pretty short.

Enter Facebook.  I posted the following status on my wall:

Help me out? I am trying to think of famous living Michiganders for whom my students can design political campaigns. The catch? They can't be politicians. Folks like Dan Gilbert, Jeff Daniels, Mary Sue Coleman. Toss in a name and I bet my minions have designed a campaign ad for her/him by May.

Lots and lots of names.  Enough to assure me that I can let teams of maybe  2-3 students draw and then run their candidate for governor or senator.  Perhaps in the future I could try this at a higher technical level by teaming with another department.  In the mean time, I am quite pleased with my Snow Day/Facebook/Health Challenge collaboration.

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Flickr CC Photo by EtanSivad

Sarah on Social Media

Like Sarah, I used to think that social media such as Facebook only had utility only as a way for far-flung friends to stay in touch, share pictures, chatter about social life One could also amuse oneself and others by developing a clever and/or self-effacing persona.

Twitter changed all that for me. It revealed the power of personal learning networks. It allowed me to connect and breathe outside of the necessarily confining walls of school building. I can literally say that without social media, I'd still be doing my old "sage on stage" routine in the classroom.

Still, when Sarah's cbl group turned to Facebook as their means of "improving our democracy through an authentic medium", I was skeptical. I privately thought that they were "dumbing down" their project. My bad! As Sarah explains, what could be more "authentic" for young voters than Facebook.

Each of my project experiences has taught me important lessons along the way!

P.S. Between Memorial Day and Labor Day the Drive-thru will have new posts twice a week.

Ten Thoughts for May 10

Erica Werner

A high school English teacher from Iowa who incorporates everything from singing to Facebook in her lessons has been recognized by President Barack Obama as the nation's top teacher. . . ."Her students don't just write five-paragraph essays, but they write songs, public service announcements, film story boards, even grant proposals for their own not-for-profit organizations . . . ."

Brad Overnell-Carter:

The iPad is a social tool, whereas smart phones and laptops are personal tools.

Horace Mann:

A teacher who is attempting to teach without inspiring the pupil with a desire to learn is hammering on a cold iron.

LawyersUSA

During oral arguments today in the case City of Ontario v. Quon . . . .Chief Justice John G. Roberts, Jr. - who is known to write out his opinions in long hand with pen and paper instead of a computer - asked what the difference was “between email and a pager?”

Dave Snowden

People should be able to choose their own technology and tools - IT needs to learn this lesson fast.

Tom Witby
Technology in our society should be more than a topic for superintendents and principals to use in speeches in order to make them sound as if they are cutting-edge educators . . . . They sell the sizzle, but nobody will ever get to see the steak.

ORVSD
Oregon is the first state in the nation to sign up for Google Apps for Education in K-12 classrooms.

Marco Antonio Torres:
Being global is no longer sexy... it is mandatory.

Edison Research
Awareness of Twitter has exploded from 5% of Americans 12+ in 2008 to 87% in 2010 (by comparison, Facebook's awareness is 88%). Despite equal awareness, Twitter trails Facebook significantly in usage: 7% of Americans (17 million persons) actively use Twitter, while 41% maintain a profile page on Facebook.

George Siemens:

When we make our learning transparent, we become teachers.

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"Strike a Pose" Flickr Creative Commons Photo by melodramabab

8 Hot Techno Facts

YouTube serves up a billion videos per day.

On average, Kindle users buy 3.1 as many books as they did twelve months ago.

iPad users consume 3X videos as other users.

In December, iTunes U surpassed the 100 million download mark.

As of April 15, 2010 Wikispaces had given away 300,000 free classroom wikis.

At schools where cell phones are forbidden, 58 percent of students with mobile phones say they've sent a text message during class.

500 million people visit Facebook each month. Only Google, Microsoft and Yahoo have more monthly visitors and only Google has more page views.

In the next six years (2015), Cloud Computing will make up 17% of all IT expenditure worldwide.

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"ACBS Boat Show" Flickr Creative Commons Photo by Russell Heistuman

AP Government CBL Project -- Assessments

A very important aspect of Apple's Challenge Based Learning model is Assessment:

Challenge Based Learning follows a workflow that mirrors the 21st century workplace. Students are given enough space to be creative and self-directed and at the same time are provided with support, boundaries, and checkpoints to avoid frustration.

I emphasized the importance of this with my AP Government challenge groups. The groups set goals and logged them on their google docs. These tended to be overly ambitious and lofty, so I nudged them to make them more measurable and concrete.

At the end of the process, the groups reflected seriously on their journey. Across the board, their evaluations were insightful and interesting. Here is an except from the What Up Gov! group:

We found as we did our research that [one goal] was too broad, and our audience was unrealistic. . . . By changing our audience, we felt could make a greater impact and be more successful. We were trying to go global, but that was way too ambitious. . . . we focused on finding the most successful medium to do this. . . . We experimented with Twitter, a website, and Facebook. . . . The Twitter didn't receive many hits, and we felt it wasn't as successful as other mediums. The Facebook really took off well . . . We feel we really achieved our goal, because we got teens involved in the forums and sparked teen interest in democracy and our government. The discussions were very informed and interesting . . . .We're also a lot more educated on all the issues, because when we posted discussion topics we had to learn about the issues first. We also learned a lot from the posts of other people, allowing them to educate us, which we thought was really cool. . .

Pretty cool, indeed!

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"Reflection "I" Flickr Creative Commons photo by VisualAge

AP Government CBL -- Student Solutions: Facebook

This is a fifth student solution to the following cbl project challenge: "Create an Authentic Medium for Improving our Democracy".

In my last post I described a student-created web site simply brimming with original content and already visited by over 800 persons before the group even revealed the site to our class. I was completely blown away by this accomplishment.

But, ironically, another group-- one group I suspected of taking the easiest route to a solution, may have actually come closest to fully meeting the challenge. They created a Facebook Group to hold an information and discussion forum that is still actively functioning, today. In terms of authenticity, I think this group is hard to beat.

Quoting from the notes on their Google Doc, the students arrived at good reasons for choosing Facebook as their medium:

People are already there, are comfortable in this arena (casual)
Not graded, viewed by an adult (might be condescending)
It's a place for people with similar interest, compelled to discuss because joined a group
Positive peer pressure
It's cool to be political!
Sparks interest,conversation
Ex.- gun control talk
Where else would anyone with interest go?
Diverse group gathers here
Views are challenged
Views are published, cannot be wishy-washy

After reviewing the discussions at What Up Gov! it was evident to me that students were genuinely engaging in discussions and responding to peer review. This cbl group had in fact created a comfortable commons for students to virtually hang out and engage in political discussions. If you are on Facebook, consider joining!

I will also be using the What Up Gov! group for my final AP cbl post: Assessments.

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Screen Capture of What Up Gov! Facebook Group site

AP Government CBL Student Solution -- A Web Masterpiece

In my last post, when we visited The Ideal Voter, I did not mention that the group had been completely intimidated the day before revealing their beautiful site, because the Democracy of Tomorrow group had stunned us all with a finished product that surpassed our wildest dreams. I tweeted during their presentation that I was "being blown away" by what I was seeing.

You simply must visit the site to appreciate what this group has done. But as you click to their site, please note that most of the content you find there is original. They have created most of the videos posted to the site. And the site is divided into three sections in order to meet the needs of kids, new voters and active voters. Similar to the Ideal Voter Group, Democracy of Tomorrow seeks to teach citizens how to get involved in government and why their votes matter.

Other aspects of the site which impressed us and may interest you:

* The group purchased the domain name to their site

* The group drew so much traffic to their site that when they began their presentation they told us to google "Challenge of Democracy" and we were surprised to find that it was the top hit.

* Over 1150 visitors have been to the site. The students created links through Twitter posts, Facebook, and a Wikipedia page.

* Most of the students in this group learned the nuances of the technology they explored or emplyed in the project.

* As with the other groups, the only credit I can take for what these students accomplished was presenting a solid challenge, introducing them to the cbl process, and urging them to set the bar high. Their solution was purely student direced and created.

You might be wondering how I can top this with the last student presentation. I many ways I cannot. But my challenge to the class was to "create an authentic medium for improving our democracy." In the next post you will see the most authentic medium created by any group . . . on Facebook.

Hail to the Chief!

Since Howard Dean's campaign for president in 2004, I have been fascinated with netroots politics. After dazzling onlookers with his ability to raise funds and organize volunteers online, Dean wiped out. But Barack Obama’s took online campaigning to a new level, and his election has installed the first new media administration the Executive Branch. Consequently, the White House web site has now become a valuable resource to me.


My American Government Students learn that the presidency is several different authorities, responsibilities and symbolic functions wrapped into one. I am using the online resources of the Obama administration to illustrate these roles. First, I downloaded pdfs, podcasts, and videos for this purpose. I have used Apple tools (Preview, GarageBand, iMovie) to create screen captures and clips and then placed them into a multimedia slide presentation. The slide show vividly portrays the president playing out his various functions.

I think the White House site also serves as a perfect example of how social media has become a conduit for vital information. It is clear that organizations large and small are assuming that global consumers/citizens will want to be informed and updated through Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, YouTube, and iTunes. Showing this as a key priority of the 21st Century presidency helps to make my case to educators that they are obligated to help students access and evaluate new media.

I’ve created a short QuickTime movie to demonstrate how I will be using the digital presidency as a classroom resource and to enhance my professional development presentations. Please check it out!

"Hail to the Chief" Multimedia Demo

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Demo created with Apple Keynote

Howling at the Moon

Wailing and moaning on a bleak Friday Morning:

Too Many Questions, Not Enough....
I used to really enjoy reading blogs like a recent one from Will Richardson which poses tons of questions. This one revolved around the issue of school's prohibiting students from using mobile even though they now provide connectivity to the Internet. Very interesting. But, these days when it comes to ed tech, I suffer from "Devil's Advocate" fatigue. I prefer to hear about actual attempts at implementing new policies and programs. Questioning alone lacks street cred with me.

Put up or ....
Speaking of trying new things-- I'm up for that. Imagine my frustration then, when on two different occasions teachers at schools hundreds of miles away have suggested that our classes hook up on a Ning and then failed to follow through on even a first step. This puzzles me a bit, because in both cases they took the initiative. Brainstorming is cool for workshops and retreats. But for classroom activities, I'd rather collaborate with doers.

Positively 4th Street

As Tiger Woods has learned digital information does not dissipate into the ether. A recent experience caused me to consider this fact more deeply as well.

On Facebook I often exchange sarcastic barbs with "friends". But I'm not used to stumbling upon gratuitous insults like the one a friend had posted to his own wall. It was a tired "joke", based on a half-truth. Much worse, it elicited a pair of hyperbolic anecdotes from a former student of ours. She sardonically portrayed me as a heartless beast. No "friend" had my back.

When I revealed that I was masochistically following this thread, the tone instantly switched to chumminess (oh, that's not too phony). What a creepy and uncomfortable experience-- and, I sure didn't like considering that this version of me would remain out there on a virtual wall for family, friends, students or even strangers to see. It originated with my friend's need to come off as oh-so-clever. I've been quite guilty of the same urge. So besides calling out this casual bit of nastiness, I'm giving myself pause for reflection. When I re-engage with truer "friends" on Facebook, I'll be more circumspect, recognizing that any words that fly out of my computer are built to last.

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"a howling moon tonite" Flickr Creative Commons Photo by max_thinks_sees

Blurring the Lines between Formal and Informal Learning

As I work on implementing Apple's Challenge Based Learning Model for my social studies classes this fall, I continually review some of the goals I hope to achieve through the process:

*Authentic connection with multiple disciplines.

*Leveraging of 24/7 access to up-to-date technology tools and resources.

*Use of Web 2.0 tools for organizing, collaborating, and sharing.

*Focus on universal challenges with local solutions.

*Requirement that students do something rather than just learn about something.

*Documentation of the learning experience from challenge to solution.
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I am struck by the way these aspirations transcend the physical boundaries and mind sets of traditional learning:

• Learning takes place during the school "year" (parts of ten months).
  
  
• Teachers facilitate learning in the classroom during an allotted time on a "school day." This is supplemented with "home work," which is then returned to school during a school day, etc.
  
  
• Only an exceptionally driven or socially dysfunctional individual would seek to learn as much on a snow day or school holiday. But "free time" could be enjoyably spent online with Facebook, YouTube, Skyping, etc.

I love the way that the Challenge Based Model blurs the distinction between instructional "lessons" and social media. I think many people all over the globe understand that information can be gathered, knowledge can be attained, and mastery achieved without resorting to traditional institutions. If only schools would more urgently grapple with this idea. If so, they might avoid the fate of going the way of the postal service and the daily newspaper-- features of American life that seemed so permanent and slid so quickly toward irrelevancy.

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"Seattle Cloud Cover" Flick Creative Commons Photo by Jim Carson

Self-Stoppers (Anxiety as an Impediment to Change)

I was recently reading Bend without Breaking by Jim Huling. Though directed at a business audience his comments really ring true for schools as well. Some folks bristle at the mention of new technology because they seem to feel that they "must master every aspect immediately." Huling urges us to counter this anxiety by "building a plan for the daily or weekly improvements."

I know teachers who feel enormously pressured to change, and their anxiety seems to paralyze them. Most of what I've learned with tech has come very deliberately. I've become competent with tools like Moodle, Google Docs, and iMovie by using tutorials through Atomic Learning, completing a few modules each day. This gives me the sense that I am making progress. And by focusing on one tool at a time, I feel less overwhelmed.

On a related note, I've often hear the lament that things are changing so fast, that by the time one gets started on something, it will probably be outdated. Well, there is an element of truth to this. Topics that I presented on in January have already drastically changed by July. But rather than paralysis, this calls for learning a "tool set." By playing around at popular sites like iTunes, Facebook, Flickr, YouTube, and WikiSpaces one can see that A) One can get around one these sites without a computer engineering degree. B) There is considerable transference of competency from one site to another. As I've often remarked, it's easier to jump into the Read/Write Web now than ever before. Despairing that one is hopelessly behind is a pretty lousy excuse for not engaging in the here and now.

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"Frustrated" Flickr Creative Commons Photo by frekur

Year in Review from the Trenches -- Making Headway

Part 1 of 3

I am pleased to reflect upon on a number of techy milestones this school year:

*I have integrated several new applications, sites, and tools into my personal and professional life. (Some listed at my new Presentations Site).

*Being named an Apple Distinguished Educator was the thrill of my career.

*I have been professionally enriched like never before from my Twitter and ADE networks (See Why Twitter).

*Facebook and this blog have generated , stimulating tech conversation with personal friends like @bridgers, Rick, aml, Katy. And Facebook has allowed me to begin lining up classroom visits from accomplished alumnae like Nadia and Monica.

*I launched three very stimulating collaborative projects: The Civil Rights/Liberties Wiki, the Congressional Simulation, and my favorite -- Blogs on Vlogs.

*I enjoyed delivering a number of in-service presentations (fully listed on my new presentations resumé). There is no better way to learn than through teaching others.

*In Resolved.... I announced the New Year's resolution to avoid checking a single "paper" at home for the entire school year. Resolution kept.

*Also Resolved.... was my determination to keep blogging. Forty-six posts since the resolution, I am still going strong.

*Rick Strobl and I have begun collaborating on Web Warriors, and the results have been gratifying.

But not all has been triumph in the trenches. Come back Wednesday for "Shell Shock".

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"Success" Flickr Creative Commons photo by aloshbennett

Ten by Ten Top Techs

As the end of the school year approaches I've been tempted to make lists of this or that, so why not go all out and make a 10 x 10 list?

My Ten Best Blogs this Semester:

Wrap that Red Herring in Paper

At Long Last...ebook Joy!

A Vast Tinker Toy Playland

Hyperlink Heaven

Techno Topsy-Turvy

Sage Schuste Seduced by Cyberspace?

Tooting Your Horn

To Leap Forward or Hunker Down?

The Digital Natives Aren't that Restless

Teaching Literature Unbound

10 Lessons I've Learned at Age 55

Tweetdeck Top Ten: @bridgers, @cultofmac, @englishcomp, @jackiegerstein, @markwagner, @Milw_Mac_Guy, @ScottElias, @mcleoud, @potsie, @TweetingTigers

10 Necessities of Education Reform by Judy Willis

The 10 Commandments of Power Point. How can people possibly think that reading PowerPoint slides to an audience is an effective way to communicate? This post by David Pierce is a must read for those who use (abuse?) PowerPoint or teach it to others.

My 10 RSS Feeds Knowing that I would just get depressed if I loaded more and more feeds into my Google Reader, I always limit myself to ten. Click here for my current feeds.

My 10 Largest Delicious Tag Bundles: finish, blog, tenthings, google, dadcalx, AP, mhs, 13, technology

10 Reasons to Tweet: The nine I wrote about in Why Twitter? plus this obvious one that I forgot: # 10 Twitter is perfectly suited for mobile communications.

10 Sites I Check Daily

10 apps or sites that I've enjoyed learning to use this year: GarageBand, iMovie, QuickTime Pro, Google Docs, Audacity, WikiSpaces, Google Sites, Twitter, Presentation.

10 Compelling Reasons to Teach with Technology

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"The 'Ten Truck' FDNY' Flickr Creative Commons Photo by stevejonesphoto

The Digital Natives Aren't that Restless

As I bounce from tweet to tweet and blog to blog these days, I bump into presumptions about students and technology are at odds with my experience “in the trenches.” Constructionist gurus would have us suppose that A) Kids today are fabulously techno-savvy in the way their elders are not. B) If only we would reach kids through social media their zest for learning would ignite and they will hurl themselves at society’s problems, hell-bent to solve them. It's time for some balance.

Sorry for the downer, but I find that students often treat Web 2.0 activities as, well, assignments. At my school, where we have a one-to-one HP Tablet program, even a group of supposedly college prep sophomores will get bogged down in a simple matter like registering for a Google account, let alone, setting up a Google Site or Blogger. And many, when they get frustrated, simply stop in their tracks (so much for their intoxication with technology), demanding instant help, (“It’s not working, It’s not working....”). This same kind of impatience marks their searches rather than the intuition, judgement, and perseverance we might expect from “digital natives”. They will announce they “can’t find it”. Of course this is not the case for a majority, and, yes, some students dive right into the tech (and help others). But the online dimension in and of itself does not assure motivation or deep engagement for a large segment of students. Designing a project that takes into account such a broad spectrum of attitudes and skills is no easy matter.

I had a conversation with my AP class on the supposed tech generation gap. In their opinion their grandparents better fit the stereotype of the without-a-clue adult than their parents. They noted that many moms or dads were glued to Blackberries and iPhones. Though the parents weren’t Facebook junkies like their kids, they too were heavy texters, and in some cases participated in professional social networks. Of course most of the parents were compelled to learn tech skills by their jobs.

I think we teachers perpetuate the urban myth of the tech generation gap due to our own peculiar myopia. We can trudge up the salary scale despite resisting innovation. And it will probably be the newer, more tech adroit teachers who get laid off when budgets get cut. The national emphasis on standards-based testing also mitigates against innovation.

I am completely convinced that American students must learn to access information and communicate with the latest tools. This won’t happen if “grandparent” teachers / administrators don’t embrace the new and create learning environments that prepare our kids to take their places in the global community. This calls for a real cultural change up and down the educational system. Contrary to some popular notions, this will be far more daunting than plugging our tech-savvy kids into Web 2.0 , and letting their curiosity and skills power the curriculum. There are huge issues confronting the educational system, which are conceptual, not generational. A critical mass of "grandparents" of all ages stands to hinder acceptance of and adaptation to the tremendous communications revolution we are experiencing. Students, teachers, and administrators who "get it" need to be nurtured, and moved to the head of the class or a hard rain is gonna fall.

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"Sleeping Student" photo with kind permission of Tapasparida

Sage Schuste Seduced by Cyberspace?

His disciples lead him in / And he just does the rest / He's got crazy flipper fingers / Never seen him fall /That deaf, dumb and blind kid / Sure plays a mean pinball.
-- from Tommy

I realize that enthusing about wikis, Google Docs, blogs, and other forms of social media has caused some of my colleagues to question my values, loyalty or even sanity. I suppose I can see how they might think I am drunk on the idea of Web 2.0 being the answer to everything. Actually, nothing could be further from the truth. I am into teaching with the best tool for the task, not preferring the new one for its own sake. And frankly, I still believe what David Brooks recently noted in the Times:

We’ve spent years working on ways to restructure schools, but what matters most is the relationship between one student and one teacher.

It's been my privilege to teach next door to a gifted teacher who has impacted literally hundreds of students by touching their hearts. I've never encountered anyone who more passionately teaches about literature and life. He has a remarkable ability to do this with keen humor, yet tenderness; great rigor, but unique sensitivity. Boy, do the students respond. And some are forever changed. But after forty-one years in the classroom, Tom Schusterbauer is getting set to retire in June.

You might suppose at this point that I am on the verge of recanting my profession of faith in the ability of new technology to change education...... Naw.

Though Tom has claimed that he is "no techie" and even "befuddled" by tech, I like many of his "friends", read these statements online, thanks to his recent discovery of Facebook. Talk about a marriage of message and messenger! He has virtually exploded as a one-man super nova of networking with the students who have passed through his classroom semester after semester for forty-one years. His teaching persona has become crystallized online and threatens to thrive well beyond his classroom days. His exquisite "notes" are not to be missed, sometimes producing dozens of responses to his thought-provoking reflections on life. (Does he realize that he is blogging?). If he is no techie, how has he mastered the Goliath of all social media? When I "friended" him, he had just written "In Defense of Facebook." (Hmn....Can you say, "Web 2.0 evangelist"?). I chuckle at his protestations about tech, but I am truly astonished by his Facebook tour de force, and love to check online for his musings, even though we are office mates.

You see, it's not a choice between people and machines. It's about teaching. And someone who is passionate about connecting with students will want to try new ways to teach as the world changes. Web academic, Danah Boyd, recently remarked at the Microsoft Techfest:

Social media is here to stay. Now we just have to evolve with it.

Evolving with it does not mean surrendering our passion for teaching. In fact as Tom has shown, it can amplify our passions far beyond the physical and temporal limitations of classrooms and school years.

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"Captain Fantastic...." Creative Commons Flickr Photo by Gregory Wild-Smith

Techno Topsy-Turvy

Recently, a very bright former student of mine, Elisa Gomez, contacted me through Facebook. Elisa is now in law school, and when she learned about my exploration of Web 2.0, she posted an interesting reaction on my Wall:

....well, to be honest, i think that i spent most of my mandatory school years being told that "those durn computers" aren't worth much/are useless/are a distraction. even now, law school professors are pretty suspicious of how everyone is taking notes on their laptops. I think I'd probably be a little freaked out to suddenly have my teachers promoting online collaboration as valuable and a worthwhile tool. When I was in high school, I was pretty sure I was on the cutting edge and everyone over 30 was stuck in the past. Turning that topsy-turvy is never comfortable!

Upon reflection, it occurred to me that since getting into tech, I have witnessed a number of things go topsy-turvy:

* Some of my most politically progressive colleagues have arch-conservative attitudes towards tech.

* After 41 years of reading his students' work, a retiring teacher has discovered Facebook and now hundreds of present and former students read his "Notes" for a change (More on this, Sunday).

* After a lifetime of trusting newspapers, magazines, and journals to filter information for me, I vet my own experts and do most of my reading through Tweets and Google Reader.

* As we all know, teachers with seniority often seek out the experience of young teachers for tech guidance.

* Media Specialists now lead curriculum discussions rather than merely serving as support staff.

* Though I often blog about my school, the Drive-thru probably has had more visitors from other countries (25) than from MHS.

*Based on my reading, I have the impression that Web 2.0 use as an instructional tool is more prevalent in elementary classrooms than the halls of higher education.

Do you have any examples to add to my list, or would you remove something?

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"Head over Heels" with kind permission of Heaven's Gate (John)

Web Sites for School

I was not one of the first teachers at my school to build a web site. But during the summer of '07 I purchased iLife and became fascinated with the idea of constructing a personal web site hosted on MobileMe, that displayed my interests, photos, mp3's, etc. Admittedly I went somewhat overboard, but iWeb provides wonderful tools for adorning a site, and at that time, it was my only vanity badge on the Web. It was linked to the school site my email signatures, so I logged plenty of visitors. Ironically, since placing profiles on Twitter, Facebook, ALI, etc., I have actually pared back my personal web site abit. Portions had come to seem redundant. The only recent innovation has been the inclusion of more video. But I intend to keep the site going for the foreseeable future. After all, I do not "Friend" my current students and this is a non-interactive way that they and others can learn more about me.

My next web site venture was the development of a Mercy Shakespeare Society site. Linked to the school web site, it was intended to be an advertisement for prospective members and a bulletin board for current ones. To date, the site has logged over 850 visitors, but I have to confess that I have been disappointed that the members do not regularly use it as a source of information. I may not update it so frequently, next school year.

I am proudest of the web site for my courses, which is intended for parents and other stakeholders. I aggressively championed the site through notes sent home and by linking the course site to the school site. Well, last week we had Parent Teacher Conferences, and it was depressingly clear that these well designed, informative sources did little to diminish the banality of the "how is she doing" conversations. When I referenced information on the site, few parents even showed the barest recognition, or mumbled a vague intention to "check it out" later. At this point, I am questioning how much further time and effort to invest in this project.

Much more satisfying has been the site hosting my AP American Government and Politics vlogs. iWeb has an excellent blogging template that allows me to post my students videos and then host an online conversation about the video. Currently, the site is password protected, but at some point in the near future I hope to showcase this to my faithful readers. I am excited about vlogging and intend to use next month in my Film class . I also look forward it exploring iWeb09. which Apple just sent me through the ADE program. I'll let you know what I discover.

Swimming with a School of Red Herrings

My December post, Wrap that Red Herring in Paper, concerned a brouhaha at school over whether digital communication should eliminate paper altogether. Framed in such a ridiculous way, the debate allowed technology Naysayers to indignantly defend their use of paper. We never even discussed the reasonable matter of whether digital communication might not be better suited for many of our communications (rather than all). In this context I used "red herring" to describe a diversion that distracted from the main argument. Since that time I have encountered some other ed tech red herrings.

"I don't have time to integrate technology". Interesting. Isn't this the same lame excuse we hear from our students? Implicitly speaks to priorities, doesn't it? As applied to technology I find the excuse rather ironic, since in many cases time would be greatly saved in the long run (see Using Mp3s in Education). And if the ever-so-busy teacher means classroom time, it might be useful to have someone else look over the syllabi and suggest where time savings might be realized. It's been my experience that teaching a particular lesson class after class sometimes gives us the idea that it is essential. A few nips and tucks might give us more time.

"We Mustn't Lose Face to Face Social Interaction". Simply because technology allows for collaboration to occur anytime and anywhere does not mean face-to-face has no value. When I assign collaborative projects, I always allow for in-person meetings. These sessions are provided for hammering out logistics rather than tooling around on the computers. Social media does not eliminate the usefulness physical meetings, unless by "face to face" the teacher means "I want you to take notes while I talk and see your face." I hope these teachers who fret about losing valuable "face to face" opportunities to technology also reconsider the social benefits of work sheets, reading time, lectures, etc. What exactly is the social benefit of those in-person activities? By the same token, administrators who are calling for more collaboration should reconsider how the school schedule might be adjusted to fit more flexible meeting demands.

"We have to use technology because these kids have grown up with it". The ed tech evangelists love to point to Facebook, cell phones, YouTube, and video games to argue that popular technology has made our students receptive to or even dependent upon technology for learning. Sorry, but down here in the trenches an assignment is still an assignment for my students. And they are still inclined to look for short cuts and complete the bare minimum even if all the bells and whistles of technology are used. They need to be prodded and encouraged whether the demands include technology or not. Those in the ivory tower would probably blame this on "bad design." Nonsense. Our students need to learn to solve problems and think and sometimes their lack of curiosity and motivation undermine the method regardless of how much it resembles their favorite past times. Challenging students and teaching them to problem solve is more important than giving them toys. An engaged, inspiring teacher will always be more critical to their education than a delivery system.

Are there any tech red herrings that bug you? Perhaps some of my own? Please join in.
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"red herring" Flickr photo with permission by JudyGr