I enjoyed this article found in Business Weekly about 21 items, mostly technology related, that have become obsolete in this decade. It really makes you think about how quickly our world is changing.
If you don’t have time to read the entire article, here’s the list of items that are covered:
PDAs
Email Accounts You Pay for
Dial Up Internet
Getting Film Developed
Movie Rental Stores
Paper Maps
Newspaper Classifieds
Landlines
Long Distance Charges
Public Pay Phones
VCRs
Fax Machines
Dictionaries and Encyclopedias
411
Music CDs
Floppies and CDs for backup
Bills in the Mail
Buttons (instead of touch screens)
Losing Touch
Boundaries
Paper
Record Stores
What would you add to the list? Please leave your suggestions in the comments!
The former music teacher in me emerged when I saw the following videos about the YouTube Symphony. About 3000 musicians from all over the world submitted videos in hopes of being selected for the orchestra. After online voting on YouTube, the result was an orchestra of over 90 classical musicians from 30 countries!
This first video is a mashup of the thousands of videos that were submitted from all over the world.
The orchestra rehearsed together for only three days before performing for sold out audiences at Carnegie Hall in New York City. This video shows highlights from the YouTube Symphony concert. There are interviews with the musicians as well as clips from the concert itself. You can watch the entire concert on YouTube here: Act One | Act Two.
Kathy Beck and Linda Lerch from Iredell Statesville Schoolspresented a very informative session about using Skype in the classroom. Skype is a free program that can be downloaded here, and it’s quick and easy to install on both Windows and Mac computers.
There are several sites to help teachers find other classrooms to connect with:
free pc to pc calls
free audio calls (can conference up to 25 people)
free video calls (just one to one)
group chat rooms
instant message
small fee for mobile phones and land lines
requires little bandwidth
high def speed 384 kb/sec
standard 128 kb/sec
Search for contacts – shows country and city so you can narrow it down
If web cam not connected, will only see ‘call’ button
If web cam is connected, can also choose video call
Classroom Ideas
students can talk with each other
send files to everyone in group to view and interject with text comments
keep archives of text messaging conversations
students can use video to practice for a play
debates
organize school events
work on school newspapers
collaborative research with students around the world
learn about students and life in other countries
learn a language
ESL
penpals
have experts come to them
hold a poetry reading in which actual poet reads to your class
brainstorm teaching ideas with a mentor
virtual field trip w/o buses and entrance fees
include an ill student in daily discussions (child can unplug camera if he does not want class to see him)
conduct a conference call for a club
virtual substitute – monitor your class while you’re away
quick connection to teacher
traveling parent for child in midst of homework crisis
assist children with special needs ~ describe the day
skype conference with parents who cannot come to school
hearing impaired could use the chat mode
blind can use audio mode
Read Alouds
have an author read a story over skype
other readers from local businesses
local theater groups
Collaborate with other teachers
professional development
Need to teach Skype etiquette
dialing etiquette – let it ring once or twice
movement can be distracting while using a webcam (stand still)
have questions prepared
skype from a well lit room
think about time differences
Note: This reminds me of when IM was new and different. The young teachers used it for fun to connect with their friends and families used it to keep in touch. It took a while before teachers learned that these same connection and collaboration skills could be used for professional reasons. Quite often, a new tool begins with personal uses and then reaches out to the school and to the classrooms.
Howie DiBlasi shared numerous online tools during his NCTIES session. His website contains additional links, handouts, and powerpoints that I hope to find time to explore in the not too distant future.
only one source – students should use additional sources for information
suggests that students find out something in their community that is not already written up and post and article about it
After asking how many people were using blogs, wikis, and VoiceThreads, he noted that these tools are being used much more often now than a year ago. (See previous posts about blogs, wikis, and VoiceThreads.)
Vicki Davis inspired all of the NCTIES conference attendees during her opening keynote. Here, I’m going to share some of the notes I took during her message. She began with the following premise:
“It’s not about the technology. It’s about what the technology lets you do.” ~ David Warlick
Most teachers are learners, and Vicki says we should all set a goal to learn three new things each year. Then we need to give ourselves the gift of 10 – 15 minutes three times a week to explore these new things. After all, if we are not exploring, creating, and learning, how can we expect our students to do the same?
Keeping with the conference theme, Vicki said that we have to decide that we WANT to make over our classrooms. Otherwise we won’t really do it. Don’t just say we’ll try; decide we will do it! Recognize the need for a change, and set goals for ourselves. After all, the world around us is constantly changing and there are new things to learn, both for teachers and for students.
She shared the following video which was scripted and created by Peggy Sheehy’s students at Suffern Middle School. The kids are saying such things as…
“The future is ready for us. Are we ready for it?”
“The future is ours. You have to give it to us.”
“I can’t create MY future with the tools of YOUR past.” (ouch!)
Notice that the students are not asking for no homework, no work. They want to work and create! They are just asking schools to meet their future. These kids are on Facebook and other social networking sites. In the future, they may not be able to find jobs because they are not networking! Schools need to teach them how to safely use the internet sites that they are exploring on their own. (You can keep them safe and still teach them rock climbing.)
Schools have to be able to take acceptable risks. Otherwise, they will never innovate and move on. Schools need to consider allowing teachers to override the internet filter when they need to use a site that is currently blocked. Speaking of filters, she also asked why schools punish everyone because a few teachers do not properly supervise their students? Blocking should be a curriculum decision, not an IT decision.
Computers should not be considered babysitters, something to keep the kids occupied. Students should not be rewarded with a trip to the computer lab to play. Computers are tools that should be integrated seamlessly into the classroom instruction.
Effective curriculum constructs effective online spaces. Sometimes, kids are the best textbook ever written for each other! Did you know that in Finland, teachers actually choose their textbooks based on the needs of their students?
Teachers will innovate when someone is there providing assistance and giving them confidence. That person (that would be my position!) needs to provide little bites of information to help teachers become independent but not overwhelm them. Expect slow but steady improvement. Eventually, the teacher needs to own it!
Remember that technology is a tool, and what you DO helps you pick your tools. Are you ready for the future?
You will soon see a new technology word wall in the computer labs at both of my schools. Each word is either the name of a web site, a program, or a technology term that you and/or your students might find interesting. Each word also includes a link to a site with further information about that particular topic. The VoiceThread below contains each of the words along with links for you to explore as you have the time and interest.
Back in the summer, some discussion arose in Twitter and Plurk about the idea of a technology ABC poster (I’m sorry, I can’t remember exactly who started the discussion to give credit. If it was you, leave me a comment please). Through those discussions, Tina Coffey and I came up with the idea of a Technology Word Wall and started adding items to the list that our teachers might use. If you think of other terms that should be added to our word wall, please leave a comment. If you’re interested, you can also view or print the slides from here.
Our school division will be holding a virtual Assessment FOR Learning fair in March. According to our superintendent, Dr. Alan Seibert, Assessment FOR Learning is really just about good instruction, where students are actively engaged, and are provided with opportunities to use feedback from the teacher to learn even more.
Teachers have been working in teams with others in their grade levels or content areas to gather materials and think about how best to share the strategies they use every day to help their students grow and learn. Since the fair will be virtual (completely online) we will have an archive of best practices used throughout the school division that teachers can revisit and search as long as desired. We may even want to add ideas to the list of resources in the future.
So, how are we going to present these ideas? That’s completely up to the teachers! However, I will be working with the other ITRTs to create a web presence for the projects. I’ll also create folders on the G drive where you can save your pictures and documents as you create them. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
Take lots of pictures, both of your students working and of their actual work (unless the work is already digital)
If you have a Word document with lots of explanations and graphics, we can save it as a pdf to put online.
Create a PowerPoint with your pictures and explanations.
Create a PhotoStory with narration or text explanations.
If you’re planning to use graphs in your display, why not create some in Graph Club?
If you’re working with older students, use MaxCount or Excel to create the graphs.
Use VoiceThread to display photographs and either narrate the pictures yourself or let the students explain what they are doing
Create a class wiki on a specific unit
Create a simple web page displaying pictures and information about your topic
Have someone video your class in action
Have students create a podcast from a script they have written about what they’ve learned.
If you’re using timelines, don’t forget about TimeLiner.
Any of these suggestions can be used online, and many of the projects will most likely have more than one component. Since I’ve been given the responsibility for creating this virtual fair, I’ll be talking with the teachers in each of my schools within the next couple of weeks. I’m excited about the opportunity to work with you and help you share your wonderful projects!
I am sometimes asked what my job as an ITRT involves. In a nutshell, I’m here to assist the teachers use the available technology within their curriculum. I love this short video that Tina shared on her blog several months ago. It’s a very accurate portrayal of our responsibilities.
Now that we’re two weeks into 2009, and the holidays are well behind us, it’s time to think about setting some professional goals. Why not learn how to do something new in the world of technology? (You knew I was going to say that!)
Here are a few ideas to get your wheels turning:
Learn to use a new piece of software. All of the software currently installed in the lab and on the laptop carts is also installed on your teacher laptop. Select a program and start playing around with it on your own. I have handouts for several of these programs too, so just ask if you need one.
Use your digital camera to take pictures of your students on a field trip or participating in an exciting project. Use the pictures to create a fun PhotoStory and put it on your web page. If you don’t have a class web page yet, why not make that your new goal?
Become more familiar with the SmartBoard software. Search for ideas on the internet, and adapt files that you find to meet your needs. Bring the SmartBoard into your classroom for a week or two and try to use it in a lesson each day.
Create a wiki, a very simple web page that students can edit and add pictures to with your direction. We’ve already had a couple of teachers use wikis with their students, and the kids loved the idea of creating their own media. I’ll be posting more about those projects later on.
Use Google docs to share information and collaborate with others in your grade level. Visit another school or classroom virtually using Skype. Enhance your writing projects by having your students blog. Go on a virtual field trip with Google Earth. Use Jing to create your own tutorials for students to use.
I have a couple of new goals for myself, too. I’ve had Camtasia for some time, and I need to take advantage of its ability to create tutorials and screencasts for teachers to use. I also want to learn how to create forms in DreamWeaver to put on the web pages.
So, there you have it. What are your goals? What will you learn this year in the exciting world of technology?
