Diva on a Limb

Less is More

2009-04-15T23:23:00.000-07:00

When studying acting at the University of Michigan, this was the phrase our directors would use to encourage us to keep it simple, keep it real: Less is More.

I remembered this when considering Secretary of Education Arne Duncan's "data-driven" incentive to lengthen the academic day and year. This strategy is based on an analysis/comparison of U.S. education to international education, particuarly in a world where U.S. students will be "competing" for college admission and jobs with students from around the world,. However, I fully understand why this idea is met with opposition without deep and meaningful change in the way we do the business of education.

Merely lengthening the academic day won't solve the problem. That could just produce more of the same with shorter vacations. I would also question the merit of universally lengthening the school day in those districts or schools where students are achieving well above the expected "average"? Or why lengthen it in states that make Kindergarten optional?

If workers can earn vacation time for hours completed at work, why can't successful students earn time off for successfully completing academic expectations? Isn't that what many of us called Senior Year?

Dare we consider, as Richard DuFour said in his 1994 book, Professional Learning Communities at Work that

Teachers and principals will know a district is serious about transforming schools into professional learning communities only when they are given the time they need to handle the complexity of that task. (pg.111)

DuFour's perspective of school days includes embedded learning for teachers and administrators rather than paltry add-ons to fulfill external expectations.

If Secretary Duncan embraces President Obama's goal of having the highest proportion of college graduates by 2020, it would make sense that the targeted efforts would focus on early childhood and primary education programs, those first graders and early graduates of the year 2020. It brings to mind the words of Rogers and Hammerstein to "start at the very beginning".

However, to effectively impact their education, a stronger focus needs to be placed on the learning of those who teach them. Seth Godin, in his book, Tribes: We Need YOU to Lead Us would seem to proffer that we can start (continue?) movements to reform education by

Transforming the shared interest into a passionate goal and desire for change;
Providing tools to allow members to tighten their communications; and
Leveraging the tribe to allow it to grow and gain new members

The question then is, who will lead this tribe? Do we wait for the Secretary of Education to tell us what to do? Or do we support those impassioned educators with whom I've had the privilege of working, removing the gatekeepers of traditional unionism that enable rather than reform the feeble? What about voting in those Board of Director members who seek to reward innovation rather than worry about who's in charge?

I think NCLB has proven that changes from on high will not reform education. It has to be a grassroots, teacher and principal level of passion to do something wonderful in education, and it has to be now, because, as Godin says,

Life's way too short to make mediocre stuff. . .defending mediocrity is exhausting (pg 32).

Second Fiddle to Dave Warlick?

2009-03-28T19:46:00.000-07:00

Innovation.

Encouraged, demanded, rewarded, and necessary.

In final preparations for the Near East South Asia's Educator's Conference, I knew I wanted to do something I've never done before. I am so over PowerPoint, even on an interactive white board.

I remembered Amanda's "sexy" presentation courtesy of twitter-buddy DearLibrariAnn. I knew a good deal of the final touches could be done on the 21 hour flight to Cairo, and was quite pumped to see that Prezi.com offered a downloadable version. I know Delta offers inflight WiFi, but I want everything ready to go when I hit the ground and reconnect with my husband.

Interestingly enough, my twitter world was abuzz as colleagues attended the EARCOS Teachers' Conference in Borneo AND Dave Warlick was presenting in his normal integrated, multi-techno function. I wasn't streamed in, but everyone was raving about his prezi presentation at the same time I was working with this startup to get my access code.

It's in beta testing, but I've worked with an internet-based software company long enough to know that a good thing is a good thing! Period!

I let Prezi know that they were getting a lot of love in twitter.

Encouraged a twitter search of "dwarlick" to see the PR he was giving their "startup".

Suddenly, the line went quiet, the call had an urgency to end, and my log-in seemed to be an issue of the distant past. To Patrick's credit, everything was launched and good to go, but I could see that their philosophy of accepting those with lots of cash or lots of influence was right on.

So all those rankings in social media mean something afterall, as my tech mentor Jeff Utecht shared over three years ago! It was a passing moment, but made me vastly aware of how interconnected everything is - the fact that I could simultaneously work, follow conference chatter in Borneo, and be whelmed by Dave Warlick in Saskatoon at an IT Summit just made me feel infintiely finite.

And connected.
screenshots from Tweetdeck and Prezi.com
Photo from takuya miyamoto's flickr

17 is an Odd Number

2009-03-06T03:08:00.000-08:00

I think of Seven (8) Habits of Highly Effective Leaders, the top 10 List of David Letterman, the eight Beatitudes, even the 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership by the same author and wonder why does 17 in numbering the essential qualities of a team player strike me as an odd number?

It is an odd number.
It's the first prime number after lucky 13.
A team can be five on the court or 9 on the field.

But Seventeen?

And then I thought of leadership from within - being a part of a team while being the one, de facto or de jure, who leads the team. While integral to the teams success, culture, image, and effectiveness, to leaders sometimes have to stand alone, a separate number apart from that perfect square, that 2- squared-squared?

And what if the challenge is to lead great leaders? John Maxwell advises that essential team players are:

Adaptabile
Collaborative
Committed
Communicative
Competent
Dependable
Disciplined
Enlarging
Enthusiastic
Intentional
Mission Conscious
Prepared
Relational
Self-Improving
Selfless
Solution Oriented
Tenacious

That's a long laundry list of desirable characteristics. Number 11 stands in the forefront of my mind, the need not only to know and embrace the organization's mission, but one's personal mission with many opportunities for reflection.

So how does one adapt to the high demand for competency in a solution-oriented, tenacious field?

By counting on insights from friends and family around the world who inspire and challenge.

Have a great weekend!

Teaching is the greatest profession in the world!

2009-01-06T19:20:00.001-08:00

That's what my husband told me one of the million times he tried (successfully) to lure me from the ego-centric performing arts to education. Even when longing for center stage, I still found a certain fulfillment in knowing I was playing a part in preparing the next generation for this game called Life.
Before I go on, I must fully disclose that I'm a consultant with Rubicon Atlas. We found each other when, in my 12 year of teaching, my school adopted Atlas as a curriculum management software.
I was excited to see Will Richardson's post about expanding the concept of what constitutes a teacher. Further inspiration came when reading One School of Thought which celebrates bringing the excellence in teaching outside of the classroom. After the privilege of reading my CEO's marginal notes in Rick DuFours Professional Learning Communities at Work. With the establishment of our online Professional Learning Communities (surprisingly, at no additional cost) and the Rubicon Exemplar System (again, at no additional cost), I couldn't help but feel that the mission was to connect educators, eliminate the silos, and

encourage and support the best and brightest teachers to come out of the closet and gain from the experience of teaching to a wide audience.

What an inspiring thought.

image from http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Teaching.png

Nary a Soul Need be Wary

2008-12-30T13:38:00.000-08:00

Inspiration is a good thing at the close of a solar/ceasarian calendar year.

I typically receive a good dose of inspiration from Dr. Scott McLeod; this is particularly the case when he is encouraging readers to be wary of outside consultants. This is what I do for a living, and his thoughtful reflection led me inspired me to reflect on my ethics, even if not in his echelon of public speaking nor a member of the National Speakers Association.

Can I assert that I have pledged myself to:

honesty and integrity
pursue my profession and education to the end that service to my clients shall always be maintained at the highest level
to seek and maintain equitable honorable, and cooperative association with fellow members . . . of my business and professional life
to comply with the standards . . . as set forth by th[e] code of Professional Ethics

I need a few days to mull it over for a truly accurate self-reflection. I also look forward to redefining my personal mission statement to make sure all is where it should be for 2009.

Happy New Year. God bless us, one and all

Many Roads Lead to Roam

2008-12-06T17:30:00.000-08:00

I thought I'd share some of "the places I've visited" as my blog post. Mind you, this isn't all of them, as they emerged from a list of prompts. I remember summer vacations of youth, in the back of the station wagon headed to fulfill a mother's dream to visit all 50 U.S. states. We nearly made it; it was a job in Alaska that took me to a conference in Hawaii where I fulfilled the destiny of this legacy.

Now, I'm blessed to travel the world as part of my job. After a recent 8-week tour I returned to Portland, not surprised that it is still not home without my husband there! When reuniting with friend & career coach Marti, she shared that she would be curious to see my virtual map. I updated this through my facebook page, inspired by friend Amanda's really full map and hoping mine would begin to compare.

The results are below, with miles to go before I sleep . . .

car image from http://fuselage.de/index.html?http://www.fuselage.de/ply73/station.html

I Slept as the World Changed

2008-11-28T06:11:00.000-08:00

Has it really been nearly three months since my last blog post?

I have absolved myself from guilt - even with a new purpose in September to blog more regularly. I have been at my Portland base 10 days since September 9th - only two of those were non-consecutive weekend days.

I am melded to my laptop, so it's not a matter of being removed from the digital community. However, since my last blog post, I feel as though, perhaps in a dream:

The U.S. elected a President who has the potential to inspire beyond what Kennedy or King did.
The blogosphere shriveled up and went inactive - or maybe I just stopped reading my RSS feeds?
Twitter slowed down - or maybe I couldn't stomach reading all the racist comments in the public twitville after McCain conceded
I realized there were other priorities in my job demanding immediate focus beyond making sure we were present in web 2.0-ville.

Or perhaps, it is as my friend Jeff said:

I don’t think it’s a bad thing, I just think the landscape of what blogging is, is changing.

What brought me back?

I logged into Twitter, and my friend Andy Torris had a link to his post.
I wanted to comment on his post but became instantly ashamed when it asked for my website.
I decided if I was going to comment and list my blog, I darn sure better have something recent.
I read Jeff's post to see where his thoughts had been lately - even though I was a Skype guest with his Grade 5 class as they were creating audiobooks for kindergartners.

I was also pulled back by Sanjana of AS Bombay's way of introducing first and second graders to the world of blogging . . . and I just *had* to start following @dearlibrariAnn once we met ftf after she starting following me from a mutual friend - @adecardy's twits.

I fell asleep and the world seemed to change. Then I woke up and realized I can still jump on the train and ride to my heart's content.

Let's do away with that phrase "The train is coming - either get on board or get left behind". There is nothing wrong with stopping to smell the roses and trusting there'll be another train coming through the station soon - that's why the station was built!

Fine line between school bashing and reflection

2008-09-07T08:27:00.000-07:00

Early Sunday morning, I was led to join a SecondLife pre-conference and was enjoying the conversation and chats until I became irritated by the sweeping generalizations regarding what teachers will and will not do to propel, no support their students in this century. (Aside - eight years in, we can stop projecting what 21st Century learning should look like and start reflecting on what it really is).

As an educational consultant supporting both U.S. and international schools, I admit I am occasionally frustrated with educators who aren't familiar with what one might consider as the basics of computer/network navigation. However, upon realization of missing skills or understanding, it then becomes my responsibility to maximize the teachable moment, not to critcize them for what they don't know they don't know! I marvel how some will readily scaffold learning experiences and adapt instructional practices for students but become aghast at the prospect of doing so for adult learners.

As I mention what "some will readily do", I can't help but arrogantly wonder if my Quit It! reply was referenced when Scott McLeod questioned "some " as a rebuttal to the following:

Teachers aren’t integrating digital technologies into their instruction on
a regular basis.

Let's continously facilitate teacher learning on how to do so. Let's introduce them to tools so accessible and so exciting that they continue the exploration on their own, even if it means staying up until 1:00 AM to own them well enough to use them!

The administrators who are in charge of leading their school organizations into the information age don’t really understand the information age.

Let's meet them where they are in the midst of multiple pressures and initiatives (mandates!) and provide them with enough exemplar IT/Ed Tech plans and dialogs until they clearly see the customized vision for their school. Let's encourage/lead them to meet in digital spaces and engage them in conversations about systemic changes that are most meaningful to them right now. Let's hyperlink them to blogs and wikis until they are so addicted to their personal learning network, their days aren't complete until their feeder is empty.

Schools aren’t providing the types of learning experiences necessary to prepare
students to be 21st century citizens and workers.

Is the community aware of what it expects from its schools? Does it support new initiatives and take responsibility for leading rather than supressing-by-challenging innovation?

I would assert that among the schools I'm entitled to work with and visit, for every one where the above statements might be true, I can point to three others where they couldn't be more inaccurate. I can identify small class movements within a seemingly stagnant school which are aggressively transforming educational practices to reflect 21st Century education using embedded technology as a tool to enhance relevant content and strong instructional practices. I would rather highlight this classroom and teacher than focusing on the less in-tuned one.

The microtrends happening in pockets of these "failing" schools, according to Mark Penn, can be enough to spark a social movement or produce political change.

I plead guilty to using "some" or "many" to rebut what I view as teacher-bashing over-generalizations. Let me justify the reminder that what is true for some or many is rarely true for: this child of the 1960's riots and revolutionary changes, still trembles with angst when I hear sweeping generalizations applied to groups. Please, judge me on the content of my classroom, not the "color" of my school system. Hearing "this school" or "these past six schools I visited" seems a more appropriate and accurate reflection of educational systemic assessments than a broad brush stroke which obliterates the intricate details of a work-in-progress.

If we who are educators denigrate our own profession or professionals, how can we expect others to hold it in the esteem due an occupation that directly impacts children?

. . .and cue soundtrack for this musical called "life":

Are You Ready?

2008-09-02T03:05:00.000-07:00

When contemplating my own level of preparedness for the plunge, the old childhood chant comes to mind:

One for the money - Two for the show
Three to get ready, and Four to go!

Photo courtesy of creative commons http://www.flickr.com/photos/d10b/

I took advantage of the holiday weekend to catch up on my RSS feeds. How desperately I need to get on a schedule to do this regularly, but 10 days in four Asian countries followed by 7 days on the west coast and ending with 8 days in India is enough to help me feel justified for irregularities in my rituals.

Irrespective of my personal wars, Janet Lee Johnson has been absolutely inspiring over the past few weeks! I enjoy following her on twitter and seeing the world of public relations and interconnectivity through her eyes, but it was downright comforting to hear her echo my friend and former colleague, Jeff Utecht, regarding strategies for increasing blog visibility. One of her recommendations rang particularly familiar: the trackback to the Technorati Profile as an absolute must.

So now I must fill out another profile. Call me lazy, but it will temporarily be a cut-and-paste from the presenter bio for an upcoming workshop at the Near East South Asia (NESA) conference in Amman, Jordan. I have joined so many networks, filled out so many profiles, and attached so many pictures, I feel as though I just came from a wine and cheese in a new position.

(image from NESA Center Gallery - Spring Educators' Conference)

I'm not complaining. I'm thankful that web 2.0 matches what Debbie Silva would call my ADD-OS personality (Attention Deficit Disor . . . . OOOOOH! SPARKLIES!!!). I can flit and float from network to network, finding what this still-creative mind craves for the moment.

Yet I wonder if I'm ready to make the bold commitment. Do I want a following on my blog (do I have one and not know it? Gotta upload that new Google gadget!). Most importantly: do I want to make the commitment to be an ongoing part of very meaningful conversations that, when done at the level of Janet's or Jeff's or my friend Andy's can inspire thought and excellence.

Yes. I'm ready. To learn.
Yes, I'm ready, to love.

To fall into the blog
To keep up with the blog
To commit to the blog
Right now.

If you can name the tune from which those lyrics are borrowed/tweaked, than your as much of a dinosaur as I am.

Let's keep it real: That which doesn't kill me will only make me stronger. Crank it up, y'all!

See you next week! Leave a thought or two.

Signs of the Season

2008-08-02T09:39:00.000-07:00

Summer vacation is over in International Education. At the office, we might as well install a revolving door to accommodate the upcoming travels of me and my colleagues. I joking bid a co-consultant goodbye with a hope to see her in September as we integrate our Curriculum Mapping system trainings into the start of the academic year.

Recently, have been deeply inspired by an Asian International School so closely wedded to excellence, they purchased our tool. What was inspiring is that curriculum mapping was not used to create change in their school or lead toward improvement, but because the practices they have already established needed what my firm offers to maximize their pre-scheduled time focused on designing and refining their curriculum.

Although I desperately miss my husband, as my "home base" and travels currently require that we live apart, I love my job, which provides me the opportunities to travel (on this trip) to places like Malaysia, the Phillipines, Singapore and Taiwan. I am tickled to goose-bump level to see people more excited than me about designing curriculum that will improve student learning.

The seasons of my life have changed from a classroom to consulting full time. As I learned of the need to be an educational teacher-leader to become the change I wanted to see in education, I am now learning that I need to persevere as a consulting leader to become the change that others need to see in our field. I'm excited by the podcasts we're producing and the way our borders are reaching out to share best practices at the speed of change, but with change happening so quickly, how will we keep up? I know many of you have seen this video countless times, but it reminds me, humbly, how rapidly our world changes.

Whether or not we manage to keep up or catch up, I am thankful for the opportunities to see outstanding and committed educators collaborating to do what's best for their students.

On the Road Again

2008-07-06T10:02:00.000-07:00

I still marvel that I've accumulated more miles this year an educational consultant (this after 13 years in k-12 education and three as an adjunct college lecturer/performing artist) than all of my traveling years as an international educator.

Usually, I put the headphones on, tune out the world, and focus on preparations for/follow-up from the school I've gone to visit. This usually devolves into mind-numbing airline entertainment or a fast movie/TV series on the laptop or ipod. This vacation trip to Phoenix was different - my aisle mate was otherwise occupied, but once the conversation began, I didn't want to "tune out".

He too is an educator at a charter school in Phoenix. His passion for the profession was inspiring and reminded me of the good old days. However, it was his inquiry into my job teaching internationally that inspired this blog.

My friend, Amanda DeCardy summarizes it beautifully. I echo the sentiments on benefits to the family. The only addition I would make is the opportunity to meet wonderfully dedicated professionals with global perspectives and an appetite for cultural experiences and exchanges.

The world is flat, but it is through exchanges offered in international posts that we can physicalize the virtual connections available.

Tools of the Trade

2008-05-17T08:22:00.000-07:00

What started as a comment to Andy Torris' blog turned into a post of its own. Because I know this educational leader values the opinions of others, I left it there, in the comments, but wanted to share the context with you.

“The U.S. Department of Commerce ranked 55 industry sectors by their level of IT intensiveness. Education ranked was ranked 55- the lowest. Behind coal-mining.”

Before we completely fault educators, I'd like to make a comparison between three industries in which I worked:

Higher Education:
Resident Director at a major research institution - provided with a desktop computer and access to the "BBS" (OK, so I'm a dinosaur!)

Educator:
Given the option of a low-interest loan in a payroll deduction to purchase my own personal computer. The loan amount had limits.

Consulting Firm:
Provided with a laptop computer and international mobile phone upon arrival (latest bells and whistles).

The expectations of my expected use of technology both during and outside of work hours were clear by the resources provided. Most schools wouldn't expect a teacher to walk into a room without text books (hopefully this is changing) and a teacher's manual to accompany them. We won't even name those schools whose provision of technological resources are so scarce that teachers use their own money to purchase digital projectors. If educators are truly expected to embed technology into instruction and learning, give them the tools - not just available in the classroom - that they need to do so.

There have been few changes to the expectation that educators do more with less, particularly in US public education. School calendars, expected outcomes, scheduling, even teacher training and professional development are still shaped by the industrial model of education. The changes to adapt to 21st Century learners will be implemented by educators but the really metamorphosis is at an institutional level, most critical at institutions of teacher preparation and certification.

Main point: provide educational professionals with the tools of their dynamic trade. Outside of photosynthesis and those things created to imitate the process, very little happens by osmosis.

If they made you, they can't be all bad!

2008-05-09T18:42:00.000-07:00

A strategic planning consultant asked a reticent group to introduce themselves, sharing the last book they read or the last original thought the remembered having. We all chose books.

Jeff Utecht, through the twitter universe, led me to a 2006 TED speech by Sir Ken Robinson

An entertaining and thought provoking video, but as a former music educator - in a state-run school (since we have no "national education system in the U.S.), I respectfully disagree.

We need to stop beating up our educational system. I have had a rich life - rich in wonderfully creative experiences and opportunities, and guess what? I am a full-blown product of public education! My 3rd grade teacher nurtured my creativity in poetry while Ms. Strozier nurtured my love of instrumental music and Ms. Robinson gave me chances to sing. As I travel to different schools, I see so many loving and dedicated educators just like the teachers I have. Yet we tend to focus more on what' missing than what is or what could be.

We blame the educational system for our human shortcomings. Schools can nurture all the

creativity they want, but if parents tell kids to "cut that racket out" once they get home or farm them out to activities that keep them too tired to find the time to create, the morning has been nearly nullified.

No matter what the educational system may have been "designed" to produce, it is powered by individuals. In the paraphrased words of a former administrator, "Forget the curriculum - teach these kids to enjoy their time making music with you".

Will this be on the test?

2008-03-09T08:15:00.000-07:00

OK, dharter, you win.

I had discovered the thrill of blogging while taking Jeff's class. Then work realities hit, and blogging just wasn't a "priority" anymore. But in this beautifully interconnected universe, I could no longer bear a most recent post touting my my mom's new Christmas Nano.

As I prepare for my first ASCD convention, I wonder what lies ahead for curriculum and curriculum mapping. I can't deny that technological advances make our lives more accessible to more people and information more accessible to us, but accessibility doesn't change the substance of our needs or needed skills.

Working with educators rather than students provides many opportunities for questioning the path of education. Nonetheless, our technology shouldn't dictate the content of what we teach; it is merely a tool to accelerate our discovery learning.

Wiggins and McTighe use etymology in understanding curriculum - as the course to be run, given a desired endpoint. Until there are near-metaphysical changes in our destination (i.e., an academic degree leading to a job/career to support exisitence on earth), there will not be lasting change in the preparation toward this end - commonly known as k-12 education.

Richard Bach's biplane view of life offers winding roads filled with alternatives. He offers that Learning is finding out what you already know. Education should not restrict the path that students use in this discovery, but they need an aerial view of where the "course to run" is leading them

It is misleading, no matter how many different jobs a 21st Century student may face, to coax our students into believing that mastery of the traditional core subjects is anything other than necessary. How we lead them to discover those fundamentals can eternally morph, but without the possession of the knowledge and skills essential in a math, science, language, and arts education - traditional long before the industrial age - remains essential.

'Tis the Season

2007-12-30T21:27:00.000-08:00

It has been an exciting holiday week:

My mother was ecstatic about her iPod Nano-video. I felt cheap for not getting her the touch screen!

My mother-in-law was not. She wasn't sure it was compatible with her wmv books on tape and didn't want to take the time for me to show her how to import. It did take her over a year to take her new computer out of the box. . .
My husband is home from Saudi. We've been together for 10 straight days with another week to come!

Mom's house is wireless. One trip to Best Buy, and my husband and I are emailing URL's for "you gotta see this" things

I bonded with my 16 mo. old nephew. He cuddles with me, and sits on my lap for fingerplay songs.

One niece added me to her facebook account. Two others accepted my request. We're planning a girls' weekend in NYC for 2008.

I'm increasingly aware of what an integrated part of our lives modern technology and the internet are. What prohibits it from being an embedded part of curriculum design, teaching, and learning?

I also wonder what goals I should set for the next year. A pep talk from a brother-in-law focused me toward Plato's Republic; I turned him toward Moore's Utopia. I only want to make the world a better place.

A New Educational Life in Second Life

2007-12-25T20:00:00.000-08:00

Wow. I finally gained access to second life by reverting back to my Windows XP system and gaming computer with the ATI video card recommended. Irony is that my husband bought this 17" computer for me to play The Sims2 when my older laptop was ready for the rubbish.

I browsed around the University of Cincinnati site, as my Professor shared that my soon-t0-be Alma Mater was developing a "presence" there.

I was led to an open-source research sharing by Boise State University. This led me to sloodle and a wealth of information about building "social persistence" in virtual learning communities.

Now I'm at the in-laws, basking in holiday glow, and anxious to explore more. Did I mention my nieces and I are planning our trip to NYC via facebook? In a six hour visit, I walked through their world of youtube videos, xbox, Wii, and art - so different from the holidays of my youth where batteries are replaced with SD disks and the college novice brags about her prowess in getting required courses by pre-saving registration online.

And I'm proud that I use my blog to track information I may want at a later date. At least I'll know where my links are, if I can't keep up with the nieces and nephews. At least they needed me to help assemble the airhockey table that held their interest for two full games. . .

How do I return the gift of virtual knowledge to a friend who shares so freely?

"Pass it on," the voice echoes in my mind.

Reflections on Teaching and Learning in a Networked Classroom

2007-12-17T01:35:00.000-08:00

What started as a substitution course turned into a new way of viewing the possibilities of the web in instruction. Enjoying the embedding of technology doesn’t begin to scratch the surface. I’m living in a different world which will is rapidly becoming the only reality current students know. My mind swims, I can’t keep up with my RSS feeds, answering a question usually leaves me with ten windows or tabs open forgetting the original source of inquiry. In this world, we still expect students to sit in desks, listening to lectures and doing writing assignments? Do we expect teachers and staff members to do the same as we train them to think as students think?

The possibilities, even in professional development for educators are endless. Podcasts, Second Life, Wikis are just a few of the tools available. It was most meaningful in this course not to just learn about them, but to be responsible for creating them. The most difficult was reading about these possibilities. At least I’ve discovered that what used to be ADD is now just connected learning.

My regret was not assuming a more regular pace through the course. The typical final cramming didn’t afford the best understanding of blogs. For instance, during the last week, I discovered ways to edit code that would have customized my blogger template. Had I done the challenging podcasting assignment earlier, I would have – scratch that - might have come across the tutorial blog that links to customizing other features. I say might, because one thing this course has reinforced is how difficult it can be to retrace research steps. That is the value of a blog – linking to the pages at the time of thought so that they’re only a few clicks away.

As I was writing my blog on Wikis, I thought it might have been fun to collaborate with classmates on a project, but my timing probably would have been the weakest link. It was clever to begin the course by becoming course editors through the WetPaint wiki; at least I understand how it works. Setting it up for others will be a larger challenge.

I'm pumped that my Senior Partner extended an invitation to discuss ideas for the coming year. He has demonstrated a desire not only to keep apace with Web 2.0, but to revolutionize the way we do business. I would enjoy using these tools to teach teachers, to facilitate discussions about learning, and incorporate it into the processes attached to mapping.

One to One Learning Environments

2007-12-08T16:30:00.000-08:00

I have the fondest memories of both of my grandfathers. With each, I was afforded the opportunity for meaningful time alone with them. Every animal, every radio program, every person that walked past the porch became a lesson, usually based on a life experience to help me avoid some of the crueler pitfalls in life. I cherish our one on one time. It had to be the most meaningful lessons, immersed in our mutual love for eachother.

What does this have to do with one laptop per child, or other one-to-one learning environments? Let me play a paternal grandfather role and share a story:

When I was in Grade 8 in the Detroit Public School system, we had to share books with a partner during class. Taking them home for continued reading or further investigation involved a rather tedioius check out process that meant precious time away from the seven minutes allotted to see friends and to make it on time to the next class. I shared a microscope with eight other lab table partners and they came out so rarely, there wasn't a direct connection to labs and science.

When I transferred to the suburbs, the first thing I received was a stack of books - checked out to me for the entire year. I was assigned a microscope and my own personal lab station. We were always cutting things, picking things and looking at them in microscopes, and, when the teacher wasn't looking, creating our own little science experiments. We worked in diads and triads in our home ec kitchenettes complete with its own fridge, stove, and cupboard space. All of a sudden, there was a value placed on education by what was available to each individual, and I started taking it seriously. I was "tracked" as a low performing student upon arrival, but by the time I was in the ninth grade, my Biology teacher pulled me into the hall and shared that someone had made an awful mistake putting me in her class and that she would make sure that I was "in the right classes" by the new quarter.

One-to-one supplies. One-teacher to one-student communication. Why should it be any different for the tools of modern education? What message do we send students when there aren't enough computers (or labs) to do the projects or research needed?

Virtual Learning Environments from Blackboards to SMARTboards

2007-12-08T15:05:00.000-08:00

Online learning is an interesting phenomena. As I've learned of endless possibilities of teaching and learning through this course and good old blackboard now seems so stilted and artificial. There is no interaction and it takes a series of clicks to find resources related to projects or activities. In spite of being version 7.0, it is very Web 1.0 - ish (I often wonder if people think the same of other internet software platforms that I know well).

A meaningful virtual learning environment puts the learner in control. Rather than going through a series of prescribed activities, chats that are graded based on "asking meaningful questions", inserting a certain number of quotes from the reading, or writing at a graduate level, why not turn the course loose to exploration and discovery through networked communities that share common interests? Why keep students limited to one course over a prescribed time period rather than letting them jump about as their desires to discover and learn grow? Instead of a facilitator lurking in the shadows just to add a grade to discovery, why not ask leading questions that will help the learner reach his/her learning goals?

When teachers and administrators have the luxury of learning this way, leaving behind the ivory tower of inaccesible kings and queens, the classrooms and schools they lead will become dynamic, personalized networks of learning. Instead of dividing learning by catgorized subjects, these inspired educational leaders will integrate inquiry-based learning, answering and asking questions the same inquisitive way that started and fed a Renaissance in Europe. Students will not have to choose between music and athletics; rather they will see both as integral parts of their lives and cultural traditions that define their learning goals.

And while I'm dreaming, I fit into a size six dress this morning as well You'll notice that the Santa made of condoms underwent a virtual diet as well). The beauty of dreams is that they only require action-based faith - that work that is motivated as if the dream has already come true.

Interstingly, Mohamed Amine Chatti doesn't percieve a need for a top-down integrated system, rather that users understand how to blend the various resources out their for their own use. Works for me! It starts with a 3-tabbed home pages, one which is iGoogle, in Internet Explorer; it broadens to a different homepage in firefox to distinguish between personal and work-based projects. A day end ususally finds at least 5 different windows with any range of tabs in each; a track record of a schiozphrenic working and learning pattern.

David Delgado uses this visual representation to show his virtual learning environment, joined by Elgg:

I hope I have the unrelenting courage to speak to this need with my colleagues. We are in a position that approximates the influence of an educational institution. Time to put the end user/learner in the driver's seat and help them discover the tools that keep them intrigued.

No Fear of Flying

2007-12-08T13:55:00.000-08:00

I began my teaching career in the bush of Alaska. The North Slope Borough School District is the northernmost district in the US, above the arctic circle, above any semblance of the city life I had known. However, living there for two years, you think I would have come prepared for a visit to the water-networked village.

It had been too long.

I had to borrow a pair of fishing boots from the partner of one of the teachers in the big city - Bethel. Someone only showed up with her patent leather flats and pumps. . . what WAS she thinking? Good thing my friend's partner is a man's man who subsistence fishes: there are no sidewalks - only boards above the marshy tundra.

I took the shortest ever flight - 14 minutes from door closing to door opening, wobbling a fearful 1/4 mile above the tundra. Had a chance to see a truck that had tried to cross on the ice nine years ago, but didn't make it. It sits there, in the marsh, rusting. Too bad the camera was in the cargo holder - also known as the tail of the plane and the back seat.

The all time best response when I inquired about a restaurant or store for dinner was, "You have to go to the village on the other side". That meant swimming across freezing waters. NOT going to happen. Fortunately, two zealous teachers invited me over for hamburgers and Kraft Mac & Cheese. They were right out of college - could you tell?

Water taxis aren't only in Venice! I did get a wonderful hour-long taxi ride to the next site. Yes, all that luggage is mine, including the sleeping bag that I wrote off as a lodging expense, considering I had to use it for sleep in the Principal's office and on mats of the gym floor.

The beauty of this trip? By using an internet-based tool, we are able to connect teachers in remote villages to collaborate with and communicate about their instruction and kids' learning. While they might only see central office staff through distance learning courses, they have at their fingertips the district prescribed and researched best practicies in education, working to ensure that each child in each village is exposed to the same curricular opportunities. Some are more keen to use the internet (computer) than others, but at least the tool is at their disposal!

Virtual Learning Environments

2007-12-04T21:53:00.001-08:00

Here's a news flash: I work for a company that supports virtual learning environments. On the surface, I would question this. We manage curriculum. But we also support learners, adult learners, in the process of managing their curriculum. How much and to what extent depends on the desire of the learners.

Wonderfully, I have the opportunity to learn of other associations that are providing these tools to educators. For instance, the ever (in)f amous College Board of AP course fame has an incredible system called SpringBoard through which teachers receive curricululm, instructional strategies correlated to that curriculum, can design tests, and have those tests graded. On one hand, I wish I had known about it during my teaching days, even though it targests the "core" subjects. On the other hand, I enjoyed the creativity of designing my own learning environment and adding the virtual aspects to it.

Virtual learning environments aren't restricted to the internet. Some are site-managed, for commercial reasons. Immediately, I think of Sylvan learning centers and test preparation centers. I appreciate how the tests are sensitive to areas of digitally perceived weaknesses and the tests/exercises modified to lower or raise the bar according to the responsiveness of the student. Isn't this what strong educators do instinctively?

The most important factor of a real-time or virtual learning environment is that a student learns under the facilitation of a qualified and knowledgable educator. As George Siemens says, "Our tools are extensions of ourselves. We desire to extend our competence by creating tools that cover our weaker attributes" (Knowing Knowledge, pg. 110). Embedded technology then should be an extension of a teacher who realizes s/he doesn't have all the knowledge, but a key competency is understanding what teaching and learning is all about.

What is admirable about the SpringBoard program is that they piloted with school districts in real need, took their suggestions and implementations under strong consideration and merged it with their years of knowledge through data collected on various tests. The result is a virtual learning environment built on best practices from people in the field. It uses technology as a tool for both teacher and student learning, but not as the focal point of instruction or learning.

I hope that others who have been working with Atlas Rubicon feel the same way, because I can see a similar behind-the-scenes process, but have lost the perspective from in the field.

Media Sharing

2007-12-01T18:15:00.000-08:00

A former music teacher sees infinite possibilities of media sharing over the web. How much simpler to upload sound files for auditions or competitions rather than sending tapes (yes, that was the 2003 expectation!) or CD's.

I love the thought of my former grade 6 video project being off of the school server and onto the net where distant families can download it (rather than 60+ people asking one teacher for a copy).

However, the most significant use of media sharing came from leaving my family in Michigan after Thanksgiving. You won't know these faces, but I am grateful for what Picasa enabled me to do: to send them reminders a week later, of how blessed we are to be the family we are. I was able to send a link to family that didn't fly in, and to relive learning "Soulja Boy" from my nieces. Too bad I didn't reset my camera's clock after putting in the new battery! (Yes, Jeff, this is the camera you picked out for us in Jeddah - Andy has the new one!)

Solja Boy is a recording company 2.0 story - a young man who wanted to make his own dance, produced it using just FL Studio, put it out on YouTube, and had his album released 10/2/2007. It made #1 on Billboard and the top of the charts in other countries. I think that's Ludacris making a cameo.

The School of Tomorrow

2007-12-01T15:46:00.000-08:00

The most comforting aspect of the school of tomorrow, School 2.0, was in the upper right hand corner.

Amid the excitement and cartoon bubble text reflecting our classrooms without walls was a web of advice to:

Parents, Teachers, Students, Administrators, Community Members, Technologists

Even policymakers were included. The one group I wanted to see listed was Educator Training Facilities. I don't doubt that Professors are in fact teachers and included in the encouragement to see "the world is your classroom - know that you don't have to have all the answers". My experience with college, particularly at a university, is one of self-teaching and discovery learning (mostly through texts and journals). However, for meaningful and lasting progress to take place in the mindset of educators, it must begin prior to their induction, as they're learning the theories and history of their craft.

There is no doubt that meaningful professional development can and does occur on site, in learning communities, and naturally, through online conferencing and continuing education. It is also fortunate that novice teachers leaving the universities are digital natives familiar if not intimate with the technologies availble for teaching and learning.

My concern is: if educators are being trained for instruction in classrooms with tables and chairs and (hopefully) integration of technology, when will they learn the pedagogy of embedded technology that can differentiate across multiple learning styles and intelligences. When will trained administrators be prepared for positions that do not support basic computer skills, rather have the expectation of innovative uses to improve teaching and learning.

I look forward to seeing University 2.0, not about financial planning, not about internal systems, but about teacher preparation, very soon.

Podcasting

2007-11-30T16:32:00.000-08:00

Um. This process took me back to the old VSBASIC days - if , then - trying to adjust html for feeders.

Click on the title "Podcasting". It'll take you to my podcast in an internet link. Or you can click here. I was feeling like a beatnik - or maybe that's a deadbeat? In the process of uploading, I did find a place for copyright free music, because that . . . rap needs something to spice it up.

Next step, learn to imbed it!

Where should I begin to list the possibilities for podcasting in my profession? We're primarily instructors - imagine a short weekly brief on best practices? Conversation starters for team meetings? Analytical tools and how to dig into data to honestly assess whether or not teachers are meeting students' needs (not vice versa).

What about a virtual professional learning community where educators can submit podcasts of their instruction, linked to their lesson plans which are embedded in their living curriculum for feedback from a group of like-minded professionals? The possibilities are only limited by . . .the lack of a 27-hour clock.

At least you can enjoy a professional slam poet.

Ladies and gentlemen, my inspiration warning us of the dangers of spell-check (or "The Impotence of Proofreading"): Taylor Mali!

Online Conferencing for ADD-OS

2007-11-30T14:32:00.000-08:00

Thanks Debbie Silver, for helping me understand my randomness. She tagged herself: Attention Deficit Disord . . .ooh! sparklies!(ADD-O!S!) and nothing better describes me.

I love the generation of students we're teaching. They keep up, they follow those random trains of thought that come out of nowhere and aren't necessarily connected.

David Warlick is helping us to understand how to think like our students.

He doesn't expect us to log-on to his keynote and just listen, no more than teachers or presenters should expect students to come in and just listen. He suggests:

As you watch the video, during the first 24 to 48 hours, go to the session chat, register, and post questions, comments, and additions, as they occur to you.
If you use Twitter, then post comments, while watching, that would be of value to your followers.
If you blog or podcast about the session, tag your posts with k12online07 and k12online07pc.
I am writing an article about the three converging conditions. The outline is currently on a wiki page. It would be useful to me if you could go and insert any elements of the address or concept that resonated especially well with you.

I have a hard time ingesting the concept of a world of free agents. Where, besides the need to eat, will be the accountability and incentives for excellence? If in our "traditional" jobs, even (cosmetic) medicine, people are willing to perform on any level below medicrity just to collect a paycheck, what networks will form so that we know the free agents we're using suit our needs?

I lived the free agent thing as a performing artist. I loved what I was doing and that passion spurred me, but I worried about an accident outside of my car (health care), and couldn't always do my best because a large portion of my time was devoted to finding the next "gig". I made good money, lived a normal middle class life, but there was no safety net for unplanned illnesses. No work = no pay.

How do we prepare our students for that territory? Who will draw the borders?

Best features?

Pausing to multitask
Reflecting on how this translates to teaching teachers
multitasking
wanting to share this link with folks who might like to hear it.

I'll admit. I prefer the "occasional podcasts" that last about 2 - 5 minutes far beyond a 40 minute one. I couldn't sit still in elementary school. I still can't.

Pour yourself a coffee and give it a listen: http://k12online.wm.edu/davidw.mp4

Second Death in Vista

2007-11-30T12:49:00.000-08:00

Honesty is the best policy, even if it's embarassing . . .

I graduated in the *gulp* eighties. I played "Pong" on TV screens. I remember before Pac-Man met Ms. Pac-Man and how space invaders were shot down by 8 pixel missiles.

One of my former students called me "boring" because I enjoyed the static-esque Sims 2 (with all the add-ons, of course) and had not yet experienced the power of Wii (although the siblings bounced around the idea of getting it for the folks - true gamers themselves. My brother said the boxing was a true workout, and their TV room is much larger than his).

My first glimpse of the ISTE Second Life and the images on the log-in screen took me back to familiar turf. I know how to navigate these games - I even approached carpal tunnel from racing my husband around Simpsonland on our Xbox Generation 2 during "20 hour" Alaskan winter nights.

However. I gave my gaming computer back to my husband and found a new shell in my "up to date" Vista/Office 2007 think pad. Why would an international educational consultant need a serious video card to project internet images?

Because we're moving forward, anxious to facilitate the conversations that will revolutionize teaching and learning, and I'm excited to have an excuse to approach our IT specialist about an upgrade.

Wow. Something else to do during those long layovers!

Better bring chocolate.

My Computer is my Fingerprint

2007-11-30T06:05:00.000-08:00

It takes patience to have a transcontinential marriage. Computers help. . . and hinder.

I was excited when my husband wanted to reclaim the 17" Inspiron he had given me as a "gift" the previous year. It's not that he's computer phobic - our Alaskan home was decorated by ebay, travelocity plans our vacations, and he's introduced me and both our families to cheap communication through Skype.

The truth is, he's always buying me "gifts" and I was glad he was asking for something for himself.

I didn't think this exchange through fully. Sure, I backed everything up to an external drive. I had endless downloads, cookies to remember passwords, bookmarks, files, pictures, and other personal artifacts. I just didn't make the time to ensure that everything had copied over.

I'm feeling as though I need a crime scene investigator to help me find that missing part of my life. My laptop was an extension of myself. Of course I miss my husband more, but there's a definite sigh when I realize that a file didn't make it to the external hard drive.

So what is it that we do to hormonally volitile students when we make rules such as "no ipods or mp3's in school" or restrict lab access during their free time?

If a laptop is a defining characteristic of one who can remember the birth of the home computer, the green screens and huge floppy disks, how significant are the gadgets preteens and teenagers use?

Hi. My name is Alicia. I am my laptop.

How can we deny students defining their identity access to the tools of their age. I understand the need for order and discipline, but let's think it through first. Let the math POW center around % of time students spend w/headphones on. Have the morning freewrite focus on the latest and greatest thing heard on an mp3 player. Lead the advisory group in discussion about what happens when the bass kicks in and the drum break rolls around.

Technological evolution is happening. Our students are walking upright, if not flying. We need to let them soar not chain them to our own understanding.

Enjoy the "evolution" of "In the Air Tonight" by Phil Collins.

Social Networking

2007-11-23T16:24:00.001-08:00

"It" finally happened.

So many invitations to join in the past. I just didn't want to make the time to click and login and confirm and - and - and.

Myspace dot what? And Why?

Now that "it" happened, and I'm "socially" networked, others know can know who my friends are, how we are acquainted, what they've sent me and so forth. I'm still uncertain how public I want to be, especially with former students, but I was prepared by twits who can follow who I follow.

I've enjoyed my twitbin which allows me an asynchronous peek into the lives of my compatriots in China.

I can't remember exactly what made me take the plunge into social networking beyond 2x daily Skype chats with my trans-continental husband.

All I know is that in less than 48 hours:

I was connected to a HS senior who had been my kindergarten student my kindergarten year of k-12 teaching.
I found out what is going on with my former students from Saudi Arabia.
My ace-boon-coon #1 buddy added me a day later and shared the stories of her heart I missed hearing
And my partner in practical jokes from Alaska sent me Thanksgiving wishes and brought me up to speed on those victims (yes, the current president and a whoopee cushion right after a speech!) lost but not forgotten.

What are the implications in education? I'd love to have a social network based on our similar interest in curriculum and internet professional learning communities of best practices. Am I ready to "pitch" it? How does one "tweak" it for a competitive environment?

Finally, what about networking on a professional level? Can I "write it forward" and find ways to connect the dots to other purposes? I'm watching a colleague take flight by including every contact in his social networks as he does his globetrotting sharing. As part of a company instead of being an independent contractor, I wonder how an associate (me!) would manage this volume of communication. I can tell there is a strong need for this sort of insta-link in our professional community, but when do I phase that into the high demands already faced? Remembering my life as a performing artist, I'm not quite ready for that transition to free agent.

Right now, I'm glad to be networked. I love life and love what I'm learning right where I am. However, the ride is much sweeter with old friends just a click away.

Connectivism in Educational Leadership

2007-11-23T16:24:00.000-08:00

George Siemens asserts that connectivism is beyond learners creating"knowledge as they attempt to understand their experiences". It is rather deriving "our competence from forming connections . . . other people’s experiences, and hence other people, become the surrogate for knowledge."

How does this translate for 21st Century teachers, particularly international teachers, who must provide instruction to children from cultures they've never experienced? How do they form their competence in instruction when working with children who are third-culture? How to instruct a multitude of teachers from a multitude of backgrounds instructing this multitude of diversity?

Siemens lists a few principles of connectivisms to help:

Learning and knowledge rests in diversity of opinions.

Each educator has a significant contribution to make in both small and large groups. A strong educational leaders facilitates even and unbiased dialog without merely favoring the squeaky wheel.

Learning is a process of connecting specialized nodes or information sources.
Technology should be embedded into staff gatherings. An internet-ready computer with projector is but a staple for teacher collaboration and learning.

Learning may reside in non-human appliances.

I dare you to have a virtual staff meeting - in an online community. What happens when a group of educators have a quarterly meeting in Second life and learn from other educators around the world in the process? Might that carry into classroom instruction and innovate ways of finding knowledge wherever it is available?

Why shouldn't educational leaders strive to make meetings fun and engaging? It's not only k-12 students who need to construct their own learning.

Capacity to know more is more critical than what is currently known

Most stagnating phrase: "We've always done it this way". Once we know it all, we fail to know what we don't know.

Nurturing and maintaining connections is needed to facilitate continual learning.
As Barbara Striesand sang so beautifully: "People. People who need people . . . are the luckiest people in the world. . . "

Ability to see connections between fields, ideas, and concepts is a core skill.
Wow. Connect the digital age to Bloom's taxonomy. Then interpret that for adults constantly learning best practices.
Currency (accurate, up-to-date knowledge) is the intent of all connectivist learning activities. . . . and knowledge is constantly shifting. Especially when one considers learning about learning.

Decision-making is itself a learning process. Choosing what to learn and the meaning of incoming information is seen through the lens of a shifting reality. While there is a right answer now, it may be wrong tomorrow due to alterations in the information climate affecting the decision.

New intiatives should be weighed heavily, and seldom undertaken at the cost of meaningful professional learning communities.

A very important part of connectivism is permitting the time to connect to others. Whether in digital space or real time, educational leaders must facilitate the dialog about teaching and learning. This allows educators to derive their competence from the confidence that they are doing what is best for children.

Rome Wasn't Built in a Day

2007-11-18T10:09:00.000-08:00

I feel like a mouse in a labyrinth of new knowledge and ideas!

The change from the classroom to consulting after 12 years in the classroom is a true paradigm shift. Fortunately, this is hastened by courses in leadership which constantly asks for reflections on practices in my school.

I am blessed to now have thousands of schools/educators from which to learn. I know their histories and aspirations as I work with them and gain institutional knowledge from new and savvy colleagues.

We are internet based. This is nothing knew for meaningful curriculum mapping . If not familiar with it, learn about it now rather than at the latter part of your teaching career as I did, to avoid that "where have you been all of my career" feeling.

What attracted me to the firm first as a client and then as a career path is that we don't merely fly in, "consult and leave"; we learn from our clients and their needs to better education world-wide.

So what does this mean for in a climate of growing Technology and Learning for educators?

Thank goodness our development team is keyed in to the latest and greatest and embraces the firm's philosophy of growth. Thank goodness they know and are keen to know more about what tools teachers are using and could be using in the classroom.

But useful tools take time to build and generations to evolve. After all, the touchscreen ipod wasn't built in a day.

What to do in the interim?

Keep learning.
But to quote a friend and mentor, the cutting edge thinkers hurt my brain.

Listen.
How do you let ambitious teachers/clients know you hear their needs?

And wait. But there is so much at stake. Mostly, the quality learning of children.
Isn't it better to focus on teaching them how to be lifelong learners rather than feeding them facts and skills?

To steal the lyrics from Morcheeba:
One fine day, we'll fly away. Don't you know Rome wasn't built in a day?

Enjoy the music and dancing. Music always soothes my savage intellectual beasts when my brain is hurting. . .

(images hyperlinked to sources)

Assessment in a Networked Classroom

2007-11-17T15:45:00.000-08:00

At least I've discovered my mental block.

I've left the classroom for a different job. Assessment has a different meaning, as I'm not thinking of assessing learning, but more assessing suitability, adaptation, listening to hear and consult about problems.

What if assessment in a new networked classroom was more consulting than testing? More for the teacher than the student?

And then I read about a blog ranking system.

Genius? Shouldn't I be creating instead of responding?

Can one trust a rating system from a parent page takes me to a review of movies? Not to mention an embedding that adds a link to a credit application. **Eek** Commercialism!

My Critic's Rant:

Without getting into a rating system reminiscent of comparing SAT or ACT scores while in the workforce (i.e., after it's relevant to most employers except for Google), I bet it just examines sentence complexity and a runs an search (sql? xml?) for million $$ words.

Save for inappropriate words or themes, should an instructor restrict blog reading because of its "reading level"? That's like taking Gulliver's Travels out of the hands of a pre-teen because "he'll never understand the historical themes". Or for a less anachronistic reference, telling an elementary student to choose a book other than one of the Harry Potter series because it's too thick.

What is it in our nature that compels us to be ranked - much less when invited to embed the link that rated us? Who cares what # I was in my graduating class? What have I done lately!

I was tempted. Until I realized it would only serve ego, not dialog.

Hope my sentence fragments don't negatively impact this blog's rating.

Don't assess me. Just help me continue to learn.

Teaching Teachers in a New Networked Classroom

2007-11-06T01:36:00.001-08:00

One of the joys of my job is the opportunity to meet instructors all over the world. Sometimes I'm meeting old friends in new schools; others, making new friends in old schools. Whether those educators are using our software tools or considering the possiblities, I get to connect with them, virtually and in real time, about teaching and learning.

One teacher I met had over ninety links and documents he wanted to embed into his unit map. He uses BBC video feeds, you tube, teacher tube, podcasts, and anything he can find on the internet or create digitally to capture his students attention.

Other teachers ask what "refresh" means or how to link.

Still, no matter where the teacher falls on the spectrum of using the internet, the most critical factor is the accessibility students have to using the web during instruction. In connectivism and constructivism, the greatest contribution to meaningful understanding lies in the students' ability to manipulate information to make connections between those subjects we still divide to instruct.

Based on my experience in early childhood, teaching in a new networked classroom means providing consistent and meaningful hands-on experiences in the "network" under the guidance of a learning educator.

My favorite moments in teaching are those when the students and I would make discoveries together while trying to answer a question I couldn't.

Blogging is connecting

2007-09-22T03:15:00.000-07:00

I feel connected to a teenager I've never met. I've only experienced a glimpse of his creativity, through a blog , fed through ASCD. I felt a connection to another who viewed his video and recognized the talent it took for "the guy who actually CAME UP with the idea, worked out the entire order of words to make it work, and figured out the movements to put it all together which require[d] a very creative mind that alone deserves attention".

I'm envisioning how this video will connect people all around the world. There will be conversations, similar to the quick conversations about a poor teenage beauty contestant who couldn't gather her thoughts, we'll continue our daily activities, and wait for the next connection. Longevity is no longer a criterion in making connections - it has more immediacy.

I feel connected to Ian Falconer - I owe him an apology for assuming that a mere reference to his creative magnets would be sufficient to pass along his mental property. On the other hand, the potentially nameless owner of these hands will propel a movement, probably farther reaching than the Macarena, improve the sales of mp3's of this song as others want to show friends that they can recreate his creativity.

George Siemens provides several different tangents from connectivism, putting it succinctly in context with better known learning theories using his espace articulate presentation than I found in his traditional book. At least he incorporates learning 2.0 with offers of customization of the text to suit specific needs.

Take a moment to connect with an upbeat message - pun intended. Click play below.

A Diva Without a Stage?

2007-09-16T06:35:00.001-07:00

The Kite Runner, a very moving journey where a man explains "I became what I am at the age of twelve". This poignant book-club read of the Ladies of Yanbu International School 2005 by Khaled Hosseini was the connecting thread that took the conversation from mapping a language arts curriculum to a more personal level. Jill was kind enough to give me the next book A Thousand Splendid Suns which had been given to her by a student, as long as I promised to pass it on. I knew it must be a good book, as I had been similarly inspired by The Red Tent.

I can't keep my promise.

I haven't read it yet. Since June. Not a page.

This reminds me of the journey to Web 2.0. The tools are there, but can be easily tucked away on a shelf - just not opened, not used.

I am on the computer constantly - I work for a consulting service which specializes in internet-based tools - php easy-to-use software for educators. Memories of Web 1.0 code start to trickle back into my mind from my 1997 introduction to "Assistant Webmastering" just at the entry point of WYSWIG html writing.

It is so easy to post a blog. Online photo galleries offer an awesome way to keep up with growing nieces and nephews. I experienced sales through the internet. Heck, I can even send bridal and wedding gifts without getting out of my pajamas.

So why is it a challenge to stay on top of my assignments in a class designed to teach me to teach Web 2.0?

The book is on the shelf. I haven't cracked the cover to read the pages and take the words into my life. It's a matter of using these tools to simplify my life.

Soon. So I can keep my promise, and pass it on.

Ohmigosh! It's real!

2007-09-09T22:14:00.001-07:00

Why is it that the phrase "have to" becomes our incentive to try something new? Creating my own blog has been on my "want to" list for over two years, yet it is not until I'm forced to do this for a class that I take the initiative to do so. Regretfully, this is unbelievable simple, and the pain of missed opportunities floods my guilt sensors.

The next step will be to see if I can make something useful of this page, avoiding the temptation to type over 90 words a minute of endless streams of thought without purpose or direction.

If ancient civilizations could build such wonders as these, hands on stone without cranes or jackhammers, what is the fear factor that stops us from exploring new possibilities? Is it only when we can stand back and admire our handiwork that we see there is nothing to fear but fear itself?