My Final Blog Post... For This Class... But Not Forever...

What does it mean to be connected? What are the benefits of being connected? Why would educators want to be connected?

I have found myself trying to convince educators on the benefits of being connected for the past couple months. It’s not necessarily about being connected to the level we have been in this class. It’s about being connected so that there is an opportunity to explore the best practice and ideas of other teachers around the world. A couple years ago, when I went on Twitter and starting following Twitter educators and EdTech “Gurus”, I started to find that I came out of my “bubble”. The bubble or that network of teachers that one might interact with within their school or their division.

Being engaged in Twitter gave me a chance to talk about education. It gave me a space to converse about the "stuff" I'm interested in, without talking off the ears of my non-teacher friends. Now don't get me wrong, I love collaborating face to face and discussion education. But how often do we actually get that opportunity?Once or twice a month? And even that might be a stretch! So rather than complaining that there is never enough time to collaborate, I found my space in Twitter to do exactly that. A teacher no longer has to wait for a convention or an inservice… the answers can be found in your own PLN via Twitter or in a community like Google+. Others might suggest that many answers can be found reading a book.Read a book? No way, that’s just one person’s perspective. (Actually I'm just kidding, remember I was a Teacher Librarian for a short stint). In reality, by going on-line, a person’s education become not just a selection of reading, but a multimedia digital inservice with videos, podcasts or even communities like the one we engage in.  You know there should actually be a poster... “Take back your own professional development…Don't wait for that inservice... Explore digital spaces to educate yourself!”

Okay, that’s enough ranting… As I mentioned in a previousblog post, I had a chance to present at a Teacher Librarian “EdCamp”. It wasn’t really an EdCamp as all the presenters were kind of prechosen based on a questionnaire sent out. But anyways, it was a start. At the EdCamp, I presented sessions that relate to this class and the point of being a connected educator. My sessions included: MOOCs and Digital PD, Battle of the Books Goes Digital, and Genius Hour. All the sessions went really well. The session that surprised me the most was the excitement over the MOOCs and digital PD. Teacher Librarians were really excited to learn about MOOCs. Many were amazed that universities like Stanford and MIT were offering courses. They were also excited by the number and variety of courses offered through Coursera and Canvas. And many were shocked to learn that they were FREE! As I was presenting and getting the Teacher Librarians to peruse the classes, many started saying, “I’m going to sign up for that one” or “That’s too bad, it’s already started”. Of course a majority of teachers had never heard of MOOCs but this definitely did not suppress their enthusiasm.

After the MOOCs part of the session, teachers started to explore Twitter and the tweets from the “Teacher Librarian Gurus” and “EdTech Gurus”. Intially they thought that Twitter was like Facebook, until I helped them explore my Twitter profile. And I explained who I followed and why (not all 400+), but my top 15. Then people started to get it when they saw the tweets. It became apparent that by being engaged in Twitter I was learning about what was innovative. No longer did I have to wait for some consultant or coach, like myself ;-), to tell me what was new and worth trying out. I was finding out first hand right from the “Gurus” themselves. And what was cool, I could even tweet at these individuals and ask questions. As we explored, many lightbulbs went on. Teachers were starting to see how being connected could make a difference in teaching, and that by being connected, I wasn’t chatting about trivial stuff as what often comes up when on Facebook, I was developing my own Professional Learning Network and it was with those people of whom I wanted to hear their ideas.

Now that’s not the end of my story… sorry, I know I tend to go on and on… That EdCamp was a month ago. Now I’m starting to hear from teachers that they’re learning about Genius Hour, Mystery Skype and Flatclassroom. But the best part is… They are also talking about their Digital PD and “this thing called a MOOC”. The part about this story that I find inspiring, is that many of these teachers heard about these opportunities from their Teacher Librarian. Interestingly enough, and this is worth noting… their TL reached them via Face to Face staff meetings, yet now they are excited about the opportunities to connect digitally. How cool is that???

I’m not sure I have more to add to this last blog post, I will continue to add to this blog. I might have to change up the categories, as I won’t have a “Class Reflection” but I like sharing what’s hot and my perspective on it, or how I would use that tool in the classroom to extend learning. I will also post to the blog roll of my Major Project Website the Teaching With Technology Hub, but in that space it wont be the same. I’m excited to say that my "Hub" with some of my ideas such as sharing “Classroom Digital Stories” (Genius Hour, Blogging and Mystery Skype) is going to be presented at a RCSD Board Meeting in January. (And yes, I'm excited, yet nervous!!!) So I’m a bit torn. This is great, but I feel as though when I blog in that space it will be different than in this space...  In the Teaching With Technology site  I “represent” the division. I will have a “Dual Digital Identity” in some ways. I won’t be able to really state my thoughts without being a little political. In any case, I don't mean to sound negative, I'm actually excited that the site is gathering enthusiasm. Although the "hub" is a website and blog rolled into one, I think that this will still suite the needs of my division. The blog roll will allow me to share the latest "digital story" or project idea, but the website will offer an organized layout to share those ideas. So thank you Katia for sharing this advice in thinking of ways of making it more collaborative. You're right, I needed a space to connect with teachers and offer opportunities for their input. Now I just hope that people will actually comment...

Overall this class has helped me consider how I can have the most impact in helping teachers in my division find ways to connect and explore ways to make their students' learning visible. 

My Summary of Learning for ECI 831

A Reflection on My Reflection

As I was composing my Summary of Learning, I really started to get into sharing my learning journey. I'm not usually a linear thinker, as my brain tends to usually bounce around like a ping pong ball in Smartcar, so I decided just to share my reflections and how I reacted to what I learned as the course progressed.  Initially I  had difficulties with what to write, so I started to storyboard in, storyboarthat.com which seemed to get my creative juices going in terms of what I wanted to share. Over the course of our course :) (yes that's intentional), I've been going into many classes in my school division teaching and assisting teachers with ways they can integrate technology. While I was doing this, I started taking videos and photos of kids at work. I also found that even resources I've been creating for my major project helped in telling the story. So as I got into the project, it all just started to come together.

Overall I really enjoyed this creative process and finding the words and images to tell the digital story of my journey in the ECI 831 class. I happened to show my project to a colleague, and she immediately got excited about students telling their own learning journeys. Perhaps even a class learning journey with narration at a grade 12 graduation instead of a Power point set to music... Just an idea.... Don't want to rattle tradition.... Or have students write their own learning journey at the end of a school year,  after they've reflected on their blog posts and assignments over the course of the year. It could be a metacognitive, reflective video that highlights a learning journey. Maybe that was the whole point of Alec and Katia getting us to do this... Hmmmm....

My Summary of Learning Video

I made this video using Windows Movie Maker, then layered on music and narration. I chose to record small chunks and rerecord if needed, then to do it in one take (which is impossible if you have kids running around your house!) Although inserting just the right image at the right spot of my narration took a little time, it was actually very easy. Some aspects were time consuming, such as the cartoons! But overall it went well and regardless of how I do, I actually feel proud of my project.

Summary of Learning Comic Portion

Just a little promo of my upcoming Summary of Learning...

Imagine these cartoons helping me tell my digital learning journey.

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Stay Calm and Think Calming Thoughts,. Stay Calm and Think Calming Thoughts... Stay Calm and...

"Calm" by Richard Cuppini cc ND License Flickr

The title of my post is my latest mantra. We have about one week and it's all due. Eeeeppp! I am starting to see the light at the end of my project, but I'm finding that the more I explore and create, the more I add. After a brief Q & A discussion with +Kelly Christoffson... of which I look forward to more feedback. I decided that I really need to get more of the personal stories and perspectives in how teachers are integrating digital literacies and technology into their classroom. So rather just share curated resources that I've developed, and the curriculum connections to the projects (of which I still haven't even come close to finding), I am going to try to get more the Teachers behind the technology.

In our division with the new role our teacher devices, student devices and Office 365, I've heard a great deal of complaining. Or let me rephrase that... I've heard A LOT about the challenges that teachers are facing. I thought that in order to get away from the negativity, we need to explore the cool things that teachers are doing in their classroom. It is for this reason that I'm going to try to interview more teacher for my major project webpage to get not only their stories, but the stories of their students, and the impact that technology has had in opening doors for the students.

I'm excited about this, but I'm also starting to think that I might possibly be a little obsessive compulsive and insane. Even if all my stories are not collected by the due date, I am going to persevere and finish the project.... or will this ever be finished? As technology changes and more teachers are starting to see the light as to how digital tools can empower and help us reach all kids... I can't help but think that the site will go on. Perhaps the blog roll page for my blog that +Katia Hildebrandt suggested might be a good idea!

Here is a link to my blog so far! Teaching With Technology Hub


Here are a couple links to videos that I worked on for the "Face Behind the Technology" part of my project. Videos with Matt Bresciani's grade 7/8 class.

How Do We Teach Empathy and Resiliency Online?

Harassment is Not New... It's Just a New Space for the Jerks

I was talking to my dad recently about school and bullying issues. My somewhat redneck dad had a simple solution to bullying and that was, "Just let kids (he most likely meant boys) be kids, and wrestle it out on the playground, and it will be finished." At first I kind of laughed. Imagine if we just let kids "duke out their problems". Ridiculous... But was there some truth to that? Did kids in our parent's and grandparent's generation, just deal with their issues right away without letting it drag on? There were the bullies and the "intimidators" in their time, but did they have the power they do now, by being able to present a constant threat to those pegged as their victims? Has technology allowed harassment to become more of a mental and emotional issue than in previous generations?  Hmmm... I thought there was maybe some truth to my dad's way of dealing with issues, until I read Tammy's post, "Speaking from my spot in the corner... let the over-sharing begin!"  After reading about her struggles to become an independent and confident person, while dealing with negative pressures of her father, it only reinforced to me, that women being harassed or encouraged to be quiet is not a new thing, it's always been around. Were things really dealt with in our parent or grandparent's generation?

My Thoughts on Being a Woman Online

Photo Credit: Stefan Mendelsohn via Compfight cc  

As Benita pointed out in her blog post, "Women" or Ryan explored in his post, "If You Don't Like What They are Saying, Change the Conversation" our session with Audrey Watters wasn't really that shocking. Yes, it is unfortunate, that I many of us weren't really shocked to hear that women are demeaned and harassed online. It wasn't shocking to hear that when a women speaks out about an issue that immediately she is harassed into silence. It wasn't shocking that there are individuals who take it to the extremes to psychologically threaten others, so that they can't even go online just because they spoke their opinion.  In her post, Benita states, "So here we are in year 2014 and along with the issues in advertising we have to contend with the technology age and not being (portrayed) as smart enough, not being able to give our opinion, don’t play online games (or do well) and so on…" I have to agree with her comments, not a lot has changed. Women continue to be threatened if they put themselves out there too much. The only thing that has changed is the environment, and unfortunately it's an environment that in many ways is still the Wild West or Uncharted Waters. 

Recently when I put my about.me picture on my profile, I started to wonder if a pic with my daughter was a wise choice. I started to wonder about the environment and the insidious nature that the Internet offers for those who wish to do harm. Nowhere in my photo does it say that I'm with my daughter, but a shadow started to creep into the back of my mind, as I started getting updates on who was checking out my about.me profile. Thankfully most of those who looked at my profile were members of this class, but there was the odd person who had no connection to education or technology, or even sports. I started to rethink the links I had posted from my Google+ information to my Twitter profile. I'm usually pretty savvy about the image and information I put out there to the world, and for the most part, I'm sure no one cares. But what if? What if I caught the attention of some creep?  Regina just isn't that big. Now after our talk with Audrey, I wonder if I should change my profile picture. Should I be this paranoid? 

It's Everyone's Deal

As I was exploring sites related to online harassment, I stumbled upon a Time article, "Misogynist Online Abuse Is Everyone's Problem - Men Included" written by James Poniewozik. In the article,Poniewozik,  shares this point, "the price of having a female byline and an opinion is getting subjected to torrents of gender-specific, grotesque, sometimes frightening and threatening abuse, which men like me, in general, do not deal with to nearly the same degree." This definitely reinforces our discussion with Audrey... But the part of his article that really captured my interest was his reasons for saying why the misogynist abuse is everyone's concern.

"It’s still my problem, though. There’s a whole genre of men saying that they’ve become feminist because they have daughters. I don’t; I have two sons. Which is exactly why this kind of toxic crap in the culture is my problem, because they play games and they live in the world, and I want them to grow up to be decent guys with healthy human relationships. I don’t want them immersed in a mindset that says that throwing anonymous abuse at women is somehow retaliation in kind."

I think as teachers we need to kind of embrace this philosophy, that teaching for these kinds of issues is more than just a few lessons in Digital Citizenship.It's more than teaching girls to be confident and stand up for what they believe. The issue is not just a digital one.  It's about teaching kids about stereotypes and generally about how to behave, even if you don't agree with another person's opinion. Unfortunately as doors open and walls were flattened with the Internet, it has become a bit harder to keep the trolls from coming into our domain.

Moving Forward, Even When You Wonder If It's Worth It

So where do we go from here? I agree with Tammy's advice at the end of her post, in that we "don" our life jackets and teach students how to avoid "the rapids, the submerged objects, the sand bars" and sharks. And, in going with her boating metaphor, we teach students to be more than wandering sailors unsure of the waters ahead, and instead become wise, confident captains of their own journeys. This means empowering kids. Teaching boys and girls that online harassment is something we can't be silent about, and that it's worthwhile to speak out against "toxic crap" in our culture. We probably won't solve all the issues related to being online, but we can do our part, which is, do what we do as teachers... educate kids and make them ready for anything.

So....

I leave with one question... Should I still change my profile pic? Or should I just be aware and keep it as is?? Thoughts anyone??

The Hour of Code is Approaching So Why Should We Make the Time?

The Hour of Code is coming!! Get your students ready!

Did you know that the week of December 8 - 14, is Computer Science Education Week? Unfortunately our EC&I 831 class will be finished, so we will not be able to explore how we are getting students involved, but perhaps it's still worthwhile to share some ideas on how to bring code to the classroom.

So What is the Global Hour of Code?

The Global Hour of Code apparently is actually one of the largest events in history. The video above is very American oriented, so I found more information for  Canada Learns Coding. The premise of the Global Hour of Code is that "if you can learn how to make technology you can change the world". The idea is to promote the fundamentals of computer science for learners of all ages. If you check out the code.org site, you can see the links for different ages. It's not just something that is for older students, even students in the primary grades can learn some of the basics. In taking the time to get involved in the Hour of Code, learners of all ages, that's teachers and students, can learn that computer science is fun, easy and accessible.

Why Should Teachers Get Involved?

"Don't just play with your phone, program it." This great quote from President Barrack Obama, urges kids to become more than just users of technology.Students would benefit from learning how programs and apps are made and the fundamentals of the algorithms that go into making the digital tools we use. It was interesting to learn that right now in the U.S. alone, the rate of the number of computing jobs is rising 3 times faster than the numbers of graduates. At this rate, by 2020, there will be over 1 million computer science related jobs in the world. Which is a pretty easy sell, as these are good jobs. So as educators, we should look at this as an opportunity to further our students ability to be ready for the 21st Work force by developing these skills in students.

Perhaps we should look at teaching code as becoming one of the digital literacies that we need to teach to get our students ready for the future. Could coding eventually become as important as teaching writing and reading skills? Could you imagine the outcry of many teachers if this was introduced as being a part of curriculum?

How does this promote creativity, critical and innovative thinking, and problem solving?

When kids are engaged in making or creating the programs, they will have a new appreciation and understanding of what goes into using technology. Also by allowing kids an opportunity to get involved at a younger age, they are able to make those connections between logic and math. Coding is really another form of math.

In an article from Common Sense Media, "How to Teach Coding in Your Classroom, Even if You're a Novice Yourself", Douglas Rushoff, argues that like reading or math, coding is like a literacy of its own. Rushoff goes on to state:

“When human beings acquired language, we learned not just how to listen but how to speak. When we gained literacy, we learned not just how to read but how to write. And as we move into an increasingly digital reality, we must learn not just how to use programs but how to make them,” 

I like how encouraging kids to learn how to code empowers students to become programmers and engineers. All kids, boys and girls. If we hope to truly encourage all kids, particularly girls, we need to look at increasing exposure to skills such as coding. Rushoff also states, "we have embraced the new technologies and literacies of our age without actually learning how they work and work on us". So what are we doing to encourage students to look the impact of technology in their lives? Do we take time to explore with students how technology is impacting the way we interact? Do we explore with students the importance of not only digital citizenship and the ethics of online behaviour, but do we discuss digital etiquette? What are we doing as educators to explore more of the philosophical issues related to online activity and how it's impacting the way we interact?

How Can Teachers Get Involved?

You can sign up to join the Hour of Code Global Movement by checking out one of these sites:
Code.org Sign Up

You can even promote the Hour of Code by printing and putting up these posters in your school.

Tutorials and Sites to Promote Coding

Code.org - Has great activities that can help elementary students explore code.

Canada Learns Coding - This site is Canada's version of Code.org. Same premise, but one of which encourages all involved in Computer Engineering to donate one hour to help teach coding at a school.

Tynker.com - Teachers can create a classroom account for elementary students to get started exploring code. There is an app available with iTunes and Google Play, but it does cost $5.37. Not so affordable if you are buying several apps.

Common Sense Media Teaching Code - Common Sense Media looks at how teachers can approach teaching code, even if they are amateurs themselves.

Microsoft Hour of code Basics - Offers courses such as Kodu, which encourages building games, playing games and sharing games.

Khan Academy Coding Course -  For Hour of Code, we've created special introductory curricula to get your students started!

Twitter:

Follow Canada Learns Coding @HoC_Canada on Twitter to find out more about what different Canadian Schools are doing to get in Computer Science Education Week.

Maker Music Possibilities With Garage Band

I am Aware of My Limitations...

I am a musically illiterate individual. Well, maybe that's too harsh. I have an appreciation, I can maintain a beat, but I don't play any instrument... outside of a stereo.

Recently, I was called by a teacher to do a "GarageBand project". Once I helped to narrow down what curriculum outcomes she hoped to explore, we determined that I would come in to assist with Music class (gulp!) with a group of grade 8's (gulp! gulp!)... Music class? Me?? Well that's the point of this post, you don't have to have any musical experience, if you have GarageBand. Anyways,  I was actually pretty excited, especially after watching +Ryan Hicks video where he uses GarageBand with the iPad, "Creating and Learning with GarageBand". Honestly, I felt a little inspired and empowered that I too, could be a musician.



Photo Credit: C. Strife via Compfight cc

So to get ready for the presentation, I played. Yep, played with GarageBand. I was a little familiar with the program, but thought I should review the functions. So on-line I went and immediately I found some great resources. One video was created by a young kid, at MsNJProductions, who has excellent videos with GarageBand worth checking out! Anyways, as I played with the software, I decided that I should perhaps try to compose a song using the loops and layer a few tracks. I even decided to use my kids in my song (mainly because they insisted on dancing right beside me once they heard the beats). It turned out to be kind of a fun project for my family, and it really only took about 20 minutes to compose a tune. A tune of which I now have ingrained in my mind, because I've played it so much for my daughters.

Anyways, today I conducted my session with the grade 8's and kicked it off with the video from French rapper, Stromae, "Alors on Danse: How it was made" where he goes through a brainstorm process where he layers music via Garageband. Initially I was a little worried the kids would be turned off, but they actually liked it. After discussing how software can let all of musically illiterate become musicians, and letting the students hear my tune that I created - they were actually pretty motivated to get started. We then briefly reviewed how to use GarageBand via the software on the Macbooks, and by then, the kids were really chomping-at-the-bit.

The rest of the session went well. I demonstrated my keen knowledge of how to write a rap from a traditional Christmas song, and wowed the kids with my rap-writing knowledge... Actually I read up on it and discovered that in addition to great resources for GarageBand, WkiHow has excellent resources for writing raps, "How to Write a Rap Song" (not that I would know an "excellent" resource for writing a rap). I almost feel like I owe a thanks to the web and wiki-based community, WikiHow... Whose mandate is, "We're trying to help everyone on the planet learn how to do anything."
Yes, I feel like I can do anything... even write a rap song...

Photo Credit: Pedro Vezini via Compfight cc

Side note...

Here is my lesson that I created using our division's interactive software, Mimio Notebook, that I converted into a PDF, so I could upload to Scribd and add to this post. Scribd is another great tool for embedding docs into blogs and websites.