I would like to start this week by offering some congratulations!
Let's start by congratulating both Zachary and Candelaria for volunteering to be our "Facilitator Guinea Pigs" they did a fantastic job at prompting the conversations and pushing the content ideas deeper. I developed the concept of 'students' trying the role of 'Facilitators' because it seems to be a natural extension of my teaching philosophy of pragmatic learning. You can't learn to swim without getting wet, and practicing with these tools in our course should give you the security of knowing that there aren't any serious repercussions for stumbling or flopping. You should feel like this is a very protected place to work out the kinks w/o being in front of your own classes.
I'd like to introduce you to a new tool this week for facilitation called, 'Backchanneling'. The backchannel is the conversation that goes on alongside the primary activity, presentation, or discussion. You can read about it here. This week, along with our discussions on the blog, I'd like you to experiment a little with Backchannel Chat. We'll play with this tool this week.
We have four 'Facilitators' this week, so you will have four opportunities to take part in their 'backchannel' practice sessions.
Please look for an email from them soon. Good luck Nancy, Ty, Rebecca, and Shannon. I've sent you some personal directions to your email. Contact me directly with any questions.
As for the rest of the class, if you have experimented with Authorstream and are still looking for something else (I know someone endorsed, “Adobe Spark”, then play with a few of the 'free' resources w/i this list. Some allow you to do just what you’ve been asking in our discussions. Yes, some cost, so focus on the 'free' ones. One of you mentioned wanting to gather information about who is viewing, so you may like KnowledgeVision on this same list.
So there may still be some skepticism in some of you about the practicality and positive uses of edublogs. After all, it does seem like every time we hear or read about blogs and children from the news media--- they have a negative connotation. Briefly skim this report published by Nielsen. I am sure that you will be convinced that blogs are not a passing fad. You can't fake these numbers (and its 10 years old). That's probably a reality check for those of you that are just getting familiar with blogs.
Most of you have already begun creating your own blogs (As they are posted I'll place links to them in the left-hand margin. I may only be missing a few now.). Check them out, as well as some of the past participants' blogs and give them a comment or two. It'll be good practice.
I have merged the content for Sessions 4 & 5 this week because they are so interconnected that I struggled with trying to separate them. You can now access it here or view it from w/i the blog below.
Additionally, I'd like you to continue with your lessons using edublogs. Continue, during these two weeks, to go through the lessons here. Your goal is to go through 'Steps 3-6'.
Pace yourself these two weeks. Some weeks will be easier than others---these two weeks will not be that way. There is a lot to go over, so don't put it all off until the weekend, and don't forget to visit your fellow participants' new blogs. I'm creating a link to each one in the left hand margin.
(Please make sure that you read the 'Deliverable #1' entry I posted yesterday.)
To gear you up (and psyche you up) for this session I'd like you to watch this. You have to click on it twice. "Did You Know? 2.0" :
As you begin to work on, and think about, your project for Deliverable #2, (details in the syllabus, due Week 8) consider using these resources to guide your integration with the students:
As you begin to work on, and think about, your project for Deliverable #2, (details in the syllabus, due Week 8) consider using these resources to guide your integration with the students:
Comment Etiquette http://blogs.tedneward.com/2005/08/27/Comment+Etiquette.aspx
==============================================================
One of the education blogs that I subscribe to also recently wrote on a topic --the overuse of PowerPoint. Every tool has its place and I use it for its convenience, ubiquity, and for its ease in sharing the content while licensed under Creative Commons, so that you may easily modify the content for your own use. But there is such a thing as too much, so here is a great resource for you to read and pass on to all of your future classes. Check it out: http://www.consultpivotal.com/powerpoint_reform.htm
On another topic---some of you were discussing the editing ability of blog posts. Blogs are more static than wikis (which we'll be discussing later in the semester), so when you post a comment to someone else's blog and you want it changed, then your only option is to delete it and rewrite it. Someone correctly mentioned that when you are in your own blog and you write a posting then you can always go back and edit it when you are in your 'Dashboard' screen, so these are some options.
One of my previous students also mentioned,
Well he mentions how some colleges and universities are making podcasts, but it goes much further than this. Dozens of schools are now recording professor's lectures (some video, but most just audio) and putting them online, along with the support material for the course for free, spend some time checking the sites out below, but even more powerful than this is the fact that they are also allowing the lectures to be accessed from anyone in the entire world.
It is part of the "Open Educational Resources" movement we've mentioned. If this topic interests you, and you decide to explore this path, then check out some of the cool things out there, like this interactive site on "Trapezoids." Simple, interactive edugames and manipulatives like this make it much easier for students to practice, play with, and experiment with. This is so that they may access any number of their "Multiple Intelligences" to better aid in teaching and learning.
Even more important however is the number of colleges that are beginning to subscribe to this philosophy. Just check out this list of schools, and then take a look at all 2200 different courses that MIT makes freely available. Here are some additional links for you to spend some time on, but beware of the clock several hours can fly by: Coursera.org, MIT, OEDb... We go into a lot more depth on this topic in my edc922 course, "E-Books and Digital Content".
I also subscribe to this 'open' philosophy. By now most of you have noticed that all of our weekly sessions are licensed under Creative Commons. We'll go into more detail later about this movement when we begin talking about 'wikis' and start to create and edit some.
=========================================================
David also mentions,
Well, when you are logged into your Blogger account, go to the Dashboard option and from there choose, 'Settings' and then , 'Mobile and Email .' Once there look for "Posting Options". You'll see the options to email postings to your blog, as well as have every comment emailed to you.
Lastly, keep on checking each other's blogs and don't be afraid to post a comment or two. Those who have already begun using them in class can use your comment as an example to the students that there are other people around the world reading their work.
Happy blogging,
Dave
PS----One last reading for this session. It's worth the quick skim:
http://www.teachandlearn.ca/blog/2008/06/02/avoid-school-talk-part-1/
PPS--The readings and assignments for Week's 4 & 5 have now been updated on our class syllabus, so please revisit them to make sure that you are up to date.
One of the education blogs that I subscribe to also recently wrote on a topic --the overuse of PowerPoint. Every tool has its place and I use it for its convenience, ubiquity, and for its ease in sharing the content while licensed under Creative Commons, so that you may easily modify the content for your own use. But there is such a thing as too much, so here is a great resource for you to read and pass on to all of your future classes. Check it out: http://www.consultpivotal.com/powerpoint_reform.htm
On another topic---some of you were discussing the editing ability of blog posts. Blogs are more static than wikis (which we'll be discussing later in the semester), so when you post a comment to someone else's blog and you want it changed, then your only option is to delete it and rewrite it. Someone correctly mentioned that when you are in your own blog and you write a posting then you can always go back and edit it when you are in your 'Dashboard' screen, so these are some options.
One of my previous students also mentioned,
"As the availability of 'going online' becomes more affordable and the price
of technology continues to decrease, I'm sure we'll see even more families in
our classrooms join the world wide web. With this in mind, educators must also
do everything we can to use the tools that our students are using in order to
reach them. It makes me think back to when the second or third generation ipod
came out... I remember hearing about the first colleges that were making
podcasts for their students to listen to."
Well he mentions how some colleges and universities are making podcasts, but it goes much further than this. Dozens of schools are now recording professor's lectures (some video, but most just audio) and putting them online, along with the support material for the course for free, spend some time checking the sites out below, but even more powerful than this is the fact that they are also allowing the lectures to be accessed from anyone in the entire world.
It is part of the "Open Educational Resources" movement we've mentioned. If this topic interests you, and you decide to explore this path, then check out some of the cool things out there, like this interactive site on "Trapezoids." Simple, interactive edugames and manipulatives like this make it much easier for students to practice, play with, and experiment with. This is so that they may access any number of their "Multiple Intelligences" to better aid in teaching and learning.
Even more important however is the number of colleges that are beginning to subscribe to this philosophy. Just check out this list of schools, and then take a look at all 2200 different courses that MIT makes freely available. Here are some additional links for you to spend some time on, but beware of the clock several hours can fly by: Coursera.org, MIT, OEDb... We go into a lot more depth on this topic in my edc922 course, "E-Books and Digital Content".
I also subscribe to this 'open' philosophy. By now most of you have noticed that all of our weekly sessions are licensed under Creative Commons. We'll go into more detail later about this movement when we begin talking about 'wikis' and start to create and edit some.
=========================================================
David also mentions,
"I remember Professor Fontaine mentioning that he doesn't even have to log on to the
blog to make comments... he can do it from his email. Was I just hearing things
wrong? If not, I am not sure where to go to set up my blog so I can work though
my email. If that is possible, then I could open one less application and work
solely though email."
Well, when you are logged into your Blogger account, go to the Dashboard option and from there choose, 'Settings' and then , 'Mobile and Email .' Once there look for "Posting Options". You'll see the options to email postings to your blog, as well as have every comment emailed to you.
Lastly, keep on checking each other's blogs and don't be afraid to post a comment or two. Those who have already begun using them in class can use your comment as an example to the students that there are other people around the world reading their work.
Happy blogging,
Dave
PS----One last reading for this session. It's worth the quick skim:
http://www.teachandlearn.ca/blog/2008/06/02/avoid-school-talk-part-1/
PPS--The readings and assignments for Week's 4 & 5 have now been updated on our class syllabus, so please revisit them to make sure that you are up to date.
==================================================================
Welcome to Part 2 of this week
session.
session.
"The World of Wikis!"
This second part will take us down a new path!
A path that leads to more collaboration--
more cooperative learning---
and more opportunities to create differentiated instruction and visual learning---all with the goal of helping foster literacy, and learning, for our students.
Don't worry if you have barely heard of the word, 'Wiki'. Here is a taste of the excitement that awaits you when you download session 4/5.
and then watch this:
Good luck and take plenty of notes because I don't want to miss any of your ideas, excitement, or insights when you post your comments!
Your last instructional video is how to use a wiki as your learning management system:
Your last instructional video is how to use a wiki as your learning management system:
DF
No comments:
Post a Comment