Learning a New Language

I’ve been letting Stephen Downes’s talk “Speaking in Lolcats” in eci831 percolate in my mind for some time now. Realizing that I still do not fully comprehend a lot of the information he was presenting,  I’ve decided to attempt putting together what I did understand. What struck me was the shift from 21st century skills to 21st century languages. Learning and teaching the language of 21st century literary requires practice and modeling of the practice for our students. Teachers and learners, I think, are working together to learn this language. As I read Will Richardson’s book Blogs, Wikis, Podcasts, and Other Powerful Web Tools for Classrooms, I found I section I feel fits with the idea of learning a new language. He writes that teachers need to be content creators, learning how to use the tools effectively in order to teach them effectively. He goes on to say that “just like anyone else trying to learn a new language, educators must practice the words, or in this case, the tools.”

Learning a new language is not an easy task. It can be frustrating. It can create anxiety when it needs to be used. Messages may not come out as intended. It takes practice and patience on the part of the learner and the teacher. It also can give a sense of accomplishment and a new way to approach the world and communication. I’ve found all these to be true as I try to learn the 21st century languages. I’ve found trying to create connections to be at times frustrating and anxiety creating, especially when doubting if what I have to say adds to the conversation in a meaningful way. I’ve also had the sense of accomplishment when I get a tool to work in a way that will be helpful in my work or personal learning.

The idea I have learned is that languages are not learned quickly and there are no shortcuts to fluency. So as I practice by using these languages, I’ll model my work for my students and we can grow together.

 

Project Idea

I’ve been thinking of ways for my history students to create digital media. My idea is to have them do a VoiceThread project as a wrap up for a World War I unit. I’m making a conscious effort to steer away from assignments and projects that are simply digitized worksheets, which isn’t completely unavoidable.

I’m looking for feedback on  my project idea. What am I missing? Is there something I should not be including?

Here is the link to my project.

My voicethread project idea

Any feedback would be appreciated.

My Favorite (so far) Web Tools/Sites

As I’ve discovered tools and sites through searching the web, reading blogs, sitting in on a class (eci831), and following others on Twitter, I have been able to try out and experiment with a number of web tools and sites. Some have proven more useful to my situation than others. Lately, I’ve been thinking about which of these tools or sites are my favorites and asking myself why I’ve found them to be a favorite.

My criteria for being a “Mr. G’s” favorite site are the tool/site has to be:

• Free
• Easy to use, both for myself and potentially for students. Therefore, it has to be easy to quickly teach so students can get up and running.
• Able to make my life easier, especially from an organizational stand point.
• Serve a purpose in the classroom that is not easily/cannot be accomplished in a “paper and handout” classroom (I consider my classes to be too slowly transitioning from “paper and handout”).

So, in no particular order:

• Screencasting. The two services I have used are screenr and screencast-o-matic. A year ago I didn’t know screencasting was so easily possible. Currently, I’m using it to demonstrate math concepts, potentially making my teaching continually available for my students, and I suppose others. The next idea is for my students to create their own screencast demonstrations for each other to view.
• Diigo. I love the ability to highlight and annotate portions of websites. My next idea is for students to have an account and  join the class group. I can then guide research, point out interesting facts, ask for reactions, or give feedback.
• Google Custom Search Engine. This tool provides more focused search results and when combined with diigo bookmarks (I figured out one way to get diigo bookmarks to my search engine) it is possible to quickly get a large number of sites to the CSE. Preferences allow for including a single page of a site rather than the whole site, information not relevant to your immediate needs is then not included in the search results. A google marker tool can be added to the browser toolbar, making it easy to add future sites to your search engine.
• Wikispaces.  This site is really the only wiki that I have tried in any depth. It is good for easily organizing information in one location, delivering information, and allowing a group to collaborate on a project. The wiki can easily be managed so that some pages are only able to be edited by the organizer of the wiki. I have a wiki approved for educational use, which means it is ad free and I can also control who is able to view the wiki. The next step is to have a class/groups collaborate on a page within the wiki.
• Facebook and Twitter. These are two sites I had previously avoided, feeling that I had no use for them. With Facebook, I have enjoyed reconnecting with friends from high school and college. It has also made family living out of town seem closer. Twitter has been a professional development tool for me. By following other professionals I have found a lot of resources,  received great teaching ideas, and read interesting, relevant articles.
• Google docs. From a personal standpoint it has been convenient to have files available from any internet connected computer. The applications are Microsoft Office compatible; however,  I haven’t found the need to utilize that feature. I see enormous potential for sharing and collaborating among students.
• Sixhub.com. A free moodle hosting site. I’m not completely sold on a course management system, but I really do like having all course materials and information in one place. Its easy to link to outside sites for wikis or blogs that could then be shared with the world.  I have a class about 90% ready to be used as a blended F2F and online delivered class.

These are the sites/tools that I use the most often and plan on being able to most quickly incorporate into my teaching. There certainly are many more useful and fun sites available that I have explored. Any thoughts or suggestions on potential tools/sites that I really should be using more would be appreciated.

My Web 2.0 Learning Process

I’ve embraced the idea of using web 2.0 in my teaching. Its a little more difficult now to actually put my hands on the tools and make it work in the classroom. I find myself asking the question is this basically a digital or fancy worksheet. The fact that the answer is “yes” so often is a bit unsettling. I want my students to be synthesizing, applying, reflecting…anything other than just regurgitating facts back to me.

As I go through this process I’ve found that I’m the one that needs to first do the synthesizing, applying, reflecting, etc. I agree with the article I just read by Will Richardson “Teachers as Learners (Part 32)” about being selfish with your own learning. Right now, I’m enjoying finding new tools and discovering a new way to approach education. Applying my discovery of blogging, and the ease with which it was to implement, to one of my passions (coaching baseball and football) has been simply fun. For now, I’m going to keep exploring the web and discovering ways to apply it to my passions and personal life. Learning just for the sake of learning, and relaxing about obsessing on how I can apply it professionally. My sense is that it will happen naturally.

Social Media for Learning Differences

Through the summer and now the fall, I have been immersing myself in the large pool of social media tools available for educators. I’m coming to a big question now. How to best utilize these tools to improve outcomes for my students, who bring a variety of learning difficulties (learning disabilities, attention deficit, behavior problems) to my classroom. I can see the potential for increased student engagement and differentiating learning. In fact, my first attempt at using “something new” in the classroom was simply completing a worksheet in digital form (a google doc embedded into a wiki) was followed up the next day with the question “are we going to use the computer again today.” When asked if she liked what we did her response was an emphatic yes. In my mind, the new activity was really nothing special. Engagement was achieved, but not much differentiation.
Effectively maintaining engagement and having that engagement translate to learning is “The Big Issue” at the moment. I’m struggling with narrowing down the list of tools that will be most beneficial for my students, and how the tools can be incorporated most effectively in order for my students to demonstrate real learning gains. I do think they recognize the fact that I am attempting to use different teaching methods to help them learn. Because of the relationship developed with these students over time, their engagement increased because they feel I am making an honest effort for them.
I’m struggling with feelings of being overwhelmed by the sheer amount of information and tools available are a function of my not completely understanding the full picture of social media in education. Hopefully through efforts to improve my learning, I can translate the knowledge I gain into more effective teaching for my students.