Point A to Point B

  • ETC 2007

    Last week I attended the second Buffalo State College Educational Technology Conference, held at Erie 1 BOCES. The conference is organized and run by students in the master’s degree program in educational computing at Buff State. It was a fabulous day, offering a wide range of sessions covering many current trends in educational technology. Here is a summary of what I attended:

    * Tim Magner Keynote: This is the second time I’ve heard him speak, the first being last November at NYSCATE. His focus both times is on the new global workforce and economy, and what educational technology can/should do to help change the direction and focus of education. He spent much less time on the School2.0 project here at ETC, compared to NYSCATE. I found his presentation much more captivating at NYSCATE as well.

    * Digital Video for School News Shows & Class Projects: This presentation was by Amherst Middle School technology teacher Rob Zdrojewski. He presented his excellent AmherstTechTV new show, and also the student projects they do. The core of their program is a product called Visual Communicator. I learned of Rob’s program a couple of years ago when I started looking into news programs for our school. We made a visit to Amherst Middle back then, and have modeled our program after theirs. It was exciting to see the new studio they built – WOW!. I was also extemely excited to learn that the program is being updated and released soon under its new owner, Adobe (beta available now).

    * Technology ‘Cast’ing Call: Continuing in my belief that video is one of the keys to great learning, this presentation by Nicole Giambra from Alden covered an array of topics, revolving around getting kids involved in video.

    * Online Literature Circles: English teacher Angela Gnann from Niagara Wheatfield did an outstanding presentation on an outstanding project – online literature circles. She, along with the Technology Director and a professor from Canisius, took an “analog” literature circle concept and brought it online. Students in the 9th and 10th grade participated in online lit. circles, and had college educaiton students in the circle as well. The interactions were much greater and meaningful due to the wider circle. Students used images to convey their ideas, and also created digital video quilts to synthesize their learning. POWERFUL, and a true representation of how learning can happen in ways not possible without the technology.

    * An Introduction to Second Life: Second Life is getting huge in certain circles, including higher education. I have read a bit about this 3D virtual world, but this was my first time seeing a demo, and talking about the possible educational implications. Some of the big names in educational technology, Will Richardson, David Warlick and Kathy Schrock, are currently investigating second life. As a matter of fact, I just saw at Kathy’s blog that she is presenting in-world at Second Life about K-12 uses. ISTE just published an article on it as well. The presenter, Heather Glogowski from Buffalo State, talked about Buff State’s current initiative to setup a virtual library in Second Life for students to use. From the conversation in the room, Second Life is definitely a bleeding-edge concept for schools – it will take a bit of time for things to develop before successful integration in schools can happen. For me, this was the tipping point to go get an account and try it out.

    Overall, I found this to be a rewarding, brain-filling day. Kudos to the students at Buff State who were in charge of the conference, and their advisor, John Thompson.

    Check out the Edcuational Computing @ Buffalo State College webpage for more info on their program.

  • The Top 100 Most Influential *People* in IT

    The title of this article published by eWeek should really be, “The Top 100 Most Influential Men, with a couple ofZDTop100.jpg women tossed in, in IT. By my count there were a total of seven women in this list.

    Seven??? I guess its no suprise that men dominate the IT industry, given the stereotypical image of men being computer savvy. I was just suprised at how glaring the lack of influential women in IT is, in this age of equality, or attempt at such.

    Is this just one more uphill battle girls in school will have to face – another profession which they will have to go out of their way to prove themselves to get anywhere? I think about my daughter, only 2 now – does she face the same glass ceilings that have existed for years, and will the glass be thicker?

    I sure hope not. Technology IS the necessity of the future, and there is 50% of the population that has just as much brain power and skill to lead companies, and the world, in the direction we want them to go.

    Attention all girls: You are bright, you are talented, and you have every right to lead the way in what happens in techhnology. Don’t let ANYONE, including yourself, let you think any differently!!!

    Image citation:

    "Top 100 graphic." eWeek. 12 May 2007. Click image above for source URL.

  • Visual Thesaurus

    I just completed the final set of extra work hours for my school – they are still a ridiculous paperwork nightmare for everyone, but they continue to provide focused time for study and reflection.

    I spent today with the work of Robert Marzano, specifically on his research into building adacademic backround knowlege and academic vocabulary. I’m working on how technology tools can support this approach.

    ani-book.gifThere are many ideas that are going on in my head, but the one that stands out that I want to investigate is the Visual Thesaurus. This tool, best described by just going to the site and trying it, puts words and their definitions in a whole new visual context. It’s is a pay-for site, so it will necessary to work with it and see if it is worth it. I remember first being introduced to this site a couple of years ago at NECC, and I think its time to revisit and really get a handle on its use.

    This puts a whole new spin (pun intended – you’ll know what I mean if you try the site) on learning words and relationships of words. Go there, and enjoy!!!

    Clip art licensed from the Clip Art Gallery on DiscoverySchool.com.

  • Digital Storytelling

    I’m just finishing up with some of my required extra work hours for school. While these hours are a ridiculous paperwork nightmare for everyone, the purpose and focus allows for good study and reflection time.

    In a post earlier this year, Video is Hot, I talked about how video captures the minds of students. I have transformed my own thinking about this into what is called digital storytelling. This is by no means a new thing in education – its just that I’ve finally gotten to the point that I understand it enough to work with it more fully. There are lots of great resources available, many of which I have just spent some time with.

    What is digital storytelling? There are many definitions, but start by checking out this great video (approx. 2 min.): Momnotmom

    The variations for what we can do with digital storytelling in school are as numerous as the number of people in the school. In reviewing the literature, websites, and other resources, 3 websites standout as accessible and useful in the school setting.

    Kidsvid (kidsvid.altec.org) – this site lays out the 4 main steps of storytelling in akidsvid.gif clear, concise way. It includes an online storyboarding tool where you can create and save storyboards. This site is a good starting place to plan out a whole project. Interestingly, this site was developed by the same group that created Rubistar, the awesome online rubric maker.

    Video Storytelling Guide (http://www.atomiclearning.com/storytellingindex.shtml) – this guide is part of the Atomic Learning site. While access to the full guide requires a paid subscription to Atomic Learning, the above linked free preview gives a good sampling of things to do in the setup of a video project. Inlcuded are 16 sample tutorials, which have great information. Also available at this site is a free downloadable storyboarding software tool called Storyboard Pro.

    The last site is produced by the Scott County Schools in Georgetown, Kentucky. Their page, Digital Storytelling Resources, Tips and FAQs, is awesome. It is a launching point to learn all about the tools of the digital storytelling process.

    I’m looking forward to implementing some of these new tools in a project that starts next week!

  • Ride the Digital Wave 2007

    I attended the Erie 1 BOCES Ride the Digital Wave Conferene on Staff Development Day, March 30th.

    The sessions I attended were as follows, along with some commentary and interesting pieces:

    • Keynote by Dr. Ron Owsten, York Universtiy, Toronto. Dr. Owston spoke about how we need to rethink learning in the context that the students know more and are using technology tools in vastly different ways than the teachers. His thinking is right in line with many of the current leaders in Ed Tech – he referenced Marc Prensky many times in relation to how gaming can be used to capture the minds of students. I did not pick up new information in this session, but definitely reaffirmed where we need to be going in schools. The one quote that resonated with me from Dr. Owens was “We all need to be continuous learners.”
    • Session 1: NOVEL Databases – this presentation was on a state initiative to provide access to a multitude of databases for all New York State Libraries, public or school. I was not familiar with this project in particular, but after digging a bit, our school librarians alreaday have a link to it in WITS. There are a lot of interesting things here, but with the myriad of other sources we have available, I’m not sure how much we would use this one.
    • Session 2: Digital Video – Classroom Applications – this session alone was worth the price of admission. The presenter, Chad Skudlarek from Randolph, is a self-proclaimed tech-nothing 3 years ago. He was introduced to how video could be incorporated in the curriculum and how it totally transformed the engagement level of his students. He only does 2 video projects a year (which is plenty), but they are awesome. They even post the work on YouTube for the world to see/comment. However the final product is shared, I truly feel this is where we need to move learning – video engages students like nothing else, and they want to “do the content” to a high level. You need to keep the goal in mind, but this is a powerful medium. The videos from Randolph are on pig dissection, and as such can be unpleasant to watch, so I won’t link to them here. If you are interestd in seeing them, let me know.
    • Session 3: Free Online Resources for K-12 Teachers – presented by Val Rinow from WNYRIC. For me this was mostly known sites (NYSED VLS, Thinkbright Video, Pics4Learning, Kidsclick!, NetSmartz). One new one, though that jumped out was Internet 4 Classrooms. Here I found some web resources for LOTE, including interactive websites that could be good w/a SMART Board/Airliner.

    Overall I found this to be a very good day (oh, and lunch was good as always – BOCES does a nice job in this dept.). The sessions helped reaffirm, reflect and inform my daily practice.

     

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  • Learning Toolbox

    Everyone has a toolbox in the garage/basement/kitchen/wherever. It contains key tools to perform necessary tasks around the house. The digital learning toolbox is the equivalent in the realm of schools. What tools do we have access to right now that will perform the necessary tasks to “build” learning?

    1. WITS (classroom communication)
    2. NoodleTools (citation creation/management and notetaking)
    3. EdVideo Online (graphics/movies)

    These are broad tools that apply to anyone. There are many more digital tools out there to support the various subjects. What digital tool(s) do you have or want in your toolbox?

    WITS Logo

    NoodleTools Logo

    EdVideo Logo

  • What should our model classroom look like?

    This is a question we ponder regularly, and is a question we should ponder regularly. Its been on my mind again recently as we (district technology facilitators and IT staff) think about major upgrades to our computer technology hardware.

    So, what should our classrooms have in them as far as computer technology? We have started toclassroom concentration.jpg infuse good things into the classroom, but are they the right things? Are there other things to consider?

    I’d love to hear any idea, big or small. What would make you want to leap out of bed in the morning and get to your classroom?

    Image citation:

    Phitar. "Classroom Concentraion." Flickr. 13 Feb. 2007 http://flickr.com/photos/phitar/
         89287777/.

  • When will state exams be word processed?

    8818524_3a9d27ff31_o.jpgIts ELA testing time – all of our 6th, 7th and 8th grade students are busy writing furiously in their test books.

    In the era we are entering, where the web is our medium of choice, kids spend far more time keyboarding (correctly or incorrectly) than writing. In the work force the same is true – handwritten communication is far less common.

    Are we reaching a point where students are being inhibited in performance because they are handwriting?

    By no means am I saying throw out the ink and get the keyboards out – handwriting is important, of course, but is the zone of comfort moving from quill to QWERTY? As a technologist I’m on the keyboard constantly, so this is certainly the case for me. Any writing I do that is intended for an audience besides me gets typed. One main reason is that my handwriting is pretty bad – I have a hard time reading it myself.

    There are huge logistical implicaitons for having students word process state exams. Equipment access is obviously the biggest one – if every student has to word process at the same time, there are not enough computers to do this. A one-to-one initiative would have to be in place to pull something like this off.

    Just some food for thought – definitely file this one under Russo’s Ramblings…

    Image citation:
    “Pen and Ink.” by Trinity-of-One, via Flickr 18 January 2005.

  • SMART Board Sweetness

    600i_overview.jpgSo with the current focus on updating our 5-year Technology Plan, I’ve been thinking about new hardware. In the area of interactive whiteboards, the newest thing is an all-in-one solution that includes the whiteboard, a projector, speakers and all necessary computer hookups in one wall-mountable system. The version from SMART Technologies, our district’s standardized brand, is the model 600i. I was just reading an article about how Sarasota County in Florida is installing thousands of Promethan’s all-in-one model, the ActivBoard+2. I figure GTCO Calcomp has a version as well, or will soon (have not looked into that).

    So why are these so sweet? The price is higher than any of the components separately, but when you factor in ceiling installation of a projector, labor, cabling, etc., the price suddenly becomes very competitive. All the pieces for an excellent A/V teaching station are built right in together. My biggest concern is that since these are newer technologies, how wil they perform? Specifically the projector – it uses “short-throw” technology – since the projector is on an arm connected to the board, it has differnt components to do so. The TCO of such projectors is the largest question mark vs. a typical ceiling mount installation.

    In some conversations I have had, it appears the technology is good – so its worth investigating if this is a solution we want to pursue. I’m looking forward to finding out!

  • flibbertigibbet

    How fun is that word??? It was the Dictionary.com Word of the Day for December 22nd. It means a silly, flighty, talkative person, and the word certainly matches the definition. Regardless of its meaning, its just plain fun to say – try it – you’ll see what I mean.

    I subscribe to the Dictionary.com Word of the Day through my Bloglines account. Each day brings one word into my inbox – this one is worth a year of subscribing!

    Flibbertigibbet, flibbertigibbet, flibbertigibbet…

    PS Disclaimer: I’m not implying I know any flibbertigibbets – I just like the word…