great day. listened to Gary Stager, always a breath of fresh air and finally got to hear Peggy Sheehy, Maggie Marat. WOW! I remember why I am a teacher when I listen to constructivists.
Also spent 2 hours on the floor with the Smithsonian Latino Virtual Museum's team, headed by Melissa Carrillo, Pennelope Riggles, answering questions and sharing this wonderful resources with teachers. I think we might have a few converts to SL!
I will be sorry when this conference is over.
Tuesday, June 30, 2009
Wednesday, June 24, 2009
So preparing for NECC is a lot work. I am a newbie and I am a little intimidated by attending an event with so many techies. I am a tech integration specialist ( sorry Dave Warlick) http://davidwarlick.com/2cents/?p=1775
But I am also an art teacher and artist. I also think of myself as a disruptive educator. I do not like teaching about new tech tools, I like thinking about how my students can learn and create. If we stumble upon a problem, we find a good tool, we learn how to use it.
As an example. last year, we (me and the 6th graders) decided to enter a google contest. It was about how we were using Google Earth's new layer to enhance our experience in learning about Ancient Rome.
We decided to use a wiki to record what we did as we explored the terrain, the replicas of old buildings and other information. We found building the wiki easy and fun. We divided the work up into sections and wrote a digital newspaper about life in Ancient Rome. The students picked an editor-in-chief and editors for each section of the paper. They made videos when that was the right way to share the story (ie, a fashion show of the latest togas). They learned how to scan when they wanted to draw comics by hand but put them in the digital paper. They learned how to use audacity to record their voices so that when someone with a disability, or an younger student wanted to know what was going on, they could listen to the article. One student even figured out how to upload a powerpoint to the wiki using docstock.
I think you can see where this process went. As we needed a tool we found it, learned it, used it and moved on. They did not encounter a challenge that they couldn't solve.
One of my favorite teacher ah ha moments was that one day one of students found me in the hallway and told me that he been looking at the wiki at home the night before. He had found a few spelling errors and he wanted to make sure that the editor corrected them before we submitted our project. It doesn't get better than that!
No, we didn't win the contest, but if you think we didn't learn, you are wrong. If you don't think that we gained confidence in the knowledge that any tool we need to express ourselves is out there and waiting for us to discover it, then you are missing the web 2.0 journey. Students are not. they get it. Let 'em go, they will amaze you. And you can be sure, if they can't find the right tool, they won't hesitate to try to make one!
http://catacombsoftruth.wetpaint.com
But I am also an art teacher and artist. I also think of myself as a disruptive educator. I do not like teaching about new tech tools, I like thinking about how my students can learn and create. If we stumble upon a problem, we find a good tool, we learn how to use it.
As an example. last year, we (me and the 6th graders) decided to enter a google contest. It was about how we were using Google Earth's new layer to enhance our experience in learning about Ancient Rome.
We decided to use a wiki to record what we did as we explored the terrain, the replicas of old buildings and other information. We found building the wiki easy and fun. We divided the work up into sections and wrote a digital newspaper about life in Ancient Rome. The students picked an editor-in-chief and editors for each section of the paper. They made videos when that was the right way to share the story (ie, a fashion show of the latest togas). They learned how to scan when they wanted to draw comics by hand but put them in the digital paper. They learned how to use audacity to record their voices so that when someone with a disability, or an younger student wanted to know what was going on, they could listen to the article. One student even figured out how to upload a powerpoint to the wiki using docstock.
I think you can see where this process went. As we needed a tool we found it, learned it, used it and moved on. They did not encounter a challenge that they couldn't solve.
One of my favorite teacher ah ha moments was that one day one of students found me in the hallway and told me that he been looking at the wiki at home the night before. He had found a few spelling errors and he wanted to make sure that the editor corrected them before we submitted our project. It doesn't get better than that!
No, we didn't win the contest, but if you think we didn't learn, you are wrong. If you don't think that we gained confidence in the knowledge that any tool we need to express ourselves is out there and waiting for us to discover it, then you are missing the web 2.0 journey. Students are not. they get it. Let 'em go, they will amaze you. And you can be sure, if they can't find the right tool, they won't hesitate to try to make one!
| http://whatwelearnedaboutancientrome.wetpaint.com |
http://catacombsoftruth.wetpaint.com
Tuesday, June 23, 2009
can't say this any better than Mike. Why are we asking our students to wait to do great things?
http://mikecaulfield.com/2009/06/22/cult-of-the-amateur/
http://mikecaulfield.com/2009/06/22/cult-of-the-amateur/
