Mike's Blog for 21st Century Learning Web 2.0

What an ordeal! This podcast has been 4 weeks in the making .  I could not figure out how to upload it.  Now I am done, and my podcast is depressing.  Anyway, I am a HUGE proponent of podcasting.  Not to get too personal, but it is possible me walking around the house with my headphones on all day long listening to podcasts will lead to my divorce. In the classroom, as I said in my previous post, this will add to the teaching 24/7 future that we may have…but it can make things much easier.  Also, you could create some pretty cool projects around podcasting.  I barely listen to the radio anymore because all my favorite shows are podcasted.  Would I pay for this service?  Not yet, but I may if I do not have another option.

Wow!  I feel like a learned a new language.  This has been a really fun experience.  This week and next, we are having a lot of snow, and it got me thinking.  I can’t make it to school in this weather, but by using blogs, Skype, and Youtube, I will be able to communicate with students on snow days, when they are sick, and over the weekend.  One of my students was saying that he was going to be out of school next week.  He asked me if I had Skype so I could grade his project  without him in class.  I’m not ready to do that yet, but I like where all of this is heading.  Communicating with students is going to be very easy.  I don’t plan on being on call 24/7, but I do feel that this could benefit some students (who are struggling, who have been absent, etc) .  I sometimes get nervous on sites like Pageflakes.  It would have all my information on one page, and I am not yet comfortable with that idea.  But beyond that, I am pretty excited to be a teacher in the 21st Century.

Well, I have been addicted to youtube for some time now.  I love it.  It brings me back to my youth and helps me tell stories to my daughters.  Of course, it also allows me to tell stories to my students.  I like how movie clips, professors talking, student skits, and commercials all help me tell whatever story I am talking about in class.  I like teachertube for my class because it is more appropriate, but the selection is nowhere near as large.  Students can post videos of themeselves online, but a lot feel uncomfortable doing so, which I understand.  Therefore, I use youtube as a visual tool more than anything else.

Phew!!! I feel exhausted, but invigorated after all my cutting and pasting and downloading and widgeting. I have used the liscence plate generator in the classroom, but I did not know all the different sources out there that I can use in the classroom. It is very important that students know how to summarize. These tools make summarizing fun. Here is an example of how I can use summarizing in my class: Create a liscence plate that best summarizes Ghandi’s beliefs:

I got a lot out of the “Bridging History and Web 2.0 Tools” and “Options for Building your Teacher Website” sessions.  In fact I contacted the teachers from “Bridging History…” and will be visiting their classes in January.  Although there are certainly limitations to this format, it is an interesting way to learn and share.  I use these in my classroom through sites like teachertube, but if there is a common theme that relates to my growth as an educator or my students’ education, then a conference works best.  I just bought an imac and learned that I can easily build a website with iweb.  One of the conferences I attended alerted me of this.  How cool!

There are so many professional advantages to using social networking that I may crash the internet with the volume of ideas and advantages one gets from using social networking sites.  Teachers even use facebook in the classroom .  Recently, a student of mine wanted to take a latin class.  I spoke to my librarian, who went to her library ning, and we found numerous ways the student could take the class.  This, of course is one example.  Reasons I liked the Web 2.0 ning:  students using the cell phone in class, the ease of using ning or wikis as social networks in the classroom, connecting with authors and colleagues.  Drawbacks?  Not many.  Many parents are still uncomfortable with using web 2.0 in the classroom;  students not using it for educational purposes; students do not have access at home; schools do not have too many firewalls.  How should schools integrate this technology? Schools can integrate technology in a lot of ways.  A school librarian can use a wiki or ning to use social networking in an educational way where info is monitored by adults.  Teachers can allow students time during class to contact students from other schools in a variety of different locations.  Web 2.0 is filled with limitless opportunities.

After watching Kim Cofino’s presentation, I realize I am not using even close to as much technology as I should (in the classroom).  One of the things that was interesting is the idea that Asia has 24 hour services…we are not too different.  I am not sure how to use this in the classroom, but I think it could make my teaching more flexible.  One thing that she was amazed by, was the flexibility of these Asian  countries.  If you can pick and choose from American culture, you can find many ways we are flexible too (music, food, technology).  There are many things that Asians are not flexibile with.    I teach Eastern Cultures, and I find it amazing how much my students support the intergrating of cultures.   One problem with technology is that it allows you to at once reach everyone in the world, but at the same time, cocoon yourself into your own likes and dislikes.  If I want to only read what  I believe, then I will become much less aware of what others believe.  We need to encourage our students to reach out to things or ideas they do not agree with in order to learn.

How can I utilize the attributes of a “TCK” (Third Culture Kid) to move our school and classrooms into 21st Century learning (Some of the TCK Attributes include: adaptability & flexibility, communication skills, collaboration, global perspectives, tolerance, appreciation & empathy, and authentic experiences to deepen understandings.)?   Trying to communicate with schools from around the world is something that is so easy to do and I never do it.   I would like to introduce more ideas from around the world.  Reading the op-eds from newspapers from around the world is a great way to gain insight to what other culltures think about us and the world around us. I  teach Eastern Cultures, so I try to teach the understanding of “WHY” Eastern cultures do what they do.  One TCK said she understood “religion and culture” better; since I teach religion and culture, I should use more technology (cell phones, blogs, Twitter, ipods, etc) to teach about others’ religion and culture. That may be one thing you need to be careful with, when you use a PLN.

I really, really like Wikis in the classroom.  One of the unfortunate things about my school’s firewall, is that it blocks needed upgrades that allow students to go to my wiki from last year.   This is a great way for students to collaborate with one another and see each other’s work (see writepostread).  It can be kind of like an educational social networking device that teachers can monitor. Cool Cat Teacher is a site that gives a lot of great ideas (Cool Cat Teacher is a prolific blogger by the way), including links to some truly excellent  teaching ideas.  I really love wikis for writing classes.  Peer review is a great way to learn how to write, and wikis allow students to write from home and edit from home if they don’t have time to do it in class (however, beware of student excuses, such as “I did a great post and spent two hours on it and I don’t know where it is” or “I emailed it to you from our home computer”) .

I love  a really different place  This is a really good way to do a classroom blog as well as make it interesting for anyoneelse (besides students) to want to read it.  #1.  It gives great tips on how to write (for teachers and students).  #2. The it has some great links to websites to help students write.  Finally, #3, it’s fun.  The person who writes the blog includes personal info, but it’s about Harry Potter.  This is a blog I would like to emulate.

I have used a blog in the past in the classroom and have struggled with it.  What to include?  Would my students want to read it if it wasn’t required of them?  Does it matter?  I’m not sure if it helps students grasp 21st century learning skills all that much.  In the classroom, I find that students responding to blog posts takes too long and I would rather have them respond to me via journaling.  Blogs that I like have really interesting and different points of view.  They give opinions.  Personally, I do not like to give my own opinions in the classroom or out of the classroom.  I want my students to formulate their own opinions.  I find that if I give opinions, I influence student learning too much.  I am a huge blog fan, I just am not sure about what place they serve in the classroom.